# Bunker Heights
**Bunker Heights** is a 2026 American independent feature film that blends crime thriller, horror comedy, and creature feature, written and directed by Drew Fortier and released worldwide on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital on October 13, 2026 through MVD Entertainment.[1](https://localhaunts.org/news/drew-fortiers-bunker-heights-is-being-released-on-blu-ray-amp-digital-october-13th) Its tagline is "Crime. Comedy. Creatures."[2](https://www.bunkerheights.com/) The film stars Hannah Fierman, Chaney Morrow, Paul T. Taylor, Floyd Ewing Jr., Douglas Esper, James L. Edwards, and L.C. Holt, and features the musicians [Violent J](https://www.edgepedia.org/violent-j), Vinnie Dombroski, and [David Ellefson](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-ellefson).[2](https://www.bunkerheights.com/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Director and writers | Written and directed by Drew Fortier (*Dwellers*, *Attack of Life: The Bang Tango Movie*); story by Fortier and Joe Placzkowski[2](https://www.bunkerheights.com/) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30671809/) |
| Genre | Horror, comedy, and crime; a creature feature in the tradition of 1980s and 1990s horror-comedies[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bunker_heights) |
| Runtime and rating | 106 minutes (1h 46m); Not Rated[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30671809/) |
| Budget | $30,000 (estimated), filmed covertly across multiple states[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30671809/) • [5](https://aint-tellinphotography.squarespace.com/musicblog/20142024/1dec/4/23bunker-heights-teaser-promises-crime-comedy-and-creatures-with-all-star-indie-castThankyou) |
| Release | October 13, 2026, worldwide on Blu-ray, DVD, and digital through MVD Entertainment[1](https://localhaunts.org/news/drew-fortiers-bunker-heights-is-being-released-on-blu-ray-amp-digital-october-13th) |
| Production | Bellini Industries; distributor MVD Entertainment[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bunker_heights) |
| Creature effects | Practical creature effects by Deryk Wehrley (*Zombieland: Double Tap*, *Fear Clinic*, *Deathwoods*)[1](https://localhaunts.org/news/drew-fortiers-bunker-heights-is-being-released-on-blu-ray-amp-digital-october-13th) |
## Plot and influences
The film is set in a once-thriving Midwestern city overrun by corruption, organized crime, and violence. It follows burned-out homicide detective Derek Tucker, played by Fortier himself, as a routine investigation spirals into a nightmare involving a botched bank robbery, a political assassination, and a horrifying secret beneath the city streets.[2](https://www.bunkerheights.com/) A shorter synopsis used by databases describes citizens of a troubled city navigating an unforeseen crisis that threatens every walk of life.[6](https://www.justwatch.com/ca/movie/bunker-heights)
**Deliberate throwback.** The production names its models openly: *C.H.U.D.* (1984), *[The Return of the Living Dead](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-return-of-the-living-dead)*, and *Tremors*, with Dread Central's trailer write-up also invoking *Lethal Weapon*.[2](https://www.bunkerheights.com/) • [7](https://www.dreadcentral.com/exclusive/586324/exclusive-bunker-heights-trailer-unleashes-crime-comedy-and-creatures/) The result combines practical creature effects, outrageous humor, monster mayhem, and offbeat charm into what the filmmakers call a throwback genre experience celebrating the creature features and horror-comedies of the 1980s and 1990s.[1](https://localhaunts.org/news/drew-fortiers-bunker-heights-is-being-released-on-blu-ray-amp-digital-october-13th) One horror site went further, calling the film a spiritual successor to *C.H.U.D.*, a creature romp that has not received a proper sequel in well over three decades.[8](https://primrose-accordion-79xj.squarespace.com/bulletin-board/creature-feature-bunker-heights-releases-october)
The story layers its genres deliberately. The crime material, cops, criminals, corrupt politicians, a botched robbery, and an assassination, establishes the city before the creatures arrive in force, and the underground setting works as both a literal and metaphorical descent as Tucker connects surface corruption to something far more horrific below.[9](https://mailnewsgroup.com/waynesville/article/2026-10-12/this-city-has-bigger-problems.html) • [10](https://mvdshop.com/products/bunker-heights-dvd)
