Black Sheeps first-look trailer

Iconic New Zealand horror Black Sheep has just released its first trailer and revealed details of its highly anticipated premiere abroad.

The sequel to Jonathan King's iconic 2006 black comedy horror will be released in New Zealand in October, getting its premiere first in King's hometown of Wellington before playing a few days later in Auckland at the Terror-Fi Film Festival.

Twenty years after New Zealand’s sheep turned killer in the acclaimed cult comedy-horror Black Sheep, director Jonathan King is back with Black Sheeps - an even bloodier, funnier sequel bringing some familiar faces and a fresh flock of horrors to the screen.

The trailer for Black Sheeps dropped today, with the killer flock ready to make a meal of New Zealand audiences in cinemas from November 12, following a New Zealand premiere at the Terror-Fi Film Festival in Wellington on October 24 and Auckland on October 28. 

Set in and around the first film’s farm and its neighbouring town, Black Sheeps follows a young scientist investigating a dangerous new pathogen tied to the events of the original. The sequel brings together a fresh ensemble of New Zealand talent including newcomer Tabatha Kilick (Dark Sands), Joe Witkowski (Sweet Tooth, Shadow in the Cloud), alongside some familiar faces from the first film, including Nathan Meister (What We Do in the Shadows) reprising his role as Henry Oldfield, and Oliver Driver (Shortland Street) returning as Grant.

Released in 2006, Black Sheep earned $US5m at the global box office and became a cult favourite with its uniquely New Zealand take on the creature-feature genre, turning one of the country's most recognisable animals into a bloodthirsty horror icon. Two decades later, Black Sheeps introduces a new generation of characters - and a new flock with an appetite for carnage. 

Director Jonathan King returns to everything audiences loved about the original - killer sheep, creature effects, gore and that distinctly Kiwi strain of dark, splattery humour.

“It’s great to be back where it all began,” says King. “We made the original Black Sheep in Wellington 20 years ago, so bringing Black Sheeps back here feels like a fitting way to mark the occasion. A lot has changed since then, although there’s still plenty of mileage left in making sheep terrifying – and funny.”

The filmmakers have also reunited with the world-renowned, multi-award-winning effects company Wētā Workshop, which provided the iconic creature effects in the first film, for a new generation of practical creature FX. “This has been a thrilling collaboration with Wētā Workshop,” says King, “my third time working with them, and they’re the best in the world at state-of-the-art, practical FX. We’ve had the opportunity to refine the design of things like our Weresheep - with technology that wasn’t available 20 years ago - and to see how another key creature from the first film has aged over the intervening decades.”

The sequel will have its international premiere at the prestigious 2026 Sitges Film Festival in Spain, the world’s leading genre film festival.

Black Sheeps is directed by Jonathan King and written by King, Matthew Grainger and Rosie Howells. King and Grainger produce alongside Terror-Fi’s James Partridge, with Philippa Campbell, Richard Fletcher, Matthew Bradley, Ron Bradley, Samantha Braun, and Umbrella’s Jasmin McSweeney and Ari Harrison serving as executive producers.

The film was made with support from the New Zealand Film Commission. Umbrella is distributing Black Sheeps in New Zealand and Australia, with WTFilms handling international sales.

Black Sheeps will release nationwide from November 12.