‘The Exit State’ Trailer Turns Fleeing America Into a Horror Story [Exclusive]

If you like politics with your horror, you’re going to get it here.

Dread Central has the exclusive release announcement and trailer for The Exit State, a political horror thriller from director Gabriela Ledesma.

Chroma will release the film to rent or buy on Apple TV and Prime Video on October 23, 2026, following its world premiere at Screamfest.

Set in a United States spiraling toward authoritarian collapse, the film follows a group of Americans fleeing south toward Mexico. They take refuge in what they believe is a safe house in neutral territory, only to discover that getting out won’t be nearly that simple.

The trailer puts the politics front and center, with the promise of something terrible waiting inside that supposed refuge. Chroma has been releasing some really cool stuff, and I trust their taste, so I’m curious to see where this one goes.

“The Exit State was born out of an unsettling moment, one where a political future many of us feared began to arrive,” Ledesma explains. “When we wrote the script, we believed it was a cautionary tale. By the time we shot it, just a few months later, it already felt uncomfortably current. We decided the time for veiled metaphor was over. But we also wanted to make a horror movie that was tense, fun and kept you guessing.”

The film reunites Weapons cast members Callie Schuttera and Clayton Farris (MaXXXine), alongside Sharon Lawrence, Josh George, Jeremy D. Howard, Nikki Dixon (Hypnotic), Stakiah Lynn Washington, and .