Annabelle 2 director David F. Sandberg took to Instagram to share some behind-the-scenes goodies from his upcoming flick, including one that Trumps them all!

Annabelle 2 has vacated its original May 19, 2017, release date for a warmer reception (at least weather-wise) on August 11th.

Directed by David F. Sandberg and produced by James Wan and Peter Safran, Annabelle 2 stars Stephanie Sigman (Spectre), Talitha Bateman (The 5th Wave), Lulu Wilson (Ouija 2, Deliver Us from Evil), Philippa Anne Coulthard (After the Dark), Grace Fulton (Badland), Lou Lou Safran (The Choice), Samara Lee (Foxcatcher, The Last Witch Hunter), and Tayler Buck in her feature film debut, with Anthony LaPaglia (“Without a Trace”) and Miranda Otto (“Homeland,” The Lord of the Rings Trilogy).

Collaborating with Sandberg behind the scenes from his Lights Out team are production designer Jennifer Spence and editor Michel Aller, joined by director of photography Maxime Alexandre (The Other Side of the Door) and costume designer Leah Butler (Paranormal Activity 3 & 4).

Annabelle 2 is a New Line Cinema presentation, an Atomic Monster/Safran Company production, and will be distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Synopsis:
Several years after the tragic death of their little girl, a dollmaker and his wife welcome a nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage into their home, soon becoming the target of the dollmaker’s possessed creation, Annabelle.

The post Annabelle 2 – Go Behind the Scenes appeared first on Dread Central.

We couldn’t be more giddy about Kong: Skull Island around these parts if we tried, and recently a couple of new viral videos have surfaced via the Kong: Skull Island Twitter account that take us inside the flick’s mythology!

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures’ Kong: Skull Island reimagines the origin of the mythic Kong in a compelling, original adventure from director Jordan Vogt-Roberts. Kong: Skull Island stars Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, Oscar winner Brie Larson, John Goodman, and John C. Reilly. The international ensemble cast also includes Tian Jing, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, John Ortiz, Thomas Mann, Shea Whigham, Toby Kebbell, and Eugene Cordero.

Something bigger is coming in 2017. #kongskullisland pic.twitter.com/jdaPv8ZFjc

— Kong: Skull Island (@kongskullisland) January 1, 2017

This March, the hunter becomes the hunted. @twhiddleston is James Conrad in #kongskullisland. pic.twitter.com/WqpTmwFbe0

— Kong: Skull Island (@kongskullisland) December 30, 2016

Vogt-Roberts is directing the film from a screenplay by Max Borenstein, John Gatins, Dan Gilroy, and Derek Connolly. Kong: Skull Island is produced by Legendary’s Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni with Mary Parent. The executive producers are Eric McLeod and Alex Garcia.

To fully immerse audiences in the mysterious Skull Island, director Vogt-Roberts, his cast, and the filmmaking team filmed across three continents over six months, capturing its primordial landscapes on Oahu, Hawaii; on Australia’s Gold Coast; and finally in Vietnam, where filming took place across multiple locations, some of which have never before been seen on film.

Kong: Skull Island will be released worldwide in 2D, 3D in select theaters, and IMAX beginning March 10, 2017, from Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

Synopsis:
A diverse team of explorers is brought together to venture deep into an uncharted island in the Pacific – as beautiful as it is treacherous – unaware that they’re crossing into the domain of the mythic Kong.

The post New Kong: Skull Island Viral Videos For Your Eyes Only appeared first on Dread Central.

Ready to learn more about the upcoming Resident Evil: The Final Chapter? Along with two more clips (bringing our total to five), Ruby Rose stars in a new featurette that provides some intel on her character, Abigail, aka the film’s “mechanic.”

Look for Resident Evil: The Final Chapter on January 27, 2017.

The film was written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson and stars series regulars Milla Jovovich, Iain Glen, Ali Larter, and Shawn Roberts in addition to newcomers Lee Joon-gi, Rola, William Levy, and Ruby Rose.

Synopsis:
Picking up immediately after the events in Resident Evil: Retribution, humanity is on its last legs after Alice is betrayed by Wesker in Washington, D.C. As the only survivor of what was meant to be humanity’s final stand against the undead hordes, Alice must return to where the nightmare began – Raccoon City, where the Umbrella Corporation is gathering its forces for a final strike against the only remaining survivors of the apocalypse.

In a race against time, Alice will join forces with old friends and an unlikely ally in an action-packed battle with undead hordes and new mutant monsters. Between losing her superhuman abilities and Umbrella’s impending attack, this will be Alice’s most difficult adventure as she fights to save humanity, which is on the brink of oblivion.