## Production
[Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) took place in secret with a budget of $30,000, and the film was already in post-production when its teaser trailer was announced on January 4, 2024, at that point with no set release date.[5](https://aint-tellinphotography.squarespace.com/musicblog/20142024/1dec/4/23bunker-heights-teaser-promises-crime-comedy-and-creatures-with-all-star-indie-castThankyou) The film was shot covertly across multiple states.[10](https://mvdshop.com/products/bunker-heights-dvd)
**Locations and crew.** Some scenes were shot in Tennessee at the Old Historic Harriman Hospital, an abandoned former hospital said to be haunted that has appeared on paranormal television shows such as *Destination Fear*; according to IMDb, the shooting location was Harriman, Tennessee, used as a stand-in for St. Bell's Memorial Hospital.[1](https://localhaunts.org/news/drew-fortiers-bunker-heights-is-being-released-on-blu-ray-amp-digital-october-13th) • [3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30671809/) Gordon Cameron served as cinematographer, and Deryk Wehrley created the practical creature effects.[11](https://letterboxd.com/film/bunker-heights/) • [1](https://localhaunts.org/news/drew-fortiers-bunker-heights-is-being-released-on-blu-ray-amp-digital-october-13th) Fortier also produced and edited the film, with Hannah Fierman as producer and David Ellefson, Frank Ritter, Xander Goldman, and Autodidactic as executive producers.[11](https://letterboxd.com/film/bunker-heights/)
The end credits include the song "Mumps," written by Vinnie Dombroski, Drew Fortier, David Ellefson, and Mike Heller and performed by The Lucid, a band in which Fortier and Ellefson play.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30671809/)
## Cast
The ensemble pairs horror-circuit veterans with rock musicians. Hannah Fierman, known to horror audiences as Lily from David Bruckner's "Amateur Night" segment of *V/H/S*, plays Julia Stevenson.[7](https://www.dreadcentral.com/exclusive/586324/exclusive-bunker-heights-trailer-unleashes-crime-comedy-and-creatures/) Chaney Morrow (*[Haunt](https://www.edgepedia.org/haunt-2019-film)*, *Wrong Turn*) plays Burrows, Paul T. Taylor (*Hellraiser: Judgment*) plays Doctor Young, Floyd Ewing Jr. (*The Dead Next Door*, *Robot Ninja*) plays Collins, Douglas Esper plays David, James L. Edwards (*Bloodletting*, *Her Name Was Christa*) plays Bellini, and L.C. Holt (*You're Next*, *V/H/S/2*) also appears.[2](https://www.bunkerheights.com/) • [12](https://mvdshop.com/products/bunker-heights-blu-ray)
The musicians appear as characters rather than as a stunt: Violent J of Insane Clown Posse plays Joe, Sponge frontman Vinnie Dombroski plays Vin, and former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson plays Officer Cranford and also serves as an executive producer.[12](https://mvdshop.com/products/bunker-heights-blu-ray) • [1](https://localhaunts.org/news/drew-fortiers-bunker-heights-is-being-released-on-blu-ray-amp-digital-october-13th) Supporting roles include Christopher Robin Koch as Officer Jones, Roni Locke as Kristy, and Daniel John Kearney as Mayor Augusto.[6](https://www.justwatch.com/ca/movie/bunker-heights)
## Release and home video
The official trailer premiered exclusively on Dread Central on August 25, 2026.[7](https://www.dreadcentral.com/exclusive/586324/exclusive-bunker-heights-trailer-unleashes-crime-comedy-and-creatures/) Ahead of the worldwide release, a special screening was held on September 29, 2026, at Kan-Kan Cinema in [Indianapolis](https://www.edgepedia.org/indianapolis), followed by a question-and-answer session with Drew Fortier and Hannah Fierman; the screening sold out.[2](https://www.bunkerheights.com/) • [1](https://localhaunts.org/news/drew-fortiers-bunker-heights-is-being-released-on-blu-ray-amp-digital-october-13th)
