Thirteen days out from Halloween, the horror news this week split neatly between things you can play tonight and things you will be waiting on until 2027, so each item below carries a CONFIRMED or RUMOR tag and names its source. Everything was checked against the original reporting on October 18; dates, platforms and prices shift constantly in this genre, so treat the circled dates as “last known” rather than gospel.
How we ranked this week’s stories
Weekly roundups on the big sites tend to run as a flat feed, which is fine for skimming but useless if you want to know what actually matters before the 31st. We ranked on three things instead.
First, whether the story changes what you can watch or play before Halloween, which is why a Switch 2 port outranks a casting notice for a film that will not shoot until next year. Second, source quality, because a Capcom press release and a studio exclusive at Deadline are not the same animal as a cast member teasing an unannounced project in an interview. Third, how much the story moves a franchise’s lore or shape, since a new Jason design or a redesigned Pinhead will still be argued about long after this week’s trailers are forgotten.
Our site’s own reporting from the week is folded in where it belongs rather than bolted on, and anything we could not pin to a named outlet or an official channel is graded as a rumor and phrased that way.
Quick reference: the week at a glance
| # | Story | Status | Source grade | What you can do now |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Resident Evil 2, 3 and 4 remakes land on Switch 2 | CONFIRMED | Official (Capcom) | Play, but mind the performance caveats |
| 2 | Crystal Lake releases official baghead Jason photos | CONFIRMED | Official (Peacock) via Bloody Disgusting | Study the design, read early reviews |
| 3 | Halloween: The Game adds Eugene and Michelle, free Tower Farm map on Oct 27 | CONFIRMED | Official (IllFonic) | Update your game before Halloween night |
| 4 | Hellraiser: Revival shows off a redesigned Pinhead | CONFIRMED | Official reveal, reported by Bloody Disgusting | Watch the footage, avoid spoilers if you care |
| 5 | Tenebris Somnia launches with When Evil Lurks effects talent | CONFIRMED | Official (Saibot Studios) | Play it on PC this weekend |
| 6 | Clayface clip leans body horror; Safran talks Gotham’s look | CONFIRMED | Official (DC Studios) | Watch the clip, calibrate expectations |
| 7 | Fall 3 confirmed, Grace Caroline Currey returns, shoots next year | CONFIRMED | Proven outlet exclusive (Bloody Disgusting) | Nothing yet; Fall is streaming |
| 8 | Fears to Fathom optioned for film and TV by SRYN | CONFIRMED | Proven outlet (Deadline) | Play the games, they are cheap |
| 9 | Mayfair Watchers Society movie: Henderson co-writing | CONFIRMED | Proven outlet reporting | Nothing yet; no director or date |
| 10 | Summoner adds Stephanie Beatriz and Daniel Ings | CONFIRMED | Proven outlet reporting | Nothing yet |
| 11 | Bad Influence casts McGraw, Gomez and Champion | CONFIRMED | Proven outlet reporting | Nothing yet |
| 12 | Hunter Schafer calls A24’s secret vampire film “batshit crazy” | RUMOR (details) | Actor interview; project unconfirmed in detail | Keep an eye on A24 |
1. Resident Evil 2, 3 and 4 remakes arrive on Switch 2 (top pick)
CONFIRMED. Source: Capcom’s official release, plus review-copy impressions compiled in our coverage of the re remakes on switch 2.
Capcom’s three modern remakes hit Nintendo’s new hardware on October 16, which makes this the single most useful piece of horror news this week if you own the console and have been waiting to play the Raccoon City trilogy away from a TV. The catch, and it is a real one, is that review copies showed uneven performance across the three games, with frame rate dips and resolution compromises that vary by title and by docked versus handheld play.
If you are only buying one, make it Resident Evil 2 (2019). It is the tightest of the three, its Mr. X stalking sections work beautifully in handheld where every footstep lands in your headphones, and it is the lightest load on the hardware. Resident Evil 4 (2023) is the bigger, louder game and the one most likely to show the seams, so wait for day-one patch notes if a smooth village siege matters more to you than portability.
For a first horror game this is still the gold standard pick: it is frightening without being punishing, it teaches you resource management kindly, and the two-character structure gives you a reason to play twice. If you cannot handle gore, it is not for you; the Licker reveal alone will tell you that within an hour.
