Horror Industry News — Thursday, August 20, 2026

Eight-name ensemble locks on Alex Ullom’s Neon horror follow-up; Sophia Lillis, Dylan Minnette, Jaden Smith and Jacob Tremblay board the illegal livestream kill-or-be-killed setup. Principal photography is already wrapped; Spooky Pictures, Image Nation Studios, Divide/Conquer and Phobos co-produce, with Neon holding worldwide rights.

Variance locks North American theatrical release for the SXSW slasher Family Movie, with April 23, 2027 on the calendar and a full theatrical window planned. Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick direct, produce and star; Neon International handles foreign sales.

Shudder’s fall rollout spans Parasomnia, Mārama, The Creep Tapes season 3, Goody Goody, Bloody Tennis, Infirmary and V/H/S/Mixtape, plus a live Halloween special and awards-night programming. The streamer is using the campaign to own the seasonal horror conversation from early September through year-end.

The Horror Collective has locked North American rights to Cameron Francis’ supernatural thriller Blood Secret ahead of its FrightFest world premiere; the label reunites with Francis after Cover and is already setting the film for release via BloodStream.

Insidious: Out of the Further is tracking a $23M to $27M domestic opening on an $18M production budget; the franchise’s five prior low-budget entries have already generated $740M worldwide. Sony is positioning the sequel for a solid No. 2 finish behind Spider-Man: Brand New Day.

Nicolas Cage boards Adam Sigal’s post-apocalyptic horror Parish; the feature is set to roll in Minnesota this fall with Cage leading the cast.

Christian Kang Bachini is adapting his own indie horror novel into a feature via Via Mantra Productions; Natasha Halevi and Emily Ashby star, Christopher Young scores, and the package launches with a 30-minute proof-of-concept.

Peacock and A24 are taking Crystal Lake to NYCC with an exclusive first-look screening and panel ahead of the Oct. 15 premiere; Brad Caleb Kane is pitching the Friday the 13th prequel as a paranoid ’70s thriller with slasher DNA.

Eli Roth’s Ice Cream Man is mid-shoot in Toronto; Benjamin Byron Davis says the practical-effects horror pic is built to play like gateway horror for a younger audience.

Hulu greenlights a Lorena Bobbitt-centered second installment of Good American Family, turning the Natalia Grace anthology into a true-crime franchise. Katie Robbins and Ellen Pompeo stay attached as EPs; the first season has already logged 140M hours streamed globally.

World premiere booked for Bad Karaoke at Tubi FrightFest London on Aug. 30, 2026; the blood-thirsty karaoke-machine horror-comedy lands in a key genre-festival slot for Tubi.

Jacksepticeye fully finances principal photography on creator-led horror feature Godmother after studio pushback; Alanah Pearce co-writes, John Veron directs, and the finished film is heading into festivals.

The Syndicate has boarded sales rights on Kate Beckinsale-led Drifter ahead of TIFF and AFM; the Ohio-shot siege thriller is already fully financed by Convergence Entertainment. Randall Emmett directs, with Dermot Mulroney, Robert Knepper and Sticky Fingaz in the cast.

Insurgence rolls out Steven M. Smith’s horror sequel Simon Says 2 across Tubi, Amazon, Apple TV, BloodStream, Fandango and Fawesome. The TV-MA board-game survival thriller returns with a new cast of paranormal investigators and a fresh set of deadly rules.

Jeff Hiller jumps from guest to series regular for Widow’s Bay Season 2 on Apple TV; the haunted-island horror-comedy is already in the writers’ room with Katie Dippold and sits on 19 Emmy nominations.

PG-13 for "some violent content" clears Warner Bros.’ Practical Magic 2 for its September 11, 2026 theatrical slot; Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman return as the witch sisters from Alice Hoffman’s IP. The rating confirms the sequel’s supernatural-fantasy positioning rather than a straight horror play.

Daniel Peddle has signed on to adapt Michael Sledge’s debut novel Cold Moon Rising, a Southern crime thriller built around a home invasion, kidnapping and murder chain. The feature is being developed in close collaboration with Sledge and extends Peddle’s Southern Gothic lane.

Lionsgate sets The Housemaid’s Secret for Dec. 17, 2027 in theaters; Sydney Sweeney, Kirsten Dunst, Michele Morrone and Brittany Snow board, with Paul Feig back to direct and production slated for fall.

FX orders Legends, a limited-series meta-thriller that brings Charlie Hunnam back as writer, lead and EP while the Sons of Anarchy ensemble plays fictionalized versions of itself; FX Productions and 20th Television are producing for FX/Hulu.

Nick Lyon’s possession horror feature Do You Want to Play? bows at FrightFest London on Aug. 30. World premiere status only; no distribution buyer or sales activity is attached yet.

Fantastic Fest 2026 adds Red Snow to its lineup, a Finnish horror-comedy about a vampire posing as Santa Claus. The title plants another genre-world premiere in Austin’s annual discovery lane.

Black Fawn Distribution fronts HY3NA with new poster art and first-look stills ahead of its world premiere at Tubi FrightFest London on Aug. 31. Matthew Ninaber writes and directs the femme-fatale thriller, with Kristen Kaster, Storm Steenson, Jeremy Ninaber and Ninaber starring.

Sony's Resident Evil reboot shot in Prague from Oct. 2025 to Jan. 2026 and is set for a Sept. 18, 2026 theatrical launch; Austin Abrams leads a single-night Raccoon City T-virus siege with Paul Walter Hauser, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, and Johnno Wilson.

SRHP Films’ supernatural horror-crime thriller Holy Father is stacking festival wins while the team shops domestic and international distribution for a Halloween 2026 release window. Eric Roberts leads the cast; Shravan Tiwari directs, writes and edits, with Sandip Patel producing.

New Zealand cannibal horror-comedy The Weed Eaters lands on Letterboxd Video Store’s Unreleased Gem shelf Aug. 26-Sep. 25; rentals open next week. The window gives the indie genre title a fresh digital outlet without a wider platform pickup.

Netflix locks U.S. first-window SVOD rights to LifeHack for a Sept. 23 debut; the SXSW screenlife heist thriller launched theatrically through The Avenue and Paramount Pictures and hit digital VOD Aug. 4.

Channel 4 has acquired Complicit, a six-part murder mystery from Tall Story Pictures and Metropolitan Pictures, with ITV Studios handling international distribution. The Irish-UK coproduction comes bundled with Virgin Media Television Ireland, Screen Ireland and Sound & Vision Fund backing.

Brainstorm Media rolls out Adam O’Brien’s contained demonic horror Bury the Devil in select theaters and on demand Aug. 21. The real-time, single-shot feature traps a nurse and dementia patient inside an isolated home as a demonic presence closes in.

Chad McClamon’s debut psychological horror thriller lands on major digital platforms September 15 via The Horror Collective after the title’s spring acquisition.

Aussie action-horror Kick On lands a Midnight Madness berth at TIFF; no sales attached yet, just a genre-fest launch slot.