This Week in Horror: Expand your toy collection, celebrate April Fool’s Day, Shudder and Chill with tons of new releases, and much more!
It’s a seriously buzzworthy week of horror news, with a killer collection of new releases, must have horror merchandise, more great reasons to stay in and stream, and lots of highly anticipated productions in the works.
RUN (RELEASE DATE: MAY 8, 2020)
You’ve no doubt seen the talented Sarah Paulson as a fixture on American Horror Story. Now, check her out as an overbearing mom who has basically raised her daughter in complete isolation and the horrors that come along with that. Run is a suspenseful film that tells a story of a daughter just beginning to uncover the secrets her mom has been keeping,
THE GREEN KNIGHT (RELEASE DATE: MAY 29, 2020)
The Green Knight is a new, fresh take on the legendary tale of King Arthur. This fantasy film introduces us to Sir Gawain, who is Arthur’s nephew. Gawain has to complete a quest that pits him up against ghosts, thieves, and other villains in order to get to the Green Knight and fight him to prove his worth to his family.
THE GOONIES PILOT
This isn’t a remake or a reboot – it’s an interesting twist on the ‘80s classic, though. It’s the story of a teacher who returns to her hometown and helps a group of students fulfill their dream of creating a shot-for-shot remake of The Goonies. It will be seen on Fox, and it’s said to be a “love letter” to the film as well as an inspiring story about following your dreams.
MORE CRAFT NEWS
Jason Blum’s reboot of The Craft is done shooting. All that’s been said is that the film isn’t so much of a ‘remake’ as it is a ‘reimagining,’ and that it’s been updated to tell a more timely, relevant story. The film stars actors Cailee Spaeny, Gideon Adlon, Lovie Simone, Zoey Luna, Nicholas Galitzine, Michelle Monaghan, and David Duchovny. There’s no release date or trailer yet – let’s hope one materializes soon.
ORPHAN PREQUEL COMING
Orphan is a creepy 2009 movie about a young girl who terrorizes her adoptive family. Turns out, she’s actually a 30-year-old woman, and she’s nuts. The plot sounds deranged, but the movie is actually pretty awesome. Now, we find out that we’re getting a prequel to Orphan so we can see what pint-sized con woman Esther was up to before the events of Orphan took place. Simply titled Esther, the film will be helmed by director William Brent Bell, who also directed The Boy, The Boy 2, and The Devil Inside. The plot will focus on how Esther escaped from the insane asylum and managed to get from Russia to the US, terrorizing families in her wake and leaving murder behind.
LULLABY FROM DIRECTOR OF ANNABELLE
John R. Leonetti will begin shooting Lullaby this spring. Leonetti, who directed Annabelle, will lead star Oona Chaplin (Game of Thrones) in this story about a mom who accidentally conjures Lilith while singing her baby a lullaby she found in an old book. Oops! Gotta hate when that happens.
ELI ROTH TO DIRECT BORDERLANDS
Video game fans rejoiced this week when the news dropped that Eli Roth would direct a movie version of the popular video game Borderlands. Video game films are popular right now, and there’s also an upcoming Uncharted film, and with the success of movies about Pikachu and Sonic, filmmakers are thinking now’s the time for more video game adaptations, and fans couldn’t be happier.
CAMP COLD BROOK (RELEASE DATE: AVAILABLE NOW)
Genre favorite Danielle Harris (Hatchet 2 and 3, Halloween 4 and 5) and Chad Michael Murray (House of Wax) star as producers of a sinking reality show called Haunt Squad. As a last-ditch effort to avoid cancellation, the two decide to film an episode at Camp Cold Brook, the site of a real-life horror 20 years earlier when a group of campers met their untimely demise in the lake. The pair may get more than they bargained for at the haunted campsite. (Peep Courtney Gains in the trailer!)
DROWNING (RELEASE DATE: FEBRUARY 25)
Anna decides to go back to where it all began in this look at the life of a prostitute. She fights the demons in her life and her head to take control of her own life in this dramatic story of an abused woman who won’t stay down.
BONES GETS THE SCREAM FACTORY TREATMENT
Remember the campy film Bones starring Snoop Dogg? Scream Factory is giving it a shiny new release with a brand-new Blu-ray out on March 31. There’s a ton of special features, including a 4K scan of the film, lots of interviews, audio commentary, trailers, and deleted scenes. ORDER HERE: https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/bones?product_id=7313.
IT’S NOT A TRICK! APRIL FOOL’S DAY ON BLU
One of the most beloved ‘80s cult horror flicks gets a new look. April Fool’s Day, starring Deborah Foreman, will be rereleased with special features that have never been seen before, including interviews and trailers. Preorder now and get a limited edition poster! ORDER HERE: https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/april-fool-s-day-collector-s-edition?product_id=7312.
HAUS OF HORROR (RELEASE DATE: AVAILABLE NOW)
Host Vanessa Decker explores the impact that horror has had on our lifestyle, specifically food, fashion, beauty, and overall culture in this bloody web series brought to you by Dread Central. On the first episode, Vanessa meets with the incredible Boulet Brothers at the spookiest location of them all: The Mystic Museum! The Boulet Brothers are best known for their Netflix show, Dragula, and are icons in the underground Drag world.
