# October (upcoming film)
**October** is an American Halloween-set action horror thriller written and directed by Jeremy Saulnier and produced and financed by A24, starring [Cory Michael Smith](https://www.edgepedia.org/cory-michael-smith) as a man who becomes the primary suspect in a mass murder investigation and escapes police custody. Announced in June 2025 under the title October, the film was retitled **Slayground** in September 2026 and is scheduled for release in select US theaters on January 29, 2027.[1](https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3873669/october-jeremy-saulnier-directing-halloween-horror-thriller-for-a24/) • [2](https://www.firstshowing.net/2026/first-real-teaser-for-slayground-horror-from-jeremy-saulnier/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Written and directed by | Jeremy Saulnier, his sixth feature, after Murder Party, Blue Ruin, Green Room, Hold the Dark, and Rebel Ridge[3](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1991256-a24-halloween-set-movie-taps-saturday-night-star-for-lead-role) |
| Lead actor | Cory Michael Smith, his first film in a leading role[3](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1991256-a24-halloween-set-movie-taps-saturday-night-star-for-lead-role) |
| Premise | A fugitive thriller set around Halloween: the primary suspect in a mass murder investigation escapes custody and goes on the run, trying to prove his innocence during a massive manhunt[1](https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3873669/october-jeremy-saulnier-directing-halloween-horror-thriller-for-a24/) • [4](https://halloweendailynews.com/2026/09/a24-slayground/) |
| Principal photography | Vancouver, BC and Portland, OR, September 2025 to December 2025; production completed as of October 4, 2026[5](https://www.productionlist.com/production/october) |
| Release | January 29, 2027, select US theaters, distributed by A24[2](https://www.firstshowing.net/2026/first-real-teaser-for-slayground-horror-from-jeremy-saulnier/) |
| Retitling | Previously titled October; renamed Slayground in September 2026, when its first teaser played in theaters ahead of Resident Evil[6](https://theplaylist.net/slayground-teaser-jeremy-saulnier-a24-october-20260921/) |
| Music | Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross[7](https://nqbrief.com/fr/movies/a24-bande-annonce-slayground-saulnier/) |
## Background and production
A24 announced the project in June 2025, describing it as a "fugitive thriller set during Halloween" with plot details kept under wraps, and cast Cory Michael Smith, known for playing [Chevy Chase](https://www.edgepedia.org/chevy-chase) in [Jason Reitman](https://www.edgepedia.org/jason-reitman)'s *Saturday Night*, in the lead. It marked Smith's first movie project as the lead.[1](https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3873669/october-jeremy-saulnier-directing-halloween-horror-thriller-for-a24/) • [3](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1991256-a24-halloween-set-movie-taps-saturday-night-star-for-lead-role) For Saulnier, the film followed his 2024 Netflix thriller *Rebel Ridge* and returned him to the horror-inflected genre territory of *[Blue Ruin](https://www.edgepedia.org/blue-ruin)* (2013) and *Green Room* (2015).[8](https://theplaylist.net/october-imogen-poots-james-badge-dale-matty-matheson-join-jeremy-saulniers-a24-fugitive-thriller-20251017/)
The cast grew through late 2025 with [Imogen Poots](https://www.edgepedia.org/imogen-poots), who had appeared in Saulnier's *Green Room*, joined by [James Badge Dale](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-badge-dale), Matty Matheson, Young Mazino, and [Stephen Root](https://www.edgepedia.org/stephen-root), alongside Chase Sui Wonders, Sophie Wilde, and Stanley Simons.[8](https://theplaylist.net/october-imogen-poots-james-badge-dale-matty-matheson-join-jeremy-saulniers-a24-fugitive-thriller-20251017/) • [4](https://halloweendailynews.com/2026/09/a24-slayground/) Producers are Rich Peete, Eli Bush, Jeremy Saulnier, and Skei Saulnier, with executive producers Ronald Bronstein and Josh Safdie, Traci Carlson, Elliott Coley, and Macon Blair.[1](https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3873669/october-jeremy-saulnier-directing-halloween-horror-thriller-for-a24/) Production companies on the film include A24, Neighborhood Watch, Niteowl Films, Central Pictures, and Bonneville Pictures.[9](https://www.movievine.com/movies/slayground-action-thriller-film-stars-cory-michael-smith-chase-sui-wonders-sophie-wilde-trailer-and-release-date/)
[Principal photography](https://www.edgepedia.org/principal-photography) was scheduled in Vancouver, British Columbia, and [Portland, Oregon](https://www.edgepedia.org/portland-oregon), from September 2025 through December 2025, with Magnus Nordenhof Jønck as cinematographer and Tracey Landon as line producer. Production List marked the feature as completed as of October 4, 2026.[5](https://www.productionlist.com/production/october) By mid-2026 the film had been in post-production for nearly a year while A24 remained quiet about a release date, though a World of Reel report confirmed the central plot: Smith's character, the primary suspect in a mass murder investigation, escapes police custody and flees while trying to prove his innocence.[10](https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2026/8/5/jeremy-saulniers-new-a24-thriller-reveals-first-plot-details-will-it-release-this-year)
