By Eric Ortiz
The Fantastic Pavilion presents a Weekly Recap with the most relevant news about the world of genre cinema.
News
When Rob Jabbaz’s brutal flick The Sadness (2021) screened at festivals like Mórbido five years ago, some people compared it to Garth Ennis and Jacen Burrows’ comic book Crossed. And now Jabbaz has directed the official Crossed adaption, which is expected to hit theaters in 2027 (teaser trailer here).
Synopsis (via Bloody Disgusting): “Stan and Cindy are the leaders of a group of strangers thrown together as they attempt to escape northward away from the infected known as the Crossed. In this world, those affected by a mysterious disease appear to have a cross on their foreheads and follow their worst impulses. They’re the equivalent of zombies, but a lot meaner and whole lot more psychotic.”
The official trailer for Mike Flanagan’s The Exorcist: Martyrs (2027) blends crime and supernatural horror.
The Exorcist: Martyrs, starring Scarlett Johansson, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Sasha Calle and John Leguizamo, opens theatrically on March 12.
Synopsis: “Thirteen years ago, New York City detective Julie Miller (Johansson) ended the terror reign of satanic serial killer Father Sunday. The case made her a hero, and she has thrown herself into her work ever since. Now a new killer scrawls her name in an altar boy’s blood on the walls of a church crypt, dragging her back into the darkness she believed she had buried with him. Aided by former prison chaplain Father William (Ejiofor), who heard Father Sunday’s final confession, and sharp rookie detective Gina Restrepo (Calle), Detective Miller will discover a filament linking a lineage of serial killers, from H.H. Holmes to the Zodiac, that could corrupt everything, and everyone, she loves with an evil that goes well beyond the mortal.”
After premiering last month at Fantastic Fest, the slasher In a Violent Nature 2 (2026) is heading to U.S. cinemas on February 12. This information was confirmed by IFC and Shudder.
Festivals
The 2026 FrightFest Halloween is taking place in London on October 30 and 31. Its lineup includes American Dollhouse (2026), Talking to a Stranger (2026), and Dead Howling (2026) – which mixes the zombie and werewolf subgenres –.
Gábor Holtai’s “psychological thriller” Feels Like Home (2025) won the 2026 Méliès d’or for Best European Fantastic Feature Film. The Méliès International Festivals Federation (MIFF) also recognized at Sitges The Old Lady and the Eternity (2026) as Best European Fantastic Short Film.
Home video
Severin Films announced a Blu-ray box set based on their documentary Theatre of Horrors: The Sordid Story of Paris’ Grand Guignol (2025). Aside of the doc itself, the set contains “rare shockers from the dawn of cinema,” films based on André de Lorde’s work, four Maurice Tourneur thrillers, and much more. Pre-orders are live.