Horror Highlights: SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN, HECTOR’S HELL HOUSE, FRONTIER CRUCIBLE

BLUMHOUSE SETS FILM AND TELEVISION ADAPTATIONS OF GLOBAL COMIC BOOK SENSATION SOMETHING IS KILLING THE CHILDREN: "Blumhouse, the home of horror, will adapt James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera’s global comic book phenomenon Something is Killing the Children into both a feature film and adult animated series. The title from BOOM! Studios, an imprint of Penguin Random House, is the most successful original horror comic book since The Walking Dead, selling more than 5 million copies worldwide. Blumhouse will develop the franchise simultaneously as a live-action feature film and as an adult animated television series, with the TV adaptation to be shepherded by series co-creator James Tynion IV.

First published by BOOM! Studios in 2019, Something is Killing the Children has been translated into more than 20 languages and is published in 14 countries around the world. The franchise’s breakout spinoff, House of Slaughter, launched with over 500,000 copies of its first issue sold, making it one of the top-selling original comic book debuts of the 21st century. Since its debut, the franchise has garnered critical acclaim and won multiple Eisner Awards—the highest honor in comics. Tynion made history as the first writer since Alan Moore to win the Eisner Award for Best Writer three consecutive years in a row (2021, 2022, 2023) for his work on the series. Following BOOM! Studios’ acquisition by Penguin Random House in 2024, the publisher committed to a 100-issue run, ensuring the series’ presence on shelves for the next decade, and at New York Comic-Con announced a new event series Fall of the House of Slaughter leading up to the release of the landmark 50th issue in 2026.

Set in a world where children can see monsters, but adults cannot, Something is Killing the Children tells the story of Erica Slaughter, a monster hunter from a mysterious organization more concerned with keeping the secret of monsters from the world than saving their victims.

“It’s easy to see why audiences and critics alike have praised Something is Killing the Children,” said Jason Blum, Blumhouse CEO and Founder. “James and Werther’s comic book series taps into our most primal fears, luring us into a fascinating world and introducing Erica Slaughter, the ass-kicking hero we all wish we had to fight the monsters that lurk in the dark.”

“Something is Killing the Children is the comic book that changed my life and career forever.” said James Tynion IV. “Finding a partner who understood the potential of Erica Slaughter and world Werther Dell’Edera and I have built was crucial, and we have found that partner in Jason Blum. Nobody understands horror better than Blumhouse, and I can’t wait for the world to see what we all have planned together.”

Stephen Christy and James Tynion IV will produce the film for BOOM! Studios/Penguin Random House. Jason Blum will produce for Blumhouse with Shaun Sutton and Ryan Turek serving as executive producers. Adam Yoelin and Mette Norkjaer will also executive produce. Series co-creator Werther Dell’Edera will act as co-producer.

James Tynion IV will executive produce the adult animated series, with series co-creator Werther Dell’Edera Co-Executive Producing. Stephen Christy will executive produce the series for BOOM! Studios, with Adam Yoelin and Mette Norkjaer co-executive producing."

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Watch the Short Film HECTOR'S HELL HOUSE: "A young boy faces his fears."

HECTOR'S HELL HOUSE is used with permission from John Adam Krueger. Learn more at https://johnadamkrueger.com.

"Elliott is a young boy, innocent, imaginative and somewhat anxious. He's often convinced he can hear something in his house, but his police officer father wants him to be brave and conquer his fears. Elliott does his best to be strong and protect the family as well, though his older brother Robby teases Elliott mercilessly.

Elliott's fears are sharpened when his family organizes an outing to a local haunted house, but despite his reluctance, he goes. What he uncovers is more than zombies and ghouls -- something darker and more insidious.

Directed and written by John Adam Krueger, this subversive short horror drama seems like a throwback to the classic suburban spooky films like HALLOWEEN, with its suspenseful, dimly lit story set in an "American everytown" setting, complete with tension-building editing, eerie musical score and the slow-building dread of something lurking just offscreen. The film’s craftsmanship is tight and assured, with its shadowy, dynamic camerawork, and its command of the horror genre should appeal to fans who prize dread and spine-tingling chills over gory spectacle. But beneath the tension, there’s a deeper unease brewing that makes it more than just a classic "haunted house" narrative.

The storytelling immerses us right away in the atmospherics of Halloween with a slant of classic Americana, from the suburban home to the shining badge of the dad's uniform. But it also pays close attention to the family dynamics. Elliott is surrounded by messages of being brave and tough, though he's conscious of being more scared than his dad would like. When the family wants to go to a local attraction, Elliott's deepest anxieties are triggered, and not all of them are assuaged.

As Elliott, young actor Gabriel Storm offers a finely attuned performance that's emotionally translucent, conveying both the fears of an innocent child and a son who wants to live up to the ideals of his family. Elliott is rarely listened to; instead, he's often teased or lectured. He's also extraordinarily sensitive to the emotions and expectations of others, and he takes what he hears seriously. That porousness makes him especially vulnerable when the family enters the haunted house -- and makes what happens inside especially unsurprising.

It ends the surprisingly thought-provoking HECTOR'S HELL HOUSE on a note of sobering force, inviting us to truly hear the messages that young boys especially grow up with and process in unpredictable ways. Horror as a genre often examines fears and anxieties at a primal or cultural level, but instead of externalizing them in the form of ghosts and monsters, the film exposes the very real fears and anxieties we live with today. The most dangerous monsters, it seems, are the ones we make ourselves."

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FRONTIER CRUCIBLE Trailer: "A desperately needed wagon full of medical supplies falls victim to an Apache attack. The only man who can guide it through to its destination is Merrick Beckford, but in order to get there, he’ll need to enlist the help of a trio of dangerous outlaws hell-bent on survival. When they accidentally kill an Apache scout, all bets are off, and survival is the name of the game in director Travis Mills’s western thriller."

IN THEATERS: December 5, 2025

ON DIGITAL: December 5, 2025

DIRECTOR: Travis Mills

WRITER: Harry Whittington based on the novel “Desert Stake-Out”

CAST: Myles Clohessy, Mary Stickley, Eli Brown, Ryan Masson, Zane Holtz, Eddie Spears with Armie Hammer, with William H. Macy and Thomas Jane