AVAIL TV (RELEASE DATE: AVAILABLE NOW)
Avail TV is a brand-new streaming service you can check out via your Roku, Apple TV, or Firestick. There are 300 streaming features now, with more being added, and best of all, it’s free! And yes, there is a horror section.
REPLACE (RELEASE DATE: MARCH 2)
A beautiful model is losing her skin to a disease – but finds she can regenerate her own looks using other people’s skin. Finding “donors” requires murder and becomes difficult as she becomes more desperate. You’ll see Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator) in this 2017 film. Check out this deadly dermatological nightmare on Shudder.
GINGER SNAPS (RELEASE DATE: MARCH 2)
A film that’s been heralded as one of the best feminist horrors out there, Ginger Snaps combines the horror of coming-of-age with lycanthropy to create a stunning story of two sisters who don’t fit in. This Canadian film starring Katharine Isabelle (American Mary) and Emily Perkins does a great job of using puberty as a parallel for transforming into something much worse than a teenager. If you haven’t seen it, don’t miss it. This movie is just as relevant today as it was upon its release in 2000. Head to Shudder when the moon is full!
REEL FILM DAY (MARCH 5, 2020)
The American Genre Film Archive, the largest non-profit genre film archive in the world, will be presenting 35mm screenings of THE AGFA HORROR TRAILER SHOW for Reel Film Day — an annual celebration of watching 35mm film prints in a jam-packed theater on March 5 (3.5). The show is essentially a compilation of some of the best horror trailers, commercials, and other noteworthy releases presented in 35mm film. Some of these have never been seen before, and they’re very rare. Check to see if your Drafthouse offers some ticket add-ons, including T-shirts and posters that will support the AGFA’s nonprofit mission. The experience is meant to replicate an old-fashioned night at the drive-in, so don’t miss out!
NEW FIGURES INCLUDING VICTOR CROWLEY
NECA continues to thrill horror fans with its amazing figures, and fans at the NY International Toy Fair got a glimpse of some upcoming releases from the company, including the very first Victor Crowley figure, along with a new Michael Myers and likenesses of Quint and Brody from Jaws. Crowley will get his own 8-inch figure featuring clothes and hair as well as a figure in the Toony Terrors line. We’ll also see a new wave of those figures that features Beetlejuice, Sam, and Regan.
NEW HORROR FUNKO POPS
If you’ve snatched up every horror-related POP figure that Funko has created, get ready to add more to your collection. Funko will release a set of all four witches from the classic film, The Craft. For fans of comics and horror, enjoy the mash-up of both genres with new Marvel Zombies POP figures. For monster lovers, the Funko Shop exclusive Medusa POP is just too cute. There is no word on when, specifically, the toys will hit shelves.
PREORDER MARK PATTON’S SCREAM QUEEN DOC
It seems like forever since we first heard about Mark Patton’s documentary about being a gay man in horror, Scream, Queen: My Nightmare On Elm Street. Now, we can finally preorder a hard copy of this award-winning doc. It’s being released by Virgil Films, and you can finally get your claws on your own copy March 3. Find out how Patton faced the true horror of Hollywood: homophobia.
NEW TERROR THREADS SLEEPAWAY CAMP SHIRT
Terror Threads knocks it out of the park again with a brand new Sleepaway Camp design. Head back to Camp Arawak with this comic book-inspired shirt featuring artwork by Mike Chiechi. This is a preorder, so get your order in so you can get your shirt when they ship the week of March 8.
SHE SAVED THE WORLD. A LOT.
There’s a bit of buzz that the successful show created by Joss Whedon, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, will get a reboot. There’s not much information to be had yet, but we did uncover the fact that the showrunners intend to make the show very diverse to appeal to a wider audience, and the rumor mill says that the lead character may be African-American. There’s not much that could compare to the original series; a sharp, clever, and witty show that was a perfect mesh of ‘90s popular culture, coming of age, and fighting monsters. But in the spirit of the show not being a copycat or watered-down version of the original, the showrunners have said that no original cast members have planned on returning.
ROBERT ENGLUND HANGS UP HIS CLAW FOR GOOD
With the old chainsaw gearing up, Billy dusting off his tricycle, and Nancy Downs prepping new spells, it’s no wonder that fans are looking to one of their favorite franchises for remake news. However, Robert Englund, who has played Freddy Krueger in film and television form, says he’ll never don the fedora and glove again – he’s too “long in the tooth.” He also said he would love to see Kevin Bacon in the role, and he’d be thrilled to play a cameo part in the highly likely reboot of the franchise.
Englund also stated he’d love to see Dream Warriors given the reboot treatment. It’s possible fans may have seen Englund in his Freddy makeup for the last time when he guested on a 2018 episode of The Goldbergs. You can see Englund this March when he hosts a new show for the Travel Channel called True Terror with Robert Englund.
BONG JOON-HO GEARS UP FOR MORE
Fresh off his multitude of Oscar wins for Parasite, director Bong Joon-Ho isn’t resting on his laurels. He’s got a new film in the works which is being described as an action-horror flick. He’s also being inducted into the Criterion Collection Hall of Cinema with Parasite and Memories of Murder.
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Stay tuned for more news as it develops.
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