News

[Trailer]New Horror Short ‘Mirror Mirror’ Set to Premiere at TCL Chinese Theatre

Published

10 months ago

June 14, 2025

In a powerful intersection of independent filmmaking and social impact, the upcoming horror short Mirror Mirror has been named an official selection at the 2025 Dances With Films Festival, set to premiere at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood. Produced in collaboration with Philadelphia-based nonprofit Big Picture Alliance, the film not only delivers a chilling supernatural tale but also uplifts the voices and talents of underserved youth through its grassroots production roots. With a story that blends personal fears of impending parenthood with authentic Black cultural representation, Mirror Mirror promises to resonate with audiences far beyond the horror genre. For more information, check out the press release below and trailer below.

Independent horror film “Mirror Mirror” has been officially selected to premiere at Dances With Films one of the most respected showcases for emerging filmmakers in Hollywood. The film will debut at the historic TCL Chinese Theatre on June 21 at 11:00 PM, providing a rare opportunity for audiences to experience this haunting story on the big screen.

“Mirror Mirror” was produced in collaboration with “The Big Picture Alliance” a Philadelphia non-profit. Big Picture Alliance’s digital media programs, independent filmmaking, and paid apprenticeships provide Philly youth ages 12-24 with the tools to tell their own stories and the skills to succeed in school, life, and career. The organization’s mission is to empower youth to define their own narrative through filmmaking and cultivate a new generation of storytellers who contribute towards a more inclusive, equitable, and just society.

Set in Upstate New York, the film follows a young Black couple expecting their first child who, after purchasing a foreclosed manor for a bargain, begin to experience disturbing visions in the home’s antique mirrors. As supernatural threats escalate, they must confront their deepest fears to protect their unborn child.

Director Drew Phillips, a white filmmaker, emphasizes the importance of authenticity in telling stories rooted in Black experiences. “Let’s talk about the elephant in the room,” Phillips states. “I’m a white director telling a story about a Black family — that’s a responsibility I don’t take lightly. Authenticity is paramount.”

He continues, “This film is also a personal journey. As a new father myself, I understand the sleepless nights, the fierce love, and the fears of parenthood that transcend race. I wrote this script while my wife was six months pregnant with our first child.”

Phillips credits three Black men — Montavius, Marcus, and Johnath — as vital collaborators whose lived experiences, humor, and wisdom infuse the film. “Their voices are woven into every frame,” he says. “Without them, this film wouldn’t just be incomplete — it wouldn’t exist.”

A Love Letter to Family and Black Culture:

“Mirror Mirror” celebrates the strength and beauty of the African American family, emphasizing universal themes of love, fear, and resilience. The film intentionally sidesteps political or social commentary, focusing instead on the shared human experience of parenthood. “This isn’t a film about race,” Phillips emphasizes. “It’s about the fears of raising a child. The culture is authentic, but the story is universal.”

Festival Details:

Event: Dances With Films 2025

Screening: June 21, 2025

Time: 11:00 PM

Location: TCL Chinese Theatre, Hollywood

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News

The Practical Magic 2 Teaser Trailer Is Finally Here

Published

10 hours ago

April 20, 2026

Luna Gray

The Practical Magic 2 teaser trailer is out, and it is worth taking a second to appreciate what we are actually looking at here. A film that bombed at the box office in 1998, fell short of recouping its $75 million budget, and got mixed reviews at best is now getting a sequel with its full original cast, a rebuilt set, and a room full of theater owners losing their minds at CinemaCon.

What Happened the First Time

The original Practical Magic came out in October 1998 and critics did not know what to do with it. It was part romantic comedy, part domestic abuse drama, part supernatural thriller, part crime story. The tonal whiplash was real, and the reviews reflected that. The film underperformed. Nobody called it a classic.

Then it became one anyway. The film found its audience over the following two decades, particularly among millennial women who responded to what it was actually doing underneath the genre mess. A film about women protecting each other, centered entirely on a bloodline of women, with a finale built around a community of women coming together.

What the Trailer Shows

Sandra Bullock opens the teaser in voiceover as Sally: “I’m sure you’ve heard of the Owens family. The ones from Massachusetts. The ones their neighbors whisper are witches.” Nicole Kidman is back as Gillian, settled into life with a black cat. The house on the cliff was rebuilt from scratch for the film.

Bullock said of returning: “Coming back didn’t feel like shooting a sequel. It felt like coming back home.” Given that the original cast and director were not involved in any franchise maintenance for twenty-eight years, that is something.

The Cast

Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest are both back as the aunts Frances and Jet. The film adds Joey King as Sally’s daughter. She uncovers buried family secrets and develops dark powers of her own. Maisie Williams, Xolo Maridueña, and Solly McLeod round out the new generation.

Practical Magic 2 opens September 11, 2026.

News

The HUNGRY Red Band Trailer Is Here and We Need to Stop Laughing at the Hippo

Published

11 hours ago

April 20, 2026

Luna Gray

The trailer for HUNGRY dropped this morning, and before we get into it, I want to address something. You are going to look at the words “hippo horror movie” and your brain is going to do a thing. It is going to go to Hungry Hungry Hippos. It is going to think this is a joke. You are going to be wrong, and the hippo is going to eat you for it.

