The follow-up series, Dexter: Resurrection, has been issued a second season order! “There’s more to come. The writers’ room is assembling now, and details will be forthcoming,” teased star Michael C. Hall. “The story continues!”. The renewal wasn’t a given, considering it comes after Paramount cancelled the prequel series Dexter: Original Sinin the wake of their Skydance merger.
Resurrection debuted its first season in July of this year, running for ten episodes. It hailed from original Dexter showrunner Clyde Phillips, and proved a hit. In addition to Hall, the series also saw the return of original cast members Jack Alcott as Harrison Morgan, David Zayas as Angel Batista, and James Remar as Harry Morgan. The cast of season 1 also included Uma Thurman, Peter Dinklage, David Dastmalchian, and Krysten Ritter.
The first season of Resurrection followed up on Dexter: New Blood (itself a sequel to the original show) and saw the title character searching for his son, Harrison (Jack Alcott), after the latter had shot him and left him in a coma. But when Dexter’s past begins to catch up with him, he and his son will find themselves facing off against some new and familiar foes.
In director Kenichi Ugana’s The Curse, “After discovering that her friend’s social media accounts are still posting months after her death, a young Tokyo woman is drawn into a terrifying digital curse that spreads like a virus – and now, it’s coming for her.”
It’s a throwback to classic ’90s J-horror, updated from VHS cassettes to social media, and from the opening scene, The Curse is a tight, taught horror thriller wrapped in a mystery package that’ll leave you gasping.
As part of Fantastic Fest, we spoke with director Kenichi Ugana via email about the movie and his upcoming projects.
STARBURST: This is one of three films you’re premiering this year, with two films this year. How are you so prolific?
Kenichi Ugana: In fact, I have already announced three films for this year. The first is I Fell in Love with a Z-Grade Director in Brooklyn, in which a famous Japanese actor visits New York and falls in love with a Z-grade director there, and it had its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival.
The second is The Curse, which you mentioned this time, and the third is Incomplete Chairs, a film about making chairs out of human materials, which had its world premiere at the Slash Film Festival. There are many subjects I want to try, and if I have the opportunity to freely shoot films, I would like to continue taking on new challenges.
The Curse feels very relatable to anyone who’s fallen out with a friend, only to keep up with them via social media. What’s your relationship with the various social media apps?
As a film director, I often have to share information about my films, but I try not to share my private life or emotions as much as possible. Social media these days is too violent.
While many of your films cover all kinds of genre ground, The Curse is rooted in classic ’90s Japanese horror. Were there any films you looked to for inspiration?
I was greatly influenced by the way director Kiyoshi Kurosawa creates worldviews in his films, and I think I was also influenced by The Ring, albeit subconsciously.
In particular, it feels as though we’re always looking over Riko’s shoulder or peering in to see her. Why did you choose to keep the camera always slightly moving?
This is a subjective feeling, so there is no clear answer, but I usually prefer fixed images, but this time I wanted to keep the camera moving from the beginning. Perhaps I wanted to increase the sense of anxiety.
Did you intentionally keep the lore surrounding the titular curse simple in order to focus more on how it affected the characters?
I’m not always interested in the suspense elements of how something happens or how it develops. Personally, I’m interested in what happens in front of the camera and the emotions of the characters. So, before I knew it, the lore surrounding the curse had become simple.
Where did that opening scene come from? It’s a real shock of a start to the film.
The opening scene is very important for a horror movie, so we put a lot of effort into it. I’m very happy that so many people have mentioned the opening scene.
The Curse screens at Nightmares Film Fest on Saturday, October 18th.
We have our first look at Liam Hemsworth stepping into the riding boots of Geralt of Rivia, a role he has taken over from Henry Cavill, in the trailer for The Witcher season 4. Though news of the recasting was arguably poorly received by fans, we have to admit that the hair and makeup department has done a pretty good job Geralt-ifying the Hunger Games alum.
