A packed week of horror news with a new RL Stine adaptation, the re-release of a classic anthology horror, and one of the best vampire stories ever gets a series on Showtime. All that and more in The Week in Horror!
After Netflix’s Fear Street, RL Stine adaptations are the new hotness right now. Next up is an adaptation of Stine’s Zombie Town, which is expected to release in theatres and on Hulu sometime in 2023. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Dan Akyroyd and Chevy Chase have both signed on for the project along with Henry Czerny, Marlon Kazadi and Madi Monroe. Zombie Town is directed by Peter Lepeniotis , with filming underway here in Ontario, Canada.
In Zombie Town, “a quiet town is upended when 12-year-old Mike and his friend Karen watch a horror movie called Zombie Town and unexpectedly see the title characters leap off the screen and chase them through the theater.”
In one of the more unusual upcoming horror sequels on the slate for this year, cheerleading franchise Bring It On is getting it’s first horror installment with Bring It On: Cheer Or Die this fall on Syfy. Karen Lam directs from a script by Rebekah McKendry (Glorious) and Dana Schwartz (She-Hulk). Missi Pyle, Kerri Medders, and Tiera Skovbye head up the cast.
In Bring It On: Cheer or Die, “a cheer squad’s plan to have a secret practice at a nearby abandoned school on Halloween takes a terrifying turn when their teammates begin disappearing one by one.”
Also coming this Halloween is the first-ever theatrical release for one of my favourite anthology horrors, Michael Dougherty’s 2009 masterpiece Trick ‘r Treat. The original film was never released in theatres, though it did play some festivals the previous year, and amassed a cult following on DVD. It features a fantastic cast that includes Dylan Baker, Anna Paquin, Brian Cox, and Leslie Bibb. The iconic Sam has become one of the most recognizable faces in horror, and even though I’ve seen it dozens of times, I’m going to be front row for Trick ‘r Treat‘s release on October 6.
In Trick ‘r Treat, “An everyday high school principal has a secret life as a serial killer; a college virgin might have just met the guy for her; a group of teenagers pull a mean prank; a woman who loathes the night has to contend with her holiday-obsessed husband; and a mean old man meets his match with the demonic, supernatural trick-or-treater whose name is Sam.”
The latest from Blumhouse is a TV project called The Visitor. A gothic tale for Paramount and Epix which stars Finn Jones, Jessica McNamee, Dane Rhodes, and Donna Biscoe. Justin P. Lange directs from a script by Adam Mason & Simon Boyes.
In the movie, “when Robert and his wife Maia move to her childhood home, he discovers an old portrait of his likeness in the attic – a man referred to only as ‘The Visitor’. Soon he finds himself descending down a frightening rabbit hole in an attempt to discover the true identity of his mysterious doppelgänger, only to realize that every family has its own terrifying secrets.”
Check out the trailer here!
The Visitor will be available on Digital and On Demand on October 7, 2022, with a release on EPIX in December.
Finally, and also on October 7, is the premiere of the much-anticipated Showtime series, Let The Right One In, which is based on John Avdje Lindqvist’s novel and which already had two film adaptations in 2008’s Let The Right One In, directed by Tomas Alfredson and the 2010 remake, Let Me In, directed by Matt Reeves. All three stories upended the vampire genre and were huge cult favourites.
The new Showtime series, which dropped it’s first teaser trailer this week, stars Demian Bechir and Madison Taylor Baez.
“Inspired by the original hit Swedish novel and film, the series centers on Mark (Bichir) and his daughter Eleanor (Baez),whose lives were changed 10 years earlier when she was turned into a vampire. Locked in at age 12, perhaps forever, Eleanor lives a closed-in life, able to go out only at night, while her father does his best to provide her with the human blood she needs to stay alive. With these emotionally charged and terrifying ingredients as a starting point, LET THE RIGHT ONE IN will upend genre expectations, turning a naturalistic lens on human frailty, strength and compassion.“
