The Fantastic Fest 2026 lineup just got a significant addition. The Heretiks, a supernatural Halloween home invasion horror from director Gregg Bishop (Dance of the Dead) and writers Ben Collins and Luke Piotrowski (The Night House, Hellraiser ’22, She Rides Shotgun), will make its World Premiere at Fantastic Fest 2026 in Austin, Texas.
The film follows a disaffected teenage girl who must team up with a renegade witch to protect her little sister from a murderous coven hell-bent on using her as a human sacrifice in an apocalyptic ritual on Halloween night. It’s the kind of concept that blends ensemble survival horror with 80s-inflected witchcraft on a very specific, very beloved holiday — in other words, exactly the kind of film Fantastic Fest was made to launch.
The creative team is difficult to argue with. Bishop made one of the most underseen genre gems of the late 2000s with Dance of the Dead and has been building toward a project this big for years. Collins and Piotrowski, meanwhile, have become two of the most reliable names in horror writing, responsible for the atmospheric grief-horror of The Night House and a Hellraiser remake that actually understood what Hellraiser was supposed to feel like. That combination — Bishop’s kinetic sensibility, their sharp screenwriting — makes The Heretiks one of the more intriguing world premiere slots on this year’s Fantastic Fest slate.
The film was produced by Brad Miska (V/H/S, Terrifier) and Chris White (Backrooms), alongside Bleiberg Entertainment’s Ehud and Ariel Bleiberg. A press and industry screening is scheduled the morning after the World Premiere, with exact dates and times to be announced. Press interview opportunities with the cast and creative team will be available at the festival.
The Heretiks will make its World Premiere at Fantastic Fest 2026 (September 17–24, Alamo Drafthouse, Austin, Texas).
