Them!, Psycho, Rosemary’s Baby, Jaws, The Omen, Poltergeist, John Carpenter’s The Thing, The Fly, The Blair Witch Project, Orphan, The Conjuring. For years and years, summer release has been integral to horror. The chill offsets the heat, the uncanny dread a counter to giant spectacle. Though the fall is a cozier atmosphere for the unknown and winter more isolating, a perfect fright or a wholly unsettling image can be as exhilarating as all of the fireballs, capes or portals in the sky come mid-July. And excitedly, summer 2015 is stacked.
In a diverse, ever shifting (thanks to It Follows) landscape of wide release, VOD and day-and-date distribution patterns, the idea of trends seems to be dying down, allowing for a variety-laden lineup of horror films to seek out, sit down and get spooked by this summer. From outright creature features to gift-bearing psychostalkers; evil kids to frightful grandparents; sword-wielding liberators to horsehead lucid dreams; father/daughter drama-by-way-of-zombie movie to romantic comedy-by-way-of-zombie movie; feature debuts to filmmaking legends, 2015’s Summer Horror is globe-trotting, crowd pleasing and hopefully, gets real weird.
Below, Shock Till You Drop presents The Summer Horror Preview. Films without hard dates will be updated accordingly as they’re announced. Which one are you most looking forward to?
Maggie (dir. Henry Hobson) May 8th, Roadside Attractions
It seems almost absurd that the cinematic and televised zombie phenomenon has reached such heights as a multi-hundred million dollar Brad Pitt action spectacle. Even more strange? A subdued father-daughter drama zombie film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, and one whose buzz as a tender examination of terminal illness is truly strong.
When a deadly zombie virus sweeps the nation, a father will stop at nothing to save his infected daughter in this post-apocalyptic thriller starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Abigail Breslin.
Time Lapse (dir. Bradley King) May 15th, XLrator Media
There’s something very exciting going on in contemporary indie sci-fi, small films with big ideas of pulp adventure and Twilight Zone-like themes. Time Lapse is a clever piece of time travel thriller with elements of three’s-a-crowd tension and crime yarns that ends on a great, twisty note (in multiple senses of the word).
Time Lapse explores the possibilities of time travel through a machine that is capable of taking pictures 24 hours into the future. When three friends discover this mysterious machine in their neighbor’s apartment, they encounter a number of pressing questions, not least of which is the whereabouts of their neighbor. Realizing the potential impact of the machine, Finn (Matt O’Leary), Jasper (George Finn), and Callie (Danielle Panabaker) attempt to cash in on their discovery. But, when a dangerous criminal learns their secret, the friends must set aside their differences and confront the paradox of a future that was once predetermined and entirely uncertain. Using an engaging blend of action, humor, and philosophy, TIME LAPSE is an original thriller that not only keeps the audience guessing, but also explores questions of pre-determination, free will and destiny.
Poltergeist (dir. Gil Kenan) May 22, MGM & 20th Century Fox
Producer Sam Raimi and director Gil Kenan have assembled a stellar ensemble for this update of the Spielberg & Tobe Hooper haunted house classic. Many are surely wary of the redo, but in a world even more dominated by screens than the television-centric one of the 1982 original, hopefully Kenan & Co. will have crafted a timely, terrifying piece of work.
Legendary filmmaker Sam Raimi (“Spiderman,” “Evil Dead”, “The Grudge”) and director Gil Kenan (“Monster House”) contemporize the classic tale about a family whose suburban home is haunted by evil forces. When the terrifying apparitions escalate their attacks and hold the youngest daughter captive, the family must come together to rescue her before she disappears forever.
The Human Centipede Part 3 (Full Sequence) (dir. Tom Six) May 22nd, IFC Midnight
Tom Six completes his a-t-m trilogy of meta/self-reflexive consuming and shitting and consuming and shitting and consuming and shitting… This time, he goes even further into the spiral with Human Centipede stars Dieter Laser and Laurence R. Harvey returning as heads of a U.S. prison, delirious and hellbent on crafting the largest chain of them all. Oh boy.
