Alam Nyo Ba?

PLOT: On Halloween night, 1978, no one is safe from Michael Myers. Become the Boogeyman or fight back against the face of evil itself in Halloween.

REVIEW: I should probably get this out of the way right from the start: I’m an easy mark for anything Halloween. I’m also an easy mark for asymmetrical multiplayer games.  I find myself playing them more often than your standard long-form single-player game these days.

I was introduced to the franchise through Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers. Since then, Michael Myers has been one of my favorite horror icons. So when IllFonic and Gun Interactive announced Halloween: The Game, an asymmetrical multiplayer game built around John Carpenter’s 1978 classic, I was already on board. 

Thankfully, after spending time roaming Haddonfield both as Michael and as one of the civilians trying to stay alive, I’m having a great time with it.

That surprised me a little because some of the early reactions were pretty negative to mixed. You can read our earlier review here.  But I played with the Day One Patch installed, which addressed several problems players had been reporting before launch, including matchmaking issues, NPC pathfinding, crash fixes, achievement tracking, scoring, stamina balancing, and making escape locations easier for civilians to discover.

Whatever state the game may have been in during Early Access, that simply hasn’t been my experience.

Matchmaking has actually been one of the biggest surprises. I can jump into a lobby and get a game going almost immediately. Of course, the massive launch probably helps. More than 500,000 players jumped in across PC and consoles within hours of release, while its Steam debut was the biggest yet for an asymmetrical horror game. For a game like this, especially at launch, that matters a lot. There’s nothing that kills the mood faster than sitting around waiting forever for a match to start.  Once it does, Halloween will understand exactly what people want out of a game like this.

IllFonic and Gun Interactive are clearly fans of the horror genre. I still miss the days of Friday the 13th: The Game, and I continue to play The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, so this style of horror game is already very much my thing. But Halloween doesn’t just feel like another asymmetrical game with Michael Myers dropped into it.

It actually feels like Halloween.

The atmosphere is probably its greatest strength. The suburban streets, houses, lighting, sound design, and music all work together to make Haddonfield feel like the place we remember from Carpenter’s movie. Story Mode takes that even further with a grainy visual texture that helps give everything the look and feel of the original 1978 film.

This is what sets it apart from the likes of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.  Story Mode is essentially an extended tutorial for playing as Michael, but I think its short length works in its favor. I normally prefer longer games, but at a little over two hours, give or take, this feels like the right amount of time. It teaches you how Michael works, lets you enjoy the atmosphere, gives you some scenarios inspired by the film, and then gets out of the way.

The multiplayer is obviously where the game is meant to live.

Playing as Michael is just fun. Instead of reducing him to nothing more than a big guy with a knife, the developers found ways to translate what makes Michael scary into actual gameplay. His ability to disappear and reappear around Haddonfield becomes part of how you stalk players, while the heavy breathing, music, and sound design go a long way toward making you feel like you’re actually playing as The Shape.

There are also plenty of environmental kills scattered around the map, which gives Michael more variety than simply stabbing everyone over and over again.

The civilian side is more involved than just running away, too. You’re searching houses and businesses for weapons, keys, and supplies, helping residents, contacting police, finding escape routes, and trying to work with the other players while Michael is somewhere nearby.

It’s the unpredictability where a lot of the fun comes from. Sometimes everyone works together perfectly. Sometimes everything goes to hell within minutes. Even a terrifying encounter with Michael suddenly becomes hilarious because another player does something completely stupid. That’s what makes these kinds of multiplayer horror games so entertaining.

There are definitely areas that could use improvement. The game does a much better job teaching you how to play Michael than it does explaining the civilian side.  I must admit, I was pretty lost at first.

I also wish some of the main characters had better likenesses to the original actors. Laurie Strode is the biggest example. She looks more like Vera Farmiga than Jamie Lee Curtis.  Considering how much attention was clearly paid to recreating the atmosphere of the original movie, that can be a little distracting.  The voice actors, however, do a great job with their characters and help sell the world even when the likenesses don’t always hit the mark.

There are some rough edges, and I don’t think anyone should go into Halloween: The Game expecting a huge single-player experience. This is first and foremost an asymmetrical multiplayer game. If you’ve never liked that style of gameplay, Michael Myers probably isn’t suddenly going to change your mind. But if you already enjoy these kinds of games, this one feels like it was made for horror fans.

