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This week in horror – News round up 05.09.20

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This weeks horror news round up comes from Grace at Film Overload!

Overview: Arrow Video’s Frightfest 2020

This year’s Frightfest reigns different to the past, with it taking place virtually. The online festival line-up included 25 films (seven world premieres and 16 UK premieres). As usual the menu of films included a selection of soon to be top hits such as Ivo van Art’s well received The Columnist and The Swerve (Dean Kapsalis, 2018).

The collection of films was entirely varied with stories from Canada, Australia, UK, Netherlands and Brazil, allowing for a broad range of films to emerge, particularly the hilarious hidden gem of the season Two Heads Creek (Jesse O’Brien, 2019).
Frightfest’s usual energetic brigade of guest appearances, Q&A’s and film showcases were not left out, despite the fact that the event was held online; in fact the comfort of watching from home was not overlooked.

New uncut trailer for Cronenberg’s Possessor lands

Possessor is a sci-fi horror film directed by Brandon Cronenberg, if the surname sounds familiar it’s because the infamous David Cronenberg is Brandon’s father and his influence is not ignored, with intense body horror and brutality exhibited throughout. Possessor follows a secret agent who inhabits other people’s bodies via brain-implantation to perform assassinations for her clients.

The film explores loss of identity and control over one’s own actions. The set up has been praised due to its originality and stand out performances by the impressive cast including Andrea Riseborough (“Mandy”) and Christopher Abbot (“Piercing”). The trailer definitely highlights the startling enigmatic atmosphere Cronenberg has established, with a background of stylishly choreographed violence and gore all lit with a sense of dystopian reality.

The New Mutants fails to live up to long awaited expectations

Josh Boone’s The New Mutants has not been dealt an easy hand, with a repetitive delayed schedule constantly pushing its release date back. This may have edged up the hype surrounding the film for a while, but the anticipated release has been considered a let down by many. The reviews are not all negative, yet many audiences feel the horror potential it had was overshadowed by its origins within the X-Men franchise.

The New Mutants was marketed as a horror take on the saturated supervillain genre (similar to last year’s Brightburn), however the scare tactics have little hold over the exaggerated action sequences and overt Marvel cliches that have grown tiresome.

The reaction is not entirely surprising as one of the reasons for the delay was due to the studio (20th Century Fox) requiring the film to be almost completely reshot after such negative responses. Unfortunately a lot more than a reshoot needed to be completed to save The New Mutants.

First teaser for Blumhouse Productions Amazon Prime horror films coming this Halloween

Blumhouse Productions seem to appear in many of the latest horror releases for years, with their investments creating hits such as The Invisible Man (Leigh Whannell, 2020) and Halloween (David Gordon Green, 2018). Blumhouse will release a total of eight films directly to Amazon Prime. The series of films is aptly titled ‘Welcome to Blumhouse’ and from the first look that was released this week horror fans will be in for a treat.

The teaser trailer promises an unsettling journey into fear, with a glimpse into each film’s chilling disposition. The four films coming soon are ‘The Lie’ (Veena Sud) which starts Joey King as an impulsive killer, ‘Black Box’ (Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr.) which explores the temptation of reversing history, ‘Evil Eye’ (Elan Dassani and Rajeev Dassani) which is produced by Priyanka Chopra and deals with the consequences of parental suspicions and ‘Nocturne’ (Zu Quirke) which explores a musician’s Faustian pact to supersede her talented sister.

The first four will be released on October 6th just in time for Halloween, with the other four films premiering in 2021.

This weeks article comes via Grace from Film Overload, you can check out more of her work here.

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This week in Horror – News round up 28.08.20

horror news

Here’s our horror news round up, a few of this weeks biggest stories and happenings in the genre!

Reboot Revival: Scream and The Thing both set to return to screens

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDUGif5jZPA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Scream has consistently shown a critical concord of well received sequels, so why not throw a fifth one into the mix. Scream 5 has been confirmed, and what’s more important is so are directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who brought us last year’s gem Ready or Not.