Bully prison warden Bill Boss (Dieter Laser), leading a big state prison in the US of A, has a lot of problems; his prison statistically has the highest amount of prison riots, medical costs and staff turnover in the country. But foremost he is unable to get the respect he thinks he deserves from his inmates and the state Governor (Eric Roberts). He constantly fails in experimenting with different ideas for the ideal punishment to get the inmates in line, which drives him, together with the sizzling heat, completely insane. Under threats of termination by the Governor, his loyal right hand man Dwight (Laurence R Harvey) comes up with a brilliant idea. A revolutionary idea which could change the American prison system for good and save billions of dollars. An idea based on the notorious Human Centipede movies, that will literally and figuratively get the inmates on their knees, creating the ultimate punishment and deterrent for anyone considering a life of crime. Having nothing to lose, Bill and Dwight create a jaw-dropping 500-person prison centipede.
Insidious: Chapter 3 (Dir. Leigh Whannell) June 5th, Focus Features
Insidious and Saw writer Leigh Whannell makes his feature directorial debut with this second sequel, which aims to tell the tale of Elise Rainer’s first brushes with The Further. As co-creator of the world, the third film feels naturally in good hands. That’s not to mention Whannell’s intent to aggressively scare the audience (see: the trailer), as well as early looks at the ghastly central specter, which the director wanted to design as a haunting embodiment of cancer.
In the prequel, teenaged aspiring actress Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott) senses that her late mother is trying to contact her, and seeks out a gifted psychic – Elise. Elise feels protective of sensitive Quinn, but tragedy in Elise’s past has left her reluctant to use her abilities. Soon a shocking accident leaves Quinn recuperating at home, as her widowed father Sean (Dermot Mulroney) struggles to hold his family together. Then Quinn is attacked in her bedroom by a malevolent supernatural entity, and Sean pleads with Elise to help. Wrestling with her faith and sense of purpose, Elise summons her powers to contact the dead – with support from two new acquaintances, unlicensed parapsychologists Tucker (Angus Sampson) and Specs (Leigh Whannell).Forced to venture deep into The Further to protect Quinn, Elise soon finds herself facing off against the most ruthless enemy she has ever encountered: a demon with an insatiable craving for human souls.
Der Samurai (Dir. Til Kleinert) June 9th, Artsploitation Films
This German favorite from the fest circuit is all about something raging within. A small town cop is both on the hunt of and allured by a wedding dress-wearing and katana-wielding maniac over the course of one, long night. Queer, dreamy and concerned with the harmful effects of repression and all that boils beneath it, Der Samurai is best experienced cold, simply following its trail.
Der Samurai is a German mind-bender about shape-shifting cross-dressers, bloody decapitations, repressed sexual desires and small town life. But while director Till Kleinert’s film is a surreal mix of dark comedy and eerie creep-out that recalls David Lynch. Jakob is a policeman in a village deep in the woods, where little happens until the arrival of a mysterious wolf that is causing havoc. Working the night shift, Jakob is tracking the wolf…only to discover that the lupine lurker is actually a man clad only in lipstick and a ladies’ slip, and toting a samurai sword that he uses to lop off the heads of the townspeople, including Jakob’s tormentors. Jakob and the transvestite samurai seem to share a bond, and as the night gets darker, events get even weirder.
Horsehead (Dir. Romain Basset) June 23rd, Artsploitation Films
Lush and forcefully odd in its nightmare visuals, Romain Basset is throwing back to Eurohorror in this surreal tale of lucid dreaming. Secrets are uncovered via subconscious adventure and Basset populates it all with a papal horsehead figure and so much more.
