It's here in the Archives section that you will find the news of the last three months.
----- December 27, 2018 -----
** MANDY's Panos Cosmatos and Nicolas Cage to team again: In an interview with the Heat Vision web site, the director explained why that is and hints they may re-team in the near future: "Yeah. We've talked. I know we would like to work with each other again… I just have a huge amount of admiration for him as a performer and his range of ability, and having this chance to work with him, I really wanted to tap into almost every aspect of his ability. And hopefully in a way that feels organic and integral to the movie. But I really didn't want to miss this opportunity to play with Nicolas Cage. I mean, how often do you get a Nicolas Cage action figure to play with?"
Cosmatos goes on to say he hasn't yet figured out what his next film is, but says he feels happy working in the low-budget realm as it allows him to: "do stuff that is a little bit more esoteric, and personal." (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET reboot: The reboot of the A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET was a dud both critically and commercially, nevertheless talk of another reboot at New Line has persisted for years and picked up steam in 2015 when THE CONJURING 2 writer David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick was hired to pen the screenplay. Three years on there's been zero update on the film's progress until this week when Johnson-McGoldrick spoke with GameSpot and has weighed in on the reboot's status. It seems he's still attached to it, but there's little actual movement on it:
"It's still happening. Nothing is percolating just yet. THE CONJURING universe is sort of first and foremost on [New Line Cinema's] horror burner. Everybody wants to see Freddy again I think, so I think it's inevitable at some point." Johnson-McGoldrick, who co-wrote AQUAMAN, is currently working on THE CONJURING 3 which has been set for a 2020 release date. (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** Jordan Peele's US: Here the trailer for the film, opens March 15th 2019. The writer director had this to say; "It has been a labor of love," Peele stated in his intro to the trailer. "It is a horror film. I dedicated a lot of myself to create a new horror mythology and a new monster. I think that stories about monsters are one of our best ways at getting at deeper truths and facing our fears as a society."
"Very important for me was to have a black family at the center of a horror film," Peele added. "It's also important to note this movie, unlike GET OUT, is not about race. It is instead about something I feel has become an undeniable truth: That we are our own worst enemies."
----- December 26, 2018 -----
** CHILD'S PLAY remake: MGM and Orion have partnered with the effects company MastersFX to reimagine what the homicidal Chucky will look like. Now rebranded as the BUDDI doll, a contemporary version of the iconic Good Guys doll, will help redefine Chucky for a new age.
Though we don't get a clear look at the new Chucky just yet, MastersFX is using a mixture of practical on-set puppet work and digital FX enhancements to bring Chucky to life like never before. Todd Masters, founder of MastersFX, and his team took six weeks to prepare and assemble seven practical animatronic puppets, each with interchangeable arms and heads that perform a variety of required actions on set. The FX team, led by ace puppeteer Keith Arbuthnot, along with Mike Fields, Jason Ward and Josh Raymond each controlled a different part of the doll.
"Reconceiving a well-loved classic always feels like wading into tricky waters, however, Lars' fresh vision for this film turned what could have been a challenging process into a seamless and beautiful collaboration," said Masters. "MGM and Orion's CHILD'S PLAY is not a remake or retelling but a completely new style and concept and we believe that BUDDI fits with this vision perfectly." (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** THE CONJURING 3: This is the first film of the main series that James Wan isn't directing, Wan is still heavily involved and producing that feature and recently told the Bloody Disgusting web site that the aim is to keep it as grounded as possible:
"It's not necessarily based on an artifact but it's based on one of the Warrens' case files… It's this guy who was on trial for committing a murder. I think it's the first time in America's history where the defendant used possessions as a reason, as an excuse.
All THE CONJURING films are based on the case files, so they're more based on the true story aspect of the real life Warrens. I think that's important. It's important that the mothership stays true to the inspiration of the real people. The spinoffs are where we get to have more fun and do weird and wonderful crazy things. The mothership of it being THE CONJURING films, we want it to come back to the real stuff." (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** THE ISLE: A supernatural horror directed by Matthew Butler Hart. Synopsis: The Isle. Set in 1846, three sailors are shipwrecked on an uncharted island off the west coast of Scotland to find four lone inhabitants living in what was once a thriving community. As days pass for the promised supply ship to take them home, the sailors discover that not all is well on the seemingly friendly isle.
** THE RANGER: Black Fawn Distribution has acquired the Canadian home video rights to Jenn Wexler's festival favourite, the punk rock slasher flick THE RANGER. The deal was brokered by 79th & Broadway Entertainment's Andrew van den Houten, on behalf of the production companies Hood River Entertainment and Glass Eye Pix. Black Fawn Distribution's Blu-ray/DVD release of THE RANGER is set for January 22, 2019 and is packed with special features including audio commentary with members of the cast and crew, 5 making of documentaries, and more.
Directed by Jenn Wexler and penned by Wexler and Giaco Furino, THE RANGER follows a group of teen punks, who while on the run from the cops and hiding out in the woods, come up against the local authority - an unhinged park ranger with an axe to grind.
----- December 20, 2018 -----
** Jordan Peel's US: In an interview with EW, the director writer said that the aim of the new film was: "[something] more firmly in the horror genre but still held on to my love of movies that are twisted but fun." Today the first photos from the film are out and come ahead of a new trailer which should launch soon after having been spotted in cinemas recently. The story is set in the present day and follows Adelaide and Gabe Wilson (Lupita Nyong'o and Winston Duke) as they take their kids to Adelaide's old childhood beachside home in Northern California for the summer.
After a day at the beach with the Tyler family (led by Elisabeth Moss and Tim Heidecker), Adelaide – who's haunted by a lingering trauma from her past – becomes increasingly more paranoid that something bad will happen to her family. As night falls, the Wilsons see four figures holding hands and standing silently at the bottom of their driveway. While further specifics are under wraps, Peele did let slip the film's 'monsters' will be called 'The Tethered'. (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** NOS4A2: Four decades ago, horror director Tobe Hooper terrified TV viewers with his 1979 adaptation of Stephen King's vampire novel SALEM'S LOT. Now AMC is hoping to chill spines in a similar fashion with this small-screen version of NOS4A2, the 2013 book from King's son Joe Hill, which reworked the traditional myth of the undead bloodsuckers.
The show stars Zachary Quinto as the ancient, supernaturally powered Charlie Manx, who periodically rejuvenates by feeding on the life forces of children as he transports them to a fantasy world he has created called Christmasland. "In the journey they become these ghoulish creatures, and Charlie Manx is fed with vitality and youth," says the actor. (thanks to EW.com)
** TERRIFIED: Oscar and Golden Globe winner Guillermo del Toro will be producing Fox Searchlight's horror movie TERRIFIED, the Deadline web site has confirmed. The movie is a remake of the 2017 Argentinian film ATERRADOS. Demián Rugna wrote and directed the original movie, and will also serve as director on the English-language version. Emmy and Independent Spirit Award winner Sacha Gervasi will pen the script. (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** THE WALKING DEAD: AMC's Season 9B key art has been released, featuring a first look at Alpha (Samantha Morton), the leader of the Whisperers, a.k.a., the terrifying new villains introduced at the end of the first half of the season. The official synopsis for THE WALKING DEAD Season 9B reads: "The second half of THE WALKING DEAD Season 9 finds our groups of survivors, both old and new, continuing to deal with the impact of events that took place during the six years that have passed. Since the disappearance of Rick, many of these characters have become strangers to each other, and in some ways, strangers to themselves. What they do know is that they are in undeniable danger. They will soon realize the world just beyond does not operate as they thought.
The group's rules and ways of survival no longer guarantee their safety. A whole new threat has crossed their paths, and they soon discover it's unlike any threat they have encountered or endured before. The group will start to question what they think they see. What may appear to be normal in this post-apocalyptic world could actually be more disturbing and terrifying than when the apocalypse first broke out. All that is certain is the stakes are high and numerous." (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
----- December 19, 2018 -----
** KINGDOM: In a kingdom defeated by corruption and famine, a mysterious plague spreads to turn the infected into monsters. The crown prince, framed for treason and desperate to save his people, sets out on a journey to unveil what evil lurks in the dark. KINGDOM coming to Netflix worldwide January 25.
** BRUTAL: A savage murderer is on the prowl in Japan. One by one, his victims fall but what is he searching for? The same thing a murderess is looking for. We are all looking for that special love of our lives and sometimes, we're willing to kill everyone to find that special someone. This is the tale of two people finding each other in the most vicious way possible.
** RESIDENT EVIL reboot: James Wan's (SAW) Atomic Monster is no longer producing the RESIDENT EVIL reboot. Wan had this to say: "They announce that I'm attached to a lot of stuff and a lot of them are not necessarily real. It's kind of annoying when things come and go, or things never came in the first place. I hate it when my projects get announced. It makes it seem like I'm attached to a lot of things when in fact I'm not necessarily doing so many things. A lot of my stuff just get announced and I don't want them to be announced but people love to announce them." (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** DIAL CODE SANTA CLAUS: The French Christmas/action/horror film, is getting its first-ever U.S. theatrical run thanks to the American Film Genre Archive and the Alamo Drafthouse. The 1989 cult classic pre-dates Home Alone, and features two kids who are forced to defend their home from a deranged killer in a Santa costume.
The film disturbed both critics and the moviegoing public with its disturbing portrayal of the Christmas season. After becoming something of a sensation in France, the film went on to worldwide distribution. Except in America, where DIAL CODE SANTA CLAUS was only available as a VHS bootleg. (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
----- December 18, 2018 -----
** ANNABELLE 3: Still Photographer Justin Lubin took to Instagram to reveal that production has officially wrapped on ANNABELLE 3 the sixth film in THE CONJURING Universe. Directed by Gary Dauberman, the film is set to debut July 3, 2019.
The untitled ANNABELLE 3 will once again center around the titular demon doll but this time she is already under the possession of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren. Mckenna Grace will play the role of Judy Warren, daughter of the paranormal investigating couple who is targeted alongside her two teen babysitters by the demonic doll after they bring it home into their artifact room. Madison Iseman and Katie Sarife are set to play Judy Warren's babysitters. (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** Nicolas Cage in Sion Sono's PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND: Doing a masterclass at Macao's 3rd International Film Festival and Awards, Nicolas Cage told Screen Anarchy that the film is so unique:
"I'm thrilled about it! It's unlike anything I've ever read before. It might be the wildest movie I've ever made, and that's saying something. It's out there. I wear a skintight black leather jumpsuit with grenades attached to different body parts, and if I don't rescue the governor's daughter from this state line where they're all ghosts and bring her back they're gonna blow me up. It's just crazy. It's way out there." (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** HIDE AND SEEK: Child actress Quinn McColgan has been cast as the daughter of Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Jacinda Barrett's characters in CJ Entertainment's horror remake HIDE AND SEEK, which is currently filming in New York. Actor-director Joel David Moore is directing the redo of Next Entertainment World's 2013 hit which took more than $35M at the Korean box office. Moore adapted the screenplay from writer-director Huh Jung's original. Korean powerhouse CJ Entertainment, which is growing its U.S. footprint, developed the remake and is financing and producing the film. (thanks to Deadline.com)
** Jordan Peel's US: Here's the poster for the upcoming film, which is scheduled to be released on March 15th.
----- December 17, 2018 -----
** 2018 Horror Box Office: Among the this year's biggest success stories are three horror films. THE NUN (Cost: $22 million, Gross: $365 million), A QUIET PLACE (Cost: $17 million, Gross: $340 million) and HALLOWEEN (Cost: $10 million, Gross: $252 million).