Many familiar faces from Woodsboro are set to return, with the likes of Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Neve Campbell all reprising their roles as the renegade survivors of Ghostface. Scream 5 is sure to be a blast through the box office, with many hopeful fans anticipating the return of Craven’s subjective masterpiece.

Scream isn’t the only classic with a reboot in talks, with The Thing being brought back to life by the notorious Blumhouse Productions. John Carpenter’s 1982’s sci-fi horror has an infamous reputation, with a remake already penned in 2011 by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.

Although the film is still in early development Carpenter himself has confirmed his involvement. It hasn’t yet been confirmed whether the film will be a remake, re-imagining or a sequel. With Carpenter’s contribution it’s sure to be an honourable mark within The Thing’s film series.

Netflix’s surreal horror – I’m Thinking of Ending Things arrives on the 4th September

Charlie Kaufman tackles Iain Reid’s debut novel following a young woman who accompanies her boyfriend on a road trip to meet his parents. However, after a snowstorm prevents them from leaving, she soon notices her perception of reality has been wildly hindered. The film has a talented cast including Toni Collette, Jessie Buckley, Jesse Plemons and David Thewlis, who all seemingly tackle their roles extremely convincingly enhancing the erratic unnerving atmosphere of the film.

From the first look this film is a surreal ride into a perplexing maze of events. The uneasy trailer presents us with a false verisimilitude that presents normal situations in a sinister tone. The film’s atmosphere is structured to appear ordinary from an outside perspective but with unstable undertones lurking beneath the surface, similar to both Get Out (Jordan Peele, 2017) and Hereditary (Ari Aster, 2018).

It’s best to watch I’m Thinking of Ending Things with little prior knowledge to fully experience and appreciate the disturbing events that unravel.

First Look: The creators of The Haunting of Hill House return with The Haunting of Bly Manor

In 2018 Mike Flanagan brought Shirley Jackson’s novel to life with the terrifying Haunting of Hill House. Now Flanagan and the talented cast return for an adaptation of Henry James’s novella The Turn of the Screw. New pictures were released this week showing us an insight into Bly Manor’s haunting aura, including dark hallways, nightmarish dolls and a grandeur setting.

The foundation of Bly Manor seems to coincide with Hill House’s mysterious surroundings, but this time round Flanagan has hinted at an evoking relationship between haunted people and a haunted space. Bly Manor is set to return this Autumn, perfectly synchronising with Halloween.

Host director and writer team up once again for new prison-based horror flick

Host soared to success as one of the first lockdown films, however the director Rob Savage’s success doesn’t stop there as he alongside Host writer Jed Shepherd are set to create an original horror film based on a group of female prisoners discovering the prison’s dark secrets lurking around the halls.

Little has been released about Host’s follow up, the story has been likened to an allegory for the reverse effects of lockdown; once afraid to stay in for prolonged periods now transforms into a fear of venturing into the outside. Savage’s talent was exhibited largely throughout Host and if that’s anything to work from this film will be a hit.

This weeks article comes via Grace from Film Overload, you can check out more of her work here.

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This week in horror – news round up 17.07.20

Here’s our first horror news round up, a couple of this weeks biggest stories and happenings in the genre!

Friday The 13th – Epic 16 disc franchise collection announced

Scream factory confirmed a leak on Monday 13 July (obviously), that a brand new franchise collection including all 12 films will be released on 13 October 2020. Rumours had been rumbling since March this year when a cast member of Jason Lives mentioned the new box set, and the collection had also been spotted on amazon briefly as unavailable. Fans will not be disappointed as there will be 4k restorations of the first four films and bloody bags full of new content from each film to wade through.

