The FrightFest Guide to Japanese Horror Movies, the latest book collaboration between FrightFest and FAB Press, is set to launch at this year’s Tubi FrightFest, which takes place between August 27th and 31st.
Written by Japanese cinema expert Tom Mes, the book will be on sale during the event with the author in attendance to sign copies and introduce some classic Japanese horror movies.
The FrightFest Guide to Japanese Horror Movies shines a spotlight on more than 200 films and fright franchises, including horrific hidden gems and monstrous missing links that have never been seen outside Japan or written about in the English language before.
Following the success of the previous seven editions: The FrightFest Guides to Exploitation Movies, Monster Movies, Ghost Movies, Werewolf Movies, Grindhouse Movies, Vampire Movies and Mad Doctor Movies, this is the latest in a series of wide appeal books for both the curious spectator and the cult connoisseur.
The exclusive launch of the book is at Tubi FrightFest 2026, with official author book signings taking place at Odeon LUXE Leicester Square from Friday 28th to Monday August 31st.
The exclusive hardcover will be on sale for just £25, and people not attending in person won’t miss out as they have the option to pre-order the book from www.fabpress.com– pre-ordered books will ship the first week of September. The Paperback publication date is October 27th, 2026.
Jessica Chastain returns to horror with Universal Pictures’ Other Mommy, in which Chastain plays not one, but two characters.
In the film, Bela (Arabella Olivia Clark), an 8-year-old girl living in a home with marital problems, confronts a sinister entity that comes out of her closet. The presence, whom she calls ‘Other Mommy’ because of her uncanny likeness to her mother, becomes an increasingly dangerous threat to the young girl and her family.
SEGA Europe and Creative Assembly have announced a new collaboration with the UK’s premier horror fantasy film festival, Tubi FrightFest.
Over five days from Thursday August 27th to Monday August 31st at the Odeon LUXE Leicester Square, Tubi FrightFest fans will have the first opportunity in the UK to play the prologue of the upcoming survival horror title, Alien: Isolation 2™, plus there is a special presentation of the original 1979 Alien film in the main Dolby Cinema auditorium screen on Sunday at 3.30pm.
The next chapter in the Alien: Isolation™ series, Alien: Isolation 2 will bring players face-to-face once more with cinema’s deadliest killer: Alien’s Xenomorph. With a brand-new setting, story and protagonist, players will experience the same deadly tension which established the original game as the ultimate survival horror experience.
“Horror is a medium that thrives on atmosphere and tension, whether you are watching it in a cinema or gripping a controller,” said Al Hope, Creative Director at Creative Assembly. “Partnering with Tubi FrightFest is a perfect match. Their audience appreciates the craft of fear, and we can’t wait to let them experience the relentless dread of Alien: Isolation 2 first hand.”
“We are incredibly excited to welcome SEGA to the Tubi FrightFest family,” said Ian Rattray, Co-Director of Tubi FrightFest. “Our festival has always been about pushing the boundaries of the horror genre. Alien: Isolation™ was a masterclass in interactive suspense, and bringing the sequel to our audience allows us to offer a unique, spine-chilling experience that aligns perfectly with our cinematic roots.”
The upcoming edition of Tubi FrightFest will take place over the August Bank Holiday weekend (August 27th – August 31st, 2026) at their flagship London venues: Odeon LUXE Leicester Sq. and Odeon LUXE West End.
For more information, visit the official FrightFest WEBSITE to purchase TICKETS.
The line-up for the 2026 Tubi FrightFest has been announced with an unprecedented 82 features screening across five screens.
The opening night has an Asian flavour, starting with the world premiere of Abner Pastoll’s Nervous Set in South Korea, it reunites the director of A Good Woman is Hard to Find with its star Sarah Bolger. This is followed by Colony, the latest from Yeon Sang-ho, whose films Seoul Station and Train to Busan will also screen during the festival. Also screening is Ghosts in the Cell, Salmokji: Whispering Water (the highest grossing Korean film of all time), and newly remastered versions of cult Japanese films Crazy Lips and Gore from Outer Space.
Nervous
The closing night film is the UK premiere of Marion Le Corroller’s Species (aka Sanguine), a dark comedy sci-fi bod horror with effects from Pierre-Olivier Persin, who won an Oscar for The Substance (which closed the festival a couple of years ago).
