News
Universal Studios HHN To Debut ‘The Haunting Of Hill House’

UNIVERSAL STUDIOS’ “HALLOWEEN HORROR NIGHTS” TO DEBUT ALL-NEW MAZES AT UNIVERSAL ORLANDO RESORT AND UNIVERSAL STUDIOS HOLLYWOOD
INSPIRED BY NETFLIX’S CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED SERIES
“THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE,” BEGINNING THIS SEPTEMBER

While the 2020 events were canceled, we expect a full slate of mazes and houses for 2021! Check out the announcement below, and be sure to check back with us for more updates.
From The Press Release:
For the first time ever, Netflix’s critically-acclaimed series “The Haunting of Hill House” will bring its ominous presence to Universal Orlando Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood in all-new mazes for “Halloween Horror Nights 2021,” which is officially back beginning in September.
Upon its release, Netflix’s “The Haunting of Hill House” became a worldwide phenomenon of unsettling proportions that elevated the horror television genre. Created, directed, and executive-produced by horror mastermind Mike Flanagan (Hush, Oculus, Gerald’s Game) and executive produced by Trevor Macy via their Intrepid Pictures, the chilling horror story follows members of the Crain family who are haunted by long-dormant fears stemming from their time living in the menacing Hill House as children and then forced to face the ghosts of its grisly past.
Reincarnated as “Halloween Horror Nights” mazes, the imposing and mysterious Hill House eerily comes to life, beckoning guests to embark on the dark journey experienced by the Crain family.
Iconic scenes from the Netflix series will be featured throughout the maze, including the omni-powerful Red Room – the heart of Hill House – and the infamous Hall of Statues, where deceptive powers overtake everyone who enters. Apparitions will appear around every corner, from William Hill – The Tall Man, whose towering stature overwhelms everyone he encounters; to The Ghost in the Basement, who feverishly crawls throughout the bowels of the House in search of his next victim; to The Bent-Neck Lady, whose disturbing scream and ghastly appearance invoke a constant state of unnerving dread.
“The Haunting of Hill House” mazes will test even the bravest guests as they attempt to escape the entanglement of the estate’s eternal stranglehold or succumb to the powerful forces of Hill House – leaving them to wander the endless halls forever…alone.
“I have loved Halloween Horror Nights for so long,” said Mike Flanagan, Creator, Director, and Executive Producer of “The Haunting of Hill House.” “Some of my favorite memories of Halloween were made at Universal Studios, screaming and laughing with my friends. It is such an honor to be included among such fantastic Haunts, and I’m so glad that fans will be able to walk the halls of Hill House this Halloween. This is – without a doubt – one of the coolest things that have ever happened to us at Intrepid. We are so excited to visit the Red Room again – we hope to see you all there!”
“It’s a nightmare come true to bring Netflix’s “The Haunting of Hill House” to life for our guests this year at ‘Halloween Horror Nights,’” said Charles Gray, Senior Show Director for Entertainment Creative Development at Universal Orlando Resort. “The show brought true horror to the masses, similar to what we’ve provided our guests at this event for nearly 30 years – Hill House is a perfect fit for “Halloween Horror Nights” as it enters a new decade of fear.”
Mike Flanagan has elevated the horror genre with his supernatural thriller, ‘The Haunting of Hill House,’” said John Murdy, Executive Producer of “Halloween Horror Nights” at Universal Studios Hollywood. “We continuously challenge ourselves to raise the bar with each maze we create, and we look forward to creating a unique experience for our guests that combines both the psychological and visceral twists from the series. The goal is to make our guests feel as if they are walking in the footsteps of the Crain family, re-living all the horrors that they experienced.”
The “Halloween Horror Nights” events begin on Friday, September 3 in Orlando and Thursday, September 9 in Hollywood – and both events run select nights through Sunday, October 31. Select tickets and vacation packages are now on sale for “Halloween Horror Nights” at Universal Orlando Resort; tickets for the event at Universal Studios Hollywood will be available soon. Due to popular demand, event nights are expected to sell out. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.HalloweenHorrorNights.com.
Currently streaming globally on Netflix, “The Haunting of Hill House” is produced for Netflix by Amblin TV and Paramount Television.
News
This Week in Horror: DC Goes Full Body Horror, A24 Has Its Chainsaw Man, and The Bone Temple Is Finally Yours
Good week. The Clayface trailer dropped and made DC relevant to this website for the first time in a while, A24 put a director on the Texas Chainsaw Massacre reimagining, and we got some interviews worth reading. Here is all of it.
Clayface Has a Trailer, and It Is Exactly What You Want

