New Bites! Sundown, Cycle and Żuławski
Jordan Downey, the acclaimed director behind the cult medieval horror The Head Hunter (2018), returns with a brand-new nightmare in The Cycle, arriving on Shudder on 23 October 2026. Starring Deborah Ann Woll, Jeffrey Donovan, Will Hochman, Jack Doolan, Carl W. Crudup, Jeb Berrier, Gretchen Corbett and David Myers Gregory, the 111-minute horror mystery centres on an unsettling premise: when the body of a man who vanished 36 years earlier is discovered at the scene of a brutal crime, his estranged daughter must uncover the dark secrets surrounding his disappearance. Written by Downey alongside Kevin Stewart, the film promises to blend supernatural horror, family drama and an engrossing mystery into one chilling package.
Downey’s return to feature filmmaking following the success of The Head Hunter has been a long wait. Early details suggest The Cycle will once again favour suspense and creeping dread over cheap jump scares, with its impossible central mystery hinting at something far more sinister than a conventional murder investigation. With Shudder backing the project and an impressive cast leading the way, The Cycle is already shaping up to be one of the most intriguing original horror releases of the autumn.
Filming is now underway in New Jersey on Parker Finn’s remake of Andrzej Żuławski’s cult psychological horror classic Possession, with Deadline revealing that Madeline Brewer (Cam, You), Emory Cohen (Sweetheart, Lords of Chaos) and Nicholas Alexander Chavez (Grotesquerie) have joined the growing cast. They will star alongside the previously announced Margaret Qualley, Callum Turner, Diego Calva and Paul Dano, with Finn writing, directing and producing the new adaptation. While details remain tightly under wraps, the project revisits one of horror’s most unsettling and influential films, made all the more poignant following the recent passing of Sir Sam Neill, whose extraordinary performance in the 1981 original helped cement its reputation as a genre masterpiece. Neill starred opposite Isabelle Adjani as a couple whose crumbling marriage in Cold War-era West Berlin descends into an unforgettable supernatural nightmare.
Whether Finn’s version remains faithful to Żuławski’s vision is yet to be seen, but the original Possession has lost none of its power over the decades. Isabelle Adjani’s astonishing, award-winning performance, particularly the infamous subway sequence, still regarded as one of horror cinema’s most shocking moments. Adjani has already given her blessing to the remake, expressing her support for Margaret Qualley’s casting in the lead role. The film’s producers include Jonathan Fass, Roy Lee, Andrew Childs and Robert Pattinson, with Marc Bienstock serving as executive producer.
Marcus Slabine and Brian Klingborg’s upcoming found footage horror film Sundown has unveiled its first trailer, teasing a chilling mystery that blurs the line between supernatural terror and the effects of dementia. The film will make its festival debut this August at Mad Monster Party in North Carolina and the Houston Horror Film Festival. The story sees Mary, a widow convinced that her late husband is haunting their home after his death from dementia. Hoping to prove her fears are the result of grief, her estranged son Chris arrives with a filmmaker friend and a spiritualist, only to uncover a far more sinister truth than any of them anticipated.
The cast includes Damian Maffei (The Strangers: Prey at Night, Haunt), Emily Sweet (V/H/S/95, Castle Freak remake), Chris Alexander, Kelly Waters, Erich Rausch and Michael Leavy (Terrifier). Slabine, who co-directs with screenwriter Brian Klingborg, said he was immediately drawn to the script’s grounded characters, escalating tension and commitment to making every scare feel earned. Klingborg has explained the screenplay was inspired by a real-life family tragedy of one of the film’s producers the production takes place inside the producer’s house where the events occurred, lending the project simple authenticity. Horror fans should note that this Sundown is not related to Rebekah McKendry’s vampire revenge film of the same name, or Anthony Hickox’s Bruce Campbell starring vampire comedy.
