Connect with us

News

The Horror Coming to Cinemas Near You — January 2015

Published

on

Happy New Year (of Horror Movies) iHorror readers!

As the calendar turns over, the horror fan is once again graced by a few more titles finding cinematic release this month, including a terrifying look at the isolation of post-modern man as seen through some sort of voodoo cursed doll in Paddington

Or, you know, these three actual horror films are also coming to cinemas this month:

January 2:

The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death

Right out of the gate in January is the release of The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death, which we first told you about here. Seeing that the original The Woman in Black (loosely based on the superbly creepy novel by Susan Hill, and incredibly successful stage play by Stephen Mallatrat) was the most financially successful British Horror film in 20 years, it is little surprise that Hammer Film Productions decided to make a sequel.

Angel of Death returns to the creepy Eel Marsh House during the Blitz in World War II (for those you of wondering, that is roughly 40 years after the events of the original film) as a young schoolteacher named Eve, played by Phoebe Fox (Switch) escorts a group of children out of London to Crythin Gifford and the long abandoned estate.  Once they are settled into Eel Marsh House, the children begin acting strangely and, with the help of the young, locally stationed pilot (played by Jeremy Irvine– War Horse), Eve sets out to protect the children in her charge, and find out the truth behind the eponymous woman in black.

Check out the official U.K. trailer below:

[youtube id=”G4rzV0CvhyM” align=”center” mode=”normal” autoplay=”no”]

With a new director at the helm in Tom Harper (The Scouting Book for Boys), and a new screenwriter in Jon Croker (Desert Dancer), with story assistance from Susan Hill, it is hard to know what to expect in The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death.  What we can hope for, however, is another tense and well told ghost story which is not overly reliant on jump scares, but builds its’ tension and power through an exceptionally creepy atmosphere, which if the trailer above is any indication, could make Angel of Death another surprisingly good horror film to start off our year.

[REC]4: Apocalypse

The fourth and final entry into the Spanish horror series [REC] will come to cinemas (limited release) and VOD on January 2, 2015.  We told you about it here, and again here, because Zombie Monkey…

Abandoning it’s ‘found footage’/P.O.V. roots, Apocalypse runs a more regular horror movie route as you can see in this trailer:

[youtube id=”0ZUNR1zxRYE” align=”center” mode=”normal” autoplay=”no”]

Manuela Velasco returns as reporter Ángela Vidal for what is Jaume Balagueró’s direct sequel to [REC]2 (after the divergence of [REC]3: Genesis).  Vidal has finally been removed from the apartment block of the original two films, and taken to what should be a highly efficient quarantine facility aboard a re-purposed oil tanker.  Rather than make a dull movie about the effectiveness of disease control measures, perhaps adding some light romance to it, the virus escapes and wreaks havoc on the crew of the ship.

Basically the way to look at [REC]4 is: do you like [REC]?  Then here you go, more [REC] for you.  If you were not a fan of the franchise, they are not going to be re-inventing the wheel with the fourth installment (aside from the move away from the P.O.V. style), so you may as well move along…

January 9:

Preservation

An indie horror film from director Christopher Denham (best known as an actor in Argo & Shutter Island), Preservation is coming to cinemas in a limited release on January 9.

The film follows three people: married couple Wit (Wrenn Schmidt – Boardwalk Empire) and Mike (Aaron Staton – Mad Men), and Mike’s brother Sean (Pablo SchreiberVicky Cristina Barcelona) on a hunting trip in a closed nature preserve.  The next morning the group wakes up to find all of their stuff is gone, and they have big, black X’s marked on each of their foreheads, causing suspicions to run rampant between the three of them, before they are faced with the prospect of being hunted themselves.

[youtube id=”9XcEo7aL67I” align=”center” mode=”normal” autoplay=”no”]

Originally finding something of an audience in the festival circuit (including a showing at Tribeca), Preservation has received mixed reviews, but it could be worth heading out to see if it avoids the more common ‘people being hunted in the woods’ horror movie cliches we have already seen a million times.

There you have it; hopefully there is a film there that interests you as there is a nice balance in horror types coming out this month. Between the more classic, Gothic ghost story stylings of The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death, the hard R rated zombie stylings of [REC]4: Apocalypse and the more naturalistic survival horror of Preservation, there is a little something for everyone this month.

Or you could brave the terror of Paddington…

Happy Horror!

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

1 Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment Login

Leave a Reply

Editorial

7 Great ‘Scream’ Fan Films & Shorts Worth a Watch

Published

on

The Scream franchise is such an iconic series, that many budding filmmakers take inspiration from it and make their own sequels or, at least, build upon the original universe created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson. YouTube is the perfect medium to showcase these talents (and budgets) with fan-made homages with their own personal twists.