The post More Clips and New Featurette Provide Another Peek into Resident Evil: The Final Chapter appeared first on Dread Central.

We’re baaaa-aaaack! And we’re bringing the spooky with us! The first 2017 episode of Brainwaves: Horror and Paranormal Talk Radio is upon us, and we plan on providing plenty of shivers to kick off the new year!

Joining us live will be paranormal investigator Sean Austin (“The Demon Files”), and this dude has stories to tell along with some chilling EVPs. Bring your nightlights, and tune in Wednesday, January 4th, at 9:00PM PT/12:00 ET for all the scary.

It’s radio without a safety net, kids. It’s Brainwaves: Horror and Paranormal Talk Radio.

PLEASE SUPPORT BRAINWAVES: HORROR AND PARANORMAL TALK RADIO ON PATREON!

Brainwaves: Horror and Paranormal Talk Radio is available to subscribe to on iTunes. Not an iTunes user?  You can also listen right here on the site.

Also you can hit Dread Central on Facebook on most Wednesday nights to watch a live stream of the show as it happens.

Spooky, funny, touching, honest, offensive, and at times completely random, Brainwaves airs live every Wednesday evening beginning at 9:00 PM Pacific Time (12:00 midnight Eastern Time) and runs about 3 hours per episode.

Knetter and Creepy will be taking your calls LIVE and unscreened via Skype, so let your freak flags fly! Feel free to add BrainWavesTalk to your Skype account so you can reach us, or call in from a landline or cellphone – 858 480 7789. The duo also take questions via Twitter; you can reach us at @BrainwavesRadio or @UncleCreepy and @JoeKnetter using the hashtag #BrainWaves.

Have a ghost story or a paranormal story but can’t call in? Feel free to email it to me directly at UncleCreepy@dreadcentral.com with “Brainwaves Story” in your subject line. You can now become a fan of the show via the official… BRAINWAVES FACEBOOK PAGE!

Brainwaves: Horror and Paranormal Talk Radio is hosted live (with shows to be archived as they progress) right here on Dread Central. You can tune in and listen via the FREE TuneIn Radio app or listen to TuneIn right through the website!

For more information and to listen live independent of TuneIn, visit the Deep Talk Radio Network website, “like” Deep Talk Radio on Facebook, and follow Deep Talk Radio on Twitter. And don’t forget to subscribe to Brainwaves on iTunes.

The post Dig It! Brainwaves Episode 28 Guest Announcement – Paranormal Investigator Sean Austin appeared first on Dread Central.

Instead of Mecca, horror fans make pilgrimages to Monsterpalooza, California’s sacred horror themed convention. This year it’s happening at the Pasadena Convention Center from April 7-9, and as you can see from the poster below, it promises to be the “biggest show yet”.

Attending guests will include Kane Hodder, Tom Savini, Samantha Mathis, Sara Karloff and Bela G. Lugosi. If you’re interested in going, you can order your tickets on the event’s website. They’ve also included a handy local hotel guide if you’ll be needing overnight accommodation.

The post Ring in the New Year with the Biggest Monsterpalooza Yet appeared first on Dread Central.

If you were a fan of NeocoreGames’s The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing RPG series, then power up your Xbox One and download World of Van Helsing: Deathtrap, a tower-defense spinoff which has just been released on the system after hitting PC last year. You can learn more about the game on the Microsoft Store.

From the Press Release:
Let us take you beyond the veil of the gothic-noir world of the Van Helsing games, straight into the timeless depths of the twisted otherworld. There is a chain of strongholds in the mists that were once built to keep the horrors of the void at bay. And now these monsters are returning to conquer and kill: only you can stop them before they break through to the everyday world of Borgovia. Choose your hero and defend the Silent Forts: use, rebuild and improve those ancient traps and magical machines.

Main features – A truly unique mixture of tower defense games and action-RPGs. – You and your traps against the whole otherworld: defeat the hordes in an incredible single player campaign! You are on your own, so it’s a good thing that you have deadly devices and powerful spells.

– Team up with other heroes and save the world together: cooperative campaign with specially designed maps. – Or you can just show your friends your true personality: players can set against each other in this game mode, where the defender prepares traps and defensive tactics, while the attacker has the ability to possess and control directly any creature in his or her army and employs skills to weaken the opponent or boost the invaders.

– Knee-deep in blood: in the goriest tower defense game ever you can finally teach those monsters a savage lesson. World of Van Helsing: Deathtrap gives you destructive spells and deadly mechanisms to smash, freeze, burn the creatures of nightmare, only to mention a few ways that can turn them into tiny, bloody pieces.

