Witchcraft: The Lanterne of Light

Johnson is best known to horror fans as Judith Myers, the older sister of Michael Myers in John Carpenter’s landmark horror classic Halloween. Her unforgettable appearance in the film’s iconic opening sequence helped launch one of cinema’s most enduring horror franchises and secured her place among the genre’s original scream queens.

Now, nearly fifty years later, Johnson is stepping into another world of darkness with Witchcraft: The Lanterne of Light, the upcoming found footage supernatural horror feature directed by Director Carissa Pierson.

Set in the shadowed forests of North Carolina, the film follows a paranormal investigation team as they uncover the horrifying legacy of a centuries-old cult known as The Children of the Hollow. Their search for answers leads them to a cursed lantern, a history drenched in blood, and a supernatural evil that refuses to remain buried. Blending found footage realism with occult horror and folklore, the film aims to deliver an unsettling and immersive descent into terror.

Johnson joins an increasingly impressive cast that includes:

• Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight, The Expendables, Babylon)
• Andrew Pierson (A Soldier’s Descent)
• Lisa Wilcox (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master and A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child)
• Kristina Lafser (The Last Sleepover)
• Former Studio 54 DJ Rockin Ronnie
• Kato Kaelin (American Manhunt: O.J. Simpson)

“We are honored to welcome Sandy Johnson to Witchcraft: The Lanterne of Light,” said Director Carissa Pierson. “Her role in Halloween helped shape the horror genre and inspire generations of filmmakers and fans. Having her join our cast is truly special, and we cannot wait for audiences to see what she brings to this story.”

For horror fans, the addition of Johnson represents a unique connection between one of the genre’s most influential classics and an ambitious new chapter in found footage horror filmmaking.

As production continues, Witchcraft: The Lanterne of Light is steadily building momentum with a cast that bridges horror’s rich past and its exciting future.

Stay tuned for additional casting announcements and updates as Witchcraft: The Lanterne of Light prepares to bring its terrifying mythology to audiences worldwide.

Michael Joy

marketingmacabre.com

The post Original Halloween Scream Queen Sandy Johnson Joins the Cast of Witchcraft: The Lanterne of Light appeared first on Horror Asylum.

Husband-and-wife filmmaking duo Sashia Dumont and Paul Robinson have taken home the coveted Best Horror Short award for their film The Resonance at the Astoria Film Festival. The festival, which took place at the iconic Kaufman Astoria Studio in New York, drew a crowd of industry professionals, indie film enthusiasts, and genre fans.

The AFF Jury highly praised The Resonance, commending it as “excellence in horror storytelling”.

The Resonance follows the story of respected psychologist Sloan Campbell. When she inherits her predecessor’s last known session tapes before his untimely demise, she discovers a dark and unsettling pattern. As she delves deeper into the center of his final case, a sinister force threatens to blur the line between modern medicine and religion. Will her pursuit for the truth force her to tow a fine line between science and the supernatural, or will she become the next victim of… the resonance.

“We are incredibly honored to receive this recognition,” said co-director and writer Sashia Dumont. “Towing the line between the psychological and the supernatural gave us a chance to explore how far the human mind can bend under the weight of the unknown.

“Marketing Campaign Prize

As part of their Best Horror Short win, Dumont and Robinson have secured a free professional press and marketing campaign. This award is sponsored by Marketing Macabre, a premier public relations and marketing firm specializing in the horror and independent film genres.

“We are thrilled to partner with Marketing Macabre,” said director and cinematographer Paul Robinson. “Having their team behind The Resonance is the perfect next step to get this film in front of a much wider audience.”

For more information on The Resonance, or to follow its festival run, please visit https://sen3productions.com/films/the-resonance/ 

Michael Joy

marketingmacabre.com

The post Award-Winning Psychological Thriller The Resonance Wins Best Horror Short at the Astoria Film Festival appeared first on Horror Asylum.

This gripping supernatural nightmare is brought to life by director Jonathan Walter and writer Sean-Michael Argo. The film features a dynamic ensemble cast anchored by stars Ashton Leigh, B. Dave Walters, and Celeste Blandon, who bring the doomed heist crew and eccentric voodoo hustler to vivid, terrifying life.

A crime lord known only as the Captain has a job for the best heist crew in Louisiana: break into the long-abandoned Fontenot plantation deep in the Teche bayou and walk out with five thousand Confederate gold coins. The catch is they’ll need a sorcerer to get past the spells protecting the treasure, and it is a job no self-respecting Vodoun practitioner would ever take. Hatch is a low-rent voodoo influencer running a one-man hustle out of a beat-up camper van and is just the sort of loser they need. The heist crew, with Hatch dragged along at gunpoint, hit the plantation with speed and skill. What they find waiting for them is more than a chest of gold. Seven hand-made dolls filled with dark power wake up thirsty for blood, one for each of the crew.

