The Withering

Press & Reviews

• Everything You Need to Know Before Watching Cleopatra Venom’s 2026 Horror Film ‘The Withering’

• Delight In Fright Interview with The Withering's Director, Daniel J. Pico

• The Horror Lens Podcast

• The Withering Review by Sarah G. Vincent.

  • "The mythology comes in the form of a traditional prose dump right before the denouement complete with an old photo album and newspaper clippings, so whoever worked on those objects behind the scenes deserves praise. " -- Sarah G. Vincent

Logline

After an elderly woman discovers a mysterious amulet that restores her youth by draining the life from those around her, her caregiver must stop her as an entire town withers in a grotesque battle over renewal and the terror of aging.

Synopsis

Judith, an embittered woman in her seventies facing a terminal cancer diagnosis, becomes obsessed with a strange amulet she acquires at an estate sale-an ancient artifact that rejuvenates her body by siphoning vitality from the surrounding town. As Judith grows younger, stronger, and more violent, the community around her rapidly deteriorates, with illness, decay, and death spreading among its youngest residents. Haley, Judith's compassionate caregiver, begins to suspect the truth just as she is cast aside and left alone in a dying town, her only ally her troubled sister who senses the amulet's dark pull. When Judith's hunger escalates from passive draining to brutal murder, Haley races to destroy the artifact before it consumes everyone.

Production Credits

• Director:  Daniel J. Pico

• Writers: Daniel J. Pico & Will Loper 

• Producers: Sydney Possinger, Matthew M. Jones, Daniel J. Pico

• Cast: Amelia Mahrie  Gareth Tidball  Debra J. Onsager  Zoe Fassler  Jarrod Langwinski  Max Williamson  Leslie Connelly  Julia Deane   Maggie Speer  Jordan Jael Thompson and David Bianchi

• Director of Photography: Jeff Siljenberg

• Editors: Daniel J. Pico, Matthew M. Jones

• Original Music: Kanoa Wolfe-Doblin and  Derek Schyvinck

• Production Designer: Kim Reese

• Art Director: Jen Smith

• Costumes: Nicole Pico

• Special Effects Make-Up: Dawn Emanuele