Backlash.

Australian filmmaker JD Cohen is back with a chilling new horror-thriller, Backlash, now available to stream via AppleTV and Amazon Prime.

Cohen, whose previous credits include feature films Ravenswood and The Haunting at St Joseph’s, and short films Paradox and Ghost Stories, blends the world of online gaming with real-world consequences in his Backlash. 

The film follows Marnie (Elke Hinrichsen) and her friends, a group of teens obsessed with a violent video game called Backlash. After humiliating a loner from their school during gameplay and sharing the footage online, the group is kidnapped and forced to play a deadly real-life version of the game — with brutal consequences.

The game becomes horrifyingly real when Marnie, her blind sister JJ (Alyson Rudlin), and their friends are forced into roles as Protectors and Attackers. With shock collars around their necks and the game boundaries shrinking, survival means following the rules — or dying trying. But as tensions rise, the group discovers the truth behind the game and the devastating impact of their online actions.

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Cohen, who was once bullied himself, says the idea came from real stories of cyberbullying leading to tragedy. “Social media didn’t exist when I was a kid,” he says. “Now, it’s inescapable. This film explores what happens when online cruelty spills into real life.”

Choosing horror to deliver the message was no accident. “Horror lets us explore social issues in a way that doesn’t feel like a lecture,” says Cohen. “It’s physical, it’s visceral. You can’t look away.”

Shot in just 13 days, Backlash is a fast-paced, gritty indie film filled with intense stunts, a talented cast, and a strong visual style thanks to DP Steph Furdek.

Backlash is out now via AppleTV and Amazon Prime. 

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