Overview: From Black Christmas to Rare Exports, there has long been a symbiotic relationship between horror and the season of good cheer. Now, writer/director Eric Pennycoff (Sadistic Intentions) continues this proud tradition with The Leech, a cautionary tale about the perils of opening your door to a stranger.

Father David (Graham Skipper, Sequence Break), a Catholic priest struggling to fill the pews in his church, allows a homeless man, Terry (Jeremy Gardner, After Midnight), into his home to escape the December chill. But this simple act of kindness has unforeseen consequences when Terry’s pregnant girlfriend, Lexi (Taylor Gardner, Sadistic Intentions), also decides to crash at the parochial house.

Determined to save the warring couple through the healing power of God’s love, David’s ordered existence quickly unravels as he succumbs to the wicked ways of the parasitic pair.

Will he pass this apparent test of faith or resort to blood-soaked, Old Testament justice? Agonisingly intense and rib-ticklingly funny in equal measure, The Leech serves as both a festive frightmare and a microcosm of the fault lines of contemporary America.

Arrow Video is proud to present this latest inductee into the Christmas horror hall of fame!

Blu-ray Verdict: Father David (Graham Skipper, the director of Sequence Break) is a devout priest who has never missed a Mass, never eaten meat on a Good Friday and never misses the opportunity to speak on God’s love, including when he invites Terry (Jeremy Gardner, the director of After Midnight and the man who told his mother not to watch this movie) and Lexi (Taylor Zaudtke, Gardner’s real life wife) to stay during the holidays.

It starts as a simple act of kindness and nothing can go wrong, right? But throw in a game of never have I ever, then have a good man - in his head if perhaps not as much in his heart - get tempted and things are ready to go off the rails.

Director and writer Eric Pennycoff also made Sadistic Intentions, which starred Gardner and Zaudtke, and he puts together a movie with a small cast, a smart script and a mix of madness and black humor as the priest finds himself in a place - and perhaps a position - that he had never prepared for.

I also loved Rigo Garay, who plays Rigo the organ player, perhaps the only character brave enough to tell Father David that he hasn’t had a parishioner attend Mass in weeks and that he’s just been giving sermons to an empty church.

But if that’s true, who are the prophetic - and perhaps Satanic - voices who come to confession? And what’s with the young padre’s frequent confessions of his own to that horrifying painting?!

There’s an incredible moment near the end where an off-the-deep-end Father David throws on his vestment and rants on the altar while arguing with a red lit Terry - or a vision of him - before learning that (and this is the biggest SPOILER WARNING I can give) that the real Terry has beaten his wife and snorted David’s mother’s ashes! I mean, this is a movie that has a priest with his head wrapped up straight out of threads losing his mind and a last shot that will make you think long after the Christmas carol scored credits run out! [B.A.M.]

Special Features:
High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation
Lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and 2.0 stereo soundtracks
Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
Audio commentary with writer/producer/director Eric Pennycoff and producer Scott Smith
Live Chattanooga Film Festival audio commentary Preaching to the Void – a brand new visual essay exploring The Leech and Pennycoff’s earlier films by critic Anton Bitel
The Voice of Reason – a brand new video interview with Pennycoff and actor Graham Skipper
Introduction and Q&A from the film’s international premiere at FrightFest 2022
Exclusive introductions to the film by Pennycoff and Skipper
The Making of The Leech – behind-the-scenes footage from the film set Rigo’s music video
Unfortunate, The Pod and Phase II – three early short films by Pennycoff
Trailer
Reversible sleeve featuring newly commissioned artwork by Haunt Love
+ FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Julieann Stipidis

The Leech - Official Teaser Movie Trailer