By MICHAEL GINGOLD

The filmmaker (pictured) has a new tale of Christmas terror rolling next week.

Shudder has announced that it has picked up all rights in its territories to THE SACRIFICE GAME, which begins production Monday, May 9. Directed by Jenn Wexler, in her follow-up to the well-received THE RANGER, from a script she wrote with Sean Redlitz, it stars Mena Massoud, Olivia Scott Welch, Gus Kenworthy, THE RANGER’s Chloë Levine, Derek Johns, Laurent Pitre, Madison Baines and Georgia Acken. According to the official synopsis, the film “is set at a girls’ boarding school over Christmas break, 1971, where Samantha and Clara, two students staying behind for the holidays, must survive the night against uninvited visitors.”

“I am extremely excited to be working with this incredible cast and to be partnering again with Shudder and with [production company] Red Sea Media,” Wexler says. “THE SACRIFICE GAME is my tribute to the beauty and boldness of ’70s horror, anchored in an unlikely friendship between outsiders.”

“After years working in genre, it is a highlight to be making a Shudder original with this film,” say Philip Kalin-Hajdu and Albert Melamed, who are producing SACRIFICE GAME with Heather Buckley, Wexler and Todd Slater. “Wexler’s thrilling vision pulled us in from the start. We have never seen Mena Massoud and Olivia Scott Welch in roles like these and we can’t wait to share it with the world. We are grateful to be working with Shudder and RSM.”

“We loved THE RANGER and are thrilled to be working with Jenn and her team to bring her new film to life,” says Shudder general manager Craig Engler. “Jenn’s film promises to be a wild and thrilling ride that offers a fresh take on timeless horror themes. We can’t wait to share it with our members.”