Thanks to movies like Backrooms, Buddy, and the V/H/S series, as well as the TV show Channel Zero: Candle Cove, there’s a certain type of terror that can be offered through analog horror that other filmmaking techniques can’t. One reason this approach to horror is so unsettling is that analog horror is instantly recognizable, largely because of how these formats were integral parts of people’s childhoods. To see a much more disturbing story unfold with these cinematic techniques really gets under your skin as these stories blur the line between fantasy and reality.
The next horror movie looking to lean into these techniques is Play House, which is premiering on September 19 at Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas. The first clip from Play House has been released, which you can see below.
The movie is described, “While renovating a dilapidated house to win back his ex, a young man discovers VHS tapes of an unaired TV show in the basement. But as the show’s dark history surfaces, it seeps into his life, threatening his last chance at reconciliation.” Play House was directed by Nicolas Curcio, which he co-wrote with Kirby Gladstein. The film stars Will Harrison, Jessica Sula, Jordan Gonzalez, and James Urbaniak.
Premiering at Fantastic Fest is significant for the movie, as Curcio secured the funding for the movie at last year’s installment. The filmmaker participated in Fantastic Pitches in 2025, earning $100,000 to make the movie.
“A lot of filmmakers who grew up on weird kids TV shows of the ’90s are coming of age, and they instinctively want to make movies about that,” the director recently shared with Variety in regard to the rise of analog horror. “I’ve reexamined so many TV shows from my youth and they were incredibly bizarre. There were shows like Rocko’s Modern Life, where I look back and some of those Nickelodeon shows are weird and kind of disturbing. I think it’s just in the DNA.”
Play House doesn’t yet have a release date.
Are you looking forward to the movie? Let us know in the comments below!