The Clayface trailer landed Wednesday, and it is DC’s first real horror film. Not horror adjacent. Not dark. Horror. Tom Rhys Harries plays Matt Hagen, an actor whose face gets disfigured by a gangster. He turns to a scientist, played by Naomi Ackie, who transforms his body into clay. Then the body horror starts.
James Watkins directed, which is the right choice. He made Speak No Evil and before that The Woman in Black, and he understands how to make dread feel physical. The screenplay is by Mike Flanagan and Hossein Amini. That combination should tell you everything about the tone they are going for.
A24 Has a Director for Texas Chainsaw Massacre and His Last Film Cost Under a Million Dollars

Deadline confirmed that Curry Barker is writing and directing A24’s reimagining of the 1974 original. Barker made Obsession for under a million dollars. Focus Features paid north of fifteen million to distribute it. It sits at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. A24 hired him before it even opens, which opens May 15.
Kim Henkel, who co-created the original with Tobe Hooper, is executive producing his own creation’s reimagining. That is either a blessing or a haunting. Probably both.
Astrolatry Is Going to Cannes and We Talked to the Actor Who Faced the Creature

Astrolatry is heading to the Frontières Buyers Showcase on May 16-17. The film has a sentient severed penis that grows into a ten-foot practical creature with spiky teeth. We interviewed star Ethan Daniel Corbett about what it was actually like to act against it. Short answer: genuinely terrifying. Long answer is on the site.
The Bone Temple Is Home

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple hit 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on Tuesday. If you held out from the digital release in February, now is the time. The 4K presentation is supposed to be great. Extras include audio commentary and a deleted scene. If your gonna watch The Bone Temple, why not watch it where the snacks are better.
News
Astrolatry Built a Ten-Foot Practical Penis Scorpion
A sentient severed penis grows into a ten-foot creature with spiky teeth. Genre cinema is doing fine.
Astrolatry follows Elliot, played by Ethan Daniel Corbett, who is every ingredient for quiet catastrophe assembled in one man. Socially isolated. Physically isolated. Craving dopamine and finding it in the wrong places. The romance guru pipeline, followed to its logical conclusion. Elliot does not just spiral. He loses a piece of himself, literally, and that piece does not cooperate.
Corbett described it as “a horror satire, a trippy mind-fuck roller coaster” and “a modern retelling of Maniac,” both of which are accurate and neither of which adequately prepares you. Director David Gordon is making his feature debut after shooting 14 films as a cinematographer and he is swinging for the fences.
The Creature

The effects company behind the creature has festival circuit work Corbett had already seen before signing on. He knew what they could do but he was not ready. “When I saw it in person it was kind of mind-blowing,” he said. “Everything that you see in this movie is practical. Very, very little else. It was genuinely terrifying to have a ten-foot creature coming at you with a big mouth and spiky teeth.”
A CG creature asks an actor to imagine something. A ten-foot physical creature on a set asks nothing. It just arrives. The fear on Corbett’s face in those scenes is not a performance. It is the normal reaction to a scorpion dick with sharp teeth.
Elliot