**Home video editions.** MVD Entertainment released the film on October 13, 2026. The 2-disc Limited Edition Blu-ray contains the 106-minute Director's Cut, an exclusive 121-minute Extended Cut with additional story, character, and creature material, the 80-minute documentary *Amateur Hacks: Making Bunker Heights* with nearly 30 cast and crew interviews, reversible cover artwork with new art by Alex Sarabia, a limited-edition slipcover, region-free playback, and optional English, Spanish, and French subtitles on the Director's Cut. The DVD carries the Director's Cut and the documentary.[12](https://mvdshop.com/products/bunker-heights-blu-ray) • [2](https://www.bunkerheights.com/) The film also reached digital rental and purchase platforms, including Amazon Video and Fandango at Home, and became available to stream on Hoopla in Canada.[6](https://www.justwatch.com/ca/movie/bunker-heights) • [13](https://watch.plex.tv/en-GB/movie/bunker-heights)
## Reception
Aggregator coverage is thin so far: Rotten Tomatoes lists no critic reviews for the film.[4](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bunker_heights) On IMDb it holds a 5.2/10 rating from 52 user votes.[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30671809/)
Critics who reviewed the home video release focused on what the production achieved with its budget. [Chris Jones](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-jones), entertainment editor of the Mail newsgroup's Waynesville outlet, wrote that the $30,000 film "acts like nobody bothered to tell it that $30,000 isn't a lot of money in filmmaking," praising its mix of cops, criminals, corrupt politicians, practical monster effects, and a decaying city, while noting that the many characters and moving pieces occasionally make the story feel busier than it needs to be.[9](https://mailnewsgroup.com/waynesville/article/2026-10-12/this-city-has-bigger-problems.html) The same review highlighted the practical creature effects as giving the actors something physical to confront, and the use of the worn Harriman Hospital location as giving the production a texture a soundstage could not have manufactured.[9](https://mailnewsgroup.com/waynesville/article/2026-10-12/this-city-has-bigger-problems.html) A Letterboxd reviewer similarly judged that the film "suffers from the limitations of its budget but never comes across as cheap or insincere."[11](https://letterboxd.com/film/bunker-heights/)
## References
1. [Drew Fortier's 'Bunker Heights' is being released on Blu-ray & Digital October 13th, Local Haunts](https://localhaunts.org/news/drew-fortiers-bunker-heights-is-being-released-on-blu-ray-amp-digital-october-13th)
2. [Bunker Heights (2026) | Official Movie Website](https://www.bunkerheights.com/)
3. [Bunker Heights (2026) - IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt30671809/)
4. [Bunker Heights | Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bunker_heights)
5. ['Bunker Heights' Teaser Promises Crime, Comedy, and Creatures with All Star Indie Cast, Aint Tellin Photography (January 4, 2024)](https://aint-tellinphotography.squarespace.com/musicblog/20142024/1dec/4/23bunker-heights-teaser-promises-crime-comedy-and-creatures-with-all-star-indie-castThankyou)
6. [Bunker Heights - movie: watch streaming online, JustWatch (Canada)](https://www.justwatch.com/ca/movie/bunker-heights)
7. [Exclusive: 'Bunker Heights' Trailer Unleashes Crime, Comedy and Creatures, Dread Central (August 25, 2026)](https://www.dreadcentral.com/exclusive/586324/exclusive-bunker-heights-trailer-unleashes-crime-comedy-and-creatures/)
8. [Bulletin Board: Creature Feature 'Bunker Heights' Releases October, GoryTory](https://primrose-accordion-79xj.squarespace.com/bulletin-board/creature-feature-bunker-heights-releases-october)
9. [This City Has Bigger Problems (Bunker Heights review), Mail Newsgroup (October 12, 2026)](https://mailnewsgroup.com/waynesville/article/2026-10-12/this-city-has-bigger-problems.html)
10. [Bunker Heights (DVD) | Bellini Industries, MVD Shop](https://mvdshop.com/products/bunker-heights-dvd)
11. [Bunker Heights (2026), Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/film/bunker-heights/)
12. [Bunker Heights (2-Disc Limited Edition) (Blu-ray) | Bellini Industries, MVD Shop](https://mvdshop.com/products/bunker-heights-blu-ray)
13. [Where to Watch Bunker Heights (2026), Plex](https://watch.plex.tv/en-GB/movie/bunker-heights)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Horror films (individual works) › Horror thriller films*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license