In this fourth season, “After the Continent-altering events of Season 3, Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri find themselves separated by a raging war and countless enemies. As their paths diverge and their goals sharpen, they stumble on unexpected allies eager to join their journeys. And if they can accept these found families, they just might have a chance at reuniting for good…”.
Hemsworth stars withAnya Chalotra, Freya Allan, Joey Batey, Meng’er Zhang, Eamon Farren, and series newcomer Laurence Fishburne.
“I was such a big fan of this character, so it was a bit of those pinch-yourself moments of walking around in this costume,” Hemsworth has stated. “We pick up Geralt having just left Brokilon, he’s with Milva and Jaskier, and his main driving force is to get to Ciri and make sure that she’s safe.”
Sergio Mimica-Gezzan, Tricia Brock, Alex Garcia Lopez, and Jeremy Webb each direct two of Season 4’s eight episodes. Creator and showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich writes alongside Tania Lotia, Rae Benjamin, Troy Dangerfield, Matthew D’Ambrosio, Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Clare Higgins, and Mike Ostrowski.
The Witcher season 4 will release to Netflix on October 30th. Watch the trailer below:
Looks like Death’s booked another gig… Final Destination is gearing up for its next chilling chapter, and Belgian filmmaker Michiel Blanchart has been tapped to helm the franchise’s next entry.
The film will follow Final Destination: Bloodlines. The new instalment’s script hails from Lori Evans Taylor, who had co-written Bloodlines with Guy Busick. Craig Perry, Sheila Hanahan Taylor, Jon Watts, Dianne McGunigle, and Toby Emmerich are returning to produce the next Final Destination with Warren Zide executive producing.
Blanchart broke out with his 2020 short film, You’re Dead Helene, which swept up top prizes at the Brussels International Film Festival and Gérardmer Film Festival. That short showcased Blanchart’s penchant for blending horror, comedy, and romance in a mix that would make his style extremely appealing to the Final Destination architects. He went on to direct his debut feature, last year’s thriller Night Call. Blanchart is currently adapting You’re Dead Helene into an English-language feature at Tri-Star Pictures, which he will direct with Sam Raimi producing.
Bloodlines was directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein and followed a college student who returns home to find the one person who can help her with her night terrors and save her family from a horrific fate. Deadline reports that, while Liopovsky and Stein were offered the chance to direct this seventh entry in the franchise, they turned it down.
The next viral outbreak in Raccoon City will see Severance breakout star Zach Cherry, True Detective: Night Country‘s Kali Reis, and Johnno Wilson join the fight against the undead. The trio have all signed on to join Zach Cregger’s upcoming Resident Evil reboot for Sony Pictures.
As previously announced, Austin Abrams will lead this new iteration of the horror franchise. The actor was last seen in Cregger’s recent hit Weapons. Cregger, who both wrote and directs, teams up with Shay Hatten (John Wick: Chapter 3 and 4) on scriptwriting duties. Story details remain locked tighter than an Umbrella lab door, but we do know that the feature will veer away from previous adaptations and is intended as a love letter to the original Capcom video games, while using brand new characters.
Cherry will reportedly play a scientist working in a hospital, while Reis will portray an ex-military hardcase. Wilson’s role, on the other hand, remains unknown.
The previous Resident Evil films followed the adventures of a heroine who fights zombies and the Umbrella Corporation, the bio-warfare company that let loose the undead.
Production on the Resident Evil reboot is due to kick off mid-next month in Prague, with a planned theatrical release on September 18th, 2026.
The Halloween edition of FrightFest takes place on October 31st and November 1st and the unmissable movies being screened have been revealed.
Kicking things off on Friday is the UK premiere of Primate, directed and co-written by Johannes Roberts (The Other Side of the Door). A specially recorded interview with Roberts will screen after. Next up is the UK premiere of the eagerly-awaited Deathgasm II: Goremageddon, with the final Friday film being the UK premiere of Mickey Reece’s Every Heavy Thing.
