When will The Plague (2025) premiere? Release date, cast details, first look, and more

Charlie Polinger’s The Plague (2025) will arrive in theaters on December 24, 2025, introducing a psychological drama set inside an all-boys water polo camp. The film marks Polinger’s directorial debut and unites an ensemble cast led by Everett Blunck, Kayo Martin, Kenny Rasmussen, and Joel Edgerton.

The Plague (2025) follows a 12-year-old boy whose quiet summer turns into a nightmare as he’s drawn into a cruel tradition upheld by older athletes.

The cast includes Everett Blunck, Kayo Martin, Kenny Rasmussen, Joel Edgerton, Lennox Espy, Lucas Adler, Elliott Heffernan, Caden Burris, and Kolton Lee. The team filmed The Plague 2025 entirely on 35mm in Bucharest, Romania, creating a raw, textured visual style that heightens the story’s atmosphere of dread and vulnerability.

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When and where is The Plague (2025) releasing?

A still from the movie (Image via YouTube/ IFC Films)

The Plague (2025) premiered globally at the Cannes Film Festival on May 16, 2025, securing a spot in the Un Certain Regard lineup. Right away. Following its debut at Cannes, the movie is scheduled to open in select US theaters on December 24, 2025.

From there, it rolls out across the country starting January 2, 2026, offering more viewers a shot at its eerie mix of teenage struggles and slow-burn dread.

Shot on location in Romania, The Plague (2025) leans into quiet pool arenas while using misty backdrops to set the mood. Instead of just showing action, it mirrors how lost the main character feels, pulling the audience into a setting where fear hides behind calm appearances.

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What is The Plague (2025) about?

This eerie story follows Ben, a quiet 12-year-old struggling to connect with others, as he joins a summer water polo program just wanting to belong. But things take a dark turn once he arrives. There’s an odd rule here, hidden from adults. Older campers run it without mercy or warning, using fear to keep everyone in line. When Ben gets pulled into their game, the stress starts eating at him piece by piece.

In a December 2025 interview with Gold Derby, Director Charlie Polinger explained the theme of the movie:

''There was this idea of ‘the plague,’ which is a game we played, and it just brought back a flood of memories. It’s just the visceral experience of just navigating a single day when you're 12 years old.”

Talking about the inspiration of the film, Polinger said:

''I started watching a lot of these kinds of older, psychological horror films from the 1960s and 1970s where you're put inside the head of a character who is perhaps an unreliable narrator and spiraling out in some way. I think that was the biggest inspiration I took from some of these genre films.''

Sharing his experience with the cast, Polinger said:

''The kids were thrilled to work with Joel, and Joel felt similarly. He would say to me after every day that he was learning so much about acting, working with them and seeing how spontaneous they were and how they would really just react in the moment.''

Polinger originally wrote the script with the intention of directing it himself. When Joel Edgerton first read it, he considered directing the film but realized the story belonged to Polinger’s own artistic vision.

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Main cast of The Plague (2025)

Below is the full main cast of the movie:

• Everett Blunck plays Ben
• Kayo Martin plays Jake
• Kenny Rasmussen as Eli
• Joel Edgerton as Daddy Wags
• Lennox Espy as Julian
• Lucas Adler as Logan
• Elliott Heffernan as Tic Tac
• Caden Burris as Matt
• Kolton Lee plays Corbin

The Plague (2025) is written and directed by Charlie Polinger. Produced with support from Joel Edgerton. Audiences can expect The Plague (2025) to deliver an unsettling experience when it arrives in theaters this December.

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