## Retitling and marketing
In September 2026, A24 began promoting the film under a new title, Slayground, tied to a campaign website, runlikehell.com, that displayed a countdown.[6](https://theplaylist.net/slayground-teaser-jeremy-saulnier-a24-october-20260921/) Rather than a conventional trailer, the first teaser was styled as an advertisement for a [Halloween](https://www.edgepedia.org/halloween) haunted attraction, built from video-surveillance footage of visitors whose fear gradually stops looking staged, and it played theatrically before screenings of *Resident Evil*.[11](https://www.dtmovies.com/a-terrifying-first-trailer-for-slayground-the-new-a24-horror-film/) • [6](https://theplaylist.net/slayground-teaser-jeremy-saulnier-a24-october-20260921/) The title refers to the haunted attraction where the lead character works.[4](https://halloweendailynews.com/2026/09/a24-slayground/)
The retitling followed the film's slip out of the Halloween window it was named for: as FirstShowing put it, the film "was initially titled October, but since it won't release this October they gave it a new title," moving its release to late January 2027 instead.[2](https://www.firstshowing.net/2026/first-real-teaser-for-slayground-horror-from-jeremy-saulnier/) A full trailer followed on October 20, 2026, the day the website countdown ended.[12](https://www.avclub.com/slayground-trailer-jeremy-saulnier-a24-2027)
## Plot
On Halloween night, a terrifying chain of events unfolds at an intense interactive haunted attraction. According to the full trailer, the protagonist Michael (Cory Michael Smith), through the hypnotic suggestions of a crystal-carrying acquaintance (Imogen Poots), recalls "October '24," a date linked to "the Hangman murders," a mass-casualty event that struck a small community during the Samhain season. The murders, for which Michael appears to have been a suspect, are tied to the closing of the Slayground attraction.[12](https://www.avclub.com/slayground-trailer-jeremy-saulnier-a24-2027) • [4](https://halloweendailynews.com/2026/09/a24-slayground/)
## Saulnier's place in the filmography
Slayground is Saulnier's sixth feature. His earlier work ran from the horror-comedy *Murder Party* (2007), itself set at a Halloween party, through the revenge thriller *Blue Ruin* (2013), the punk-venue siege horror *Green Room* (2015), the action thriller *[Hold the Dark](https://www.edgepedia.org/hold-the-dark)* (2018), and *Rebel Ridge* (2024).[3](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1991256-a24-halloween-set-movie-taps-saturday-night-star-for-lead-role) Commentators have read the new film as a return to the raw chase-and-violence register of his early work after the more socially themed *Rebel Ridge*.[8](https://theplaylist.net/october-imogen-poots-james-badge-dale-matty-matheson-join-jeremy-saulniers-a24-fugitive-thriller-20251017/)
## Release
A24 will release Slayground in select US theaters starting January 29, 2027.[2](https://www.firstshowing.net/2026/first-real-teaser-for-slayground-horror-from-jeremy-saulnier/) The January slot means a story set in late October, complete with trick-or-treaters, will reach audiences months after Halloween, a timing some observers noted with regret.[13](https://trari.com/en/story/a24-14629/)
## References
1. ['October' – Jeremy Saulnier Directing Halloween Horror-Thriller for A24, Bloody Disgusting](https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3873669/october-jeremy-saulnier-directing-halloween-horror-thriller-for-a24/)
2. [First Real Teaser for 'Slayground' Mystery Thriller by Jeremy Saulnier, FirstShowing.net](https://www.firstshowing.net/2026/first-real-teaser-for-slayground-horror-from-jeremy-saulnier/)
3. [Rebel Ridge Director's A24 Halloween-Set Movie Taps Saturday Night Star for Lead Role, ComingSoon.net](https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/news/1991256-a24-halloween-set-movie-taps-saturday-night-star-for-lead-role)
4. [A24 Halloween Horror Movie 'October' is now 'Slayground', Teaser Released, Halloween Daily News](https://halloweendailynews.com/2026/09/a24-slayground/)
5. [October, Production List, Film & Television Industry Alliance](https://www.productionlist.com/production/october)
6. ['Slayground' Teaser: Jeremy Saulnier's Formerly-Titled 'October' Launches A24's Mysterious Halloween Thriller, The Playlist](https://theplaylist.net/slayground-teaser-jeremy-saulnier-a24-october-20260921/)
7. [A24 dévoile la bande-annonce de Slayground de Jeremy Saulnier, NQ Brief](https://nqbrief.com/fr/movies/a24-bande-annonce-slayground-saulnier/)
8. ['October': Imogen Poots, James Badge Dale & Matty Matheson Join Jeremy Saulnier's A24 Fugitive Thriller, The Playlist](https://theplaylist.net/october-imogen-poots-james-badge-dale-matty-matheson-join-jeremy-saulniers-a24-fugitive-thriller-20251017/)
9. ['Slayground' Action Thriller Film Stars Cory Michael Smith, Chase Sui Wonders, Sophie Wilde – Trailer and Release Date, Movie Vine](https://www.movievine.com/movies/slayground-action-thriller-film-stars-cory-michael-smith-chase-sui-wonders-sophie-wilde-trailer-and-release-date/)
10. [Jeremy Saulnier's New A24 Thriller 'October' Reveals First Plot Details, World of Reel](https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2026/8/5/jeremy-saulniers-new-a24-thriller-reveals-first-plot-details-will-it-release-this-year)
11. [A terrifying first trailer for Slayground, the new A24 horror film, DTmovies](https://www.dtmovies.com/a-terrifying-first-trailer-for-slayground-the-new-a24-horror-film/)
12. [New trailer for Slayground amps up the tension, The A.V. Club](https://www.avclub.com/slayground-trailer-jeremy-saulnier-a24-2027)
13. [Slayground sends a chained prisoner back to a haunted-house massacre, Trari](https://trari.com/en/story/a24-14629/)
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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) › Action and adventure horror 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