Alam Nyo Ba?

PLOT: Friends embark on a dream vacation of parties and diving, but their trip takes a terrifying turn when criminals attack them at sea.

REVIEW: 2026 has been the year of the shark movie, and the bar has been considerably low. I’m not sure why it’s so difficult to just give us some sharks killing people in a fun way, but the focus always seems to be in the wrong place. Above & Below attempts to change up the formula a bit, with the threats of the criminals on the surface and the sharks in the water. It’s not safe anywhere. Add in Antonio Banderas as a charismatic crime boss, and this manages to do what so many other shark films this year have not: actually be fun.

Above & Below follows a group of friends as they head out on a shark diving excursion. Unfortunately for them, they’re sharing the boat with a group of criminals, who aren’t too happy when their crimes are discovered. Now, they’re being forced to retrieve something for the criminals in the shark-infested waters. It’s a simple premise that feels like a mish-mash of several films we’ve seen before, but that’s okay: the main point is that we’re getting sharks attacking people. Mostly.

Oddly enough, what works here is how stupid the characters are. I was constantly laughing at the awful decisions they were making. The acting rides the line of being bad but is never so awful that it’s cringey. Though the underwater dialogue was clearly ADR’d, the actor’s performances don’t really match between the booth and the scene. They give Laura Marano‘s Tatiana enough agency, but it results in her looking extremely ignorant and lucky rather than actually skilled. But that’s where so much of my enjoyment came from: watching these people do stupid things and pay the consequences. They never seem to understand the severity of their situation.

It’s so weird to go from seeing Antonio Banderas in Tony to then seeing him here, but that’s just the life of an actor. Banderas seems to be having a blast as Burns, and his distorted criminal perspective provides a lot of the humor. He has a twisted perspective and logic that makes him appropriately unpredictable. It really made me want him in more villainous roles, and he’s easily the best part of the film. Louis Mandylor makes for the perfect unhinged henchman, bringing just the right amount of sleaziness and danger. It’s really the bad guys that make this a more entertaining time.

Any shark movie rides and dies on its FX, and Above & Below is fairly competent in that regard. In fact, I’d say these are the best Shark FX we’ve gotten in quite some time. They make sure to hide it amongst the darkness of the ocean. While I do wish they had had a practical element, the sharks aren’t interacting with the cast enough for that to be completely necessary. And I liked that they didn’t act entirely sentient and seemed mostly food-motivated. Hilariously, more people die due to gunshots than by shark attacks. The ones we do get are very quick and not overly bloody. Though there are some pretty nasty aftermaths of ripped apart bodies.

One of my chief complaints about so many shark movies these days is that they don’t know how to have fun. They end up taking themselves too seriously. Above & Below embraces the silliness, with even the characters not understanding the gravity of their situation. At one point, one of the girl’s is freaking out about sharks outside the cage potentially getting in, and gets talked down by someone who’s literally free swimming outside of it. Unfortunately, there’s nothing outright scary here, despite the sharks actually being handled well. The tension is cut by the fact that the characters aren’t worth rooting for. This is most certainly a “cheer when this person dies” type of film.

Sadly, Above & Below features far too little actual shark action. They are merely treated as obstacles versus the main threat of the film. Even the characters don’t seem to treat them with the same level of urgency that they do the criminals up top. I’m conflicted because this was just the right level of campy but I needed more shark action. This isn’t a great film, but it’s the kind of B-movie entertainment I want from my ocean monster cinema.

Above & Below is now playing in theaters!

Above & Below

AVERAGE

6

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Talk about bad timing! That’s what I’d say plagued André Øvredal’s Passenger, the horror flick Paramount released earlier this summer — on May 22nd. It had the terrible misfortune of opening smack-dab between the two biggest horror sleeper sensations in recent years, Curry Barker’s Obsession and Kane Parsons’ Backrooms, both of which grossed over $200 million domestically. By contrast, Passenger was only able to scrape out about $18 million total, as horror fans were too caught up with those other movies to give it a fair shake (our critic was lukewarm on it).

