News from Variety this morning is that the V/H/S horror anthology franchise has been acquired from Studio71 by Spooky Pictures and Image Nation Abu Dhabi.
With franchise creator Brad Miska's recent departure from Bloody Disgusting, the other primary producer of the franchise, the series may have been shopped around for some time now. This is inside baseball kind of stuff. Spooky Pictures did help produce V/H/S/Beyond and V/H/S/Halloween, so, it's a bit like hiring inside the company, no?
The article did not say if Independent Film Company and Shudder would continue to handle theatrical and streaming releases of future chapters.
Los Angeles-based genre label Spooky Pictures and Image Nation Abu Dhabi have acquired rights to the popular found-footage horror anthology series “V/H/S” from Studio71.The deal to jointly produce forthcoming titles within the franchise — which debuted at Sundance in 2012 and became a launch pad for up-and-coming genre talents — marks a further step in the six-year partnership between the U.S. genre label, headed by Steven Schneider (“Pet Sematary”) and Roy Lee (“The Ring”), and the deep-pocketed UAE-based studio.“Horror anthologies are generally difficult to mount,” Schneider said. “The fact that the ‘V/H/S’ brand and franchise has not just persevered, but thrived — and continues to grow in popularity because of the consistent level of quality control — that was an amazing opportunity for us to get into.”He continued: “Like Ben said, we really love the opportunity to work with and help break, nourish, foster up-and-coming filmmakers. And this platform for them is incredible.”Lee further noted that “the shorts created for the ‘V/H/S’ franchise can be like a proof-of-concept that could potentially turn these shorts into feature films.”Previous horror titles spawned by the Spooky Pictures and Image Nation partnership include hit “Late Night With the Devil,” helmed by Australian writing/directing duo Colin and Cameron Cairns; Charlie Polinger’s “The Plague” starring Joel Edgerton, which world premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes last year; and groundbreaking polygamy-themed Arab horror movie “The Vile,” directed by Majid Al Ansari, which won the top prize at the 2025 Fantastic Fest in Austin.The Spooky Pictures and Image Nation upcoming slate includes supernatural horror “Hokum” from Irish writer-director Damian McCarthy, which will be released in May; “The Shepherd” from John Hyams (“Sick”) and starring David Dastmalchian and Georgina Campbell; Randall Okita’s “Menace” starring Isabel May; and Bryan Edward Hill’s “Archangel.”