There are more UK premieres kicking off Saturday with Rod Blackhurst’s Dolly and B.T. Meza’s Affection, which stars Jessica Rothe (Happy Death Day). Then there’s the world premiere of Posthouse, the feature debut of Nikolas Red, which is based on his own personal experience while editing his brother Mikhail Red’s 2018 shocker Eerie. Following that there’s the UK premiere of The Turkish Coffee Table. Can Evrenol (Baskin) directs this remake of the unforgettable 2022 film. The latest from Colin Minihan (It Stains the Sand Red), Coyotes, starring Justin Long and Kate Bosworth is next on the schedule, with the debut from Yuriyan Retriever (Japan’s most popular comedian), Mag Mag, closing things out. This is the UK premiere of the first film from K2 Pictures, founded by directors Takashi Miike, Hirokazu Koreeda and Miwa Nishikawa.
Coyotes
Alan Jones, FrightFest co-director, said today: “FrightFest has become a dependable vanguard of the increasingly popular genre movement, it’s a position we take very seriously as our August and Halloween programmes reflect, and we are proud to play our part in the ever-burgeoning respect being shown to the genre. At long last!”
The Turkish Coffee Table
FrightFest Halloween takes place at ODEON Luxe West End on Friday, October 31st and Saturday, November 2nd. Passes and tickets go on sale at noon on Saturday, October 4th.
Prices: two-day pass – £80 | Friday day pass – £35 | Saturday day pass – £60 Single tickets – £15. All tickets costs may incur booking fee.
Mads Mikkelsen is headed to space with his AI companion, played by Diane Kruger, in the sci-fi survival thriller Ami. Production is currently underway in Spain.
The survival thriller follows an astronaut (Mads Mikkelsen) who crash-lands on an uncharted planet after a catastrophic accident, with only his Quantum AI companion Ami (Kruger) left to aid in his escape. As he navigates an alien landscape and a battle for survival, he is forced to confront the fragility of memory, the isolation of space, and the resilience of the human spirit.
Fernando Szurman makes his feature debut with Ami, directing from a screenplay by John Wesley Norton and Ezequiel Martinez Jr.
“Ami is exactly the kind of daring, character-driven genre film that reflects Capstone’s commitment to globally resonant storytelling,” said producer Christian Mercuri, CEO of Capstone.“It’s a rare combination of emotional intimacy and cinematic scale, brought to life by a world-class creative team. With Fernando’s distinctive vision and a cast of extraordinary talent, this project exemplifies the elevated, high-concept filmmaking we champion.”
“What excited me about Ami was the opportunity to tell a profoundly human story through a genre that allows for both scope and intimacy,” added Szurman. “I want to push the boundaries of sci-fi storytelling while grounding it in emotional truth. We’re not just making a survival film; we’re inviting audiences into a deeply personal space odyssey.”
With his debut featureTogether now a critical success, director Michael Shanks has set up his next project at A24, a sci-fi thriller titled Hotel Hotel Hotel Hotel. Shanks will both write and direct the feature.
“The sci-fi thriller follows a man who wakes up trapped in a mysterious hotel room. All alone in a mind-bending prison, his only chance for escape is teamwork: with himself,” Deadline reveals.
“When Shanks declared that Hotel Hotel Hotel Hotel would be next up, A24 moved fast to make sure that they were the home of his next film and are now moving fast to get it up and running as Shanks begins the casting process,” the press release reported.
Mike Cowap of Princess Pictures and Adam McKay and Todd Schulman of HyperObject Industries will produce Hotel Hotel Hotel Hotel, with Michael Shanks also producing.
Starring real-life couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a freakishly co-dependent pair, Shanks’ Together was picked up and released by NEON. STARBURST critic Paul Mount described the film as “both terrifying and beautiful, an exploration of personal connection and interaction taken to extremes. It’s occasionally uneasy viewing, but it’s also raw, touching and deeply human, marrying sometimes shocking body horror to a heart-wrenching story of love gone off the rails and then finding its way back in unimaginable circumstances.”
