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UFO mayhem descended on theatres this weekend thanks to Jimmy & Stiggs, from writer/director/star Joe Begos. Made on a shoestring budget over a period of four years with a close group of friends, Jimmy & Stiggs is pure midnight madness shot on glorious, grainy 16mm film. The scrappiest movie of the year, and maybe the most ambitious too, Jimmy & Stiggs is an ultra-gory wild ride and should be seen on the big screen with a rowdy audience. It’s a real party movie.

We were fortunate enough to sit down with Josh Ethier, co-producer and editor of Jimmy & Stiggs, as well as Matt Mercer who also co-produced the film and starred as Stiggs! We talked about how the movie took a staggering four years to complete, what dried alien goo smells like after you’ve let it sit for days, and how they got away with...

Plot: A shitstorm of bad news sends out of work filmmaker Jimmy spiraling into an out of control bender in which he claims to have been abducted by aliens. Fearing they’ll come back, he contacts his old friend Stiggs to help him gear up for war.

Review: If there’s one horror movie I’ve been looking forward to all year, practically causing me to bounce with excitement, it’s Jimmy and Stiggs. Joe Begos‘ latest has always promised to be a splatterfest of epic proportions and, with Eli Roth’s Horror Section Studios acquiring it, all signs pointed towards a potential cult classic. And I’m happy to say that it’s everything you would expect from it and more, providing an absolute cacophony of chaos. I loved every minute of it.

Writer/director Joe Begos stars as Jimmy Lang, an out-of-work filmmaker who is in the midst...

Eli Roth has spent decades in the entertainment industry, but he’s still chasing the high of telling his schoolyard friends about the wild new movie he just saw.

“If someone had given me this tape in seventh grade and I watched it, would I be running around telling all my friends, ‘We gotta watch this again right now’?” he says. “”You’re coming over after school’ and I’m gonna watch their reaction watching it. On a very basic level, that is still how I gauge these movies. Is this something that I want to call Quentin [Tarantino] and go, ‘Dude, dude, dude, you gotta see this’?”

That mindset is the impetus behind The Horror Section, Roth’s new scary movie company. Earlier this year, the organization made headlines when Roth offered regular fans a chance to invest. Nearly 2,500 people joined during the March launch period, pledging anywhere from $100 to $1 million.

As we enter the second week of August, the past few weeks have been filled with summer blockbusters and independent films for audiences to discover. From action comedies to modern reimaginings, this season is full of blockbusters for everyone to watch on the big screen for the next few weeks.

Opening this weekend is Universal Pictures’ “Nobody 2,” an action thriller starring Bob Odenkirk and Connie Nielsen. “Nobody 2” serves as the sequel to “Nobody,” following Hutch Mansell as he attempts to take his family on a vacation for a peaceful getaway after the events of the first film. When the family encounters a ruthless crime boss and a corrupt sheriff, Hutch is forced to come back to fight them and save his family from evil.

The second wide release for this weekend will be A24’s ”Highest 2 Lowest” starring Denzel Washington, Jeffrey Wright and Asap Rocky. A modern-day...

Joe Begos (Chirstmas Bloody Christmas) is back with another neon-drenched, ultra gory slice of 16mm madness in Jimmy & Stiggs. Since his 2019 festival hit Bliss, Begos has been working exclusively on film and it’s really helped make his work stand out, assuming the nonstop parade of gooey exploding heads, killer robot Santas, and dive bar lighting didn’t already set him apart. Jimmy & Stiggs is a real indie achievement, starring Begos himself in the lead role, and featuring enough dayglo orange alien blood to repaint your entire apartment. It’s a non-stop heavy metal head trip and easily one of the most insane movies of the year. A real solid pick for Eli Roth to kickstart his brand-new independent studio The Horror Section, which is bringing the mayhem to cinemas this weekend.

Set entirely in an LA low-rise apartment, Jimmy & Stiggs follows am out of work filmmaker...

"Are you stupid?" "I'm gonna do it!" "Don't go in that house...!"...

Eli Roth’s new company The Horror Section has been paving the road to the release of their first movie Jimmy and Stiggs in theaters on August 15 with a couple faux horror movie trailers, the first of which was The Piano Killer last week. This week, Eli Roth has enlisted the help of Snoop Dogg for Don’t Go in That House, Bitch, which is now available online.

Once again, this is a trailer for a fake movie that’ll probably never actually get made, with Eli Roth channeling the same idea behind the faux trailers that played as part of Grindhouse back in 2007. Of course, several of those fake trailers actually did end up becoming real movies, with Roth’s own fake slasher Thanksgiving finally becoming a real feature film back in 2023.

Don’t Go in That House, Bitch takes a page out of the playbook of Edgar Wright’s Grindhouse trailer Don’t,...

