Epic Pictures’ specialty label DREAD has set the release date for its true-crime horror feature, “Dorothea.” The film will have a limited theatrical run beginning October 31, 2025, and on November 4, it will be available for rent or purchase on video-on-demand.“Dorothea” is part of DREAD’s inaugural slate of biographical true-crime horror films, following “Ed Kemper,” with “Richard Ramirez” set to release next. Written and directed by Chad Ferrin (“Pig Killer”), “Dorothea” follows serial killer granny Dorothea Puente as she lures the vulnerable, kills without remorse, and buries secrets in her garden.“After the world premiere at the Valley Film Festival, I am confident ‘Dorothea’ will be a success,” says writer/director Chad Ferrin. “The audience loved it, there was such great energy from the first frame to the last pulsating through the crowd, I’ve never had a more positive screening in my career. And with the amazing job DREAD did with the release of ‘Ed Kember,’ I know ‘Dorothea’ is in the best possible hands.”“Dorothea” is a chilling true crime horror that unearths the monstrous secrets of Dorothea Puente, a soft-spoken grandmother who drugged, murdered, and buried her elderly and disabled tenants beneath her garden. Behind her warm smile lurked a predator who used kindness as bait and survival as justification. As the story peels back layers of trauma, deception, and calculated cruelty, it reveals a harrowing portrait of a woman shaped by abuse and driven by greed. Dorothea forces audiences to confront the terrifying truth that real evil often hides in plain sight.The film stars Susan Priver (“Ed Kemper”) Lew Temple (“The Walking Dead”), Brinke Stevens (“House on Haunted Hill”), Ginger Lynn (“The Devil’s Rejects”), Brenda James (“Slither”), Cassandra Gava (“Conan the Barbarian”), Cyril O’Reilly (“Porky’s”), Ezra Buzzington (“The Artist”), Robert Miano (“Fast & Furious”), Brandon Kirk (“Ed Kemper”) and William Salyers (“Mass Effect 3”).“‘Dorothea’ is the second in our series of unflinching true crime films that explore the darkest corners of human nature,” said Patrick Ewald, Executive Producer and CEO of DREAD. “Director Chad Ferrin masterfully transports audiences to the era in which these horrifying events took place, capturing both the atmosphere and psychology of the time with a truly singular vision.” Ewald adds, “Our next film with Chad, centered on Richard Ramirez, the Night Stalker, will push this series even further, diving deeper into the terror and truth behind one of history’s most infamous killers.”
