The Stutterer Queer Horror Short enters pre production!!

Once completed the film will be submitted to a range of queer and horror film festivals before releasing it on streaming platforms. The team are having conversations with Here TV, OUTtv, and Breaking Glass Pictures regarding potential production and distribution partnerships.

The character of The Stutterer is meant to bring visibility to individuals who are queer and who struggle with stuttering and speech impediments—highlighting the emotional vulnerability, social challenges, and internal battles many face daily.

The trilogy is designed to expand queer representation within the horror genre while spotlighting themes of identity, trauma, and resilience.

Director/Co Writer/ Creator Rocky Ciarrocchi says this about The Stutterer:

“—The Stutterer—is deeply personal to me, both as a queer filmmaker and as someone who grew up with a speech impediment. This short film is the first installment of a planned trilogy. While the first story leans into the horror genre, the second short will explore the emotional history that shaped this character—his vulnerabilities, the pain he endured, and the experiences that defined him long before the events of the film.

Although this project exists within the slasher genre, I want to be clear: I am not promoting violence, nor am I encouraging harm in any form. The core message behind this trilogy is simple but essential—be kind. Treat people with dignity and humanity, especially when they are different from you. People who stutter, people with speech impediments, queer people—we all deserve compassion, not ridicule.

Cruel words, teasing, belittling, and bullying can leave wounds far deeper than physical harm. For those already struggling with self-worth, depression, or identity, one moment of cruelty can have life-altering consequences. As someone who has witnessed the effects of bullying in my community—rising suicide rates, emotional trauma, and violence born from pain—I feel a responsibility to tell a story that urges understanding over judgment, empathy over mockery.

This trilogy exists to shine a light on the harm bullying can inflict, while encouraging audiences to treat others the way they themselves want to be treated. It is a message I hold very close to my heart. I was bullied both for my stutter and for being a queer male, experiences that shaped me deeply and continue to motivate my work.

In my adult life, I now donate to LGBTQ+ organizations and to foundations supporting people who stutter. And if this short—or the trilogy as a whole—earns any profit, I will be giving those funds back to these organizations. This project is not just storytelling for me; it is a way to give voice, support, and visibility to communities that deserve far more understanding than they often receive.”

THE STUTTERER is a blood-soaked queer slasher that twists love, longing, and identity into a brutal nightmare in the woods. The story follows a series of couples—gay, lesbian, and straight—whose romantic escapes are shattered when an unseen predator stalks, stabs, and slaughters them with merciless precision. As bodies pile up and paranoia spreads, the horror takes a shocking turn: the killer is a police officer hiding behind a badge, a smile, and a tragic past that warped him into a monster.

In this retro-grindhouse-inspired tale, trust becomes a weapon, intimacy becomes a trap, and every heartbeat echoes with dread. The killer’s stutter—once a source of shame—becomes the chilling rhythm of death as he hunts those he believes society treasures more than him.

Stylish, queer-centered, and viciously relentless, THE STUTTERER explores the terror of being different in a world that punishes difference—until the punished becomes the predator.