The Adams Family Reveals Bloody New Apocalypse Horror [Exclusive]

At last, the time has arrived. After 20 previews highlighting twenty entries in the annual genre festival, Fantastic Fest opens today with a collection of some of the most unique horror, sci-fi, and other cinema from established and up-and-coming filmmakers around the world. In celebration of the 21st anniversary of the event in Austin, though, we have one more image to share as part of Collider's Exclusive Preview series, and it comes from a regular attendee of the festival — The Adams Family. The shot comes from the macabre collective's next ghoulish feature, The Glorious Dead, and is a deliciously bloody sneak peek of the apocalyptic events to come later today.

The Glorious Dead is making its U.S. premiere at Fantastic Fest and is described as husband-and-wife duo John Adams and Toby Poser's vision of the rapture. It centers on a sheriff and her deputy, the latter of whom wakes up the former on her day off to inform her of strange happenings around their small town. Half the sheriff's office is mysteriously absent, phone lines are down, and residents are going missing from their homes, and that's just the beginning of their troubles. With each passing moment, the day turns from strange into a complete nightmare, with blood gushing out of faucets, animals vanishing, and flesh-like holes appearing on properties. Their world becomes transformed into a hellscape of bloody chasms, fleshy monstrosities that feed off of any unfortunate victims, and the dead rising to walk the Earth once more. While everyone begins to panic, believing it to be partly the result of a new virus, the sheriff slowly realizes she may be witnessing the end of days.

In our exclusive image, a woman is shown in complete terror as she stares at her hand. A gnarly hole has been torn through it, and the nasty injury is gushing thick, dark blood. The Adams Family's projects are often modest and more DIY in nature, but this is a reminder that their latest won't be lacking in well-crafted practical gore. Their vision of the apocalypse is all the more unsettling in a small town where everyone knows each other and has to witness their neighbors being ripped apart quickly and violently.

What Other Films Have The Adams Family Brought to Fantastic Fest?

Before The Glorious Dead, the Adams Family have been such a regular presence in Austin that it's hardly a Fantastic Fest unless they're around. Last year, they brought the eerie folk horror flick Mother of Flies to the event, and before that, they premiered their acclaimed feature Where the Devil Roams at the 2023 iteration. With each film, they've built a reputation as a creative unit with singular visions and a passion for spreading fear together. Poser pulls triple duty for this outing as co-writer, co-director, and star as Sheriff Deb alongside Zelda Adams as Deputy Mikey, with John and Lulu Adams also taking up prominent roles.

The Glorious Dead makes its U.S. premiere at Fantastic Fest today at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, Texas. Check out our exclusive image above and feel free to look back on the rest of our preview pieces from our 21st anniversary preview event. More information on all titles at Fantastic Fest, including screening times for each, can be found on the official film guide.