Corbett went into the character through the body. “I mainly focus on the physicality of it. Who this character is and who he is wholly. I strive in those kinds of moments as an actor.”
Gordon was explicit about the concept, the “nice guy” archetype and the overtly toxic one are the same problem, both aimed at the same object. That reading lands because Corbett does not play it as a reading. Elliot is not a symbol. He is a person.
Where It Is Going

Astrolatry is heading to the Frontières Buyers Showcase at Cannes on May 16-17. “To be able to get into that kind of room on David’s first feature is incredible,” Corbett said. “To be in front of buyers and to showcase the film and potentially get distribution through that.” Frontières is the correct room. It is full of people who understand that the most extreme premise, executed with precision, is not a punchline. It is an argument.
News
ShoStak Opens the Door for Filmmakers to Build and Own Their Stories
A new player is stepping into the space, but ShoStak is making one thing clear right away.
It is not trying to be the next Netflix. It is not chasing TikTok.
“Cinema does not need another platform. It needs a new model.”
That idea sits at the core of what ShoStak is building. Not just a place to watch content, but a system where creators and audiences connect in a way that feels very different from what we are used to.

The First 150 Competition Is Already Underway
ShoStak is kicking things off with its First 150 Competition, giving filmmakers a chance to present their story worlds and compete for the opportunity to move into production.
Projects are introduced as series concepts or pilots, then advance through multiple stages. Audience voting plays a role, but it is only part of the process.
Selections are ultimately shaped by a mix of audience engagement, creative execution, and overall project readiness. It is not just about popularity. It is about building something that can actually move forward.
For creators, it is a rare chance to get in front of both an audience and a structured development path at the same time.
One Platform, Built Around a New Model
Everything now lives under ShoStak.tv, where both creators and audiences come together.
Creators can sign up, develop their projects, and begin building their audience. Viewers can discover new series, follow story worlds, and engage with projects as they evolve.
ShoStak describes this as a cinematic ecosystem. Stories are not treated as disposable content designed to spike and disappear. They are built to grow over time.
And that growth happens in public.

Ownership Without Losing Structure
One of ShoStak’s core ideas is giving creators more control over what they build.
Filmmakers are positioned to:
- Retain ownership of their intellectual property
- Build direct relationships with their audience
- Grow projects based on real engagement
At the same time, this is not a free-for-all.
There is still structure. Projects are evaluated, developed, and refined through a process that blends audience input with creative and strategic decision-making.
Instead of removing the system entirely, ShoStak is reshaping how creators move through it.
Development Happens in Public
This is where things start to separate from the traditional model.
Instead of developing behind closed doors, ShoStak allows projects to evolve in front of an audience.
Creators introduce their ideas, build a following, and expand their worlds over time. As engagement grows, so does the project.
It is less about waiting for approval and more about proving momentum.
Over time, that turns the platform into something larger than a development program. It becomes an open ecosystem where creators and audiences push stories forward together.

More Than Just Testing Ideas
Micro-series are a big part of ShoStak’s approach, but they are not just a testing ground.
They can be the final product.
The format allows creators to:
- Tell complete stories in shorter form
- Build long-term story worlds
- Expand into larger projects when it makes sense
It is not about proving an idea and moving on. It is about giving that idea room to grow in whatever direction fits.
Why This Matters for Horror
Horror has always thrived outside the system.
Some of the most memorable films in the genre came from creators taking risks, working with limited resources, and finding their audience without waiting for permission.
ShoStak’s model fits naturally into that mindset.
It gives horror creators a space to:
- Build original story worlds
- Connect directly with fans
- Grow projects without losing control
And with early content like Civilian and Liminal already rolling out, it is clear the platform is aiming for more than just quick-hit content.
A Different Path Forward
ShoStak is not trying to compete by doing the same thing better.
It is trying to change how stories are created, developed, and sustained.
By combining creator ownership, audience engagement, and a structured development path, it offers something that feels closer to a creative ecosystem than a traditional platform.
Whether it works long-term is still unknown.
But for filmmakers looking for a new way in, it is opening a door that has been closed for a long time.
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