Horsehead is a new horror-fantasy that pays tribute to the classic European shockers of Dario Argento and Mario Bava while also remaining a unique film with its own vision, delivering unforgettable images that both disturb and enchant. Director Romain Basset’s tale follows beautiful young Jessica (Lilly-Fleur Pointeaux) as she returns to her family’s countryside estate for her grandmother’s funeral. Haunted by recurring nightmares of a horse-headed monster, Jessica attempts to put her studies of “lucid dreaming” to good use, as she semi-consciously navigates through this dream landscape, trying to discover the secrets behind this sinister apparition. But Jessica must also cope with a hostile mother (The Beyond‘s Catriona MacColl), and the growing realization that the death of her grandmother was actually a suicide triggered by the woman’s past traumas and visions.
Burying the Ex (dir. Joe Dante) June 19th, RLJE/Image
Joe Dante’s first feature since The Hole finds a controlling girlfriend returned from the dead. A great cast including Anton Yelchin, Ashley Greene, Alexandra Daddario and of course, Dick Miller, bring a new iteration of Dante’s horror and hijinks to life.
It seemed like a great idea when Max, an all-around nice guy (Anton Yelchin), and Evelyn, his beautiful girlfriend (Ashley Greene), moved in together. When Evelyn turns out to be a controlling, manipulative nightmare, Max knows it’s time to call it quits, but there’s just one problem: he’s terrified of breaking up with her. Fate steps in when Evelyn is involved in a freak accident and dies, leaving Max single and ready to mingle. Just as Max is thinking about moving on with what could be his dream girl, Olivia (Alexandra Daddario) – Evelyn has returned from the grave and is determined to get her boyfriend back...even if that means transforming him into one of the undead.
Big Game (dir. Jalmari Helander) June 26th, Relativity
Rare Exports put an utterly insane, imaginative spin on Christmas horror/fantasy. Can Helander do the same for a boys’ adventure? The prospect of the charismatic young Exports star Onni Tomila teaming up with President Samuel L. Jackson and facing off against Ray Stevenson makes us optimistic.
In the rugged countryside of Finland, a young thirteen-year-old (Onni Tommila) embarks on a traditional quest to prove himself by spending 24 hours alone in the wild, armed with only a bow and arrow. After witnessing a spectacular crash, he discovers the escape pod from Air Force One, containing the President of the United States (Samuel L. Jackson). When they realize a group of kidnappers is hot on their trail with the intention of taking the president, this unlikely duo must escape their hunters as they search for the American Special Forces team sent out to find them.
Felt (dir. Jason Banker) June 26th, Amplify
One of the absolute must-sees of 2015, Jason Banker’s follow-up to the raw, hallucinatory Toad Road is an unsettling, frank, feminist portrait of dealing with trauma. Banker uses his doc-like approach to craft a narrative around real visual artist Amy Everson. Banker’s observational aesthetic chronicles her life of inner anguish following sexual assault, the ensuing distress and the regularly hostile attitude the world has toward women.
Felt stars Amy Everson in a breakout performance as a young woman trying, and almost succeeding, to overcome both a past trauma and the subtle aggressions she experiences daily from the men in her world by immersing herself in her art. By re-appropriating the male form into an unpredictable alter ego, she may be pushing away her friends, but the power and domination she feels is the only thing that finally may allow her to heal. When she meets Kenny (actor/filmmaker Kentucker Audley), she slowly opens herself up to him, hoping to have her faith in men restored.
We Are Still Here (dir. Ted Geoghegan) TBD June, Dark Sky/MPI
Fresh from SXSW, this snowy, New England folk horror is refreshes its familiar setups, featuring middle aged characters that make for a somber, weighty affair and providing its ghosts with fiery agency. These are not translucent specters, but charred, murderous apparition. The film’s weirdo atmosphere (thanks to beautiful landscape and great work from Barbara Crampton) then builds to reveal its Fulci-esque self, with a tightly orchestrated climactic massacre.
