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The Horror Coming to Cinemas Near You– May 2015

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As we enter into the  blockbuster season of May 2015, our cinemas will be graced by the appearance of several horror films. While everyone got out of the way of the release weekend of  Avengers: Age of Ultron, there is a good variety of horror coming throughout the rest of the month, especially if you are looking to return to some classic franchises.

May 8:

Maggie

Getting a simultaneous V.O.D. and limited theatrical release is the Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator), Abagail Breslin (Zombieland) indie zombie film Maggie, which we originally told you about here.

The film follows the eponymous Maggie (Breslin) who becomes infected with a virus which is slowly turning her into a cannibalistic monster, and her loving father (Schwarzenegger) as he stays by her side through her slow decline into zombie-hood.

Check out the trailer:


Directed by relative newcomer Henry Hobson, and written by John Scott 3 (his first feature), Maggie seems to be attempting to bridge the zombie genre into more dramatic territory, away from the gore and action of the typical zombie film, and into a look at what an outbreak means on a smaller, family sized scale.  It will be interesting to see how this different take on doing a zombie film works, as if it is effective, perhaps we will begin to see more diversity in the genre, rather than more armored cars, “safe zones”, and guns.

 

May 15:

Mad Max: Fury Road

Speaking of armored cars and guns, visionary director George Miller returns to the Mad Max series with a new installment this May in Fury Road.  This will be the first Mad Max film to not have Mel Gibson starring as “Mad” Max Rockatansky, instead turning to Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises) to play the anti-hero.  The basic premise of this post-apocalyptic action extravaganza is that Max meets Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), who is in need of his help to get across the desert after freeing five young women from the tyrannical Immortan Joe (Hugh Keays-Byrne aka Toecutter from the original Mad Max).

Look, I could tell you more about this, or I can refer you to where John talked about it , but to be honest, the trailer really says it all:

It’s more Mad Max in every sense of the term: bigger, badder and a whole lot crazier: if you are into Max then this is definitely for you, and if this does not interest you like it does me, well…

Area 51

After directing the original Paranormal Activity, Oren Peli has primarily been producing horror (Paranormal Activity sequels, The River, Insidious), but as we originally told you about here, he has been working since 2009 on Area 51, a found-footage sci-fi horror where three friends head to the infamous Area 51 base in order to uncover the alien secrets held there.  Finally, both at Alamo Drafthouse Theatres, and V.O.D.,we will be able to see Peli’s latest film.

Check out the trailer:


It is nice to see Peli finally getting this film out there, and while it does seem like it will be more elaborate than Paranormal Activity, it does appear that Peli continues to work within the construct of ‘piecing’ a film together from footage of these three conspiracy theorists infiltrating the base, in a sort of Close Encounter/Blair Witch hybrid.

May 22:

Poltergeist

Returning to the remaking/rebooting of franchises from our childhoods, Poltergeist returns to the cinemas this May as a re-imagining of the original 1982 film of the same name. Produced by Sam Raimi (Evil Dead), Poltergeist returns to the story of a family’s suburban home being invaded by evil spirits who take the youngest daughter, and the family’s fight to get their little girl back.

Here is a recent article on everything you would want to know about the new film right here.

Plus, here’s a look at the official trailer:

Directed by Gil Kenan (Monster House) and a new script by David Lindasy-Abaire (Oz the Great and Powerful), this new iteration of Poltergeist looks like it will leave some of its’ silly 1980’s roots behind, and play for straight horror, which makes this perhaps the most intriguing pure horror film release of May.

 

There you have it folks, a wide range of horror for your viewing pleasure is coming to cinemas this month, including a couple of very big, Hollywood films (the likes of which we have not seen much of this year).

Happy Horror!

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The Pope’s Exorcist Officially Announces New Sequel

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The Pope’s Exorcist is one of those films that’s just fun to watch. It isn’t the most terrifying film around, but there’s something about Russel Crow (Gladiator) playing a wise cracking Catholic priest that just feels right.

Screen Gems seems to agree with this assessment, as they have just officially announced that The Pope’s Exorcist sequel is in the works. It makes sense that Screen Gems would want to keep this franchise going, considering the first film scared up almost $80 million with a budget of only $18 million.

The Pope's Exorcist
The Pope’s Exorcist

According to Crow, there may even be a The Pope’s Exorcist trilogy in the works. However, recent changes with the studio may have put the third film on hold. In a sit-down with The Six O’Clock Show, Crow gave the following statement about the project.

“Well that’s in discussion at the moment. The producers originally got the kick off from the studio not just for one sequel but for two. But there’s been a change of studio heads at the moment, so that’s going around in a few circles. But very definitely, man. We set that character up that you could take him out and put him into a lot of different circumstances.”