– Rewards of curiosity: find the hidden corners on the maps and hunt down the neutral creatures hiding away from the battle for exclusive loot; you can also solve rewarding side quests as well.

– Become one of the specialists: choose from 3 diverse classes (Mercenary, Sorceress, and Marksman); each class offers different tactics, skills and powers to dispose your enemies. – With experience comes wisdom – and brand new ways to deal with those annoying invaders: the extended and detailed character development offers you 100 levels to achieve and more than 50 Skills per class.

– Weapons of destruction have never been so much fun: fend off the invaders with 25 deadly traps and more than 150 trap upgrades, not to mention the very special upgrades, which are tied to challenging and fun achievements.

– Enter a truly grim fantasy netherworld: the Ink, the mysterious otherworld in the Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing games has hidden regions and ancient secrets; now can face what is waiting in those depths. – Gear up and stand your ground: the detailed equipment mechanics and the comprehensive loot system make your inventory highly customizable.

– A wide variety of horrors to defeat: invaders come in 3 races and more than 40 different types; the countless combination of monster abilities will make the invading swarms even more colorful.

– Make your legendary weapons even more effective: artifact crafting gives you new ways to experiment with lethal magical items.

– King of the Maze: the leaderboards and the rank system lets you compete with other players.- Special Offers: keep an eye on the special offers in the in-game store, where you can buy rare and powerful Epic, Ancient and Godlike items for Dream Shards, an in-game currency.

The post Keep the Horrors of the Void at Bay in World of Van Helsing: Deathtrap on Xbox One appeared first on Dread Central.

1976 was the year of the giant ape, it seems. In addition to the official King Kong remake, the year also saw the completion of the much maligned Queen Kong (which wasn’t released in the US until many years later because of legal action) and the American/South Korean co-production A*P*E, which will finally be hitting Blu-ray February 28 courtesy of Kino Lorber.

Directed by Paul Leder, A*P*E was notable for depicting the titular primate doing battle with both a shark and a giant snake, despite its notoriously low budget. Predictably, it was panned by critics at the time, although it’s since developed a cult following.

The Blu-Ray will feature a special 2K restoration and the option to watch the film in both 2D and 3D, commentary from horror historian Chris Alexander, and trailers. The cover art’s featured below, and you can pre-order your copy over on Amazon.

Synopsis:
Newly Re-mastered in 3-D and HD! A freighter peacefully glides the still waters of a soft Pacific night; their cargo: a recently captured 36-foot ape. A giant fist comes up through the deck sending the sailors sprawling and in a matter of seconds, the A*P*E (Attacking Primate monster) is loose! After battling a very large snake and a giant white shark, A*P*E defies the JAWS of the great white and is the victor. American actress (Joanna Kerns, TV s Growing Pains) arrives in South Korea to appear in a film, at the same time, A*P*E has also arrived and lays waste the city of Inchon and continues his march forward, destroying everything in his path. Paul Leder (I Dismember Mama) co-wrote and directed this cult classic that needs to be seen to be believed. Co-starring Hollywood veteran Alex Nicol (The Man From Laramie, The Screaming Skull), A*P*E is presented in both 2-D and 3-D formats (3-D viewing requires a compatible television and Blu-ray player).

The post A*P*E Going Ape on 3D Blu-ray appeared first on Dread Central.

Having entered its final days on Kickstarter, the French space opera short Blood Machines looks like it could be one of the most visually striking films we’ve seen in a long time.

From the Press Release:
David Sandberg, the Swedish director of the acclaimed short film Kung Fury, has come aboard as an executive producer on Blood Machines by Seth Ickerman, a French director duo composed of Raphaël Hernandez and Savitri Joly-Gonfard.

Following two space hunters chasing the female ghost of a machine through the galaxy, Blood Machines is a 30-minutes Sci-Fi short and the sequel of music video Turbo Killer by synthwave artist Carpenter Brut.

Currently campaigning on Kickstarter since Dec. 1st, Seth Ickerman already reached his goal after only two weeks. Now passed 100,000 Euros, the French team would like to reach bigger objectives and expand Blood Machines into a Virtual Reality experience (in addition to the short version) or a feature film à la Interstella 5555 by Daft Punk.

Seduced by the world of Blood Machines, David Sandberg reached out to Seth Ickerman in the early days of the campaign. As they share the same do it yourself approach and passion for the 80’s movies, a collaboration soon appears to be a logical move.

“Seth Ickerman are hands down some of the most talented and exciting visual artists I’ve come across. Each of their frames are gorgeous, show a painstaking attention to detail, and most of all, an undeniable love for movies. I can’t wait to see these guys get their shot to tell this story ”, said David Sandberg.