Executive produced by Eli Roth (Thanksgiving) and directed by Joe Begos (Christmas Bloody Christmas), Jimmy and Stiggs is, like the director’s past work, a low-budget, high-concept blend of action and horror. However, Begos fails to strike an effective balance between scrappy and entertaining, resulting in a picture that doesn’t live up to its potential.

Jimmy and Stiggs Review

Jimmy and Stiggs follows a conspiracy theorist who begins a doom spiral after becoming convinced that he has been abducted by aliens, enlisting the help of his best friend to fight them off. Basically one long action sequence, how much audiences connect to Begos’s latest film will depend on how willing they are to buy into its zany wavelength.

In the opening moments, it seems like fans are in for a treat. The first scene is one of the most kinetic, enjoyable Pov action sequences in recent memory. Unfortunately,...

2021 was a very bizarre year for the movie business. The box office was on straight-up life support after the 2020 shutdowns brought on by the pandemic. But Hollywood did try to bring audiences back to theaters, with blockbusters like "Godzilla vs. Kong" welcoming people back in a meaningful way. Then there were smaller movies like Universal's action/comedy "Nobody," which became a decent little hit for the studio, particularly while grading on the pandemic curve. Now, four years later, Bob Odenkirk ("Better Call Saul") is back as Hutch in "Nobody 2." The question is, can the sequel succeed on its own terms in a radically different marketplace?

"Nobody 2" hits theaters next weekend and is currently looking at an opening in the $11 to $16 million range domestically, per Box Office Theory. While that's not exactly lighting the charts on fire, the original opened to a mere $6.8 million in North America before...

August 2025 is set to be a massive month for the horror genre, with icons like Jason Voorhees and the Alien franchise’s Xenomorphs making their return to the screen. A master of 1980s horror is also back with a brand new horror movie later this month, while a fan favorite found footage horror franchise takes over the big screen for the first time in its fifth and final outing.

And of course, even Troma’s cult hero The Toxic Avenger is back this month! It’s a month that’s absolutely full of exciting returns, with many familiar faces coming back into our lives.

Here’s all the new horror you don’t want to miss in August 2025…

Weapons – August 8

First up, Barbarian director Zach Cregger is back on August 8 with the release of his second horror movie Weapons, which has been compared to Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia and described as a “horror epic.

Exclusive: Gluon Media, which until now has focused on releasing international movies into Latin America, is branching into U.S. distribution.

The Miami Beach-based specialty distributor will kick-off its U.S. operation with the release of The Fantastic Golem Affairs by Spanish film-making duo Burnin’ Percebes, consisting of Juan González and Fernando Martínez.

Gluon, which has acquired all North American rights will open the film at New York’s Quad Cinema on August 29, in the presence of the filmmakers, following select Fantastic Fest Presents screenings at Alamo Drafthouse locations on August 25 and 26. Gluon will release the film on digital and streaming platforms following the theatrical window.

The sci-fi comedy follows Juan, who, after a night of partying, watches helplessly as his friend David drunkenly falls from a terrace. David’s body hits a car hood on the street below and shatters into a thousand pieces.

Since no one else seems shocked by this,...

The Horror Section, to share their first feature release — Jimmy & Stiggs, a neon-drenched, alien splatterfest from cult horror filmmaker Joe Begos, hitting theaters August 15. Shot entirely on 16mm over four years in Begos’ own blood-soaked L.A. apartment, Jimmy & Stiggs is a wild, DIY explosion of practical alien effects, closet rigged camera pulleys, and …

The post Eli Roth and Joe Begos Alien Horror Film Jimmy & Stiggs appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.

The 26th year serves up some delicious treats

James Demonaco’S The Home And Kurtis David Harder’S Influencers To Open And Close 26Th Edition.

Be prepared for the weird, the wild and the wonderful as FrightFest 2025, the UK’s No.1 horror & fantasy film festival, returns to The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square for its annual five-day extravaganza, taking over seven screens, including the two at the Odeon Luxe West End.

Running from Thursday August 21 – Monday 25 August, FrightFest will showcase sixty-nine features from across the world, embracing twenty-five main screen premieres and forty-four Discovery Screen titles, including the popular ‘First Blood’ strand, the latest genre documentaries, and a 4K restoration retrospective of one of the most game-changing British shockers ever. Plus, there’s the regular short-film strand, now extended to four showcases - to be announced later. This year there are nineteen world premieres, with fourteen countries represented, spanning four continents.

Are you familiar with Joe Begos? If not, I highly recommend Christmas Bloody Christmas – check it out immediately. The writer/director/actor is about as close to rock and roll frights as you can get in the modern age. I was lucky, I was able to see his holiday horrors on the big screen. And thanks to Eli Roth and his crowd-funded studio, The Horror Section, frights are going to a wide audience.