Hippos kill an estimated 500 people per year in Africa. They are the third largest land animal on earth. They weigh up to 4,000 pounds, can run up to 19 miles per hour, and are aggressively territorial in both water and on land. The animals are also largely nocturnal, which means most of what they do to people happens in the dark. Jaws made us afraid of open water for forty years and sharks kill roughly five people globally per year. Five. Do the math.

The hippo has been waiting for its movie. HUNGRY might actually be it.

What Is Happening in This Movie

HUNGRY follows a group of tourists on a riverboat tour through the Louisiana swamplands who get lured off the main route with the promise of an exclusive experience. What they find instead is a ravenous hippopotamus lurking beneath the bayou’s murky water that has very different ideas about how this excursion is going to go.

That is the whole premise. Tourists. Swamp. Hippo. No one gets out easily.

The Louisiana bayou setting is doing a lot of work here. It is a landscape that already feels like it is hiding something. The water is opaque. The trees close in. Sound travels differently. If you are going to put an apex predator somewhere and make it feel genuinely threatening, a Louisiana swamp is about as correct a choice as you can make. The film is leaning into that and the trailer makes it clear this is not a sunlit adventure film. This is a survival movie.

Distributed by AURA Entertainment and classified as a survival thriller and creature horror, the film opens June 23.

News

This Week in Horror: CinemaCon Delivered, Nicolas Cage Is Coming Back, and Someone Let Ti West Near a Christmas Story

Published

3 days ago

April 17, 2026

Luna Gray

It was a big week. CinemaCon happened, a Longlegs sequel got announced, and Lee Cronin’s The Mummy opened today, which we already covered but deserves to be in the roundup anyway because it is the biggest horror release of the month, and you should go see it. Here is everything else.

CinemaCon: The Horror Stuff

CinemaCon ran April 13 through 16 in Las Vegas and there was a lot. Here is what matters to us.

Werwulf got a real trailer, and it looks unhinged in the best way.

Robert Eggers’ follow-up to Nosferatu showed up at Universal’s presentation and it sounds like exactly what you want it to be. Aaron Taylor-Johnson transforms into a werewolf. Grimy medieval England. Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe, and Ralph Ineson are all in this. Variety called the transformation sequence alone worth the price of admission.

Practical Magic 2 happened and it was genuinely emotional.

Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman walked out together at Warner Bros.’ presentation and the room apparently lost it. The sequel reunites the Owens sisters, brings back Dianne Wiest and Stockard Channing, and adds Maisie Williams and Xolo Maridueña as the next generation. They rebuilt the original house on the cliff. Sally is single now. If you know the original film you know why.

Ti West and Johnny Depp are making a Christmas horror movie and I have questions.

Paramount showed first footage from Ebenezer: A Christmas Carol, directed by Ti West and starring Depp in prosthetics as Scrooge. Ian McKellen is Jacob Marley. The Ghost of Christmas Present apparently shows up with his ribcage open. It is a Ti West film, so presumably this will be deeply upsetting by the end. Filing this under “extremely interested and also a little scared.”

Scary Movie is coming back June 5.

The original cast is back. Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Anna Faris, Regina Hall. The footage shown at Paramount’s panel apparently goes after reboots, remakes, elevated horror, and origin stories. That is a lot of ground to cover.

The Longlegs Universe Is Expanding

Osgood Perkins and Nicolas Cage are doing another Longlegs film, this time at Paramount, which picked it up because the scope was apparently bigger than Neon could handle. Not calling it a sequel exactly, more like something set in the same universe.

The Terror Is Back

The Terror: Devil in Silver drops May 7 on AMC+ and Shudder, and it looks like a proper return for the anthology. Dan Stevens stars as Pepper, a man committed to a psychiatric hospital who starts wondering if what he is experiencing is supernatural or if he is actually losing his mind. Based on Victor LaValle’s novel of the same name, who is also the showrunner. Judith Light, CCH Pounder, Stephen Root, and Marin Ireland are in the cast. Ridley Scott remains an executive producer. The first two seasons of The Terror were genuinely excellent, and this one has the cast to back it up.

Also Worth Knowing

Faces of Death is in theaters now and sitting at 69% on Rotten Tomatoes. Directed by Daniel Goldhaber, stars Barbie Ferreira as a content moderator who finds what might be real execution videos on a TikTok-style platform. It is a smart premise and the reviews say it mostly delivers.

Passenger got a trailer this week. André Øvredal, who directed The Autopsy of Jane Doe and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, is calling it his scariest film yet. A supernatural entity latches onto a couple on a road trip.

The Young People from Osgood Perkins is still coming October 30, which means we are getting two Perkins-adjacent projects in the same year. This one stars Lola Tung, Nico Parker, Tatiana Maslany and Nicole Kidman and follows two school friends whose relationship turns sinister as one starts exhibiting disturbing behavior. Between this, Werwulf, and Other Mommy, fall 2026 is looking very good.

That is the week. Go see The Mummy.