Jeremy Irons, the actor who’s one Grammy short of an EGOT, is the latest star to join the cast of Amazon MGM’s remake of the 1980s cult classic Highlander. He joins Henry Cavill, Russell Crowe, Marisa Abela, Dave Bautista, Karen Gillan and Djimon Hounsou.
The original 1986 film starred Christopher Lambert as Connor MacLeod, a Medieval Scottish Highlander who discovers he is one of a group of immortals destined to fight until only one remains, claiming the “Prize”. The story flashes between MacLeod’s 16th-century Scottish origins and his present-day life in New York City. Guided by the immortal swordsman Ramirez (Sean Connery), MacLeod learns about his immortality and the impending “Gathering” where the final battle will take place.
In this remake, Cavill will play MacLeod and Crowe, Ramirez. Dave Bautista will portray the immortal barbarian The Kurgen, who has been killing other immortals in order to absorb their life force and has been MacLeod’s nemesis across the centuries. Gillan will play Heather, MacLeod’s mortal wife and the love of his life. Hounsou is an immortal warrior from Africa, andAbela is MacLeod’s modern romantic interest. Max Zhang and Drew McIntyre are also in the cast.
Jeremy Irons will play the other primary antagonist, the leader of a secret order called The Watchers, who are keeping an eye on the immortals and regard them as a threat to humanity.
Chad Stahelski is directing the feature from a script by Michael Finch, and principal photography is due to begin this autumn. Though the project does not yet have a confirmed release date, we do know it will get a theatrical release before making its way to Prime Video.
STUDIOCANAL has announced a definitive edition of British spy-action-drama series The New Avengers (1976-1977) in an incredible 10-disc box set. Fully restored in 4K and available from November 10th on UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD, the complete series (1 and 2) is the sequel to the iconic 1960s TV series The Avengers, created by Brian Clemens and Albert Fennell. New to UHD and blu-ray this witty, stylish and action-packed show full of espionage, top car chases and sci-fi thrills, The New Avengers introduces the charismatic trio; Steed (Patrick Macnee), Purdey (Joanna Lumley) and Gambit (Gareth Hunt), as the dynamic new spy team.
Showcasing all 26 episodes from the complete series, highlights include the dramatic opener The Eagle’s Nest, which features a Nazi plot to resurrect Hitler from cryogenic sleep and boasts a guest appearance from British horror and sci-fi icon Peter Cushing in The Last of the Cybernauts…?? in which a robotic menace from the original Avengers series returns, and K is for Kill featuring Diana Rigg’s cameo as The Avengers’ Emma Peel.
This incredible edition also offers several hours of new bonus features including an exclusive interview with Joanna Lumley that spans three in-depth featurettes, an intro and commentary for Sleeper, as well as new introductions and commentaries from other key cast and crew on episodes including House of Cards, The Last of the Cybernauts…??, The Midas Touch, Gnaws, Angels of Death, Obsession, K, Complex and much more. A 64-page booklet and a 32-page comic book are also part of this exciting new edition.
There’s new artwork has been created by Sam Smyth and a brand-new trailer has also been created for the release.
The 2025 4k restoration of the entire two series of The New Avengers was completed at Silver Salt UK for STUDIOCANAL. The element for the New Avengers was 35mm original negative, each reel was inspected for wear and tear, and minor repairs were made by Silver Salt’s film technician, the film was then gently cleaned. It was scanned at 6K resolution and downsampled to 4K on the ARRI_XT pin-registered scanner. The raw scans (uncompressed DPX files) were restored with issues across the 26 x episodes ranging from splices to scratches and tears, taking out visible distractions. All the episodes are now consistent with each other. Overall, the 26 episodes took around 6 months to restore. Grading-wise, approved references were sourced and experts consulted for the general look and feel of the colour, ensuring that the creators’ vision hasn’t been altered. HDR is only applied subtilty and shows detail in the highlights and low lights that is generally lost in the SDR grade.