As synthwave music and retro films are labelled as fringe movements, which limit the traditional sources of financing, David Sandberg and Seth Ickerman decided to pull together and “cross the streams” to make such an ambitious project happen. Blood Machines remains quite bold for a short film while it needs to remain independent and true to the director‘s vision.

“Bringing David on board is a natural association for us after ten years in our garage. He went through the same process and what he did on Kickstarter with Kung Fury and later on with the distribution is a true reference for us in terms of maintaining the creative control of his film, while reaching out to a world audience and bridging the garage and professional mindsets. We are really happy that he’s joining our team in this exciting adventure!”, said Seth Ickerman.

After raising $630,000 on Kickstarter with Kung Fury, which premiered in Cannes and was released on Netflix, Sandberg will be bringing his experience to a production team composed of Frederic Fiore and Alexis Perrin. Focused on elevated genre movies, their venture Logical Pictures is currently co-producing An Incident in A Ghost Land by Pascal Laugier (Martyrs, The Tall Man), and has several films lined up – including Ickerman, the first feature film of Seth Ickerman.

BIOGRAPHIES

SETH ICKERMAN
Raphaël Hernandez and Savitri Joly-Gonfard are two French directors, working under the pseudonym of Seth Ickerman. They have been noticed with their short Kaydara, inspired by Matrix’s universe. Since then, Raphaël and Savitri collaborated on many commercial as directors for LG, Ubisoft and Samsung, and directed the music video Turbo Killer in 2016 for Carpenter Brut.

The duo is now developing their first science-fiction feature film Ickerman.

CARPENTER BRUT
In 2012, Carpenter Brut releases EP I which was noticed with Le Perv, a tribute to Fabio Fulci and the 80’s slashers. After EP II, marked by Roller Mobster, Carpenter releases EP III closing his trilogy.

Turbo Killer was part of this last opus and Seth Ickerman’s clip remains a synthesis of Carpenter Brut’s universe. Surrounded with mystery, the man represented by a Pentagon is paying a homage to the post-hippies, metal and electro culture, with a unique and pure 80’s revival delirium sound.

His music has been used in video games such as Hotline Miami 2, Furi, and The Crew (Ubisoft).

DAVID SANDBERG
David Sandberg is a Swedish filmmaker with years of experience in directing television commercials and music videos. In 2012, he quit the commercial industry and focused on writing a script for an action comedy film set in the 1980s, inspired by films of that era: Kung Fury. The film become a world-success premiering in Cannes Film Festival and was later released on Netflix.

LOGICAL PICTURES
Logical Pictures is a production company created in 2016 by Yannick Bossenmeyer, expert in digital marketing, and Frédéric Fiore, serial-entrepreneur. Their mandate is to finance and produce a slate of elevated genre films with high international market potential, focusing on promising talent within a virtuous economic logic. Financed by a pool of private investors, Logical Pictures is currently co-producing An Incident In A Ghost Land by Pascal Laugier (Martyrs, The Tall Man).

RUMBLE FISH PRODUCTIONS
Rumble Fish is a production company created by Alexis Perrin, former VFX Producer at BUF (Thor, The Grandmaster, Nymphomaniac, Life of Pi). His goal is to produce elevated genre films with a auteur sensibility and a unique visual style. Rumble Fish is involved on Döner by Jean Luc Herbulot (Dealer), Seth Ickerman’s Ickerman and Winter’s End, Fleur & Manu’s first feature film.

GENERAL INFORMATION

For more information, please reach out to contact@bloodmachines.com

Kickstarter Page: www.bit.do/bloodmachines

Official Website: www.bloodmachines.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/BloodMachines

Twitter: www.twitter.com/BloodMachines

The post Visually Stunning Blood Machines Launches On Kickstarter appeared first on Dread Central.

Things have been quiet on the sea monster front.  Nessie is apparently history, with no sightings for so long the general theory is that whatever it was is dead.  Champ hasn’t shown up in Champlain in an age, Ogopogo is also lying low.

There have been a number of stories of Alaska-area sightings of creatures in the sea, even supposedly crystal clear footage of many cadborosaurus juveniles that was to air on Discovery but never surfaced.  Said to be viewed by two famed cryptozoologists, this footage showed several juvenile animals fitting the Caddy description fleeing attacking beluga whales, but it was never released to the public.

Now, we have amateur footage from that same region that just might be a sighting of what has become known as “Caddy”.

The footage is brief, but unless it has been digitally altered it appears to show a ridge-backed creature of some great length swimming in the icy waters.  This fits the description of the cadborosaurus, an ancient sea dinosaur that some believe may have survived.