My experience has simply been much more positive than some of those early reviews suggested. I’m getting into matches quickly. I had a lot of fun with Story Mode, Haddonfield looks and sounds like Haddonfield, and playing as Michael actually makes you feel like Michael Myers.

Most importantly, when one match ends, I usually want to jump straight into another.

If you’re a horror fan, a Halloween fan, or someone who still misses loading into Friday the 13th with a group of strangers and watching everything immediately fall apart, Halloween: The Game is going to be right up your alley.

There’s always room for improvement, but the Day One Patch was already a good start. Hopefully, future updates continue to build on what’s here because I could easily see myself returning to Haddonfield for a long time.

The post Halloween: The Game Review (2026) – A Second Opinion appeared first on JoBlo.

The wait is almost over, campers. The official trailer for Crystal Lake, Peacock and A24’s Friday the 13th prequel series, has arrived, giving horror fans their best look yet at Linda Cardellini as Pamela Voorhees and the terrifying events that will ultimately lead to the birth of one of the genre’s most infamous killers.

Created by Brad Caleb Kane, Crystal Lake takes viewers back to the world of Friday the 13th to tell the story of Pamela Voorhees before the events of the original 1980 movie. Cardellini stars as Pamela, with Callum Vinson playing her young son, Jason Voorhees.

The series follows Pam nearly a year after Jason’s tragic drowning in Crystal Lake. Still consumed by grief, she finds her life thrown into further turmoil when two strangers arrive at her door investigating her past. Their arrival sets off a disturbing chain of events and raises an ominous question among the residents of Crystal Lake: just who is Pam Voorhees?

The character of Pamela Voorhees was made iconic by Betsy Palmer in the original Friday the 13th. Rather than simply recreating Palmer’s performance, Cardellini is taking the opportunity to explore Pamela as a grieving mother and show the experiences that transform her into a killer.

And while the series is interested in Pamela’s emotional journey, Crystal Lake isn’t going to shy away from the bloody horror that fans expect from the Friday the 13th franchise. Cardellini has previously teased that the series gets “gory” and “gross,” with the production making extensive use of practical effects.

This isn’t simply a remake of Friday the 13th with a different cast. Crystal Lake is using the original movie as a starting point while building out the characters, history, and dark secrets surrounding the infamous camp.

When Does Crystal Lake Premiere?

All eight episodes of Crystal Lake will premiere on Peacock on October 15, 2026.

The series has also been selected for the 2026 Toronto International Film Festival, and the first episode will also receive an exclusive screening at New York Comic Con on October 8, followed by a panel featuring Kane, Cardellini, Vinson, William Catlett, Devin Kessler, Cameron Scoggins, and Gwendolyn Sundstrom.

The series is produced by A24, with Kane serving as creator, writer, showrunner, and executive producer. The executive producers also include Marc Toberoff, Robert M. Barsamian, Robert P. Barsamian, Stuart Manashil, Tyson Bidner, Michael Lennox, Roy Lee, and the late Victor Miller.

For Friday the 13th fans, Crystal Lake represents a long-awaited return to one of horror’s most recognizable settings. This time, though, the story isn’t about a masked killer stalking teenagers around a summer camp. It’s about the woman who started it all. And if this trailer is any indication, Pamela Voorhees is going to have one hell of a story to tell.

Will you be watching Crystal Lake? Take a look at the trailer, then let us know by leaving a comment below.

The post Crystal Lake: Watch the official trailer for Peacock’s Friday the 13th prequel! appeared first on JoBlo.

PLOT: Three grieving siblings reunite to scatter their late father’s ashes on the river he loved, but when their boat breaks down, they find themselves stalked by two remorseless, masked killers.

REVIEW: Let’s get one thing out of the way first: River is a slasher film and doesn’t do anything completely unexpected with the genre. It’s a meat-and-potatoes horror/survival flick, owing massive debts to Friday the 13th, Halloween, The Strangers, and John Boorman’s classic Deliverance. Yet, just because it isn’t a fresh take on the genre doesn’t mean that it’s not entertaining. Director Joshua Giuliano has made a superior programmer that should find an appreciative horror audience once it hits theaters from IFC prior to its Shudder debut (release date TBA). It’s well-made, evocatively shot, gory, and features a strong cast.