Who will survive the night?

The Hoodoos delivers a fresh, terrifying twist on the crime genre by trading standard heist complications for ancient, vengeful magic. Filmed on location to capture the suffocating atmosphere of the deep Southern wetlands, the movie promises relentless pacing, shocking practical effects, and a haunting exploration of greed and folklore.

Coming July 1st on Amazon, Google TV, and Vudu.

Novel available for pre-order July 1st

Michael Joy

marketingmacabre.com

The post Slick Heist Turns Into Voodoo Horror in Gritty Supernatural Horror-Comedy ‘The Hoodoos’ appeared first on Horror Asylum.

Masked killer stalks leaving a trail of brutal murders while hiding in plain sight. His motive unfolds, his bloody spree reveals a history of bullying, rejection, and lost love. It blends classic horror intensity with emotional depth.

The Stutterer is deeply personal to me. As someone who grew up with a speech impediment, I experienced significant bullying and isolation. This film tells the story of a man who stutters — someone marginalized and ridiculed — who finally finds love, only to lose it, sending him into darkness.

While structured as horror, the film does not glorify violence. It explores fear, shame, trauma, and the long-term emotional effects of being made to feel “less than.” Even the killer’s mask functions as a metaphor — representing the parts of ourselves we feel forced to hide just to survive.

At its core, the film asks: Are monsters born, or are they shaped by the world around them?

My goal is to elevate awareness around stuttering and bring visibility to an experience rarely explored in film — particularly within the horror genre.

Currently attached to the project are Eric Roberts, Rhonda Shear, Lloyd Kaufman, Mel Heflin, Brinke Stevens, Markin Carvalho, Kobi Frumer, and others. 

Michael Joy

marketingmacabre.com

The post First Look of The Stutterer Horror Slasher Film in production appeared first on Horror Asylum.

FoundFootage.com has officially cemented its status as the world’s largest database and discovery platform dedicated entirely to found footage, screenlife, and POV cinema. Boasting an expansive, curated catalog of over 5,000 films, shorts, and web series, the site serves as the ultimate digital repository for both casual horror fans and hardcore cinephiles. By applying a strict structural taxonomy inspired by Adrian Țofei’s Found Footage Manifesto, the platform organizes decades of shaky-cam history, missing-person tapes, and analog nightmares into a highly searchable, definitive resource.

A database is only as good as its accessibility, which is why the platform’s synergy with found footage pioneer FOUND TV feels like a match made in horror heaven. FOUND TV operates as a premier global streaming network available in over 100 countries, offering audiences an easy path to watch independent POV projects via free ad-supported tiers or ad-free subscriptions.By embedding direct streaming availability links right into the catalog, FoundFootage.com bridges the gap between historical archival documentation and active viewership. It empowers independent creators by steering traffic directly to their projects on FOUND TV, YouTube, and Vimeo.

Beyond its data tracking, FoundFootage.com acts as a prominent journalistic hub for the genre. The website features exclusive articles, breakdown analyses, and deep-dives into the standard-bearers of modern viral and independent horror:Backrooms, Human Hibachi 3: The Last Supper, Primal Darkness, Loner, Go To Sleep and Exit 8.

FoundFound: DataBase For Lost Horor: https://foundfootage.com/

Michael Joy

marketingmacabre.com

The post The Ultimate Point of View: How FoundFootage.com Became the Definitive Archive for POV Cinema appeared first on Horror Asylum.

The new feature from filmmaker Michael Rock delivers a playful twist on found footage storytelling, with early access for FOUND TV+ members and a worldwide debut on FOUND TV.

FOUND TV today announced the upcoming premiere of I Hate Found Footage, a new FOUND Original written and directed by Michael Rock. The horror-comedy feature will debut globally on July 24, 2026, with FOUND TV+ members receiving access one day early before becoming available free with ads worldwide.

Blending found footage horror, comedy, and puppetry, I Hate Found Footage offers an unconventional take on the genre. The film follows two roommates who head into the woods to make their own found footage movie, only to find themselves fighting for survival after encountering something they never expected.
The project was inspired by Rock’s desire to create something lighter after years spent confronting real-world horrors. After medically retiring from service as a U.S. Army Green Beret and later working as a child exploitation forensic investigator for 12 years, Rock turned to filmmaking and developed the concept with friend Eddie Blake. Together, the pair created a horror-comedy featuring puppet characters at the center of a found footage nightmare.

Rock and Blacke also star as the film’s two puppet leads. The film was produced by Willow Rock Productions and The Horror Dadz.

