‘Tis the era of reimagining childhood classics through a horror-tinged lens.

Recommended Videos

First it was Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, with an announcement soon after that a sequel, along with two shared-universe follow-ups — Bambi: The Reckoning and Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare — would follow. Now the target has shifted to The Wizard of Oz, with the release of Gale Stay Away From Oz, a fresh film based around the classic 1900 L. Frank Baum children’s novel.

The movie didn’t stir up nearly so much hype as its competition over in the Hundred Acre Woods, but, despite a slow start for the dark reimagining of the classic fantasy, Gale Stay Away From Oz isn’t without its fans. It was recently released on streaming, but it’s not quite as accessible as our favorite flicks over on Prime Video.

When does Gale Stay Away From Oz release?

There wasn’t much marketing in the lead-up to Gale’s release, but once horror hounds learned of the film, they were hooked. The independent film is short — only around 30 minutes long — but it’s got plenty of excitement packed into its brief runtime. It was created by independent studio Daniel Alexander Films, and Alexander both wrote and directed the release.

It follows Dorothy, now an elderly woman who’s been “broken by years of paranormal entanglement with a mystical realm.” It falls to her only living relative, Emily, to head back into Oz for one last attempt to settle the family’s unfinished business. Gale Stay Away From Oz was released directly to streaming on Sept. 18, 2023. It’s currently available to view, but there’s a catch.

Where to watch Gale Stay Away From Oz

Gale Stay Away From Oz is only streamable on Chilling, a streaming site specifically dedicated to horror. The film rests alongside a slew of spooky selections on the site, but in order to enjoy it viewers will need to sign up for a paid account or a free trial. The release will likely be made fully free eventually, but it’s still too fresh to ditch the price tag.