Horror Industry News — Saturday, August 8, 2026

Lionsgate taps Patrick Melton and Marcus Dunstan to reboot Leprechaun, with Oren Koules and Miles Koules producing after a prior 2024 attempt stalled.

Paramount sends Crawl back into production this month in Hungary with Mason Gooding and Emily Rudd starring and Alexandre Aja returning to direct. The New York-set sequel follows the 2019 hit that grossed $91.5 million on a sub-$14 million budget.

Sony’s Screen Gems wins a multi-studio bidding war for Mime, beating Amazon and Searchlight for Scott Derrickson’s supernatural horror feature set in a New York apartment complex.

Eight-episode Carrie limited series lands on Prime Video on Oct. 7, 2026; Mike Flanagan says the prom sequence is being rebuilt into a much bigger set-piece that goes well beyond De Palma's gymnasium version. Siena Agudong's Sue Snell opens the series by warning viewers they don't know what really happened at the prom.

Studio Dome and The Horror Collective set Daniel Turres’ horror-thriller Fresh Meat for its FrightFest premiere ahead of a 2027 theatrical launch. The influencer-on-the-run prison siege pic also tees up a festival-first rollout for the Canadian indie.

Watkins says Sam Raimi's Evil Dead and Brian De Palma set the tone for DC Studios' Clayface; Mike Flanagan scripted the body-horror take, with early press calling the footage violent and disturbing.

A24 rolls out Tony in six theaters before expanding to about 25 next week, while Mubi opens Jane Schoenbrun’s Cannes-premiering horror Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma in five theaters ahead of a 50+ screen expansion and Aug. 21 national launch. The weekend slate also includes Magnolia’s Late Fame and Greenwich’s TIFF-premiering Olmo.

FX has set American Horror Story season 13 for Sept. 24 and confirmed a New Orleans/Coven-Freak Show mashup; Jessica Lange boards as four characters, with John Carroll Lynch and Mat Fraser back and Emma Roberts, Billie Lourd, Gabourey Sidibe and Angela Bassett returning to the fold.

Briarcliff sets an Oct. 2 theatrical/PVOD launch for Nickels, a Rob Riggle-led supernatural drama about a man convinced his dead brother’s spirit has returned after a neighbor’s crash. Timed release puts the title on a hybrid window from day one.

FrightFest’s 2026 shorts slate spans sci-fi, body horror, folk horror, supernatural, and dark fairytale titles across four showcase blocks in London. The lineup also includes UK premieres for 4K-restored Season’s Greetings and Hoodsteps plus the festival’s 30th-anniversary programming push.

Ella Beatty leads the Netflix anthology as Borden, with the season expanding beyond its central historical case.

Ryan Murphy says his next vampire series is headed for a December shoot, adding another genre project to his already packed slate. The tease lands alongside American Horror Story season 13 and Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story.

Hulu’s X-Files reboot pilot has its lead cast in place, with Danielle Deadwyler and Himesh Patel set to star and Amy Madigan, Steve Buscemi, Ben Foster and Devery Jacobs among the new additions. Ryan Coogler is writing and directing the pilot; Chris Carter and Proximity Media are on EP duty.

Netflix taps Kirill Sokolov to direct original sci-fi thriller Blur; Shawn Levy and Dan Levine produce via 21 Laps, with Sokolov co-writing a new draft with Ellen Shanman. The project centers on a mother-daughter teleportation story and extends Sokolov’s move into English-language studio work.

Roadside Attractions and Vertical take U.S. rights to Cathy Yan's Sundance title The Gallerist; the dark comedic thriller sets a Dec. 4 theatrical launch after a competitive buy.

Warner Bros. has pushed Aegon's Conquest beyond 2027; the Game of Thrones theatrical event is still in pre-production, with scouting and casting still ahead. WB's earnings letter also flagged The Matrix 5 and the Jetsons movie as post-2027 franchise pillars.

Midsummer Scream is back Aug. 7-9, keeping one of the genre calendar's core fan events on the summer slate; programming details are still to come.

Netflix is leaning on a Sunset Boulevard stunt to juice awareness and blunt a soft summer slate; the campaign underscores how aggressively the streamer is using experiential marketing around marquee releases.

Mike Flanagan is writing the live-action Warhammer 40,000 series, with a separate Deathwatch animation also in motion. Henry Cavill's confirmation keeps the grimdark franchise expansion moving without any new platform or release terms.

Amazon MGM and Miramax close a casting/distribution package on Supermax; Jason Clarke boards opposite Will Smith and AnnaSophia Robb in David Gordon Green’s prison-set action-thriller. Prime Video will carry the film in 240+ territories worldwide.

The Odyssey has crossed $1bn worldwide; Universal now has three billion-dollar releases this year, and the film is tracking toward $1.1bn to overtake The Dark Knight Rises as Christopher Nolan’s biggest global hit.

Paramount Primal's Elm Street move and Warner Bros.' competing Lee Cronin project expose the franchise's split rights standoff; the same week also surfaced Chris Carter's restored X-Files cut and fresh Resident Evil/Insidious franchise movement.

Neon's Sundance breakout Leviticus gets a behind-the-scenes look at its Gothic wardrobe and demonic imagery; costume designer Zohie Castellano breaks down the queer supernatural horror thriller's small-town look and religious iconography.

Fantastic Pavilion gala screening gives Key of Bones: Curse of the Ghost Pirate a Cannes showcase ahead of its planned fall release. Tony Armer’s supernatural horror-comedy is being pushed with a fresh poster and iHorror in the production mix.

CREATORVC has Jaws Explored in pre-sale as its 12th long-form release; Robin Block is leaning harder into the company’s crowdfunding-driven, evergreen IP doc model.

A24 and Peacock’s Crystal Lake unveils Linda Cardellini as Pamela Voorhees and locks an Oct. 15 debut on Peacock; Brad Caleb Kane now steers the Friday the 13th prequel after Bryan Fuller’s exit.

Paolo Strippoli's supernatural horror The Spiral bows in Venice Main Competition before TIFF Midnight Madness; Jasmine Trinca, Romana Maggiora Vergano, Adriano Giannini, and Valeria Bruni Tedeschi lead the curse thriller.

VVomb Studio’s psychosexual thriller Electric Meat has released its trailer ahead of its world premiere at Tubi FrightFest on August 28.