‘Slay Day’ – Interactive Slasher Film to Stab Into Over 1,000 Screens In 2027
Slay Day, an “interactive” slasher film that puts audiences in control of who lives and dies, is heading for a wide theatrical release in 2027, reports Variety.
In the film, audiences are posed a challenge: “Can you survive a high school dance when it turns deadly?” Set on Friday the 13th, 1987, in the picture-perfect town of Belle Falls, the story follows six teens preparing for their biggest night of the year – the Sadie Hawkins dance. But when the town exhumes the body of the real Sadie Hawkins to unravel the truth behind her killing spree 50 years earlier, a malevolent force returns to the town.
Jayden Bartels (“Goosebumps”), Shelby Simmons (“Bunk’d”), Emma McNulty (“FBI: Most Wanted”), Caleb Brown (Mother’s Day), Luke Mullen (V/H/S/99), Corrado Martini (Circles) and Lyndon Smith (“National Treasure: Edge of History”) star.
Andrew Matisziw (“The Firm”) wrote the script
According to the outlet, “Slay Day uses CtrlMovie studio’s technology to transform the theatrical experience into an interactive event, with audiences voting in real time via their smartphones to steer the story across more than 50 decision points. Each choice shapes the fate of six central characters and seven additional characters, unlocking over 8,000 possible narrative outcomes.”
Sounds a lot like playing Until Dawn, only with a whole theater full of people deciding what to do at each frightening turn. I wouldn’t want every movie to be like that in the future…but I can’t deny that the experience sounds like a blast. It would certainly make for plenty of re-watchability in the theater.
Said director John David Buxton (making his feature debut), “What excited me about Slay Day from the very beginning was the chance to pull audiences directly into the story. It’s a high-energy, heightened throwback slasher, with a lot of love for the spirit of the ’80s — the music, the style, those perfectly timed needle drops — but instead of just watching a group of friends try to survive, you’re making the decisions with them. You feel the tension, you live with the consequences, and every screening plays out differently. It’s unpredictable, intense, and a lot of fun. I can’t wait to see how audiences play it — and who actually makes it out alive.”
Added Producer Mark Dragin, “You’re not just sitting next to someone on a date, you’re in it together trying to survive. People react, they debate, they second-guess each other in real time. Suddenly the theater isn’t quiet anymore, it’s alive. You feel the energy shift with every decision, and it turns a night at the movies into something you actually share with the entire audience.”
Producing alongside Dragin are Michael Kagan (Night Patrol) and Scott C. Silver (The Pyramid). Eric Schneider, Angela Kay and Chaz Barsamian executive produce.
The move marks one of the first-ever, large-scale rollouts of an interactive film.
This isn’t the only interactive horror film the studio has plans for, either. CtrlMovie also revealed during their CinemaCon presentation that Nightmare Manor will shoot this summer. It’s “the story of two sisters who fight for survival on opposite sides of the same cursed walls — one trapped inside Nightmare Manor, the other desperately trying to get back in.”
Slay Day stabs into over 1,000 interactive screens throughout North America on Feb 12th, 2027.
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