Now, Passenger is being given a second chance, with it setting its Paramount Plus streaming date for August 20th. No doubt the studio is hoping to take advantage of the dog days of summer and bring some attention to a movie they had high enough hopes for that they gave it a wide summer theatrical release. Passenger stars Jacob Scipio and Lou Llobell as “a young couple who, after witnessing a gruesome highway accident, soon realize they did not leave the crash scene alone. A demonic presence called the Passenger has latched onto them, and won’t stop until it claims them both, turning their van life adventure into a nightmare.”

André Øvredal has helmed a solid number of well-received horror flicks, including the underrated The Autopsy of Jane Doe, as well as Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. His last film, The Last Voyage of the Demeter, didn’t make much of an impact, with it having suffered a number of release date delays. Passenger had a smoother ride to theaters and might have fared better at the box office had it not had to go up against Obsession and Backrooms. Now that it will be streaming, perhaps horror fans who are signed up with Paramount Plus will give it a shot.

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The Descent director Neil Marshall and actress Charlotte Kirk are teaming up again for a new psychological thriller, Deadline reports. Kirk is set to star in The Spiral Down, marking the fifth collaboration between Kirk and Marshall.

Marshall, Kirk, and Karlos Ways (Christmas & Chaos) are producing the privately backed feature, with Kirk producing through Primal Empire Studios. Aaron Mirtes (Whiskey Run) will be directing. Production is scheduled to begin in Kentucky next month, with additional casting currently underway.

In The Spiral Down, Kirk plays Mary Doyle, a woman who is kidnapped by a serial killer with an obsession with perfection. However, the situation takes an unexpected turn when detectives investigating the disappearance discover that Mary is not the helpless victim they initially believed her to be. Mary is actually a dangerous escapee from a psychiatric institution with a violent past of her own. After killing her captor and vanishing without a trace, she becomes the focus of a much larger investigation, forcing law enforcement to reconsider exactly who the real threat is.

Neil Marshall and Charlotte Kirk Are Frequent Collaborators

The Spiral Down continues a creative partnership between Marshall and Kirk. The pair previously worked together on The Reckoning, The Lair, Duchess, and most recently Compulsion.

Marshall is best known for directing the 2005 horror movie The Descent, as well as films including Dog Soldiers, Doomsday, Centurion, and Hellboy. He has also directed numerous television projects, including episodes of Game of Thrones, Westworld, Hannibal, and Lost in Space.

Kirk has appeared in several of Marshall’s films and has continued building a filmography heavily populated by horror, thriller, and genre projects. Her upcoming movies include the horror film The Possession of Gladstone Manor, opposite Caylee Cowan, Jesse Metcalfe and Lin Shaye, as well as the horror comedy Catnip, which co-stars Jake Busey, and the horror thriller The Last Bride. Kirk also stars in the romantic comedy Christmas and Chaos with Jason Isaacs and the suspense thriller Night Driver, which features Josh Lucas.

With production on The Spiral Down approaching, more casting and details about the film are expected to be announced soon.

What do you think of Neil Marshall and Charlotte Kirk teaming up again for The Spiral Down? Let us know in the comments.

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Peacock has unveiled two new posters for Crystal Lake, offering fresh looks at Linda Cardellini as Pamela Voorhees and Callum Vinson as young Jason Voorhees in the highly anticipated Friday the 13th prequel series. Crystal Lake will premiere with all eight episodes on Peacock on October 15, 2026.

You can check out the newly released posters below.

The posters put the mother-and-son relationship at the center of Peacock’s new take on the Friday the 13th mythology. Cardellini plays a younger version of Pamela Voorhees, the character originally portrayed by Betsy Palmer in the 1980 Friday the 13th, while Vinson plays Jason before he became the masked killer fans know from the franchise.

