Spine chiller 😱 #38
Could Ryan Murphy's book adaptation be his most binge-worthy show yet?
Welcome home, horror lover! 👋 If you have a phone and a social media account you will have no doubt heard of The Shards. If you have neither of those things, keep scrolling because I’ve got you.
The buzzy new horror series is adapted from a book by the writer of American Psycho, with Ryan Murphy on board as exec producer.
The cast is also pretty stacked too, including Homer Gere (Richard Gere’s son) and Kaia Gerber (Cindy Crawford’s daughter). Their parents were famously married in real life once upon a time which is also contributing to the hype. Now, onto the newsletter…
Horror latest 🩸
👙 New Ryan Murphy horror series The Shards has landed a release date. The show - which arrives on Disney+ on August 6 - is an adaptation of a Bret Easton Ellis novel of the same name. It follows a group of privileged teens as they navigate life, love and obsession in the 1980s with a serial killer on the loose.
🎮 The script for A24’s live-action remake of Death Stranding is nearly complete. The game’s designer, Hideo Kojima, has already given it his seal of approval and even had a hand in the writing process.
🩸 A horror-thriller starring Terrifier’s Lauren LaVera and youngest of the Culkin siblings, Rory, is now in production. Red Wedding centres around a mother and daughter who are kidnapped, but discover their captors are not actually the ones they should fear.
🐶 Netflix has now announced the full cast for its live-action Scooby Doo: Origins series. They join previously announced stars including Scream 7’s McKenna Grace and Lost in Space’s Maxwell Jenkins.
🥀 Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Anthony Head has died at the age of 72 due to complications from pneumonia. He portrayed Buffy’s mentor, Rupert Giles, on the hit horror series.
On the slab
A note from your editor ✨
Love him or hate him, Ryan Murphy has the horror community in a chokehold.
If we can agree to collectively wipe The Beauty from our memories, his impact on what makes for terrifying TV can’t be ignored.
Those often parodied American Horror Story intros are the stuff of legend, while he also has an uncanny ability to tap into our deepest emotions and make us laugh, cry, squirm and punch the air with his shows (Scream Queens, for example).
I always find it so jarring that he’s the guy that brought us Glee - which I also loved, by the way - so whatever plane of existence he’s living on, I’m paying rent there already.
Given he is no stranger to putting out a total dud (we’ll never talk about All’s Fair again), I’m hoping and praying that The Shards isn’t one of them. If he gets this right, it could well be his most binge-worthy show yet.
Keep on screaming 😱,
Samantha
Horror bite 👄: Candyman star Tony Todd was paid a $1,000 bonus for every bee sting he suffered on set. He was stung 23 times 🐝.
To a friend, I recommend… 🎀🩸
There is nothing more satisfying than watching a film with a big twist you never saw coming and that’s where The Cabin in the Woods delivers an absolute masterclass.
The 2012 release is easily dismissed as another tropey horror from the poster and synopsis alone, but that’s sort of the point. It takes aim at some classic clichés before turning them entirely on their head.
Without giving too much away, the story follows five friends who go for a getaway in the woods, but soon find themselves the target of mysterious forces. I consider the film’s big reveal to be as impressive as The Sixth Sense’s iconic twist, and that’s as much as I’ll say.
Trending 🔥
Who knew a picture of a purple cross could spark such a frenzy?
Mike Flanagan announced that his highly-anticipated The Exorcist film wrapped filming this week, writing: “That’s a wrap. What an incredible experience. Forever grateful to this extraordinary cast and crew!”
Actor Jack Quaid (The Boys, Companion) commented three hearts under the post which has left people questioning if he has a surprise role in the film. If true, he’d be joining an already impressive cast including Scarlett Johansson and Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Plot details have been kept mostly under wraps, but it will tell a new story from the previous Exorcist films.
Don’t miss… 📅
👽 The Alien Autopsy Scandal - Sky Documentaries and NOW (Out now)
🪓 They Will Kill You - HBO Max (Out now)
👶 Maternal Instinct - Netflix (June 12)
❓ Did You Kill Emma? - Prime Video (June 14)
👿 Leviticus - Cinemas (June 19)
Kill some time 🔪⏰
🐳 Watch Austin Abrams get swallowed whole in the terrifying first trailer for Whalefall.
🩸 You can become Jigsaw’s predecessor and torture your friends in a new SAW game unveiled this week.
🦠 Check out the brand new poster for Ridley Scott’s dystopian epic, The Dog Stars.
👽 A sequel to hit horror game Alien: Isolation is coming, and fans have been given their first glimpse.
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Scream Society is written by me, Samantha King (you can call me Sam), a lifelong horror nerd and journalist.
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