Exclusives
Stan Lee & Lloyd Kaufman’s ‘Night of the Witch’ Enters Pre-Production After 50+ Years [Exclusive]
In 1969, Marvel Comics publisher Stan Lee and future The Toxic Avenger filmmaker Lloyd Kaufman conceived a socially-charged supernatural horror film titled Night of the Witch.
By 1971, the duo had completed the first draft, which follows a Mexican-American girl who comes under suspicion of witchcraft on the bicentennial of a historic witch trial. For over half a century, the project struggled to find the proper home — until now.
At long last, Night of the Witch has entered pre-production through filmmaker Joe Manco’s Little Spark Films.
Manco is set to direct from a script he co-wrote with Kaufman, who serves as executive producer. The pair detail their collaboration in our exclusive video below.
Xander McCabe (VFW) is producing with Manco and his Little Spark partner Catalina Querida. Novelist Preston Fassel (Our Lady of the Inferno) will co-produce along with Walt Crowell as associate producer.
“It’s a very powerful story,” says Manco. “Once you see what Lloyd is trying to say in his scripts, you figure out the meaning behind it all; the message. That’s what I’m most concerned with. Night of the Witch is just as relevant today as it was in 1970 — maybe even more so —and our mission is to make it hit harder, to make it more brutal, and to remind people these same battles have been fought for decades.”
“I know talent when I see it — my record proves it — and Joe is the right filmmaker to finally bring this story to life,” adds Kaufman. “Just as I handed Toxie’s mop to Macon Blair at Comic-Con, I’m handing Night of the Witch to Joe Manco. He’s ready, more than ready, to carry that torch and finally make this film.”
Night of the Witch is aiming to shoot next year in Dallas and the surrounding North Texas region, taking advantage of new state film incentives.
While some financing is in place to start pre-production, Manco is hopeful that news of the project will excite potential investors to come on board.
In addition to Night of the Witch, Little Spark plans to release a documentary about the production titled Passing the Torch.
Exclusives
Katharine Isabelle Battles Cosmic Horror in Exclusive ‘Junction Row’ Teaser Trailer [Fantasia 2026]
Among Fantasia 2026‘s massive final wave of programming this morning is Raven Banner’s Lovecraftian creature feature Junction Row, starring Canadian horror icon Katharine Isabelle, and we’re exclusively unveiling the teaser trailer.
Junction Row will celebrate its World Premiere at Fantasia on July 28.
Watch a housing compound fall under siege from Lovecraftian creatures more dangerous than drug dealers in the trailer below.
Junction Row follows “Juno, a recovering addict who leaves a fringe housing compound for a better life, leaving her beloved Ruby behind. When she learns that Ruby has gone missing, Juno returns, only to find Junction Row has become a hotbed of criminal activity, but she encounters much more than menacing drug dealers on her mission to find Ruby.”
Isabelle stars as Juno, with Natalie Brown (FX’s The Strain) as Ruby.
The creature feature marks the feature debut by director Ashlea Wessel, who has directed festival-favorite shorts like 2018’s “Tick” and 2020’s “Weirdo”.
Wessel co-writes Junction Row with Clown in a Cornfield author Adam Cesare and Matt Serafini.
Katharine Isabelle is coming off a brief appearance in Kane Parsons’ Backrooms, and more recently appeared in holiday horror It’s a Wonderful Knife. The horror icon is arguably best known for her turn as the eponymous werewolf in Ginger Snaps and for her roles in American Mary and Freddy vs Jason.
Fantasia teases that Junction Row tells “a story where the fear of the unknown isn’t confined to what lies above, but what waits beneath.”
Stay tuned for more from Fantasia as the festival gets underway later this month.
You must be logged in to post a comment.