The Fantastic Pavilion presents a weekly recap with the most relevant news about the world of genre cinema.
News
The Hollywood Reporter confirmed that Robert Eggers’ next project is a werewolf picture titled Werwulf and set in 13th century England. The script was written by Eggers and Sjón (who also co-wrote The Northman) and “features dialogue that was true to the time period.” Focus Features plans to bring Werwulf to North American theaters on December 25, 2026.
Bong Joon-ho’s sci-fi film Mickey 17 (2025) – which follows an “unlikely hero (Robert Pattinson) in the extraordinary circumstance of working for an employer who demands to die for a living” – has a brand-new trailer. Mickey 17 will screen at the Berlinale (February 13-23), before its theatrical release in the U.S. (scheduled for March 7).
After directing horror comedies like Happy Death Day (2017) and Freaky (2020), Christopher Landon is back with the serious horror thriller Drop (2025). Its trailer makes it look like a movie in the vein of Phone Booth (2002), but certainly featuring current technology. Drop will celebrate its world premiere at SXSW (on March 10). It’ll be released in theaters on April 11.
Synopsis: “A widowed mother, on her first date in years, arrives at an upscale restaurant where she meets her handsome date. But their chemistry begins to curdle as she begins being irritated and then terrorized by a series of anonymous drops to her phone.”
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the 97th Oscars nominees. Genre cinema is mainly represented by The Substance (2024), Dune: Part Two (2024) and Nosferatu (2024).
Coralie Fargeat’s movie got five noms: Best Picture, Directing, Writing (Original Screenplay), Actress in a Leading Role (Demi Moore), and Makeup and Hairstyling.
Denis Villeneuve’s epic was also nominated in five categories: Best Picture, Cinematography (Greig Fraser), Production Design, Sound, and Visual Effects.
Eggers’ flick will compete in four categories: Cinematography (Jarin Blaschke), Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling, and Production Design.
The ceremony will be celebrated on March 2.
Troma Entertainment is producing Poultrygeist 2, a sequel to their 2006 musical satire. Lloyd Kaufman’s protege Mercedes the Muse will be the writer and director this time. The New York-based company said in a press release that “this Poultrygeist sequel will have more guts, more blood, and more poultry. Expect some real, catchy, new bangers.”
Speaking of Troma, the remake of The Toxic Avenger (2023) has finally found a U.S. and Canada distributor in Cineverse (via Variety). Directed by Macon Blair and starring Peter Dinklage and Kevin Bacon, this reinterpretation of Kaufman’s 1984 cult classic had its world premiere at the 2023 Fantastic Fest. While it got good reviews back then, it was subsequently labeled as “unreleasable” and stayed in distribution limbo for more than a year. But now Cineverse – the company that distributed Terrifier 3 (2024) – has bought the rights and is planning an “unrated wide release” in 2025.
Rob Jabbaz will helm a film based on Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows’ comic book Crossed. When Jabbaz’s violent infected movie The Sadness (Ku bei, 2021) came out, some people actually compared it to Crossed, so it makes sense that Jabbaz has been chosen as the director of the official adaptation.
“I’m very excited and also very confident in the script and the team we’ve assembled so far,” Jabbaz wrote on his Instagram page. According the The Hollywood Reporter, the project is “eying a March filming date.”
The Rule of Jenny Pen (2024) – which won the awards for Best Director (James Ashcroft) and Best Actor (Geoffrey Rush) at Fantastic Fest – hits U.S. theaters on March 7, via IFC Films and Shudder. Here’s its synopsis: “Arrogant Judge Stefan Mortensen (Rush) suffers a near-fatal stroke, leaving him partially paralyzed and confined to a retirement home. Resistant to the staff and distant from his friendly roommate, Mortensen soon clashes with seemingly gentle resident Dave Crealy (John Lithgow) who secretly terrorizes the home with a sadistic game called The Rule of Jenny Pen, while wielding his dementia doll as an instrument of cruelty. What begins as childish torment quickly escalates into far more sinister and disturbing incidents. When Mortensen’s pleas to the staff go unanswered, he takes it upon himself to put an end to Crealy’s reign of terror.”
The official trailer for Opus (2025) was released by A24. This horror thriller is part of the Midnight section at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival (January 23-February 2). It’ll land in U.S. theaters on March 14.
Official synopsis: “A young writer (Ayo Edebiri) is invited to the remote compound of a legendary pop star (John Malkovich) who mysteriously disappeared 30 years ago. Surrounded by the star’s cult of sycophants and intoxicated journalists, she finds herself in the middle of his twisted plan.”
Home video
Variety revealed that Arrow Video will produce this year physical editions of eight Shudder flicks: The Sadness, Deadstream (2022), Speak No Evil (2022), Huesera: The Bone Woman (Huesera, 2022), Hellbender (2021), Perpetrator (2023), Nightwatch (Nattevagten, 1994), and Nightwatch: Demons Are Forever (Nattevagten – Dæmoner går I are, 2023).