Other films screening throughout the five-day event are The Adams Family’s latest The Glorious Dead, Spider One’s Big Baby, Lukas Rinker’s Frostbite, Kevin Ignatius and Nick Psinakis’ stylish crime thriller Valley View Motel, Federico Zampaglione’s The Nameless Ballad, and Ryuhei Kitamura’s Labyrinth.
Christopher Smith (Creep) returns with the world premiere of his satirical creepy-crawly pic Spider Island, and there are more horrific creatures in Padriag Reynolds’ Gator Face, and James Nunn’s Hungry, which features a ravenous hippo!
Spider Island
Casey Walker becomes the first director to have two films screened in one year with Home Bodies and the new Hammer production Ithaqua.
Jenn Wexler’s eagerly-awaited sequel The Last Temptation of Becky gets a UK premiere, alongside anthologies Grind and The Pitchfork Retreat. Danny DeVito’s daughter Lucy stars twisted comedy horror Drag, with Danny producing.
Also on the main screen are Oddites, starring Adrienne Barbeau, the fourth-wall-breaking You Are the Film, serial killer thriller Hyena, Stewart Sparke’s Dead Reset, paranoia thriller Imposters, and the hilariously surreal Ponderosa.
In the four Discovery screens, there’s an eclectic mix of new talent and unmissable movies. The ‘First Blood’ strand highlights debut UK filmmakers with world premieres of Annabella Rich’s The Death of Us, Paul Stainthorpe’s The Brook, William Brooke’s The Alice Paradox, Conscian Morgan’s Binding Eva, and Ashley Nashville’s Heraldry Paranormal.
Other homegrown movies set to screen are Lawrence Fowler’s Grin, Dan Schaffer’s Electric Meat (starring Emily Booth and Sylvia Soska), Justin Hardy’s Wicker Man conculsion Wrath of the Gods, Howard Ford’s Zip Wire, Jake Kuhn and Noah Stratton-Twine’s The Peril at Pincer Point, Nathan and Ben McQuaid’s Welcome to G-Town, and Chris Green’s Synthesized.
Electric Meat
There’s the UK premiere of Daniel Goldhaber’s Faces of Death, there are killer toilets in Gurcius Gewdner and Gustavo Vinagre’s Bowels of Hell, Steve Pink (Hot Tub Time Machine) unveils Terrestrial, Brett and Jason Bulter’s satirical Starsuckers, Nicholas Pineda’s Infirmary, Larry Fassenden’s Trauma or, Monsters All, Chris Schwab’s Dracula: The Night Around Us, Kyle Mangione-Smith’s Compliance, and the pinhole camera found footage flick Snapshot.
The terror continues with Kyra Elise Gardner’s Slay, Cameron Francis’ Blood Secret, Andy Chen’s Another (starring Heather Langenkamp and Doug Jones), Justin M. Seaman’s conclusion to his trilogy The Barn Part III, Henry Chaisson’s Recluse, Cody S. Wilson’s Lesions, Casper Kelly’s Buddy, Nick Lyon’s Do You Want to Play?, Robert J. Steinmiller and Chris Lightbody’s Bad Karaoke, Stefan Colson’s Bloom, Carson McKinnon’s Mother and Me, and Josh Lobo’s Night After Night. There’s also the cryptid sequel Frogman Returns, from Anthony Cousins. Frogman will also be screened, with Cousins in attendance.
From South America, there’s Patricio Valladares’ Invoking Scream, the sequel to his Invoking Yell. Ian SBF’s The Flesh Itself, Kapel Furman’s Remanence, and the debut from Jeremias Segovia, Sweet Violence all highlight the talent from the continent.
From Australia, there’s a return of Alice Maio Mackay with Our Effed Up World, Richard E. Williams’ Dead Eyes, James Hunter’s The Latcher, and James Branson’s highly praised Bunny Rabbit.
Grind
Canada is represented by Sam Scott’s Turn it Up! and Daniel Turres’ Fresh Meat, while Dutch director Martijn Smits informs us that Meat Kills.
Documentaries are always a popular part of Tubi FrightFest, and this year, there’s the world premiere of Sarah Appleton’s Full Moon Rising: The Charles Band Story, which covers the legendary director/producer. Charles Band will be in attendance too! There’s the European premiere of the brilliant Rubberhead: The Life & Times of Steve Johnson from Nick Taylor, which looks at the brilliant work of the FX artist behind Ghostbusters and Fright Night. Mike Meyer’s The Fright Stuff takes a look at the haunted house industry in America.
