The Rotting Zombie's Round-Up of Horror News for March 2025

Another month has gone in this unexpected year. I have travelled to a strange gradient in my life, though feel I am just a tourist, and so am enjoying all it provides while I am here. With that out the way, on to the news.

Utopia have acquired Hot Spring Shark Attack for the U.S market. This crazed Japanese horror takes place in a small hot spring town where a deadly ancient shark has reawakened and stalks the local hot springs. The film has its U.S premiere in June at the Chattanooga Film Festival that includes a beach-themed opening night party, with a summer rollout following.

On April 1st, found footage horror /demo_n arrives on streaming service FOUND TV. Directed by Gary Francis, this blends the found footage subgenre with video games, blending real world sequences with in-game sequences. This cursed video game horror was based on the short film of the same name from the director.

Humorously titled horror film Popeye The Slayer Man has had a music video released for title track 'Sailor to Slayer'. Performed by trio The Man From Alphabet, this video pays homage to both the classic Popeye character as well as the darker reimagined version. Popeye The Slayer Man came to selected theatres as well as VOD on March 21st.

Desert Fiends 2 is a comedy horror sequel that promises to be 'bigger, gorier, and grosser than the original'. Directed once again by Shawn C. Phillips, this follows a group of bounty hunters as they track down the monstrous titular 'Desert Fiends'. While this is happening, a social media influencer  has headed to a nearby town, unaware that their meet-up with fans is going to be gate-crashed by the creatures.

Perfect Soul is an upcoming supernatural thriller movie based on S.J Hermann's novel of the same name. The film is set in the religious town of Perfect, where '...transgressions are revealed and historical roots take hold and wreak revenge'. The thriller is filming in central Illinois with a 2026 release planned. There is currently an Indiegogo campaign running to get funds for the creation of this. For more details check out the campaign page here.

Daylight to Dark is a new horror comedy starring Tuesday Knight (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master) that is now available on Amazon Prime. A brother and sister stranded in a small town come to realise that all the inhabitants are actually vampires. Directed by Jake C. Young, this is set in the same film universe as American Vampire, with Danny Hitt reprising his role as Boogie from that 1997 cult classic movie.

Vault 13 is a new anthology series that aims to bring twisted tales in the spirit of The Twilight Zone and Black Mirror. Created by Rashá Robinson, Vault 13 is set to be a showcase for independent horror, bringing fresh actors to the standalone tales of '...eerie and thought-provoking horror shorts that push the limits of fear and imagination'.

American Psychopath is now available to watch on Cinema Epoch's YouTube channel, with it also coming soon to FAWESOME. Starring Erica James, Teresa Tuttle, and Debonnay Meyers, this follows an out of town girl who becomes the prey of a mysterious serial killer.

Finally for today, ex NFL star Phillip Buchanon is producing a new short horror film called Kreaster. Directed by Jacob Cooney (Blood Circus), this follows a military officer and a paranormal researcher who are tasked with interviewing the lone survivor of an incident that saw an unknown entity vanishing the population of a small town. The cast includes Sal Rendino (Billions), Laura Poe (Twisters), and Greg Nutcher (The Equalizer) and is currently finalising post-production. The short is due to debut at this year's Made in Huntington Film and TV Festival next month.