We got a grip of horror news coming out of Cinemacon this week, infuriatingly in the form of second-hand accounts of various exciting-sounding trailers. But I’ve also got one of the scariest trailers I’ve seen in a while and some interesting new projects from all over the world. Check them all out here in The Week in Horror!
Scott ‘Kid Cudi’ Mescudi follows up his awesome turn in Ti West’s X with Hell Naw, a new zombie comedy set against the backdrop of Paris Fashion Week. Oscar nominees Keith and Kenny Lucas (Judas and the Black Messiah) are co-writing the script with Sam Levinson producing.
Says Mescudi about the project, “This movie has been five years in the making. I am telling the world now, this film will f*ck you up in all the best ways. I have been a horror fan since I was 7 years old, The first horror movies I ever saw were Night of the Living Dead and Evil Dead. And from that point on, I was hooked on the feeling of being frightened. I’ve been wanting to get into this world creating my own stories for a long time, and now, and after years of working it out in my head, it’s finally happening. Sam, The Lucas Brothers and myself have really crafted a tale we feel everyone who’s a fan of horror and comedy will enjoy. You will laugh, oh yes you will, but the horror aspect of this movie will really be something to see. You will be shook. I promise. Y’all know I don’t play around.”
A bunch of new trailers were revealed at CinemaCon this week, though of course we won’t get a chance to see them unless we were in attendance. One of the biggest was Ben Wheatley’s Meg 2: The Trench, which swims to shore on August 4. The shark thriller stars Jason Statham, Cliff Curtis, Sophia Cai and Page Kennedy. One description says that “This trench soon releases giant squids, megalodons, and a variety of other prehistoric reptiles upon modern society. More specifically, Jason Statham and his team have to face the main threat of 3 megalodons who hunt together in a pack and are led by the biggest one they have ever seen.” Count me the fuck in.
Speaking of sharks, Xavier Gens (Frontiers) is working on a shark project of his own for Netflix. Described as an (ugh) “ambitious elevated genre film”, Variety reports that the film will star Bérénice Bejo and Nassim Lyes, and will hit the streamer in 2024. No title yet, but the synopsis reads as follows:
“Set in the Summer of 2024, the film unfolds in Paris which is hosting the World Triathlon Championships on the Seine for the first time. Sophia, a brilliant scientist, learns from Mika, a young environmental activist, that a large shark is swimming deep in the river. To avoid a bloodbath at the heart of the city, they have no choice but to join forces with Adil, the Seine river police commander.”
CinemaCon got confirmation of the long-rumoured Final Destination 6 which is in the works, with Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein behind the camera, directing from a script by Jon Watts.
If you’re a fan of David Gordon Green’s take on classic horror franchises, you’ll be pleased to know that the first footage of his new version of The Exorcist for Blumhouse, which is called The Exorcist: Believer, is getting rave reviews out of CinemaCon. The film, which hits theatres on October 13, features Leslie Odom Jr as a father whose daughter goes missing in the woods for three days, only to return with a demonic presence. Ellen Burstyn returns as Chris Macneil in this one as well.
Another big surprise was the reveal of a new logo and some juicy details about the upcoming Saw X, which comes out on October 27.
Franchise mainstays Tobin Bell and Shawnee Smith are back for this tenth installment, along with Renata Vaca, Paulette Hernandez, Joshua Okamoto, Octavio Hinojosa, Synnøve Macody Lund, Steven Brand, and Michael Beach. Kevin Greutert, who directed Saw 6 and Saw: The Final Chapter (that title sure aged well), and edited the first five Saws as well as Jigsaw, is behind the camera for Saw X.
Prolific horror writer Grady Hendrix has a new novel out this year called How to Sell a Haunted House, which is already slated for an adaptation from Legendary Films and director James Ashcroft, according to Variety. Even more intriguingly, Sam Raimi’s production company Ghost House will be producing along with Hendrix, and Hendrix will write the screenplay.
In How to Sell a Haunted House, “When Louise finds out her parents have died, she dreads going home. She doesn’t want to leave her daughter with her ex and fly to Charleston. She doesn’t want to deal with her family home, stuffed to the rafters with the remnants of her father’s academic career and her mother’s lifelong obsession with puppets and dolls. She doesn’t want to learn how to live without the two people who knew and loved her best in the world. Most of all, she doesn’t want to deal with her brother, Mark, who never left their hometown, gets fired from one job after another, and resents her success. Unfortunately, she’ll need his help to get the house ready for sale because it’ll take more than some new paint on the walls and clearing out a lifetime of memories to get this place on the market. But some houses don’t want to be sold, and their home has other plans for both of them…”
My favourite trailer this week, and possibly the scariest trailer of the year so far, comes from Bishal Dutta’s It Lives Inside. The film premiered at SXSW this year and received rave reviews. It Lives Inside stars Megan Suri, Neeru Bajwa, Mohana Krishnan, Vik Sahay, Gage Marsh, Beatrice Kitsos, and Betty Gabriel.
In the film, “Sam is desperate to fit in at school, rejecting her Indian culture and family to be like everyone else. When a mythological demonic spirit latches onto her former best friend, she must come to terms with her heritage in order to defeat it.”
It Lives Inside comes to theatres later this year from NEON.
