Mike Flanagan Producing Red Room Exec Alexandra Magistro’s Debut Feature ‘Rot’; Cooper Koch, Amber Midthunder & Matthew Lillard Set For Horror Thriller
News Source
•Wed, 09 Sep 2026 19:43:12 +0000
📰 What Happened
Alexandra Magistro, an executive at Mike Flanagan's Red Room Pictures, is making her feature directing debut with Rot. The horror thriller will star Cooper Koch, Amber Midthunder and Matthew Lillard. Midthunder and Lillard also appear in Flanagan's upcoming Carrie series.
The script, by Geo Bradley, was on the 2024 Black List. It follows an antisocial man with obsessive compulsions who is haunted by his hoarder mother's death. He takes work as a trauma cleaner to face his past, but the job begins to unravel his mind. Filming starts in Vancouver this November.
🔍 The Backstory
The Black List is Hollywood's famous list of the best unproduced screenplays, and landing on it can launch careers. Flanagan is one of horror's most respected creators, known for The Haunting of Hill House and Doctor Sleep. Magistro has worked beside him at Red Room, and Rot is her big step into the director's chair.
Body horror, which uses the body to explore fear and pain, has a long and respected history. Pairing it with a story about cleaning up after death gives the genre a fresh angle. Producers include Molly C. Quinn and Elan Gale, who have worked with Flanagan before.
🎯 Why It Matters
Horror lets people face dark feelings like grief and guilt in a safe space. Backing a new director with proven producers often brings the freshest ideas. For horror fans, Rot is a title to watch.
Alexandra Magistro, an executive at Mike Flanagan's Red Room Pictures, is making her feature directing debut with Rot. The horror thriller will star Cooper Koch, Amber Midthunder and Matthew Lillard. Midthunder and Lillard also appear in Flanagan's upcoming Carrie series.
The script, by Geo Bradley, was on the 2024 Black List. It follows an antisocial man with obsessive compulsions who is haunted by his hoarder mother's death. He takes work as a trauma cleaner to face his past, but the job begins to unravel his mind. Filming starts in Vancouver this November.
The Black List is Hollywood's famous list of the best unproduced screenplays, and landing on it can launch careers. Flanagan is one of horror's most respected creators, known for The Haunting of Hill House and Doctor Sleep. Magistro has worked beside him at Red Room, and Rot is her big step into the director's chair.
Body horror, which uses the body to explore fear and pain, has a long and respected history. Pairing it with a story about cleaning up after death gives the genre a fresh angle. Producers include Molly C. Quinn and Elan Gale, who have worked with Flanagan before.
Horror lets people face dark feelings like grief and guilt in a safe space. Backing a new director with proven producers often brings the freshest ideas. For horror fans, Rot is a title to watch.