As soon as New York Comic Con announced that its 2025 theme would be “haunted,” I started lacing up my comfy shoes and making a beeline for the Javitz Center! Horror has always been represented at the con, but it felt fitting that it should play a central role in this year’s event at a time when the genre seems more popular than ever. 

From beloved family-friendly properties like The Nightmare Before Christmas to pants-dampening titles like the upcoming Resident Evil: Requiem, horror appeared in countless shapes and forms. Here are all the best and scariest insights I gleaned from the show floor, panel rooms, and pop-ups of New York Comic Con 2025! 

Our NYCC 2025 Horror Highlights

Resident Evil: Requiem Is Going to Test Your Bladder Strength

Full disclaimer: I’m not a gamer. I’m honestly pretty bad at games, which made my Resident Evil: Requiem play session all the more frightening because I was convinced that everyone around me would realize I’m a fraud. But with easy-to-grasp controls, even for a newb like me, the latest installment in the iconic horror franchise quickly sucked me in and left me on edge for entirely different reasons. 

During my 30-minute session, I was introduced to FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft, Requiem’s central character. She swims to consciousness to find herself strapped upside down on a gurney with a needle in her arm, siphoning her blood. After Grace managed to free herself, the controls were handed over to me to explore the creepy facility through Grace’s eyes, looking for a fuse. Some spaces were bathed in red light; others were lit only by flickering bulbs that left me white-knuckling the controller, waiting for something to emerge from the shadows and swallow me whole, not helped by Grace’s anxious, stuttering breathing in my ear. 

I took a moment to appreciate how detailed video games have become since my childhood experiences playing Evil Dead: Hail to the King on the original PlayStation (seriously, you can see the dust drifting in beams of light now?!), only for the sound of movement somewhere in the facility to yank me back to the present. I renewed my frantic search for the fuse, only to run blindly into a pitch-black room and encounter something enormous that dragged me into the darkness. Sorry, Grace!

You can find out what happens next when Resident Evil: Requiem releases for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2 on February 27, 2026.

Megan Fox Is Among the New Cast Members in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2—And Blumhouse Hasn’t Given Up on Its Other m3gan Yet

Blumhouse made several announcements at their NYCC panel, most notably that Megan Fox (Jennifer’s Body) is voicing Toy Chica in director Emma Tammi’s highly anticipated sequel Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, coming to theaters on December 5. Other new additions to the cast include YouTuber Matthew Patrick, aka MatPat, who cameoed in the first movie and will voice Toy Bonnie, and Kellen Goff, who has voiced multiple characters in the game series and will now lend his pipes to Toy Freddy.

I’m interested in Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, not least because my best friend is terrified of the franchise and makes a wildly entertaining moviegoing companion—but I’m more interested in the future of another Blumhouse franchise, M3GAN. After the sequel underperformed, likely due in part to its hard genre pivot away from horror and into action territory, the future of the killer doll is uncertain. But in a special industry presentation on “The Business of Fear,” Jason Blum revealed that “we’re all working to keep M3GAN alive,” adding that Blumhouse is exploring other potential mediums before trying to resurrect her on film. 

Does that mean a M3GAN video game might come our way in the future, or perhaps a TV series? I don’t know, but I have a feeling this isn’t the last we’ve seen of the silicone diva.

Photo taken by Samantha McLaren.

The Lost Boys: A New Musical Will Feature Flying Stunts and a Live Vampire Band

My queer heart is a sucker for musical adaptations of horror films I love, so you can be certain that I’ll be heading down to the Santa Carla Boulevard—aka Broadway’s Palace Theater—for The Lost Boys: A New Musical, which begins previews on March 27, 2026. At their NYCC panel, producer Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring franchise), director Michael Arden (Maybe Happy Ending), and cast members LJ Benet, Ali Louis Bourzgui, and Maria Wirries revealed why they feel Joel Schumacher’s 1987 classic translates so well to the stage, and what audiences can look forward to. 

“There’s something that I see with both horror movies, musicals, and superhero movies—there’s an element of melodrama that’s really rewarding,” says Wilson, who began his career in musical theater and worked with Schumacher on the director’s 2004 film adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera. “Some people view it as camp, but there’s a reality of it being heightened that felt like this story cemented itself so much to being a musical.”

“They’re a biker gang, after all, and there’s a level of theatricality to that in and of itself,” says Arden. “Our biker gang also happens to play instruments.” 

