Misc
Couples Counseling Through the Chucky Series
Before you run to your My Bloody Valentine rewatches and don your creepy Cupid masks to adore your significant other in, Horror Press Reader, let’s sit down and talk about our feelings. Or rather, the feelings of fictional people, and what we can learn from them. The Chucky franchise at large is a well-loved one here at Horror Press; we have the episode-by-episode recaps to prove it. So today, we’ve compiled some relationship advice from the most emotionally stable people I can imagine. Which is to say, doll serial killers and their horribly traumatized victims.
Before you run to your My Bloody Valentine rewatches and don your creepy Cupid masks to adore your significant other in, Horror Press Reader, let’s sit down and talk about our feelings. Or rather, the feelings of fictional people, and what we can learn from them.
The Chucky franchise at large is a well-loved one here at Horror Press; we have the episode-by-episode recaps to prove it. So today, we’ve compiled some relationship advice from the most emotionally stable people I can imagine. Which is to say, doll serial killers and their horribly traumatized victims.
What better sample of people is there, really?
Jake and Devon: Communication Is Key, But If It Doesn’t Unlock Any Doors Does It Matter?
Chucky was a show struck down in its prime. Just as we were getting to a pretty cool spot with our main protagonists trapped in dolls, and everyone’s favorite couple in horror renewing their vows to do no good, SyFy yanked it away from us by failing to lock in on a fourth season renewal.
Among its many plotlines was the very tumultuous relationship between main characters Jake and Devon, the young couple who were united through a love of true crime and a hatred of Charles Lee Ray. But one of their recurring issues throughout the show is that, despite the multiple scenes where they sit down with each other and communicate their feelings amid the horrors going on, they eventually regress to their previous relationship status of mildly uncomfortable.
They don’t seem to be getting a better understanding of each other, so it begs the question: how much progress is really being made here by just communicating if you don’t actively try to mend your issues? Talking things out is fine, but actions speak louder than words.
Chucky Trio: Love Of Self Can Become Love of Others
Curse of Chucky is probably the most underrated of the films in the Child’s Play franchise, and it’s in no small part thanks to the fun developments in lore that it has to offer. Key among these is the idea of Chucky using Damballa’s magic to split his soul between multiple dolls simultaneously, which has since become a staple of the franchise and a recurring plot point.
Am I kind of implying here Charles Lee Ray’s army of doll clones are a polycule in their own right? Yes, but we don’t have enough time to unpack that. The point is that the relationship between these three dolls is one of discovery, and learning to love yourself. By learning to love his self-image and enjoy his own company, Buzzcut Chucky finds emotional fulfillment and a renewed sense of purpose with the help of his two clone compatriots.
He gets beaten to death shortly thereafter, but if you’re not being hunted by Andy Barclay, you can take this lesson without fear. So, embrace who you are so you can better embrace your partner!
Jesse and Jade: Sometimes You Just Have To Wake Up and Break Up
Fiction is full of famous couples who make their relationship problems everyone else’s. Christine and Erik from The Phantom of the Opera. Magneto and Professor X from the X-Men. Even Kano and Kabal from Mortal Kombat (again, I don’t have the time to unpack that).
But do you know who isn’t on that list? Jesse and Jade from Bride of Chucky, the incredibly grating and incredibly immature duo that aggravates the audience with their befuddling relationship choices the whole runtime, only to somehow survive the entire film. And it doesn’t matter that they walk away with their arms around each other at the end, you know as soon as they get back to New Jersey they’re going to be making everyone’s lives miserable again in like two weeks, at MOST.
Despite it being a popular turn of phrase nowadays to say you don’t owe anybody anything, you do, in fact, owe them some form of peace. The lesson here is simple: for the sake of your sanity, and the sanity of the people in your lives, sometimes you just have to break up. Toxic relationship that makes no sense? Break up. Can’t communicate to save your lives? Break up. Just being downright annoying? WAKE UP AND BREAK UP.
Nica and Tiffany: Lack of Follow-Through Can Leave A Relationship Going In Circles
One of the more controversial pairings on this list, given the nature of their relationship, involved one of them being possessed by the spirit of their evil father and then having their legs chopped off by their pseudo-lover; you might wonder what lessons are to be gleaned from this duo.
As the series goes on, Nica fails at the finish line every time she has Tiffany in her clutches. Vengeance is at hand! Until it isn’t. Which after the first few times, you would think it wasn’t her fault, but by the time she’s doing Three Stooges pratfalls in a prison parking lot, it really does feel like Nica herself has performance anxiety when it comes to taking out her nemesis. And you can’t say it’s about not being able-bodied; she survived Chucky and Tiffany without having the ability to walk multiple times!
The bottom line is, if you plan to take someone out, you’ve got to follow through. Whether it’s a date night or an assassination attempt, you’ve got to show the dedication and the drive to make things work. Otherwise, you’ll be left going in circles with little to show for it; you’ll go from disappointing others, to flat out disappointing yourself.
Chucky and Tiffany: Sometimes Relationships Are A Mystery—And Sometimes They’re Better Off That Way
And of course, like with every relationship advice article, we have one that doesn’t make any sense at all.
Chucky and Tiffany are the spokespeople for toxic relationships in horror. They rise, they work together, they bicker, they murder each other or have someone murder the other on their behalf, and then it all starts over again. So why does it work so well? The craziest thing is that they’re ultimately happy. They’re like extremophiles, swimming in the toxic waste that is their own love. They make grand gestures of love for each other; they even renew their vows. They bring out the best from each other whenever they’re together.
I like to think part of it is treating their lives like it’s their last, even when voodoo magic means they’re absolutely coming back to life. But ultimately, it doesn’t matter if others understand, or if your relationship makes sense to everyone else. What matters is that it works for you and makes you happy. Protect your peace, and protect your love. Because at the end of the day, it’s all we got.
Oh, and before I forget, a very happy Valentine’s Day to all our Horror Press fans out there! And don’t murder anyone, I don’t care how in love you are.
Misc
Our Halloween Giveaway Is Here!
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What You’ll Win
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003) Limited Edition 4K UHD from Arrow Video
- 4K (2160p) Ultra HD Blu-ray presentation in Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible)
- Original DTS-HD MA 7.1 and 5.1 surround audio and lossless stereo audio
- Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
- Brand new audio commentary with Dread Central co-founder Steve “Uncle Creepy” Barton and co-host of The Spooky Picture Show podcast Chris MacGibbon
- Archival audio commentary with director Marcus Nispel, producer Michael Bay, executive producers Brad Fuller and Andrew Form and New Line Cinema founder Robert Shaye
- Archival audio commentary with Marcus Nispel, director of photography Daniel Pearl, production designer Greg Blair, art director Scott Gallager, sound supervisor Trevor Jolly and composer Steve Jablonsky
- Archival audio commentary with Marcus Nispel, Michael Bay, writer Scott Kosar, Brad Fuller, Andrew Form and actors Jessica Biel, Erica Leerhsen, Eric Balfour Jonathan Tucker, Mike Vogel and Andrew Bryniarski
- Reimagining a Classic, a brand new interview with director Marcus Nispel
- Shadows of Yesteryear, a brand new interview with cinematographer Daniel Pearl
- The Lost Leatherface, a brand new interview with actor Brett Wagner
- Masks and Massacres, a brand new interview with makeup effects artist Scott Stoddard
- Chainsaw Symphony, a brand new interview with composer Steve Jablonsky
- Chainsaw Redux: Making A Massacre, a making-of documentary
- Ed Gein: The Ghoul of Plainfield, an in-depth look at the infamous killer who inspired the character of Leatherface
- Severed Parts, a look at the cutting room floor and some of the scenes excised from the final edit
- Deleted scenes including an alternate opening and ending
- Screen tests for Jessica Biel, Eric Balfour and Erica Leerhsen
- Behind-the-scenes featurette
- Cast and crew interviews
- Theatrical trailers and TV spots
- Concept art galleries
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Aaron Lea
- Double-sided foldout poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Aaron Lea
- Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Michael Gingold
Misc
NYCC 2025 Horror Highlights: A Sneak Peek at ‘The Lost Boys’ Musical, ‘Resident Evil: Requiem,’ and More!
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.