2. Crystal Lake unmasks its baghead Jason
CONFIRMED. Source: official Peacock stills, reported by Bloody Disgusting.
Peacock’s Friday the 13th prequel series released official photos of its Jason Voorhees wearing the sack-headed look from Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), which is the correct choice for a story set before the hockey mask ever enters the picture. The series is built around Linda Cardellini’s Pamela Voorhees, and the design shown this week is closer to the scarecrow-with-a-grudge of the 1981 film than to the hulking Kane Hodder era, which tells you a lot about the tone they are chasing.
Reviews are already circulating, with Bloody Disgusting calling it a bloody and heartbreaking reinvention, so episodes are in critics’ hands and you should expect spoilers to spread fast. If you want to go in clean, now is the week to rewatch the original 1980 film and Part 2 and then mute the hashtags.
For the lore-keepers: this is a prequel to the original film continuity, not to the 2009 Platinum Dunes reboot, and the baghead design predates the mask that Jason steals in Part 3 (1982). Do not let anyone tell you the mask shows up early; if it does, it is a deliberate change and worth an argument.
3. Halloween: The Game adds two residents and a free map on October 27
CONFIRMED. Source: IllFonic’s official announcement, covered in our halloween the game content report.
IllFonic’s asymmetrical take on Haddonfield gets two new playable residents, Eugene and Michelle, alongside a free Tower Farm map that lands on October 27, which puts fresh content in your hands four days before Halloween night. Free is the key word there: this is the kind of post-launch support that keeps a player base alive, and it is a good sign from the studio behind Friday the 13th: The Game (2017) and Killer Klowns from Outer Space: The Game (2024).
This is the obvious co-op night pick of the week. The scares come from tension and misread footsteps rather than from set pieces, so if you have a friend who can’t handle gore but likes being hunted, this is gentler than the Resident Evil games above. Solo players should temper expectations; the game sings with a full lobby and sags without one.
4. Hellraiser: Revival redesigns Pinhead
CONFIRMED. Source: official footage, reported by Bloody Disgusting under a spoiler flag.
Saber Interactive’s first-person Hellraiser game showed a new form for its Hell Priest this week, and the outlets that covered it did so under spoiler warnings, so we are keeping the specifics out of this roundup on purpose. What is safe to say: it is a deliberate departure from the Doug Bradley silhouette that defined the character from Hellraiser (1987) through Hellraiser: Hellworld (2005), and it sits closer in spirit to the gnarlier, more sculptural direction David Bruckner’s 2022 reboot took with Jamie Clayton.
Franchise purists will have feelings. Our position is that Pinhead has always been a design-first character, and the Cenobites were built to be remixed, so a game that treats the Lament Configuration as a visual playground is on the right track. Platforms and a release date remain the real open questions, and Saber has not locked a window.
5. Tenebris Somnia launches with When Evil Lurks effects talent
CONFIRMED. Source: Saibot Studios’ launch announcement, covered in our tenebris somnia launch piece.
Argentina’s Saibot Studios, the team behind Doorways and Hellbound, released Tenebris Somnia this week, an indie game that alternates 8-bit style exploration with live-action FMV sequences, and the practical effects on those sequences come from the crew behind Demián Rugna’s When Evil Lurks (2023). That pedigree matters: the gore in Rugna’s film is some of the nastiest put to screen in the last decade, and early footage of the game’s live-action segments carries the same wet, practical ugliness.
Check Steam for the current price; indie launches often run a discount in week one and we would rather you look than trust a number that moves. This one is for players who loved the FMV revival of Immortality (2022) and want it scarier, and for fans of the Argentine horror wave who have run out of films. It is not a first horror game; the tonal whiplash between pixel art and real blood is the whole point and it is designed to unsettle.
6. Clayface clip leans hard into body horror
CONFIRMED. Source: DC Studios’ released clip and Peter Safran’s comments, covered in our clayface horror marketing push report.
DC’s standalone Clayface, directed by James Watkins from a script originated by Mike Flanagan and starring Tom Rhys Harries, put out a clip this week that reads as straight body horror rather than superhero action, and co-chief Peter Safran said in the same push that Gotham keeps the dark look established by The Batman (2022) rather than brightening up for the shared universe. Watkins directed Eden Lake (2008) and Speak No Evil (2024), which should tell you how much he enjoys watching people come apart.
