Dennis Iliadis and Jason Blum Unite for Buzzheart, a Feverish New Horror from Blumhouse

Director Dennis Iliadis and producer Jason Blum team up for Buzzheart, a dark, seductive new horror film already making waves ahead of AFM.

The horror lineage continues as filmmaker Dennis Iliadis, the director behind the 2009 remake of The Last House on the Left, returns with a new nightmare—Buzzheart. According to Variety, the film has already sold across major territories ahead of the American Film Market (AFM), with early buzz suggesting another bold and violent entry in the modern horror canon.

Buzzheart comes from the production banner of Jason Blum, marking another collaboration between Iliadis and Blumhouse, the genre powerhouse responsible for hits like The Invisible Man, Get Out, and The Black Phone. The film was developed as part of Blumhouse’s ongoing mission to preserve the provocative spirit of late horror master Wes Craven, with whom Iliadis worked closely during the Last House on the Left remake.

While plot details are still being kept tightly under wraps, the film is being described as a psychological and physical descent that plays with obsession, identity, and the boundaries between desire and self-destruction. Those who have caught early footage at market previews are calling it “visceral,” “stylistically unhinged,” and “a fever dream in motion.”

Variety reports that Buzzheart has already landed distribution deals in North America, Germany, and Latin America — a rare feat for a film yet to make its official festival debut. That kind of early traction signals strong international confidence in both Iliadis’ vision and Blumhouse’s ability to deliver sharp, accessible horror with an edge.

Iliadis, who’s known for mixing brutality with beauty in his filmmaking, hasn’t directed a feature since 2018’s Delirium, but has quietly built a reputation for emotionally charged genre storytelling that never shies away from social commentary. Buzzheart reportedly amplifies those traits with a modern twist on erotic horror — fusing the feverish intimacy of Crash with the psychological collapse of Possession.

Blumhouse has been particularly active in the festival and market circuit this season, aligning itself with both established auteurs and rising filmmakers eager to redefine horror’s emotional spectrum. With Buzzheart, the company appears poised to deliver something outside its standard studio fare — a riskier, more artist-driven film that fits neatly alongside the studio’s recent push for darker, arthouse-leaning titles.

For fans of horror that bleeds style and tension, Buzzheart is shaping up to be one of the early 2026 releases to watch. And given its lineage — Craven’s influence, Iliadis’ sharp eye, and Blum’s proven instinct for finding a pulse in the grotesque — there’s every reason to expect that this one will sting long after the lights come up.

Buzzheart is currently in post-production, with distribution plans and an official release date expected to be announced after AFM.

(Source: Variety)