Horror Industry News — Saturday, March 28, 2026

Dylan O’Brien and Hudson Williams have signed to star in Apparatus, a darkly comic thriller written and directed by Sofia Banzhaf; producers include Julie Baldassi and Daniel Bekerman with financing/co-financing from Telefilm Canada and sales repped by WME Independent and CAA Media Finance, production dates TBA.

Sony’s Anaconda (2025) — a meta creature-feature starring Paul Rudd and Jack Black — has grossed ~$134.3M worldwide on a reported $45M budget and hit Netflix #1 two days after debuting there under an 18‑month U.S. window deal, prompting questions about faster theatrical→stream windows.

Microdrama startup MicroCo, led creatively by former NBCU exec Susan Rovner, is expanding the short-form vertical drama format beyond romance into horror, anime and unscripted content while balancing rapid production cycles, new audience targeting and cautious AI adoption.

Tubi has tapped Blue Ice Pictures to produce a paranormal YA thriller for the streamer, with the brief also noting Canadian features set world premieres at Visions du Réel and Calgary Underground Film Festival and a Gracie Award mention for My Nightmare Stalker.

Set photos from Mike Flanagan’s reboot of The Exorcist show Scarlett Johansson in a gun-toting night sequence alongside child actor Jacobi Jupe; Flanagan wrote, will edit and produce the Blumhouse/Atomic Monster/Morgan Creek/Red Room production due March 12, 2027.

After earlier talks collapsed over Netflix’s reluctance to guarantee theatrical play, Zach Cregger is reportedly back in discussions to direct sci‑fi horror The Flood for Netflix — talks include the possibility of a theatrical rollout similar to the streamer’s big‑event releases; decision and schedule (aiming for fall shoot) remain pending.

A Belgian court upheld Wallonia-Brussels’ streamer-investment scheme (up to 9.5% of revenues) as proportionate while referring key legal questions to the EU Court of Justice—a ruling that preserves regional obligations for streamers and could trigger an ECJ test of the AVMSD; Disney joined Netflix as an interested party in the litigation.

Raquelle David launched New Story, a Los Angeles-based management and production company focused on filmmaker-driven film and TV; her roster includes creators linked to genre titles such as Jakob’s Wife, Midnight Mass, XX and The Devil’s Diner, and she’ll expand producing and active packaging.

Julia Ducournau’s Alpha (NEON) — a generationally framed body‑horror about a 14‑year‑old amid a marble‑turning bloodborne virus — is being positioned as a Gen‑Alpha‑informed follow‑up to Raw/Titane, exploring pandemic and AIDS‑era echoes with striking body imagery and a contemporary teen focus.

Andy Muschietti confirms the two-film It supercut remains planned but deprioritized while the HBO Max series It: Welcome to Derry and its season 2 development take precedence; studio support is needed and timing is TBD.

Creators Zach and Seth Belanger confirm a Poppy Playtime feature film is in development while also teasing that future game entries (including Chapter 6) will get darker, signaling an expanded multimedia strategy for the IP.

Falcon Scout Media acquired North American rights to Sleeping Dog, a decades-in-the-making documentary about ufologist Jeremy Corbell, planning a mid‑May theatrical and digital release; the film includes previously unseen footage and interviews with several UAP insiders.

SXSW programming trend piece identifies a strand of low-budget, intimate sci-fi at the festival — titles like Anima, The Saviors and Sparks use speculative tech/time elements as vehicles for character drama; several lack distribution so this signals potential acquisition opportunities for platforms seeking indie sci-fi.

Lola Tung describes her experience on Osgood Perkins' horror film The Young People (starring Nicole Kidman) as 'crazy, weird, awesome,' confirming cast dynamics and that the film's production left a strong creative impression — useful signal for festival/awards buzz.

Arrow Video announced its June catalogue releases — notable horror-related entries include a 4K restoration of Wake in Fright and the inclusion of Audition (1999) in the slate, signalling continued investment in archival restorations and specialty physical releases.