** THE HOLE IN THE GROUND: The horror film has been picked up by indie studio A24, and now it's getting a limited theatrical release on March 1, 2019. The synopsis reads as follows: "Sarah and her young son Chris move to a new home in the Irish countryside, next to a forest that hides an enormous sinkhole. One night, Chris vanishes, and when he reappears he seems unharmed and unchanged. But, as his behavior grows increasingly disturbing, Sarah begins to fear that the boy who has returned may not be her son at all. THE HOLE IN THE GROUND weaves suspense, terror, and supernatural folklore into a richly evocative story about the primal fears of motherhood." (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK: Inspired by one of the most terrifying children's book series of all time, SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK follows a group of young teens who must solve the mystery surrounding sudden and macabre deaths in their small town. Directed by André Řvredal. Written by Daniel Hageman & Kevin Hageman, Guillermo del Toro.
----- December 14, 2018 -----
** Sion Sono's PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND: Nicolas Cage has been set to star in PRISONERS OF THE GHOSTLAND, a film that will mark the English-language debut of Japanese filmmaker Sion Sono (SUICIDE CLUB). Untitled Entertainment's Laura Rister, Eleven Arts' Ko Mori, Reza Sixo Safai of Black Light District Entertainment and XYZ Films' Nate Bolotin are producing. That pic is getting a summer theatrical release via RLJE Films.
Penned by Aaron Hendry and Safai, centers on notorious criminal Hero (Cage) who is sent to rescue an abducted girl who has disappeared into a dark supernatural universe. They must break the evil curse that binds them and escape the mysterious revenants that rule the Ghostland, an East-meets-West vortex of beauty and violence. (thanks to Deadline.com)
** Netflix buys ELI from Paramount: Ciaran Foy (SINISTER 2) directed the movie which centers around a boy receiving treatment for his auto-immune disorder who discovers that the house he's living isn't as safe as he thought.
David Chirchirillo, Ian Goldberg and Richard Naing wrote the script. Intrepid Pictures' Trevor Macy produced Eli with John Zaozirny with Melinda Nishioka as EP. Charlie Shotwell, Lili Taylor, Max Martini and Sadie Sink star. ELI was a 2015 Black List horror script and Paramount was originally planning to release the film on Jan. 4 before undating it a few weeks ago. (thanks to Deadline.com)
** ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?: DISTURBIA director D.J. Caruso is in talks to helm Paramount's feature adaptation of ARE YOU AFRAID OF THE DARK?. IT co-writer Gary Dauberman will produce alongside Matt Kaplan. The horror film is slated to be release on October 11, 2019. (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
----- December 13, 2018 -----
** Peter Jackson horror films restored: Following the masterful restoration work done on the WW1 footage for his feature documentary "THEY WILL NOT GROW OLD, filmmaker Peter Jackson will be using some of that tech to help in a 4K restoration of his first four feature films. Jackson's work from 1996's THE FRIGHTENERS onwards is all readily available in HD and on Blu-ray, but the four films he did before that – alien invasion horror-comedy BAD TASTE, the raunchy puppet film MEET THE FEEBLES, the super gory BRAINDEAD and the Oscar-nominated psychological thriller HEAVENLY CREATURES – are not.
In fact, it's hard to find these titles in decent quality. Jackson opted to try out the 'Grow Old' tech on the old films to see how it would go in terms of restoring them. He tells Heat Vision: "I've decided to go back and do this to my old films – the first four I made, which I own but never re-released. I've done some tests on BRAINDEAD, where we took the 16mm negative and put it through our World War I restoration pipeline – and s–t, it looks fantastic!… I'm pretty keen to actually just get them back out there again. That's sort of my plan for now: to do a nice little box set – the early years! The naughty years!."
Jackson says BAD TASTE was in the most need of restoration, and not only will the picture quality be improved but the audio will be retooled into high definition sound. In addition, plenty of behind-the-scenes footage collected during the making of there early movies will be restored to assemble a documentary:
"I've always had video diaries being shot. So I've got about an hour or two of us shooting BAD TASTE, seven or eight hours of us shooting THE FEEBLES, 50 to 60 hours of us filming BRAINDEAD, and at least 70 hours of us doing HEAVENLY CREATURES. And it's not just people talking to the camera. It's actually a guy on the set filming us making the film. So there's some pretty interesting stuff there and none of it has ever been out."
Jackson also says he'd be open to doing splatter films again, adding that "it would be interesting to see how disgusting Fran [Walsh] and I could be in our older age… We know a little bit more about the world than we did then, so maybe our levels of disgusting could go into whole new places." (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** ESCAPE ROOM: The upcoming film is about six strangers who find themselves in circumstances beyond their control and must use their wits to find the clues or die. ESCAPE ROOM hits theaters on January 4th.
----- December 12, 2018 -----
** THE TOXIC AVENGER remake: Legendary has acquired the film rights to THE TOXIC AVENGER franchise from Troma Entertainment. Launched as a low-budget B-movie in 1984, the film series told the story of a boy who becomes a disfigured radioactive hulking mess after falling into a vat of toxic waste. He then uses his newfound form to fight villains. The original film generated three film sequels, a stage musical production, a video game and a children's TV cartoon. Troma's Lloyd Kaufman and Michael Herz will serve as producers on the new take. (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** SUSPIRIA remake: The reimagining of the horror cult-classic arrives on Digital January 15 and on Blu-ray (plus Digital) January 29 from Lionsgate. Young American dancer Susie Bannion arrives in 1970s Berlin to audition for the world-renowned Helena Markos Dance Company, stunning the troupe's famed choreographer, Madame Blanc, with her raw talent. When she vaults to the role of lead dancer, Olga, the previous lead, breaks down and accuses the company's female directors of being witches. As rehearsals intensify for the final performance of the company's signature piece, Susie and Madame Blanc grow strangely close, suggesting that Susie's purpose in the company goes beyond merely dancing. Meanwhile, an inquisitive psychotherapist trying to uncover the company's dark secrets enlists the help of another dancer, who probes the depths of the studio's hidden underground chambers, where horrific discoveries await.
Special features:
- "The Making of Suspiria" Featurette
- "The Secret Language of Dance" Featurette
- "The Transformations of Suspiria" Featurette
** Jordan Peel's US: Following his massive success with GET OUT, comedian turned filmmaker Jordan Peele soon returns with his second directorial effort US about which little is known. Now, thanks to recent test screening invitations, a first plot synopsis for the film has gone online and goes for a very generic sounding home invasion film – but seems to be doing so deliberately. It reads as follows:
"A mother (Lupita Nyong'o) and a father (Winston Duke) take their kids to their beach house expecting to unplug and unwind with friends (one of which is Elizabeth Moss). But as night descends, their serenity turns to tension and chaos when some shocking visitors arrive uninvited."
The film is expected to incorporate social commentary in the way GET US did, but it's not clear what said commentary will be about as such. US is scheduled to arrive in theaters on March 15th 2019. (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
----- December 11, 2018 -----
** RESIDENT EVIL reboot: The James Wan-produced reboot of the hit video game film franchise, RESIDENT EVIL, has just found its writer and director in the form of Johannes Roberts, the man behind the 2017 survival horror hit 47 METERS DOWN, according to Variety. (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** PERFUME: Patrick Süskind's best-selling novel about smell, passion and serial killing gets a shocking contemporary spin. While in boarding school, a group of six become friends through their intense passion for scent. When one is brutally murdered years later, disturbing secrets about the group are revealed when the police investigates each as a suspect. PERFUME arrives on Netflix on December 21st.
** THE PATIENT WHO NEARLY DROVE ME OUT OF MEDECINE: According to Variety, Twentieth Century Fox and New Regency have purchased the horror project THE PATIENT WHO NEARLY DROVE ME OUT OF MEDECINE, with Ryan Reynolds set to produce through his Maximum Effort production company alongside Vertigo Entertainment.
The novella, written by Jasper DeWitt, was originally published on Reddit's No Sleep subreddit, a community for original horror stories. According to the report, tells the story of "an idealistic young doctor who tries to solve a mystery and heal its most difficult patient. (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** THE WATCHER: The Deadline web site reports that streaming service Netflix has won an intense bidding war amongst six studios for the rights to THE WATCHER, an adaptation of an article published in The Cut section of New York magazine by Reeves Wiedeman. THE WATCHER told the story of a stalker terrorizing a family who move into their dream home.
The film, which is set to be directed by Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman will tell the true story of the Broaddus family as they purchase a house in New Jersey for $1.3 million and the series of letters from an anonymous writer they receive, beginning with a welcome letter detailing the writer's history with the house that divulged some disturbing details regarding both and revealed he was watching the family, followed by several more intense letters reportedly written in blood. Despite going to the police for help, the writer's identity is still currently unknown and four years after having bought the house, the parents never moved their three children in and have only rented the property out after two failed attempts to raze the structure. (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
----- December 10, 2018 -----
** BRIGHTBURN: What if a child from another world crash-landed on Earth, but instead of becoming a hero to mankind, he proved to be something far more sinister? With BRIGHTBURN, the visionary filmmaker of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY and SLITHER presents a startling, subversive take on a radical new genre: superhero horror.
** Nacho Vigalondo's POOKA!: This year's hottest Christmas gift is naughty, nice and will haunt your nightmares.
** 10 TO MIDNIGHT: Coming soon from Scream Factory. The sleazy 1983 slasher/action film starring Charles Bronson and a naked serial killer arrives next month in a packed Blu-ray upgrade. Details are as follows:
- NEW 4K Scan of The Original Camera Negative
- NEW Charlie's Partner – Interview with Actor Andrew Stevens
- NEW Producing Bronson – Interview with Producer Lance Hool
- NEW Remembering Bronson – Interview with Actor Robert F. Lyons
- NEW Undressed to Kill – Interview with Actress Jeana Tomasina Keough
- NEW Audio Commentary with Writer/Historian Paul Talbot (Author of Bronson's Loose! And Bronson's Loose Again!)
