The Fantastic Pavilion presents a weekly recap with the most relevant news about the world of genre cinema.
News
Yorgos Lanthimos’ new film, Bugonia (2025), is a remake of Save the Green Planet! (2003), a South Korean “mash-up of sci-fi, horror, and psychological drama.” Lanthimos’ version stars Jesse Plemons as one of “two conspiracy obsessed young men” who “kidnap the high-powered CEO of a major company (played by Emma Stone), convinced that she is an alien intent on destroying planet Earth.” Bugonia hits cinemas in October (teaser trailer here).
Renny Harlin’s The Strangers trilogy continues this year with The Strangers: Chapter 2 (2025). Lionsgate just shared its trailer, ahead of its U.S. release on September 26.
Synopsis: “The Strangers are back, more brutal and relentless than ever. When they learn that one of their victims, Maya (Madelaine Petsch), is still alive, they return to finish what they’ve started. With nowhere to run and no one to trust, Maya must survive another horrific chapter of terror as The Strangers – driven by a senseless, unceasing purpose – pursue her, more than willing to kill anyone who stands in their way.”
Quentin Tarantino’s Vista Theater announced a bunch of ultra-rare screenings of Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair on 35mm, set to take place from July 18 to 28. The Vista confirmed they’ll show the film print “that premiered at Cannes” (in 2006). The Whole Bloody Affair is Kill Bill presented as “Tarantino originally intended”: a single four-hour epic, with a 10-minute intermission. This unrated cut screened for the first time in the U.S. back in 2011, at the New Beverly Cinema.
Videoheaven (2025) tackles the “birth, life, death, and afterlife of the video store.” Directed by Alex Ross Perry, and narrated by Maya Hawke, this three-hour “essay film” had its world premiere as part of IFFR’s Focus: Hold Video in Your Hands programme. And now it’ll open theatrically in New York City (July 2 at IFC Center) and Los Angeles (August 6 at Vidiots). Watch here its trailer.
NECA has pleased Terrifier fans by unveiling their Art the Clown 7-inch scale action figure, which includes “interchangeable expressions and hands, and an unsettling arsenal of weapons and accessories.” You can pre-order the figure now.
There’s a new trailer for Chuck Russell’s supernatural horror flick Witchboard (2024), which was part of Mórbido Fest’s 2024 lineup. Witchboard is a remake of the 1986 movie of the same name. It’ll get a wide theatrical release in the U.S. on August 15.
Synopsis: “In present-day New Orleans, a cursed artifact unleashes a vengeful witch, drawing a young couple into a deadly spiral of possession, temptation, and occult terror.”
Festivals
The Amsterdam-based Imagine Fantastic Film Festival presented the poster for its upcoming 41st edition (October 30-November 9). The image was created by Elizabeth E. Schuch and inspired by “tentacles, cosmic horror, and other Lovecraftian imaginations.”