Jeremy Saulnier wrote and directed Slayground, which is a “fugitive thriller” set during Halloween. Previously titled October, the title now refers to the haunted attraction within the story rather than the time period its set within.
When I saw the trailer while sitting in the theater waiting for Resident Evil to begin, I truly thought Slayground was just some extreme haunt that A24 was funding. So I was pleasantly surprised to find out it’s actually a movie, and I was even more pleasantly surprised to see that it’s a Jeremy Saulnier movie.
I think Jeremy Saulnier is one of the best underrated directors of modern cinema. I adore Blue Ruin, I watch Murder Party every October, and I thoroughly enjoy all the other movies he’s directed.
I’d heard he was working on a movie titled October, but I’d also kind of forgotten about it. Looking it up again, the plot details are still scarce. Clearly a haunted attraction is involved. World of Reel also gives a little insight, saying it’s a fugitive thriller about a man accused of mass murder who escapes from custody and tries to prove his innocence. How that is connected to the Slayground haunt is up to speculation at this point.
Also unknown is the exact release date. The teaser trailer just says “this fall.” The film’s web site has a countdown that will end on the morning of October 20th. I’m guessing that’s when a full trailer will be released, but who knows. I don’t think that’s the movie release date though, because it’s speculated that the title of the movie was changed from October to Slayground because A24 didn’t want to wait until next October to release it. So maybe we’ll see the movie this November?
