ScreamWire Daily

Universal is abandoning its 17-day pandemic-era minimum and instituting a 31-day theatrical minimum for its 2026 slate (expanding to 45 days in 2027), a move studios say supports theatrical-first distribution and that will affect horror tentpoles including Mike Flanagan’s The Exorcist adaptation on the upcoming slate.

A24 acquired Undertone, Ian Tuason's low-budget Canadian horror debut; the contained, audio-driven film (starring Nina Kiri) draws comparisons to Paranormal Activity and Blair Witch and fits A24's art-house horror slate.

Thomas Ancora is shooting L’Ordre Pourpre, an atypical Walloon slasher about a hazing cover-up that turns vengeful; principal photography runs in Brussels/Wallonia (2–27 March) with production support from Les Gens Studio, Atypik Studio and regional funds including Wallimage and RTBF involvement.

After seven seasons The Last Drive‑In with Joe Bob Briggs concluded its regular run on Shudder; the show will return as four live specials airing quarterly through the end of 2026, starting with a live event on April 24 during Shudder’s Halfway to Halloween programming.

Overlook Film Festival announced its first-wave lineup for the 10th edition (April 9–12, New Orleans), revealing 47 films including Opening Night Obsession (Focus Features), Centerpiece NEON’s Leviticus, Closing Night Hokum, world premieres like Larry Fessenden’s Trauma, or Monsters All, and Shudder presenting a Second Line Parade.

AMC announced Interview With the Vampire Season 3 (Anne Rice’s The Vampire Lestat) will premiere June 7, 2026, with Sam Reid returning as Lestat and new cast additions (Sheila Atim as Akasha); Rolin Jones remains showrunner and producers include Mark Johnson and Christopher Rice.

Telluride Horror Show set for Oct 16–18, 2026 in Telluride, Colorado; festival is open for mailing list signups as it prepares programming and announcements for its 17th edition.

Andrea Riseborough and Guy Pearce have joined Antonia Campbell‑Hughes’ thriller High End (formerly Diamond Shitter), which began production March 8 in Geneva and continues in Ireland; Beta Cinema handles international sales and UTA Independent represents North America.

Konami reports Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 remake has sold over 5 million units worldwide as of Jan. 31, 2026 across digital, physical, store downloads and subscription services—a major commercial milestone for a modern horror remake.

Amy Madigan won Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role at the 32nd Actor Awards for her turn in Zach Cregger’s horror film Weapons, adding to the film’s awards momentum after Critics' Choice, Golden Globe and Academy Award recognition.

Pew/Nash/Comscore data show U.S. theatrical attendance at 53% of adults in 2025 (769.2M tickets sold) with stark demographic splits — Gen Z and higher-income adults drive attendance while 7% of Americans have never seen a film in a theater — signaling studios must prioritize eventization and demo-targeted greenlights to rebuild theatrical demand.

Final Girls Berlin returns for its 11th edition March 4–8, 2026 with screenings at City Kino Wedding and select online programming, maintaining its role as a key European genre showcase.

Focus Entertainment and Saber Interactive’s John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando launched to generally positive early reviews (OpenCritic mid‑70s), noted for huge zombie hordes, vehicle mechanics and a synth-heavy tone that channels Left 4 Dead vibes.

Dark Star Pictures released a red-band trailer for Alice Maio Mackay’s The Serpent’s Skin, a neon-soaked queer supernatural romance-horror opening in NYC March 27 and LA April 3 with director Q&As and Alamo Drafthouse playdates.

Peter Warren’s debut feature Kill Me, premiering in SXSW’s Narrative Spotlight, is a darkly comic psychological-mystery centered on Charlie Day’s character who alternately suspects he’s been murdered or has attempted suicide; the film co-stars Allison Williams and Giancarlo Esposito and blends black humor with serious mental-health themes.

M: Beyond the Wasteland — a Macedonian post‑apocalyptic zombie fable from Vardan Tozija — arrives 10 Nov 2025 and mixes zombie tropes with A Quiet Place–style survivalism, following a boy (Matej Sivakov) who becomes a surrogate parent to a child with Down’s Syndrome as they traverse a virus‑ridden world; UK streaming listed on Prime Video.

Kane Hodder and J. LaRose have joined the coming-of-age slasher Julie, which is the co-directing feature debut of producer/editor Quinton Macari III and writer/historian Nathaniel Brehmer, with DMG Studios and 913 Productions attached and Haley Gosserand and Chloë Marie Rhoades set as leads.

IndieWire interviews filmmaker Russell Goldman ahead of Sender’s world premiere at SXSW, highlighting the film’s unnerving tone and the director’s path from intern to SXSW first feature — positioning Sender as a festival horror/thriller discovery.

Scream creator Kevin Williamson says he will likely step back after directing Scream 7 and will return to a more peripheral 'part of the family' role if an eighth film happens, signaling a creative handoff for the franchise and the possibility that Scream 7 may be the last Sidney-centered sequel.

Nova Scotia–based production designer Tamara Deverell is nominated for Best Production Design at the Oscars for her work on Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, adding to prior recognition including a BAFTA and a previous Oscar nomination for Nightmare Alley.

