Slayground Trailer: First Look At A24 Movie From Rebel Ridge And Green Room Director Jeremy Saulnier

• Trailers

Add SlashFilm on Google:
Google Discover

Spooky season fever is once again gripping the nation. Horror fiends and casual fans alike are flocking to streaming services and movie theaters to gulp down large doses of scary movies. In addition, those folks and more are making it a point to check out an in-person haunt attraction, whether it's a more modest local haunted house or a big amusement park production like Halloween Horror Nights. 

It's a tradition and a rite of passage to go to these attractions and get scared in real life, yet what if the fictional danger at these places turned out to be real? It's not a new idea, of course, for films as old as Tobe Hooper's "The Funhouse" dealt with this fear, and there was even a more recent trend of horror movies exploring the topic: "Hell Fest," "Blood Fest," and "Haunt." Yet it's a concept that feels continually relevant and welcome.

We've got a new thriller to add to the growing list of deadly haunted attraction horror movies: "Slayground." The film comes courtesy of writer/director Jeremy Saulnier, whose career has consisted of one incredible gritty film after another. You could be forgiven if you haven't seen him since "Green Room," however, since his last two features, "Hold the Dark" and "Rebel Ridge" (starring Aaron Pierre!). were sequestered away on Netflix. The good news is that A24 will release "Slayground" in theaters. The bad news is that the Halloween-themed movie, originally rumored to release this month (its working title was literally "October"), won't drop until early next year. Fortunately, as you can see by the awesome trailer above, "Slayground" appears to be worth the wait.

Slayground will be Jeremy Saulnier's second Halloween movie

Real ones know that "Slayground" isn't Jeremy Saulnier's first film set on and around Halloween. His very first feature, 2007's "Murder Party," is another spooky season treat. That movie is its own unique little indie horror, as it chronicles one long, weird Halloween night in which a group of oddball art students lure a stranger to their party, which may be a murder trap. Curiously, the first attempt at making the film was with a script entitled "Moustache," and one of the working titles for "Slayground" was also "Moustache." Which begs the question: is "Slayground" actually related to "Murder Party," or is there just a spiritual kinship?

The answer is still anybody's guess, as the "Slayground" trailer shows a lot but reveals very little. The film's basic premise appears to concern Michael (Cory Michael Smith), who it seems attended the haunted attraction Slayground in October of 2024, on a night when multiple murders occurred and left him a survivor (and, apparently, the prime suspect). "Slayground" looks like part procedural, part supernatural thriller, and part grimy slasher. The director's eye for action seems to be readily on display, as does his knack for casting, with actors like Chase Sui Wonders, Sophie Wilde, and Saulnier veteran Imogen Poots turning up to play. 

While it's a shame we don't get to experience the film this year, it's nice that we have this fun size trailer to enjoy and speculate on until we can properly visit "Slayground" for ourselves on January 29, 2027 (if we dare, that is).