Upcoming Horror: Movies

Here are some horror films shambling to your screen soon.

* Bird Box, December 21 (Netflix)



Bird Box is one of my favorite horror novels and it seemed impossible to make into a film. The beginning where the world is falling apart is very cinematic, but whatever is changing people can't be seen. The film adaptation looks amazing with surprisingly famous actors like Sandra Bullock and John Malkovich. The bicycle bells are a brilliant tool to keep her connected to her children and a creepy auditory cue. The parking sensor scare looks cool as well. I have high hopes for this and I can't wait to watch it.

* The Curse of La Llorona, April 19 (wide theatrical release)



The Conjuring Universe continues with La Llorona, a figure from Mexican folklore who lost her children and cries looking for them. I'm a little puzzled as to why this is part of that universe and why the main characters are white. The scene in the car with the kids trying to keep the ghost out is effective until the ending, which is a completely obvious, CGI jump scare. It's the style that makes James Wan films pretty mediocre despite some effective scenes. I'm not excited for this since it looks like every other Conjuring and Wan movie ever.

* Escape Room, January 4 (wide theatrical release)



 Escape Room looks like a better version of movies like Saw, Exam, or Circle. A group of desperate people are forced to share their deepest, darkest secrets and work together to solve puzzles with deadly results. Plus that little boxes song is cheerfully creepy. I'm intrigued and I will be watching. I don't expect amazingness, but I expect a decent thriller with some twists and turns.

* Happy Death Day 2U, February 14 (wide theatrical release)

For some reason, this trailer isn't online, but I've seen it in the theater. Two years after the first film, Ryan, Carter's roommate, experiences the same phenomenon that Tree did: he keeps repeating the same day after dying over and over. Tree of course has some expertise in the matter and has to delve into why it happened to her. The trailer seems to reveal that she somehow goes back in time to her ordeal repeating, but I'm not sure how that happens. I'm all in. The first one was so charming and well done that I trust the same team and cast to complicate things and take us on another wild ride.

Upcoming Zombies Sneaking Up Behind You: Movies Part 2

More zombie movies (or series) shuffling towards theaters or VOD.

* Redcon 1, September 28. 2018



Redcon 1 tells the story of a military team dispatched to save a scientist who is humanity's last hope for a cure. This doesn't necessarily look like a good movie, but it looks fun. I thought this would be a fairly serious film until zombies showed of their martial arts moves. The characters seem one dimensional and the whole thing looks over the top. I would definitely watch this on streaming or with friends.

* Black Summer (Netflix series), 2019

A woman is separated from her daughter and stuck with a group of refugees during the zombie apocalypse. Jaime King stars and it's created by the same showrunners as Z Nation, which is a decent show that takes a more comedic approach to the zombie apocalypse. This sounds like it will be more serious, but there's no trailer yet and no specific date. Looking forward to seeing more.

* Zombieland 2, October 11, 2019

It's finally happening!!! This film has been through a lot with being stuck in production hell and a horrible attempt at a TV show. I didn't think it would be possible since the younger stars have become much more famous since 2011.  It's currently in production with Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Abigail Breslin, and Emma Stone (plus others) along with director Ruben Fleischer and screenwriters Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese. The writers are currently teasing a scene that will match the Bill Murray scene in the first. Next Halloween can't come fast enough!

* Train to Busan sequel and remake

Director Yeon Sang Ho has announced that a sequel to the blockbuster hit (the 11th best selling film in South Korea overall!!!) Train to Busan. It's set to start filming in the first half of 2019 and nothing solid about the plot is set yet. Gong Yoo and other stars won't be returning and it will take place in a city instead of a train. Maybe it will follow the daughter in the safe zone? I hope the release won't be too delayed in the US and I will definitely be seeing this in theaters.

In the US, James Wan is set to produce a remake Train to Busan. I'm less excited about this. It's such a unique film that I think a lot will get lost in translation. Will it take place in Korea? If it doesn't, will the name be changed? The original is readily available on Netflix and I hope that at least more people will check it out because of the remake. Historically, American remakes of Asian films are awful, so I don't have high hopes for this at all.

Upcoming Zombies Sneaking Up Behind You: Movies

These are the upcoming releases in zombie films just waiting to nom your brain.

* Patient Zero - September 14th



Stanley Tucci stars as a different type of zombie while Dr Gina Rose (Natalie Dormer) and Morgan (Matt Smith) try to find Patient Zero in order to create a vaccine. I'm a bit dubious right off the bad because Morgan can talk to zombies and is somehow immune to the zombie virus. The trailer makes it seem lighthearted and comedic. It also seems to have a decent budget for effects, actors, and the like. It's hard to tell if it'll be so bad it's good or just bad.

