Found-Footage Nightmare in Theaters October 24th
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Eli Roth’s The Horror Section expands its slate of boundary-pushing horror with the award-winning Dream Eater, a terrifying found-footage chiller from the Canadian genre trio behind Blind Luck Pictures. Co-written and co-directed by Jay Drakulic, Mallory Drumm, and Alex Lee Williams and starring Williams and Drumm, the film will debut theatrically on October 24, 2025 – just in time to make audiences scream for Halloween.
Blending raw, documentary-style realism with escalating tension and scares, Dream Eater delivers an unshakable nightmare that lingers long after the final frame – tailor-made for today’s watch-through-your-fingers audiences.
The story follows Mallory (Mallory Drumm), a documentary filmmaker, who heads to a remote cabin in the mountains with her boyfriend Alex (Alex Lee Williams) to document his violent parasomnia. As his condition worsens, Mallory suspects something more sinister may be at play. As the nightmares escalate, so do the scares, right through the final frame.
Already drawing comparisons to The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity, Dream Eater is being hailed as “the first movie in years to scare the fucking shit out of me” (colby.does.horror) and “beautifully terrifying” (hypedonhorror), while thatfilmblog.uk simply calls it “the scariest film of 2025.”
“I vividly remember every movie that truly terrified me. I remember standing on 25th street in New York City when my friend Kevin Foxe handed me a VHS of a film he had produced, which had just gotten into Sundance, called The Blair Witch Project, and that night I had to sleep with the lights on. I remember watching a screener of Paranormal Activity during the filming of Inglorious Basterds in my apartment in Berlin, and I was so freaked out that I had to give it to Quentin to traumatize him as well. And then there was Dream Eater, watching this movie alone, in my house, and turning on the lights because it was that scary. It has been so long since I have been truly terrified by a film to such a degree that I had almost forgotten what it felt like. What these three filmmakers have pulled is not just remarkable on a low-budget DIY filmmaking level; they achieve the holy grail of horror, which is to make a movie that absolutely terrifies you. I was so blown away that I sent the film to everyone at The Horror Section, and we all agreed that this is ‘the one.’ I believe Dream Eater will be the scariest film of the year and truly has the potential to break out to be the next Paranormal Activity or The Blair Witch Project. I don’t want to over-describe it; the film speaks for itself. I cannot wait to see this in a dark theater with a packed audience hiding under their seats,” says Eli Roth, Founder & Chief Creative Officer of The Horror Section.
Dream Eater marks the second feature collaboration between Drakulic, Drumm, and Williams as a directing trio under their Blind Luck Pictures banner, with both films being executive produced and financed by Vortex Media. Together, they bring a multi-perspective voice to the genre rooted in DIY filmmaking and a shared love of horror. Dream Eater marks a further step forward as the film has garnered strong word-of-mouth buzz online and earned multiple awards, including Best Feature at the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival in Portland, Oregon.
“We were tired of waiting for permission to make our next film, so we put everything on the line and did it ourselves with the help of a small but mighty crew deep in the snowy Laurentian mountains. To now be joining forces with the master of horror himself, Eli Roth, and the incredible team at The Horror Section to bring Dream Eater to audiences worldwide is beyond a dream come true… It’s a nightmare realized – in the best possible way,” says Alex Lee Williams, Jay Drakulic, and Mallory Drumm, creators of Blind Luck Pictures.
North of the border, Vortex Media will handle Canadian distribution with a release synced up to the US date. The deal was negotiated by Jon Schnaars and Connor DiGregorio on behalf of The Horror Section, with Justin Rebelo and Bill Marks representing Vortex Media.
“I’m very happy to see our second film with the talented filmmakers at Blind Luck find a champion with Eli Roth’s The Horror Section,” said Bill Marks, Executive Chairman, Vortex Media. “It’s the kind of bold, genre-defining work we aim to support, and we’re excited to bring it to Canadian audiences.”
Dream Eater is the latest theatrical release from The Horror Section; Eli Roth’s new independent studio launched in partnership with Media Capital Technologies. Following the August 15 release of Joe Begos’ Jimmy and Stiggs, Dream Eater continues the company’s mission to platform emerging horror talent and deliver bold, unrated experiences worldwide.
For fans craving a return to the primal terror of found footage, Dream Eater is the nightmare you won’t soon forget.
The countdown to October 24th begins now.
Watch the trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ8unD5swKI
About The Horror Section:
The Horror Section is a fan-owned 360 media company focused on building a robust library of intellectual property and creating the world’s premier horror brand. Founded by filmmaker and actor Eli Roth in partnership with Media Capital Technologies (MCT), the company spans film, television, gaming, podcasts, and live events.
Upcoming projects include the highly anticipated release of Jimmy and Stiggs and Eli Roth’s latest film, Ice Cream Man, slated for 2026.
About Vortex Media:
Vortex Media is a boutique studio bringing together global distribution and film and television production across all genres. It comprises three divisions: Vortex Canada, specializing in the theatrical release of feature films and monetization across all platforms; Vortex International, a worldwide sales and distribution company; and Vortex Productions, an in-house production company with the resources to self-finance and produce feature films and made-for-television movies such as Lifetime’s Seduced by His Lies and My Sister’s Double Life. Recent releases include Pins and Needles from filmmaker James Villeneuve, Starve Acre starring Matt Smith, Wrestling Slasher Dark Match starring Steven Ogg, and Zombie horror New Life from director John Rosman.
Upcoming releases include Mark O’Brien’s The Voices of Our Mother starring Sheila McCarthy.
Contacts
For media inquiries:
The Horror Section
Milly Jones
SUBJECT
milly@thesubjectis.com
Vortex Media
Angie Power
Route 504 PR
angie@route504pr.com
