Spooky Sarah Says on Gastro Horror 🍝, New Double Trouble feature 🩸, '/demo_n' scares up a good time 💻, & more

The Horrorverse Newsletter is read by over 2,500 people. Do you want to reach them with your latest news, giveaways, releases, subscriptions and more? We have both partnership and sponsorship opportunities available. ✉️ [email protected] + [email protected]

Shudder has kicked off its #HalfwayToHalloween campaign. Their April lineup and collections are now live on their Letterboxd page.

Hell House LLC: Lineage will be premiering in theaters this summer. [iHorror]

After a short theater stint, Presence will make itself known on Blu-ray on May 20th (and is available on VOD now).

Well, Jason Blum wasn't lying about Five Nights at Freddy's 2.

At CinemaCon, new images from Danny Boyle's 28 Years Later were featured. Check them out on the Official Home of Horror Instagram

Isaac Ezban’s dystopian horror film, Párvulos: Children Of The Apocalypse, is now playing in theaters.

Director Mike Kallio's Dinner with Leatherface just hit Tubi and is a must watch for not only fans of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre but horror fans in general. The documentary focuses on Gunnar Hansen which seems obvious but goes far beyond just his role as Leatherface. It explores who he was outside of playing the horror icon and the impact he had on friends, fans, and the horror community at large. It's doubtful that viewers won't come away with a new perspective on Hansen. Spoiler: have tissues ready. [written by Sarah]

Gazer feels ripped out of the 1970s. Its soft, lo-fi glow makes the images pop and swirl on the eyes. Writer/director Ryan Sloan unravels a story about a young woman named Frankie (Ariella Mastroianni), who struggles with a rare condition that causes her to misperceive time. She records cassette tapes for her to focus, traveling everywhere she goes with them. She knows her condition is getting worse, and she wants to leave something behind for her daughter. When she meets Paige (Renee Gagner), she becomes embroiled in a mind-frying plot that sends her cascading further into paranoia. Sloan lets things simmer, stretching out the runtime to nearly two hours. While there could have been some trimming done, it all serves a purpose as we get inside Frankie's head. Her mental state is baked into the story through frequent voiceovers of her tapes. What Sloan unlocks is a cinematic achievement, with stylistic flair and a knack for gritty humanity. It's flaws heighten the beauty of the story; as things continue to come undone, Frankie's fate might be more desolate than you might expect. [written by Bee]

Robert Rippberger's Renner sci-fi/horror film vies for out attention as the latest AI-bent story in a very long chain. Starring Frankie Muniz (as the title character) and Violett Beane (as Jamie, his neighbor), a romantic tale wraps itself inside a terrifying shell. As Renner builds his own AI model, he unwittingly incorporates elements from his late mother, a cruel presence in his childhood that led him to have severe OCD. As he works to be more assertive and confident in his life, he expresses interest in Jamie, who seems to reciprocate his feelings. The two hang out, have dinner, and eventually become a couple. But something sinister lurks underneath. As Renner's AI grows more intelligent and aware, the situation becomes complicated with Jamie. While the film possesses plenty to chew on, Muniz's performance lacks the punch such a role requires -- Beane lights up the screen, doing as best she can opposite her scene partner. Knowing one's acting limits is crucial for a film's success, and unfortunately, Renner fizzles out about mid-way through. There are a few surprises in the third act, if you stick around that long, that makes it all semi-worth the watch. Tread at your own risk. [written by Bee]

Now exclusively streaming on Found, Gary Francis Roche's /demo_n scares up plenty of frights. Fitting somewhere between Unfriended and Livescreamers, the lo-fi indie follows a group of friends hosting a reunion watch party. When the host clicks on a mysterious game demo in his email, a demonic entity unleashes pure hell on the group chat. Horror pops out of their computer screens, and the consequences are deadly. Roche builds the relationships between characters so you actually root for them. Placing plenty of jump scares, the film (based on his short film of the same name) gets the heart racing in the best way possible. Roche knows exactly how to build suspense and peel the skin from your bones. It's a roller coaster ride, with an interesting underpinning on religion in these dire situations. Need a little bit of terror in your life, don't sleep on this little gem. [written by Bee]

According to Isaac Ezban’s Párvulos, there are only two constants in nature: family and change. Those concepts lie at the center of a post-apocalyptic tale about how a haphazardly released vaccine led to the Omega pandemic. With a slowly fading humanity, survivors must navigate a sea of flesh-eating zombies and learn what it means to live again. From the rich characters to the cinematography, Ezban’s latest offering keeps you gripped and locked into the story. Despite hitting two hours, there’s little meat on the bone that doesn’t actually mean something. [Read Bee's review]

With this week's theme, our guest contributor Sarah, who wrote a Gastro Horror Guide, couldn't hesitate at the opportunity for all of us to share our favorite Gastro Horror films. We hope you have some room in your stomachs so that you can digest all of the films on this list. Chow down, folks! Check out the list on Letterboxd.

Haunted House of Pancakes recently made its festival debut at Horrorhound! Brought to you from the writers of Attack of the Killer Donuts, the film features a possesed vintage waffle iron that turns diner food into sentient killers! It's a fun little watch and I dare you to not fall in love with Toasty the adorable killer waffle ball! Watch the trailer here. [written by Sarah]

Like The Menu, a24's Opus immediately gave me similar vibes. On A24's official YouTube, I wrote that "It's The Menu for music, not food", and they made it the highlighted comment. I guess I may have been on the right track at the time, but the film is something else. With the film starring John Malkovich, you know you're going in for a real (weird) treat. Watch the trailer here. [written by Brett]

M3GAN 2.0 is really that bitch. The trailer, backed by a super chill versio of Britney Spears' "Oops! I Did It Again," sees the frachise taking an action genre swerve. Packed with fight scenes, as M3GAN fights another android with the same programming, the promotional clip promises to up the ante in every possible way. If you weren't rooting for M3GAN before, you sure will now. "Hold onto your vaginas" is one of many zingers in the trailer. Iconic. Watch the trailer. [written by Bee]

I didn't care too much about Five Nights at Freddy's upon release. It was pedestrian, mundane, and silly (derogatory). But the sequel - Five Nights at Freddy's 2?! I'm willing to give it a chance after perusing the just-released teaser trailer. It'll be worth seeing Josh Hutcherson alone. Watch the trailer. [written by Bee]

The Chattanooga Film Festival makes its triumphant return to the Chattanooga Theatre Center for the 12th edition of what MovieMaker Magazine calls one of The 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World! It all goes down in-person June 20-22 with the virtual side of the festival continuing through the 28th.