* Anna and the Apocalypse - November 30



It's finally coming out! I heard about this film last year during the festival circuit and it's finally going to be released! The new clips make me super excited. Anna and the Apocalypse is a fully choreographed Christmas zombie musical. It's all the things I love! There are so many inventive, funny moments like killing a zombie with two bowling balls to the head or a sharped decorative candy cane. I will be first in line to see this and I hope it's as fun as this trailer looks

* Overlord - November 9



The day before D-Day, American forces infiltrate a Nazi occupied village, only to find aberrent experiments and undead creatures. This movie looks fun. I'm expecting zombies, Nazis dying, and lots of gore. This looks very promising with some disgustingly cool visual effects. I was a little dubious when I heard about it, but seeing the trailer made me change my mind.

* One Cut of the Dead



Once Cut of the Dead is a 37 minute, one shot film. That in and of itself is interesting, but it's also a zombie movie being made within a one shot zombie movie. This looks like an exuberant labor of love for the genre. The effects aren't as elaborate and well funded as Patient Zero or Overlord, but it looks amazing all the same. Right now, it seems to still be on the festival circuit, so it doesn't currently have a US release date. In Japan, One Cut of the Dead has already made 250 times its $27,000 budget and I hope it sees similar success internationally. I'm keeping my eye on this one.

Upcoming Women in Horror Projects

More women in horror upcoming films!

* Hereditary



Hereditary looks like one of the most unnerving films to come out in a while. The trailer alone made my skin crawl and I've heard nothing but good things. Toni Colette plays a woman who recently lost her mother. During the funeral, she gives a rather odd, much more honest than usual eulogy. It seems to be the anxiety about the horrible things that family passes down. I can't wait for this one. I especially love that it's about a mother's anxiety about her own mother and her daughter. Watch out for this one on June 8.

* Santa Clarita Diet



The first season of this show was simply a delight with Drew Barrymore playing Sheila, a repressed real estate agent. Contracting a zombie virus unleashes her true desires for sex, fulfillment, and human flesh. The second season looks just as good with Sheila refusing to be locked up and wanting to live her unlife to its fullest. Problems still follow them with other zombies, a conspicuous murder room, and Sheila falling apart. It's set to air March 23 on Netflix.

* Bird Box

I absolutely loved Josh Malerman's tale of a mother struggling to take care of her children in a time where some mysterious thing is driving people mad or outright killing them. To me it seems unfilmable, but Susanne Bier, the director, might have a unique perspective. I'm wondering if the mystery will be seen or if it will be left the imagination as it is in the book. Sandra Bullock is set to play the main character and I'm a little more excited to see Sarah Paulson as another survivor. The film is set to release on December 21 on Netflix.

Upcoming Zombies Sneaking Up Behind You Part 2

More zombie things in different media coming up soon!

* The Walking Dead Season 7

The last season of The Walking Dead (which I reviewed a couple of months ago here) ended on a huge, disingenuous cliffhanger. We don't know who Negan kills at the end of the episode and we won't find out until October 23rd. The entire group is emotionally and physically broken, especially Rick. It will be interesting to see if they can overcome delightfully evil Negan and shake of this significant defeat. I hope Carol and Daryl get to shine more this season. Looking forward to it!

* Ash vs. Evil Dead Season 2

Ash is back on October 2! I'm so curious to see what happens after the explosive ending to the first season. Bruce Campbell and Lucy Lawless return as archenemies Ash and Ruby. Ray Santiago and Dana DeLorenzo return as Ash's much smarter sidekicks Pablo and Kelly. Ted Raimi joins the cast as Ash's childhood best friend. Lee Majors is also joining as Ash's dad. I hope the episodes are longer. The half hour episodes are way too short and leave me hungry for more Deadite craziness and Ash delusion.

* Here Alone



This film won multiple awards at the Tribeca Film Festival and I couldn't be more excited for it. It seems to capture the isolation and bleak nature of a zombie apocalypse situation. The film seems to focus more on humans than on zombies, but zombies are what have irrevocably changed their world. Here's the synopsis from the official website below:

Deep in New York’s upstate wilderness, Ann, a young woman in her late 20’s, struggles to survive after a mysterious epidemic decimates society. On the constant brink of starvation, Ann leads an isolated and regimented life. Haunted by memories of her past she also battles the current bloodthirsty threat that lurks just outside of the forests borders, those that the epidemic has infected.

When her food stores run dangerously low Ann must make the desperate journey into a nearby town to forage for any remaining food. During one of these raids, a chance encounter brings Olivia, a teenage girl, and her injured stepfather, Chris, into Ann’s life and regimen of survival.