Genre stalwart Jane Levy returns to horror for the first time in many years—her first since establishing herself as a rising scream queen in Fede Álvarez’s Evil Dead remake and their follow-up, Don’t Breathe. Now in her thirties, she brings a certain gravitas to the movie, delivering a strong performance that’s well above average for the genre. She’s not playing a character archetype, but rather a real, flesh-and-blood person. As the favorite daughter of her late dad, she took over his blue-collar business and now resents her older sister (Jessica Rothe—also strong), who has returned home after a long estrangement. Unlike her siblings, who include their fragile younger brother (Max Mattern), the older sister can only focus on their father’s shortcomings rather than the more admirable qualities his younger children remember. The fractured dynamic between the three is convincing, especially once the terror starts.

While the film is a slow burn, once the siblings notice they are being watched from the shore by a shirtless, hulking masked man—who we later find out has a female partner—we know they’re in trouble. It turns out they are far from the first victims, and they get a first-hand look at the grisly fate that awaits them, turning the story into a ferocious battle for survival. Perhaps more action-driven than strictly horror—particularly in the final act, which plays out like a survival thriller—the gore is heavy-duty, featuring decapitations, immolations, and gruesome wounds. What makes it especially entertaining, though, is the siblings’ devotion to one another, with no one acting purely out of self-interest. They have their differences, but they are willing to risk their lives for each other, with even the timid younger brother getting a few moments where he rises to the occasion.

The three leads are great, even if River ends up being largely Levy’s show. She plays a tough, believable heroine with plenty of gusto alongside a vulnerable core. The killers are intentionally kept mysterious, with Giuliano sprinkling in a few elements that could pave the way for a modest franchise if River performs well. Beyond the cast, the film is gorgeously shot in 2.35:1 on location in West Virginia. The score is sparse, and the scares are never cheap. Again, it’s not the most original horror film out there, but for a solid, meat-and-potatoes slasher, you can’t go wrong with River.

The post River (TIFF) Review: Jane Levy Leads a Brutal, Top-Tier Survival Slasher appeared first on JoBlo.

Cody

Hollywood loves a crossover, and so do I. From Frankenstein Meets the Wolf Man to King Kong vs. Godzilla, Freddy vs. Jason, and Alien vs. Predator, audiences have been watching characters from completely different franchises collide on the big screen for decades. But for every crossover that actually made it into theaters, there are plenty that never made it past the development stage.

Some of these movies had scripts and filmmakers attached. Others were pitches that made it surprisingly far before studios pulled the plug. And some are so completely bizarre that it’s hard to believe anyone in Hollywood actually considered making them.

What if Chucky had gone up against the kid from Problem Child? What if Jay and Silent Bob had opened the Lament Configuration? What if Michael Myers had faced Pinhead? These aren’t fan-made movie concepts. They were real crossover ideas that were, at various points, discussed or developed by the people who could have actually made them happen. These projects did exist at very different stages of development, though. Some had scripts and filmmakers attached, while others were treatments or pitches that never got that far.

Here are 11 crazy movie crossovers that almost happened… and, in most cases, I wish they had.

Problem Child vs. Chucky

Junior from Problem Child and Chucky from Child’s Play could have shared the screen decades ago. Problem Child writers Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski recently revealed that they actually pitched Universal on a crossover between the two franchises in the 1990s. The idea was to bring Junior face-to-face with the murderous Good Guy doll, but Universal passed on it.

The concept was envisioned as an Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein-style horror comedy, which makes the pairing pretty obvious: Junior is a pint-sized agent of chaos, while Chucky is a pint-sized serial killer. Both franchises were also Universal properties, making this one of those bizarre crossover ideas that really could have happened. Instead, Problem Child vs. Chucky remained a pitch, and the world was denied what could have been one seriously weird comedy. Meanwhile, Child’s Play franchise creator Don Mancini has let it be known that the crossover he wants to see is Chucky vs. Freddy.

Jay and Silent Bob Meet Pinhead

After Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, Dimension Films chairman Bob Weinstein wanted Kevin Smith to turn Jay and Silent Bob into an Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein-style comedy duo who crossed paths with the studio’s various horror properties. Dimension had Hellraiser, Halloween, and Children of the Corn, and Weinstein suggested a movie where Jay and Bob met those modern-day monsters. Smith said they “mulled over” Jay and Silent Bob Meet Michael Myers for about five minutes, but his favorite idea was Jay and Silent Bob Meet Pinhead.