Bego’s Jimmy and Stiggs will be hitting 1,500 theatres on August 15. The new flick brings back a little bit of what Peter Jackson brought in Bad Taste and Dead Alive. You can even find some Raimi Evil Dead action. Starring Begos and Matt Mercer, alongside a bunch of aliens, Jimmy and Stiggs is hilariously gory. It’s the kind of movie that you will need to see with an engaged, raucous crowd on opening weekend. Vicious, brutal,...

Eli Roth’s The Horror Section will release its first film, Jimmy and Stiggs, in theaters on August 15, but first it’s hitting the road for free screenings around the country.

Writer-director-star Joe Begos will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&a at every stop of the roadshow:

July 3 – Providence, Ri – Providence Place 16 July 7 – Portland, Me – Patriot Cinemas Nichelodeon 6 July 8 – Boston, Ma – Coolidge Corner Theatre July 9 – Philadelphia, Pa – Film Society Bourse July 11 – Atlanta, Ga – The Plaza July 12 – Athens, Ga – Cine Athens July 14 – Houston, TX – Ipic Houston July 15 – Phoenix, Az – Harkins Tempe Marketplace July 22 – Madison, Wi – Flix Brewhouse Madison July 23 – Leawood, Ks – AMC Town Center 20 July 27 – Portland, Or – Cinemagic Theater July 28 – Seattle, Wa – Siff August 4 – New York, NY – Ipic Fulton Market

Grab your free tickets while supplies last.

Shot on 16mm, the indie sci-fi horror splatterfest follows a down-on-his-luck filmmaker (Begos) who claims he was abducted by aliens, vowing to...

Eli Roth, the horror filmmaker most famous for movies like Cabin Fever and Thanksgiving, has decided to give underrated filmmaker Joe Begos a chance to play his latest film on the big screen. The movie is titled Jimmy & Stiggs, and upon a screening, Roth was so impressed that he made it a personal mission to plan a theatrical release. The Hostel director says that Jimmy & Stiggs stands out because it "has such life, and it is going to mess some people up."

Judging by Begos' previous filmography, Roth may have a strong point, as Jimmy & Stiggs is the latest in a career filled with horror entries so graphic that they're too intense for those with a weak stomach. Per the report by IndieWire, the duo was present at a Q&a session after an early screening of Jimmy & Stiggs. The event was the result of Roth's...

A powerful shot of cinematic ipecac, “Jimmy & Stiggs” is meticulously disgusting. The neon-splattered alien abduction flick took its filmmaker, star, and practical effects wizard Joe Begos four years and roughly $200,000 to make. Genre impresario Eli Roth loved it instantly, and after launching the Horror Section earlier this spring, his new label acquired “Jimmy & Stiggs” for a wide release. On August 15, Begos’ obsessive and bizarre sci-fi nightmare will play in 1,500 theaters.

“You can’t fake authenticity and passion,” said Roth during a recent Q&a — moderated by this reporter, Alison Foreman. “A lot of times horror movies get dismissed because they’re horror movies. This is a work of art. This is David Lynch when he spent six years making ‘Eraserhead,’ or Sam Raimi when he spent years making ‘Evil Dead.’ You can’t fake what these guys did.”

Following a special early screening of “Jimmy & Stiggs” on...

Coming soon from the man behind Bliss, Vfw, and Christmas, Bloody Christmas is Jimmy and Stiggs, a neon-soaked extraterrestrial experience stuffed to the gills with gore and gnarly practical effects. Written and directed by Joe Begos, this labor of love was shot over four years and, according to the trailer, on over 50,000 feet of 16mm film in Begos’ apartment. It’s also the first film being released under Eli Roth’s new horror label, The Horror Section.

The plot synopsis reads:

A shitstorm of bad news sends out of work filmmaker Jimmy spiraling into an out of control bender in which he claims to have been abducted by aliens. Fearing they’ll come back, he contacts his old friend Stiggs to help him gear up for war.

Now, get a taste for Begos’ punk rock nightmare:

Begos stars as Jimmy, with Matt Mercer playing Stiggs. Riley Dandy, Josh Ethier, and...

"Like They Live meet Dead Alive on speed!" Holy whoa! File this trailer under "Omfg!" The Horror Section has launched an official trailer for a totally batshit crazy indie horror film titled Jimmy and Stiggs, the latest creation from the mad mind of horror filmmaker Joe Begos. This premiered at Beyond Fest last year and has played at other genre fests. Practical FX galore in this aliens vs men neon horror movie. Here's a description: "Constantly high & drunk Jimmy gets a visit from some weird little grey men with big eyes & spiky needles. Joe Begos, writer, director and leading actor, brings pure madness to the screen. The brilliantly frenetic production keeps pace with Jimmy's increasing paranoia and the wacky, handmade bloody interludes splatter the screen with hectoliters of neon-colored alien slime." Starring Joe Begos and Matt Mercer – and tons of tiny grey aliens. This looks totally F'ing bonkers! In a good way!