(For a more details examination of a previous find thought by many to be a cadborosaurus, see this link discussing the so-called “Naden Harbor Carcass” found in 1937.)

So what is it?  Do we have video evidence of an ancient sea creature, still living in small numbers in the arctic waters of Alaska?  Is it another animal being mistaken for a cryptid?  Is it an extremely effective hoax?

Explore The Gasp Menagerie!

Have a weird story? Potential evidence of the supernatural, or at least something hard to explain? Spot any creepy critters out there roaming the wilds? LET ME KNOW! I’d love to talk about it and possibly write it up right here in the Gasp Menagerie. You’ll get appropriate credit, of course, and everyone else will get fresh creepy (as opposed to fresh Creepy, which, trust me… nobody wants that) to enjoy. As always, I can be found at mrdark@dreadcentral.com. Now get out there, find some weird, and let’s get this party started.

The post Sea Monster On The Loose in The Gasp Menagerie appeared first on Dread Central.

Welcome to Horror Globetrotting, a weekly column where we travel to different corners of the globe to unearth some of the finest horror gems.  For the inaugural edition we’re visiting Indonesia to take a look back at the cult classic Mystics in Bali, a bizarre horror comedy released in 1981 that deserves to not only be remembered, but celebrated eternally.

As a country, Indonesia is steeped in magical tradition… especially the black arts. Therefore, it was only natural that  black magic has served as a source of inspiration for the country’s finest fantastical cinema. During the ’70s and ’80s, Indonesia released some of the most surreal, bizarre and entertaining horror films ever crafted. Movies which infused local superstitions, religious beliefs and dark arts practices with grotesque imagery and gore shone a spotlight on a fascinating culture – albeit through the lens of outlandish genre films that tend to induce more laughs than shocks when watched today – were commonplace in horror, fantasy and action fare, no matter how ridiculous the final outcomes could be. For instance, take Special Silencers (1979), a madcap kung fu gem which follows a man with trees growing out of his stomach because he swallows cursed pills he obtains from a spooky hermit.  Starring the great Barry Prima of The Warrior series (which is action fantasy at its finest), and directed by exploitation king Arizal, Special Silencers is chaotic, weird and wild – but as goofy as it is, it does contain mystical elements which typify how superstitious cultural identity found its way into the archipelago’s creative arts.

For films which directly explore the theme of black magic, then The Snake Queen (1982) and The Queen of Black Magic (1983) are prime examples of films of this ilk, offering a glimpse into forbidden practices and injecting them with raucousness.  It’s hard to describe the feeling that occurs when watching these movies; on one hand they’re hilarious and camp, but like a dark spell, they possess, enchant and beckon the viewer to their twisted will.  Which brings me to the topic of discussion – Mystics In Bali.

Directed by H. Tjut Djalil, whose 1989 Terminator knock-off Lady Terminator is essential viewing for any self-respecting trash connoisseur, Mystics of Bali is a masterpiece and arguably the first Indonesian horror film to put their scare fare on the map for Western audiences to discover.  The movie was made with the intent to appeal to foreign markets; to do this they cast an Australian actress in the lead role, playing an American.  According to IMDB – which we should always take with a pinch of salt – she hasn’t acted again since, which is a shame because she immediately solidified as a cult icon when she agreed to star in this gem.

It tells the story of Cathy (Bastian), a young fool who seeks out an evil witch for training in the dark arts as part of her research for a book she’s writing. The old hag agrees, but she’s not to be trusted with that evil cackling laugh. Tricked by the wicked mare, Cathy is turned into a a flying vampire with internal organs hanging from her neck, controlled by the witch for her own sinister gain. As her body sleeps at night, her head at the behest of the witch, ups and leaves at night to drink blood so the old spell caster can attain youth. It is now up to her love interest and the local holy men to try and save the day.

Out of all the legends to be found in Indonesian folklore, perhaps the most interesting the Leyak, of which Mystics In Bali is based on. According to Balinese lore, the Leyak is a cannibalistic creature with multiple talents, if you call what I’m about to describe ‘talent.’  By day the creature appears as a seemingly normal person, but by night it adopts a more sinister form: a floating vampiric head with dangling entrails which floats around feasting on the blood of the living, with a special hunger for pregnant women and newborn babies.  Additionally, the Leyak is also said to possess the ability to shape-shift and possess people, so all in all you don’t want to get in the wrong side of one of these things.  In her brilliant book Encyclopedia of Giants and Humanoids in Myth, Legend and Folklore, Theresa Bane states other forms the witch has been known to take include: a tiger, a golden toothed monkey, a giant bird, a rat, a ball of light and a motorcycle with no rider.  Mystics In Bali doesn’t go into that much depth exploring the various outlandish forms the Leyak can take, but it does explore fascinating ritualistic elements and mysticism. Plus, we get to see a floating head go on the rampage and perform cunnilingus on a bewildered, crying woman.

