2017 has been an amazing year for horror, but it’s not over yet! Here are five upcoming horror films we’re hoping help us finish this year with a bang.
Stephen King’s “IT” has officially become the biggest horror movie of the year, and it’s second to M. Night Shyamalan’s “Sixth Sense” only when it comes to total revenue. It’s also the highest-grossing R-rated movie released to date, beating Deadpool, and the highest-grossing September release, with opening revenues more than twice as big as the previous record holder (Hotel Transylvania 2).
Aside from the fact that this ensures a sequel to be made (after all, the movie was planned to have two parts from the start), this also indicates that more of Stephen King’s works will make it to the big and small screens in the near future than ever — especially given the recent success of another King adaptation now showing on Netflix, Gerald’s Game, which is winning over audiences and critics alike.
It’s also a great sign for fans of R-rated horror movies, hopefully signaling a continuing trend for more to come. While the genre has a long history of caving to studio pressure, heavily editing films released in theaters in order to garner a PG-13 rating (thus increasing profits), the huge success of films like IT means more studios should take a chance on darker, scarier, and gorier films.
In that spirit, we’re taking a look at 5 upcoming R-rated films we’re most excited about — looking at the most anticipated horror films 2017 with Redflush, as well as the start of a promising 2018 for horror fans.
Jigsaw
Tobin Bell returns to the movie franchise that made him famous: he will reprise the role of John Kramer, better known by his nickname “Jigsaw” in the Spierig brothers’ upcoming horror movie “Jigsaw”. The movie will have an R rating (most of you probably wouldn’t have it otherwise). The story picks up over a decade after the death of the infamous Jigsaw Killer, when bodies suggesting they were killed using his methods start turning up. Whether it’s the original Jigsaw returning from the dead or one of his many acolytes doing the killing, we’ll find out at the end of the film.
Expect to see it in theaters beginning October 27, 2017, just in time for Halloween.
Creep 2
While not a theatrical release, Mark Duplass’s follow-up to his disarmingly disturbing micro-budget thriller Creep (2015) is definitely on our must-watch list. The movie stars Mark Duplass in the title role. His co-star this time out is Desiree Akhavan. Creep 2 will be directed by Patrick Brice, the same guy responsible for Creep. Brice and Duplass co-wrote the screenplay about a video artist named Sara whose primary focus is creating intimacy with lonely men. After finding an ad online for “video work” she thinks she may have found the subject of her dreams. She drives to a remote house in the forest and meets a man claiming to be a serial killer (Duplass). Unable to resist the chance to create a truly shocking piece of art, she agrees to spend the day with him. However, as the day goes on she discovers she may have dug herself into a hole she can’t escape.
The thriller will see Duplass reprising his role from the first film and will be released on all digital platforms on October 24th (with a Netflix release to follow in the future).
The Killing of a Sacred Deer
For fans of thought-provoking arthouse horror, the psychological horror-thriller The Killing of a Sacred Deer from director Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth, The Lobster) looks poised to deliver in spades. In the film, Dr. Steven Murphy (Colin Farrell) is a renowned cardiovascular surgeon presiding over a spotless household with his ophthalmologist wife Anna (Nicole Kidman) and their two exemplary children, 12-year-old Bob (Sunny Suljic) and 14-year-old Kim (Raffey Cassidy). Lurking at the margins of his idyllic suburban existence is Martin (Barry Keoghan), a fatherless teen who Steven has covertly taken under his wing. As Martin begins insinuating himself into the family’s life in ever-more unsettling displays, the full scope of his intent becomes menacingly clear when he confronts Steven with a long-forgotten transgression that will shatter the Murphy family’s domestic bliss.
This film about justice and consequences will be released via A24 in theaters on October 27th.
The Shape of Water
The Shape of Water from visionary filmmaker and master story teller Guillermo del Toro should help end a year of exceptional horror on a high note. The film is described as an other-worldly fairy tale, set against the backdrop of Cold War era America circa 1962. In the hidden high-security government laboratory where she works, lonely Elisa (Sally Hawkins) is trapped in a life of isolation. Elisa’s life is changed forever when she and co-worker Zelda (Octavia Spencer) discover a secret classified experiment.
Look for The Shape of Water in theaters on December 8, 2017.
Death House
What do Kane Hodder, Barbara Crampton, Bill Moseley, Dee Wallace, Tony Todd and Camille Keaton have in common? Besides all being incredibly iconic and beloved horror actors, they will also all star in Death House, the movie many have dubbed the “Expendables of Horror” due to the all-star, powerhouse cast. The premise of the film is as follows: A power outage leaves two agents stranded inside a secret prison known only as the “Death House”, inhabited by prisoners of the human kind – and the not so human kind as well.
For any fans of this site, you know how excited we are for this one. And news just broke that Death House has been moved up to a week to a January 19th release date on 200 screens exclusively through Regal Theaters.
What a great way to kick off what will hopefully be another killer year for horror!
Follow Us!