‘The Acolyte’ Director’s New Thriller Officially Scores ‘The Wheel of Time’ Star

One of the finest horror movies of this century is Coralie Fargeat‘s The Substance, a bold, unapologetic body horror explosion that defied both critical and commercial expectations. Landman star Demi Moore was the favorite to take home the Best Actress trophy at the Academy Awards, and although she just missed out to Anora‘s Mikey Madison, her visceral performance is still one of the best of the decade. It’s true that the body horror genre is perfect for shining female performances.

So what’s next on the body horror menu? Filmmaker Leslye Headland, who is best known for bringing to life the controversial Star Wars story The Acolyte, will tackle an adaptation of the 2022 Finnish horror movie Hatching, titled Feed. According to reports, award-winning British writer Daniella Isaacs will work alongside Headland, best known for the hit 10-part BBC Sounds audio drama People Who Knew Me, starring Rosamund Pike and Hugh Laurie.

Feed will bring Isaacs back together with The Wheel of Time star Pike, who is set to both star in the body horror film and produce through her Primitive Streak banner. “Long have I wanted to make a film that plays anarchically with our obsession with social media and self-improvement, our desire for fame without notable admirable skill and, let’s put it out there, the monstrosity of modern motherhood,” said Pike in a statement, adding, “Feed deals with all these things.” Headland said:

“Daniella’s script is audacious, disturbing and deeply human and Rosamund is among the boldest actors working today. I couldn’t ask for better partners to take on the darker corners of this story and I feel incredibly lucky to be making this film with two women whose work I admire so much.”

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“Daniella’s script is audacious, disturbing and deeply human and Rosamund is among the boldest actors working today. I couldn’t ask for better partners to take on the darker corners of this story and I feel incredibly lucky to be making this film with two women whose work I admire so much.”

• He moves in straight lines toward his target. He doesn’t strategize, doesn’t
  adapt, doesn’t outsmart. He simply pursues.
• Your ability to keep moving, use the environment, and resist the panic that freezes most
  people gives you a genuine edge.
• The Crystal Lake survivors were always the ones who stopped running in circles and started
  thinking about terrain, water, and distance.
• You think like that. Which means Jason, for all his indestructibility, would face someone
  who simply refused to be where he expected.

• Crystal Lake, the Peacock prequel series, dropped all eight episodes on October 15, 2026.
• It ended a 17-year gap, the longest the franchise has ever gone without a new entry.

• But you are paying attention. You notice the shape in the window, the car parked slightly
  wrong, the silence where there should be sound.
• Michael’s power lies in the invisibility of ordinary suburbia, the fact that nothing
  ever looks wrong until it already is.
• Your spatial awareness and instinct to map every room, every exit, and every shadow before
  you need them is precisely the quality Laurie Strode had.
• You are not a target waiting to happen. You are someone who already suspects something is
  wrong, and acts on it.

• John Carpenter is producing a new Halloween film with Blumhouse and Miramax.
• The 1978 mask was a store-bought Captain Kirk mask, widened at the eyes and painted white.

• You are harder to destabilize than most. You’ve faced uncomfortable truths about
  yourself and you haven’t looked away.
• The survivors on Elm Street were always the ones who understood what was happening and chose
  to face it rather than flee from it.
• Freddy’s greatest weakness is that his power evaporates in the presence of someone who
  refuses to give him the fear he feeds on.
• Your psychological resilience, the ability to stay grounded when reality itself becomes
  unreliable, is exactly the quality that keeps you alive here.

• Paramount set a new A Nightmare on Elm Street in motion in July 2026, with the Wes Craven
  estate involved.
• Craven built the original on newspaper reports of people so afraid of their own nightmares
  that they refused to fall asleep.

• The Losers Club didn’t survive because they were braver than everyone else. They
  survived because they faced their fears together, and faced them honestly.
• You ask the questions others avoid. You look directly at what frightens you rather than
  turning away.
• That directness, the refusal to let fear fester in the dark, is Pennywise’s worst
  nightmare.
• It chose the wrong target when it chose you. You are exactly the kind of person whose fear
  tastes like nothing at all.

• HBO renewed It: Welcome to Derry for a second season, with Bill Skarsgard back under the
  makeup.
• The showrunners have said season two reaches further back, to younger versions of the first
  season’s characters.

• You don’t have that gap. You take threats seriously regardless of how they present, and
  you never make the mistake of underestimating something because of its size or appearance.
• Chucky relies on surprise, on the delay between recognition and response. You close that
  delay faster than almost anyone.
• Your instinct to treat every unfamiliar thing with appropriate skepticism, rather than
  dismissing it because it seems absurd, is the exact quality that keeps you breathing.
• Against Chucky, not laughing is already winning. You are very good at not laughing.

• Don Mancini is writing the next Chucky film and plans to direct it himself, aimed back at
  the scarier end.
• Brad Dourif has voiced the doll since 1988 and has said he has no plans to stop.

What Is ‘Feed’ About?

• Image via 20th Century Studios

• Image via Focus Features

• Image via Lionsgate

• Image via  XYZ Films / Courtesy Everett Collection

• Image via Prime Video

• Image via 20th Century Studios

• Image via Focus Features

• Image via Lionsgate

• Image via  XYZ Films / Courtesy Everett Collection

• Image via Prime Video

The body horror subgenre is often overlooked for its storytelling. For body horror not to seem exploitative, it must be grounded in an intelligent, often pressing story. So what is Feed about? “When a desperate mother discovers an obscure collagen supplement that promises to make her tween gymnast daughter an influencer star,” the synopsis for the film reads, “the fame and success they crave come fast.” It continues, “But as her daughter goes viral, she begins a monstrous transformation.” This monstrous transformation will provide the crux of not just the visual horror but the poignant themes at the heart of Feed.

For more of the latest news, stay tuned to Collider.

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