This week’s horror news has huge premieres, and massive updates from some of my favourite, and quite possibly my future favourite, horror movies! Whether it’s TV horror, the new nightmare from David Cronenberg, or some new editions of two classics, we’ve got you covered.
Mark O’Brien’s The Righteous, a black-and-white folk horror that has been burning up the festival circuit since last year. It premiered at the 2021 Fantasia Festival and won both the Silver Award and the Cheval Noir, both with stiff competition. The Righteous also won a Grimmfest Award at that festival, and a Bloodie from our favourite local festival, Blood in the Snow.
With all those accolades, it wasn’t long before Arrow Films picked up The Righteous and they’ve planned a June 10th release for the film on the ARROW streaming service.
The Righteous is about “Frederic (Henry Czerny) a grieving man struggling with his faith. He helps an injured young man, Aaron Smith (Mark O’Brien) who stumbles onto his property one night, claiming to be lost in the woods. Frederic and his wife (Mimi Kuzyk) invite the man to stay for the night. But Frederic soon begins to have doubts about this enigmatic stranger’s story and his motives for being there. When Aaron asks Frederic to commit an unspeakable deed, it becomes clear that the man is not who he seems; it seems he’s been sent to test the very limits of Frederic’s existence.”
Check out the brand new trailer for The Righteous!
Mimi Cave’s excellent Fresh, starring Daisy Edgar-Jones and Sebastian Stan is heading into awards season with an unusual strategy. Variety reports that the horror-comedy will be submitted to the Primetime Emmy’s in the Outstanding Television Movie category. This would make it the first horror film to be nominated in the category, though episodes of the Black Mirror series have made it in.
You can, and should, catch Fresh on Hulu in the US and on Disney+ in Canada.
This year’s Fantasia International Film Festival is the 26th edition of what, in my opinion, is the best film festival on the planet. The festival, which is comprised of not just screenings but workshops and other unique events around the city of Montreal from July 14 to August 3. Thies year’s first wave includes a very special career achievement award for the legendary director John Woo (Hard Boiled, The Killer, Face/Off) and huge premieres like Rebekah McKendry’s Glorious, Mickey Reece’s Country Gold, Amanda Kramer’s Please Baby Please (starring Demi Moore!) and a whole lot more.
You can check out the whole first wave for Fantasia right here!
Indiewire reported that one of my favourite, and possibly the most unsettling, series of 2021, Showtime’s Yellowjackets would be kicking off shooting for the second season this summer. That’s great news for me in particular, but any fans of this twisted teen survival murder mystery story and it’s deliciously 90’s soundtrack should be excited too. And that’s to say nothing of it’s incredible cast that includes Melanie Lynskey, Juliette Lewis, and Christina Ricci. to further pique your interest, showrunner Ashley Lyle said that “We’ve been calling Season 2, ‘The Winter of Their Discontent.”
Speaking of Yellowjackets, Decider reports that the DVD release for Season 1 is set for July 19, from Showtime, CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment. A Blu-Ray release is also on the menu, with the following featurettes packed in:
- Yellowjackets: The Female Lens – We will hear from the star-studded cast and creators as they break down the making of Yellowjackets, highlighting the female-centric story.
- Yellowjackets: Favorite Moments – This compilation of the buzziest Yellowjackets moments will include exclusive interviews from the cast and crew as they reflect on impactful scenes throughout the season.
“Yellowjackets is the saga of a team of wildly talented high school girls soccer players who become the (un)lucky survivors of a plane crash deep in the remote northern wilderness. The series chronicles their descent from a complicated but thriving team to savage clans, while also tracking the lives they’ve attempted to piece back together nearly 25 years later, proving that the past is never really past and what began out in the wilderness is far from over.”
The newest film in Alex de la Iglesia (The Last Circus)’s The Fear Collection for Amazon Prime is set to be from Jaume Balagueró, co-director of [REC] and [REC] 2. The horror is called Venus and is inspired by HP Lovecraft’s Dreams in the Witch House. It’ll star Ester Expósito, Ángela Cremonte, Magüi Mira, Fernando Valdivieso and Federico Aguado.
“CAN YOU SEE?” Not much info here, but you can bet that I was salivating to find out one of my all-time favourite horror films, 1997’s Event Horizon will finally be coming home to 4K UHD from Paramount, according to a tweet and blog post by @DawnoftheDiscs.
On top of that, @dawnofthediscs reveals that another personal favourite, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (starring the late Dennis freakin’ Hopper) will also be coming to 4K Ultra HD from Vinegar Syndrome.
You can bet I’ll have more info on these releases and the extras packed in, once we have it!
Fans of the Final Destination series will be happy to know that the sixth installment will officially be heading to HBO Max, according to iHorror. Jon Watts (Spider-Man No Way Home, Cop Car) is on board to produce alongside franchise creators Lori Evans Taylor and Guy Busick. No more details yet, but at least we know where you’ll be watching it! Stay tuned!
Finally, the craziest trailer of the week is undoubtedly for David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future. Expanding on the teaser that was released a few weeks ago, this new trailer is a whole lot more of the stunningly beautiful body horror that only Cronenberg can provide. Check it out here ahead of Crimes of the Future‘s release on June 10!
