• News

“IDLE HANDS” remake on the way from Finn Wolfhard, Billy Bryk and Jason Reitman

The ill-fated 1999 horror/comedy is the latest to get a modern reimagining.

Variety reports that STRANGER THINGS star Finn Wolfhard and Billy Bryk will write Sony Pictures’ new version of IDLE HANDS, which starred Devon Sawa as a teenage slacker whose hand becomes possessed by a murderous demon. That film had the misfortune to open directly in the wake of the Columbine shootings, which led it to be unfairly targeted as an exemplar of irresponsibly violent entertainment, negatively impacting its box office. Wolfhard and Bryk are also likely to direct the remake; the duo scripted and helmed HELL OF A SUMMER, which premiered at last year’s Toronto Film Festival and was picked up by Neon for theatrical release next summer. The new IDLE HANDS will be produced by Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan of the recent GHOSTBUSTERS revival movies, which Wolfhard and Bryk were also part of, along with the original’s Jennifer Todd and Suzanne Todd.

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

Advertisement

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!…