The Fantastic Pavilion presents a weekly recap with the most relevant news about the world of genre cinema, plus our latest exclusives.
News
The first teaser trailer for Robert Eggers’ highly anticipated and previously “cursed” Nosferatu (2024) was released last Monday. Starring Bill Skarsgård as Count Orlok – the character originally portrayed by Max Schreck in the legendary 1922 Dracula ripoff –, Eggers’ vampire picture is hitting theaters on Christmas Day in the U.S. and Canada (release dates for other countries are yet to be confirmed).
Fresh news straight from Atomic Monster HQ: Osgood Perkins’ The Monkey (2025) – an adaptation of Stephen King’s short story of the same name – is now set to be released on February 21, 2025 (via Neon); also, a M3GAN (2022) spinoff titled Soulm8te (2026) is expected to hit theaters on January 2, 2026 (via Universal).
The master of horror John Carpenter, director of such classics as Halloween (1978), The Thing (1982) and They Live (1988), is getting in 2025 his very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Robert Englund, Freddy Krueger himself, and Bill Duke (Predator, Mandy) are also part of the Class of 2025.
Marta Cabrera and Pablo Aragüés’ Ancestral won the 2024 Fantastic Latido Award. This Spanish witchcraft drama, currently a work-in-progress, stars Almudena Amor and – according to co-director Aragüés – is in the vein of Hereditary (2018) and It Follows (2014). To learn more about the Fantastic Latido Award, you can read our own dispatch.
The Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AMACC) announced last week the Ariel Awards nominations. Luis Javier Henaine’s horror thriller Disappear Completely (Desaparecer por completo, 2022) got eight noms, including Harold Torres in the Best Actor category. Genre cinema is also represented by the Mexican slasher comedy Masacre en Teques (2023), which got three nominations (Makeup, Visual Effects and Special Effects). The Ariel ceremony will take place in Guadalajara, Mexico on September 7.
Doctor Jekyll (2023), Hammer’s new take on the Gothic horror classic The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, will be released in U.S. theaters and on demand on August 2.
Fantastic Pavilion’s exclusives
Eric Ortiz, Fantastic Pavilion’s editor-in-chief, interviews Argentine director Demián Rugna about the brutal demonic possession film When Evil Lurks (Cuando acecha la maldad, 2023), which screened at Mórbido Fest 2023 and is currently available to stream on Shudder and Netflix.
Festivals
The Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival (NIFFF) revealed the lineup for its upcoming 23rd edition, to be held from July 5 to 13. Highlights include Perkins’ serial killer movie Longlegs (2024), Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz’s The Devil’s Bath (Des Teufels Bad, 2024) – winner of the Silver Bear for Outstanding Artistic Contribution –, Ti West’s ’80s horror throwback MaXXXine (2024), Chris Nash’s arthouse slasher In a Violent Nature (2024), Nikhil Nagesh Bhat’s action extravaganza Kill (2023), and Can Evrenol’s female martial arts Revengeamatic Sayara (2024) – which of course was one of the Fantastic Pavilion’s galas in Cannes –.
Additionally, NIFFF just announced Baptiste Hurni as the festival’s new president. He’ll succeed Nathalie Randin from July 14.
The 2024 edition of the Mórbido Fest has opened its call for entries! The fantasy and horror film festival is taking place in Mexico City from October 30 to November 10.
Home video
Variety broke the news that boutique Blu-ray label Severin Films has partnered with Shudder and IFC Films to release 11 of their originals and licensed movies on disc. This initial slate includes Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral (2012), André Øvredal’s The Autopsy of Jane Doe (2016), Joko Anwar’s Satan’s Slaves (Pengabdi Setan, 2017) and Satan’s Slaves 2: Communion (Pengadbi Setan 2: Communion, 2022), Can Evrenol’s Baskin (2015), and the remakes Maniac (2012) and Sisters (2006). The deal, by the way, was brokered at the Fantastic Pavilion in Cannes!
In memoriam
Donald Sutherland (1935-2024). The incredible actor passed away on June 20, at the age of 88. According to Deadline, he died “in Miami after a long illness.” Genre aficionados will remember him for films like Don’t Look Now (1973), Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978), The Dirty Dozen (1967), Kelly’s Heroes (1970), MASH (1970), Klute (1971), and Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965). We recommend you reading David Hudson’s tribute to Sutherland on Criterion’s Current.