Crow has also stated that film’s source material involves twelve separate books. This would allow the studio to take the story in all kinds of directions. With that much source material, The Pope’s Exorcist could even rival The Conjuring Universe.

Only the future will tell what becomes of The Pope’s Exorcist. But as always, more horror is always a good thing.

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New ‘Faces of Death’ Remake Will Be Rated R For “Strong Bloody Violence and Gore”

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In a move that should surprise absolutely no one, the Faces of Death reboot has been given an R rating from the MPA. Why has the film been given this rating? For strong bloody violence, gore, sexual content, nudity, language, and drug use, of course.

What else would you expect from a Faces of Death reboot? It would honestly be alarming if the film received anything less than an R rating.

Faces of death
Faces of Death

For those unaware, the original Faces of Death film released in 1978 and promised viewers video evidence of real deaths. Of course, this was just a marketing gimmick. Promoting a real snuff film would be a terrible idea.

But the gimmick worked, and franchise lived on in infamy. The Faces of Death reboot is hoping to gain the same amount of viral sensation as its predecessor. Isa Mazzei (Cam) and Daniel Goldhaber (How to Blow Up a Pipeline) will spearhead this new addition.

The hope is that this reboot will do well enough to recreate the infamous franchise for a new audience. While we don’t know much about the film at this point, but a joint statement from Mazzei and Goldhaber gives us the following info on the plot.

“Faces of Death was one of the first viral video tapes, and we are so lucky to be able to use it as a jumping off point for this exploration of cycles of violence and the way they perpetuate themselves online.”

“The new plot revolves around a female moderator of a YouTube-like website, whose job is to weed out offensive and violent content and who herself is recovering from a serious trauma, that stumbles across a group that is recreating the murders from the original film. But in the story primed for the digital age and age of online misinformation, the question faced is are the murders real or fake?”

The reboot will have some bloody shoes to fill. But from the looks of it, this iconic franchise is in good hands. Unfortunately, the film does not have a release date at this time.

That’s all the information we have at this time. Make sure to check back here for more news and updates.

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Panic Fest 2024 Review: ‘The Ceremony Is About To Begin’

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People will look for answers and belonging in the darkest places and the darkest people. The Osiris Collective is a commune predicated upon ancient Egyptian theology and was run by the mysterious Father Osiris. The group boasted dozens of members, each forgoing their old lives for one held in the Egyptian themed land owned by Osiris in Northern California. But the good times take a turn for the worst when in 2018, an upstart member of the collective named Anubis (Chad Westbrook Hinds) reports Osiris disappearing while mountain climbing and declaring himself the new leader. A schism ensued with many members leaving the cult under Anubis’ unhinged leadership. A documentary is being made by a young man named Keith (John Laird) whose fixation with The Osiris Collective stems from his girlfriend Maddy leaving him for the group several years ago. When Keith gets invited to document the commune by Anubis himself, he decides to investigate, only to get wrapped up in horrors he couldn’t even imagine…

The Ceremony Is About To Begin is the latest genre twisting horror film from Red Snow‘s Sean Nichols Lynch. This time tackling cultist horror along with a mockumentary style and the Egyptian mythology theme for the cherry on top. I was a big fan of Red Snow‘s subversiveness of the vampire romance sub-genre and was excited to see what this take would bring. While the movie has some interesting ideas and a decent tension between the meek Keith and the erratic Anubis, it just doesn’t exactly thread everything together in a succinct fashion.

The story begins with a true crime documentary style interviewing former members of The Osiris Collective and sets-up what led the cult to where it is now. This aspect of the storyline, especially Keith’s own personal interest in the cult, made it an interesting plotline. But aside from some clips later on, it doesn’t play as much a factor. The focus is largely on the dynamic between Anubis and Keith, which is toxic to put it lightly. Interestingly, Chad Westbrook Hinds and John Lairds are both credited as writers on The Ceremony Is About To Begin and definitely feel like they’re putting their all into these characters. Anubis is the very definition of a cult leader. Charismatic, philosophical, whimsical, and threateningly dangerous at the drop of a hat.

Yet strangely, the commune is deserted of all cult members. Creating a ghost town that only amps up the danger as Keith documents Anubis’ alleged utopia. A lot of the back and forth between them drags at times as they struggle for control and Anubis keeps continuing to convince Keith to stick around despite the threatening situation. This does lead to a pretty fun and bloody finale that fully leans into mummy horror.

Overall, despite meandering and having a bit of a slow pace, The ceremony Is About To Begin is a fairly entertaining cult, found footage, and mummy horror hybrid. If you want mummies, it delivers on mummies!

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