Horror Industry News — Friday, July 17, 2026

Sony has landed Hollow, a Sleepy Hollow retelling starring Sydney Sweeney; Lindsey Anderson Beer will adapt, direct and produce from her debut novel, with LuckyChap and Sweeney’s Honey Trap also producing. Honey Trap’s first film is set up at Sony.

Julius Avery boards 20th Century Studios’ python survival thriller 'Crush'; the Everglades-set project is a real-time, true-story horror play from John Fisher, Temple Hill and Scott Glassgold.

Production Weekly lists Jennifer’s Body 2 to shoot in October, with Karyn Kusama attached to direct and Megan Fox and Amanda Seyfried expected to return; Diablo Cody has been working on the script since Kusama confirmed it in 2025.

Terror Films Releasing is putting select titles onto Microhouse Films, the new vertical app launched by Taye Diggs and partners; the no-fee, ad-free credit model hands indie horror filmmakers pricing and revenue control in a phone-first window.

Three Canadian genre titles are headed to FrightFest, keeping the U.K. festival a key launchpad for exportable horror and thriller fare from the Canadian indie scene.

Fantasia is stacking its 2026 program with European genre premieres, with new films from Agnieszka Smoczyńska and Kasper Kalle leading the slate and reinforcing the Montreal festival’s role as a launchpad for international horror-adjacent cinema.

$65 million three-year first-look deal is in play for 'Backrooms' director Kane Parsons at A24; the pact could span film and TV and extend the studio's breakout horror franchise.

Netflix lines up The Last House, a suburban survival sci-fi thriller from Louis Leterrier starring Greta Lee and Wagner Moura. The streamer is positioning it for release one week before J.J. Abrams-produced The End of Oak Street.

HBO Max sets Mortal Kombat II for July 24 streaming and HBO linear the next day; the sequel opened to $63 million worldwide and has grossed $129.5 million globally, compressing Warner Bros. and New Line’s post-theatrical window.

Peacock’s 8-episode Crystal Lake lands Oct. 15, 2026 with Linda Cardellini as Pamela Voorhees and Brad Caleb Kane steering an early-’70s slasher-thriller take. Paramount Primal separately licenses U.S. rights to Wes Craven’s original A Nightmare on Elm Street screenplay from the Craven estate, putting a new Elm Street installment into development with J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules producing.

BloodStream sets a July 5 exclusive for Salvador Medina’s Spanish zombie thriller Together Till the End, then rolls it out across 30-plus-language VOD and digital windows; Pulp Films and Whiskey Panda Studios produce.

Tony Morales’ debut feature Hada is now shooting in Spain and the U.S.; the supernatural thriller stars Esmeralda Pimentel and is set up with Eterno Island Pictures, Rock & Ruz, and A Bigger Boat, with Architect handling sales.

Prague’s Edison Filmhub lines up Heatwave Horror for July 24-26 with a program spanning classic horror, sci-fi, slashers and experimental genre work. The slate includes The Witches, Evil Dead Burn and Jane Schoenbrun’s Sex and Death at Camp Miasma, with festival side events and panels rounding out the package.

TIFF special presentations add the Zellners' sci-fi Alpha Gang, Mahershala Ali vehicle Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother, and Rachel Morrison's Love of Your Life with Margaret Qualley; Toronto is leaning into star-driven genre-adjacent prestige.

The Horror Section uses Ice Cream Man to launch its first theatrical play; Roth's burger-stand activation tees up an Aug. 7 release on more than 2,000 screens and previews Don’t Go In That House, Bitch! with Snoop Dogg aboard to produce, write, and perform on the soundtrack.

September release slot set for Maya Annik Bedward’s Black Zombie; the zombie-cinema doc digs into the genre’s buried origins and opens in select theaters.

Ryan Coogler’s X-Files reboot wrapped its two-hour pilot on 65mm; the package is said to include Danielle Deadwyler, Himesh Patel, Steve Buscemi, Amy Madigan, and Ben Foster, with Hulu eyed for the series rollout and a feature-length launch strategy in play.

AWA and Vertigo Entertainment are using The Future of Fear to seed film and TV from original comics; THE RISING launches the pipeline as a 72-page horror one-shot from Gregory Widen and Laci.

South Korean zombie hit Colony will continue as a sequel novel and video game, not a film: Yeon Sang-ho says the novel is in final publication stages after six months of work and will anchor an action-oriented game with Smilegate. The Cannes Midnight title grossed $42.1 million in Korea.

Magic Van Games launches debut psychological horror title BLACK WALLS on Steam July 15; the no-combat labyrinth design leans on observation, disorientation, and an unscripted pursuer.

Archstone Entertainment drops the first trailer for Joey Bicicchi’s supernatural horror Woozy, which premieres at Popcorn Frights in August; Emile Hirsch leads a cast that includes Jackie Cruz and Penelope Mitchell.

Level 33 Entertainment has acquired U.S./Canada theatrical rights to EVER AFTER for Sept. 4, while Popcorn Frights adds David Robert Mitchell’s THE END OF OAK STREET and a WISHMASTER-themed overnight event to its second wave.

Brock Bodell’s feature debut Hellcat lands on Shudder August 14, following Lena, who wakes wounded in a moving camper with one hour to reach a doctor. Dakota Gorman, Todd Terry, James Austin Johnson and Liz Atwater star.