This week’s horror news includes the 4K release for one of the most underrated slashers from 1981, some big announcements about a new Blair Witch movie, a sick new Indonesian horror shot on location in a haunted asylum, and more!
Classic 80’s slasher The Burning is headed to 4K UHD and Blu-Ray this July 11th from Scream Factory and I, for one, can’t wait. The criminally-underappreciated 1981 film has a cast that’s still out here doing it (though not necessarily in horror) and includes Jason Alexander, Holly Hunter, and Fisher Stevens.
In The Burning, “A group of summer camp pranksters get the scare of their lives when they target the camp’s creepy caretaker…and he takes bloody revenge!”
Bonus features in the new set include
- Audio Commentary With Director Tony Maylam And International Film Journalist Alan Jones
- Audio Commentary With Stars Shelley Bruce And Bonnie Deroski
- Blood ‘n’ Fire Memories – A Detailed Look At The Creation Of The Film’s Make-up Effects With Special Effects Artist Tom Savini
- Slash & Cut – An Interview With Editor Jack Sholder
- Cropsy Speaks – An Interview With Actor Lou David
- Summer Camp Nightmare – An Interview With Actress Leah Ayres
- Behind-The-Scenes Footage
- Theatrical Trailer
- Make-Up Effects Still Gallery
- Poster & Still Gallery
Grab your copy of The Burning from Scream Factory!
Kurtis David Harder is back with a new horror for Shudder called Influencer, which explores the horrors of social media. Harder’s previous film Spiral (not that one) was fairly well-received, and this new project takes us to Thailand for a nightmare vacation.
“Influencer tells the story of Madison (Emily Tennant), a popular social media influencer who is having a lonely and uneventful trip in Thailand despite what she tells her followers on Instagram. While reflecting on her boyfriend canceling the trip, she meets CW (Cassandra Naud), a fearless and enigmatic traveler who offers to take her to some of the most Instagram-worthy locations. Together they share authentic meals and drinks with locals, discussing the differences between Madison’s online presence and CW’s lack of one. After showing Madison all of the amazing sights, things take a different turn when CW brings her to a surprise location — a deserted island that is completely off the grid.”
Co-written by Harder and Tesh Guttikonda and directed by Harder, Influencer also stars Sara Canning and Rory J. Saper. Check out the trailer for the film which hits Shudder on May 26!
Last week we got the news that Xavier Gens would be heading up a new horror with a shark focus, and this week, Deadline dropped the news that the French director will also be working with XYZ Films on a Christmas-themed action-horror called The Guns of Christmas Past. Liev Schrieber is in talks for the lead for the film, which is being described as “A Christmas Carol meets John Wick.”
In The Guns of Christmas Past, “Ebb is a former hitman for the mob, brought out from hiding when his former best friend and partner is killed. Ebb penetrates the compound of his enemy to exact revenge but the ghosts of past, present and future all arrive to thwart his plans.”
It sounds like XYZ is looking to make this an ongoing series, based on the comments from their rep. “Coming from XYZ, and given our experience delivering a fresh approach to action through such films as our Raid franchise, we see this as an action franchise vehicle akin to the breakout film Nobody, which was an enormous success.”
A trailer was leaked over the weekend for the new Five Nights at Freddy’s movie, and while most copies have been scrubbed by Universal, it can still be found if you know where to look.
The film, based on Scott Cawthorn’s game and directed by Emma Tammi (The Wind) hits theatres on October 27. Matthew Lillard, Josh Hutcherson, and Mary Stuart Masterson star in the film which is about a security guard in a twisted Chuck-E-Cheese like restaurant where the animatronics come alive and become homicidal. The leaked trailer, if you can find it, is full length and features quite a bit of footage and some extensive plot details. Happy hunting!
Fans of Blair Witch will be happy to know that Lionsgate is looking to relaunch the series yet again, after 2016’s Blair Witch from Adam Wingard didn’t exactly set the world on fire, box office-wise. Production Weekly indicates that Oliver Park (The Offering) is attached to direct the new film, and Eduardo Sanchez and Daniel Myrick, the original directors of the 1999 Blair Witch Project are on as producers. While you wait for this adaptation, maybe you’ll want to check out the pretty good video game that came out a couple years ago?
We got a few leaked pics from Amazon’s series adaptation of the Fallout video game series, which depict some of the Vault tech where the human survivors of a nuclear apocalypse abide, as well as a few of those survivors themselves, including some Ghouls (people that are left deformed by the nuclear fallout).
Announced back in 2020, Amazon’s series includes Kyle MacLachlan, Xelia Mendes-Jones, Aaron Moten, Ella Purnell, and Walton Goggins. No word yet on when the series will see daylight.
Finally, we’ve got a fun new trailer for Indonesian horror Seven Angels from director Muhammad Yusuf. This one’s set to hit streaming services this month and stars Lia Waode, Dara Warganegara, Gabriella Desta, and Brigitta Cynthia.
The movie was shot on location at the Aradale Lunatic Asylum in Victoria, Australia, which is known in that country for being haunted for reals. In the movie, “Seven Angels, a famous girl band from Indonesia, consisting of Stella, Carla, Dian, Anggun, Amy, Tari & Mika go on vacation to Melbourne Australia where they socialize with a local singer named Mark. Mark takes the girls of Seven Angels to Aradale Lunatic Asylum, a former haunted asylum with a dark and horrific history.”
Seven Angels will be released on VOD on May 19, from Buffalo 8.
