Rebel Ridge Director Reveals Official First Look at New Halloween Action-Thriller

Published Oct 20, 2026, 9:17 AM EDT Michael McWhertor is a New York-based journalist and editor with more than 20 years of experience covering games, industry events, technology, movies, and TV. Slayground's first teaser is full of mystery Rebel Ridge director's new Halloween thriller sets release date in first trailer Image: A24 Sign in to your Polygon.com account The director of thrillers Green Room and Rebel Ridge, Jeremy Saulnier, returns with a new Halloween-set action thriller in 2027 with Slayground. Distributor A24 released the first trailer for Saulnier's new film on Tuesday, keeping much of the movie's mystery alive. But we know that Slayground starts with a mass-casualty event at a haunted attraction and continues with a manhunt for the suspected killer. If Slayground is anything like Saulnier's other work, which include Blue Ruin and Hold The Dark, expect twists, moments of shocking and grounded violence, and tightly wound tension. Here's A24's official synopsis of Slayground (which was previously titled October, and really feels like it should be coming out this month, not in the winter): Scare-actor “Metal Mike” Graves wakes up in a haunted attraction surrounded by the dead bodies of his co-workers with no memory of how they got there. As a state-wide manhunt closes in, he races to uncover the truth – even if the trail leads straight back to him. Jeremy Saulnier wrote and directed Slayground, which stars Cory Michael Smith, Chase Sui Wonders, Sophie Wilde, James Badge Dale, Stanley Simons, Stephen Root, Chris Sullivan, and Young Mazino. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross are composing the film's score. Slayground comes to movie theaters on Jan. 29, 2027.