- Audio Commentary with Producer Pancho Kohner, Casting Director John Crowther, an Film Historian David Del Valle
- Theatrical Trailer
- Radio Spots
- Still Gallery
** BLOOD LAKE: Coming to Special Edition DVD on April 9 2019 from AGFA and Bleeding Skull Featuring a Brand new restoration! Tim Boggs 1987 lakeside Slasher BLOOD LAKE! BLOOD LAKE is the most fascinating -- and stupefying -- shot-on-video slasher that ever escaped from 1987. A group of unhinged party animals, including adolescent horn-dog Lil' Tony, embark on a weekend trip filled with Jet Skis, a keg of Busch, and an extended game of quarters. But look out! There's a supernatural killer on the loose who wears cowboy boots and a silk shirt with a rose stitched on it! Made by real-life friends from Oklahoma on a real-life vacation, BLOOD LAKE is a rewardingly lethal collision of '80s slasher video-vomit and twisted cinéma vérité madness. From false metal soundtrack hits to gratuitous scenes of people sleeping, this might be the only movie in history capable of receiving a stamp of approval from both David Lee Roth and Andy Warhol.
----- December 5, 2018 -----
** M. Night Shymalan's TALES FROM THE CRYPT: In an interview with Digital Spy director M. Night Shyamalan revealed that his reboot is no longer happening; "I think it's dead," he told the site. "We tried everything that we could. That was so mired in people that had rights to it… constantly mired from the original comic books to the people that did the original show and that was a very contentious era for that show and who was involved and all the stuff that had nothing to do with me, a generation before me." (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** SHRINE: Sam Raimi has signed on to produce a film adaptation of UK horror novelist James Herbert's novel SHRINE for Screen Gems. Veteran screenwriter Evan Spiliotopoulos is set to write and direct the film as well as produce with Raimi and Rob Tapert.
The story follows a disgraced journalist who tries to resurrect his career upon discovering a series of seemingly divine miracles in a small New England town. He soon learns that the so-called miracles may have a much darker source. (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** HIDE AND SEEK: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Jacinda Barrett, Joe Pantoliano and Mustafa Shakir will lead the cast of Joel David Moore's horror-thriller remake of the Korean hit HIDE AND SEEK for CJ Entertainment. Filming begins this week in New York City.
Moore adapted the screenplay for the socially-minded horror which nods to the crisis in affordable housing and the growing chasm between rich and poor and follows a man searching for his long-lost brother who stumbles upon a secret world of squatters terrorizing the homes of unsuspecting tenants. (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
----- December 4, 2018 -----
** HALLOWEEN reboot sequel: Though not officially announced yet, a sequel to this year's HALLOWEEN is all but assured. The film brought in $252 million worldwide and became the highest grossing slasher film of all time. Now John Carpenter is ready to write the music for the sure-to-be-announced sequel. In an interview with Consequence of Sound, the filmmaker and musician said he couldn't wait to compose a score for the inevitable sequel.
"We'll be ready. We've all talked about it. We'll be ready," Carpenter revealed. He's also working on another compilation, Lost Themes III, but says his band needs a bit of a break. "The group is not intensely working on anything, but we'll get back together and do some more stuff. We need to rest now after HALLOWEEN and keep out of sight. We don't need to bug anybody now." (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** THE SHINING sequel: Director Mike Flanagan (THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE) took to Facebook to announce that production has officially wrapped on Warner Bros. Pictures' DOCTOR SLEEP, an adaptation of Stephen King's literary sequel to THE SHINING.
"So that's a wrap on DOCTOR SLEEP! It's been a long, crazy, truly unique experience. I read the novel as soon as it came out back in 2013, fascinated and moved by the epic story of Dan Torrance and Abra Stone, but I never imagined for a moment that I'd be the person to bring it to the big screen. It's been an honor to spend the last five months with this fantastic cast and crew, and to be trusted with Stephen King's extraordinary story. One of the highlights of my career, without a doubt." (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** NECROLOGIES: One night, a horror-movie fan (Alexis Wawerka) sneaks into a graveyard. He is caught by a strange grave keeper (Jean-Claude Dreyfus). The young man tries to talk with him to gain some time before he calls the police. The keepershows him his "book of tombs" and tells him the most bizarre and frightening stories linked to these tombs. Six macabre stories, filled with rvil creatures and unearthly events, will lead them to the end of this dreadful night.
----- December 3rd, 2018 -----
** HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U: This Valentine's Day, death makes a killer comeback.
** A QUIET PLACE sequel: Actor and filmmaker John Krasinski is now just over six months into the writing process on the sequel to his acclaimed horror hit A QUIET PLACE. The first film follows a family of four must navigate their lives in silence after mysterious creatures that hunt by sound threatens their survival. It opened in April and grossed over $334 million worldwide on a $17 million dollar budget, along with nabbing some of the best reviews of the year and the title is likely to feature on many 'Best of Year' lists. Speaking with Business Insider this week, Krasinski says the new film doesn't feel like a sequel:
"I don't even see it as a sequel. Emily [Blunt] actually blew my mind by categorizing it the correct way after I pitched it to her. She said, 'This isn't a sequel at all – this is the second book in a series of books. It's a widening of a world.' And I thought that's the best way to look at it. It doesn't feel like a sequel – it's a continuation of living in that world."
A few weeks ago in a separate interview, Krasinski saying he originally had no interest in working on the sequel until he had an idea followed it down a rabbit hole. Now he's changed his tune and is legitimately excited about where it's all going:
"I can't wait to get in there and keep writing and see what this movie wants to allow itself to be. And that will happen in the script process and the shooting and the editing. But I think what's cool about the second part of this movie is the same set of rules have to apply. I can't just introduce a world where you can make a ton of sound, and if I did, there would have to be a reason for it. So it's figuring out if there are smart and clever ways to do it."
Krasinski directed the first film and co-starred with his real-life wife Emily Blunt. Krasinski hasn't been confirmed to return as director as yet and no official production or release date for a sequel has been announced. (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** HELL FEST: The film now arrives to digital on December 21st on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray and Digital), Blu-ray Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital), DVD, and On Demand January 8 from Lionsgate.
** THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT: Lars von Trier's film debuted at Cannes this year to mixed reviews and a bunch of criticism about its brutality and violence. That was followed by an interesting marketing campaign that led to the announcement a few weeks ago about a unique release strategy.
IFC Films has the movie in North America and recently held a one-night-only screening of the full, uncensored director's cut of the film (the one from Cannes). That comes ahead of a trimmed by 80 seconds R-rated theatrical release along with two different versions on VOD (the director's cut if you purchase, the theatrical cut if you rent).
Now, in having done its one night only screening where it made a solid $200,000 in one night on 140 Screens, IFC has found itself in hot water for having violated some of the rules of the U.S. censors – the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
The MPAA has released a statement saying the release of an unrated director's cut so close to the film's 'official' release, and without a waiver from the group, is confusing for moviegoers and could lead to patrons mistakenly attending an unedited version thinking it's the R-rated cut.
As a result of the violation, IFC Films could find itself on the end of some fairly serious sanctions. IFC is now awaiting the decision of a hearing of the Classifications and Ratings Administration and could see the film's theatrical cut's R-rating revoked along with a several month suspension of the ratings process for other films from the distributor. (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
----- November 30, 2018 -----
** Jordan Peele's CANDYMAN reboot: MGM has announced they've partnered with Monkeypaw Productions' Jordan Peele (GET OUT) and Win Rosenfeld to produce a re-imagining of the 1992 horror classic. Rising filmmaker Nia DaCosta will direct from a screenplay by Peele and Rosenfeld. The film, a "spiritual sequel" to the original, returns to the neighborhood where the legend began: the now-gentrified section of Chicago where the Cabrini-Green housing projects once stood.
"We cannot wait for the world to see what the mind-blowing combination of Jordan, Win and Nia bring to the legend of CANDYMAN. They have created a story that will not only pay reverence to Clive Barker's haunting and brilliant source material but is also thoroughly modern and will bring in a whole new generation of fans," said Jonathan Glickman, MGM's President of Motion Picture Group.
"The original was a landmark film for black representation in the horror genre. Alongside NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, CANDYMAN was a major inspiration for me as a filmmaker — and to have a bold new talent like Nia at the helm of this project is truly exciting. We are honored to bring the next chapter in the Candyman canon to life and eager to provide new audiences with an entry point to Clive Barker's legend," added Peele. Production is expected to begin Spring 2019. Universal Pictures will release CANDYMAN theatrically in the U.S. on June 12, 2020. (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** ZOMBIELAND sequel: Variety reports that the beautiful Zoey Deutch has signed on to star in the upcoming sequel, a follow-up to the acclaimed 2009 zombie comedy. (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
----- November 27, 2018 -----
** RESIDENT EVIL reboot: While there's still no word on when it'll begin production, the reboot of the RESIDENT EVIL films is chugging along with writer Greg Russo revealing that a draft of the screenplay has been completed and turned into the studio.
James Wan is serving as a producer on the new take on the property with a director expected to be hired soon. Russo, who has also worked on the long-gestating MORTAL KOMBAT movie reboot, spoke with Discussing Film about how approached the reboot and said the recent and highly acclaimed video game RESIDENT EVIL 7 released last year served as the template:
"Obviously, I'm a huge fan of the franchise so to work on that was a lot of fun. And they've made six films before so when you come back to that and reboot it, you wanna do something different and not just rehash. For me it was very clear-cut that I wanted to go back and make it scary again like a horror film in terms of the classic James Wan style so that was the pitch, going back and looking what made the games scary in the first place so yeah, RESIDENT EVIL 7 was a bit of a touchstone for my draft."
Despite the work, Russo says his involvement in the project is done and so he's not sure what's going on with it now: "I worked on the reboot for about a year and then producer James Wan came in, my involvement on that project has kind of concluded, so I'm not sure what they'll really do with it, I submitted my draft to the producers and they were happy with it and ultimately they'll do what they will with the property but I'm currently not involved with that film."
Director Paul W.S. Anderson and star Milla Jovovich made six RESIDENT EVIL movies over a 15-year period, a franchise which was much more action than horror oriented which is what the game series was initially crafted as. Despite a critical drubbing, the six films have snagged a whopping $1.2 billion in revenue. (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** TERRIFIED (ATERRADOS): Guillermo del Toro is in talks to produce a English language remake of Demian Rugna's film. Because of his fascination with the paranormal, a police officer on the brink of retirement is asked to investigate a series of strange deaths happening doors apart from each other. There he meets a famed paranormal investigator who is looking into a disappearance in the area as well. Together, with another paranormal enthusiast, they look into these strange incidents and uncover a terrifying connection. (thanks to ScreenAnarchy.com)
** THE WALKING DEAD: Here's the mid-season 9 official trailer!
----- November 26, 2018 -----
** HALLOWEEN: The film will be available to buy digitally via Movies Anywhere on Dec. 28, then on 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, DVD, and On Demand on Jan. 15th. Meanwhile, here's a deleted scene.
** JOHNNY Z: This is a film about a half human, half zombie named Johnny who's blood holds the cure to the zombie epidemic. After escaping Nordac, an experimental medical prison, Johnny comes under the guidance of a martial arts Grandmaster named Jonray who agrees under a dying wish to protect and embarks on a journey to find a missing doctor while battling his one personal demons.
