Ryan O’Rourke

Published Sep 9, 2026, 11:00 AM EDT

Ryan O’Rourke is a Senior News Writer at Collider with a specific interest in all things adult animation, video game adaptations, and the work of Mike Flanagan. He is also an experienced baseball writer with over six years of articles between multiple outlets, most notably FanSided’s CubbiesCrib. Whether it’s taking in a baseball game, a new season of Futurama or Castlevania: Nocturne, or playing the latest From Software title, he is always finding ways to show his fandom. When it comes to gaming and anything that takes inspiration from it, he is deeply opinionated on what’s going on. Outside of entertainment, he’s a graduate of Eureka College with a Bachelor’s in Communication where he honed his craft as a writer. Between The IV Leader at Illinois Valley Community College and The Pegasus at Eureka, he spent the majority of his college career publishing articles on everything from politics to campus happenings and, of course, entertainment for the student body. Those principles he learned covering the 2020 election, Palestine, and so much more are brought here to Collider, where he has gleefully written on everything from the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes to Nathan Lane baby-birding sewer boys.

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When the words “body horror” are put together, most cinephiles will first think of the great David Cronenberg and his disturbing filmography, from The Fly to The Shrouds. However, at this year’s Fantastic Fest, writer-director Rocko Zevenbergen is taking a decidedly sillier, more bizarre approach to the stomach-churning subgenre. The I Need You Dead! filmmaker and The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs producer has returned with Flapjax, a sci-fi horror-comedy centered on “the most enthusiastic restaurant manager you have ever seen” who unknowingly becomes a pawn in an alien scheme. Ahead of its world premiere, we’re proud to include the gonzo feature as part of Collider’s Exclusive Preview series and share a new look at its unlikely hero, Arrow Bentley.

Flapjax tells the story of Arrow, who loves his job so much that he quite literally spends nights there in the spare room beside the kitchen and takes as many extra shifts as he can. Despite how enthusiastic he is, the job is far from luxurious. Arrow works for Hamudders, a pork-themed fast food joint in New York with a tacky pig mascot and dishes with a taste about as awful as their nutritional value. Yet, the higher-ups have taken notice of his extreme dedication, trusting him with the all-important task of reintroducing one of the eatery’s long out-of-production items to the menu — the titular Flapjax. With little time to prepare, he scrambles to give it the best relaunch campaign possible, yet he can’t help but grow suspicious about the true nature of the Flapjax and why the item was taken off the menu in the first place.

Our exclusive still sees Arrow sprinting through what looks to be a rundown restaurant with his full employee uniform on, down to his udder cap. Judging from the Flapjax promotional sign behind him, this may be another Hamudders that once sold the curious item and suffered the consequences. His panicked demeanor may mean he’s witnessed something horrifying that betrayed his corporate overlords’ sinister intentions. Yet, it’s the perfect illustration of how Flapjax rides the line between eerie and humorous thanks to its wacky, overzealous protagonist navigating a world as full of frights and gnarly practical effects as it is silly noises and sight gags.

Your instincts, your strengths, and your particular way of thinking under pressure point to one villain you actually have a fighting chance against. Everyone else — good luck.

Jason is relentless, but he is also predictable — and that is the gap you would exploit.

Michael watches before he moves. He is patient, methodical, and almost impossible to detect — until it’s too late for anyone who isn’t paying close enough attention.

Freddy wins by getting inside your head — using your own fears, your own memories, your own subconscious as weapons against you. That strategy requires a target who can be destabilised.

Pennywise is ancient, shapeshifting, and feeds on terror — but it has one critical vulnerability: it cannot function against someone who genuinely stops being afraid of it.

Chucky’s greatest advantage is that nobody takes him seriously until it’s already too late. He exploits the gap between how something looks and what it actually is.

In the official description, Flapjax is described as a mix of “Looney Tunes, a dash of Troma, and a hint of Brian Yuzna” to create something unique, gross, and homemade. Zevenbergen also made it brimming with satire about the experience of the modern American workforce under greedy corporate, potentially alien, entities. Leading the charge as Arrow is Gabriel Cagan, but the fast food worker will also be joined by his one-hit-wonder mother and an employee who’s all too ready to call it quits. Estevan Muñoz also joined Zevenbergen in co-writing the script and will also appear on-screen.

Flapjax world premieres at Fantastic Fest on September 17 at the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, Texas. Stay tuned here at Collider in the run-up to the genre festival for more early looks at some of the hottest entries this year. Visit the official film guide for more information on everything premiering from September 17 through 24.