That’s right: the vampires will be playing instruments live on stage, which made casting twice as hard. Ali Louis Bourzgui, who plays David, the character portrayed by Kiefer Sutherland in the film, reveals that he plays guitar. And that wasn’t the only unusual request in the casting call: auditions included a flying test. (Presumably wires were involved, unless Arden has found himself a real cabal of vampires in his cast.)

Other highlights that fans can look forward to include killer music from one of Arden’s favorite bands, The Rescues. You can listen to the song “Have to Have You” right now, featuring instrumentals from Slash. The director also teases that many fan-favorite moments from the film will feature in some way in the musical, including the bridge scene and, yes, even the sexy saxophone guy. 

Greg Nicotero’s Guts & Glory Marks a New Challenge for a Legend of the Business

If you like looking at gnarly practical effects in horror movies, chances are you’re familiar with Greg Nicotero’s work, whether you realize it or not. The legendary SFX artist has worked on everything from George Romero’s Day of the Dead and Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead II to Kill Bill and, more recently, The Walking Dead. The impressive extent of his resume was made clear at the panel “Shudder is Here to Scare the S*** Out of You,” in which almost any film mentioned by the other panelists was met by a small smile and a humble murmur of “worked on that” into the mic, often followed by a wild anecdote. Nicotero seems like the most interesting man in the world to grab a drink with, and his new horror competition show for Shudder—Guts & Glory—will let us see more of the man behind the makeup brush.

“Guts & Glory is one of the most fun times I’ve had on a show,” Nicotero says, teasing that the series is “part Sam Raimi, part Halloween Horror Nights, and part Survivor.” 

In the six-episode first season, contestants are dropped into an Alabama swamp, where there’s an urban legend about an evil spirit. “One of the contestants gets possessed by the evil spirit, people start dying off, but in the meantime, they’re still competing and there’s a prize,” Nicotero explains.

Guts & Glory is effects-heavy, which was challenging to do in an unscripted series relying on real people’s real-time reactions. “You do a movie, you can cut and try it again,” Nicotero explains. “[This] was completely out of my wheelhouse and out of my comfort zone, but I’m really, really proud of it.”

Nicotero’s Creepshow was one of the first original shows to debut on Shudder, so he’s truly part of the DNA of the horror streamer, which celebrated its 10th anniversary this year. Guts & Glory premieres on October 14 as part of Shudder’s Season of Screams programming.

Horror Short The Littles Deserves the Big-Screen Feature Treatment

Some short films are perfectly suited to their bite-sized format, while others contain the seeds of something much bigger. At the New York Premiere of The Littles, a new short written and directed by American Horror Story producer Andrew Duplessie, I could immediately see the potential for the feature film that Duplessie hopes to make. 

Equal parts charming and unsettling, The Littles stars M3GAN’s Violet McGraw as a little girl with a loose floorboard in her bedroom. One night, a scuffling sound and a crack of light between the boards lead the little girl to discover that her family isn’t alone in the house… 

Duplessie says The Littles was inspired by his own experiences growing up in a creaky old house with a no-doubt overactive imagination. The short features creepy-cute stop-motion animation from Anthony Scott (The Nightmare Before Christmas), puppets by Katy Strutz (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio), and some truly adorable miniature sets by Aiden Creates, all blended perfectly with the live-action scenes. Check it out if it’s playing at a festival near you, and watch this space for a (fingers-crossed) future feature! 

Photo taken by Samantha McLaren.

Disney Publishing’s New The Nightmare Before Christmas Tie-in Novel Welcomes Younger Fans into the Scary Fun

NYCC’s horror happenings weren’t all geared toward an adult audience. Disney Publishing took over Daily Provisions Manhattan West for a pop-up experience inspired by The Nightmare Before Christmas, featuring themed food and drinks like a delectable Pumpkin Potion coffee that I could honestly drink all season long. 

At a media and creator event in the space, I took a look at the newly released Hour of the Pumpkin Queen from New York Times best-selling author Megan Shepherd, who also wrote the official novelization of The Nightmare Before Christmas for the film’s 30th anniversary in 2023. In this new tie-in novel, Sally and her rag doll apprentice, Luna, embark on a time-bending adventure to save Jack Skellington and Halloween Town after falling through a mysterious portal.

I was gifted a copy of the book by Disney, but all opinions are my own here. I’m looking forward to giving it a read during the inevitable Halloween hangover that takes place in November, before likely passing it on to my young nieces when they’re old enough. It’s a full novel, not a picture book, so definitely geared more toward a YA audience, but between the beautiful artwork on the cover and the seasonal theme, it might just be the perfect gift for the budding horror lover in your life. 

