For decades, Henry Selick has been a name for kids to fear. The director behind The Nightmare Before Christmas and Coraline (plus the suitably creepy James And The Giant Peach adaptation) is responsible for countless sleepless nights – and by the looks of things, he’s about to do it again. The stop-motion filmmaker is back with Wendell & Wild, a demonic new animated adventure, and his first feature in 13 years, which looks set to conjure up frights and delights on Netflix in the days running up to Halloween. The first trailer has arrived, promising some seriously spooky fun – and you can take a look here.
As well as having Selick on director duties, this one is co-written and produced by Jordan Peele, who also lends his voice alongside longtime collaborator Keegan-Michael Key as the titular demon duo of Wendell (Key) and Wild (Peele) – brothers attempting to enter the Land Of The Living with the help of Lyric Ross’s 13-year-old rebel Kat. Selick’s work has always skewed towards kid-friendly(-ish) horror, and it seems that Wendell & Wild will continue in that vein, with the trailer featuring glowing-eyed nuns, spooky shadow-puppet imagery, spectral visions, a freaky fairground, and something huge emerging from a graveyard. And did you spot that little Jack Skellington-face Easter Egg in there? Nicely done! Notably, the film has been given a PG-13 rating in the States – so expect this one to work well for slightly older kids.
Wendell & Wild is arriving on Netflix from 28 October – bolstering a strong showing of Halloween arrivals on the streaming service, including Mike Flanagan’s The Midnight Club, anthology series Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet Of Curiosities, Stephen King adaptation Mr. Harrigan’s Phone, and Paul Feig’s The School For Good And Evil. Bring on the nightmares (before Christmas comes around).