‘Slayground’ Sets January Release for Jeremy Saulnier’s New Horror Thriller
- Horror News
Oliver Mitchell- 0
- 4 minutes read
A Halloween scare attraction becomes the scene of a real massacre in Slayground, the latest thriller from Green Room filmmaker Jeremy Saulnier, which will open in cinemas on 29 January 2027 with Cory Michael Smith leading a cast that includes Chase Sui Wonders, Sophie Wilde and Imogen Poots.
Written, directed and produced by Saulnier, the film follows scare actor “Metal Mike” Graves, who wakes inside a haunted attraction surrounded by the bodies of his co-workers. He has no memory of what happened, but with a state-wide manhunt rapidly closing in, he is forced to reconstruct the events of the night before the authorities reach him.
The problem is that every new clue appears to raise an increasingly disturbing possibility: whatever happened inside the attraction may lead straight back to Mike himself.
Smith takes the central role after previously appearing in projects including May December and Saturday Night. The film also brings together Chase Sui Wonders, Talk to Me star Sophie Wilde, Stanley Simons, Beef actor Young Mazino, Imogen Poots, Matty Matheson, James Badge Dale and Stephen Root. Chris Sullivan, Rryla McIntosh and longtime Saulnier collaborator Macon Blair are also among the wider cast.
The project was originally announced in 2025 under the title October, with Smith attached in what marks his first lead role in a feature film. Wonders and Wilde joined later that summer, followed by Simons, Mazino and Root, before production expanded further with Dale, Matheson and Poots.
Filming took place in Vancouver during late 2025 under the working title Moustache, with the film subsequently retitled Slayground in September 2026.
The movie is being released by A24, whose genre and crossover catalogue includes Midsommar, Uncut Gems, Everything Everywhere All at Once and Moonlight, alongside horror title Backrooms. The studio has also expanded into television with projects such as Netflix’s Beef and HBO’s Euphoria.
Originally planned for an October 2026 release, the film has now moved into the opening weeks of next year. Slayground will be released in cinemas on 29 January 2027. Check out the trailer below.
Slayground trailer
