A24, Backrooms & Midsummer Scream

Last year, it was revealed that Legendary Pictures, the company behind the 2022 Texas Chainsaw Massacre film that was released through the Netflix streaming service, had let their rights to make new films in the franchise lapse, so Verve, which currently represents the rights, are looking to “build out a multimedia strategy” for the franchise, with filmmakers, producers, and buyers looking to get involved.

The Samurai and the Prisoner opens in New York and Los Angeles on July 31 before a wider August rollout. Kiyoshi Kurosawa is using the Cannes-buzzed samurai pivot to broaden his US footprint while keeping his horror lane active.

A24’s Onslaught folds into Adam Wingard’s The Guest universe, with the filmmaker calling it a spiritual sequel set in the same town. The horror-thriller opens in U.S. theaters September 4.

Screaming Room returns to Midsummer Scream Aug. 7-9 with year-round short-film curation and block programming built from submissions; the fest remains a showcase lane for emerging horror filmmakers.

Fantasia spotlights Canadian genre titles Black Zombie and Insectasy in its honors slate; another signal the Montreal fest is still a key launchpad for homegrown horror.

Popcorn Frights 2026 has locked 72 short films, including 13 world premieres, across seven curated programs for its 11-day South Florida run Aug. 6-16; the hybrid fest will screen in theaters and on its virtual platform.

South Korea’s box office jumped 41.9% in H1 2026 to $396.6M, powered by The King’s Warden, Yeon Sang-ho’s zombie thriller Colony, and low-budget horror Salmokji: Whispering Water; Showbox led distributors with a 48.6% share.

Midsummer Scream leans into horror-comedy musicals this year, with Final Girl: The Musical, Stephen King's IT: A Musical Parody, Scream'd, Monsterville, and The Shining! The Musical! on the bill.

World premiere in Locarno’s international competition Aug. 5–15; feature debut from Matheus Farias and Enock Carvalho following their Sundance short Inabitável; Matheus Farias is a Platino-winning editor on Kleber Mendonça Filho’s Oscar-nominated film; stars Caique Copque and Ítalo Martins and features Robério Diógenes, Kaiony Venâncio and Carlos Francisco; set in Recife’s mangrove nightscape.

A24’s Backrooms takes No. 1 on DEG’s digital transactions chart in its premium VOD debut week; Universal’s Obsession lands at No. 2, underscoring strong post-theatrical demand for horror titles.

FX/Hulu’s American Horror Story season 13 is a 13-episode crossover of the entire anthology; Sarah Paulson, Jessica Lange, Evan Peters, Kathy Bates, Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd and Angela Bassett are back for a Sept. 24 launch.

Mike Flanagan has already turned in Warhammer 40K story outlines and is moving into script on Amazon MGM/Vertigo’s live-action adaptation; Henry Cavill remains attached as star/EP. Games Workshop also flags a greenlit Deathwatch animated series and a near-complete Age of Sigmar Secret Level episode, keeping the franchise in multi-format expansion.

Jeff Wadlow says he’d jump at the chance to direct Paramount’s next A Nightmare on Elm Street, but no attachment is in place yet. He’s currently promoting The Devil’s Mouth ahead of its Prime Video drop.

Quiver Distribution is putting Derek Diorio's AI-car survival horror Evel on VOD in August after debuting the trailer; the indie traps a young woman inside a self-driving EV on a remote highway.

Brainstorm Media sets an Aug. 21 theatrical and on-demand rollout for single-shot demonic horror pic Bury the Devil. Adam O’Brien directs from John Petrizzi and Brad Hodson’s script, with Dawn Ford, Emmanuelle Lussier Martinez and Bill Rowat starring.

Netflix’s six-part monster thriller Below stars Josh Hartnett as Calvin Penney, a stubborn fisherman in a Newfoundland town who teams with a visiting marine researcher to face an unidentified sea creature; Charlie Heaton plays his son. It streams October 8.

FrightFest sets the world premiere for Signature Entertainment’s survival thriller Zip Wire next month; MyAnna Buring stars as a pharma researcher forced to outrun hostiles in a zipline escape trap.

Devilworks says it fully financed and exec produced Hansel & Gretel’s Halloween in-house; the Grimm riff rolls out via premium TVOD on Aug. 1, then wider digital and AVOD windows through Halloween season.

Dark Sky Films confirms a Sept. 18 U.S. digital-and-theatrical rollout for Who’s Watching, pairing the release with a nationwide preview tour of advance screenings, acoustic sets, and Q&As.