Based on the mythology established by the original films, Crystal Lake takes place before the events of Friday the 13th and explores Pamela’s life as a mother to young Jason. Rather than immediately dropping viewers into the familiar summer camp slasher formula, the series is designed as a deeper exploration of the people and history surrounding Crystal Lake.

The official synopsis reads:

Crystal Lake is a prequel to the Friday the 13th franchise that explores Pamela Voorhees’ life before the events of the original film. The series follows single mother Pam Voorhees, who is struggling with grief nearly a year after her young, sickly son Jason tragically drowned in Crystal Lake. When two strangers arrive at Pam’s door investigating her past, a disturbing chain of events begins. The people of Crystal Lake are soon left wondering exactly who Pamela Voorhees really is.

The new images arrive shortly after Crystal Lake showrunner Brad Caleb Kane promised that the series will eventually deliver the kind of bloody slasher horror longtime Friday the 13th fans are looking for. Kane explained that the early episodes take a different approach, incorporating elements of a paranoid conspiracy thriller and psychological drama before Pamela eventually goes “full Friday the 13th.” He also teased a series of kills designed to satisfy fans of the original movies. The series isn’t simply telling another story about a killer at a summer camp. It’s exploring the woman who would eventually become one of horror’s most infamous murderers and the tragedy that shaped her.

Cardellini has also discussed the challenge of following Palmer’s iconic performance. Rather than attempting to imitate the original Pamela, she said she wanted to capture the character’s devotion to Jason and explore the relationship that eventually leads to the woman audiences meet in Friday the 13th.

The series is expected to be packed with connections to the original franchise. Kane has promised that Crystal Lake will feature numerous Friday the 13th Easter eggs, including some references that go beyond simple background details. “We re-create things,” Kane previously teased, while declining to reveal exactly what fans should expect.

Crystal Lake was originally ordered by Peacock in 2022, with Bryan Fuller attached as writer and showrunner. Fuller eventually departed the project in 2024, with Kane taking over creative duties.

Alongside Cardellini and Vinson, the cast includes William Catlett as Police Chief Levon Brooks, as well as Devin Kessler, Cameron Scoggins, and Gwendolyn Sundstrom.

The series has also been selected for the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival. Warner Bros. Discovery has acquired the series for HBO Max across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, while Sky and Now will carry it in the UK and Ireland.

Are you looking forward to Crystal Lake? Take a look at the posters, then let us know in the comments.

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Netflix has released the first teaser trailer for Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story, the fourth season of Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s hit true crime anthology series Monster. Starring Ella Beatty as Lizzie Borden, the new season brings one of America’s most notorious unsolved murder cases to the screen this September. You can watch the teaser trailer for Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story in the embed above.

The eight-episode limited series premieres on Netflix on September 17, 2026, just in time for the Halloween season.

The teaser gives viewers a look at Beatty as Lizzie Borden, who was accused of murdering her father, Andrew Borden, and stepmother, Abby Borden, with an axe in their Massachusetts home in 1892. While Borden was ultimately acquitted of the murders, the shocking case became one of the most infamous crimes in American history. More than a century later, the question of whether Lizzie Borden actually committed the murders remains a subject of fascination. Netflix’s Monster is putting its own spin on that mystery.

The official synopsis for Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story reads:

“When the repressed daughter of a wealthy New England family and her rebellious maid find themselves trapped in a house built on humiliation and cruelty, they escape into a fantasy of sex, power, and revenge. The gruesome unsolved murders that follow don’t just shock the world—they give birth to an icon who refuses to live imprisoned in a cage, choosing instead to forge her own legend: shocking, monstrous, and gloriously free.”

Ella Beatty Plays Lizzie Borden

Ella Beatty leads Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story as Lizzie Borden. Beatty has previously appeared in Feud: Capote vs. The Swans, and she has spoken about her personal fascination with Borden’s story. She previously told Netflix’s Tudum that she was excited to explore “this complicated person” and examine a crime that has become “almost mythic” in American history. The actress also highlighted the season’s focus on female rage and repression.