During Cathy’s stint as a Leyak, we also see her turn into a pig and a snake woman. Say what you will about her horrifying experience, but she wanted to learn the dark arts for the sake of a book she was writing based on anthropology; therefore, if any positives can be taken from her experience, it’s being able to tell one heck of a story.

Mystics In Bali contains many scenes that will put a big ol’ smile on your face; it doesn’t take itself seriously for a second. That said, it is seeped haunting, gripping atmosphere throughout, and the scenes pertaining to the black magic do feel like you’re experiencing something you shouldn’t be.  It’s not as graphic as other black magic-themed shockers to emerge from the Far East during this time period, but it exposes occult practices nonetheless – and while projected in a comedic light, they do allude to the real witchcraft which is still commonplace in native regions to this day. That’s pretty spooky, right?

Despite not being the type of film most people would ever take seriously, Indonesian Film Censorship Board did and it was subsequently banned. In the west, the film was considered to be too shocking and bizarre to be screened.  However, thanks to unlicensed video tapes, it found its way into the ether of horror film fandom and began building its legacy as an outrageous cult classic.  Nowadays you can pick up a copy of the DVD, boasting the movie in its original uncut form thanks to Mondo Macabro.

If you’re unfamiliar with Indonesian horror and exploitation then Mystics in Bali is a perfect starting point. It’s catered to appeal to a wider audience than the typical fare the country was releasing at the time, but it also retains the core elements present in their black magic horror cinema at the time.  And if you’re a fan of nutzoid movies, they don’t come much better than this lunacy.

The post Horror Globetrotting: Mystics in Bali (Indonesia,1981) appeared first on Dread Central.

Happy New Year, folks. We don’t have a huge list for you this week, but there are a couple of decent titles below.

One of the more widely known titles from 2016 should be coming your way this week in the way of the Blair Witch. You either loved or hated the original movie, so you probably either loved or hated this one.

If you weren’t aware that there was a third Ouija movie, well there is. Ouija 3: The Charlie Charlie Challenge kind of sounds more like a children’s movie but I assure you it’s not for kids, especially seeing as it is unrated.

Season 3 of “Sleepy Hollow” will also be hitting your shelves this week. This leaves roughly 3 days to binge watch it before Season 4 kicks off this coming Friday night, so if that’s your thing, you’d better get on that.

Remember to keep checking back each, friends. As usual, the next couple of weeks will have more releases so you don’t want to miss that. As always, pleasant viewing.

MOVIES

2 Lava 2 Lantula (2017)

Starring:

Steve Guttenberg, Michael Winslow, Michele Weaver, Jimmy Bellinger, Erron Jay

Synopsis:

Steve Guttenberg is back as arrogant action star Colton West, slayer of lava-spewing spiders and savior of Los Angeles. But when Colton’s stepdaughter is trapped in Miami by a bigger, meaner wave of lavalantulas, Colton heads to Spring Break with an unlikely team of executioners (including Michael Winslow of Police Academy) and a cache of larger, nastier weaponry. In a world of bikini babes, fiery arachnids, Florida crazies and a war-mongering military, can one man save the state from the mother of all 8-legged monstrosities, the Gargantulantula? Martin Kove (The Karate Kid) co-stars in this Syfy smash sequel that MoreHorror.com calls ‘funny, scary and filled with adventure all at once. You’re in for one hell of a good time!’

BUY IT NOW!

American Beast (2016)

Starring:

Armin Habibovich, Victoria Lachelle, Brent Latchaw

Synopsis:

After his mother’s death, James Erikson discovers her old storage locker filled with journals and newspapers of his family’s history. As he researches it, he finds out about the evil creature that his family has tried to contain for several generations, beginning in 1939 on a mysterious piece of property in an American small town.

BUY IT NOW!

Blair Witch (2016)

Starring:

Brandon Schott, James Allen McCune, Wes Robinson

Synopsis:

A group of college students venture into the Black Hills Forest in Maryland to uncover the mysteries surrounding the disappearance of James’ sister who many believe is connected to the legend of the Blair Witch. At first the group is hopeful, especially when a pair of locals offer to act as guides through the dark and winding woods, but as the endless night wears on, the group is visited by a menacing presence. Slowly, they begin to realize the legend is all too real and more sinister than they could have imagined.

