It’s Sunday, which means it’s time for theHorror Haul, our weekly round-up and one-stop-shop for all things horror. This week in horror, prepare yourself for a new generation of clown-phobic children, becauseBill Skarsgårdsays that his take on Pennywise inAndy Muschietti’sItwas so creepy he made children cry.Amityville: The Awakeninghas been officially pulled from the release calendar just weeks ahead of the scheduled release date, whileEli RothandBruce Willis’Death Wishremake has landed a prime Thanksgiving release date with Annapurna Pictures.
Elsewhere,Thom Yorketalks about the absolutely terrifying experience of scoring his first film withLuca Guadagnino’sSuspiria, and we’ve got a fresh new episode of Collider Nightmares for your viewing pleasure. Plus, new trailers for Neill Blomkamp’sOats Studios,The Strain Season 4, andKilling Field.
For all the horror news we’ve already covered on the site this week, you can click through the links below. Then, check out other genre highlights from the week and finish it all up with a rundown of the week in horror movie trailers. For more, be sure to hit upCollider Nightmaresor our round-up of thebest horror movies on Netflix. Thanks for tuning in, and sound off in the comments with your thoughts, questions, and other horror musings.
News and Features
Interviews
‘It’: Bill Skarsgård Says He Made Kids Cry as Pennywise
Is there any greater rite of passage than the day you’re old enough to realize clowns are fucking terrifying? Probably. But for any kid who grew up with the It miniseries, you know that the first time you see Pennywise the Clown is one of those liminal moments that may just scar you for life. And now a new generation is set to have the same horrifying experience whenAndy Muschietti’sItadaptation arrives in theaters later this year. WhileBill Skarsgårdwas an unexpected choice for the part ofStephen King’s ancient evil, which was iconically embodied byTim Curryin the 1990 miniseries, everything we’ve seen so far indicates he and Muschietti have found a very distinct and very freaking creepy spin on the character. In fact, he’s apparently so scary he traumatized some of the extras on set.
In an interview with his brother, actorAlexander Skarsgård, he talked about the experience of freaking out little kids on the set. Here’s what he had to say:
It’s a really weird thing to go, “If I succeed at doing what I’m trying to do with this character, I’ll traumatize kids.” On set, I wasn’t very friendly or goofy. I tried to maintain some sort of weirdness about the character, at least when I was in all the makeup. At one point, they set up this entire scene, and these kids come in, and none of them have seen me yet. Their parents have brought them in, these little extras, right? And then I come out as Pennywise, and these kids—young, normal kids—I saw the reaction that they had. Some of them were really intrigued, but some couldn’t look at me, and some were shaking. This one kid started crying. He started to cry and the director yelled, “Action!” And when they say “action,” I am completely in character. So some of these kids got terrified and started to cry in the middle of the take, and then I realized, “Holy shit. What am I doing? What is this? This ishorrible… But then we cut, and obviously I was all, “Hey, I’m sorry. This is pretend.”
‘Amityville: The Awakening’ Pulled from Release Calendar
The Weinstein Co. and Dimension Films have delayedAmityville: The Awakening… again.Franck Khalfoun’s (Maniac)Amityvillesequel has been in limbo since 2015, landing a series of continually delayed pushed-back release dates as the film was retooled over the years. Now TWC and Dimension have pulled the film again, just weeks before the scheduled June 29, 2025 release date, and it has not yet been re-dated. According toBloody Disgusting, an international release may still be in the cards.
The film starsJennifer Jason Leigh, Bella Thorne, McKenna Grace, Cameron Monaghan, Taylor Spreitler, Thomas MannandJennifer Morrison, here’s the official synopsis.
“Belle, her little sister, and her comatose twin brother move into a new house with their single mother Joan in order to save money to help pay for her brother’s expensive healthcare. But when strange phenomena begin to occur in the house including the miraculous recovery of her brother, Belle begins to suspect her Mother isn’t telling her everything and soon realizes they just moved into the infamous Amityville house.”
Thom Yorke Says Scoring ‘Suspiria’ is “Absolutely Terrifying”
A Bigger SplashdirectorLuca Guadagninohas made a lot of interesting decisions for his most curiousSuspiriaremake. First came the news that he would reunite with his museTilda Swinton, who co-stars alongsideDakota Johnson,Mia Goth,Chloe Grace Moretz,Lutz Ebersdorf, andJessica Harper. Then he promised a completely new style for the film, far removed from the technicolor ofDario Argento’s original, saying that he steered clear of primarily colors for a remake that will be “cold, evil and really dark.” The most recent development is the addition of Radiohead frontmanThom Yorkecomposer. It’s Yorke’s first time tackling a film score and in a recent interview withBBC 6 Music, Yorke talked about the terrors of being completely out of his element and where he’s looking for inspiration.