Learning that Chris and Olivia are trying to go further north, where the infection is supposedly contained, Ann allows them stay at her wooded camp so they can prepare for their journey. Initially reluctant to let her emotional barrier down, Ann relents as Chris’s affable nature erases some of the pain the epidemic and her past choices have caused. While Ann and Chris grow close, Olivia becomes bitter, feeling distanced from the man she has depended on for both physical and emotional survival.

As an uneasy tension grows, their lives are threatened when the protective forest is breached by the infected. Under attack, Ann is forced to confront her past and make a decision that will irrevocably alter their collective existence and survival. 

The film is set to release in theaters and VOD in 2017.

* Small addendum to the last Upcoming Zombies post: The Girl with All the Gifts is set to release in LA at the Egyptian Theater on October 11.

Watch out for those zombies!

Guest Post: AI Run Amok - The Five Worst Robots of All Time

Human beings invented the technology required to record moving images just in time to document the birth of another important product of our species: the intelligent machine. Years of cinematic history stretch out before us, illuminating the potential of a shared human/robot future. However, in that same canon are many terrifying examples of robots gone bad.

If the thinking robots are true “children” of humankind, then it is all the more disturbing when they turn against us and commit patricide and matricide. It worries us, because we know that the robots contain nothing more than what we have put in them. If this violence against their creators is within them, then it is only because it is within ourselves.

Therefore, from the very beginning, we have regarded our mechanical children with suspicion. Karel Capek's play R.U.R., the work that coined the word "robot," featured a human-like automaton who malfunctioned and eventually attacked its creators. Stories like these, and the hundreds of other written since the dawn of the robotic age, tell us a little bit about how we view our progeny as well as what we fear from ourselves.

HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey

Short for “Heuristically programmed Algorithmic Computer”, HAL 9000 is the ultimate killer AI - but not because "he" has nuclear bombs at his disposal. HAL's most deadly action is opening a door at the wrong time. HAL is not necessarily out to kill his hosts, as he lacks any malicious intent or motive. Rather, he is a new form of life, truly alive and self-aware, and he is only trying to protect himself. His “death” at the hands of the astronauts is disturbing to watch, as it brings into question our increasingly close relationship with other “smart” bots and examples of automated technology.

Mechagodzilla from Godzilla vs Mechagodzilla

Mechagodzilla incorporates the clash of metal into the ever-mutating Godzilla symbol structure. Godzilla's indelible connection to nuclear power and its relationship with the people of Japan has evolved over the decades, from a figure of fear to a sort of nature deity who tames the other harsh forces of life. Mechagodzilla shows what can happen when science runs amok, as most robots do. More importantly, Mechagodzilla represented a world without space for flesh. Godzilla naturally defeats, rationalizing the ethical complexities of automation into the overall order of nature and the hierarchy of the heavens.

The Gunslinger from Westworld

The Gunslinger hearkens back to earlier tropes about robots and robot behavior. He is a superficial ancestor to the Terminator, but he lacks the the intentionality of HAL 9000. He is not operating from principles of self-preservation or the perspective of a new form of life. He is simply man's sadistic urges gone haywire; power and violence and the need for revenge have eliminated any “rational” robotic thoughts. Of all the robots discussed, he is the only one to demonstrate pure malevolence. Yul Brynner does a magnificent job of portraying the gun-totin’ robo-cowboy gone bad.

The Terminators from the Terminator series

In their purest, original form, the “Terminators” were robot skeletons that hid inside dead flesh. They were obsolescence made real, the metal structure of the robot enduring after all human remains are torn away. The Terminator was a symbol of the future, envisioned as the death of all organic life. Nuclear fire was shown to be the refining fire that would reduce us to the grim sterility of Skynet. It is not a positive vision of robotics or humanity, but as concerns surrounding climate change and the quest for feasible alternative energy sources reach a fever pitch, it’s not completely preposterous.

Ultron from The Avengers: Age of Ultron

Ultron may be the most famous character in recent years to present the dangers of artificial intelligence to mass audiences. The accidental creation of the self-aware, sapient defense system is an old story, as is the robotic child who harshly judges the parents. Just like Skynet and the Terminators, Ultron decides that humanity is a threat. However, Ultron is the first to perceive that humanity is not just dangerous to the new robotic life, but to the planet and to itself.

Artificial intelligence and humanity are inextricably linked. Although we have every reason to fear that someday our creations will turn against us, the truth is that most living things love those who gave them birth. No matter what their mistakes, we all tend to forgive our parents. If robots ever become truly sentient, cyborgs like those in Ultron and Chappie could easily appear from the labs of scientists and engineers. In that case, we can only wonder what they’ll be thinking about, and if they’ll decide to blow up the world once they hit puberty. 

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Beth Kelly is a blogger based in Chicago, IL. A horror fan since day one, she also has a degree in Communications and Media from DePaul, University. In her free time you can find her training for a triathlon or watching awesomely-bad monster movies.