----- November 19, 2018 -----
** Blumhouse Television and Amazon Studios: Both are teaming to produce eight feature-length thriller features, from filmmakers of diverse backgrounds, to run worldwide on the streaming service. Amazon emphasized that the Blumhouse deal marks its first broad pact for feature-length productions that will be exclusive to Amazon's streaming platform worldwide. The projects are all said to be "elevated thrillers or stories with dark themes". (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** FEAR STREET: Author R.L. Stine took to Twitter to confirm that the film adaptation of his popular YA horror book series FEAR STREET is still moving forward at 20th Century Fox. He made the announcement due to the fans' constant questions about the upcoming trilogy. (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** LEPRECHAUN RETURNS: Here's the trailer and second poster for the upcoming film, which comes out in theatre 11 December 2018.
----- November 15, 2018 -----
** MANIAC: The notorious horror classic... New 3 disc limited edition 4k restoration from original camera negative with 3D lenticular slipcover - Only 10,000 Available! This new edition features;
Disc 1 (Blu-ray) Feature Film + Extras:
- Audio Commentary #1 with Producer/Director William Lustig and Producer Andrew W. Garroni
- Audio Commentary #2 with Producer/Director William Lustig, Special Make-Up Effects Artist Tom Savini, Editor Lorenzo Marinelli, and Joe Spinell's Assistant Luke Walter
- Theatrical Trailers
- TV Spots
- Radio Spots
Disc 2 (Blu-ray) Extras:
- NEW! MANIAC Outtakes
- NEW! Returning to the Scene of the Crime with William Lustig
- Anna and the Killer - Interview with Star Caroline Munro
- The Death Dealer - Interview with Special Make-Up Effects Artist Tom Savini
- Dark Notes - Interview with Composer Jay Chattaway
- Maniac Men - Interview with Songwriters Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky
- The Joe Spinell Story
- Mr. Robbie: Maniac 2 Promo Reel
- MANIAC Publicity
- MANIAC Controversy
- BONUS! MANIAC Original Motion Picture Soundtrack CD by Jay Chattaway
- BONUS! Collectable Booklet with new essay by Michael Gingold
** THE SONATA: A young violinist unravels her long lost father's past, triggering dark forces that reach beyond her imagination...
----- November 13, 2018 -----
** CHILD'S PLAY remake: MGM has released a teaser poster for the upcoming remake, which will be arriving in theaters next summer on June 21, 2019, Variety has confirmed. Aubrey Plaza and Brian Tyree Henry are headlining the new film, under the helm of filmmaker Lars Klevberg (POLAROID). Tyler Burton Smith wrote the screenplay based on the 1988 film. In the remake, Plaza stars as a mother who gives her son Andy, portrayed by Gabriel Bateman, a toy doll for his birthday, unaware of its more sinister nature. The new version of the killer doll won't be a doll possessed by a serial killer but will be a defective Buddy doll whose programming code was hacked so that he has no limitations to learning and also violence. (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** HELL FEST: Experience a terrifying celebration of the horror genre when HELL FEST arrives on Digital December 28 and on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray and Digital), Blu-ray Combo Pack (plus DVD and Digital), DVD, and On Demand January 8 from Lionsgate.
A group of friends are bound for a horror-themed Halloween event at a local amusement park — a sprawling labyrinth of rides, games, and mazes that travels the country and happens to be in town. But for one visitor, the ghoulish carnival of nightmares is not the attraction — it is a hunting ground. On the night the friends attend, a masked serial killer turns the amusement park into his own playground, terrorizing attendees while the rest of the patrons believe that it is all part of the show. As the body count and frenzied excitement of the crowd continues to rise, who will fight to survive the night?
Take home HELL FEST and go behind the scenes with an exclusive, never-before-seen featurette, "Thrills and Kills: Making HELL FEST." Experience four times the resolution of Full HD with the 4K Ultra HD combo pack, which includes Dolby Vision HDR, bringing entertainment to life through ultravivid picture quality. When compared to a standard picture, Dolby Vision can deliver spectacular colors never before seen on a screen, highlights that are up to 40 times brighter, and blacks that are 10 times darker. The HELL FEST 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, and DVD will be available for the suggested retail price of $42.99, $39.99, and $29.95, respectively.
** FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S: Video game creator Scott Cawthon has revealed that Blumhouse and Universal Pictures' forthcoming live-action adaptation of his popular horror game FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S has been briefly delayed due to his dissatisfaction with the first script he had written. Cawthon also shared that the new script the he has been working on will be based on the first three FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S games.
"I had a script written," Cawthon wrote earlier in a Q&A thread. "Jason [Blum] liked it, and Chris Columbus liked it too, but I tossed it. I had a different idea for it, one that I liked better. I take responsibility for this delay; it's my fault. [I'm] determined to find the right story."
"I'm sticking to what I've always said… either the right movie gets made or no movie gets made… I hate delaying a project that's already seen so many delays, but I have to go with my instincts on what I think will be exciting and interesting, and what I think the fanbase will really want to see. If that means that I have to start over ten more times, then that's what I'm going to do. The good thing is that each attempt gets better and better, in my opinion. So, despite the delays, it's going in the right direction." (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
----- November 12, 2018 -----
** CAM: From Blumhouse, the producer of GET OUT and UPGRADE comes CAM - a technology-driven psychological thriller set in the world of webcam porn starring Madeline Brewer (HANDMAID'S TALE).
** THE HOARD: From indie horror studio Foresight Features and the creators of PONTYPOOL, MONSTER BRAWL and SEPTIC MAN comes their latest batshit horror/comedy THE HOARD. THE HOARD depicts the ill-fated effort of a group of Reality TV stars trying to produce a pilot episode for their comeback series "Extremely Haunted Hoarders". An ensemble comedy, a paranormal investigation, a hoarder intervention and a house-flipping misadventure, THE HOARD chronicles how the ultimate reality show turned into a deadly nightmare.
** ASTRAL: A detached university student faces the consequences of astral projection when he uses it to reconnect with his dead mother.
** LUCIFERINA: Natalia is a 19-year-old novice who reluctantly returns home to say goodbye to her dying father. But when she meets up with her sister and her friends, she decides instead to travel the jungle in search of a mystical plant. Instead of pleasure, they find a world of Black Masses, strange pregnancies, bloody deaths and perhaps, a sexually violent clash with the Devil himself. The film will be available November 20th on Blu-ray and DVD in North America. On December 4th, the film will launch on Digital HD, including iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play, Vudu and more.
** THE PURGE TV series: The Deadline web site reports that USA Network has officially renewed the movie spin-off series for a second season.
"USA Network is so proud to be the television home for the iconic franchise THE PURGE" NBC Universal's President of Entertainment Networks for Cable Entertainment, Chris McCumber said. "The partnership and creative trust of Jason Blum and everyone at Blumhouse Television and Universal Pictures ensured THE PURGE's successful transition from film to TV – and, along with Universal Cable Productions, we look forward to digging even deeper into the mythology in Season 2." (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE: What happens when zombies corner two badass women? Brains get splattered...that's what.
** AURORA: The passenger ship Aurora mysteriously collides into the rocky sea, and threatens an entire island and a young woman and her sister's lives; they must survive to stay alive by finding missing dead bodies for a bounty, while at risk from visitors who seek shelter in their home.
** ZOO: Karen and John have lost the spark of married life the day they were notified that they were unable to conceive. Now they almost live like the walking dead, imprisoned by everyday life and on the verge of divorce. When the world is hit by a pandemic that really turns people into zombies, the couple have to lock themselves in their apartment, waiting for rescue. While the world outside is falling apart, they are forced to find their way back to each other and reclaim their lost love.
----- November 7, 2018 -----
** Arrow Video US - November 2018 Release Schedule: Arrow Video gets things started on November 13th with the release of THE WIZARD OF GORE from the wizard himself, Herschell Gordon Lewis. Montag the Magnificent wows audiences with his macabre magic act, but before long his volunteers start to wind up dead. Is Montag a modern day wizard or just your everyday serial killer? A TV talk show hostess investigates in this splatter classic! This release comes fully load with all the blood soaked special features you could want, including the addition of 1968's How to Make a Doll.
On November 20th audiences will get the chance to purchase Teruo Ishii's anthology, ORGIES OF EDO. This bloody entry takes viewers along for a ride featuring three stories each with a corrupt moral center. Politically incorrect, each tale is that of tragic heroines caught up in unspeakable violence. First pressings of this release will include an illustrated collector's booklet featuring new writing on the film by author Tom Mes.
** Tempe Entertainment: Sad news as longtime B-movie production & distribution company calls it quits after 33 years. Rising from the ashes of Amsco Studios during post-production on THE DEAD NEXT DOOR in September 1988, The Suburban Tempe Company became a recognizable name in B-movie cinema over the decade that followed, producing ROBOT NINJA, SKINNED ALIVE, and a notorious shot-on-video "six pack" for Cinema Home Video before branching out on its own with movies like OZONE, THE SANDMAN, and POLYMORPH.
In 1991, Tempe Video was formed to market and distribute productions in house, paving the way to acquire movies from other producers alongside Alternative Cinema, a magazine dedicated to the burgeoning direct-to-video scene. After a brief hiatus from self-distribution with BLOODLETTING in 1997, the newly-christened Tempe Entertainment headed west for the most prolific chapter in the company's history.
** ALPHAS: FINAL DESTINATION 5 director Steven Quale is set to helm Voltage Pictures' aquatic thriller ALPHAS based on a screenplay by Frank Hannah. The story sees a school of great white sharks terrorize a coastal town and their only hope is a damaged killer whale who has been in solitary confinement for years after killing its trainer. (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** DEAR DAVID: New Line has won a bidding war for the viral ghost story DEAR DAVID, written by former BuzzFeed writer Adam Elis, according to the Collider web site. It mentions that BuzzFeed Studios had partnered with It producer Dan Lin and his Rideback banner to produce the film back in June, but it still needed a distributor. After a prolonged negotiation period, New Line eventually beat out Paramount Players for the project. (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
----- November 6, 2018 -----
** EVIL DEAD and DON'T BREATHE sequels: Uruguayan filmmaker Fede Alvarez first came to many people's attention when, for his first feature effort, he scored the chance to direct the high profile remake of EVIL DEAD. Much more brutal than the Sam Raimi directed trilogy, the new take on the property scored fairly good reviews and made back over five times its $17 million budget – a very good start. Things only got better with DON'T BREATHE, a high profile thriller about three friends trapped inside the house of a psychopathic blind war veteran. Nominated and winning several genre awards, the film scored very good reviews and went on to make $157 million worldwide from a $10 million budget.