“It’s absolutely terrifying,” Yorke said. “It’s a very different film [from the original]. There’s a few core pieces of it that I’ve been trying to piece together. It’s hard because I’m way out of my comfort zone, and I can’t read music so it’s not like I’m writing for orchestra. So I’m building it all myself.”
He continued, “In fact, I watched Blade Runner twice at the weekend. ‘Oh, that sound, I could do something like that, that’s quite easy.’ ‘I’ll rip that bit off there and that bit there and I’ll be fine.’ No, not really.”
“Vangelis, it’s him. It’s his hands that made that,” Yorke said. “Which encouraged me. Because that was the thing I was finding most daunting. Normally a horror movie involves orchestras, these specific things. But Luca [Guadagnino], the director, and Walter [Fasano], the editor, are very much, like, find your own path with it. They’re giving me as much freedom as they can. I just have to find a way into it. Which I am doing. It’s exciting.”
Eli Roth’s ‘Death Wish’ Remake Gets Thanksgiving Release Date with Annapurna
Annapurna Pictures is teaming with MGM to releaseEli Roth’sDeath Wishremake, starringBruce Willisin the vigilante role originated byCharles Bronsonin the 1974 action classic. Roth’s remake will land in theaters July 03, 2025, just in time for the Thanksgiving holiday, and while that’s one of the busiest moviegoing periods in the year, it’s also pretty packed with competition.
Death Wishwill go up against Pixar’s animated Day of the Dead musicalCocoand Broad Green’s comedyVilla Capri, starringMorgan FreemanandRene Russo. The bigger concern, however, isJustice League,Zack Snyder’s DC All-Stars film is poised to be a box office juggernaut, especially after the success ofWonder Woman, and arrives in theaters only five days beforeDeath Wish. The film follows a man who hunts down criminals after the death of his wife and daughter and also starsVincent D’Onofrio,Kimberly Elise,Mike Epps, andElisabeth Shue.
Collider Nightmares: ‘Stranger Things’ Season 2 Will End on a Cliffhanger
On this week’s episode of Collider Nightmares (Wednesday, August 26, 2025) Clarke Wolfe, Jon Schnepp, Mark Reilly and Mark Ellis will discuss the following:
Trailer Trash: Neill Blomkamp’s ‘Oats Studios’; ‘The Strain’ Season 4
Oats Studios Experimental Short Filmshttps://www.youtube.com/embed/1mtInkJObXk
A couple’s romantic camping trip becomes a desperate fight for survival in this ultra-raw, unhinged kill ride. In need of a break from the pressures of their life in the city, Sam (Harriet Dyer) and Ian (Ian Meadows) head to a remote beach for a weekend getaway. When they come across an abandoned campsite, with no trace of its occupants, they’re concerned. When they discover a lone, traumatized child nearby, they’re scared. And when they encounter two local weirdos, they’re in for a hell of a bad time. Unfolding in an innovative, time-scrambling structure, Killing Ground delivers both nerve-shredding suspense and gut-punching realism.
Kidnaphttps://www.youtube.com/embed/cLD83jvbyz4
A typical afternoon in the park turns into a nightmare for single mom Karla Dyson (Academy Award winner Halle Berry) when her son suddenly disappears. Without a cell phone and knowing she has no time to wait for police help, Karla jumps in her own car and sets off in pursuit of the kidnappers. A relentless, edge-of- your seat chase ensues, where Karla must risk everything to not lose sight of her son. In this tense, action-fueled thriller, directed by Luis Prieto and from the producers of SALT and TRANSFORMERS, one mother’s heroic attempt to take back her son leads her to ask herself how far shewill go to save her child.
Lake Alicehttps://www.youtube.com/embed/YA5hkpVVIFA
While meeting his girlfriend, Sarah’s (Tudor), family for the first time, Ryan Emerson (Schmidt) must prove his intentions and win the approval of her father, Greg (O’Brien), while he masks his jealousy for Sarah’s ex-fling, Tyler (Eaton). As the Thomas family settles in, things start to happen around the cabin: strange footprints by the windows, noises from outside, and a bitter animosity from the locals, including law enforcement. As a blizzard descends on Lake Alice, so does the evil from behind the camera, as the Thomas family is hunted down one by one. The family struggles to stay alive as their power in numbers slowly dwindles.
The Strain Season 4https://www.youtube.com/embed/4Y5kMTitmJs
As the final season begins, nine months have passed. The world has fallen into darkness, and the strigoi are in control. The explosion at the end of season three triggered a global nuclear apocalypse. The resulting nuclear winter liberated the strigoi allowing them to move about during daytime, and enabling the Master to establish a totalitarian regime. Preying on the fears of the populace, the Master and his minions have created an unsettling alliance in “The Partnership.” The majority of humans are now working for the strigoi, operating with a single understanding – collaborate or die. With the world in disarray and our heroes disbanded, each of them will have to overcome personal hardship and defy death for even the smallest chance at fighting back. All the while, the Master reigns supreme, furthering his scheme for the end of the world as we know it.