This makes Lizzie Borden Story a change for the Monster anthology. Previous seasons have focused on Jeffrey Dahmer, Lyle and Erik Menendez, and Ed Gein. Lizzie Borden becomes the first female subject to headline the anthology.

Who Stars in Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story?

Beatty is joined by an impressive ensemble cast. Phantom Thread star Vicky Krieps plays Borden family maid Bridget Sullivan, while Godzilla vs. Kong star Rebecca Hall portrays Lizzie’s stepmother, Abby Borden. Charlie Hunnam plays Lizzie’s father, Andrew Borden, while Billie Lourd portrays her older sister, Emma Borden.

The cast also includes Jessica Barden as Nance O’Neill, a stage actress whose close friendship with Lizzie creates tension between Lizzie and Emma, and Joey Pollari as Lizzie’s uncle, John Morse. Sarah Paulson is also part of the season’s cast, portraying serial killer Aileen Wuornos.

Who Is Directing Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story?

Max Winkler directs episodes 401, 402, 403, 405, 407, and 408 of the new season, while Sarah Adina Smith directs episodes 404 and 406. Winkler previously directed several episodes of American Horror Story and is married to Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story star Jessica Barden.

The series comes from Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan, who created the Monster anthology for Netflix.

The Real Lizzie Borden

Lizzie Borden became one of America’s most famous alleged murderers after her father and stepmother were found brutally murdered at the Borden family home in Fall River, Massachusetts, on August 4, 1892. Borden was accused of killing both with an axe. Her subsequent trial attracted enormous public attention, but she was acquitted in 1893. Despite the verdict, the case has never disappeared from popular culture.

Borden’s story has previously been adapted for television and film, including the 2014 Lifetime movie Lizzie Borden Took an Ax, starring Christina Ricci; the 2015 limited series The Lizzie Borden Chronicles; and the 2018 feature film Lizzie, starring Chloë Sevigny and Kristen Stewart.

When Does Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story Premiere?

Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story premieres on Netflix on September 17, 2026. The eight-episode limited series will continue Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan’s Monster anthology while turning its attention to one of America’s most enduring murder mysteries.

Are you looking forward to Monster: The Lizzie Borden Story? What do you think of the teaser trailer? Let us know in the comments.

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IllFonic’s upcoming Halloween: The Game has run into a major problem in Australia. The multiplayer horror game has been refused classification by the Australian Classification Board, meaning it cannot currently be legally sold through Australian storefronts. Even stranger, IllFonic says the game will also not be released in New Zealand, despite New Zealand having its own classification system.

The reason for the Australian refusal appears to involve an in-game marijuana mechanic that rewards players for using the drug. While the Australian Classification Board has not yet published its official decision, the board has confirmed that games featuring illicit drug use connected to incentives or rewards cannot receive an R18+ rating and must instead be refused classification.

IllFonic announced the news through the official Halloween: The Game social media account, explaining that the Australian Classification Board had denied the game a rating.

“Despite every effort on our part, the Australian Classifications [sic] Board has denied ‘Halloween: The Game’ a rating,” IllFonic said. “The denial was not based on the presence of the iconic slasher, Michael Myers, or the outstanding kills that can be performed in the game, but rather the presence of a controlled substance. Unfortunately, to our disappointment (and certainly yours) this means that we cannot sell the physical or digital product in both Australia and New Zealand.”

It’s important to note that Australia does not prohibit games simply because they contain illicit drugs. Its classification guidelines allow drug use at the MA15+ and R18+ levels, depending on its impact. (For example, Grand Theft Auto V and Far Cry 3 both feature marijuana, but received ratings in Australia.) What the guidelines prohibit is illicit drug use that is connected to an incentive or reward.

According to reports about Halloween: The Game, players can smoke marijuana in the game as a gameplay mechanic, with the drug use providing a benefit by revealing Michael Myers’ location on the map. That connection between drug use and an in-game reward appears to be the issue behind the refusal.