Speaking with Movieweb, he touched upon a recent Twitter poll in which he asked whether people would rather see an EVIL DEAD or a DON'T BREATHE sequel, to which most responded more EVIL DEAD – a decision Alvarez seeming doesn't have much interest in:
"When I tweeted that I was interested in seeing what people prefer. We were having some internal debates about what people would be interested in most. Unfortunately, EVIL DEAD 2 won. Which, I guess I would have preferred DON'T BREATHE 2 to win because it's one of my own creations. Obviously EVIL DEAD has the bigger following. So that's what happened."
One key difference? EVIL DEAD 2 doesn't have a script whereas DON'T BREATHE 2 has a screenplay ready to go. Alvarez admits he's not sure how much involvement in either he'll have:
"…it doesn't mean that we won't make them. And that I make them might not be that I'm directing, but I might be producing. They're just ideas right now. Nothing to announce officially. We do have a script for DON'T BREATHE 2. That's the only difference. We don't have a script for EVIL DEAD 2. But we do have a script for DON'T BREATHE 2 that we wrote. Once I'm done with THE GIRL WITH THE SPIDER'S WEB we're gonna start thinking of ways to bring that story to the screen. Me directing or me producing. It really depends on the time that we'll have. I'm particularly excited about that because it's a really different sequel, when it comes to sequels. It's a very different approach and I'm excited about that." (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** THE WALKING DEAD movies: AMC has announced the first projects in development from Chief Content Officer Scott M. Gimple for THE WALKING DEAD Universe. A series of AMC Studios Original Films, starring Andrew Lincoln and written by Gimple, are planned to continue the story of Rick Grimes, with the first expected to begin production as early as 2019.
In Lincoln's final appearance on the hit series THE WALKING DEAD, the character of Rick Grimes is mortally wounded and last seen being flown away by helicopter to an unknown destination. The first film will explore the story of where Rick is taken and what he faces in a new corner of the zombie apocalypse.
As part of Gimple's multi-year plan for THE WALKING DEAD Universe, there are other projects currently in development, including additional films, specials, series, digital content and more. Some of the stories will relate to THE WALKING DEAD as fans know it while others will be standalone stories that break into new creative territory.
"We have a lot on the horizon – starting with a new epic featuring one of the greatest leading actors in television history and one of the best people I've ever met," said Gimple. "These films are going to be big evolutions of what we've been doing on the show, with the scope and scale of features. We're starting with the first part of the continuing story of Rick Grimes, and there is much more on the way, featuring yet-unseen worlds of THE WALKING DEAD and faces from the show's past, as well as new characters we hope to become favorites, told by TWD veterans and emerging voices. We want to break new ground with different, distinct stories, all part of the same world that's captured our imagination for nearly a decade of the Dead."
"We believe this is a world and narrative with many possibilities and opportunities for character development and we're excited to expand the series into a franchise that can live across multiple formats," said David Madden, president of original programming for AMC, SundanceTV and AMC Studios. "For many years, fans have talked about things in the apocalypse they want to see and now we have an opportunity to explore those stories, beginning with the character who started it all, Rick Grimes." (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** OVERLORD: In Theaters and Available for Pre-Order from PlayStation Store on November 9th.
** GRUDGE: Sony has released the first look at their upcoming reboot of THE GRUDGE franchise opening June 21st next year. Nicolas Pesce helms the film which stars INSIDIOUS alum Lin Shaye who earlier this year said: "It's the scariest movie I've ever been a part of, not even maybe. Not even maybe. And it's the scariest part I've ever had, bar none." (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
----- November 5, 2018 -----
** NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD sequel: Fifty years on from the release of George A. Romero's iconic 1968 zombie film NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, some of the key talent involved in it will return for a direct follow-up. Living Dead Media, the company which handles the rights to the original, have announced that they intend to release an official sequel billed as NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD PART II which is expected to arrive in 2019. In an official statement the company says:
"NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD's place on the Mt. Rushmore of horror films is known by most horror fans and people all over the world. But, unknown to most is that in the 1970's, the original writers and producers of Night of the Living Dead penned a sequel to their masterpiece. A sequel that inexplicably has gone unproduced for over forty years – until now. Living Dead Media has brushed away the dirt from this amazing follow up to a classic and brought together a great team to produce the new film."
Essentially it sounds like the film will be using 2018's HALLOWEEN as a template with the new film working as a direct sequel to the original and ignoring the numerous sequels that came after. George A. Romero's wife, Suzanne Desrocher-Romero, had previously revealed that her late husband left behind forty or more scripts that hadn't been produced, though it's not clear if this project is one of those scripts she was talking about. (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** A QUIET PLACE sequel: John Krasinski and Emily Blunt sat down with Entertainment Weekly to discuss the development of the story for the sequel to this year's acclaimed horror smash A QUIET PLACE, including an idea to dive into the past of the characters.
"In some ways, the idea of seeing who these people were before this all happened would be interesting, but I'm not quite sure because I think actually it's now what's the next chapter and what happens next," said Blunt, who plays the Abbott family matriarch. "I think people feel very invested in this family…. I think it's such an open book right now, and certainly for John who is lasering into something as we speak."
Krasinski, who helped with the rewrites on the first installment that he directed and starred in, originally had no interest in working on a sequel, but after finding a small idea for it, he found himself inspired and came up with further planning for the sequel.
"This is a world you can play in, this isn't just a character to remake…. it's actually a world, which is a whole different, very unique experience," Krasinski explained. "It's not like ALIEN or JAWS where the main villain is the thing you're repeating; it's an actual entire set of rules and the circumstance that the world has undergone that you can play in very different facets." (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** IT Chapter Two: Director Andy Muschietti took to Instagram Friday to announce that filming has concluded for the highly-anticipated sequel to the 2017 horror hit, as IT Chapter Two which is set to hit theaters in September 2019!
** BLOODY BALLET: When a beautiful ballerina dancer, Adriana Mena (Kendra Carelli), lands the lead role in the upcoming Nutcracker performance, she's forced to face her demons as jealousy and tension begin to provoke the supernatural. Coming out November 13 from High Octane Pictures.
** RONDO: Paul, a troubled young veteran, is told by a psychiatrist that sex is the solution to his dependency and drinking problems. But things turns out otherwise as Paul and his sister are sucked into a criminal underworld where sex and murder are daily specials and revenge is served piping hot.
----- November 1st, 2018 -----
** THE HOUSE THAT JACK BUILT: The film takes place in 1970s USA. We follow the highly intelligent Jack (Matt Dillon) through 5 incidents and are introduced to the murders that define Jack's development as a serial killer. We experience the story from Jack's point of view. He views each murder as an artwork in itself, even though his dysfunction gives him problems in the outside world. Despite the fact that the final and inevitable police intervention is drawing ever near (which both provokes and puts pressure on Jack) he is – contrary to all logic – set on taking greater and greater chances. Along the way we experience Jack's descriptions of his personal condition, problems and thoughts through a recurring conversation with the unknown Verge – a grotesque mixture of sophistry mixed with an almost childlike self-pity and in-depth explanations of, for Jack, dangerous and difficult maneuvers.
** THE MEG sequel: Producer Catherine Xujun Ying has acknowledged that a sequel to this summer's giant prehistoric shark movie THE MEG is in the works. At present the film hasn't set any screenwriters and the project isn't officially greenlit by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Nevertheless, it seems to be happening. Speaking at the Los Angeles Skirball Center's U.S.-China Entertainment Summit, Ying says a sequel is "definitely the plan… it's still in the very early stages, but we're working on it. We're trying to keep it secret at this time."
Ying is also CEO of Gravity Pictures who was involved heavily in financing the movie which plays a big part in the chances of a sequel happening, as does producer Belle Avery having already bought the rights in perpetuity to all five of Steve Alten's books upon which it's based. Additionally there are reportedly discussions in place to create Meg theme park rides in China.
THE MEG is the most successful U.S.-Chinese co-production ever made to date, clocking in at $527.8 million worldwide. One advantage of a sequel is that it doesn't have to swallow the tens of millions spent over twenty years in development costs which the first film endured. (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** LEPRECHAUN RETURNS: The film arrives on Digital and On Demand December 11 from Lionsgate. The deadly, wisecracking Leprechaun is back in all his gory glory. When the sorority sisters of the Alpha Upsilon house decide to go green and use an old well as their water source, they unwittingly awaken a pint-sized, green-clad monster. The Leprechaun wants a pot of gold buried near the sorority house, but first he must recover his powers with a killing spree—and only the girls of AU can stop him
----- October 31, 2018 -----
Happy Halloween
** SUSPIRIA remake: In limited release, Luca Guadagnino's arthouse remake of SUSPIRIA opened in just two cinemas but pulled in a stellar $179,806. That gives it a per screen average of $89,903 which is the highest recorded for a film released in 2018 to date. Amazon Studios will test audiences' reaction to the arty gore with a rollout into 250 locations next weekend, followed by an expansion into more cities in its third outing.
** John Carpenter and Shudder: These days filmmaker John Carpenter is happily enjoying his retirement, movie making no longer holding much interest as instead he's playing video games and making music.
He did come back out to play a little this year, serving as a consultant, producer and crafting the entire score for the new HALLOWEEN. Now he's also done a little side job – he's created a musical theme for the horror streaming service Shudder.
Laced with his trademark synth sound, Carpenter has come up with two versions which you can hear below. One is a full theme at nearly two minutes, the other a five-second version for interstitials featuring the Shudder logo. The new theme makes its debut today during a 24-hour streaming marathon of Carpenter's original HALLOWE
In a press release, Shudder GM Craig Engler says: "We wanted to create a one-of-a-kind audio identity for Shudder and the first person we thought of was John Carpenter. We approached John and to our delight, he was enthusiastic about the idea and came up with an iconic theme that will enchant and thrill Shudder members every time they hear it."
This follows on from recent comments by Carpenter hinting that a TV series based on Carpenter's 1987 film PRINCE OF DARKNESS could be on the way at Shudder.
----- October 29, 2018 -----
** HALLOWEEN sequel: With the new HALLOWEEN scoring strong reviews, a stellar $76 million domestic opening last weekend and a likely second weekend in the top spot with a further $32 million estimated, it comes as little surprise that talk of another potential film in the franchise has been swirling for the past few days.
First up, co-writer Danny McBride tells Deadline he's in the process of coming up with an idea: "We definitely have ideas of what we would do. [We] have thoughts and ideas of what we could possibly do. We hadn't invested a ton of time on them, but now we're being asked to figure it out. There are definitely talks on whether we will do more of them and we're just trying to see what best makes sense."
Actress Jamie Lee Curtis tells Empire Australia that she's up for coming back but on one condition: "If David Gordon Green called me up and said let's do another Halloween, I would do another HALLOWEEN... because he did such a beautiful job creating this movie."