Take this as a genuine horror release in superhero clothing rather than a superhero release with horror flavor. For a studio movie, that is unusual enough to earn the spot, and it is the clearest signal yet that the Gunn-era DC is willing to let a sub-brand be R-rated and genuinely gross.
7. Fall 3 is happening, and Grace Caroline Currey is back
CONFIRMED. Source: Bloody Disgusting exclusive, a proven outlet with a strong record on this franchise.
A third Fall film is in the works with Grace Caroline Currey returning and cameras rolling next year, according to an exclusive at Bloody Disgusting, which has broken most of this franchise’s news. Scott Mann’s original Fall (2022) was the sleeper of its year, a two-hander on a 2,000-foot radio tower that cost almost nothing and made its money back many times over, which explains why Lionsgate keeps climbing.
If you missed it, Fall is a terrific pick for the friend who hates gore but wants to sweat; it is a vertigo movie, not a slasher, and the scare profile is pure anxiety. Hold the sequel talk until you have seen the first; it does not need a sequel and it is better not knowing it got one.
8. Fears to Fathom optioned for film and TV
CONFIRMED. Source: Deadline, covered in our fears to fathom adaptation report.
Rayll’s episodic indie series Fears to Fathom, the low-poly, first-person anthology built on supposedly true internet stories, has been optioned for film and television by Scarlet Stallone’s SRYN, per Deadline. The games are short, cheap, and built around the specific dread of being a teenager home alone, which is exactly the kind of modular premise an anthology series eats up.
This one lands high because the source is unimpeachable and because the games are playable right now on PC. The whole series is a strong first horror game recommendation: minimal gore, mostly atmosphere, and each episode runs about an hour.
9. Mayfair Watchers Society movie moves forward
CONFIRMED. Source: trade reporting, covered in our mayfair watchers society report.
Trevor Henderson, the artist behind Siren Head and the creator of the Mayfair Watchers Society audio drama, is co-writing the film adaptation, and that is the entire confirmed state of play: no director, no date, no cast. We rank it here rather than lower because Henderson’s involvement is the detail that matters; his creature designs are the reason the property exists, and a version without him in the room would be a different thing entirely.
The audio drama itself is worth your commute time this week if you like your horror small-town and cryptid-flavored.
10. Summoner adds Stephanie Beatriz and Daniel Ings
CONFIRMED. Source: trade reporting, covered in our summoner casting update.
Kevin Bacon’s demonic horror Summoner picked up Stephanie Beatriz and Daniel Ings this week, giving the project a cast with real comedic range, which usually signals either a horror-comedy or a very dry straight horror. Bacon’s recent genre run, from You Should Have Left (2020) to his Tremors legacy, suggests the latter; we would not bet on a comedy yet.
11. Bad Influence casts McGraw, Gomez and Champion
CONFIRMED. Source: trade reporting, covered in our bad influence casting report.
The hitchhiker horror Bad Influence now has Madeleine McGraw, Xochitl Gomez and Jack Champion on board, a cast that reads like a deliberate pull from The Black Phone (2021), the Marvel films and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) respectively. Hitchhiker horror is a proud and nasty tradition stretching from The Hitcher (1986) through Joy Ride (2001), and a young-cast version with real names attached is the kind of thing that gets a wide release rather than a quiet streaming drop.
12. Hunter Schafer teases A24’s secret vampire movie
RUMOR on the details. Source: the actor’s own interview comments; A24 has not detailed the project.
Hunter Schafer, who anchored Tilman Singer’s Cuckoo (2024), described an unannounced A24 vampire film as “batshit crazy” in an interview this week, and that is the full extent of the verifiable information. We are flagging this one as a rumor not because Schafer is unreliable but because the project’s title, director, plot and release plan have not been confirmed by the studio, so every outlet filling in those blanks is guessing.
Our read: A24 has not made a straight vampire picture, and the studio’s horror slate has leaned on directors with a single strong hook. If the film exists in the shape Schafer implies, expect it to be announced with a director attached before any further cast.