The Australian Classification Board confirmed that point when asked about the game. “The Classification Board has not yet published a decision in relation to Halloween: The Game,” a spokesperson told IGN. “Games containing illicit drug use related to incentives or rewards cannot be accommodated within the R18+ classification category and must be Refused Classification under the Guidelines.”

Why Was Halloween: The Game Refused Classification in Australia?

Halloween: The Game had already received an Australian R18+ rating for its pre-order content in July. That rating was obtained through the International Age Rating Coalition’s automated rating system, which is available for free. In Australia, IARC ratings can be automatically published to the country’s National Classification Database.

There is a limitation, though. Australia’s automated IARC system is intended for games distributed exclusively in digital form. If Halloween: The Game was intended to receive a physical release in Australia, it would have required submission to the Australian Classification Board for a human classification. It is unclear whether IllFonic or a local distributor submitted the full game to the board, and the Classification Board did not answer questions about that process. There is also an appeals process. Developers can appeal a refused classification decision to Australia’s Classification Review Board, which is a separate panel. It is not clear whether or not IllFonic has chosen to appeal.

Other Games Have Found Ways Around Australia’s Rules

State of Decay, released in 2013, was initially refused classification in Australia because it connected real-world prohibited substances with health boosts and other gameplay benefits. The developer subsequently changed the terminology, referring to the substances as “vitamins,” and the revised version received an R18+ classification. Bethesda took a similar approach with Fallout 3 in 2008. The game’s morphine was renamed “Med-X” for the Australian release, allowing the game to avoid the classification problem.

That history raises an obvious question about Halloween: The Game: Could IllFonic modify the drug-related mechanic for Australia rather than abandoning the market entirely?

Why Isn’t Halloween: The Game Being Sold in New Zealand?

Australia and New Zealand are separate countries with separate governments and separate classification systems. New Zealand’s Classification Office makes its own decisions regarding video games, meaning a refusal by the Australian Classification Board does not automatically constitute a ban in New Zealand. Nevertheless, IllFonic has stated that the Australian classification issue means Halloween: The Game will not be sold physically or digitally in either country.

The developer has not explained why it has chosen to treat Australia and New Zealand as a single market in this situation. It may be a business decision to avoid creating a separate version of the game for the region.

For players in both countries, the impact might be limited. In 2026, purchasing games through international digital storefronts is fairly easy, and a refused classification in Australia wouldn’t necessarily prevent determined players from obtaining a game through another market.

Still, Halloween: The Game now joins a long list of games that have run afoul of Australia’s unusually strict rules concerning drugs and gameplay rewards. And in this case, the situation has produced a strange result: a classification problem in Australia has also kept the game out of New Zealand, even though New Zealand has its own classification system.

What will the Halloween video game be like?

Halloween will offer a single-player mode, offline bot combat, and online asymmetrical PVP gameplay. It will also include multiple maps and “authentic locations” from the classic film. The teaser embedded above takes us to Haddonfield, Illinois, on Halloween night. As the residents of the sleepy town prepare for an evening of tricks and treats, we find a woman running for her life from door to door, hoping to get someone, anyone, to help her escape the masked killer following close behind. As she scambles to gain the upper hand, we hear the wise warnings of Dr. Samuel Loomis (thanks to a solid Donald Pleasence impersonator), warning us about the black-hearted Boogeyman who comes to Haddonfield. 

John Carpenter is on board as an executive producer. The motion-capture performance for Michael Myers has been provided by Nick Castle, who played Myers in the original film, and stuntman TJ Storm, whose mo-cap credits include Deadpool (as Colossus), Captain America: Civil War (as Iron Man), The Predator (as the Predator), and Godzilla and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, where he played Godzilla. Castle, who was absent from the Halloween franchise for decades before being brought back for cameos in the recent Blumhouse-produced trilogy of sequels, told the official website that being asked to do the mo-cap performance for Myers in the game made him “go watch the movie again to see just what the hell I did that contributes to the success of the character.”

