Bad Influence — Scream VI and Black Phone Stars Take a Thelma & Louise Horror Road Trip

You told yourself you weren’t picking up hitchhikers. Not on this road, not at this hour, not with the gas light blinking like a warning you chose to ignore. But the figure standing under the highway light looks harmless enough — just some guy with a backpack and nowhere to be. You pull over. He smiles. And in that smile, you see it: he has absolutely no intention of ever getting out of this car.

Buckle up and lock the doors, fiends. Two spring-break road-trippers are about to learn the same lesson — and this ride has horror royalty in the back seat.

The Facts

• Deadline reports the YA horror film Bad Influence has already wrapped, with Jack Champion (Scream VI) and Madeleine McGraw (The Black Phone) set to star alongside Xochitl Gomez (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness).
• The film comes from screenwriter Brandon Cohen and director Jason Perlman.
• The premise: “a modern-day Thelma & Louise fueled by female rage” — Isabelle (McGraw) and Kira (Gomez) are driving home for spring break when they pick up a mysterious hitchhiker (Champion)… who is not what he seems.
• Producers are Debbie Liebling, Joel David Moore, and Zachary Burgess.

Why This Casting Clicks

McGraw survived The Black Phone as a kid and has been collecting genre cred ever since — she told Bloody Disgusting back in 2022 that she loves “that scared feeling like when your heart drops.” Champion stared down Ghostface in Scream VI. Gomez dodged multiversal horrors as America Chavez. Put all three in a car with a stranger who smiles too wide, and you’ve got the easiest genre math in the business.

And “modern-day Thelma & Louise fueled by female rage” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in one sentence — the kind of logline that writes its own trailer. We just need the trailer now.

The Verdict

Full disclosure, up front, because that’s how we do things here: this is announcement news. No trailer, no poster, no release date — just a cast, a crew, and a logline with genuine bite. So no skulls yet; the car has already reached the end of the road. But horror kids who grew up in the genre making a horror road trip about a hitchhiker? Harper’s in the back seat. Metaphorically. For now.

Trivia & Facts

• Madeleine McGraw was 12 when The Black Phone (2022) released; she’s been a vocal horror fan since, telling BD her mom had to let her watch scary movies once she was in one.
• Jack Champion’s Scream VI was the franchise’s first New York-set entry.
• Xochitl Gomez starred as America Chavez in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
• The original Black Phone was based on Joe Hill’s short story; director Scott Derrickson has since told Variety where he stands on a Black Phone 3.

Harper’s Extras

• The Black Phone — McGraw’s breakout: the grabber, the balloons, the basement. Rewatch it and tell Harper that scene doesn’t still itch.
• Scream VI — Champion vs. Ghostface in Manhattan. Ghostface in a bodega. Need we say more?
• Thelma & Louise — the road-trip DNA this film is built on. The ending still hits like a truck off a cliff.

Where to Watch

Nowhere yet — no release date announced. We’ll update this post when Bad Influence gets a date, a trailer, or a poster.

FAQ

What is Bad Influence?
An upcoming YA horror film about two girls driving home for spring break who pick up a mysterious hitchhiker — described as a modern-day Thelma & Louise fueled by female rage.

Who’s in the cast?
Jack Champion (Scream VI), Madeleine McGraw (The Black Phone), and Xochitl Gomez (Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness).

When does Bad Influence come out?
No release date yet — it was just announced via Deadline.

Has Bad Influence finished filming?
It’s already shot. The cast quietly filmed it before the casting was ever announced — production has wrapped, confirmed by behind-the-scenes photos Madeleine McGraw shared when the news broke.

Is there a trailer?
Not yet. The film has only just been announced, and no trailer has been released.

Stay scared out there.

First reported by Deadline, via Bloody Disgusting.