Retrospective screenings this year include Ghostkeeper, Jim Makichuck’s slasher classic. Hammer Films present Val Guest’s atmospheric The Abominable Snowman, a world premiere of the restored UK cut with the original title sequence.
Tubi FrightFest co-director Alan Jones said “Co-director Alan Jones comments: “Tubi FrightFest knows what creates resonance with its audience: that there has to be space for depth of exciting storytelling and that what is important in the ultimate scheme of festival priorities is to interact, scream, laugh and debate in a safe space, with a like-minded community”.
Species
Full festival passes are on sale from Saturday, July 18th at noon, with day passes and single tickets on sale from noon on Saturday, July 25th. To book, and for more information head over to https://www.frightfest.co.uk
The short film showcase titles and guests will be announced soon.
Paramount Pictures has closed a deal for the rights to the original screenplay of A Nightmare on Elm Street, the movie famously written and directed by Wes Craven that kicked off the popular horror franchise featuring everyone’s favourite metal claw-gloved killer, Freddy Krueger.
The new iteration will hail from the studio’s new genre label, Paramount Primal, led by J.D. Lifshitz and Raphael Margules, the producers behind Barbarian and Friendship.
The U.S. rights are being licensed from the Craven estate. Copyright law allows authors to reclaim rights 35 years after publication, hence why the Craven estate regained the rights to the Nightmare on Elm Street screenplay in 2019.
“We look forward to bringing the world of Wes Craven’s Nightmare on Elm Street to a new and completely engaged generation of fans,” said Craven’s widow, Iya Labunka, in a statement. “We know that Wes would have been thrilled to see how horror is taking its long overdue place in the cultural canon. We can’t wait for all of us to sit together in a dark theatre – around the campfire of today – as the next chapter of the Nightmare story unfolds.”
Lifshitz and Margules stated, “We can’t remember a time before we were fans of Wes Craven. The fact that Iya and Jonathan have entrusted us with this opportunity to help usher a new story into this world is an honor beyond words. We look forward to working alongside them to bring a terrifying new nightmare to audiences everywhere, and to welcome Freddy home.”
Horror and rampage look to hit children’s television in the new trailer for Buddy, a horror thriller from director Casper Kelly. Starring in the Roadside Attractions film are Cristin Milioti, Keegan-Michael Key, Topher Grace, Delaney Quinn, Patton Oswalt, and Michael Shannon.
Per the official synopsis: “Remember Buddy — the bright orange unicorn and star of that classic childrens’ television show who brought joy and life lessons into your living room? Inside the colorful world of “It’s Buddy!”, a group of children spend their days singing, dancing, and helping Buddy spread happiness. But when one child refuses to play along, Buddy is not pleased, and cracks begin to appear in this seemingly perfect world.”
Kelly, known for creating Adult Swim’s viral 2014 horror short Too Many Cooks, directs Buddy from a script he co-wrote with Jamie King. Tyler Davidson, Drew Sykes, Raphael Margules, J.D. Lifshitz, and Tracy Rosenblum serve as producers. On executive producing duties are Kelly, King, Kevin Flanigan, Dexter Braff, Roberto Linck, Nathan McAuley, Emilio Schenker, Gideon Tadmor, Adam J. Wilde, Geoff Yaw and Ryan J. Kelly.
Buddy premiered at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year and will be released in U.S. cinemas on August 28th. The feature does not yet have a confirmed U.K. release.
Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner are reuniting with Strange Darlingfilmmaker JT Mollner for Skeletons. The upcoming creature feature also stars Brie Larson and, per the latest update from Deadline, John Goodman.
The film’s cast will also include Ione Skye and Daithí Ó Haragáin. Set at Sony Pictures, Skeletons is being described as a “modern take on the creature horror film,” and is “told from the perspective of a young boy who slowly begins to discover that his beloved parents are hiding a disturbing secret about his mother’s true nature.”
J.J. Abrams is producing, and Mollner will direct from a script by Love and Monstersand No One Will Save You scribe Brian Duffield. The script is based on the short story Fail-Safe by Philip Fracassi.
