CONFIRMED
A new YA horror road movie has its leads. Deadline reported on Oct 15, 2026, in an exclusive, that Madeleine McGraw, Xochitl Gomez and Jack Champion have been cast in ‘Bad Influence’, a hitchhiker thriller directed by Jason Perlman from a script by Brandon Cohen. If you know McGraw from The Black Phone or Champion from Scream VI, this one will be on your radar.
What we know
Deadline describes ‘Bad Influence’ as a modern-day ‘Thelma & Louise’ fueled by female rage. Isabelle, played by McGraw, and Kira, played by Gomez, take a road trip home for spring break and pick up a mysterious hitchhiker named Liam, who is not what he seems. That is the full extent of the plot detail Deadline offered, and it is enough to place the film squarely in the hitchhiker horror tradition.
The cast carries real genre credentials. Fangoria, citing Deadline, notes that McGraw starred in The Black Phone and its sequel, where she reprised her role as Gwen Blake. Deadline says Champion has starred as Spider in the Avatar franchise and appeared in Scream VI, and that his latest film, ‘Don’t Say Good Luck’, recently premiered on Netflix. Fangoria adds that Champion is also in the upcoming ‘My Boyfriend Is a Demon’.
Gomez is a slightly different case. Dread Central, citing Deadline, credits her for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Fangoria points to her recent turn in the Tubi horror ‘Hive’. Some headlines have lumped all three actors together as Scream VI or Black Phone alumni, but that framing is wrong for Gomez. Deadline, Fangoria and Dread Central each tie McGraw to The Black Phone and Champion to Scream VI in the same article, with Fangoria’s headline reading ‘SCREAM VI & BLACK PHONE Stars Unite For Teen Horror BAD INFLUENCE’, but none of them connects Gomez to either franchise.
Behind the camera, Deadline lists Debbie Liebling, Joel David Moore and Zachary Burgess as producers. Moore and Liebling previously worked together on ‘Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story’ and ‘Grandma’s Boy’, per Deadline. Executive producers include Steven Silverstein, Cathy Raduns, Raymond Merrill, Carmelo Chimera, Syed Ali Saeed, Denis Schoenhofer, Natalie Kline, Jarod Einsohn, and Michelle and Melissa Macedo. Capture is handling sales.
One more point of confusion to clear up: Fangoria states the new film is separate from Curtis Hanson’s movie and is built on an original script by Cohen. Same title, different story.
What is rumored
The obvious assumption is that Champion plays Liam, the hitchhiker. It fits the premise, since Deadline names McGraw as Isabelle and Gomez as Kira and leaves one lead unassigned. But Deadline does not actually say which role Champion plays, and no approved outlet has filled that gap. Filmofilia, a secondary aggregator, pointed out the same omission. Until Deadline or the production says otherwise, treat Champion’s role as unconfirmed.
A second claim comes from the fan site BeautifulBallad, which inferred from a Madeleine McGraw Instagram post that the cast has already wrapped production. That is a single-source reading of a social post, not a report from the production or a trade outlet. No approved source has confirmed any production status, so this stays firmly in the rumor column.
What we don’t know yet
Quite a lot, honestly. No release date had been announced as of Oct 15, 2026, and Fangoria confirms there is no release date set. Deadline reports that Capture is handling sales, and BeautifulBallad reported on Oct 15, 2026, citing McGraw’s Instagram, that the cast had already wrapped, which would mean any shoot dates have effectively passed. We do not know Champion’s character, whether Liam is a human threat or something stranger, or how far the ‘female rage’ angle pushes the film toward revenge thriller versus straight horror. A Bloody Disgusting piece on the casting was not retrievable for this story and is not cited here.
What it means
Hitchhiker horror is a durable subgenre, and pairing it with a spring break road trip gives ‘Bad Influence’ a familiar, appealing shape. The ‘Thelma & Louise’ comparison from Deadline is the interesting part, because it suggests the two women are the engine of the story as well as potential victims.
The casting is the real draw for genre fans. McGraw has built a loyal following through two Black Phone films, Champion has Scream VI on his resume, and Gomez brings a big franchise profile plus a recent Tubi horror credit. With Capture selling the film and no distributor attached, the next real milestone is a sales announcement. We will update when a confirmed outlet reports one.