Smith imagined Jay and Bob finding the Lament Configuration and discovering that their version of Hell involved being sent to rehab. He thought the idea was funny, but ultimately couldn’t “get his head around” making the movie. Dimension, however, seemed genuinely interested enough for Smith to consider how it might work. When he told his friend Ben Affleck about the idea, Affleck initially laughed before thinking about it and predicting, “That movie would make $100 million.” Instead, the most we ever got was a Jay and Silent Bob cameo in Scream 3.

Michael Myers vs. Pinhead

Following the success of Freddy vs. Jason, Dimension Films looked to its own horror library and came up with another unlikely matchup: Michael Myers vs. Pinhead. The proposed Halloween/Hellraiser crossover was reportedly called Helloween, and Pinhead actor Doug Bradley confirmed in 2003 that Dimension was planning the movie, while filmmakers were brought in to pitch it.

Things got especially interesting when Dimension approached Clive Barker and John Carpenter about working on the film. Barker agreed to write it if Carpenter would direct, while Carpenter agreed to direct if Barker would write. For a brief moment, the prospect of having the creators of Hellraiser and Halloween team up on a Michael Myers vs. Pinhead movie was very real. Unfortunately, Helloween eventually stalled. Halloween producer Moustapha Akkad strongly opposed Michael Myers appearing in another horror franchise, and the Weinsteins reportedly eventually lost interest as well. Barker later complained that the studio treated Myers too preciously, like Hamlet. Considering who was involved, this is one crossover that could have been something truly special.

21 Jump Street / Men in Black

Sony actually got surprisingly far with a 21 Jump Street/Men in Black crossover. Known as MIB 23, the movie had a script that directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller described as “very funny and very crazy,” with Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum’s characters getting caught up in the world of the Men in Black while on a medical school adventure and eventually teaming up to stop an alien takeover.

Lord and Miller even revealed one of the script’s strangest ideas: the black suits would work like martial arts belts, meaning Hill and Tatum would initially be stuck wearing powder-blue Men in Black suits. James Bobin was attached to direct, and the project came close to happening before Sony ultimately gave up. Producer Walter Parkes admitted in 2019 that it was an “impossible match-up.” Considering the 21 Jump Street movies’ comedic style, though, MIB 23 sounds like exactly the kind of ridiculous idea that might have worked.

Cheech & Chong Meet Jason

After making Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives, director Tom McLoughlin pitched Paramount executive Frank Mancuso Jr. on an unusual idea for the next sequel: Cheech & Chong Meet Jason. Since Paramount was behind both franchises, the crossover was actually possible, with McLoughlin imagining Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong as camp counselors (or possibly just two forest-dwelling stoners) who secretly ran a weed farm in the woods while encountering Jason Voorhees.

McLoughlin admitted the idea was “half-kidding and half-serious,” but he and Mancuso quickly realized the problem: a Cheech & Chong movie would probably be more comedy than horror, potentially angering Friday the 13th fans. Paramount instead moved forward with Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, leaving this wonderfully strange crossover behind. And so, what could have been one of the best movies of the 1980s was just tossed aside. Having Cheech and Chong as camp counselors in a Friday the 13th movie would have been amazing.

King Kong vs. Frankenstein

Before King Kong vs. Godzilla, Willis O’Brien, the stop-motion effects artist who brought the original Kong to life, tried to get another Kong monster mash made. His idea was King Kong vs. Frankenstein, later called King Kong vs. The Ginko, which would have pitted Kong against a Frankenstein-created creature made from animal body parts. O’Brien envisioned the monsters eventually battling through San Francisco and onto the Golden Gate Bridge.

Producer John Beck took O’Brien’s concept and developed it into a screenplay called King Kong vs. Prometheus, but couldn’t find a studio willing to finance it. Then he approached Japan’s Toho Studios, which was looking for a major movie to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Toho liked the idea of bringing Kong back, but wanted to put him against their own giant monster instead. O’Brien’s Frankenstein concept was discarded, and the project ultimately became 1962’s King Kong vs. Godzilla.

Godzilla vs. Gamera

Godzilla and Gamera are two of Japan’s most famous giant monsters, but they belong to different companies. Godzilla is owned by Toho, while Gamera originated with Daiei, which was later acquired by Kadokawa. That hasn’t stopped people on both sides from trying to bring the two titans together. During production of Gamera: Guardian of the Universe in 1995, Daiei executive producer Yasuyoshi Tokuma expressed interest in a Godzilla/Gamera crossover and approached Toho about the possibility. The idea didn’t come together, but it resurfaced after Kadokawa acquired Daiei’s properties. In 2002, Kadokawa president Kazuo Kuroi announced plans for a Godzilla vs. Gamera movie and again approached Toho, only for Toho to turn the proposal down.