In the cold, winter fields of New England, there sits a house that wakes up every 30 years and demands a sacrifice.
The Gallows (dir. Travis Cluff & Chris Lofing) July 10th, Warner Bros. (New Line)
After dropping an eerie, single scene teaser, The Gallows has become an anticipated slice of high school horror. It almost sounds like a found footage Hello Mary Lou, with plenty of adolescent ghost revenge for past theatre tragedy.
Twenty years after an accident caused the death of the lead actor during a high school play, students at the same small town school resurrect the failed stage production in a misguided attempt to honor the anniversary of the tragedy—but ultimately find out that some things are better left alone.
The Vatican Tapes (dir. Mark Neveldine) July 24th, Lionsgate
Twice, the Crank films recharged and rewired action into demented, hyperstylized mania. Here, co-director Mark Neveldine helms a horror film alone, treading the well-worn demonic possession film. Here’s hoping it goes harder, further and nuttier than recent efforts in the subgrenre.
THE VATICAN TAPES follows the ultimate battle between good and evil- God versus Satan. Angela Holmes is an ordinary 27-year- old until she begins to have a devastating effect on anyone close, causing serious injury and death. Holmes is examined and possession is suspected, but when the Vatican is called upon to exorcise the demon, the possession proves to be an ancient satanic force more powerful than ever imagined. It’s all up to Father Lozano (MICHAEL PEÑA) to wage war for more than just Angela’s soul, but for the world as we know it.
Dark Was the Night (dir. Jack Heller) July 24th, RLJE/Image
Acclaimed as a solid exercise in the old-fashioned creature feature, this small town, Stephen King-esque monster movie stars the terrific Kevin Durand and promises something purer for horror fans this season.
Maiden Woods is a remote and quiet town of decent hard-working people, but something stirs in the dark woods surrounding this isolated community. After a logging company decimates an area of the forest, a rash of increasingly violent and unexplainable events transpires. Sheriff Paul Shields (Kevin Durand) and his deputy (Lukas Haas) struggle to confront their own personal demons while facing down a new breed of raw terror that is possibly older than humanity itself… And much, much hungrier.
The Gift (dir. Joel Edgerton) July 31st, STX
In between The Gallows and Sinister 2 is the Blumhouse-produced, yet decidedly non-supernatural The Gift, the feature directorial debut from actor Joel Edgerton. Starring Jason Bateman, Rebecca Hall and Edgerton, The Gift has the air of a stalker psychothriller, with an old friend enacting twisted vengeance in the form of crossing social boundaries.
Simon (Jason Bateman) and Robyn (Rebecca Hall) are a young married couple whose life is going just as planned until a chance encounter with an acquaintance from Simon's high school sends their world into a harrowing tailspin. Simon doesn't recognize Gordo at first, but after a seemingly coincidental series of encounters proves troubling, a horrifying secret from their past is uncovered after nearly 20 years. As Robyn learns the unsettling truth about what happened between Simon and Gordo, she starts to question: how well do we really know the people closest to us, and are past bygones ever really bygones?
Alleluia (dir. Fabrice du Welz) TBD July, Doppelganger Releasing
Fabrice du Welz, who announced himself so intensely with Calvaire and Vinyan, returns with a story inspired by the real life Lonely Hearts Killers. An intense depiction of psychotic and psychosexual devotion, du Welz takes a couple of killers and presents their tale as a spellbinding, almost mystical, descent. Must-see.
Michel (Laurent Lucas of With a Friend Like Harry and Calvaire) is an inveterate womanizer and professional hustler. When he meets Gloria (Almodovar regular Lola Dueñas), she falls in love with him like the others. But more excessively. Gloria finds her reason to live in Michel. Their relationship is passionate, limitless. When Gloria discovers Michel’s hustling she becomes his accomplice rather than risk losing him. Together they embark on a wild and deadly odyssey. Their unfettered passions will drive them to the brink of insanity…
Sinister 2 (dir. Ciaran Foy) August 21, Focus Features
Ciaran Foy, who broke out with the often striking Citadel was handpicked by original director Scott Derrickson to helm the follow-up to his 2012 demon thriller. Here, Foy sees Buhguul spread, taking his band of orphaned, murderous children and setting their sights on a pair of twins out in rural farmland. Time to make some new home movies.
