A Grab Bag of Horror News, 9 to 15 Feb 2025

A selection of things that caught our attention in the world of horror this week

Bite-Sized Horror News

Vale

Condolences to family, friends, and fans of actor Anthony DiLeo Jr. DiLeo Jr. played Private Salazar in George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead (1985). Other horror movie roles included Monkey Shines (1988) and Two Evil Eyes (1990), and an uncredited zombie in Night of the Living Dead (1990). RIP.

Horror Book Bits

Check out the 7th annual Summer Scares reading list from the Horror Writers Association, iREAD, and NoveList®.
Stephen King is reimagining Hansel and Gretel in collaboration with the Maurice Sendak Foundation. The picture book releases on 2 September 2025 and features art originally created by Sendak as set and costume designs for the 1997 Engelbert Humperdinck opera.
Joe Hill’s horror comic series Basketful of Heads is getting a movie adaptation.
PC and Kristin Cast’s YA vampire novel series House of Night is getting a movie adaption.
Stephen King’s Misery, Fire-Starter, and The Dead Zone are getting a repackage with retro covers.

Horror Movie Morsels

No real news on Francis Lawrence’s Constantine sequel except for him saying it’s “closer than ever”.
Shark horror movie The Black Demon is getting a sequel.
The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs returns to Shudder and AMC+ with a double feature airing on the first Friday of every month, starting 7 Mar 2025.
We might be getting a biopic about the late paranormal DJ Art Bell.
The 3rd movie in the Wolf Creek slasher franchise, Wolf Creek: Legacy, is expected in 2026 and will see Mick Taylor return to hunt a family of American tourists.
Hammer Films is “unleashing a brand new monster” in Ithaqua, set in 1800s Canada.

Horror TV Treats

Amy Adams will be lead role in the Apple TV+ Cape Fear 10-episode TV series.
True Detective, Season 5, will take place in Jamaica Bay, New York. It’s a new story with new characters but will contain connections with Ennis, Alaska, from season 4.
Taylor Lautner: Werewolf Hunter is in development. “Playing himself, Taylor is drawn into a secret society of werewolf trackers who need his unique expertise.”
Peter Dinklage will be a regular cast member in Dexter: Resurrection.

Horror Festival Fare

Hideo Kojima will be at SXSW 2025 talking about Death Stranding 2: On the Beach.

“When we are tired, we are attacked by ideas we conquered long ago.”
Friedrich Nietzsche

Writing Horror

Some places accepting submissions

Parsec Short Story Contest
Prizes: $200 first, $100 second, $50 third, $50 youth story
Theme: Roots. Science fiction, fantasy, and horror stories that include all types of roots: family legends, genetic inheritance, plant-like aliens, root directories, symbiotic mycorrhizal systems, etc.
Submissions close: 31 Mar 2025

(s)crawl magazine
Pays: $20 CAD
Looking for: diverse horror, showcasing short stories, poetry, and essays written by queer, neurodiverse, BIPOC, female, and disabled writers
Submissions close: 29 May 2025

Tiny Terrors 2025 (Graveside Press)
Pays: 2 cents per word
Looking for: Anthology or standalone stories Tiny Terrors short fiction program
Submissions close: 31 Oct 2025

“I am tired of myself tonight. I should like to be somebody else.”
Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray

Trailer Horror

A taste of things to come.

Horror TV Trailers

Twisted Metal, Season 2. Apocalypse horror. John and Quiet enter the deadly TWISTED METAL tournament, a demolition derby hosted by a mysterious man known as Calypso. As they try to survive an onslaught of dangerous new foes and familiar faces alike, including the murderous clown Sweet Tooth, things get complicated for John when he reunites with his long-lost sister, the vigilante Dollface. Peacock, Summer 2025

Horror Movie Trailers

Blood in Them Hills. Western horror. A bank robber, a doctor, and a midwife with a rescued baby stranded in a desolate wilderness discover they’ve stumbled upon the site of a demonic massacre. They band together to survive the relentless pursuit of a deadly Wendigo Demon, cannibalistic horrors, and a murderous outlaw gang. VOD, 18 Feb 2025