A Netflix-hosted thinkpiece argues horror TV is growing increasingly plot-heavy and opaque — citing titles like Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen (Duffer Brothers), IT: Welcome to Derry, and From — and contrasts this trend with the leaner, more effective storytelling of recent indie horror films.

Watermelon Pictures acquired the time-travel short Mobius Loop for its new streaming service Watermelon+ (available now); filmmaker Lee Mosa-Peterkin shot the three-period short in three days and is developing a feature, while Watermelon — run by Badie and Hamza Ali — is also backing Palestinian genre projects including the horror feature The Visitor.

Tim Miller’s Keanu Reeves time-loop sci‑fi thriller (formerly Shiver) continues casting additions — Stefan Kapičić, Callie Cooke and Steven Waddington have joined the ensemble as the film fills out its roster.

Fantasia programmed two fundraising screenings of Erik Matti’s Filipino crime thriller On the Job with proceeds to Typhoon Haiyan victims; events include a Filipino Zappin’ Party tribute and donate‑or‑pay admission model.

Crave’s April lineup highlights include the streaming premieres of Paul Feig’s psychological thriller The Housemaid (starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried), HBO’s Euphoria S3, and returning Crave originals like Cash Cab and Late Bloomer — a programming mix that bolsters Crave’s premium/Starz catalog for April.

A wide-ranging iHorror essay reframes the 'torture porn' label (coined by David Edelstein) as a critical shortcut that obscured political context—linking Saw/Hostel-era shock cinema to contemporaneous public debates about Abu Ghraib and enhanced interrogation.

IndieWire’s After Dark column revisits Michael Fischa’s 1988 cult slasher Death Spa (aka Witch Bitch), highlighting its sweat-soaked ’80s gym-gore appeal, inventive kills, and status as a blissfully disposable midnight-movie favorite rather than a historically important film.

Bloody Disgusting and Street Food Cinema are staging two immersive Half-O-Ween outdoor screenings in Los Angeles at Heritage Square Museum featuring Sinners and the 1976 Carrie, including themed activations and photo ops.

New Line greenlit development on Lights Out 2, hiring screenwriter Connor Osborn McIntyre with original producers Lawrence Grey, Eric Heisserer and David F. Sandberg returning and Atomic Monster also producing; the original earned $149M worldwide on a sub-$5M budget.

Universal’s new The Mummy is moving forward with Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz reprising roles and John Hannah rejoining as Weisz’s brother; Radio Silence (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett) are directing from a David Coggeshall script, with production slated to shoot in London and Morocco and a May 19, 2028 release date.

Ryan Coogler is developing an X‑Files reboot at Hulu, casting Danielle Deadwyler and Himesh Patel as new FBI leads (not replacing Mulder/Scully); Chris Carter is attached as a producer, Jennifer Yale is showrunner, and Gillian Anderson has indicated she may return in some capacity.

A vertical-format series adaptation of Megan Is Missing directed by Michael Goi has finished filming in Los Angeles under an IATSE contract, built for mobile-first viewing to capitalize on the film's TikTok-driven resurgence.

Netflix has officially announced a sequel to its divisive 2024 action thriller (title not specified in excerpt); announcement confirms franchise continuation but includes no financial details in the excerpt.

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order pausing Nexstar’s $6.2 billion acquisition of Tegna, blocking integration for at least 14 days while a hearing is set for April 7 following DirecTV and state challenges over retransmission fees and antitrust concerns.

A heated standoff has erupted between Writers Guild of America West management and striking WGA staffers — pickets blocked bargaining entries, staff delivered a 49-page contract proposal, and the dispute complicates ongoing WGA negotiations with the AMPTP amid threats and escalating confrontations.

CBC has promoted Samantha Morris Mastai to a development director role, shifting internal development leadership (the brief did not disclose specific genre slate changes tied to the hire).

Tubi will stream Hive — a feature expansion of Felipe Vargas' 2024 short — in April, starring Xochitl Gomez as a babysitter who faces a sinister presence among playground children; indie low-budget horror arriving on AVOD.

GSC Game World announced Cost of Hope, the first expansion for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, set to launch this summer across PC (Steam, Epic, GOG) and consoles (Xbox Series, PS5).