Horror Industry News — Wednesday, August 12, 2026

Paramount has locked a summer 2027 theatrical launch for Parker Finn's Possession remake, keeping the Smile filmmaker on the board for another wide horror release.

Paramount pulled the Friday the 13th reboot weeks before cameras, sending the Jason franchise back into development limbo. The cancellation kills one of the studio’s highest-profile horror IP revivals before production start.

SC Films launches worldwide sales on Cotton Eye Joe as the folklore slasher starts shooting in Illinois; Bill Moseley and Sean Gunn lead Nick Merola’s bloody cat-and-mouse horror about a desert-road refuge turning into a serial-killer trap.

Anonymous Content adds Adrian Chiarella after Neon's seven-figure pickup of his queer horror debut Leviticus; the Sundance title has already played SXSW and Sydney, keeping Chiarella hot on the genre market.

Alief takes worldwide sales rights to Snapshot ahead of Edinburgh and Frightfest bows; the Victorian ghost-hunting thriller is already lined up for a multi-territory financing footprint with Germany, India and Canada aboard as minority co-producers/financiers.

Tongal teams with Savanah Moss on a feature adaptation of Jeff the Killer, extending the creepypasta-to-screen lane that A24’s Backrooms helped legitimize.

Blumhouse has optioned Puppet Master for a remake, with Charles Band retaining the existing films and merchandise. The reboot could also seed a series, but no director, cast, or production date is locked.

Freestyle Digital Media has locked North American VOD, DVD, cable and satellite rights to psychological horror thriller DEMENTIUM for an Aug. 18 rollout. Mark Wilson Sunderland directs and co-writes; the film was negotiated directly with the filmmakers and Zac Reeder’s Lucky 27 Media.

27.5 million views in three days put The Last House atop Netflix's English film chart and overall ranking; the streamer also logged strong true-crime and TV titles across the week.

Another creepypasta IP is being lined up for a feature adaptation, extending the rush to mine internet horror legends for the next breakout title. No buyer, banner, or terms are attached yet.

Specialty box office posted a strong frame as slashers, chef titles, Girl Scouts pics and CatVideoFest all opened well. The horror lane again proved durable alongside the week's broader indie breakout titles.

Lionsgate Limited lines Sorority Row up for a Sept. 15 4K UHD debut with Dolby Vision/Atmos, new bonus features and Vance Kelly steelbook art.

Hulu keeps Ryan Coogler's 'X-Files' reboot moving; Chris Carter's long-gestating movie version is back in circulation as the franchise gets another push toward production.

Marc J. Morgan’s Crazy Bones opens in select theaters Aug. 13; the indie slasher leans on practical-effects kills and has a Q1 2027 target release after a Beverly Hills cast-and-crew screening. Writer Thommy Hutson and producer Christopher Gaida are steering a very old-school grindhouse play.

Paramount+ Australia has wrapped the six-part Who The Hell Is Hamish? in Queensland; the Hoodlum/CBS Studios true-crime series is backed by Screen Australia and state/local incentives, with Paramount Global Content Distribution handling worldwide sales. The project centers on a fraudster whose alleged scam left more than $70 million in losses.

HBO’s Harry Potter series is in production at Leavesden, with Francesca Gardiner showrunning and Mark Mylod directing multiple episodes. The reboot has already been renewed for a second season, with Ginny Weasley being recast after Gracie Cochrane’s exit.

Alex Phillips’ psychotronic noir horror Rough on Rats, inspired by Chicago serial killer Tillie Klimek, has locked its cast as the feature moves further into the production pipeline.

Season 3 pushes Wednesday into senior year; Joanna Lumley is now a series regular, Eva Green boards as Ophelia, and Winona Ryder returns in a recurring role. Ortega says the new stretch shifts the show from monsters to family fracture and adulthood; Netflix has the season in production for 2027.

Alan Wake II has topped 3 million units across PC and consoles; Remedy says the survival-horror sequel turned profitable in February, cementing one of the strongest recent genre game performances.

Midsummer Scream cleared 50,000 attendees and is moving to the Anaheim Convention Center for 2027; Season’s Screamings returns to Long Beach as the event splits into summer and winter horror convention anchors.

TIFF tacks 11 titles onto its 293-film 2026 lineup, including The Liberation, Wild Horse Nine, Bucking Fastard, and Trees Are Watching. Ghobadi’s Trees Are Watching lands as a Centrepiece world premiere, keeping genre in the mix for buyers and press.

IndiePix Unlimited sets a Sept. 4 exclusive streaming launch for Radik Ashimov’s Burning; the village-set horror leans into grief, folklore and curse mythology. The title adds another micro-distributor pickup to the indie genre slate.

Five-episode limited series is already in production at M.A.S. Productions, with Catherine Nadal hosting unscripted psychic readings alongside Acey Slade, Don Jamieson, Felissa Rose, Lloyd Kaufman, and Fred Vogel. The team is eyeing distribution, sponsorship, and financing partners to scale beyond the initial run.

Rob Riggle boards supernatural horror Nickels as a ghost-tormented entrepreneur; Spencer King directs from Tim Tuchrello’s script.

Bruce Campbell, 68, says upcoming Evil Dead: Wrath filmmaker Francis Galluppi has “high hopes,” but argues recent films need more humor, a rootable hero and visibly red blood after three “mostly humorless” features.

David Cronenberg’s 1986 The Fly, starring Jeff Goldblum, remains a landmark body-horror reinterpretation of the 1958 film and George Langelaan’s 1957 story; its Oscar-winning makeup and tragic transformation influenced The Substance and filmmakers including Luca Guadagnino and Alex Garland.

2.5 billion views put Apex atop Netflix’s global charts; Baltasar Kormákur’s survival thriller, starring Charlize Theron and Taron Egerton, debuted Apr. 24 and is now one of the streamer’s biggest releases of 2026.

Bahman Ghobadi’s Trees Are Watching lands a world premiere in TIFF Centrepiece; Eva Green stars in a psychological/supernatural horror tale about a haunted hometown, twin memories and a possibly possessed chair.

Sumerian Pictures closed a seven-figure U.S. rights deal for Beth de Araújo’s Sundance double-winner and locked a Nov. 20 theatrical rollout with an awards push; Channing Tatum, Gemma Chan, and Mason Reeves star in the psychological thriller.

Netflix picked up North America, U.K., Australia and New Zealand rights to Marie Kreutzer’s Gentle Monster after its Cannes run; the thriller hits theaters Oct. 30 and lands on Netflix Nov. 18.