The great thing about Ghostface is that he can appear anywhere, in any town, he just needs the signature mask, knife, and unhinged motive. Thanks to Fair Use laws it’s possible to expand upon Wes Craven’s creation by simply getting a group of young adults together and killing them off one by one. Oh, and don’t forget the twist. You’ll notice that Roger Jackson’s famous Ghostface voice is uncanny valley, but you get the gist.

We have gathered five fan films/shorts related to Scream that we thought were pretty good. Although they can’t possibly match the beats of a $33 million blockbuster, they get by on what they have. But who needs money? If you’re talented and motivated anything is possible as proven by these filmmakers who are well on their way to the big leagues.

Take a look at the below films and let us know what you think. And while you’re at it, leave these young filmmakers a thumbs up, or leave them a comment to encourage them to create more films. Besides, where else are you going to see Ghostface vs. a Katana all set to a hip-hop soundtrack?

Scream Live (2023)

Scream Live

Ghostface (2021)

Ghostface

Ghost Face (2023)

Ghost Face

Don’t Scream (2022)

Don’t Scream

Scream: A Fan Film (2023)

Scream: A Fan Film

The Scream (2023)

The Scream

A Scream Fan Film (2023)

A Scream Fan Film
Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Movies

Another Creepy Spider Movie Hits Shudder This Month

Published

on

Good spider films are a theme this year. First, we had Sting and then there was Infested. The former is still in theaters and the latter is coming to Shudder starting April 26.

Infested has been getting some good reviews. People are saying that it’s not only a great creature feature but also a social commentary on racism in France.

According to IMDb: Writer/director Sébastien Vanicek was looking for ideas around the discrimination faced by black and Arab-looking people in France, and that led him to spiders, which are rarely welcome in homes; whenever they’re spotted, they’re swatted. As everyone in the story (people and spiders) is treated like vermin by society, the title came to him naturally.

Shudder has become the gold standard for streaming horror content. Since 2016, the service has been offering fans an expansive library of genre movies. in 2017, they began to stream exclusive content.

Since then Shudder has become a powerhouse in the film festival circuit, buying distribution rights to movies, or just producing some of their own. Just like Netflix, they give a film a short theatrical run before adding it to their library exclusively for subscribers.

Late Night With the Devil is a great example. It was released theatrically on March 22 and will begin streaming on the platform starting April 19.

While not getting the same buzz as Late Night, Infested is a festival favorite and many have said if you suffer from arachnophobia, you might want to take heed before watching it.

Infested

According to the synopsis, our main character, Kalib is turning 30 and dealing with some family issues. “He’s fighting with his sister over an inheritance and has cut ties with his best friend. Fascinated by exotic animals, he finds a venomous spider in a shop and brings it back to his apartment. It only takes a moment for the spider to escape and reproduce, turning the whole building into a dreadful web trap. The only option for Kaleb and his friends is to find a way out and survive.”

The film will be available to watch on Shudder starting April 26.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading

Movies

Part Concert, Part Horror Movie M. Night Shyamalan’s ‘Trap’ Trailer Released

Published

on

In true Shyamalan form, he sets his film Trap inside a social situation where we aren’t sure what is going on. Hopefully, there is a twist at the end. Furthermore, we hope it’s better than the one in his divisive 2021 movie Old.

The trailer seemingly gives away a lot, but, as in the past, you can’t rely on his trailers because they are often red herrings and you are being gaslit to think a certain way. For instance, his movie Knock at the Cabin was completely different than what the trailer implied and if you hadn’t read the book on which the film is based it was still like going in blind.

The plot for Trap is being dubbed an “experience” and we aren’t quite sure what that means. If we were to guess based on the trailer, it’s a concert movie wrapped around a horror mystery. There are original songs performed by Saleka, who plays Lady Raven, a kind of Taylor Swift/Lady Gaga hybrid. They have even set up a Lady Raven website to further the illusion.

Here is the fresh trailer:

According to the synopsis, a father takes his daughter to one of Lady Raven’s jam-packed concerts, “where they realize they’re at the center of a dark and sinister event.”

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan, Trap stars Josh Hartnett, Ariel Donoghue, Saleka Shyamalan, Hayley Mills and Allison Pill. The film is produced by Ashwin Rajan, Marc Bienstock and M. Night Shyamalan. The executive producer is Steven Schneider.

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Listen to the 'Eye On Horror Podcast'

Continue Reading