The Wire
13FilmIPScreamboxApr 1
Cineverse’s ScreamBox will exclusively stream the 2025 Silent Night, Deadly Night remake starting April 28; the Mike P. Nelson–written/directed holiday horror earned $5.6M global ($1.5M NA) in its 2025 theatrical run and stars Rohan Campbell and Ruby Modine.
IndustryEli RothApr 1
Press around Roth’s new media venture highlights The Horror Section’s strategy to build and control horror IP — Ice Cream Man is the launch release and the label plans further projects and partnerships with Mass Appeal and industry talent.
A24 has hired Arkasha Stevenson and Tim Smith (directors of The First Omen) for a new untitled bachelor‑party‑gone‑wrong horror feature now casting, with Ari Aster producing via Square Peg alongside producers Lars Knudsen and Emily Hildner and a cast that includes Josh Hutcherson, Caleb Landry Jones, Emma Corrin and Sophie Wilde.
IndustryDeadlineApr 1
Armando Bó, Ariel Arrieta and Tomás Escobar launched Shorta, a Latin-American vertical-video streaming app debuting with 40+ short series across genres (including horror and sci‑fi) and a plan to produce 500 originals by Dec 2027 under a creator-friendly profit‑share model.
IndustryFangoriaApr 1
FANGORIA has partnered with Regal to program ‘FANGORIA Staff Picks’ — a monthly curated horror repertory screening series at Regal locations nationwide on the 13th of each month, boosting theatrical exhibition for curated genre titles.
Netflix’s eight-episode horror-thriller Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen (premiered Mar 26) — created by Haley Z. Boston and executive produced by the Duffer Brothers — climbed to No. 2 on Netflix’s chart with strong early viewership but shows a clear critics/audience split (86% critics vs 65% audience on Rotten Tomatoes).
FilmSXSWApr 1
SXSW London 2026 revealed a six-day slate (June 1–6) with three world premieres including the supernatural horror The Remedy from Alex Kahuam — a film about a man who unleashes a flesh-eating entity trying to save his terminally ill mother — and keynote speakers including NEON founder Tom Quinn, Russell T Davies and Sharon Horgan.
Lionsgate has scheduled Fall 2 for an August 7 theatrical release with Michael Peter Spierig directing the survival-thriller sequel; it opens against Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man and several wide releases.
IndustryMichael PhilippouApr 1
At the GQ Men of the Year Awards, Adelaide filmmakers Danny and Michael Philippou accepted GQ’s Creative Force of 2025 honor — underscoring their fast-rise from RackaRacka YouTube shorts to horror auteurs following Talk To Me (2022) and Bring Her Back (2025).
FilmIPNeonApr 1
Lightbulb Film Distribution is releasing a newly restored 4K UHD Collector’s Edition (limited run of 2,000 copies, retro VHS box) of 1987 cult horror Street Trash, with over five hours of new extras and a UK/Ireland theatrical special screenings run in May.
Tubi’s April additions again highlight platform originals (Hive, The Caretaker, Hijacked) and a large licensed slate; Hive is the headline original horror title with a babysitting/children-centric supernatural premise.
FilmIndieWireApr 1
Adult Swim’s April Fools stunt expanded a gag from Smiling Friends into a standalone claymation horror short created by animator Lee Hardcastle, who spoke to IndieWire about developing the one-off into a full horror piece.
IndustryIndieWireMar 31
An IndieWire opinion argues that marketing hype can’t manufacture a true ‘cult classic,’ using the indie horror Forbidden Fruits as a case study of fleeting ad-driven visibility versus lasting cultural traction.
Deals & Development
5FilmIPSciFiNowApr 1
Scream 8 has begun pre-production with screenwriters Lilla and Nora Zuckerman attached; the franchise comes off Scream 7’s franchise-record haul (over $200M global, $118M domestic) though franchise creator Kevin Williamson is not returning.
Screen Australia announced a A$20.4M ($14.2M) funding round across 91 projects including horror feature Asian Girls (Korean‑Australian woman plagued by ghost visions) and other films in development/production such as Cody Fern’s debut starring Naomi Watts (shooting in Montreal) and Kuba Dorabialski’s Agata The Writer; individual title awards will be disclosed at year end and Telefilm Canada/mk2 are attached on some titles.
Justine Triet’s English‑language psychological thriller Fonda has begun principal photography (Apr–Jun 2026) and added Odessa A’zion, Ewan Mitchell, Cherry Jones and Benedict Wong to a cast led by Mia Goth; Mk2 Films is handling international sales with Studiocanal co‑producing and financing.
Genki Kawamura confirms conversations with studios across Asia, Europe and North America about English-language remakes (and other country-specific versions) of Exit 8 after the Neon-released original became a massive hit in Japan (¥5.08 billion box office).
Lionsgate and Blumhouse’s long-teased Blair Witch remake appears to have a director attached: Dylan Clark — marking a genre-focused feature debut for Clark, with the project seemingly moving forward after a two-year development period.
A24’s Backrooms trailer rollout comes with production detail: Kane Parsons directs his feature debut (shot in Vancouver July–Aug 2025), stars Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, and lists producers James Wan (Atomic Monster), Shawn Levy (21 Laps) and co-financier Chernin Entertainment — positioning this creepypasta adaptation as a notable studio-backed horror release on May 29.
New Zealand gothic horror Mārama — a bilingual English/Māori feature from first‑time director Taratoa Stappard that premiered at TIFF — is set for U.S. theatrical release April 17 via The Sweetshop/Vendetta Films, marking a notable festival-to-theater trajectory for indigenous gothic horror.
Irish actor Daryl McCormack has been confirmed to join an Apple TV+ thriller from writer Alex Cary, playing Kar — the reluctant heir to a powerful conglomerate — opposite Dakota Fanning and Stellan Skarsgård.