If your week felt… observed… that’s because FX just dropped us into Noah Hawley’s Alien: Earth, where corporate warlords play Peter Pan with children’s minds in adult synthetic bodies and a crashed research vessel leaks nightmares onto our front lawn. The first two episodes landed Aug 12 on FX/Hulu (Tuesdays weekly), with Disney+ carrying it internationally. Yes, it’s canon-adjacent, yes, it’s gnarly, and yes, you’ll meet new species alongside the old razor-smiled favorite.

Meanwhile, Zach Cregger’s Weapons carved up the late-summer box office—opening to $43.5M domestic on Aug 8 and already crossing $100.7M worldwide by midweek. CinemaScore says A-, which is rarefied air for horror.

Fresh cuts (news you can use)

• Alien: Earth is live — Premiere was Tue, Aug 12 with a two-episode drop; it’s an 8-episode season releasing Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on FX and Hulu. Hawley frames it as “moral horror” in a 2120 corporate hellscape; hybrids (child consciousness in synthetic adults) are sent to investigate a crashed ship carrying alien specimens.

• New creatures, new rules — Beyond xenomorphs, Hawley added unfamiliar species so discovery (and dread) are fresh again. Reuters notes four insect-coded nightmares; fan sites and coverage also call out a parasitic “eye” organism nicknamed Species 64 (T. Ocellus). (File under do not scratch.)

• Weapons keep winning — Opening weekend: $43.5M domestic; through Wed: $59.97M domestic, $100.67M worldwide. That’s WB’s latest late-summer flex.

• Witchboard (2025) opens today — Chuck Russell’s remake hits U.S. theaters Fri, Aug 15; R for strong bloody violence, 112 minutes. Early reviews call it a campy, gore-happy throwback.

• UK gets a grisly date movie — Together (Alison Brie & Dave Franco) opens today in the UK/Ireland—body-horror romance about a couple literally fusing. Interviews/reviews say it’s funny, nasty, and surprisingly sweet.

• Final Destination: Bloodlines watch — Since May 16, it’s climbed to $285.3M worldwide; biggest in the franchise to date.

What to watch this weekend

In theaters

• Witchboard (2025) — Cursed talking-board chaos; Madison Iseman stars. In U.S. cinemas now. 

• Went Up the Hill — Dacre Montgomery & Vicky Krieps in a haunted-grief two-hander. Limited U.S. release Aug 15. 

• Strange Harvest — Mock-doc serial-killer chiller from Stuart Ortiz. Limited U.S. since Aug 8. 

• Weapons — If you missed opening weekend, go feel the crowd gasp. (It’s spoiler-fragile—go cold.)

At home

• 28 Years Later — PVOD now (since Jul 29). Worth a rewatch with the lights off and your phone in a drawer.

• Descendent — New to VOD (Aug 8). Indie occult mystery that rewards patience and headphones.

Last-chance streaming alerts (U.S.)

• Thanksgiving (2023) leaves Netflix Aug 17 (last day Aug 16). Gobble while you can.

• Ouija: Origin of Evil (2016) exits Netflix Aug 17 per multiple departure lists—queue it for a Flanagan refresher.

Horror history snack: The Descent turns 20

Released in the UK on July 8, 2005, Neil Marshall’s cave-crawler still shreds nerves like a rusty carabiner. UK release confirmed; U.S. followed in 2006. Revisit the crawlers, the flares, and That Ending™ this month and tell me your heart rate didn’t spike.

Game over (games & interactive)

• Caput Mortum — Retro-dungeon-crawler horror set in a 16th-century alchemist’s tower. Releasing Aug 27 on Steam per today’s reveal coverage; Steam page still lists Q3 2025. (Demo’s up.)

• Until Dawn (remake) — If you’ve somehow skipped it, the PS5/PC rebuild is already out (Oct 4, 2024) and pairs nicely with this spring’s movie. It’s a perfect “pass the controller and blame your friend” night.

Events

• FAN EXPO Chicago — Aug 15–17, Donald E. Stephens Convention Center (Rosemont). Horror guests + photo ops + chaotic merch tables.

• Sci-Fi Horror Fest (Vernon, NY) — Aug 15–16, Vernon Downs Casino Hotel; celebs, vendors, sideshows. Affordable day/weekend passes.

• Arrow Video FrightFest (London) — Aug 21–25 at ODEON Luxe Leicester Square. Massive lineup; warm-up quiz on the 20th.

Reading list

• Black Flame by Gretchen Felker-Martin — Nightfire release Aug 5. Queer archival-horror about a haunted reel and the woman it consumes. Short, sharp, and seething.

• The End of the World As We Know It: New Tales of Stephen King’s The Stand — Aug 19 (Gallery Books). Edited by Christopher Golden & Brian Keene, with an intro by King and new stories expanding the Captain Trips wasteland.

The monster manual (spoiler-light)

• Hybrids vs. synthetics vs. cyborgs — Alien: Earth complicates the “who’s human?” game; the show’s tech and ethics are the real teeth behind the jumps.

• New species — Reuters confirms multiple bug-coded terrors; promos have teased Species 37 gestation and coverage has dubbed an “eye-parasite” Species 64 (T. Ocellus). Keep your safety glasses on.

Picks of the week (Randy-core)

• Go see: Witchboard with a crowd; it’s built for gasp-and-giggle whiplash.

• Queue up: 28 Years Later on PVOD—still mean as a cornered rat.

• Read before bed: Black Flame—and then sleep with the lights on.

• Episode to catch: Alien: Earth 1×01–02—then text me your creature theories.

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