Producer Jason Blum tells The Wrap web site he's keen to get to work on a follow-up: "It's hard to make a great movie, period, and I always say, make a great movie first and we'll figure out a franchise after. Of course we would want to make a sequel, in fact, we're dying to make a sequel... there are a lot of people that have to be in the same mindset as us. Nothing's been set in stone, but we're certainly going to try." (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** DARK HARVEST: New Regency has acquired the film rights to Norman Partridge's award-winning horror novel DARK HARVEST and have set Michael Gilio to pen the film while Matt Tolmach (VENOM) will produce. The story is set on Halloween in 1963 in a small Midwestern town where teenage boys eagerly square off with the butcher knife-wielding October Boy and escape a dead-end future in the one-horse town. (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
----- October 26, 2018 -----
** GRUDGE reboot: Director Nicolas Pesce's GRUDGE will hit theaters on June 21, according to the Deadline web site. This moves its release date up almost two months from its original slate of August 16. Pesce's film is a remake of the 2004 film THE GRUDGE, which is itself a remake of the 2002 Japanese film JU-ON THE GRUDGE. (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** THE BOY 2: STXfilms and Lakeshore Entertainment have announced their latest joint venture, THE BOY 2, a follow up to the successful horror-thriller feature THE BOY (2016), which starred Lauren Cohan and Rupert Evans. Katie Holmes will headline the cast in the role of Liza. William Brent Bell will return to direct the sequel. Principal photography will begin in Victoria, British Columbia on January 14th, 2019. (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE: The launch of THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE on Netflix has proven a hit both with critics and audiences. It's also a limited event series by design as opposed to an ongoing one, so creatively there's no need for a second season.
That said if Netflix should order one, the show's creator Mike Flanagan confirms it will focus on completely different characters so as not to undo the careful work of the first season which admittedly has little resemblance to the Shirley Jackson novel upon which it is based. Speaking with EW, Flanagan said:
"I don't want to speculate too much about season two until Netflix and Paramount and Amblin let us know if they want one. What I will say, though, is that as far as I've ever been concerned with this, the story of the Crain family is told. It's done. I think that there are all sorts of different directions we could go in, with the house or with something completely different.
I love the idea of an anthology as well. But to me, I felt like the Crains have been through enough, and we left them exactly as we all wanted to remember them, those of us who worked on it. We toyed with a cliffhanger ending and we toyed with other ideas, but ultimately, in the writers' room and with the cast and everything else, we really felt like the story demanded a certain kind of closure from us and we were happy to close the book on that family.
I think more than anything, the show is about haunted places and haunted people, as Steve says, and there's no shortage of either. So, there's any number of things we could do, in or out of Hill House." (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
----- October 25, 2018 -----
** NIGHT OF THE COMET remake: Roxanne Benjamin (SOUTHBOUND) will be penning the remake of the cult-horror comedy NIGHT OF THE COMET for Orion Pictures, the Deadline web site has confirmed. (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** CRITTERS and KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE remakes: Syfy is reportedly in talks for the remake rights to the Chido Brothers' two 1980s cult sci-fi/horror/comedy classics – CRITTERS and KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE. The plan is to reportedly make new films based on the properties.
The original CRITTERS followed what happens when strange fuzzy malevolent little fur balls from outer space crash land on the farm of a family who must fend them off. KILLER KLOWNS FROM OUTER SPACE follows teens who discover a pack of murderous aliens who look very much like circus clowns. Both films were notable for their practical creature effects and dark comedy. (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** HEREDITARY director next film: A24 announced that HEREDITARY director Ari Aster's next horror film, a story about a vacation gone violently wrong, will hit theaters on August 9 of next year. HEREDITARYtook audiences by storm when it hit theaters in June of this year, so A24 is hoping that summer audiences will react as well to his as-yet-untitled follow-up.
While it doesn't have a title, the film will star Jack Reynor, Florence Pugh as "a couple that travels to Sweden to visit their friend's rural hometown for its fabled mid-summer festival. What begins as an idyllic retreat quickly devolves into an increasingly violent and bizarre competition at the hands of a pagan cult," as reported earlier this summer.
Aster also told The Hollywood Reporter some details about it back in June. "I'm in pre-production for my next film which will be shooting in Hungary," said Aster. "A24 is doing that as well, and that is technically a horror film. It's Scandinavian folk horror. That is the only other horror movie I have. And I'm pretty sure that's going to be it for a long time." (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** THE PURGE: The franchise continues to have impressive legs at the box office, and has even spawned a TV series, but that hasn't stopped series creator James DeMonaco from crafting what he believes would be a fitting end to the bloody saga.
Speaking in an interview with EW, DeMonaco explained the next entry will likely be the last. "I have it in my head. I think I'm going to write it. I think it's a great way to end it all. We want to end it all, I think, in this one, and I'm very excited. When I came up with the idea and pitched it to everybody, they seemed psyched, and I think it will be a really cool ending, how we take this one home." (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
----- October 24, 2018 -----
** TRICK: DRIVE ANGRY director Patrick Lussier and co-writer Todd Farmer are re-teaming for the horror thriller TRICK for Revek Entertainment. The story follows an elusive serial killer who descends upon a small town annually and is responsible for gruesome murders year after year, each in different jurisdictions and seemingly unrelated.
No one believes this could be the same killer, but Detective Mike Denver (Dermot Mulroney) has faced Trick once before – he shot and killed him. Or so everyone keeps telling him. (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** SUSPIRIA remake: Here's yet another song from the upcoming film.
** ROSEMARY'S BABY 50th Anniversary Edition: In celebration of the film's release in 1968, Paramount Home Media has released a brand new trailer for ROSEMARY'S BABY 50th Anniversary Edition, which is available now on Digital.
----- October 23, 2018 -----
** HALLOWEEN: With a staggering, $77.5 million debut, Universal and Blumhouse's HALLOWEEN topped the weekend with the second largest October opening weekend of all-time. The film, which carries a tiny, $10 million production budget, features Jamie Lee Curtis in her iconic role of Laurie Strode.
Overall, it played to a crowd that was 53% male and 59% were age 25 or older, The film should play well over the coming weeks, especially with its namesake holiday just around the corner. (thanks to BoxOfficeMojo.com)
** LeBron James for FRIDAY THE 13TH: NBA superstar LeBron James and his Springhill Entertainment production company label are currently in talks with Vertigo Entertainment to produce a reboot of the FRIDAY THE 13TH franchise.
Vertigo produced last year's IT along with THE RING and THE GRUDGE franchises. James, who is already attached to produce the SAPCE JAM sequel, is a huge horror fan and has released FRIDAY THE 13TH-themed sneakers in the past.
What's not clear in the report is how or when. The franchise has been caught in a legal quagmire for much of this year, though that cleared up a little the other week when it was announced that the original film's screenwriter Victor Miller won a summary judgment against the producers (who are appealing) which grant Miller U.S. rights to the property. (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** Robert Englund back as Freddy Krueger: On ABC's The Goldbergs this Wednesday.
** THE PRODIGY: There's something wrong with Miles. Watch the first trailer for THE PRODIGY, coming to theaters February 8, 2019.
----- October 22, 2018 -----
** HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U: Universal Pictures has released the official poster for Blumhouse's sequel to HAPPY DEATH DAY, starring returning cast members Jessica Rothe and Israel Broussard. Made for just under $5 million, the first film grossed $122.6 million worldwide. (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** A QUIET PLACE sequel: Star, director, and co-writer John Krasinski will be writing the upcoming sequel, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed. The highly-anticipated follow-up is scheduled to arrive in theaters on May 15, 2020. Krasinski spoke at a Q&A in Los Angeles at the Silver Screen Theatre, saying that he initially told Paramount to do the sequel with somebody else since he "had this small idea for a sequel, but I didn't think it would go anywhere."
"They heard some pitches, and I told [Andrew Form, producer] about this little idea," said Krasinski. "And he told me to think about it a little longer. And then I thought, 'This might really work.' So, I'm currently writing the sequel." (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** THE CURSE OF LA LLORONA: Here's the trailer for the upcoming film.
** ESCAPE ROOM: In the film, six strangers find themselves in circumstances beyond their control and must use their wits to find the clues or die. Taylor Russell, Logan Miller, Deborah Ann Woll, Jay Ellis, Tyler Labine, Nik Dodani, and Yorick van Wageningen co-star. Coming to theaters on January 4, 2019 from Sony Pictures.
----- October 18, 2018 -----
** THEY LIVE sequel: Filmmaker John Carpenter has seemingly teased the possibility of a follow-up to his iconic 1988 feature THEY LIVE. The 1950s-inspired but 1980s set paranoia sci-fi tale starred wrestler Roddy Piper as a drifter who finds sunglasses that reveal the 'real world' – aliens are already living amongst us and use subliminal techniques to enforce subjugation.
Famed for its satirical humor, social commentary, and the extended fight scene between Piper and Keith David, the movie very specifically commented on the era of Reaganomics. Even so, it's a property that is certainly adaptable for the Trump-era – be it a full on reboot or a sequel.
Out doing promotion for the new HALLOWEEN this week, Carpenter himself spoke with the Den of Geek web site and confirmed that DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES director Matt Reeves was set to direct at one point: "There was a feature film. It was a feature film called RESISTANCE, written by, oh, the guy who did the Apes movies. Matt Reeves. But then he moved on."
Asked how Carpenter himself would approach a modern-day take on THEY LIVE, the master filmmaker says: "Well, I'm not gonna tell you about that, because it might be closer to reality than you think…. The sequel is, well, we'll see. We'll just have to see."
The director also recently teased a potential TV series take on his 1987 feature PRINCE OF DARKNESS for horror streaming service Shudder, but says that one is "not ready to go yet". (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** ABRAKADABRA: Here's the very cool poster for the upcoming film from directors Luciano and Nicolás Onetti.
** THE CURSE OF LA LLORONA: New Line Cinema has released the official poster art for producer James Wan's next horror feature, directed by Michael Chaves. The film follows social worker Anna Garcia in 1973 Los Angeles as she begins diving in to one of her cases and finds foul play at the hands of a supernatural force, which she finds has similarities to the force terrorizing her family. She looks for help from a local faith healer when the entity, La Llorona, attaches itself to her and will stop at nothing to take her children. (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** HALLOWEEN: Doing promotion for HALLOWEEN this week, actress Jamie Lee Curtis has been fairly brutally honest about her past history with the franchise and how she's churned out some not so great entries in the past: "The real stamp of approval is John Carpenter's, not mine. Because I made a couple of [rubbish] ones. Did you see Resurrection?! HALLOWEEN II wasn't great. H20 was okay. Resurrection is a piece of [crap]. But the seal of approval was John Carpenter." (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
Meanwhile, John Carpenter, Danny McBride and David Gordon Green on the iconography of Michael Myers' mask.