Borderline. Psychological horror. A stalker with grand delusions of a wedding invades the home of a ‘90s pop superstar. With her life on the line and help from her loyal bodyguard, she must escape the stalker’s sinister grip before they tie the knot. Cinema and VOD, 14 Mar 2025

The Cellar. Psychological horror. A young girl awakens in an underground cell with no memory of how she got there. Release date TBA

For Sale by Exorcist. Supernatural comedy horror. After years of exorcising haunted houses, realtor Susan Price finally finds her dream home, until the spirits she’s evicted return, threatening to make it her final resting place. VOD, 11 Mar 2025

Gothic Slayers. Cult comedy horror. Two putt-putt employees and best friends face off against a demonic cult that has kidnapped their friend and threatens to destroy their hometown. VOD, 4 Mar 2025

Hood Witch. French witch horror. A woman earns a living by smuggling exotic animals and illegal goods, developing a mobile app that links users with mystical marabout healers, but one of the user’s consultations takes a tragic turn facing a violent backlash. VOD, 21 Mar 2025

Shadow of the Wolf. Werewolf horror. When Nico returns from overseas to say farewell to his ailing mother, he discovers something monstrous is happening in the small town he once called home. VOD, 25 Mar 2025

Until Dawn (new trailer). Killer horror. A year after her sister disappeared, Clover and her friends head into the remote valley where she vanished in search of answers. Exploring an abandoned visitor center, they’re stalked by a masked killer and horrifically murdered one by one, only to wake up and find themselves back at the beginning of the same evening. Each time the killer threat is different, each more terrifying than the last. Cinema, 25 Apr 2025

Wake Up. Survival horror. A group of young activists set out to make an environmental statement by vandalizing a home superstore as it closes. But their plan goes terribly wrong when they become trapped inside and must face a deranged security guard with a gruesome passion for primitive hunting. VOD, 4 Apr 2025

Horror Game Trailers

Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic. Animatronic horror. Enter the abandoned workshop of Murray’s Costume Manor and unravel the mystery left behind by the reclusive inventor, Edwin Murray. Releases 13 Jun 2025

Flesh Made Fear. Survival horror. Step into the boots of a Reaper Intervention Platoon (R.I.P.) operative; a member of a covert task force sent to stop the infamous Victor “The Dripper” Ripper. Steam, W4 2025

Panic Delivery. Post-apocalyptic horror. Multiplayer co-op where players take on the role of desperate couriers struggling to complete perilous deliveries in a post-apocalyptic world ruled by monsters. Steam Early Access, Q2 2025

“The ability to dream is all I have to give. That is my responsibility; that is my burden. And even I grow tired.”
Harlan Ellison, Stalking the Nightmare

A Selection of Horror Books Released this Week

14 horror books this week. Themes: Supernatural, psychological, dark fantasy, dystopian, small town, vampire, sci-fi, monster, and medical horror

See: A Selection of Horror Books Released, 9 to 15 Feb 2025

“There is a great deal of difference between an eager man who wants to read a book and a tired man who wants a book to read.”
G.K. Chesterton

A Selection of Horror Movies Released this Week

8 horror movies this week. Themes: Psychological, ghosts, medieval, found footage, and cosmic horror

See: A Selection of Horror Movies Released, 9 to 15 Feb 2025

“He felt that his whole life was some kind of dream and he sometimes wondered whose it was and whether they were enjoying it.”
Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

A Selection of Horror TV Shows Released this Week

1 horror TV show this week. Themes: Survival horror

See: A Selection of Horror TV Shows Released, 9 to 15 Feb 2025

“If you set to work to believe everything, you will tire out the believing-muscles of your mind, and then you'll be so weak you won't be able to believe the simplest true things.”
Lewis Carroll

What We Were Thinking About this Week

Sweet Sweet Horror: Horror Books for Your Valentine
The Collector by Laura Kat Young (novel)
The House of Last Resort by Christopher Golden (novel)
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager (novel)

“So, if you are too tired to speak, sit next to me for I, too, am fluent in silence.”
R. Arnold

And Now For Something Completely Different

Cyanide & Happiness on Instagram

Horror-Themed Shopping

See the FearSome Fiction shop for horror designs available on a wide variety of T-shirts, tanks, sweatshirts, and hoodies, as well as bags, notebooks, phone cases, pillows, duvets, blankets, bath mats, and more.