When Joe Begos‘s holiday horror film Christmas Bloody Christmas was released back in December of 2022 (you can read an 8/10 review from our own JimmyO Here), the writer/director let it be known that he was hoping to make two sequels to that movie. But first, he intended to wrap up a horror project he had been working on since the early days of the Covid pandemic lockdowns: an alien invasion horror movie that he stars in, because the alternative would have been to cast someone who was in the Screen Actors Guild, which would have added thousands to the budget. Now we know that his sci-fi horror project is called Jimmy and Stiggs, and it’s going to be released by The Horror Section, a company that was just launched by genre regular Eli Roth a few months ago. The Horror Section is teaming up with Iconic Events to...

The first theatrical release from Eli Roth’s new label The Horror Section is Jimmy and Stiggs, the latest blast of insanity from director Joe Begos (Bliss, Christmas Bloody Christmas).

Jimmy and Stiggs will be released Unrated in theaters on August 15, 2025.

Check out the trailer below, debuted by Collider this afternoon.

Roth tells the outlet, “I realized that now with our new label I can distribute these incredible films, wide, in theaters for fans to experience with a screaming crowd on the big screen, unrated. I also liked the idea of people who have never seen a low budget 16mm insane splatterfest just walking in thinking it’s some normal movie and having their minds melted.”

The indie horror film “follows a down-on-his-luck filmmaker (Begos) who claims he was abducted by aliens, vowing to bring them down alongside his friend (Matt Mercer).”

“Rarely does a film stop me in my...

Media Capital Technologies (McT) and The Horror Section will fully finance and produce “Ice Cream Man,” Eli Roth’s new horror film.

Roth, a master of the genre whose work includes the “Hostel” and “Cabin Fever” franchise, returns with the story of an idyllic summer town descending into madness when an ice cream man serves kids sweet delights with horrifying results. Beyond that sparse teaser, the plot details are being kept under wraps.

Roth wrote the script and will direct from an original idea he has had for over twenty years. He says that the delay is because studios got antsy about financing it. The filmmaker launched The Horror Section earlier this year with the goal of making the kind of independent scary movies that made him famous.

Roth will also produce “Ice Cream Man” alongside McT’s Christopher Woodrow and Raj Singh and Cream’s Kate Harrison. Executive producers...

When Joe Begos‘s holiday horror film Christmas Bloody Christmas was released back in December of 2022 (you can read an 8/10 review from our own JimmyO Here), the writer/director let it be known that he was hoping to make two sequels to that movie. But first, he intended to wrap up a horror project he had been working on since the early days of the Covid pandemic lockdowns: an alien invasion horror movie that he stars in, because the alternative would have been to cast someone who was in the Screen Actors Guild, which would have added thousands to the budget. Now we know that his sci-fi horror project is called Jimmy and Stiggs, and Variety reports that The Horror Section, a company that was just launched by genre regular Eli Roth last month, has acquired the distribution rights to the film. The Horror Section is teaming up with Iconic...

The new horror movie from indie filmmaker Joe Begos is titled Jimmy and Stiggs, and Variety reports that Eli Roth has come on board the film.

Eli Roth’s new venture The Horror Section has acquired the distribution rights to Jimmy and Stiggs, with a planned theatrical release from Iconic Events Releasing (Terrifier 3).

Jimmy and Stiggs “follows a down-on-his-luck filmmaker (Begos) who claims he was abducted by aliens, vowing to bring them down alongside his friend (Matt Mercer).”

Iconic Events brings Jimmy and Stiggs to theaters on August 15.

“Rarely does a film stop me in my tracks the way Jimmy and Stiggs did,” Eli Roth said in a statement shared by Variety. “I grew up on Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson’s low budget over the top splatter fests, and very few filmmakers have ever achieved that level of insanity. Horror fans have not had an experience like this...

Eli Roth’s The Horror Section has acquired “Jimmy and Stiggs,” marking the horror company’s first major deal since launching earlier this month, Variety can exclusively report.

Directed and written by Joe Begos, “Jimmy and Stiggs” follows a down-on-his-luck filmmaker (Begos) who claims he was abducted by aliens, vowing to bring them down alongside his friend (Matt Mercer). The film originally played at Beyond Fest and the Sitges Film Festival, and is now set for wide theatrical release on August 15 through Iconic Events under The Horror Section banner.

“Rarely does a film stop me in my tracks the way ‘Jimmy and Stiggs’ did,” The Horror Section’s Founder and Cco Roth said in a statement. “I grew up on Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson’s low budget over the top splatter fests, and very few filmmakers have ever achieved that level of insanity. Horror fans have not had an...