----- October 17, 2018 -----
** WRONG TURN remake: Constantin Film will be remaking the West Virginia cannibal franchise with original writer Alan B. McElroy returning to write the script and Mike P. Nelson set to direct. The upcoming remake will update the time period and plot for timely purposes and to add some social context to the film. The plot is "a cross-country hiking expedition puts a group of friends in the land of an inclusive society, where the soon discover they are under a different rule of law, and may not be the victims they throught they were." (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** Neil Marshall's THE RECKONING: MoviePass Films has greenlit THE DESCENT director Neil Marshall's horror film, starring Charlotte Kirk. THE RECKONING is a female-driven story that is set around the witch hunts and the great plague in England in 1665. The movie follows Evelyn Haverstock (Kirk), a young widow, haunted by the recent suicide of her husband Joseph, who is falsely accused of being a witch by her jealous Landlord, Squire Pendleton, after she rejects his unwanted advances. (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** ANNABELLE 3: The Deadline web site is reporting that Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga will reprise their roles as The Warrens in the upcoming third installment in the ANNABELLE franchise! This will mark the first time paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren have appeared in the spinoffs for newly-filmed footage. The film is scheduled for a July 3, 2019 release by New Line Cinema. (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** CHILD'S PLAY TV series: Speaking at the 2018 Screamfest, writer Don Mancini along with producer David Kirschner offered more details about the forthcoming CHILD'S PLAY TV series which is still currently in development. Mancini confirmed that the series will be set right after the events of the 2017 film CULT OF CHUCKY.
"We deliberately ended Cult with a bunch of cliffhangers to set up a TV series," Mancini said (via the Bloody Disgusting web site). "Because there are so many different threads now, television could best accommodate that so that was done intentionally. At the same time, we have a whole new world, a bunch of new characters which we can say nothing about."
Mancini also said that the new series "involves children," with Kirschner confirming they'd go back to the roots of the series: "The only thing I think we can say is from the original film that Don wrote, CHILD'S PLAY, we are playing with that concept again, the idea of child's play," Kirschner said. "I'll let you guys fill in the pieces of that."
"We saw that after seven movies, how can we flip again?" Mancini added "So this time not by merely changing genre but by changing medium. This will give us a different kind of canvas, a much bigger canvas to explore characters and relationships." (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
----- October 16, 2018 -----
** DAY OF THE DEAD Ultimate Edition: In horror maestro, George A. Romero's gruesome follow-up to the acclaimed DAWN OF THE DEAD the esh-eating undead have wiped out every last vestige of the civilized world and now outnumber the living 40,000-to-one! Hidden deep within a forti ed underground missile silo an isolated and increasingly unstable ragtag group of scientists and soldiers continue to work to nd a cure for this unstoppable plague. Tensions soon escalate between a maniacal bloodthirsty military leader and a borderline mad scientist, sparking a climactic assault on the bunker by thousands of zombies... one nal battle for humanity's survival.
Featuring a HD master never before seen in Australia, The DAY OF THE DEAD Ultimate Edition collects a slew of bonus material onto a Blu-ray and DVD set. Packed with vintage behind-the-scenes and making-of material; TV spots, trailers, interviews with cast and crew and multiple audio commentaries, The DAY OF THE DEAD Ultimate Edition is jammed with content for fans of George Romero's 1985 gut-ripping classic. Coming out November 7th from Umbrella Entertainment.
** EVIL DEAD 2 on 4K Ultra HD: Ash returns to battle the demonic unliving in the horror classic EVIL DEAD 2, arriving on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack (plus Blu-ray and Digital) December 11 from Lionsgate.
4K ULTRA HD special features:
- NEW "Bloody and Groovy, Baby!" – A Tribute to Sam Raimi's EVIL DEAD 2 Featurette
- Audio Commentary with writer-director Sam Raimi, actor Bruce Campbell, co-writer Scott Spiegel, and special make-up effects artist Greg Nicotero
BLU-RAY special features:
- Audio Commentary with writer-director Sam Raimi, actor Bruce Campbell, co-writer Scott Spiegel, and special make-up effects artist Greg Nicotero
- "Swallowed Souls: The Making of EVIL DEAD 2" Featurette
- "Cabin Fever – A 'Fly on the Wall' Look Behind-the-Scenes of EVIL DEAD 2" Featurette
- "Road to Wadesboro: Revisiting the Shooting Location with Filmmaker Tony Elwood" Featurette
- "EVIL DEAD 2: Behind-the-Screams" Featurette
- "The Gore The Merrier" Featurette
- Theatrical Trailer
- Still Galleries
** THE POSSESSION OF HANNAH GRACE: Death is only the beginning. THE POSSESSION OF HANNAH GRACE in theaters November 30th.
** HALLOWEEN: Here's another track from John Carpenter for the original motion picture soundtrack, out 10/19.
----- October 15, 2018 -----
** PET SEMATARY remake: Here's the International poster for the upcoming film.
** THE POSSESSION OF HANNAH GRACE: Sony Pictures has released the official poster for their upcoming horror movie, which will arrive in theaters on November 30, 2018.
** SLAUGHTERHOUSE RULEZ: Fight for your bloody life with Finn Cole and Asa Butterfield. SLAUGHTERHOUSE RULEZ At Cinemas October 31st.
** BONEHILL ROAD: From legendary underground filmmaker Todd Sheets comes a howlingly terrifying werewolf movie for Halloween, BONEHILL ROAD! Emily and Eden Stevens escape one violent situation only to dive head first into another. Terrified and alone they are stranded in the dark woods only to be chased into a horrific scene in a house or horrors. They must work together to get out alive. But what is worse? What is on the inside or out?
Linnea Quigley, Gary Kent, and David E. McMahon star in BONEHILL ROAD, out from Wild Eye Releasing this week on DVD and on Digital soon.
** SUSPIRIA remake: Here's yet another song from the upcoming soundtrack. Available on XL Recordings, October 26th.
----- October 11, 2018 -----
** WORLD WAR Z sequel: It has been languishing in development for years, but it appears as if the sequel to 2013's WORLD WAR Z is still happening. David Fincher remains attached to direct the film and re-team with his SE7EN star Brad Pitt on the project. At last report he's taking his time to get the script right with the help of screenwriter Dennis Kelly.
Fincher's commitments to the second season of Netflix's MINDHUNTER and Pitt's to Quentin Tarantino's ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD however stopped any chance of filming this year, but producers Dede Gardner and Jeremy Kleiner told Variety this week that the project has set a June 2019 start of filming date and both Pitt and Fincher are still attached.
Kleiner added that they're still working with Kelly on the sequel's script to get it right. It's not clear if the new film will go back to use elements from the original Max Brooks novel which the original film barely touched upon. (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** ELVIRA: Cassandra Peterson's iconic character Elvira has been the subject of two films, both of which were some time ago. Yet the former horror host with a unique look and personality remains very popular with horror fans, so much so Peterson has expressed a desire to bring back the character once again for a new film.
Appearing at a Q&A session at Salem Horror Fest to celebrate the 30th anniversary screening of 1988's "Elvira, Mistress of the Dark," Peterson says she's written a full treatment and is currently in the process of shopping it around.
Should it be picked up, it more than likely will be for a streaming service and won't be in cinemas. Streaming outlet Shudder recently brought former horror host Joe Bob Briggs back, presenting several films to fans in a 24-hour marathon, but it proved so popular it wound up crashing the service. (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** PET SEMATARY remake: Here's the trailer! Paramount Pictures' adaptation will be directed by Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kolsch and is written by Jeff Buhler, the showrunner for Syfy's upcoming horror science fiction series, NIGHTFLYERS, based on the George R.R. Martin novella. Lorenzo di Bonaventura is producing along with Mark Vahradian and Steven Schneider.
** APOSTLE: From writer and director Gareth Evans, APOSTLE premieres on Netflix this Friday. Are you ready for it?
** SUSPIRIA: Here's two new posters for the upcoming remake. Amazon Studios is bringing SUSPIRIA to theaters in NY and LA on October 26, expanding November 2nd.
----- October 10, 2018 -----
** George A. Romero's unused scripts: When George A. Romero passed away last year, he left behind a legacy of horror unmatched by anyone in the horror movie business. Now, it seems that his legacy can live on even longer. Talking to ComicBook.com, Suzanne Desrocher-Romero, Romero's widow, said that the late, prolific writer has anywhere between 40 and 50 unpublished screenplays.
With this abundance of untold stories from one of the architects of modern horror, Desrocher-Romero said that "George was a prolific writer. He loved to write, and we have 40, 50 scripts that he's written, and a lot of it is very good. He had a lot to say, and he still does, because I'm gonna make sure that he does. It's my mission."
Still, not everything the late auteur left behind were horror movie scripts, it turns out. There's his unfinished novel Road of the Dead, which is still reportedly in development, as well as a film he shot in 1973. "We're gonna restore it, and we're gonna show it to Romero cinephiles," said Desrocher-Romero. "It's a scary movie, but it's not a horror movie, and it's about ageism. Anyway, he has a cameo in it, and it'll be fun. And we'll show the movie, or get it distributed. It'll be a project that the foundation's gonna do. I think it's the first project we're gonna do actually." (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** PET SEMATARY remake: Here's the poster for the upcoming remake, based on the seminal horror novel by Stephen King.
** SLAUGHTERHOUSE RULEZ: With these two in charge, it's bound to end up in a bloody mess. At Cinemas October 31.
----- October 9, 2018 -----
** OVERLORD: Here's a new trailer! Julius Avery helms the film which is set on the eve of D-Day. A group of American paratroopers are dropped behind enemy lines to carry out a mission crucial to the invasion's success, but soon begin to realize there is more going on in this Nazi-occupied village than a simple military operation. In theatres 11.9.18.
** Warner Bros. upcoming horror films: Warner Bros. Pictures has made it official that their New Line label will book every post-Labor Day weekend for the next four years through 2022. The studio had such success with the launches of IT last year and THE NUN this year in those slots, they've now staked a claim there with IT CHAPTER TWO on September 6th 2019, an untitled THE CONJURING film on September 11th 2020, and untitled films for September 10th 2021 and September 9th 2022. (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** PET SEMATARY remake: EW has posted up an extensive report about the film which recently wrapped production, and includes the first official photos from the movie starring Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz and John Lithgow. The story follows a doctor (Clarke) who moves his family out of the big city to the country. He discovers that they have moved near a pet cemetery that resides next to an ancient American-Indian burial ground.
When their toddler son is killed in an auto accident, the father takes the boy's body to the burial ground, where it is resurrected but is not quite right. Dennis Widmyer and Kevin Kolsch helm the new film and discussed their new version of the 'Zelda' scene which remains one of the original 1989 adaptation's big scares. Widmyer says:
"It's more accurate to the book, I'll just say that. In the original movie, it's a 21-year-old guy in drag playing it, and in the book, as you recall, it's a 10-year-old girl. You go, 'How do you top Zelda?' It was big and scary and awesome, but if you think about the reality of the Zelda situation, what that would do to a family, with her wasting away in this bedroom, and a younger sister being frightened of her older sister's debilitating illness, that on its own is pretty scary." (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
----- October 8, 2018 -----
** HALLOWEEN: Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions have released a New York Comic Con exclusive poster for HALLOWEEN designed by none other than comic book artist Todd McFarlane! (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE: Orion Pictures has released a limited edition NYCC poster for their upcoming zombie musical, opening in select theaters on November 30, and expanding nationwide on December 7. (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** SUSPIRIA remake: Here's yet another for the upcomin film, which officially debut in theaters on November 2nd.