The sequel to the 2012 sleeper hit horror movie. In the aftermath of the shocking events in “Sinister,” a protective mother (Shannyn Sossamon of “Wayward Pines”) and her 9-year-old twin sons (real-life twins Robert and Dartanian Sloan) find themselves in a rural house marked for death as the evil spirit of Bughuul continues to spread with frightening intensity.
Regression (dir. Alejandro Amenábar) August 28th, Dimension/The Weinstein Company
Alejandro Amenábar, the director of The Others, Thesis and Open Your Eyes returns to thriller territory with the Emma Watson, Ethan Hawke-starring Regression. This Minnesota 1990-set thriller starts with an accusation of familial abuse and seemingly spills into black mass occult terror through the lens of Amenábar’s elegant eye.
Minnesota, 1990. Detective Bruce Kenner (Ethan Hawke) investigates the case of young Angela (Emma Watson), who accuses her father, John Gray (David Dencik), of an unspeakable crime. When John unexpectedly and without recollection admits guilt, renowned psychologist Dr. Raines (David Thewlis) is brought in to help him relive his memories and what they discover unmasks a horrifying nationwide mystery.
Goodnight Mommy (dir. Severin Fiala & Veronika Franz) TBD August, Radius-TWC
August promises to be a month of devious children? Will any of them touch the truly unsettling Goodnight Mommy? This Austrian nightmare is as clinical, wholly unnerving and ultimately primal as it is artfully constructed. The film has been acclaimed throughout its fest run, and rightfully so. This is a contender for best of the year and an absolute must-watch.
Following a complex, facial reconstructive surgery, a young actress returns home to find that her twin sons don't believe it is her behind the bandages. Determined to exorcise the imposter, the duo rebel against her, but their suspicions may have grave consequences in this deliciously atmospheric, gruesome, Austrian spine-tingler.
Cub (dir. Jonas Govaerts) TBD August, Artsploitation Films
Upon their relaunch, Artsploitation Films is going hard. Following Der Samurai, Horsehead and Belgian thriller The Treatment is the planned release of acclaimed Belgian slasher, Cub. This Flemish-language horror is a mean-spirited piece of work about a young Boy Scout’s discovery that truth behind the legend of a feral kid in the Belgian wilderness is lurking all around him. This features some tremendous kills and one hell of a score by Steve Moore (Zombi, The Guest).
Sam scrambles to meet his boy scout troop for their yearly camping trip. After everyone has arrived and things settle down, troop leaders Chris and Peter warn the kids that an intruder—a feral boy named Kai—has been seen lurking around the campsite. The story of Kai is just a tactic to frighten the kids and add some mystery to the outing. Upon arrival at the camp site—which is plagued by some obnoxious locals—Sam sees and hears things that make him believe that Kai is real. No one believes Sam, but the brutal reality behind myth of Kai soon becomes apparent to all of the disbelieving cubs.
The Visit (dir. M. Night Shyamalan) September 11th, Universal
M. Night takes on geriatric horror when two young children visit their grandparents and find a house of horrors in the process. Originally titled Sundowning, The Visit seems to be Shyamalan’s return to the more scaled down, hopefully frightening work that heralded an exciting filmmaker.
The story of a brother and sister who are sent to their grandparents’ remote Pennsylvania farm for a weeklong trip. Once the children discover that the elderly couple is involved in something deeply disturbing, they see their chances of getting back home are growing smaller every day.
The post The 2015 Summer Horror Preview appeared first on Shock Till You Drop.