Horror blockbusters of all kinds are represented in this week’s update. Hugely anticipated movies like Neil Blomkamp’s Demonic, A24’s The Green Knight, and first details about Eli Roth’s adaptation of the video game sensation Borderlands are only a few of the big announcements we got this week. We’ve also got scoops on some horror titles you didn’t even know you were looking forward to yet, like a new project from the mind of the late George Romero and a new film from David Cronenberg!
“A young woman unleashes terrifying demons when supernatural forces at the root of a decades old rift between mother and daughter are ruthlessly revealed” in Neil Blomkamp’s Demonic. The District 9 writer-director’s first film since Elysium will be released in theatres on August 20, with a VOD/Digital release a week later on the 27th. We’ve got the first couple images from the film right here:
Variety reports that a new zombie-comedy (zomedy? comedie? zom-com?) called Killing It is in development by Robin Thede (A Black Lady Sketch Show) for Amazon. The film has been described as “Girls Trip meets Shaun of the Dead” and revolves around a homecoming event at Spelman College in Atlanta which becomes overrun with the undead, with the resulting chaos left in the hands of four dropouts to handle. Thede wrote the screenplay for Killing It and will also produce.
One of my favourite new trailers this week was for a movie called Threshold, which is an ultra-low budget road trip horror that was shot on two iPhones. The film is about a brother and sister who reunite when one finds the other in the throes of an apparent overdose that may have more sinister origins than either expects. I get strong Resolution vibes from this one which, if you know me and my affinity for Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s work, is high praise. Threshold isthe second film from co-directors Powell Robinson, Patrick R. Young and producer Lauren Bates and will be available on the Arrow streaming service starting today (May 3). You can watch the trailer here:
Filming on Eli Roth’s adaptation of the post-apocalyptic video game Borderlands has started, and we’ve got the scoops on almost the full star-studded cast, courtesy of Dread Central. It was announced this week that the wasteland wreckfest will include Gina Gershon as Moxxi, Cheyenne Jackson as Jakobs, Charles Babalola as Hammerlock, Benjamin Byron Davis as Marcus, Steven Boyer as Scooter, and Ryann Redmond as Ellie. Bobby Lee will play a new character named Larry. This is on top of the already huge cast that includes Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis, Ariana Greenblatt, Florian Munteanu, Edgar Ramirez, Haley Bennett, Olivier Richters, and Jack Black! Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) wrote the script for this one.
A24’s The Green Knight was supposed to premiere at SXSW in March of 2020, with a release date a couple months later in May, but the pandemic, such as it is, put a wrench into those plans. It’s been a painful wait, but David Lowery’s medieval horror will now be unleashed on the world starting on July 30. We got some choice new images from the film, which stars Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire) as Sir Gawain, a reckless nephew of King Arthur. Check them out here:
In what should be exciting news for zombie fans, Suzanne Romero, the widow of Night of the Living Dead creator and the originator of the modern zombie George A Romero (who passed away in 2017), has been working with screenwriters and taking meetings about her late husband’s Twilight of the Dead. Twilight is said to be Romero’s concluding statement on the zombie genre, and Romero summarizes it with the vague but intriguing line, “the story is set in a decimated world. Life has all but disappeared. But there still may be hope for humanity.”
We got a shit-ton of news about David Cronenberg’s purported return to his body horror sci-fi roots with his first film since 2014’s Maps to the Stars, thanks to Deadline this week. The new film will be called Crimes of the Future and will begin shooting this summer in Greece. We also found out about the first casting details, with Viggo Mortensen (Eastern Promises), Kristen Stewart (Underwater), Lea Seydoux (No Time To Die), Don McKellar (The Grand Seduction), and Scott Speedman (Underworld) set to star. Crimes of the Future is Croney’s first original science fiction script since ExistenZ (1999) and according to Deadline, is “a deep dive into the not-so-distant future where humankind is learning to adapt to its synthetic surroundings. This evolution moves humans beyond their natural state and into a metamorphosis, altering their biological makeup. While some embrace the limitless potential of trans-humanism, others attempt to police it. Either way, “Accelerated Evolution Syndrome” is spreading fast. Saul Tenser is a beloved performance artist who has embraced Accelerated Evolution Syndrome, sprouting new and unexpected organs in his body. Along with his partner Caprice, Tenser has turned the removal of these organs into a spectacle for his loyal followers to marvel at in real-time theatre.”
