The Spirit of Halloweentown, a new documentary from filmmakers Bradford Thomason and Brett Whitcomb (Jasper Mall, Butterfly in the Sky), will be released on October 24 via Amazon, Apple TV, and YouTube.
The film explores how St. Helens, Oregon, became synonymous with Halloween after serving as the filming location for the 1998 Disney Channel Original Movie Halloweentown. When the movie became a cult favorite, the town embraced its fame, turning itself into a year-round celebration of the holiday.
Thomason and Whitcomb’s documentary offers an intimate look at the locals who have built their identity around Halloween, blending humor and heart while revealing the community tensions that come with small-town fame.
Watch the trailer at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udOQLVH-nYQ
Filmmakers Orian Barki and Meriem Bennani are having a standout festival moment with their feature Bouchra, which continues to draw acclaim at the New York Film Festival (NYFF) following its U.S. premiere in the Currents section.
The film’s warm reception comes alongside the duo’s appearance on the print cover of New York Magazine’s Look Book, released October 1. The feature highlights their creative partnership behind Bouchra, an 85-minute narrative exploring memory, artistic paralysis, and identity through the story of a Moroccan filmmaker in New York.
Produced by 2 Lizards, the film was financed by Fondazione Prada and executive produced by Hi Production. It marks a new chapter for Barki and Bennani, whose acclaimed animated series 2 Lizards premiered on Instagram in 2020 and was later added to the MoMA and Whitney Museum collections.
Bouchra follows its titular character as a phone call with her mother in Casablanca stirs buried memories and creative renewal. Told across Moroccan Arabic, French, and English, the film examines the intersections of family, migration, and the creative process.
The production team includes Cécile Winckler, Octavia Peissel, Ella Bishop, Pau Suris, with John Michael Boling and Jason Coombs serving as creative producers.
The official trailer and poster have debuted for King Ivory, the latest feature from filmmaker John Swab (Candy Land, Body Brokers), which opens in theaters nationwide on November 14.
The crime thriller, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival and later screened as a Centerpiece selection at the 2025 Newport Beach Film Festival, stars James Badge Dale, Ben Foster, Michael Mando, Rory Cochrane, Ritchie Coster, George Carroll, Graham Greene, Melissa Leo, and Sam Quartin.
Set amid the fentanyl epidemic, King Ivory follows Tulsa drug cop Layne West (Dale), whose personal and professional worlds collide after his son becomes addicted to the deadly opioid. Determined to dismantle the local network responsible, West targets a chain of criminals that includes a cartel enforcer (Mando), a prison-based Native gang leader (Greene), and an Irish Mob family led by Foster and Leo.
Written and directed by Swab and produced by Jeremy M. Rosen, the film explores the human cost and complexity of America’s opioid crisis through intersecting lives across law enforcement, organized crime, and addiction.
Buffalo 8 will release The Weedhacker Massacre on digital platforms October 17. The meta-horror comedy, directed by Jody Stelzig, follows a film crew shooting a remake of a notorious slasher movie at the site of the original murders, only to find the masked killer has returned.
The film stars David Treviño (Rent Free), Molly Sakonchick (Storage Locker), Bobbie Grace (Fear the Walking Dead), Sean Reyna, Parrish Randall (Circus of the Dead), and Allen Danziger of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre fame, who also co-created and executive produced the project. The script was written and produced by Ray Spivey.
Following its world premiere at the Golden State Film Festival, The Weedhacker Massacre earned multiple awards at international festivals, including Best Comedy at the New York International Film Awards. The 95-minute feature is unrated.
Filmmaker Albert Birney’s new feature Obex will open in theaters on January 9, 2026, following its premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.
Written by Birney and Pete Ohs (Erupcja), the black-and-white fantasy is set in 1987, where a reclusive man and his dog become ensnared in a mysterious computer game that turns their analog world into a surreal digital nightmare. The film stars Birney alongside Callie Hernandez, Paisley Isaacs, Frank Mosley, and Tyler Davis, with music by Josh Dibb (Deakin of Animal Collective).
Described as a lo-fi vision of early computing and isolation, Obex blends nostalgic visuals with psychological tension to explore the blurring line between technology and reality. The film is produced by Emma Hannaway, Birney, James Belfer, and Ohs, with cinematography by Ohs.
Eisner Award-nominated cartoonist Kyle Starks (Peacemaker Tries Hard, Sexcastle, I Hate This Place) and colorist Vladimir Popov (Where Monsters Lie, Fearscape) team up for Wrestle Heist, a five-issue Image Comics miniseries debuting in December.
The series follows a former pro wrestler who survives a brush with death at the hands of a crooked promoter and assembles a team of wrestlers he has wronged to steal from him during the year’s biggest wrestling event.
Wrestle Heist #1 will be released at comic book shops on December 17.
Writer and director Peter Klausner is set to push horror audiences to their limits with “Stomach It,” a psychological body horror film making its New York premiere on December 6, 2024, at the NYC Horror Film Festival. The screening will take place at LOOK Dine-In Cinema on West 57th Street, with a newly released clip daring viewers to ask, Can you stomach it?
Starring Jon Lee Richardson (Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F), the film follows Joel, a crime scene cleaner who struggles to detach emotionally from the personal possessions of the deceased. During a late-night job, his repressed emotions manifest into a monstrous presence, forcing him to confront his trauma in the most grotesque and literal way possible.
Stomach It continues its festival run after premiering at the Oscar-qualifying Nashville Film Festival, Screamfest, Atlanta Horror Film Festival, Chicago Horror Film Festival, and Mórbido Fest, earning strong early reviews. Bloody Flicks called it “fear and nausea from the very beginning,” while Horror Fuel praised Klausner for creating “an eerie atmosphere and gory body horror.”
Produced by Klausner and Torey Rubin (RWBY, Zall Good) under ISOTRE Films, the film examines how grief and emotional detachment can fester until they become something monstrous.
“I became fascinated by the psychological aspects of crime scene cleaners and how you are expected to emotionally detach,” said Klausner. “This story goes to the core of the most raw and visceral parts of the human psyche and aims to connect with audiences at the deepest levels.”
Stomach It asks what happens when emotions are buried instead of healed, turning trauma into something both terrifying and cathartic.
“Drive Back” is set to open in select theaters and on digital/VOD this Friday, November 8th.
Directed by Cody Ashford, the film is from the producers of The Gallows, and has been a fan favorite at festivals this year.
In the film, comic artist, Reid and his pregnant fiancée, Olivia celebrate their new engagement at a remote cabin. But after a near car accident leaves them lost in the woods, they find themselves trapped on a hidden shortcut. Facing violent visions, lost memories, and a troubled hitchhiker, they discover a terrifying killer is hunting them and that the shortcut is darker and more personal than they realized.
The film stars Zack Gold, Whit Kunschik, Tammy Kaitz, Robert Stephenson, Madonna Young Magee, Jim Tuck, Crystal Foster.
The film is set to open in Los Angeles: Laemmle Glendale (11/8) and on Fresno: Regal Cinemas River Park Fresno (11/7), and on digital: Apple TV, Fandango at Home (US), Google Play (US & CA), Microsoft Movies & TV (US & CA) and Prime Video (US).
The Spirit of Halloweentown, a new documentary from filmmakers Bradford Thomason and Brett Whitcomb (Jasper Mall, Butterfly in the Sky), will be released on October 24 via Amazon, Apple TV, and YouTube.