So this wasn’t just a case of fans wondering what would happen if the two monsters fought. The companies that controlled Godzilla and Gamera actually discussed making it happen more than once. Even Shusuke Kaneko, director of the Heisei Gamera trilogy, has called a Godzilla/Gamera movie his dream project. Unfortunately, the rights holders never managed to agree on a deal, leaving one of Japan’s most obvious monster mashups permanently stuck in development hell.

Batman Meets Godzilla

Godzilla has fought just about every giant monster imaginable (aside from Gamera), but one of the strangest opponents ever seriously considered for the King of the Monsters was Batman. Screenwriter Shinichi Sekizawa, who had written several Godzilla movies, was looking to replicate the international success of King Kong vs. Godzilla when he came up with the idea of putting Godzilla up against one of America’s most popular superheroes. He submitted a treatment to Toho in November 1965, just two months before the Batman TV series starring Adam West premiered.

Sekizawa’s story featured a villain using high-tech devices to control both the weather and Godzilla, forcing Batman, Robin, and Batgirl to battle the monster with an arsenal of gadgets and vehicles, including the Batmobile. The treatment never developed beyond that stage, but a few years later there was another attempt. In 1968, Batman producer William Dozier considered a movie called Batman Meets Godzilla, which would send Commissioner Gordon and his daughter Barbara to Tokyo, where Godzilla’s arrival would force Batman and Robin to travel to Japan. Another treatment was written, but that project also went nowhere. What’s fascinating is that both sides apparently had their own Godzilla/Batman movie in mind, although it’s unclear whether Toho and Dozier were ever actually in contact about the two concepts. Either way, the Dark Knight came surprisingly close to facing Godzilla on the big screen… twice.

Leprechaun vs. Candyman

After the success of Freddy vs. Jason in 2003, Hollywood started looking for more horror icons that could be thrown together for another crossover. One of the strangest ideas was Leprechaun vs. Candyman, which actually made it far enough for a rough draft of the screenplay to be written and presented to Tony Todd. Todd, who played the titular Candyman, immediately rejected the idea. Todd had enormous respect for the Candyman character and felt that putting Candyman into a comedy-horror crossover with the Leprechaun franchise would undermine what made the character special.

The two series did have one important thing in common: Lionsgate was involved with both, meaning the studio didn’t have the same kind of rights problem that killed many other crossover ideas. But Todd wasn’t convinced that was a good enough reason to make the movie. It’s easy to imagine how the tonal clash could have been a problem. Warwick Davis’s Leprechaun tended to be very comedic, while Todd’s Candyman was conceived as a more tragic and genuinely frightening figure.

Rocky Meets The Karate Kid

It sounds like the kind of crossover someone would invent as a joke, but Rocky Balboa and Daniel LaRusso almost shared a movie universe. A Rocky/Karate Kid crossover was reportedly being developed as recently as 2012, with John G. Avildsen, the director of the original Rocky and Karate Kid movies, approached to direct. The story wouldn’t actually have centered on Rocky and Daniel, though. Instead, it would have followed Rocky’s son, Rocky Balboa Jr., and Daniel’s daughter, who meet and open a dojo together before discovering that their fathers are long-lost relatives.

The odd family connection wasn’t the only problem. The concept reportedly had little interest from Sylvester Stallone and Ralph Macchio, and without the two iconic characters at the center of the story, there wasn’t much reason for audiences to get excited about the crossover. The project ultimately went nowhere, and that’s probably for the best. Instead of forcing Rocky and Daniel into the same family tree, both franchises went on to successful new chapters with Creed and Cobra Kai.

Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash

I saved this one for last because the fact that this movie didn’t happen is the greatest cinematic disappointment of my life. After the box office success of Freddy vs. Jason in 2003, New Line Cinema began working on a sequel that would have added chainsaw-wielding hero Ash Williams (played by Bruce Campbell) of the Evil Dead franchise to the battle between Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees. New Line was working with Evil Dead creator Sam Raimi to bring Ash into the franchise, and there was even a treatment for the movie.

