Happy Thanksgiving to all of our Canadian readers! Fresh off that tryptophan high, we enter a landmark week for horror, with the return of classic franchises and tons of new stuff for spookfans of every taste. Don Mancini’s Child’s Play is back with a surprisingly well-received Chucky which premieres tonight (October 12) on SyFy and Hulu, and on Friday we have both the return of I Know What You Did Last Summer with the new series based on Lois Duncan’s novel on Amazon, as well as SyFy’s new Day of the Dead series which has Steven Kostanski directing four episodes. And, of course, Michael Myers is back with Halloween Kills this Friday as well. But that’s not all – take a deep dive into this tirade of terror with the rest of the horror news this week!
Australia’s Justin Kurzel is responsible for one of the most upsetting theatre experiences I’ve ever had, with his true-crime thriller The Snowtown Murders (2011). The gruesome account of one of Australia’s most notorious serial killers pulls no punches, and the depictions of John Bunting’s horrific actions is made even more impactful by using real locations and residents of the area where the murders occurred. Kurzel went on to make some more mainstream fare, including 2016’s Assassin’s Creed and a 2015 adaptation of Macbeth starring Michael Fassbinder and Marion Cotillard, but this year he returns to his true-crime roots with Nitram.
Nitram tells the story of Martin Bryant, the shooter in the 1996 massacre of 35 people in Port Arthur, Tasmania. It stars Caleb Landry Jones (Antiviral, Get Out) as Bryant as well as Essie Davis (The Babadook) and Anthony LaPaglia. This is sure to be another disturbing portrayal from Kurzel, and you can check out the trailer ahead of Nitram‘s theatrical release on September 30, if you’ve got the stomach for it.
David Bruckner’s Hellraiser reboot for Hulu has it’s Pinhead with actor Jamie Clayton, according to Deadline, and boy are the illiterates in your favourite internet comment sections upset! Despite the fact that the original Clive Barker story depicts Pinhead as a female (or at least extremely feminine, since the alien sex god doesn’t exactly fall neatly into a gender binary) and Bruckner has stated that his remake is based on the literary work rather than the 1987 film, the usual suspects are very upset that a wo…wo…wo…woman – especially a trans woman – has been cast in the role. They can die mad, though, because Barker has not only given his blessing to the adaptation but is also onboard as an executive producer. Bruckner states that “[i]t’s been such an honor to have Clive onboard to help support and shepherd us through the incredible universe he created so long ago. Combined with a fearless and committed cast, including the amazing Jamie Clayton, who fully embodies the role as the Hell Priest, we’re aiming to create a very special new chapter in the Hellraiser legacy.”
Bruckner directs from a story by David S. Goyer and Hellraiser will also star Odessa A’zion, Brandon Flynn, Goran Visnjic, Drew Starkey, Adam Faison, Aoife Hinds, and Hiam Abbass.
Fresh off Netflix’s Fear Street, a new RL Stine anthology series debuts this week on Disney+ called Just Beyond. Seth Grahame-Smith (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter) will write and showrun, with Stine serving as co-executive producer with Marc Webb (The Amazing Spider-Man) directing two episodes. The cast of Just Beyond includes Mckenna Grace (Ghostbusters: Afterlife), Lexi Underwood (The First Lady), and Henry Thomas (Midnight Mass). Check out the trailer ahead of all eight episodes release on Disney+ this Wednesday October 13!
Deadline reports that a new film called Boy Kills World starring Bill Skarsgard (IT, Villains) and Samara Weaving (Ready or Not, Guns Akimbo) has commenced filming in South Africa. In the film, Skarsgard “will lead the cast as protagonist Boy, a deaf-mute with a vibrant imagination. When his family is murdered, he escapes to the jungle and is trained by a mysterious shaman to repress his childish imagination and become an instrument of death.” Boy Kills World marks the feature directing debut of German filmmaker Moritz Mohr, whose short films have garnered a number of awards. We’ll have more about this one when we have a release date.
Terrifier caught horror fans by wonderful surprise with spooky clown vibes that rival those of anything Pennywise came up with, but while we await the sequel to that film, the producers have unleashed a new project called Stream which is currently in post-production. Stream just recently surpassed it’s goal on IndieGogo and we have the first clip here, courtesy of the filmmakers:
Stream stars Danielle Harris and is directed by Michael Leavy. In the movie, “when Roy and Elaine Keenan realize their family is drifting apart, they decide that something needs to be done. Roy forces his work to take a back seat and they seize the opportunity to recreate a vacation from their past. A peaceful stay in a quaint hotel is just what they need, however that is not what is in store for them.
“With four deranged murderers patrolling the seemingly mundane halls, the odds are definitely not in the Keenan family’s favor. Roy must fight for his life and those of his family as their simple weekend getaway truly turns into a vacation to die for!”
There’s still 25 days left to donate to the campaign, and help see Stream through to the end!
Ultraviolent festival fave The Spine of Night has a brand new red-band trailer that puts it’s ambitious Ralph Bakshi vibes on full display, ahead of a release in theatres, VOD, and Digital on October 29 from RJLE Films. Expect this one to land on Shudder sometime this winter as well. I caught The Spine of Night at the Fantasia Festival this year, and I’m not sure anything I could say here would prepare you for it. Either way, check out the trailer ahead of the film’s release!
Finally, we’ve got a heap of new images from the newest installment of the Scream franchise, including a sweet looking poster, courtesy of Entertainment Weekly!
The Radio Silence (V/H/S, Ready or Not) crew of directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett and producer Chad Villella will drop the film in theatres on January 14, 2022, and the new images feature our pals Sidney, Dewey, Gail, and a bunch of new characters.
