An American Nightmare. Unleashed in Australia.
From the twisted mind of Joe Hill, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Black Phone.
A snarky teenage girl TikToks her way through a dull family road trip until a detour to a creepy roadside attraction turns into a nightmare. What she thought was just a freaky zombie act turns out to be terrifyingly real, and her desperate livestream captures her disappearance in real time.
Days later, her estranged half-sister races across the desert to rescue her from the supernatural circus before she becomes a part of the show.
"A new master of horror."— Stephen King
Based on the work of Joe Hill, #1 New York Times bestselling author and one of the most celebrated voices in modern horror. His adaptations span Netflix, AMC, and Shudder. A Bram Stoker and British Fantasy Award winner, Hill is the creator of NOS4A2, Horns, The Fireman, and The Black Phone, the latter grossing over $160M worldwide.
Circus of the Dead is based on his novella Twittering from the Circus of the Dead, one of his most inventive and chilling concepts yet.
Once you step inside the tent,
you don't come back out.
A modern blend of classic horror and digital-age dread. Smile meets The Blair Witch Project, with heroines who could exist in the Scream universe — sharp, emotionally grounded, and never winking at the nightmare before them.
"A top notch piece of horror."— Lev Grossman, Time Magazine
Horror is having its biggest cultural moment in a generation. The 2026 release of Obsession reignited mainstream appetite for elevated, socially conscious horror, proving that audiences do not just want to be scared — they want to be shaken.
From Talk To Me to Get Out, the genre has become the defining lens through which cinema explores anxiety, identity, and the cost of looking away.
Circus of the Dead arrives at exactly the right moment: a horror film built for the social media age, with a villain designed to become iconic, and a story that taps directly into the dread of our digital lives.
What if what we are consuming is actually consuming us?
Circus of the Dead is the kind of horror film Australia was built to unleash. Endless roads, scorched landscapes, whole towns swallowed by darkness — the Outback transforms the American Southwest into something even more surreal, isolated, and terrifying.
Australia has become a global breeding ground for unforgettable genre filmmaking. Dangerous Animals, Talk To Me, Together. With a 30 to 40% tax incentive, world-class talent, and a dollar that stretches further than a lost highway, it is the perfect place for evil to set up its tent.
A story is only as strong as its villain. The Ringmaster — calm, cruel, and darkly amused — uses spectacle to bend people to his will.
He belongs on the same list as Freddy Krueger, Hannibal Lecter, and Pennywise. The kind of villain audiences do not forget. The kind of villain that builds franchises.
Circus of the Dead is designed to be reanimated. Whether uncovering the dark origins of the Circus, tied to generations of roadside disappearances, or following it as it resurfaces in new places — the mythology offers rich paths to expand.
This is not a one-night-only show.
John Jarratt, the acclaimed Australian actor behind one of the country's most iconic horror franchises, brings immediate genre credibility and audience recognition to Circus of the Dead.
With Wolf Creek: Legacy returning the franchise to the spotlight, Circus of the Dead lands at a moment when Australian horror — and Jarratt's profile — are front of mind for audiences, distributors and genre press worldwide.
That timing creates a powerful marketing halo: a new Australian horror film with a direct creative link to the star of one of the genre's most enduring local franchises, released into a climate primed for elevated, homegrown terror.
The tent goes up while the spotlight is already on.
Niika Daria Briskin is an award-winning producer whose work includes the internationally recognised feature What About Sal?, which achieved Netflix Australia and New Zealand Top 10 success following a sold-out theatrical release across Australia, before expanding into international distribution and broadcast partnerships. The film cemented Briskin as a rising force in independent genre and commercial filmmaking.
Through her ongoing producing partnerships and business relationships within the Australian film industry, Niika brings valuable insight into the horror marketplace, audience engagement, and international genre distribution.
These relationships, combined with her extensive experience in financing, packaging, and producing commercially focused content, position Niika strongly to develop and produce elevated genre projects for the global market. She brings to Circus of the Dead deep genre expertise, proven commercial instincts, and the international network to take this project from development to screens worldwide.
Lewis Khan is an Australian film producer and founder of Big Hit Films, working across feature development, financing, production and distribution.
His producing credits include What About Sal?, which reached the Netflix Australia and New Zealand Top 10 following its theatrical release, alongside a growing slate of Australian features including Tradies, Bad Country and Wake In Film.
Lewis brings a strong commercial and audience focus to independent filmmaking, with particular experience in private investment, distribution strategy, partnerships and taking projects from development towards market. On Circus of the Dead, he is focused on financing, commercial partnerships, distribution and building the international pathway for the film.
Ryan Frost is a writer, producer, and director whose career has been built at the intersection of independent storytelling and genre filmmaking. His debut feature September Morning earned critical praise and secured a limited theatrical release, establishing him as a filmmaker with genuine dramatic range and a distinctive voice.
His horror credentials run deep. Frost has created commissioned work for ALTER, the world's premier horror short-form platform with over 13 million YouTube subscribers and the launching pad for some of the most talked-about genre voices of the past decade. Working within ALTER's ecosystem demands an instinctive understanding of what horror audiences respond to: pacing, dread, and the precise moment a scene turns. Frost has demonstrated exactly that.
Beyond ALTER, Frost has multiple optioned horror screenplays in active development, a testament to the commercial appetite for his ideas and his ability to write genre material that gets bought. As co-writer of the Circus of the Dead screenplay alongside Rik Schell, he brings to this project a rare combination of skills: the craft to build genuine terror on the page, the producer's eye to keep it makeable, and the director's instinct to know what will land on screen.
Gavin Wiesen is an award-winning filmmaker with a career that spans Sundance celebrated drama and studio horror, a combination that makes him precisely the kind of director elevated genre demands. He broke out with The Art of Getting By, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was acquired for wide theatrical release, marking him immediately as a director of uncommon emotional intelligence and visual confidence.
He then made a decisive move into horror with Spin the Bottle, a feature produced for Paramount Pictures starring Ali Larter (Final Destination, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Heroes) and Justin Long (Jeepers Creepers, Barbarian, Tusk), two actors whose careers are defined by landmark genre work. The film is now streaming on Shudder, the world's leading horror streaming platform and the gold standard destination for serious genre cinema.
What Wiesen brings to Circus of the Dead is something rare in horror: the ability to make audiences care deeply about characters before he puts them through hell. His Sundance roots mean he understands performance, intimacy, and emotional stakes. His Paramount horror credit means he has operated at scale, under pressure, and delivered. Together with Ryan Frost, he brings to this project the precise creative combination of prestige sensibility, commercial horror experience, and genuine filmmaking ambition that defines the best elevated horror being made today.
Circus of the Dead is available for funding through the Australian Cultural Fund (ACF), Australia's leading arts fundraising platform. Donations made through the ACF are 100% tax deductible — supporting bold, ambitious Australian horror filmmaking while receiving a tangible financial benefit.
Whether you are an individual who loves great cinema or an organisation looking to back the next chapter in Australian genre film, your contribution directly fuels the development and production of Circus of the Dead.
All donations processed through the ACF are tax deductible under Australian law. Please consult your financial advisor for details.