According to Bloody Disgusting, the project had a verbal agreement in place and was expected to be officially announced at the end of October 2004. Then The Grudge, produced by Raimi’s Ghost House Pictures, opened to big box office numbers of its own. Raimi subsequently announced that he would produce a reboot of The Evil Dead, reportedly backing away from the Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash deal in the process. With Raimi no longer moving forward with the crossover and instead looking forward to a reboot that would take nine years to be made and released, the movie was dead. The fact that a complete treatment exists gives us a pretty good idea of what we missed. Freddy, Jason, and Ash really could have been the next great horror crossover after Freddy vs. Jason. Instead, fans eventually got a comic book in 2007, which adapted the concept into a six-issue series. It’s one of those rare unmade movies where we can actually read the story that almost made it to the screen. Still, even twenty years later, I remain heartbroken that I didn’t get to see Bruce Campbell share the screen with Freddy and Jason.

The post 11 Crazy Movie Crossovers That Almost Happened appeared first on JoBlo.

Plenty of films successfully blend horror and comedy, but during test screenings for the new Resident Evil movie, writer/director Zach Cregger learned that he had leaned too hard into the funny and needed to make some cuts. But it turns out that it was all for the best.

Resident Evil Test Screenings

“I learned that people really liked the movie, but they thought it was too funny,” Cregger told THR after being asked if he learned anything from test screenings. “So over the course of my testing, I stripped out as much of the jokes as possible. I then found that not only did the audience enjoy the movie more, but I also liked the movie a lot more. A little bit of humor goes a long way in a horror movie, and there’s not a single joke I took out of this movie that I miss.“

No More Franchises

After scoring original-concept hits with Barbarian and Weapons, some fans were surprised when Cregger signed on to tackle Resident Evil. But don’t expect this to mark the beginning of a franchise-hopping phase for the filmmaker, as he’s made it clear that Resident Evil is a one-and-done exception.

“I have never been approached by another franchise,” Cregger said. “Maybe I have, but it would never get to me because I have been very clear that I’m not doing that. I’m doing this, and that’s it for me.“

Resident Evil Receives Glowing Early Reactions

The film stars Austin Abrams as Bryan, “a medical courier who finds himself caught in the middle of a biohazard outbreak. What begins as a routine night quickly turns into a desperate fight for survival as he encounters the horrors unleashed by the outbreak.“

The film has received some very enthusiastic early reactions, or at least, the first thirty minutes have. Our own JimmyO was among a handful of critics to view the footage, and it’s safe to say he loved it.

“Just caught the first 30 minutes of Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil—and it’s absolutely fantastic. Moody, creepy, atmospheric, and genuinely funny,” he said. “Austin Abrams is incredible—funny, grounded, and makes you root for him instantly. His performance handles both the terror and the laughs with total perfection. Incredible casting choice.“ He added that this could finally be the movie that proves you can make a truly great horror video game movie.

Resident Evil will hit theaters on September 18.

The post Zach Cregger on Resident Evil test screenings: “They thought it was too funny” appeared first on JoBlo.

If you spent the 1990s staying up late with USA Up All Night, Rhonda Shear has some good news for you. The actress and comedian is bringing the spirit of her iconic late-night cult show back with The Up All Night Network, a new 24-hour entertainment channel launching exclusively on Roku today!

The network combines the spirit of USA Up All Night with a huge selection of cult movies, horror, comedy, action, independent films, podcasts, and music videos. It will offer both 24-hour programming and on-demand collections, with Shear serving as the face of the network. And yes, Up All Night itself is coming back.

Rhonda Shear’s Up All Night returns on Roku

Today also marks the premiere of the first episode of a new season of Rhonda Shear’s Up All Night. The reboot will feature full, uncensored movies from the network’s growing collection of cult films and franchises. The first new episode spotlights the 2025 film OnlyFangs, starring Kansas Bowling, Nina Lanee Kent, and Jessa Jupiter Flux and directed by Paul Ragsdale and Angelica De Alba.

New episodes of Rhonda Shear’s Up All Night are scheduled to premiere twice a month, giving fans a regular dose of the campy, irreverent programming that made Shear’s original show a cult favorite.

The new network will also feature episodes of the original 1990s USA Up All Night, allowing longtime fans to revisit the show while introducing its unique late-night personality to a new generation.

What can you watch on The Up All Night Network?

The network’s movie lineup will include cult favorites and franchises such as Rick Sloane’s Vice Academy series, Chris Seaver’s Warlock Home Video catalog, and films from legendary cult filmmaker Jim Wynorski.