Grimmvision (Grimmfest’s label) announced its first batch of UK releases for 2026 with four previously festival-screened titles — CONTENT, SELF DRIVER, TRIBE and SHADOWS OF WILLOW CABIN — scheduled across April and May.

Wishful Thinking, Graham Parkes’ SXSW rom‑com debut starring Lewis Pullman and Maya Hawke, blends relationship comedy with a supernatural conceit (a couple whose intimate harmony alters the world); UTA is handling sales.

Cillian Murphy discusses preparing to reprise Tommy Shelby in the upcoming Peaky Blinders film The Immortal Man, describing the story as a standalone film set six years after the series finale and emphasizing differences between film and long-form storytelling.

Two long-lost 1960s Doctor Who episodes from The Daleks’ Master Plan were found by Film is Fabulous!, restored by the BBC from 16mm telerecordings, and will be added to BBC iPlayer at Easter.

Ryan Coogler’s Sinners leans into supernatural genre beats with Michael B. Jordan starring as twins; Coogler emphasises an immersive theatrical/IMAX experience and the film opens in UK cinemas 18 April, with a high-profile ensemble including Hailee Steinfeld, Wunmi Mosaku, Jack O’Connell and Delroy Lindo.

Emilie Blichfeldt’s The Ugly Stepsister reframes Cinderella as a body‑horror fairytale that dissects beauty culture; the film is now available on Limited Edition Dual 4K UHD/Blu‑ray and standard editions from Second Sight Films.

SXSW review: Capturing Bigfoot — a festival cryptid/Bigfoot-focused film playing at SXSW (reviewed by Austin Chronicle), presenting the genre-adjacent fascination with the American monster phenomenon.

Fangoria and other outlets highlight a new trailer for Spielberg's Disclosure Day that teases an alien arrival and the film's core premise — global 'Disclosure Day' — ahead of its June 2026 release.

Emmy-winning voice actor Charlie Adler will make his on-screen debut in The Cryptid, a sci‑fi horror comedy that also features Kym Jackson, Kevin Sizemore and Andrew Steel, per Bloody Disgusting exclusive casting news.

Evil Dead II is celebrated as a cult classic nearly 40 years after release — the piece notes production context (original short’s $1,600 seed, feature $90k then $3.5M for the sequel) and box office comparisons, and flags the franchise’s ongoing expansion including Evil Dead Burn arriving in July.

Huluween on Disney+ curates a large horror slate for the season — streaming Saw and Blade collections, returning hits Longlegs, The Monkey and Hell of a Summer, plus new exclusives including 20th Century’s Hand That Rocks the Cradle (dir. Michelle Garza Cervera, starring Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and other Halloween premieres and streams across Disney+ and Hulu.

Lee Cronin was honored at the Oscar Wilde Awards (presented by US–Ireland Alliance); Jason Blum introduced Cronin and the evening included an anonymous $2M matching gift to the Alliance’s scholarship program.

Dead Eyes, Richard E. Williams' SXSW 2026 feature debut, experiments with first-person POV and psychedelic woodland horror but reviewers found its polished visuals, uneven creature design and scattered script undermined cohesion despite notable ambitions.

Imprint’s 4K release of John Carpenter’s Vampires is praised for a strong soundtrack and a solid new print but judged uneven in direction and tone—recommended for fans as a high‑value home release with worthwhile extras.

UK release set for 26 Jan 2026; Tim Travers is a pitch-black, high-concept time-bending sci‑fi comedy available on Plex, Prime Video and Rakuten TV in the UK.

Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre Group will stage ZJU The Boardgame, an immersive horror attraction in North Hollywood from March 20–April 11, 2026, placing audiences inside a life‑sized, playable board game for a theatrical participatory horror experience.

Simon Manley launched a crowdfunding campaign on Greenlit for The Nachzehrer, a UK folk‑horror feature set in Newcastle/Northumberland that adapts the Germanic Nachzehrer myth and emphasizes practical gore and regional location shooting.

Thirteenth Floor Entertainment Group is bringing its sell-out Dark Masquerade immersive experience back to the Queen Mary for a special Friday the 13th weekend, expanding the Dark Harbor universe with after-hours live attractions and likely limited-ticket engagements.

Propstore’s latest memorabilia auction offers iconic horror and sci‑fi items — including Ghostface’s mask and props from ALIENS — giving collectors a chance to own high-profile genre artifacts.

Next Narrative Africa Fund launched a $50M content initiative ( $10M in grants; $40M commercial fund) to support African and diaspora film/TV over five years, financing up to 20% of production budgets; inaugural slate includes Trevor Noah, Rapman, the Esiri Brothers and a Ghanaian comedy‑horror The Return.

Horror veteran Charles Band and U.S. microdrama stars have launched Full Moon Artists (FMA) Productions to produce a 12-title slate of vertical microdramas (first goes into production this spring) with alternate horizontal feature versions planned for platforms like Prime Video, Tubi and Full Moon’s channel.