----- October 5, 2018 -----
** SUSPIRIA remake: Here's another track of the soundtrack for the upcoming film.
** THE CONJURING 3: The Hollywood Reporter brings word that director James Wan is stepping away from THE CONJURING franchise for its upcoming third entry. Director Michael Chaves, coming off the upcoming THE CURSE OF LA LLORONA, will step behind the camera for THE CONJURING 3. Wan will remain on board the project as a producer and will act as a "godfather" for the series.
"While working closely with Chaves on THE CURSE OF LA LLORONA, I got to know him as a filmmaker," said Wan. "Chaves' ability to bring emotion to a story, and his understanding of mood and scares make him a perfect fit to direct the next CONJURING film.
"I am a huge fan of THE CONJURING films," Chaves added. "The movies are the rare combination that deliver both tremendous heart and awesome scares. It is both a total thrill and absolute honor to be working with James and the gang at New Line again." (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** HALLOWEEN: Miramax has just released three new clips from the upcoming film.
** LIGHT AS A FEATHER: An innocent game of "Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board" goes wrong when the five teen girls who played start dying off in the exact way that was predicted, forcing the survivors to figure out why they're being targeted – and whether the evil force hunting them down is one of their own.
----- October 4, 2018 -----
** HALLOWEEN: Here's a cool new poster for the upcoming film.
** THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL: A behind-the-scenes look at director Mike Flanagan and the process of filming ghosts for the upcoming film, which will premiere on Netflix Friday, October 12th.
** CASTLE ROCK: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has revealed the details for the Blu-Ray and DVD versions of CASTLE ROCK The Complete First Season, which is set to hit shelves on January 8, 2019! The first season include all 10 one-hour episodes of the season, as well as a slew of bonus materials, listed below:
Blood on the Page (New Featurette)
A Clockwork of Horror: Merging the styles of Stephen King & J.J. Abrams (New Featurette)
Inside the Episode: Severance
Inside the Episode: Habeas Corpus
Inside the Episode Local Color
Inside the Episode: The Box
Inside the Episode: Harvest
Inside the Episode: Filter
Inside the Episode: The Queen
Inside the Episode: Past Perfect
Inside the Episode: Henry Dever
Inside the Episode: Romans
(thanks to ComingSoon.net)
----- October 3rd, 2018 -----
** Arrow Video US - October 2018 releases: We have officially entered fall which means it's finally time to get those Halloween decorations up to the scare the neighbors and enjoy pumpkin spice variations of your favorite treats. More importantly, it's that time of year when you gather 'round the television with your closest friends and watch the spookiest of movies. This Halloween you're going to want to invite over your good friends Arrow.
SCHLOCK
For those looking to stay in the horror realm without watching only horror, then perhaps it's best you start with SCHLOCK from John Landis and hitting Blu-ray on October 16th. This raucous comedy pays loving tribute to monster movies of the past as it follows a prehistoric ape named Shlock on a rampage throughout southern California. This genre mashup launched the career of Landis and makeup effects wizard Rick Baker and now it will finally have a proper home video release. The new Blu-ray comes with a brand-new 4K restoration and monster-sized list of special features that includes an audio commentary with both Landis and Baker.
DEADBEAT AT DAWN
If you like your horror gory and raw, then Arrow Video has just what you need. Releasing October 23rd is Jim Van Bebber's blood-soaked cult classic, DEADBEAT AT DAWN. This is the story of Goose, a gang leader trying to go straight until his girlfriend is brutally murdered by his rivals. Now pulled back into the world he was desperately trying to escape, Goose is hell-bent on getting retribution. This 80's gem comes with a new 2K restoration and is decked out with plenty of bonus content featuring Van Bebber discussing his outrageous career.
TORSO
Looking for some Italian horror? Then you'll want to be at your local video store on October 30th to snag a copy of Sergio Martio's masterpiece, TORSO. This heart pounding giallo about a sex craved maniac prowling the streets of Perugia looking for his latest victim is a personal favorite of Quentin Tarantino's and with good reason. With copious amounts of violence and a vicious game of cat and mouse, Torso is sure to meet your Halloween needs. This new Blu-ray features a brand-new 2K restoration of both the 94-minute Italian cut and the 90-minute English cut.
** THE UNNAMABLE: Coming to Blu-ray and DVD October 23rd from Unearthed Films. Restored as a beautiful 4k scan and color corrected from the original negative
College students from Miskatonic University who retreat to an early 18th-century mansion for a weekend of lust are stalked by a fatalistic female in this horror film taken from a story by H.P. Lovecraft. The demon delights in tearing the limbs off her human victims to carry out a centuries-old family curse. Bloody graphic violence and nudity is combined with some campy comedy.
** TRAUMA: Artsploitation has announced the North American release of the shocking Chilean horror film TRAUMA. The third feature from director Lucio A. Rojas, TRAUMA has screened at Horror Hound Film Festival, the Vancouver Badass Film Festival de Canada, Morbido Film Fest and the Optical Theatre Festival in Italy, where Rojas took home the award for Best Film. Rojas hits hard with TRAUMA, a cinematic depiction of the horrors committed by the Pinochet regime and the visceral cycle of abuse that followed its fall. TRAUMA will be available October 23rd on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital HD, including iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play, Vudu and more.
** HALLOWEEN: Laurie Strode comes to her final confrontation with Michael Myers, the masked figure who has haunted her since she narrowly escaped his killing spree on Halloween night four decades ago.
----- October 2nd, 2018 -----
** FRIDAY THE 13TH: Screenwriter Victor Miller has prevailed in a legal battle over the franchise. Miller aimed to take advantage of a provision of copyright law that allows authors to terminate a grant of rights and reclaim ownership 35 years after publishing. The film's producers alleged that Miller wrote FRIDAY THE 13TH as a work-made-for-hire after film series producer Sean Cunningham came up with an idea to capitalize on the success of the then-recently released horror film HALLOWEEN. They asserted that Miller's termination notice was ineffective.
Miller's attorney Marc Toberoff argued that while the screenplay was clearly commissioned as part of a motion picture, there never was any writing instrument as required by law spelling out the screenplay was a work-made-for-hire. U.S. District Court Judge Stefan Underhill has now granted summary judgment in favor of Miller and against the producers, saying the screenplay wasn't a work for hire, not prepared within scope of employment, and that labor law doesn't require holding that screenwriter was an employee. Instead, Miller was an independent contractor.
The decision has been pending for almost a year now, and the uncertainty over ownership has reportedly interfered with new sequels being made as well as tie-in works like video games. Miller's victory suggests he will control rights inside the United States while producers control rights outside the domestic market where termination recapture isn't applied. If no settlement occurs and any appeal is unsuccessful, there could be future legal battles over trademarks and character use – but Underhill says the producers "may be able to stake a claim" to hold an independent copyright for the adult Jason character which is very different to the boy of Miller's screenplay. (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
** Netflix's MALEVOLENT: Brother and sister team Angela (Florence Pugh) and Jackson (Ben Lloyd-Hughes) are nothing more than scam artists. Preying on the grief stricken and the vulnerable, they convince the bereaved that Angela has the ability to contact the dead. It's a simple con, until Mrs. Green (Celia Imrie) summons the pair to her home -- the orphanage that was once stage to a string of murders of young girls -- and Angela grows less and less certain of what's actually real. The fake paranormal investigators suffer the ultimate reality check when they are confronted by the true horrors and terrifying past that lie hidden within the haunted orphanage.
** ANTLERS: Fox Searchlight Pictures announced that principal photography has commenced in Vancouver, British Columbia for the horror thriller ANTLERS. Directed by Scott Cooper, the film is written by Henry Chaisson & Nick Antosca with revisions by Scott Cooper, from the short story The Quiet Boy by Antosca.
In Antlers, a small-town Oregon teacher (Keri Russell) and her brother (Jesse Plemons), the local sheriff, become entwined with a young student (Jeremy T. Thomas) harboring a dangerous secret with frightening consequences. (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** SLAUGHTERHOUSE RULEZ: Welcome to Slaughterhouse, an elite boarding school where boys and girls are groomed for power and greatness...and they're about to meet their match. This ancient and ordered world is about to be shaken to its foundations - literally - when a controversial frack site on prized school woodland causes seismic tremors, a mysterious sinkhole, and an unspeakable horror to be unleashed. Soon a new pecking order will be established as the pupils and teachers alike become locked in a bloody battle for survival.
----- October 1st, 2018 -----
** HALLOWEEN TV series: David Gordon Green's HALLOWEEN sequel/remake hits theaters in three weeks, possibly kick-starting a brand new franchise, but that hasn't stopped producer Malek Akkad from developing the long-in-the-works TV series.
"You know, it's something that we've had for a long time and I definitely want to see it done," Akkad told Bloody Disgusting. "When we started doing it… this was in development about a decade ago. At the time, I think the thought was we don't want to cannibalize the theatrical. Let's keep it as a theatrical event movie. If that starts flowing down, we would address TV. Nowadays, we all know, TV is pulling out ahead of theatrical in a way that surprised everybody, certainly me."
The producer didn't reveal any specific plot details the show would follow, except to say Michael Myers would return, but teased that it "wouldn't look anything like your traditional HALLOWEEN movie" and that there "are a lot of other characters but used in different and interesting ways." (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** Rob Zombie's 3 FROM HELL: Rue Morgue spoke to actor Bill Mosely about his return to the character of Otis Driftwood in Rob Zombie's 3 FROM HELL, the third movie in the Firefly family trilogy.
"All of the people who loved HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES and DEVIL'S REJECTS are going to have a luau of excitement and happiness when they see 3 FROM HELL," Moseley said. "It's going to be a crowdpleaser. From what I've heard from Rob, he's very happy and excited about what he's got, and it's chockablock with gratuitous violence , which is great, because lately there have been a lot of good horror movies that just don't have a lot of that. I mean, the violence is skillful, it's effective, but it's not gratuitous, and that's what I think the fans are missing. I think we just want a lot of violence for violence's sake—decapitations, shotguns to the face, just general ass-kickin' stuff that we're not really getting much of these days." (thanks to ComingSoon.net)
** ANNABELLE 3: CAPTAIN MARVEL actress Mckenna Grace has scored the key role of Judy, Ed and Lorraine Warren's young daughter in the upcoming third film in the ANNABELLE series at New Line.
Judy becomes a target of the demonic doll Annabelle in the film which will also involve two teenage babysitters and will be primarily set in the Warrens' home. No word as yet if Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson will reprise their roles as the Warrens.
Filming begins next month with additional casting coming together now. The still-untitled film uses a screenplay by Gary Dauberman who will make his directorial debut. James Wan and Peter Safran will produce the film which opens July 3rd 2019. (thanks to DarkHorizons.com)