For horror fans, the network is also launching the Scream Queens Collection, a dedicated hub celebrating women who have made their mark on the genre. The inaugural lineup includes Linnea Quigley, Michelle Bauer, Brinke Stevens, Jessa Jupiter Flux, Felissa Rose, Jennifer Nagle, and Mel Heflin. Each Scream Queen will have her own mini-hub featuring movies, appearances, and interviews.

Jennifer Nagle will also bring her fan-favorite character Malvolia to the network in an all-new weekly series.

More original shows are coming to the network

The lineup extends beyond movies and classic Up All Night programming.

Midnight at Refinery, starring Miss Jenna, will premiere as a weekly series featuring independent short films and giving emerging filmmakers an opportunity to reach a national streaming audience.

Other shows coming to The Up All Night Network include the multi-award-winning comedy Smothered, starring Jason Stuart; The Clown House, starring Belle Éclair; Danger! Health Films, starring former Village People frontman Randy Jones; and the cult adventure series Astro Space Hero, starring Jerry Williams.

The network will also feature podcasts including The ABA Podcast, Alma Langlois, Video Tasties, The Flux Film Society, Zombiepalooza Radio, and Between the Sheets with Rhonda Shear.

Comedy and music are also part of the Up All Night lineup

Comedy fans will find a growing stand-up library featuring both rising performers and established names such as Lewis Black and Kevin Hart. Music videos will have their own programming block as well. Up All Night Hot Hits will spotlight music videos from emerging and established artists, with musicians able to submit their work for consideration.

Rhonda Shear wants to bring 90s TV to a new generation

For Shear, The Up All Night Network is intended to be more than a simple revival of a beloved television show. The goal is to recreate the anything-goes spirit of 1990s late-night television while taking advantage of modern streaming. That makes the network particularly appealing to fans who miss the kind of late-night programming that could introduce viewers to a bizarre cult movie, a strange comedy, or an unknown filmmaker without requiring them to know what they were looking for first.

And with 24-hour programming plus on-demand collections, viewers don’t actually have to stay up all night to watch.

How much does The Up All Night Network cost?

The Up All Night Network launches exclusively on Roku today – Friday, September 11, 2026. The service is available on Roku devices for $3.99 per month.

So if you’re nostalgic for USA Up All Night, curious about the new Rhonda Shear’s Up All Night, or just looking for a streaming home for cult movies, horror, and other offbeat entertainment, Shear’s new network is officially open for business.

Are you planning to check out The Up All Night Network? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

The post Rhonda Shear’s Up All Night returns as a 24-hour Roku network appeared first on JoBlo.

I’ve never actually thought about what my chances are of getting swallowed by a whale, but after watching this new trailer for Whalefall, it’s now my #1 fear. No ocean for me.

60 Minutes of Air…

Whalefall follows a young scuba diver searching for his father’s remains in the ocean, but wouldn’t you know it, he’s swallowed by a sperm whale, leaving him only an hour to escape. Oh, there’s also a pissed-off squid in there as well. The trailer looks suitably intense and has all the makings of a fun survival thriller. Sign me up.

The film is based on the novel by Daniel Kraus, who co-wrote the script with Duffield. The film stars Austin Abrams (Resident Evil), Elisabeth Shue (The Karate Kid), Josh Brolin (No Country for Old Men), John Ortiz (The Madness), Jane Levy (Evil Dead), and Emily Rudd (Fear Street Part Two: 1978).

Whalefall will hit theaters on October 16.

A Real Fake Whale

As much of the film takes place inside the whale, the production team built various parts of the giant creature. “Half of the whale’s head, including its bottom jaw and mouth, was a big animatronic in a tank,” Duffield told Empire. “There was a tongue puppet of sorts, though it wasn’t necessarily puppeteered, because as you can see, there’s not a lot of space in there. Every trick in the book, we had at some point. Austin is physically in a whale mouth, there’s no green screen in the water. He’s really down there in a scuba suit, breathing real air, screaming, struggling, with jets of current shooting at him.“

Abrams did nearly all the stunts himself, which Duffield said definitely added to the genuine terror his character is experiencing. “Almost all the stunts in the movie are done by Austin,” he said. “It’s always nerve-wracking when your actor is scuba diving and doing stunts. There was never a moment where he was remotely phoned-in. He could not have given more to this movie.“

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