That’s a wrap on New York Comic Con 2025! Be sure to bookmark Horror Press if you haven’t already so you never miss our coverage of conventions, festivals, and more. 

Periods suck. Everyone who menstruates will tell you that, yet this annoying, often painful thing that happens to our bodies for one week out of every month for most of our lives is conspicuously absent from most media. When periods do crop up in horror movies in particular, they tend to be linked to the downfall of the person experiencing them. Writer-director Brooke H. Cellars’ movie The Cramps: A Period Piece is the rare exception.

Inspired by the filmmaker’s own struggles with endometriosis, an underdiagnosed condition that leads to immensely painful periods, The Cramps follows Agnes (newcomer Lauren Kitchen), whose period cramps manifest in strange and monstrous ways. But, crucially, Agnes Applewhite herself is never framed as a monster, just a shy young woman trying to escape her repressive family life and find her place in the world. She gets one step closer after accepting a job offer to be the shampoo girl at a local salon run by Laverne Lancaster (drag queen Martini Bear) and staffed by kooky characters like the prudish Satanist Teddy Teaberry (Wicken Taylor) and the ditzy Christian Holiday Hitchcocker (Michelle Malentina). All the while, Agnes’ cramps are wreaking havoc on the rude men and dismissive doctors that she encounters.

A spiritual successor to the kind of movies John Waters was putting out in the 1970s, The Cramps: A Period Piece is equal parts funny, campy, and heartfelt, bolstered by fun practical effects that horror fans will love. I sat down with Cellars, Kitchen, and Taylor to chat about the future cult classic after its Fantastic Fest 2025 debut.

The following interview has been lightly edited for clarity and conciseness.

An Interview with Director Brooke H. Cellars and Actors Lauren Kitchen and Wicken Taylor of The Cramps: A Period Piece

Samantha McLaren: Brooke, this film is inspired by your own journey with endometriosis. How do you find the humor in what was presumably a difficult situation over many years?

Brooke H. Cellars: Being suppressed and growing up with no friends, I had to figure out my own way in life. And when people would make fun of me, I kind of had to develop a thicker skin through humor. That was the only way I could get through—by making light of things, or trying to make people laugh, being the weirdo, saying stupid things. That’s how I connected with people, just being ridiculous with each other. And it grew to where I actually had a sense of humor.

I guess that’s kind of like a mask in dealing with what’s actually going on, my family life or being in pain… So when I wrote the story, it came naturally. I didn’t want to make it scary, because it’s scary in real life. I wanted something entertaining but meaningful, and to connect with people in a way where they can be outspoken and it’s okay. I want it to be cathartic for them, and to maybe make them forget for a little while, but also feel a place of warmth in a horror movie where they least expect something.

It’s so rare to see any horror film about periods, but especially one that isn’t about the abjection of periods. I’m curious how you approached making it funny but not at the expense of people who menstruate, while also finding the horror and making it a positive, uplifting story.

BHC: When I started making short films, I just wanted to make a slasher, because I love old, 1970s slashers. So when we made [“The Chills,” Cellars’ first short from 2019] for no money in my house with my husband and his sisters, who are not actors, I knew I wanted to make scary stuff, but I didn’t know I wanted to say something else. It does say something, but I didn’t do that intentionally—I was just trying to make a scary movie, but it’s like something was trying to come out of me.

It came out when we finally made Violet Butterfield: Makeup Artist for the Dead (2022), which is kind of set in the same world as The Cramps. We shot it on film and kind of developed the world, and just put more intention into it and more of myself, my story, and being finally honest about what’s going on. At the same time, I had stopped talking to my family. I was finally living my life in my late 30s and got into filmmaking, as I’d wanted since I was a kid and never thought would happen. I just said, fuck it—this is what I’ve always wanted to do, I’m running with it, and I’m doing what I want now. I knew the story I wanted to tell, because I was still going through it while I was writing the script. I was having my hysterectomy. Finally, somebody was helping me with my endometriosis, after like 15,000 doctors told me “sorry.”

Lauren, this is your first role—how did you come to be involved in the project, and what drew you to the script?

Lauren Kitchen: I knew Holiday, played by Michelle [Malentina], and I knew Pussy D’Lish [Jude Ducet], who played Clydia. We had just done a community theater production of Rent together. And I followed Brooke… I was a fan of “Violet Butterfield” and the whole aesthetic, so I wanted to follow up on their Instagram. And then I saw an audition announcement for The Cramps, and I just loved it—it had the sixties florals, so cute. I’ve always been told I’m like an old soul, so I was like, I should go for it.

