A24’s New Thriller Officially Drops Its First Terrifying Teaser

Jeremy Saulnier has already made a backstage hallway feel like one of the most dangerous places on Earth. His Green Room trapped a punk band inside a venue after witnessing a murder, building an unbearably tense thriller around their attempts to escape. Following Rebel Ridge, the filmmaker is returning to horror with another setting that offers plenty of places to hide and very little reason to feel safe.

This time, the danger begins inside a haunted attraction. The setting immediately complicates what anyone can trust, from the person wearing a mask to the blood covering the floor. It is a promising place to start a mystery, particularly with a filmmaker whose previous work has made violence feel so sudden and frightening.

A24 has released the official teaser for Slayground, the new thriller written and directed by Saulnier and starring Cory Michael Smith (Gotham). The footage offers a clearer introduction to the movie following an earlier security-camera teaser, revealing a story that extends beyond the attraction into a desperate search for answers. Slayground opens in theaters January 29, 2027, bringing its Halloween nightmare into the new year.

Who Stars in Jeremy Saulnier’s ‘Slayground’?

Smith plays scare-actor “Metal Mike” Graves, who wakes up surrounded by his murdered co-workers without remembering what happened. With a statewide manhunt closing in, Mike tries to uncover the truth while facing the possibility that he was responsible. The premise gives him two problems to solve at once: escaping the people pursuing him and finding out whether their suspicions are justified.

Smith leads an ensemble that includes Chase Sui Wonders and Sophie Wilde, with Imogen Poots also appearing. The cast brings Poots back into a Saulnier movie following Green Room, while Wilde returns to A24 horror after Talk to Me. James Badge Dale, Stephen Root, Young Mazino, and Matty Matheson are also among the actors joining the thriller. The movie was previously known as October, a title that reflected its seasonal setting. Saulnier directs from his own screenplay, with Eli Bush, Richard Peete, and Skei Saulnier producing alongside him. Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross composed the music, adding another reason to anticipate how the movie will sustain the tension suggested by its premise. The unanswered question is how much Mike’s missing memory is protecting him from. Being the surviving employee at a massacre already makes him a target, and investigating it could leave him with answers he does not want.

Slayground releases in theaters January 29, 2027.