By Eric Ortiz
The Fantastic Pavilion presents a weekly recap with the most relevant news about the world of genre cinema.
News
As we reported last week, Yeon Sang-ho’s new horror movie Colony (Gunche, 2026) is set to premiere at the Cannes Film Festival (May 12-23), as part of the Midnight Screenings. And now you can watch its American teaser!
Colony opens in cinemas on August 28, via Well Go USA Entertainment.
Synopsis: “Colony follows Professor Se-jeong as she is thrust into a terrifying hellscape when a mutating virus is unleashed during a biotech conference, forcing authorities to seal the facility to contain the outbreak. Unable to escape, Se-jeong and a group of survivors must fight to stay alive as the infected undergo horrific transformations and threaten to spread the virus.”
The first look teaser of Takashi Yamazaki’s Godzilla Minus Zero (2026) offers a glimpse of Godzilla near the Statute of Liberty. The highly anticipated sequel to the hit Godzilla Minus One (2023) “picks up in 1949 and continues the story of the Shikishima family as they face an all-new calamity.”
Godzilla Minus Zero releases in theaters on November 3 (Japan) and November 6 (North America).
Eli Roth’s killer kids flick Ice Cream Man (2026) has gotten an official teaser trailer, ahead of its U.S. theatrical release on August 7. Ice Cream Man, starring Ari Millen, is Roth’s first directorial effort under his own company, The Horror Section.
Synopsis: “Ice Cream Man follows an idyllic summer town descending into madness when an ice cream man serves kids sweet delights with horrifying results.”
“Last year over 130 million people took road trips… 15,400 of them were never seen again,” indicates the trailer for Passenger (2026), the latest supernatural horror picture from Norwegian director André Øvredal (The Last Voyage of the Demeter, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Troll Hunter). Passenger hits the big screen on May 22.
Synopsis: “A few weeks into their van life adventure, a young couple witnesses a horrific accident that leaves the driver dead. Soon they’re being pursued by a demonic stalker who’s impossible to outrun and follows them wherever they go.”
Festivals
With Japan being the Marché du Film’s 2026 Country of Honour, it stands to reason that Takashi Miike – one of the great Japanese directors – has been confirmed as this year’s Fantastic Godfather. The Fantastic 7 showcase, co-organized by the Sitges Film Festival, is set to take place on May 17 (12:00 hrs., at Palais K, Palais des Festivals).
Home video
Mórbido Fest selection Children of the Wicker Man (2024) – a documentary about the behind-the-scenes of Robin Hardy’s classic The Wicker Man (1973) – is coming to Blu-ray on June 30, thanks to Severin Films. With the doc, “Robin’s sons (Justin and Dominic Hardy) uncover the personal costs of the film’s chaotic production, their father’s war with studio British Lion,” and more.