• News

First photos and details: High-school horror film “HELL WANTED”

Take a first look at the indie shocker that’s currently in postproduction.

HELL WANTED was directed by Braxton Fannin from a script he wrote with producer Austin Phares, and stars William Balzac, Maite Elias-Nava, Caitlin Dullahan-Bates, Connor Vasile and Joseph Melendez. The synopsis: “In 1980, 17-year-old Wallace made a blood oath with a demonic text and murdered his competitor in order to land a spot on his high school hockey team. After destroying his victim’s body and the infernal book by fire, he went about his life…but 40 years later, working as the high school’s janitor, Wallace is about to come face to face with his tortured youth. Students have begun mysteriously disappearing from their after-school jobs and, with history prepped to repeat itself, this seemingly mild-mannered custodian is going to have to battle the demons from his past if he wants a fighting chance at saving the present.”

The filmmakers will have HELL WANTED completed soon, and will be sending it out to festivals. We’ll keep you posted on its progress!

Read More

Get The Grim Reader.
Rue Morgue's free newsletter.
Editor's notes.
Cultural insight.
Curated horror across film, books, music, and art.
First looks.
Select previews.
No algorithms.
Join Free

In Print Since 1997

Issue 231

Rue Morgue #231 Jul/Aug 2026

Plus

Inside Rue Morgue #231 – Summer Slasher Issue FEATURES Filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun’s TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA guts the slasher formula from the inside out, turning it into a romance about the horror of becoming who you were always meant to be. Plus! GILLIAN ANDERSON and HANNAH EINBINDER unpack Schoenbrun’s radical dismemberment of…

Issue 230

Rue Morgue #230 May/Jun 2026 – RARE

Plus

Inside Rue Morgue #230 FEATURES Filmmaker Curry Barker transforms a simple wish into a spiralling nightmare of love, possession, and bloodshed in his breakout feature OBSESSION. Plus: The story of Barker’s found-footage shocker MILK & SERIAL, which turned a micro-budget experiment into a viral horror breakout. Hollywood made it a monster. History tells a different…

Issue 229

Rue Morgue #229 Mar/Apr 2026

Plus

Inside Rue Morgue #229! FEATURES A nerve-shredding found-footage thriller built around sound, UNDERTONE signals the arrival of a terrifying new voice in Canada’s booming independent horror scene. Plus! Meet the new breed of independent Canadian horror filmmakers behind DREAM EATER, SWEETNESS, HANGASHORE, THE LAND OF NOD and THE CURSE OF GHOST ISLAND. Part post-punk, part…

Issue 228

Rue Morgue #228 Jan/Feb 2026

Plus

Inside Rue Morgue #228! FEATURES He fascinated audiences in 2001 with the French period martial arts horror film BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF. Then he followed it up in 2006 by bringing the eerie world of SILENT HILL to cinematic life. Now, visionary director CHRISTOPHE GANS unleashes his latest nightmare with RETURN TO SILENT HILL. Plus!…