The Cycle (Jordan Downey, 2026)

Deborah Ann Woll came to the attention of the horror community/crowd in True Blood as Jessica Hamby, a fledgling vampire trying to navigate the various dramas of it's multi-season run. The large ensemble cast introduced a number of new faces the mass audience of a prestige show on HBO. Woll's Hamby was, and remains, a fan favorite.

Since then, she's had a string of supporting roles, most notably as Karen Paige, the love interest and accomplice to Matt Murdok's vigilante activities in the various incarnations of Marvel's Daredevil. Like so many other actors, Deborah Ann Woll is quite good, and has yet to get a role that would get her over the hump to more lead roles.

Writer/director Jordan Downey has been building a name for himself since 2007s ThanksKilling, a movie about a killer Thanksgiving turkey, which as campy and gore soaked as that premise might suggest. In 2018, The Head Hunter was released and received warmly by horror lovers, about a medieval warrior whose collection of heads is missing the one that matters most, the monster that killed his daughter.

Now, Shudder has debuted The Cycle, starring Woll, directed and written by Downey, co-written by Kevin Stewart. They put together a strong entry in a sub genre that doesn't have many to fit that description. What that sub genre is, I can't say without ruining one of the more important aspects of the experience of seeing it.

What I can say, is that it the procedural aspect and the writing in the rest of the script work well. This is also one of Deborah Ann Woll's best performances. She has always been an actor with a superior ability to invoke a sympathetic response, and this character gives her the chance to use that skill, as well as building an intelligent, motivated, interesting character that anchors the story. Her character Meg Garland is a forensic anthropologist, who runs a body farm meant for educating lawn enforcement about the details of decomposition. She is pulled into an investigation because a body found near a murder scene, that doesn't fit the scientific norms and understanding of decomposition. As is true of most procedurals, the story of the movie unfolds as the investigation progresses.

This is an interesting way to use a procedural as a way to access a full throated genre film, and the writing is intelligent, well thought through and surprising. Add to this that it's also well shot. The lighting and framing throughout are full of texture and depth, and the set decoration and design are as well thought through as the writing. Jordan Downey gives everything on screen grounding for the more fantastical elements of the story. That the physical world and the relationships feel real helps to anchor the whole movie.

Shudder has a spotty record in their exclusives and premieres, but if they can include more of this level of quality in the future, it'll be excellent for horror fans. The Cycle is worth the watch, and can be found exclusively streaming on Shudder.