The movie hails from FilmNation Entertainment’s production label Infrared, J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions, and Assemble Media. Drew Simon, Abrams and Jon Cohen will produce along with Jack Heller. Assemble’s Caitlin de Lisser-Ellen and Duffield will exec produce as will Roy Lee and Steven Schneider. Larson and Fracassi are also exec producing. Infrared is financing.
Strange Darling was widely hailed as one of the best horror films to be released in 2024, a year that included Nosferatu, Longlegs, and The Substance.
20th Century has landed the original project Nue from Godzilla Minus Onedirector Takashi Yamazaki, with Ridley Scott producing. Plot details are being kept tightly under wraps.
Yamazaki will direct, with Michael Pruss producing with Ridley Scott under the latter’s Scott Free Productions. Also producing are Keiichiro Moriya and Go Abe from Robot Communications, Georgina Pope for Toho-Tombo, and Amie Horiuchi.
Yamazaki has been on studios’ radar since the release of his 2023 kaiju film Godzilla Minus One, which was both a box-office hit and a critical success, and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. His upcoming sequel Godzilla Minus Zero will be released via Toho International later this year.
“Nue has been a lifelong dream of mine. I am honored to have the opportunity to make it happen with the creative brilliance of Ridley Scott and Scott Free and the fantastic team at 20th Century Studios. I will do my upmost [sic] to ensure this becomes a fantastic movie for all to see,” said Yamazaki in a statement.
“We’re delighted to be working with Takashi Yamazaki and his team on this magnificent original sci-fi film for our partners at 20th Century Studios,” said Scott. “We’ve long admired Takashi’s visionary and skillful story-telling, exemplified by his superb production of Godzilla Minus One. We’re looking forward to helping him bring this major project to life to audiences around the world.”
With Mother Mary out in the world earlier this year, David Lowery has set his next directorial project: adapting the award-winning, supernatural horror novel The Fisherman from author John Langan, for Focus Features.
Lowery, who was also behind Arthurian fantasy The Green Knight, is co-writing the film adaptation with Alex Ross Perry. Producers include Michael Bay and Brad Fuller for Platinum Dunes, and Gary Dauberman and Mia Maniscalco for Coin Operated.
Per the novel’s official synopsis: “In upstate New York, within the woods, Dutchman’s Creek flows out of the Ashokan Reservoir. Steep-banked and fast-moving, it offers the promise of fine fishing, and of something more, a possibility too fantastic to be true.
“When Abe and Dan, two widowers who have found solace in each other’s company and a shared passion for fishing, hear rumours of the Creek and what might be found there, the remedy to both their losses, they dismiss them. Soon, though, the men find themselves drawn into a tale as deep and old as the Reservoir.
“It’s a tale of dark pacts, of long-buried secrets, and of a mysterious figure known as the Fisherman. It will bring Abe and Dan face to face with all that they have lost, and with the price they must pay to regain it.”
The adaptation of The Fisherman appears in good hands, considering the production companies attached, Platinum Dunes and Coin Operated, are also behind projects like the Quiet Place films and The Curse of la Llorona, respectively.
The 2026 FrightFest takes place in London in August and the team has just announced this year’s headline sponsor, Tubi.
Tubi, Fox Corporation’s ad-supported streaming service, will take part in the landmark partnership that brings together the streaming service that delivers the largest collection of free movies and TV episodes in the UK, with the UK’s most popular genre film festival. Moving forward, the 2026 five-day festival will be officially known as Tubi FrightFest.
“FrightFest is an ultimate celebration of horror fandom, making it a natural partner for Tubi,” said Ross Appleton, General Manager, Tubi UK. “Horror fans are among the most passionate and engaged audiences in entertainment, and they come to Tubi to go deeper into the genre they love. With one of the most expansive horror collections available in the UK, Tubi gives fans the freedom to discover cult classics, revisit favourites and uncover their next obsession. We’re thrilled to join FrightFest in celebrating the stories, filmmakers and community that continue to make horror such a vibrant and enduring genre.”
Greg Day, Co-Director of FrightFest added: FrightFest has served as the global launching pad for iconic genre films and emerging filmmakers for nearly three decades. The sponsorship from Tubi will provide crucial resources to expand the festival’s footprint, enhance guest experiences, and broaden audience reach through collaborations”
With over 75,000 movies and TV episodes, Tubi is a destination for all fandoms, including the passionate horror fans. Tubi FrightFest takes place at London Odeon LUXE Leicester Square and Odeon LUXE West End on from August 27th to the 31st.
