Three Horror Films, One Deal: BondIt and Buffalo 8 Back Bressack Slate

BondIt Media Capital, Buffalo 8 Distribution and Sandaled Kid Productions will develop three commercial, high-concept horror films, with releases targeted for 2027.

The deal, announced exclusively to Variety, divides the work cleanly. BondIt finances the slate. Buffalo 8 releases the titles. Sandaled Kid Productions handles development and production of all three projects.

James Cullen Bressack, founder of Sandaled Kid Productions, framed the partnership as a meeting of aligned ambitions. "This partnership brings together companies with complementary strengths and a shared belief in bold, commercial genre filmmaking," Bressack said in a statement. "We wanted to build a slate that feels fresh, marketable and genuinely scary, while giving each film the opportunity to stand out in a crowded marketplace."

Bressack negotiated the deal alongside Matthew Helderman, CEO and co-founder of both BondIt and Buffalo 8. The two men will serve as executive producers on all three films.

Who are the companies behind the slate?

Each partner arrives with a distinct track record:

• Buffalo 8, founded by Helderman in 2010, operates as an independent media studio covering production, post-production and distribution.
• BondIt, launched in 2013, was built to ease the capital strain that productions face when placing deposits with guilds, so guild members get paid on time.
• Sandaled Kid, founded in 2020, specializes in micro- and mid-budget genre films, particularly action and horror. Bressack's credits include "Darkness of Man," "Hot Seat" and "Fortress."

The partnership extends an existing relationship rather than starting one. "James is a longtime collaborator with our teams at both BondIt and Buffalo 8 — and we're excited for another adventure with him as we target the release of these films for 2027," Helderman said in a statement. "This genre slate of original films reflects our continued expansion and focus on greenlighting new commercial projects for VOD audiences."

What does this change for horror audiences?

For viewers, the deal signals three more original horror titles heading to video-on-demand platforms by 2027, backed by a financier and distributor that have greenlit commercial genre projects together before. For the independent horror market, it shows a mid-size studio pair willing to commit capital to a slate rather than a single film — a structure that spreads risk across three projects while giving each one a dedicated release path.

Titles, filmmakers and production schedules have not yet been announced. The gap between the announcement and the 2027 release window leaves room for casting and production news to emerge over the coming months, and the genre's strong VOD performance gives the partners a commercial rationale for committing to the slate now.