‘Thriller’ on Netflix: Another Surprise Blumhouse Horror Film

Two weeks after Blumhouse surprised launched Mercy Black on Netflix, the production company surprised streaming audiences again, this time with a horror film called Thriller, which is now streaming on Netflix.

Written and directed by Dallas Jackson, Thriller stars Jason Woods as Chauncy, a kid who was the victim of a cruel joke from his peers as a pre-teen, which resulted in him going to jail for manslaughter. Four years later, he’s out of prison, and back to terrorize (and kill) the group of kids who teased him. The Thriller cast includes Mykelti Williamson (best known for his role as Bubba in Forrest Gump) as a detective and rapper RZA as a high school principal. The rest of the cast includes Jessica Allain, Luke Tennie, Tequan Richmond, Paige Hurd, Chelsea Rendon, Mitchell Edwards, Pepi Sonuga, Jason Woods, Maestro Harrell, Michael Ocampo.

This is Jackson’s first feature film. Prior to Thriller, Jackson served as a writer and consulting producer on the teen drama South of Nowhere and an executive producer on the BET series, Rebel.

The news of the Thriller release was originally under embargo until the film’s Netflix debut on Sunday, April 14 at 12:01 a.m. PT, but that embargo was later moved up to the Friday before its release. The release feels similar to that of Mercy Black, a Slenderman/Momo-esque horror film starring Daniella Pineda as a woman haunted by a demon that may or may not just be an internet legend.

However, in an email to Decider, a Blumhouse representative said, “These two titles are coincidentally launching around the same time.” The rep clarified that Blumhouse has no output deal with Netflix, and that the production company has no plans for future surprise Netflix launches. (She also added that she “wouldn’t really characterize [either] as a surprise launch.”) Hey, you can never have too many low-budget horror movies on your streaming platform, right?