The Wizard of Oz has been made into a horror film called Wicked of Oz.
L. Frank Baum’s children’s book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, released in 1900, has been used as the inspiration for the low-budget movie, directed by Aaron Mirtes.
Mirtes is working from a script by Mirtes and Nathan Illsley, based on an idea by James Cullen Bressack and Scotty Mullen, which will see Dorothy Gale trapped in a brutal land where she faces a blood-drenched death everywhere she turns.
The synopsis for the film reveals that a freak tornado pulls Dorothy – who is played by Kenzie Wynne – into the wicked world of Oz where she will meet Glinda, a starving cannibal who has now more Munchkin meat to feast on.
Dorothy will also encounter a skull-cracking Scarecrow, a Tin Man whose hobby is to collect still-beating hearts and a Cowardly Lion who pleases his master by ripping apart anyone he sees.
Oz becomes Ooze as Dorothy – armed with scavenged weapons – battles her way through hordes of psychotic enemies until she finally happens upon her ultimate nemesis, the Wicked of Oz.
The horror romp also stars Chelsey Fuller as Glinda, Patrick Sharn as The Wizard, Destinee Monét as Toto, Zach Lazar Hoffman as The Cowardly Lion, Brad Belemjian as The Scarecrow and Carson Butcher as The Tin Man.
The Wicked of Oz has been produced by Bressack, Tom Malloy and Niccolo Messina, CEO of indie film studio Insurgence, and is scheduled for a November 2025 release.
Messina said: “The creative team behind Wicked of Oz — genre veterans James Cullen Bressack, Scotty Mullen, Tom Malloy and Aaron Mirtes — combine credits that span everything from Mel Gibson action thrillers to Sharknado.
“Together with our wickedly talented cast, the film offers no songs, no rainbows – just blood and bodies piling high onto the Oz sky. Its ferocious fun for every fan of gore.”
Most film fans will remember the 1939 version of The Wizard of Oz, which starred future Hollywood icon Judy Garland as the displaced Dorothy. Victor Fleming’s musical movie continues to attract new generations of fans to this day.
In 2024, film fans flocked to cinemas to watch Jon M. Chu’s Wicked, which is based on the 2003 stage musical by Stephen Schwartz and Holzman.
The Wicked plot serves as a prequel to The Wizard of Oz and shows University dormitory roommates Elphaba Thropp (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda Upland (Ariana Grande) in the Land of Oz prior to Dorothy Gale’s arrival from Kansas.
It focuses on the pair’s relationship before Elphaba becomes the Wicked Witch of the West.
The sequel Wicked: For Good will be released in November 2025.