“I’ve always been a fan of horror-comedy, but what immediately stood out about this project was how refreshing it felt,” said Louie La Vella, Co-Founder of FOUND TV. “Many of us grew up with puppets as part of our entertainment, so seeing those familiar elements brought into a found footage horror story creates something that’s both nostalgic and unexpected. It’s a great example of the creativity that keeps this genre evolving.”

I Hate Found Footage joins FOUND TV’s growing lineup of FOUND Originals, showcasing unique voices from across the found footage community. The film premieres July 24, 2026, exclusively on FOUND TV, with early access available to FOUND TV+ members on July 23.

About FOUND TV
Founded by filmmakers Louie La Vella and Monica La Vella, FOUND TV is the dedicated home for found footage horror. The global streaming platform focuses exclusively on found footage and its subgenres, including POV, mockumentary, screenlife, and analog horror. Available in over 100 countries, FOUND offers both free-with-ads viewing and FOUND TV+ memberships, directly supporting the indie filmmakers featured on the platform.

Michael Joy

marketingmacabre.com

The post Puppets, Horror, and Comedy Together in New FOUND Original Premiering July 24 appeared first on Horror Asylum.

This indie horror film is now streaming on Amazon Prime and it will be on Tubi TV and Fandango the first week of July.   The production company is Purgatory Blues LLC.

An indie horror-comedy slasher about an unhappily married woman who, after failing to win beauty pageants, leaves a trail of brutal murders in the Bronx. While detectives investigate, Karen’s husband secretly manipulates the competitions to win her favor, making the film a campy exploration of social vanity and the toxic pursuit of public admiration.

The film is written and directed by Zachary Winston Snygg (Monsters in the Closet, Voodoo Warriors), an American independent filmmaker best known for creating prolific cult horror, parody, and exploitation B-movies. 

Michael Joy

marketingmacabre.com

The post Karen: The Beauty Queen Butcher Hacks it’s way into Tubi and Fandango in July appeared first on Horror Asylum.

Kill TV, the uncensored social media platform built for underground creators, horror filmmakers, and the fans who actually want to see their work, today announced the launch of its creator storefront. The new storefront empowers filmmakers, musicians, and content creators to sell directly to their audience without the content restrictions, demonetization, and algorithmic suppression that have driven extreme and adult work off mainstream platforms.

Already live as a social platform, Kill TV is using today’s storefront launch to give creators a direct revenue channel — selling films, music videos, and exclusive content to fans on a platform that doesn’t apologize for what horror, exploitation, and underground art have always been.

“We operate within the law and let creators and audiences decide what’s acceptable, not algorithms or advertisers,” said the Kill TV team. “If it’s consensual, properly released, and legal, creators can put it on Kill TV and sell it. That’s it. We’re not in the business of telling filmmakers their vision is too much.”

The Kill TV storefront (https://killtv.me/store) launch slate includes a roster of underground and genre-defining content unavailable on any other platform:

•     A Serbian Film — Kill TV becomes the first and only platform to offer the full 104-minute uncensored director’s cut of Srđan Spasojević’s 2010 film in digital form. A landmark moment for horror fans and filmmakers: even one of the most controversial films ever produced has been quietly censored, trimmed, and region-locked across every digital storefront for fifteen years. Kill TV is the first to host it as Spasojević intended.
•     Samhel — One of the most uncompromising voices in underground horror filmmaking joins the platform.
•     Wigwolf — The experimental artist and longtime provocateur of the underground brings his boundary-pushing work to Kill TV, with new adult works possibly coming exclusively to the platform.
•     Jaysin the Sin God — The underground musical artist is producing original uncensored music videos exclusively for Kill TV.
•     XBrand Wrestling — The kings of the underground, delivering insane deathmatch action at live events, are joining Kill TV with new uncensored content on the way.
•     Adult creators joining the platform include FalcoDarkBlade and KenzieCakez, expanding the platform’s growing lineup of uncensored independent talent.

Kill TV’s doors are now open to independent creators of all sizes, allowing them to sell content directly to their audience while keeping 100% of their revenue with 0% platform fees on all transactions.

The Pitch to Creators

Where YouTube, Vimeo, Patreon, and Instagram police content based on advertiser comfort and shifting moral standards, Kill TV draws a single line: the law. Illegal content is reported and addressed in cooperation with authorities. Everything else — consensual, properly released, legally produced — belongs to the creator.

For horror filmmakers who have watched their trailers get age-gated into oblivion, their accounts deplatformed, and their distribution options narrow year after year, Kill TV is pitching itself as the alternative the genre has needed for a decade.

About Kill TV

Kill TV is an uncensored social media platform and creator storefront for horror filmmakers, underground artists, musicians, and adult content creators. Built on the principle that legality — not corporate morality — should govern what creators are allowed to make and sell, Kill TV operates as a direct-to-fan platform with no algorithmic suppression and no advertiser-driven content policing.

