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- Spooky Sarah Says on Gastro Horror 🍝, New Double Trouble feature 🩸, '/demo_n' scares up a good time 💻, & more
Spooky Sarah Says on Gastro Horror 🍝, New Double Trouble feature 🩸, '/demo_n' scares up a good time 💻, & more
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Sarah Stubbs | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd
Greetings Horrorverse readers! I’m Sarah Stubbs aka SpookySarahSays! I’m the founder of the #100HorrorMoviesIn92Days challenge, the community manager of the Chattanooga Film Festival, co-host of Final Girls Feast, and as you can see by this week’s newsletter theme, Gastro Horror queen!
In the easiest terms, Gastro Horror is food-based horror including cannibalism. For my purposes, I omit zombies and vampires because while they do consume humans and human blood, they themselves are undead. Not all Gastro Horror enthusiasts feel this way which is totally ok! For a more in depth look at Gastro Horror, I created an in-depth guide that includes Letterboxd lists, book lists, and more.
My love of Gastro Horror seems only natural considering my history as a recipe content creator. The intersection of food and pop culture has always been a huge draw to me. When I was invited to contribute an essay to Alyse Wax and Rebekah McKendry’s Creepy Bitches, Rebekah had suggested something with food since I’d created a ton of horror movie inspired recipes, which was how I connected with her during her time at Blumhouse. This ignited a whole new passion (erm… obsession).
Once COVID hit, I needed something to keep busy and joined forces with Carrie of Witchy Kitchen to start Final Girls Feast, a podcast that discusses food in horror. We’ve talked about so many fun titles and had some great guests like Josh Ruben to chat about Scare Me and Stephen Chiodo to discuss Killer Klowns from Outer Space.
I’m so grateful to have this opportunity to share more of the Gastro Horror Gospel and want to also shout out Dr. Alessandra Pino, Chris Dortch II, and Brian Cartwright for pushing me to really explore this topic. Is a book in the works? Maybe. Let’s see if I can focus long enough to get it done! Until then, enjoy all the gastro goodies Horrorverse has to offer!

By Brett Petersel | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd | X
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.

Bee Delores | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd | Brett Petersel | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd | X | Sarah Stubbs | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd

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.

Bee Delores | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd | Brett Petersel | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd | X | Sarah Stubbs | Bluesky | Instagram | 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]


Welcome, everyone, to a brand new feature called Double Trouble. In this space, I'll pair two films based on theme, style, or story that you should try out as a double feature on a Friday night. Previously, I published this column with Bloody Disgusting -- check out all my past pieces. My last pairing was Stranger Darling and Last Night in Soho, real Good for Her picks. Now that I've brought the column to the newsletter, I'm shortening how much I write. I'll offer my brief thoughts on each film, and why the couple deserves its own viewing party.
Given that this week's theme is Gastro Horror, I just had to go super dark with a pair of new cannibal movies: Cannibal Mukbang and Cannibal Comedian. Cook up some "beef," sit back, and let your mouth water as our protagonists turn to humans for sustenance. It's a pretty tasty double feature. Let's dig in!
Aimee Kuge's directorial debut Cannibal Mukbang arrives as a delectable piece of cinema. When Mark (Nate Wise) falls in love with Ash (April Consalo), things seem too good to be true. Ash hides parts of herself behind a bubbly personality and her red locks. As the two grow closer and closer, she soon reveals her taste for human flesh. Mark is surprisingly okay with it. He doesn't date much and seems perfect for Ash. The couple balance each other out. Kuge peels back the layers of skin, extracting eyes from their sockets and picking membrane from bone. It's wonderfully graphic, with ghoulish practical effects that'll make you squirm. We've seen this sort of premise many times before, but Kuge's foray into the macabre might just warm your heart right up.
In similar fashion, Sean Haitz's Cannibal Comedian tickles your funny bone one moment and grosses you out the next. You see, Charlie (Aaron Prager) likes to eat people, but he also likes to tell jokes. He begins by performing a comedy routine for his many victims, hoping to one day bring laughs to a large (very much alive) audience. When he captures Chrystal (Austin Judd), she convinces him to take a chance and sign up for the open mic night down at a local watering hole. He kills it, literally and metaphorically, onstage. For some strange reason, he doesn't turn Chrystal into meatballs right away. He finds her interesting, an inspiration that's opened up his life. As he continues his stand-up routine, as the one and only cannibal comedian, things begin to sour with the club owner - leading to a frightful finale that you won't forget. Haitz perfectly balanes the humor and horror in equal measure. If you're not laughing, you better be throwing up - and vice versa. It's a real laugh riot.
Where Cannibal Mukbang plays it more straight (with dashes of situational humor), Cannibal Comedian fully leans into over-the-top (and perhaps slightly corny) jokes. There's something for everyone! Paired together, these two cannibal films are guaranteed to be a good, gruesome, and delicious time.

2022's The Menu, starring Ralph Fiennes and Anya Taylor-Joy, was truly a special treat (and we don't mean that in a food-related way, but it sticks). Fantastic premise, great acting, killer soundtrack... and a prepared menu (which is shared throughout the film) that'll make any mouth water. Are you ready for our film recommendations? Say it with us: "Yes, Chef!" Check out the list on Letterboxd.
Talk 2 Me will most likely come out in 2027, according to the Philippou brothers in an interview with IndieWire.
Stephen King’s The Long Walk, directed by Francis Lawrence and written by JT Mollner (Strange Darling), sprints into theaters on September 12th.
Straight off the success of The Monkey, Osgood Perkins is back with Keeper, which will steal your hearts on October 3, 2025.


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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.
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