Horror Highlights: THE WALKING DEAD: DEAD CITY Season 3, MOTHER OF FLIES, SKETCH

THE WALKING DEAD: DEAD CITY: “AMC Networks announced today that The Walking Dead: Dead City, starring fan-favorites Jeffrey Dean Morgan as “Negan” and Lauren Cohan as “Maggie,” will return for a third season with Seth Hoffman (The Walking Dead, House, Prison Break) joining as showrunner. Hoffman marks his return to the Walking Dead Universe having spent three years as co-executive producer and writer on The Walking Dead, where he wrote iconic episodes such as “Too Far Gone,” “JSS,” and “No Way Out,” among others. Production on The Walking Dead: Dead City season three is set to begin in Boston, MA this Fall.

“We’re thankful to Eli Jorné for two seasons of Dead City that took the story of these iconic characters in exciting new directions and broadened this thriving Universe by introducing a new corner of the walker apocalypse,” said Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios for AMC Networks. “As we continue to create new stories for a passionate TWD fanbase, we’re delighted to have a seasoned Walking Dead veteran like Seth Hoffman at the helm of a new season, alongside the remarkable Lauren Cohan and Jeffrey Dean Morgan, that will bring new adversaries and alliances and push the boundaries of Maggie and Negan’s conflicted relationship.”

“I’m excited to have the chance to dive back into The Walking Dead Universe and work to deliver another dynamic season’s worth of stories to this epic franchise. It’s a true honor to chart out the next chapter for Maggie and Negan’s iconic adventures in Dead City,” said Hoffman. “Lauren, Jeffrey and Scott are incredible creative partners and I’m thrilled to collaborate with them to bring this story to life.”

In season three, Maggie and Negan finally put aside their differences to build the first thriving community in Manhattan since the apocalypse, but when chaos in the city begins to arise, they are forced to question: have they learned from their old wounds or will their dark past spell doom for the entire city?

The Walking Dead: Dead City concluded its second season on June 22 on AMC and AMC+. In addition to showrunner Hoffman, executive producers include Scott M. Gimple, chief content officer of The Walking Dead Universe, Cohan, Morgan, Brian Bockrath and Colin Walsh.

Hoffman is repped by Lauren Fox and Mina Ross at CAA and Ken Richman and Robby Koch at Hansen, Jacobsen.”

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SHUDDER ACQUIRES FILMMAKING TRIO THE ADAMS FAMILY’S HAUNTED FAIRY TALE ‘MOTHER OF FLIES: “Shudder has announced its acquisition of MOTHER OF FLIES, the latest horror feature from the acclaimed filmmaking family known as the Adams Family. Written, directed, and starring Toby Poser, John Adams, and their daughter Zelda Adams, the film also features their older daughter, Lulu Adams, in a co-starring role. The deal marks a continued collaboration between the directors and Shudder, following the release of their previous films HELL HOLE and HELLBENDER, with the rights for North America, the UK and Ireland, as well as Australia and New Zealand. Shudder’s acquisition comes ahead of the film’s world premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival this July 24, 2025, with a streaming release slated for 2026.

In MOTHER OF FLIES, Mickey faces a deadly diagnosis, but she isn’t ready to die yet. Heading into the woods with her father, she seeks dark magic at the hands of mysterious recluse, Solveig, who has an intimate relationship with death and roots that go deep in the land. For three days, Mickey endures Solveig’s extreme rituals of death magic. But every cure has its cost, and every curse is another’s gift. As buried secrets claw their way to the surface, the veil between the living and the dead begins to unravel, and Mickey finds herself facing dark truths that only the dead and the dying can know.

“Shudder feels like family – a beautiful creative home offering up the most diverse and eclectic platform to its voracious, horror loving audience. For our small family that loves making bloody movie magic together in the woods, it feels so good to be welcomed back with MOTHER OF FLIES to the cine-madness and dark, brilliant mayhem at Shudder. We are grateful to Samuel Zimmerman and the whole Shudder team for being such wonderful, generous, and always-fun partners in creativity,” said directors Toby Poser, John Adams, and Zelda Adams.

Shudder’s Vice President of Programming Samuel Zimmerman commented, “Once again, Shudder embraces the singular world of the Adams Family, some of the most original voices in horror. MOTHER OF FLIES is a gnarled complement to their witchy gem, HELLBENDER, deeply felt and frightening. We’re thrilled for it to dig its twisted roots into our members.”

The deal was negotiated by Samuel Zimmerman on behalf of Shudder and Hugues Barbier, Justin Timms and Joe Yanick for Yellow Veil Pictures on behalf of the filmmakers.”

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SKETCH: “When a young girl’s sketchbook falls into a strange pond, her drawings come to life—unpredictable, chaotic, and dangerously real. As the town unravels, she and her brother must track down the creatures before they leave permanent damage. Their father, racing to find them through the fallout, must navigate a town in crisis to reunite his family and stop the disaster they never meant to unleash.”

• DIRECTED & WRITTEN BY: Seth Worley
• STARRING: Tony Hale, D’Arcy Carden, Bianca Belle, Kue Lawrence, Kalon Cox
• PRODUCED BY: Steve Taylor, Tony Hale, Kevin Downes, Daryl Lefever, and Katelyn Botsch
• RUN TIME: 92 minutes

In Theaters August 6, 2025