News Bites! Battle Cabin, Crawlers and Boiúna
Four years sitting on a shelf probably isn’t a particularly encouraging sign either. Lionsgate has unveiled the official trailer for Battle Cabin, the post-apocalyptic action thriller formerly known as Northspur. The New Zealand production originally premiered in 2022, having been developed from a pandemic-era screenplay about a post-pandemic world where desperate survivors fight to protect their homes. Directed by Aaron Falvey in his feature debut and written by Justin Eade, the film stars Josh McKenzie (The Hunting Party, La Brea, The Twelve), Delaney Tabron, Michael Hurst, Kali Kopae, Rama Marrow, Nell Fisher and Marshall Napier. Despite being completed several years ago, Battle Cabin has had a decidedly troubled journey to release, including a German DVD release in 2024, before Lionsgate finally picked it up for a direct-to-VOD bow this autumn. Based on the trailer, it certainly looks like the sort of low-budget post-apocalyptic action movie that might be worth a watch.
Set in the aftermath of a devastating global attack, Battle Cabin takes place in a lawless world where electricity, government and basic civility have become distant memories. When Kellan (McKenzie) is forced to leave the security of his homestead to find life-saving medication for his wife, he encounters murderous thieves with links to his past. His journey eventually leads him into an unlikely alliance with a hardened warrior, as the pair must devise a plan to defend a remote cabin against those determined to take it from them. Battle Cabin arrives on VOD from Lionsgate on September 29, 2026. Whether the four-year wait means there’s a hidden post-apocalyptic gem buried underneath all that dust remains to be seen, but fans of low-budget survival thrillers may want to give it a shot, but one thing is for sure… Northspur is a much better title.
Staying with Lionsgate, they have unleashed the first official trailer for Beware Boiúna, a new survival horror thriller from filmmaker Mike P. Nelson that takes the giant-snake movie back into the depths of the Amazon rainforest. This looks like it could be the more serious and suitably nasty modern take on the classic creature-feature formula. The story follows a team of doctors on a medical mission deep in the rainforest, only for their arrival to awaken the Boiúna, described as a colossal ancient predator. With nature firmly in control and the gigantic serpent deciding who lives and who dies, the expedition quickly turns into a fight for survival. The film stars Kiana Madeira, Jessica Rothe and Logan Marshall-Green.
Directed by Nelson, whose previous genre credits include The Domestics, Wrong Turn, Silent Night, Deadly Night and a segment of V/H/S/85, Beware Boiúna features a screenplay by Tony Giglio, Alan B. McElroy and Nelson. Jeremy Bolt and Robert Kulzer produce the film for Lionsgate, which is bringing the movie to US cinemas on October 2, 2026, just in time for the Halloween season. The trailer promises a considerably more intense and serious approach to giant-snake horror, with the Amazon itself becoming as much of a threat as the enormous creature stalking the medical team. Whether Beware Boiúna can deliver the scares to match its gigantic predator remains to be seen, however, this has peeked my interest as I know a bit about the mythic creature… also known as the Mboiaçu or Cobra-Grande… however, I have it on good authority that it is not a cobra, but a Black Boa.
Roadside Attractions has unveiled the first trailer for Crawlers, another new creature-feature horror movie that looks set to give anyone with a fear of spiders some serious nightmares. The film centres on the residents of the Paradiso Palms apartment complex, who find themselves trapped inside when a catastrophic infestation of venomous spiders triggers a police-mandated quarantine. As the creatures multiply and become increasingly difficult to contain, building manager Serena (Matilda Lutz) must use her intimate knowledge of the complex to help the terrified residents survive. The cast also includes Gregg Sulkin, Melina Matthews, William Miller and Chris Rogers, while the trailer promises plenty of creepy-crawly chaos, gruesome deaths and enough spiders to make you want to check every corner of your house.
Directed by Spanish genre filmmaker Ángel Gómez Hernández, whose previous work includes Don’t Listen and The Boogeyman: The Origin of the Myth, Crawlers features a screenplay by Jayson Rothwell. Produced by Brian Crist, Basil Iwanyk, Erica Lee, Alexandra Milchan, Rothwell, Scott Strauss, Josh Weinstock and Peter Welter Soler, the movie arrives at a time when giant and deadly spiders seem to be enjoying something of a horror resurgence. Following films such as Infested and Sting, alongside the upcoming Spider Island, it does raise the question of whether spiders are becoming the new sharks of creature-feature cinema. Personally, I’d be perfectly happy if that trend stopped here for a while. Crawlers crawls into US cinemas on October 16, 2026, courtesy of Roadside Attractions and Saban Films. If you’re afraid of spiders, you might want to look away now!
