Magnolia Pictures plans to bring the chill this fall with the theatrical release of Never After Dark.
The Japanese horror movie written and directed byDave Boyleis officially set for September 25, 2026.
What’s Halloween season without an effective ghost story, after all?
Never After Dark stars Moeka Hoshi (“Shogun”) as “Airi, a wandering medium who spends her life guiding restless spirits out of the world of the living. Summoned to an isolated country house, she comes face to face with a grotesque apparition with powers that defy Airi’s experience.
“As she digs deeper into the house’s past, a secret comes to light — and Airi finds herself hunted by a far more unpredictable force. For the first time, her greatest adversary is not the supernatural, but the living.“
Kento Kaku (“House of Ninjas”),Kurumi Inagaki (“House of Ninjas”), Mutsuo Yoshioka (Chime),Bokuzo Masana (“Tokyo Vice”), and Tae Kimura (“All Around Us”) also star.
The film premiered at SXSW and went on to win the Midnighter Audience Award. The ghost story infuses its haunted hotel with real threats in a unique way.
I wrote in mySXSW review thatit’s “a conventional atmospheric haunted house with a unique approach to the supernatural.It’s that new wrinkle, along with an unwaveringly cool heroine, that sets it apart.”
Airi isn’t your conventional horror movie medium, and her latest assignment also breaks the standard haunted house rules.
“We are so thrilled that Magnolia Pictures will bring ‘Never After Dark’to audiences across North America,”said Boyle and Kaku in a joint statement. “Their passion for the film, their commitment to a theatrical release, and their long history as exceptional stewards of great cinema make this partnership a dream come true for our team. We made this film for the big screen, andwe’re delighted that audiences in North America will have the chance to experience it that way.”