Fans lucky enough to get their hands on the 16 disc collection through Scream Factory will receive; an exclusive limited edition 36” x 24” lithograph featuring new artwork from artist Devon Whitehead and limited edition 24” x 36” Friday The 13th 40th anniversary poster with new artwork from Joel Robinson. The collaboration with Paramount Studios has already crashed the SF website so its fair to say you’ll need to get in there quick to bag a copy! (Link below)

https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/friday-the-13th-collection-deluxe-edition?product_id=7444

‘Chucky’ – TV series coming 2021

Don Mancini creator of the the Child’s Play franchise shared a teaser (below) of a new series ‘‘Chucky’‘ coming to USA and Syfy in 2021. ”Chucky” has been described as a ”fresh take on the franchise” that’ll ”explore Chucky’s character with a depth that is uniquely afforded by the television series format”

“After a vintage Chucky doll turns up at a suburban yard sale, an idyllic American town is thrown into chaos as a series of horrifying murders begin to expose the town’s hypocrisies and secrets. Meanwhile, the arrival of enemies — and allies — from Chucky’s past threatens to expose the truth behind the killings, as well as the demon doll’s untold origins as a seemingly ordinary child who somehow became this notorious monster.”

Here at Dead Northern were beyond excited to see how this new series plays out!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CCt1V2eF4zl/

Shudder’s ”The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs” returning for a third season in August

Horror fans will be pleased to hear on Tuesday it was announced the Shudder series was being renewed for a third season and some additional specials due as soon as this August. Shudder announced a special ”summer sleepover” double feature pre-taped prior to lockdown that will feature a visit to the trailer park from horror filmmaker Adam Green along with other surprise guests. The special episode will premiere on Friday 14 August.

In Memoriam – Kelly Preston

Actress Kelly Preston has died aged 57 after a 2 year fight with breast cancer, it was announced by husband John Travolta on Monday 13 July. Travolta posted on Instagram: “My beautiful wife Kelly has lost her two-year battle with breast cancer. She fought a courageous fight with the love and support of so many.”

The couple had been married for nearly 29 years. Preston’s career included roles in Twins, From Dusk Till Dawn (pictured above), Jerry Maguire and The Cat in the Hat. She also collaborated with her husband on Battlefield Earth and Old Dogs. Tributes poured in for the brilliant actress from the likes of Russell Crowe and Alec Baldwin, both having worked with her described her as a ‘lovely person’, ‘funny’ and ‘kind’.

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Halloween Kills – release delayed to 2021

David Gordon Green and John Carpenter released a statement yesterday (8 July 2020) announcing the release of Halloween Kills has been pushed back a year to October 2021 due to the current Coronavirus pandemic and its effect on cinemas worldwide.

This sequel had been eagerly awaited by horror fans after the release of Halloween (2018), was a clear return to form and set the stage for the latest trilogy.

See below for their full statement.

Jamie Lee Curtis took to social media to express her sadness in the one year delay:

‘I am as disappointed as you are. Mostly because the movie the David has created from the characters that John and Debra created Is a masterpiece. Prescient and powerful. I promise you it will be worth the wait.‘

John Carpenter took to twitter just hours later to reveal the first tease trailer for Halloween Kills. This may just keep you hyped during that long wait – take a look below:

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Jamie Lee Curtis – Directorial debut with Eco-horror ‘Mother Nature’ at Blumhouse

Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis

The original scream queen Jaime Lee Curtis will make her directorial debut with ‘Mother Nature’ a horror film as part of a three-year deal with Comet Pictures (Lee Curtis’s own company) and Blumhouse Productions.

It should come as no surprise to horror fans that Lee Curtis is working with Blumhouse, as they produced the 2018 reboot of Halloween a direct sequel to the 1978 classic, forming a new trilogy.

Very few details have been revealed about the project, we do know the movie is centred around climate change.

Jason Blum, Blumhouse CEO and founder, said: “Jamie is a force of nature and was a real partner on Halloween. So it’s both an honour and incredibly apt that she’s making her first feature film as a director with ‘Mother Nature’.”

Here at Dead northern we cannot wait to see how it turns out!

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