Fantastic Fest, Netflix & Resident Evil

Antitrust writer Matt Stoller breaks down the settlement, including 30 films a year, $300 million in new domestic production investment, five years of protections for the studio lots, and carveouts that could loosen those commitments during a recession or strike.

The Paramount-Warner Bros. merger is effectively greenlit after a state settlement; the terms force annual film quotas, U.S. production minimums and anti-AI guardrails for the combined studio. -

Wrapped filming on They Follow; Maika Monroe returns as Jay, with David Robert Mitchell back to write-direct and Neon producing alongside Good Fear and the original backers. Naomi Ackie and Jackie Earle Haley join the sequel, with Disasterpeace returning for the score.

AMC’s 2026 FearFest lineup leans on the Crypt Keeper host package and a monthlong horror marathon strategy built around franchise titles and seasonal comfort-watch staples. The schedule continues to position AMC as a major annual horror programming destination.

Ripcord is launching a Halloween genre festival with $200,000 in prizes for emerging filmmakers, opening a new pipeline for horror, sci-fi and fantasy submissions. The move adds another cash-backed outlet for indie genre titles seeking discovery and launch traction.

Nicolas Curcio’s Play House won Fantastic Fest’s inaugural Fantastic Pitches, unlocking $100,000 in production funding plus a guaranteed premiere slot next year; Alamo Drafthouse is also lining up a theatrical run. The project from Chroma turns the festival into a launchpad for scrappy horror financing with exhibition baked in.

Mayhem Film Festival’s 22nd edition lines up 16 short films across two showcase programs at Broadway Nottingham; the slate includes one world premiere, one international premiere, and five UK premieres. The lineup keeps the horror short pipeline moving with Nottingham Horror Collective again curating alongside the fest team.

Amicus Productions is back in horror after more than 40 years, launching In the Grip of Terror as its first new genre feature since the studio’s heyday. The comeback is being positioned as a theatrical return for the British banner, with the trailer now out.

Icon Film Distribution sets The Influencer Project for UK and Irish cinemas Oct. 16, then DVD, Blu-ray and digital on Nov. 30; Eduardo Sánchez and Gregg Hale return on a modern social-media stalker hook.

Prime Video sets an Oct. 30 exclusive launch for Apocalypse Z: New World after a Sitges bow; the Manel Loureiro adaptation follows the streamer’s most-watched international Original movie and rolls out in 240-plus territories.

Folk-horror title Her Will Be Done locks a New York theatrical run with guests plus a VOD date; another indie genre rollout moves from fest circuit to release window.

January 15, 2027 theatrical slot is being eyed for River after its TIFF premiere; Universal Pictures and Blumhouse are closing in on the slasher, with Jane Levy and Jessica Rothe facing a faceless killer from Joshua Giuliano.

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story topped Netflix in the U.S. and 49 countries over opening weekend; Ian Brennan says Ryan Murphy is mapping a 10-season runway for the anthology while pushing it deeper into darkly comic female-rage territory.

Fantastic Fest spotlighted Mr. Creamjeans’ Hidey Hole as a DIY horror anthology built from a $33,000 Indiegogo raise; the team shot a 20-minute proof-of-concept first and leaned hard into Troma-style outsider energy.

Post-production is underway on Paraguay-set gothic horror The Narrow House; Janus Media, Zuma Productions, Chaco Films and Black Mandala Films back a late-2026 festival run ahead of a regional theatrical rollout.

Boat Rocker Studios has taken international distribution rights to Muse Entertainment’s Canadian true-crime doc series Doula: A True Crime and will launch it at MIPCOM Cannes ahead of CBC’s October 7 premiere.

Brad Bird’s $150M-plus animated sci-fi noir lands on Netflix Dec. 18 with a one-week qualifying theatrical run; Skydance Animation and Netflix split the financing after Warner Bros. and Disney passed. Sam Rockwell, Scarlett Johansson and Tom Waits lead the voice cast.

Resident Evil reboot tears up the opening weekend and resets the franchise’s commercial ceiling; Zach Cregger keeps his post-Barbarian box-office heat intact.

Wrap-gift storyboards confirm Cregger boarded the entire Resident Evil movie shot-for-shot; the package also teases practical puppetry and creature-heavy set pieces with Austin Abrams reacting to effects and placeholders.

Shay Hatten boards as co-writer on Zach Cregger’s new Resident Evil movie; the interview confirms the script split on the game adaptation and adds another credited voice to the project.

Netflix sets Sept. 24 global premiere for Balaraw: Blood Island, its first Filipino Original to stream worldwide; Rae Red's horror mystery centers on folklore, family trauma and a woman searching for her vanished mother.

Life rights came from Doris’s son, and the script cycled through multiple versions before landing on a family-first haunt story. Heather Graham stars in What Happened to Doris, which reframes the case around the mother and her kids rather than the entity, with Fantastic Fest positioning the film as empathy-forward horror.

A new Silent Hill film take is being lined up as a fresh-start reboot, with the franchise reportedly gearing up for a bold new big-screen approach after the latest adaptation cycle. No creative package or buyer is locked, but the IP is moving again.