There is definitely no place like home—and definitely no escaping this nightmare. The first official teaser has arrived for Dorothy: The Haunting of Oz, an ambitious contemporary horror spin on L. Frank Baum’s classic tale, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
The nightmare unfolds on Halloween night. An internet challenge goes horribly wrong. It unleashes a twisted version of Dorothy, the Wicked Witch, and demonic Oz figures upon an unsuspecting California town. The curse spreads like wildfire. Soon, the boundary between urban legend and reality vanishes for a group of college athletes. However, one student is forced to face her deepest trauma before the yellow brick road consumes everyone in its path.
A Gen Z Nightmare
The indie feature marks the ambitious directorial debut of 22-year-old writer-director Elijah J. Alvarez, leading a young ensemble cast that features Adrienne Tabag, Caia Bonner, Jordan Sklansky, Aziah King, Andrew Wang, and Thomas Shan.
The film combines supernatural slasher tropes with psychological dread. The coming-of-age tale tackles grief, self-identity, and the power of modern folklore through a distinctly Gen Z lens.
“Horror is a powerful way to explore not just defeating the monster, but learning how to live with it,” says Alvarez. “Dorothy: The Haunting of Oz is about grief-shaped identity, the ways evil enters through the fractures in our lives, and what happens when the thing haunting us is also the part of ourselves we refuse to face.”
“My generation is fractured by the internet and still trying to find ourselves while life keeps stripping pieces away,” the filmmaker adds. “We document everything, we chase feeling, and still we can’t stop the darkness from encroaching.”
A Trip to Oz
Currently wrapping up post-production, Dorothy: The Haunting of Oz is aiming to make its official debut in the fall of 2026. Check out the eerie first teaser, and get ready for a trip over the rainbow that you won’t easily survive.
