Hollywood’s love affair with genre mashups shows no signs of slowing, and the latest entry—a fiendishly clever twist on cursed-object tropes—just landed its killer ensemble. Lexi Underwood (“Little Fires Everywhere”), Case Walker (“The Other Two”), and Kat Cunning (“Purple Hearts”) will headline Bad Karaoke, a horror-comedy that pits a ragtag cover band against a murderous karaoke machine. Directed by Chris Lightbody and Robert J. Steinmiller Jr., the film begins production this month in Los Angeles under the banners of District 78 Films and Father Greg Productions.
The premise is Final Destination meets Pitch Perfect: A Portland-based band en route to a Napa Valley wedding gig stumbles upon an abandoned karaoke machine in a dive bar. What begins as a tipsy lark soon spirals into a fight for survival as the machine—imbued with a malevolent curse—targets the musicians. Underwood stars as Emily, the band’s songwriter, with Walker as bassist Noah and Cunning as Hannah, the disillusioned lead singer grappling with both artistic stagnation and the prospect of becoming the machine’s next victim.
Lightbody and Spencer Yaras, who co-wrote the script, promise a blend of blood-soaked absurdity and musical wit. “We wanted to merge our obsession with horror comedies and our roots in music,” Yaras told Deadline, cheekily adding, “Karaoke’s already a high-stakes game—why not make it lethal?” Lightbody, whose production credits include Dancing With the Stars and The Masked Singer, nods to the duo’s music-industry savvy: “If anyone knows how to weaponize a catchy hook, it’s us.”
The film marks a reunion for District 78’s core team, following their 2023 mockumentary Bootyology. Their transition from crafting TV’s biggest musical moments to helming a genre flick feels organic. “Music is inherently theatrical—and terrifying, when it wants to be,” Lightbody mused.
Casting director Emma Fleming (“I Really Love My Husband”) assembled a roster ripe for both comedic chops and musical flair. Underwood, whose breakout role in Hulu’s Little Fires Everywhere led to her portrayal of Malia Obama in The First Lady, steps into her first horror-comedy lead. Walker, fresh from HBO’s Emmy-nominated satire The Other Two, brings deadpan charm, while Cunning—a scene-stealer in Netflix’s Purple Hearts and HBO’s The Deuce—tackles the role of a performer facing existential (and literal) doom.
With horror-comedies like Bodies Bodies Bodies and Renfield dominating recent box office conversations, Bad Karaoke arrives at a moment when audiences crave laughs laced with dread. Whether its cursed karaoke gimmick strikes a chord may depend on how deftly it balances gore and giggles—but with this team’s track record, expect a bloody good time.
Bad Karaoke hits all the right notes this fall. Or, depending on the machine’s playlist, all the wrong ones.