I remember saying to Jude that I really relate to the main character, but I probably won’t get it, I don’t have the experience. I went into in-person auditions fully thinking, “I’m not gonna get it, but at least I’ll give myself a pat on the back for doing it.” And it turns out, when you go in thinking you won’t get it, you get it!

Wicken Taylor: She killed.

LK: Everyone was so supportive, and having done stage acting and studying it in school helped to bridge the gap between stage and film. There are times when you have to make adjustments. I love the subtleties of film. On stage, you’re acting for the back row, but then in film, you can do something as subtle as an eye movement that you can say so much.

You being new to film brought something so interesting to the role, because there’s that vulnerability—you’re finding your confidence in a way that mirrors Agnes’ journey.

LK: Agnes is finding herself and her chosen family, and I’m also finding Lauren and my confidence through it.

There are so many references and visual homages in the film—obviously John Waters, but also The Tingler, and so many films that I grew up loving. I’m curious if Brooke gave you all homework to watch?

LK: I watched Peeping Tom.

WK: And The Red Shoes. Blood and Black Lace. And she had me watch [The Jerk] because Bernadette Peters was an inspiration for Teddy, and then also Grease for Frenchy.

LK: Female Trouble. And I watched Cry-Baby too for Johnny Depp.

One thing that drew me to The Cramps is that there’s so much drag talent in the film—drag kings as well as queens, and bearded queens, which you don’t often see. It was subversive when John Waters featured drag performers in his films in the 1970s, and it has somehow looped back around to being subversive again. Brooke, how important was it for you to have that queer element in this story?

BHC: Very important. My own family never accepted me for anything, and that’s why things were so confusing. I always thought I had a normal family, and I definitely didn’t have a normal family. They treated me as if I wasn’t normal. Of course, I wasn’t, but it was okay—I just didn’t know it was okay to be who I was. I didn’t have a lot of friends, and even my brothers and sisters bullied me; my parents bullied me. I was bullied till I was a senior, and even when I was an adult.

Nobody was embracing me. I came from a very small conservative town and a conservative family, so I was always ashamed to be me, even though I couldn’t stop being me. […] It was when I moved away from home to the “big city” of Lafayette, Louisiana [laughs], I started waiting tables and stuff, just doing my own thing, and it was the queer community that I was always told “don’t talk to those people”… these are the people that told me it’s okay to be me. They had so much confidence that I wanted to have. They accepted me, they supported me. They made it so comfortable to just be myself. […] I think a chosen family is very important, and I wanted to celebrate them along with what I’m going through. They’re a part of me.

The hair salon feels like the perfect encapsulation of that chosen family, full of weirdos who found each other. Speaking of, I want to talk about Teddy, because I’m obsessed with Teddy. Wicken, how did you find the right tone for that character who is the perfect subversion of the typical church lady, but also so deadpan, and so kind?

WT: Brooke writes amazing characters. I was like, what do you mean? And she said, “darkness is goodness.” So I took that away and I interviewed a Satanist, and I was doing research, but because this is not our world, it’s a fantastical world that Brooke created, I had so much freedom. So, what is Satanism to Teddy? And what I love so much about her is that we can see that she’s a good person—it just kind of radiates from her. She embodies the idea that it’s okay to be you, that you are loved, and that you are one of us, and that you are safe.

One of my most favorite things about the relationships in the film is that Holiday and Teddy are best friends. Holiday is a Christian—a cursing Christian—and Teddy is a prude Satanist, and they’re best friends.

How did you build the aesthetic for the film? It picks and chooses from a lot of different decades, but still feels like a cohesive pocket universe.

BHC: It’s very difficult to explain things inside my head. I’ve been working with Levi [Porter, director of photography] and Madeleine [Yawn, producer] since the beginning of time. Like, every single movie we’ve made together, and so they can decipher my language and what I mean.

But when I’m creating these worlds, I’m not very fixated on one thing, like “it has to be horror!” I wanted to really intentionally make a movie of all kinds of genres and blend them together, because they’re coming from one place, even though they’re different. I’m just giving how I view the world, and yeah I take from different decades, different movies, and they’re all the same love to me.

The Cramps: A Period Piece celebrated its world premiere at Fantastic Fest 2025. Keep an eye out for its wider release, because this is not one to miss.