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This Week in Dead Meat | May 4th

This Week in Dead Meat | May 4th

The Unparalleled Success of Sinners, the Trailer for Barbarian Director Zach Cregger's Latest, and Dead Meat Podcast LIVE in Dallas

Ben Bellevue & James A. Janisse
May 04, 2025

James’ Corner

Please excuse my silence over the past few newsletters - as you know, we had three weeks of back-to-back travel, which greatly restricted my availability. And in the subsequent weeks, having fallen out of the brief practice of writing, I simply forgot until each Sunday afternoon, when it was too late to get a word in.

Even during these few weeks we've abstained from travel, Chelsea and I have stayed busy. We filmed something we can't talk about until it's about to air, which sadly won't be until some time in the fall. We've also had the pleasure of enjoying a few screenings - I can safely say Final Destination: Bloodlines will delight anyone who's a fan of the series (it may be my personal favorite, though it's hard to appraise properly given the recency bias and the inclusion of our friend Anna Lore among the cast).

Finally, we of course had the fourth ever Dead Meat Horror Awards, which for the first time had a public screening simultaneously with its online release. We've been working towards the show for 6 months but seeing it play in front of an audience who laughed at all the jokes, clapped at all the winners, and gasped at all the presenters made it worth every minute. It's made me excited to start work on next year's awards (good luck to all non-Sinners movies) and want to figure out ways to continue expanding the production.

I know a lot of people have suggested live presenters, which would be great - but I still think that's at least a couple of years off. I don't want to take away from the amazing product we gain through editing, or restrict our access to guests who are only available at a certain date, time, and location. I do think a bigger screening is in order next year, with more fans and horror filmmakers in attendance. I'd love for them to see an audience appreciate the work they put into these films.

I've gotta say, as much as I miss doing weekly Kill Counts and reading all the comments for them, every week I'm more and more grateful for my decision to scale it back this year. We're already back to traveling in May. The first is personal - I'll be in Vegas for my birthday weekend - but near the end of the month we'll be attending the opening week of Universal's Epic Universe theme park, then flying directly to Texas for three days of Texas Frightmare and a live show to cap it all off. It'd be physically impossible to do all this while getting a Kill Count done every week, so I'm grateful to everyone who's been understanding and supportive of the decision. Different years hold different kinds of success for Dead Meat. Last year was a big one for Kill Counts. This year we're focusing on other things. Who knows what next year will be bring?

In the meantime we've got a ton of great horror movies to look forward to this summer - I recommend this list from Bloody Disgusting to get yourself good and excited (I had never heard of Strange Harvest before reading this article and now I'm obsessed with Mr. Shiny, it's near the top of my list for sure). Hope to see you next newsletter, but in the meantime thanks for everything. Be good people.

What’s Going On In The World

Audition’s Takashi Miike To Direct ‘Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo’ Starring Shun Oguri, Lily James & Liv Morgan: In what I can only assume is huge news for James and Chelsea, WWE’s Liv Morgan will be starring in her first feature (where she’s not playing herself) alongside Lily James.
Evil Dead: The Game Pulled From Digital Storefronts: In an unexpected move, the Evil Dead game (that Zoran personally loves) is getting taken off of digital storefronts, leaving only those who’ve previously bought the game able to play it.
SINNERS Is A Downright Bloody Box Office Sensation: Ryan Coogler is proving that he’s a generational talent with the success of Sinners and also proving that I (Ben) have no hope of ever being the most talented person from our hometown (shout-out Richmond California), but for movies like Sinners? Worth it.

Trailers

Weapons: Zach Cregger broke out onto the horror scene with Barbarian, now get your first look at his newest movie.
Fear Street: Prom Queen: After the unexpected success of the the Fear Street trilogy, step into the 1980s and return to the world of R.L. Stine’s Shadyside.
The Surrender: Starrring The Boy’s Colby Minifie, this supernatural horror about grief has been receiving solid early reviews.

Announcements

Announced Videos

May 9th: Until Dawn | KILL COUNT GAMES
May 14th: Dead Meat Horror Awards Post-Mortem Podcast
May 16th: Puppet Master II (1990) KILL COUNT
May 30th: Mr. Crocket (2024) KILL COUNT

Live Events

Want to see James Chelsea, Zoran, and more of the Dead Meat Team? Good news, they’ll be places! Here are some of the live events they’ll be attending this year.

Texas Frightmare - Dallas, Texas on May 23rd-25th
- Attend the Dead Meat Podcast LIVE on Sunday May 25th
Vidcon - Anaheim, California on June 19th-21st
Flashback Weekend - Chicago, Illinois on August 1st-3rd
For The Love of Horror - Manchester, United Kingdom on October 18th-19th