Grimmvision premiered an 8-episode horror series South of Hell (first episode dropped Feb 26, with weekly episodes through April 16), starring Mena Suvari, with directors including Ti West, Eli Roth and Jennifer Lynch and Jason Blum producing — free to watch in the UK on Grimmvision.

Brea Grant’s anthology horror Grind received its world premiere at SXSW — Grant and co-creator Ed Dougherty wrote the interlocking four stories (directed by Grant, Dougherty and Chelsea Stardust) centering on workplace horror and a demonic corporation called DRGN, with shared cast/visual language designed as a coherent universe.

Coverage reiterates that Sarah DeLappe is writing Single Female for Sony’s 3000 Pictures, with Jenna Ortega and Taylor Russell attached to star and produce and veteran producer Stacey Sher joining — the remake is being prioritized by the studio.

Netflix confirmed a sequel to its record-breaking animated film KPop Demon Hunters with directors Maggie Kang and Chris Appelhans returning and Sony Pictures Animation producing; the sequel expands a globally successful IP that was Netflix's most-watched movie and earned major awards attention.

Bryan Fuller revealed he's collaborating with horror legend Clive Barker on a new small‑screen project following his recent reunion with Mads Mikkelsen on Dust Bunny, though specific details and timeline remain undisclosed.

Lionsgate set Do Not Enter—a supernatural thriller adaptation of David Morrell’s Creepers—for theatrical and digital/VOD release on March 20, starring Jake Manley, Adeline Rudolph and Francesca Reale.

Rosy McEwen plays a young Kay Scarpetta in Amazon Prime Video’s Scarpetta, which drops its full season and adapts Patricia Cornwell’s forensic-crime novels opposite Nicole Kidman and Jamie Lee Curtis.

That Night (Esa noche), a six‑episode Netflix thriller based on Gillian McAllister’s novel, is a binge‑friendly murder mystery told from shifting perspectives with a strong, tough ending and notable Spanish cast including Clara Galle, Claudia Salas and Paula Usero; it premiered 13 March 2026.

Bloody Disgusting revealed exclusive posters for Over Your Dead Body ahead of its SXSW world premiere; the violent action-comedy stars Jason Segel and Samara Weaving and is slated for theatrical release April 24 via Independent Film Company as a remake of Tommy.

Cineverse will release DRAGN, a thriller about AI and autonomous warfare directed by Peter Webber, to Digital and VOD on March 17, 2026, positioning the title for home‑platform discovery rather than a wide theatrical push.

Catacomb of Torment #11 by Dustin Weaver spotlights the EC Comics horror host The Tormentor with an origin story titled “Torment of Hester Godwin,” offering a grisly, character-focused expansion of the EC horror universe.

Charlotte Cross’s debut gothic horror novel The Brides functions as both a prequel and sequel to Bram Stoker’s Dracula, exploring the origins of Dracula’s brides and set for publication via Hanover Square Press.

Zero Zero Enterprises launched a Kickstarter for an immersive vinyl audio production of Junji Ito's 'In Old Records' starring Grammy‑nominated artist Poppy, delivering a physical, English‑language auditory adaptation of the 1997 story.

Estonia raised its Film Estonia cash‑rebate from 30% to 40% to better compete for international shoots; the programme’s base budget will be adjusted to €5.2M and new studio pavilions are being built in Jõhvi and Tallinn.

Norway published national guidelines for filming intimate scenes—developed with certified intimacy coordinators—to standardize safety, consent and working practices on productions, aligning the country with Finland and Sweden and boosting competence for emotionally or physically sensitive sequences.

CBC/Radio-Canada issued a response to backlash over a Prime Video deal, according to Playback Magazine, signaling continued scrutiny of public broadcaster partnerships with global streamers in Canada.

Rio de Janeiro logged a record 10,930 shooting days in 2025 (up 24.6% year-over-year), with Brazilian productions making up 95.5% of days and local officials aiming to attract more foreign shoots as the city competes with other European production hubs.

Netflix will stream the eight‑episode atmospheric horror limited series Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen — described by showrunner Haley Z. Boston as sitting between Carrie and Rosemary’s Baby — starring Camila Morrone and Adam DiMarco and executive produced by the Duffer Brothers; all episodes arrive March 26.

Universal Pictures will release Obsession, a supernatural horror written and directed by Curry Barker, theatrically on May 15, 2026; the trailer positions the film as a wish‑driven supernatural romance with festival/genre appeal ahead of its wide release.

Dead by Dawn, billed as Poland’s first giallo, drops digitally March 13 via distributor Chroma; the film is a theater-set occult stalker piece and Bloody Disgusting debuts an exclusive trailer.

Stormind Games announced Remothered: Red Nun’s Legacy, the third entry that will complete the trilogy and arrives later in 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC (Steam, Epic, GOG).

Team17 and developer Wych Elm released a new gameplay trailer for Lynchian survival-horror Silver Pines, showcasing Twin Peaks–inspired mystery, action, and survival mechanics ahead of the game's later-2026 launch.

Supermassive previewed Directive 8020’s Movie Night Mode with a live-action trailer at the Future Games Show, highlighting couch co-op play that intercuts friends’ reactions with in-game quick-time decisions and alien mimic encounters.