An exclusive The New Avengers 4K box-set launch + Q&A will take place at The Riverside Cinema, Hammersmith on Sunday, November 9th. The cinema will preview one episode and a brand-new featurette, “The Impact of the New Avengers: Reinvented for a New Era”, in 4K, to be followed by a Q&A with a panel of special guests to be confirmed. Booking will go live soon!
Here are the details of the 10-DISC 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD box set: 64-page bound booklet
32-page comic book
Extensive new bonus features:
SERIES 1
Disc 1 (EPs 1-3) The Eagle’s Nest / House of Cards / Last of the Cybernauts…?? New House of Cards introduced by Cyd Child New House of Cards Audio Commentary** with Cyd Child and Henry Holland New The Last Of The Cybernauts…?? introduced by Rocky Taylor New The Last Of The Cybernauts…?? introduced by Nicholas Briggs New The Last Of The Cybernauts…?? Audio commentary** by Rocky Taylor, Nicholas Briggs and Henry Holland New Remembering The New Avengers – with guest star Annette Andre. The Eagle’s Nest commentary by Gareth Hunt and Brian Clemens German Credits Season 1 German Credits Season 2
Disc 2 (EPs 4-6) The Midas Touch / Cat Amongst the Pigeons / Target New The Midas Touch introduced by Dick Fiddy New The Midas Touch Audio Commentary** by Cyd Child and Dick Fiddy Director John Hough on The New Avengers (University of Chichester 2011)
Disc 3 (EPs 7-9) To Catch A Rat / Tale of the Big Why / Faces Interview with Cyd Child (University of Chichester 2011) The New Avengers – screen test
Disc 4 (EPs 10-11) Gnaws / Dirtier by the Dozen New Gnaws Audio Commentary** by Nicholas Briggs and Jonathan Wood New Gnaws introduced by Nicholas Briggs Interview with Raymond Austin (University of Chichester 2011)
Disc 5 (EPs 12-13) Sleeper / The Three-Handed Game New Intro to Sleeper by Joanna Lumley New Sleeper Audio Commentary** by Joanna Lumley and Cyd Child Interview with Patrick Macnee Biographer Marie Cameron (University of Chichester 2011) New Becoming Purdey: The Woman Who Redefined The Avengers New Auditioning Purdey (Easter Egg)
SERIES 2
Disc 6 (EPs 1-3) Dead Men Are Dangerous / Angels of Death / Medium Rare New Angels Of Death introduced by Caroline Munro New Angels of Death Audio Commentary by Caroline Munro and Henry Holland Dead Men Are Dangerous Audio Commentary by Gareth Hunt and Brian Clemens
Disc 7 (EPs 4-6) The Lion and The Unicorn / Obsession / Trap New Obsession Audio Commentary** by Samuel and George Clemens New Obsession introduced by Samuel and George Clemens The New Avengers x Rover promo French credits
Disc 8 (EPs 7-9) Hostage / K Is for Kill Pts 1 and 2 New K is for Kill Part One: The Tiger Awakes Audio Commentary by Dick Fiddy and Henry Holland New K Is For Kill Part One: The Tiger Awakes, introduced by Henry Holland
Disc 9 (EPs 10-11) Complex / Forward Base New Complex introduced by Jonathan Wood New Complex Audio Commentary by Jonathan Wood and Grant Taylor New The New Era – Restoring The New Avengers Brian Clemens on The New Avengers (University of Chichester 2011) Interview with Laurie Johnson (University of Chichester 2011)
Disc 10 (EPs 12-13) The Gladiators / Emily The New Avengers original series trailer New The Impact Of The New Avengers: Reinvented for a New Era New Kicks, Flips and Spy Tricks: The Stunt Magic of The New Avengers
** please note that on the Blu-ray edition only, these are video commentaries