BUY IT NOW!

Ouija 3: The Charlie Charlie Challenge (2017)

Starring:

Tom Zembrod, Bryan Massey, Gwendolynn Murphy, Todd Jenkins, Mason Dauti

Synopsis:

The YouTube horror sensation comes to the big screen! A group of teenagers find themselves trapped in a haunted house and hunted down by a Mexican demon after playing the Charlie Charlie challenge.

BUY IT NOW!

The Shelter (2015)

Starring:

Michael Paré, Rachel G. Whittle, Amy Wickenheiser, Gayle James, Lauren Thomas

Synopsis:

Vagrant Thomas Jacob (Michael Paré of “Eddie and the Cruisers” fame) finds shelter for the night when he falls upon a seemingly abandoned two-story home with its lights on and an inviting front door. Once inside, his past comes to haunt him and he soon realizes that he is not alone. There’s a supernatural force on hand and it won’t let him leave. Destiny has brought Thomas to this place but will he survive the ordeal?

BUY IT NOW!

Zombie Massacre 2: Reich of the Dead (2015)

Starring:

Andrew Mills, Dan van Husen, Aaron Stielstra

Synopsis:

Set during the height of World War Two, Allied soldiers fight against a bloodthirsty army of the undead created by the Nazis using genetic experimentation on prisoners of war and people with mental disorders. Alongside the carnage of the trenches and terror of combat, the oncoming Allied soldiers are now faced with battling an ever-expanding and near indestructible hoard of zombies. They have just one night to save their own lives and escape the soulless grip of their lifeless enemy, or face becoming part of the zombie army themselves.

BUY IT NOW!

TELEVISION

“Sleepy Hollow” The Complete Third Season

Starring:

Nicole Beharie, Tom Mison, Lyndie Greenwood, Nikki Redd, Shannyn Sossamon

BUY IT NOW!

The post DVD and Blu-ray Releases: January 3, 2017 appeared first on Dread Central.

Starring Daniel David Diamond, Daniel Faraldo, Lindsey Naves

Directed by Jimmie Gonzalez

Past mental trauma infringing upon present-day life – sounds like some trouble is on the horizon for someone in Jimmie Gonzalez’s mind-bending psychological-thriller, The Red Man.

Starring Diamond as the extremely popular house DJ Evan – his life has certainly been one of local notoriety, and one night after a horrific tragedy befalls his family, he’s become somewhat of a damaged individual, suffering from nightmarish images and relying on the aid of a psychiatrist to help him deal with the lingering upheaval. As the film rolls along, we see both the side of a man whose mid-level profile is affected by this terrible occurrence, and if the aforementioned situation wasn’t enough to contend with, Evan begins to think that his own appointed shrink might have a role in all this mayhem – could it just be his impaired mind playing cruel tricks on him, or is there some real truth as to what’s occurring all around him? Quite the interesting play, indeed, and the idea that we’re all strapped into the front seat to decipher this mess makes it even more interesting.

Daniel Faraldo plays an equally strong role as the clinician with some questionable motives, Dr. Verde – his performance as a Jekyll/Hyde personality swung the window wide open and delivered a serious and refreshing fresh breeze during the film’s more stagnant moments. I’d be lying if I told you that this presentation didn’t come without its flaws – some more unforgiving than others. The unsettling images are just that – meant to make you scratch your head at their validity, and throw some serious curveballs at you while you’re attempting to traverse this otherwise frayed plot-path. What I can offer up is both the works of Diamond and Faraldo work to an insanely (bad pun) good level, and you really begin to pull for DJ Evan in the hopes of him finding the heinous soul that committed these atrocities towards his family. Give this one a solid look if you’re up for a twisting, turning, slightly awry thriller – and if you can make it past those scenes with that mind-numbing techno-music attacking your eardrums, more power to ya.

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Get excited, Hartford! We have your chance to score early tickets for the next film from M. Night Shyamalan’s latest film, titled Split! Dig it!

Click HERE for your chance to win tickets to an exclusive January 17th showing!

Split Release Details:
Writer/director/producer M. Night Shyamalan returns to the captivating grip of The Sixth Sense, Unbreakable, and Signs with Split (review), an original thriller that delves into the mysterious recesses of one man’s fractured, gifted mind. Following last year’s breakout hit The Visit, Shyamalan reunites with producer Jason Blum (The Purge and Insidious series, The Gift) for the film, which Universal Pictures is releasing on January 20th.

While the mental divisions of those with dissociative identity disorder have long fascinated and eluded science, it is believed that some can also manifest unique physical attributes for each personality, a cognitive and physiological prism within a single being.

