Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
At an all-boys water polo camp, a socially anxious twelve-year-old is pulled into a cruel tradition targeting an outcast with an illness they call “The Plague.” But as the lines between game and reality blur, he fears the joke might be hiding something real.
Independent Film Company distributes in the US. The film opens in New York and Los Angeles on December 24th, before expanding nationwide on January 2nd.
The feature film directorial debut of Charlie Polinger, who was quoted saying: “What happens when being part of a group… is at odds with your belief system or your empathy or your values? I think that that applies on all scales, politically, culturally. You definitely see that happening right now in the world, not just with kids… The way that people can enable a certain voice that is maybe not a voice towards positive, but that there’s the person who has the most charisma or the most assuredness, there is a sense that people will follow that even if they don’t agree.” Adding…“You see how behind the scenes some of the kids are kind of dissenting with Jake’s philosophy on ‘The Plague’. But when they’re with them together, everyone has to conform because they’re too scared to risk alienation.”
This is said to be a psychological horror drama.
Independent Film Company released The Plague in Select Theaters on December 24, 2025.
Independent Film Company releases The Plague in Theaters nationwide on January 2, 2026.
Director: Charlie Polinger
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