Sign up and learn more: https://killtv.me/signup
Instagram: @wwwkilltvme
Web: https://killtv.me

Michael Joy

marketingmacabre.com

The post Kill TV Launches Uncensored Storefront Giving Horror Filmmakers a Home Free From Algorithmic Censorship appeared first on Horror Asylum.

Dragon Studios has officially announced the production of THE BAT, a gothic World War I horror epic currently filming on location in the United Kingdom. The ambitious feature serves as the official launchpad for the DRagonSTUDIOS Dark Universe, an interconnected cinematic world where literary monsters, occult masterminds, and legendary villains collide in the shadows of history.

Set against the gritty, atmospheric backdrop of wartime London, The Bat follows Dawson Clade (played by Steven Craine), a British aristocratic war veteran who returns from the trenches haunted by impossible horrors and the devastating loss of his closest friend. When a wave of terror grips the city, Clade transforms into the ultimate masked vigilante: THE BAT. Utilizing fear, technology, and brutal ingenuity, he wages a one-man war against an alliance of iconic adversaries, including Dracula, Moriarty, mad scientists, and a twisted Harlequin in a dark, stylized reimagining of classic pulp mythology.

The film boasts an elite ensemble cast of cult cinema icons and veteran character actors, including:

• Bai Ling (The Crow, Dumplings)
• Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight, Runaway Train)
• Steven Craine (The Bat) as Dawson Clade / The Bat
• Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill)

The Bat is the first milestone in an aggressive production slate for Dragon Studios as it cements its footprint in major horror properties. Concurrently in production are two highly anticipated expansions of legendary horror franchises: Trash’s Revenge, expanding The Return of the Living Dead universe, and All American Horror Reimagined, a fresh nightmare expanding the Texas Chainsaw Massacre (TCM) universe.

Further details regarding teaser trailers, promotional stills, and distribution release dates for The Bat will be shared by the studio in the coming months.

The Bat on Cinebacker: https://cinebacker.com/product/the-bat/ 

About Dragon Studios:

Dragon Studios is an independent production company specializing in high-concept, genre-defying cinematic experiences. By blending historical fiction with classic pulp, gothic horror, and iconic franchise extensions, the studio is dedicated to delivering visceral and innovative entertainment to genre fans worldwide.

Michael Joy

marketingmacabre.com

The post DRAGON STUDIOS LAUNCHES NEW GOTHIC DARK UNIVERSE WITH WWI HORROR EPIC ‘THE BAT’ STARRING ERIC ROBERTS, BAI LING, AND MICHAEL MADSEN appeared first on Horror Asylum.

Following the streaming success of the hit independent horror anthology film

Now on Tubi: https://tubitv.com/movies/100045465/at-death-s-door 

The Project: More Choices, More Terror

The original At Death’s Door—adapted from author Christopher Pelton’s short story collection Toe in the Water—captivated audiences with its grim, atmospheric look at how ordinary, everyday choices can lead characters face-to-face with mortality. 

Production on At Death’s Door 2 has officially commenced, with the film’s first anthology segment already completed. Palangi Films is turning to the horror community and indie film supporters to raise the vital capital needed to complete the remaining segments. Funds from the campaign will directly cover essential production costs, including: 

• Advanced special effects and makeup engineering
• Upgraded cinematography equipment and lighting rigs
• High-quality location scouting and set decoration
• Post-production editing, sound mixing, and color grading

Exclusive Perks for Backers

To reward the community for supporting grassroots horror, Frank Palangi is offering unique perks for campaign contributors. Donors will receive: 

• On-Screen Credits: Every contributor will receive an official, permanent “Special Thanks” credit listed in the movie’s end scroll.
• Behind-the-Scenes Access: Regular updates directly from the set as the practical effects and segments are filmed throughout the summer.

How to Support

The campaign is currently live. Horror fans and independent cinema advocates can read the director’s mission statement, track the funding progress, and make a contribution directly through the official At Death’s Door 2 GoFundMe Project Page. https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-us-create-at-deaths-door-2-an-indie-horror-film 

About the Filmmaker

Frank Palangi is a multi-talented force in modern indie entertainment, balancing careers as an independent film director, actor, producer, and hard-rock recording artist. Operating under the Palangi Films banner, he has established a reputation for maximizing low-and-no-budget projects into high-production-value genre features. His filmography includes the hit streaming titles Say Cheese and Warren County, alongside a relentless upcoming slate that includes Say Cheese 2, Farm House, and his highly anticipated Vampire EP coming to digital music platforms later this summer

Michael Joy

marketingmacabre.com

The post Frank Palangi’s Hit Tubi Horror Anthology “At Death’s Door” Secures Sequel, Now Crowdfunding on GoFundMe appeared first on Horror Asylum.