In the recent Friday the 13th video game, counselors could radio for help from Tommy Jarvis, a character from the fourth, fifth, and sixth films – and, in the game, the only character capable of killing masked slasher Jason Voorhees. No one could choose to play as Tommy from the start; a player whose counselor character was killed by Jason early on during the match would be brought back into the game as Tommy. Sounds like that’s the same way Michael Myers’ iconic nemesis Doctor Loomis will be brought into matches of the Halloween video game.

Maps include Haddonfield Heights, the Haddonfield Town Center, and Orange Grove Estates.

What do you think of Halloween: The Game being refused classification in Australia, and also not being sold in New Zealand? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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Parker Finn’s highly anticipated remake of Possession finally has a release date. Paramount has announced that the new take on Andrzej Żuławski’s 1981 psychological horror classic will hit theaters on June 11, 2027, putting Possession on the big screen next summer.

The film stars Margaret Qualley and Callum Turner as the central married couple, with Diego Calva, Madeline Brewer, Emory Cohen, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, and Paul Dano also appearing in currently undisclosed roles. And for those curious about what the remake actually looks like, we’ve got you covered: we’re including several set photos of Margaret Qualley and some of Callum Turner below, offering an early glimpse at the stars during production.

The new Possession will open against some significant competition, arriving the same day as Universal’s live-action How to Train Your Dragon 2.

Parker Finn is remaking Possession

Finn, the filmmaker behind the hit horror movies Smile and Smile 2, is writing and directing the new Possession. The original film was written and directed by Polish filmmaker Andrzej Żuławski and starred Sam Neill and Isabelle Adjani as Mark and Anna, a married couple whose already troubled relationship takes an increasingly horrifying turn.

Set against the backdrop of Cold War-era West Berlin, Possession begins as a story about a marriage falling apart before descending into infidelity, paranoia, psychological breakdown, murder, body horror, and supernatural madness.

The film earned Adjani the Best Actress prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Margaret Qualley and Callum Turner lead the remake

Qualley and Turner will take on the roles of the husband and wife at the center of Finn’s story. Qualley has become one of the most acclaimed young actresses working today, with roles in The Substance, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and Poor Things among her recent credits. She’ll next appear in Ridley Scott’s apocalyptic science-fiction thriller The Dog Stars, as well as the romantic drama Love of Your Life and Jeff Nichols’ King Snake.

Turner’s credits include Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, The Boys in the Boat, and Eternity. He also appears with Monica Barbaro in the romantic comedy One Night Only.

Robert Pattinson is producing Possession

Finn is producing the remake alongside Jonathan Fass through Finn’s Bad Feeling banner. The producing team also includes Roy Lee and Andrew Childs through Vertigo Entertainment, with Robert Pattinson also serving as a producer. Marc Bienstock is executive producing.

The project therefore reunites some major names from contemporary genre filmmaking with a filmmaker who has quickly established himself as one of the biggest new names in horror.

Possession is one of horror’s toughest movies to remake

There is an obvious question hanging over the project: How do you remake Possession? Żuławski’s film is notoriously intense, strange, and personal. Its story of a marriage collapsing into madness is already disturbing enough, but the filmmaker pushes the material into increasingly surreal territory, culminating in imagery and performances that have become legendary among horror fans. The original is also deeply connected to Żuławski’s own life, including his divorce and experiences of exile from Poland. That has made the prospect of a remake controversial among fans since Finn’s project was first announced.

But the new movie has received an important vote of confidence from the actress who originally played Anna. Isabelle Adjani has given Margaret Qualley her blessing to take on the role. Adjani previously praised Qualley as an exceptionally talented actress and said she understood why a new generation of filmmakers would want to revisit the material.

Not everyone is convinced that Possession needs to be remade, however. JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray has previously argued that the original’s Cold War setting, emotional intensity, and unforgettable finale make it a difficult film to recreate. That debate will likely continue until audiences finally get to see Finn’s version.

When will Parker Finn’s Possession be released?

Possession will be released exclusively in theaters on June 11, 2027. Will you be watching? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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