For Split, Shyamalan and Blum reassemble their core team from The Visit, the No. 1-grossing horror film of 2015. Their fellow collaborators include producer Marc Bienstock and executive producers Ashwin Rajan and Steven Schneider.

Synopsis:
Though Kevin (James McAvoy) has evidenced 23 personalities to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley), there remains one still submerged who is set to materialize and dominate all the others. Compelled to abduct three teenage girls led by the willful, observant Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy), Kevin reaches a war for survival among all of those contained within him—as well as everyone around him—as the walls between his compartments shatter apart.

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We learned toward the end of last year that Rings, directed by F. Javier Gutierrez, will finally be heading our way next month, and now a new poster for the film has arrived!

Starring Matilda Lutz, Alex Roe, Johnny Galecki, Aimee Teegarden, Bonnie Morgan, and Vincent D’Onofrio, Rings arrives in theaters on February 3, 2017, from Paramount Pictures.

Synopsis:
A new chapter in the beloved RING horror franchise. A young woman becomes worried about her boyfriend when he explores a dark subculture surrounding a mysterious videotape said to kill the watcher seven days after he has viewed it. She sacrifices herself to save her boyfriend and in doing so makes a horrifying discovery: There is a “movie within the movie” that no one has ever seen before…

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The fifth and final season of “Bates Motel” is on its way, and the crazy begins on February 20th on A&E. If you haven’t checked out the show yet, use this time wisely and catch up! The first few episodes were kind of rocky, but once everyone finds their footing, it’s stellar fun!

We’ll also being seeing some new faces this season in Brooke Smith (“Ray Donovan,” “Grey’s Anatomy”), who will portray Sheriff Dana Green, described as competent, professional, moralistic, and sharp. She possesses a small-town vibe that belies her highly observant nature, And of course there’s also Rihanna, who will play the iconic role of Marion Crane.

Series regulars Freddie Highmore, Vera Farmiga, Nestor Carbonell, Olivia Cooke, and Max Theriot are all back as well.

Stay tuned!

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It’s nearly a given that everyone’s first impression of a ghost is someone wearing a white sheet with eye cut-outs. David Lowery’s (Pete’s Dragon, Peter Pan) new flick, A Ghost Story, brings that visage to life.

The film, starring Casey Affleck, Rooney Mara, Will Oldham, Sonia Acevedo, Rob Zabrecky, and Liz Franke, will be having its world premiere at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.

The film tells the tale of a ghost and the house he haunts. Check out some new eye-candy below.

The Festival will host screenings in Park City, Salt Lake City, and at Sundance Mountain Resort in Utah from January 19 through 29, 2017.

A Ghost Story by David Lowery, an official selection of the NEXT program at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. © 2016 Sundance Institute | photo by Andrew Droz Palermo.

Rooney Mara appears in A Ghost Story by David Lowery, an official selection of the NEXT program at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. © 2016 Sundance Institute | photo by Andrew Droz Palermo.

Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck appear in A Ghost Story by David Lowery, an official selection of the NEXT program at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. © 2016 Sundance Institute | photo by Andrew Droz Palermo.

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Virtual Reality is finally coming into its own technology-wise with a vast assortment of rigs on the market right now including one for PlayStation 4, and the content has been free flowing. One property that’s ripe for the picking in terms of a VR experience is Alien and one is well on its way!

THR is reporting that The Fox Innovation Lab at Twentieth Century Fox, Ridley Scott and his RSA Films and Technicolor-owned MPC VR plan to take viewers on a “dread-inducing journey” to the Alien universe by developing a virtual reality experience for Fox’s upcoming Alien: Covenant.

The participatns tease that through the project, which will be executive produced by Scott and directed by David Karlak, “viewers will discover the true meaning of terror as they navigate through horrifying alien environments and a story where every decision could mean the difference between life and death.”

The Fox Innovation Lab is the studio’s research and development center for advancing technology such as virtual reality. It completed and recently released its first commercial VR project, The Martian VR Experience, which was executive produced by Scott and directed by Robert Stromberg, working with Scott’s RSA Films and Stromberg’s The Virtual Reality Company. That roughly 20-minute interactive experience debuted last January at CES, so it’s fitting that their follow-up would be announced this week, with CES about to begin and VR expected to have a notable presence.

Can any one say… VR Chestburster sequence? I can so I’ll be sitting here wearing my goggles patiently. Thanks.

The cast of Alien: Covenant includes Michael Fassbender, Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup, Danny McBride, Demián Bichir, Carmen Ejogo, Amy Seimetz, Jussie Smollett, