🌑 THE WEEKLY SHIVER: MIDNIGHT EDITION

October 3, 2025 | Issue #27

FRESH CUTS 🩸

• The Conjuring: Last Rites
  The Warrens are supposed to be finished, but money and demons don’t retire. This “final” entry scored $83M opening weekend — the biggest horror launch of 2025. Warner Bros. wasted zero time announcing a spinoff TV series for HBO Max, run by Nancy Won (Jessica Jones). That means the Conjuring universe is about to shift from “event horror” to “weekly ritual.” Expect smaller, more character-driven exorcism tales designed to hook you like true crime TV.

• V/H/S/Halloween (Shudder)
  The found-footage anthology series refuses to die, and this one is pure midnight-movie DNA. The new entries play like urban legends kids dare each other to watch — maternal possession, haunted houses, surreal dream logic. This is the kind of horror that feels cheap and dirty in the best way, like you found a tape in the woods you weren’t supposed to watch.

• Nicolas Cage in The Carpenter’s Son
  Cage plays Joseph. Yes, that Joseph. The story: Joseph suspects Mary’s child isn’t his, starts questioning God, and gets dragged into a spiraling nightmare of angels, betrayal, and supernatural dread. Out Nov 14. This isn’t “Bible as Sunday school” — it’s closer to The Witch with scripture. Cage has been leaning into religious madness since Mandy, and this looks like peak unhinged.

• Frank Grillo’s Werewolves (Hulu)
  A supermoon makes every human on Earth sprout fur and fangs. Cool idea, messy execution. The flick leans on strobing lights and jump cuts instead of building tension, so it’s more headache than howl. Still, if you’re down for creature chaos and don’t mind style over substance, it’s a beer-and-pizza watch.

• Afterlife With Archie (Disney+)
  Riverdale was already soap opera horror. This adaptation is darker. The setup: Jughead’s dog dies, Sabrina resurrects it, and the whole town starts eating each other. Don’t expect CW melodrama — the comic was genuinely bleak. Disney+ stepping into zombie apocalypse Archie means horror is clawing its way into mainstream family platforms. That’s big.

WHAT TO WATCH 📺

New Releases

• Hell House LLC: Lineage (Shudder) — The Abaddon Hotel saga keeps returning like black mold in a basement. If you like slow-burn found footage with payoffs hiding in the corners of the frame, this is your October binge.

• Shelby Oaks (theatrical + PVOD) — From YouTuber Chris Stuckmann, produced under Mike Flanagan’s umbrella. Paranormal investigation gone wrong. Early buzz says it’s got Flanagan’s mood but a rougher, indie edge.

• Bone Lake (VOD) — Two couples rent a cabin, play games that get a little too sharp, and wake something ugly. Think Gerald’s Game with a slasher’s patience.

• Vicious (Paramount+ Oct 10) — Bryan Bertino (The Strangers) returns with Dakota Fanning in a role that’s pure trauma-core. Early critics are calling it “Bertino’s bleakest.”

• Diés Iraé (Oct 31, India + festival circuits) — A Malayalam horror thriller built around Catholic ritual and cursed hymns. Not easy to find, but if it breaks wide, it could be the next Incantation.

Hidden Gems

• The Last Cabin — Found footage set deep in the Appalachians. Minimal budget, maximal tension. You’ll swear you hear things off-camera. (VOD)

• Die’ced: Reloaded — A resurrected microbudget slasher turned cult event. The new “reloaded” cut trims the fat and ups the gore. Streaming free on Tubi.

Leaving Soon

• The Strangers (Netflix) — Drops Oct 15. If you haven’t revisited the original masked-home-invasion nightmare, now’s the time. It still feels meaner than most modern slashers.

GAME OVER 🎮

October is stacked with horror gaming — Silent Hill 2 Remake leads the pack, plus indies like Don’t Scream (literally tracks your microphone to punish you for reacting) and Slay the Princess: Chapter 2. This year, horror games aren’t just about killing monsters — they’re about forcing you to break your own rules. If you’ve never screamed in your living room at 3am and then laughed at yourself, this is the month.

FINAL THOUGHT 💀

This week shows how horror keeps mutating across platforms — film, streaming, comics, even biblical reimaginings. The through-line? Horror doesn’t need rules anymore. Everything’s a playground. The Warrens on HBO Max, Archie on Disney+, Cage yelling at God… it all proves horror has officially bled into every corner of pop culture. That means more stories, more risks, and more nightmares sneaking in where you least expect them.