Playable and watchable right now
| Title | Type | Platform or service | Date checked | Our scare level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resident Evil 2 (2019 remake) | Game | Switch 2 (new), PS5, Xbox Series, PC | Oct 18 | 4/5 |
| Resident Evil 4 (2023 remake) | Game | Switch 2 (new), PS5, Xbox Series, PC | Oct 18 | 3/5 |
| Tenebris Somnia | Game | PC via Steam | Oct 18 | 4/5 |
| Halloween: The Game | Game | PS5, Xbox Series, PC | Oct 18 | 3/5 |
| Fears to Fathom (episodes 1 onward) | Game | PC via Steam | Oct 18 | 3/5 |
| In a Violent Nature (2024) | Film | Shudder | Oct 18 | 4/5 |
| Fall (2022) | Film | Check your region’s streamer | Oct 18 | 3/5 |
Streaming rights rotate monthly, and October is the month they rotate hardest, so the service listed is where we found each title on the 18th. If you are planning a specific night, confirm the day of.
Festival and in-brief: the smaller stories
The reviews coming out of the London Film Festival and Sitges this week are the best signal of what next year’s indie slate looks like, so here is the overflow in one place.
| Story | Status | Source | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| In a Violent Nature 2 poster | CONFIRMED | Official one-sheet, reported widely | Sequel to Chris Nash’s 2024 ambient slasher is real and marketing has begun |
| The Unknown reviewed at London Film Festival | CONFIRMED | Bloody Disgusting review | Body horror described as disturbing and bewitching; watch for a distribution deal |
| Found Alive reviewed at Sitges | CONFIRMED | Bloody Disgusting review | Crime thriller reviewed as timely but plodding; a cautious one |
| Beware Boiúna heading to home release | CONFIRMED | Distributor announcement | Brazilian giant snake creature feature; a monsters pick for a crowd |
| Tara Emad joins The Mummy: Book of the Dead | CONFIRMED | Bloody Disgusting exclusive | Egyptian casting for a Mummy project is the right instinct and a rare one |
The In a Violent Nature sequel is the one to prep for, because the first film is divisive in a way that is worth experiencing before anyone tells you how to feel about it.
It is a slasher told almost entirely from the killer’s point of view, long walking takes through the Ontario woods punctuated by some of the most elaborate practical kills of the decade. If you cannot handle gore, this is a firm no; one kill in particular has become shorthand among fans for “do not eat first.” If you love Friday the 13th’s rhythm but wished the camera stayed with Jason, it is essential.
If you liked this week's picks
The Black Phone (2021), because the Bad Influence cast news will send you back to Madeleine McGraw’s breakout and it holds up.
Doorways: Holy Mountains of Flesh (2016), Saibot Studios’ earlier game, if Tenebris Somnia leaves you wanting more of that team’s nastiness.
Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), the baghead Jason film, which is the real homework before Crystal Lake.
Dates to circle before Halloween
| Date | What | Status |
|---|---|---|
| October 16 | Resident Evil 2, 3 and 4 remakes on Switch 2 | Released |
| This week | Tenebris Somnia on PC | Released |
| October 27 | Halloween: The Game, Tower Farm map plus Eugene and Michelle | Confirmed, free |
| October 31 | Halloween night | You know what to do |
| Next year | Fall 3 begins filming | Confirmed, no release date |
| Unannounced | Hellraiser: Revival, Clayface, Summoner, Bad Influence, Mayfair Watchers Society film | Various |
FAQ
Which of this week’s games is the best pick for a first horror game?
Resident Evil 2 (2019), now on Switch 2. It is frightening, fair, and teaches you how to play scared without punishing you for it. Fears to Fathom is the gentler alternative if gore is the barrier.
Is Crystal Lake connected to the 2009 Friday the 13th reboot?
No. It is a prequel built around Pamela Voorhees from the original 1980 film’s continuity, and the baghead Jason design comes from Friday the 13th Part 2 (1981), before the hockey mask appears in Part 3 (1982).
Should I buy Resident Evil 4 on Switch 2 or wait?
Wait a week for patch notes if smooth performance matters to you. Review copies showed the most strain on the biggest of the three games, and Capcom has a decent record of post-launch fixes.
Why is the Hunter Schafer story tagged as a rumor when she said it herself?
Her quote is real and reported. Everything else about the project, including the title, director and plot, is unconfirmed by A24, so any outlet describing the film in detail is speculating, and we grade the details rather than the quote.
Where do the confirmed stories come from?
Official studio channels (Capcom, IllFonic, Saibot Studios, DC Studios, Peacock), trade reporting at Deadline, and exclusives at Bloody Disgusting, which has a strong record on franchise horror. Nothing in the confirmed column rests on an anonymous source.