From ‘The Exorcist’ to ‘Carrie’ to ‘Crystal Lake’: October’s Horror News You Might Have Missed
By Dread Central
8 min readOctober is crazy. We’re publishing 20 to 30 stories a day with our team, and even I’m having trouble keeping […]
October is crazy. We’re publishing 20 to 30 stories a day with our team, and even I’m having trouble keeping […]
This was one of our biggest exclusives of the month: A24 is developing a series based on Kathryn Bigelow’s vampire classic.
No cast, creative team, or streaming home has been announced. But the idea of bringing those dusty roads and outlaw vampires to television is an exciting one, especially as A24 prepares to reopen another very familiar horror location.
Welcome back to Crystal Lake.
A24 and Peacock’s Friday the 13th prequel arrives October 15, with all eight episodes available to stream. Linda Cardellini (The Curse of La Llorona) plays Pamela Voorhees, and we have plenty to get you ready.
Daniel Kurland scored the season 3.5 out of 5 in his review, calling it “a campy, cruel love letter to ‘80s slashers.” He also warns that some of its bigger swings won’t work for everybody.
You can read Chad Collins’ October cover interview with Cardellini, browse the new official images, or watch the opening tragedy involving Jason. Save that clip if you’d rather experience the beginning fresh.
Finished Carrie? There’s a lot to talk about.
Flanagan’s Carrie is streaming in full on Prime Video, and its finale has sent us back through the season looking for clues. Daniel gave it 4 out of 5 in our season review, calling it “an extremely rewarding update of King’s debut novel.”
For something relatively spoiler-light, start with Margaret White’s employment at S-Mart. Yes, Ash’s employer from Army of Darkness. Shop smart.
The following three links contain major finale spoilers: We have official high-resolution prom-night images, a necklace theory that could connect several characters, and Flanagan’s answer about Chris’s final apology. That last one makes an already uncomfortable scene even harder to shake.
The River trailer looks like a brutal night in the woods.
Two of our favorite modern scream queens, Jane Levy (Evil Dead) and Jessica Rothe (Happy Death Day), are heading into a backwoods nightmare in River. Universal picked up the film following TIFF, and it opens January 15, 2027.
The trailer looks like The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Deliverance, and Friday the 13th colliding. It’s fast, nasty, and full of the kind of slasher energy I love. Watch it here.
Our own Matt Konopka gave it 3.5 stars in his TIFF review, describing “an incessant sense of impending doom.” His enthusiasm even made its way into the trailer.
Johnny has a date… and Art the Clown has some competition.
In a Violent Nature: Part 2 arrives exclusively in theaters February 12, 2027, following its surprise Fantastic Fest premiere. The release-date announcement has the details.
I saw the festival version, and while it still felt like it needed work, some of the kills were absolutely monstrous. That sent me down a whole other path: are Johnny and Art giving us a new slasher rivalry? Think an old-school rap feud, only with practical effects.
Mary Beth McAndrews was mixed on the sequel’s more conventional approach, awarding it 3 out of 5 in her review, but credited it with “some of the best kills of the year.”
The next Paranormal Activity returns to the original house.
This is the detail that immediately made the next installment more interesting to me: we’re going back to the house from the first movie.
The connection was revealed during Blumhouse’s New York Comic Con panel, and it’s something I could also confirm. Ian Tuason, director of undertone, is directing the new movie for May 21, 2027. How that familiar address connects to the new characters remains the big question.
Flanagan wants to make a Jaws movie. I approve.
During his Reddit AMA, Flanagan expressed interest in making a Jaws movie… and a genuinely scary Jurassic movie.
These are dream projects, not announced productions. Still, give the man a coastal community, complicated people, and something dangerous in the water, and I’d love to see what happens. Jaws works because of its characters as much as its shark. That feels like a pretty natural fit.
Venkman is back. Freddy might be, too.
Bill Murray returned as Peter Venkman for a Ghostbusters commercial that looks far better than a car advertisement needs to. Gil Kenan directed the Rivian spot, which sends Venkman after Slimer. It’s a wonderful little Halloween treat.
Meanwhile, Freddy Krueger invaded Fortnite, with Robert Englund reportedly returning to voice him. Watch the Freddy teaser and catch up on the reporting here. Our coverage identifies Englund’s involvement as reported, rather than officially confirmed.
Three developing stories worth keeping an eye on.
The latest on 28 Years Later Part III is less encouraging.
If you saw Danny Boyle’s optimistic comments and then a seemingly contradictory headline, here’s where things stand: his latest update puts the third film “on the back burner at the moment.”
He still hopes to make it, but financing and Alex Garland’s schedule remain obstacles. It hasn’t been declared dead. It also doesn’t sound ready to move forward. After The Bone Temple, I really want them to finish this story.
Our Godzilla Minus Zero review is in.
Rory Doherty gave the sequel 3 out of 5 in his review, praising action that is “just as remarkable as its predecessor” while finding the human drama and pacing less effective.
So, mixed-positive, with plenty of monster spectacle. If you’ve only seen the most enthusiastic early reactions, Rory offers another perspective.
Apparently, we also need furniture-sized containers for our popcorn.
The collectibles have gotten ridiculous, and I mean that affectionately. There’s Cinemark’s 19.5-inch Godzilla Minus Zero bucket, Regal’s whale-shaped Whalefall bucket, and a light-up Santa Jack from The Nightmare Before Christmas. We also covered the Clayface bucket.
I still don’t know where everybody is putting these things.
And if you want something you haven’t already heard about…
Spend some time with our 12-film festival roundup. It collects highlights from Fantasia, TIFF, and Fantastic Fest, with our critics’ ratings and links to their full reviews.
There are giant snakes, gothic nightmares, haunted puppets, and plenty of other discoveries that deserve room alongside the familiar franchises. That piece landed just before October swallowed the front page, and it’s exactly the kind of coverage I don’t want getting lost.
What did you miss, and which of these are you most excited about? I’ll be trying to keep up right alongside you.