Goodbye to September Zombies + Upcoming Zombies 3

This is the last post for September Zombies! :( Tune in next year for more zombie goodness.

1) Mythbusters

Although Mythbusters is usually all about real science, they are exploring myths about zombies in The Walking Dead: how best to kill them and how do slow zombies manage to catch up to people? Michael Rooker AKA Merle Dixon and executive producer Greg Nicotero will guest star. The episode will air October 17, 2013 at 10pm on the Discovery Channel.

2) The Zombie Autopsies movie

George A. Romero recently finished the script of Steven C. Schlozman's The Zombie Autopsies, a book about a group of doctors performing autopsies on zombies in order to discover where the disease came from and how to cure it. He hopes to work on it soon, but finds difficulty finding funding due to the oversaturation of the zombie genre.

3) Z*Con



Z*Con is a film featuring teen broadcasters trapped at a comic convention during a zombie outbreak. This project is on Indie Gogo and their goal is $90,000. Only $5 gets you a digital download of the film, which is a steal! 100% of the proceeds will go to charity and any pledges are tax deductible within the US. The film sounds awesome and it goes towards a good cause. What's not to like?

Upcoming Zombies 1

These are some upcoming zombie projects that I am looking forward to!

1) Warm Bodies sequel by Isaac Marion

Yes! You heard me right. Isaac Marion will be writing a sequel to Warm Bodies that is as yet untitled. This is what he has to say about it:

"I wrote Warm Bodies having only the faintest hope that it would ever see publication. I never dreamed that I'd have the opportunity to continue the story in another book, so I tried to make it self-contained. But in my head, I still went ahead and created a big, complex world full of history and mystery and people and monsters and strange things in-between, all moving toward something only hinted at in Warm Bodies' brisk 256 pages. Those pages end with hope on the horizon, but the world that R, Julie, M, Nora, Rosso, and Perry inhabit is still very dark, very wild, and not even close to "saved."

I love that world. I love those people, and I want to show you what happens to them. So I'm writing another book about them. Another book-and-a-half, actually...but I'll explain that later. For now, just trust that I have a story to tell and a reason to tell it, and I'll try my best not to ruin everything."

You can read the full post on his blog, Burning Building, here. I am excited about a sequel and since the original was so brilliant, I have complete faith that the sequel will be as well.

2) Tom Savini's Death Island

Tom Savinin remade Night of the Living Dead over 20 years ago and wants to make another zombie film. I was not a big fan of that film, but the premise for this one sounds unique and very interesting. Tony Todd is an amazing actor that has a commanding presence in any film (just look at the Final Destination movies), so I would love to see him as the villain here. If you like it, you can help fund it yourself and help make the film a reality here. Watch the pitch!

3) Maggie

Maggie will be a film about a teenage girl slowly succumbing to the zombie virus as her family watches over about 6 weeks. All that has been confirmed is that Arnold Schwarzenegger will play the father and Abigail Breslin, of Zombieland fame, will play Maggie. It will be directed by Henry Hobson, who has not directed any films before. The premise is intriguing and I love Abigail Breslin, but Schwarzenegger is not known for good acting. I guess we'll see what happens. Keep an eye out!

My Wishlist: Zombie Edition 3

Here are more zombie movies that I can't wait to see!

1) Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

I really love Pride and Prejudice and especially enjoy it when embellished upon by Seth Grahame-Smith. It was actually the very first review I ever posted on my blog 3 years ago. So I would love to see this on the big screen. Unfortunately, no information is available about it. I heard about a couple of actresses had signed on at one time or another to play Lizzie Bennet, but I haven't heard anything in a while. Hopefully this won't just languor in limbo forever.

2) Cockneys vs. Zombies

I saw the red band trailer (embedded below) on io9 and it seems super fun and gory. Zombies invade England and the people of East End are prepared with what seems like a large arsenal. These people gleefully mow down zombies in double decker buses and with automatic weapons. The old people in this situation are particularly hilarious, making jabs at each other in the midst of zombie mayhem. It came out in August in Ireland, but no word yet on a US release.



3) Zombieland 2

The first Zombieland was the most heart warming zombie film I had ever seen. I would love to see what comes next for Tallahassee, Wichita, Columbus, and Little Rock. There's no information available about this one either and it's rumored that there may be a TV show rather than a film sequel, which would be awesome.  So I guess we'll just keep a lookout!

4) Pontypool Changes

I just watched and reviewed Pontypool the other day and then found out that a sequel is in the works. I hope it sheds light on the exterior events and provides a little more detail on how the disease started. No word on a cast or release date, but the existence of a poster sounds promising.

Any upcoming zombie movies I should check out? Any thoughts on my picks?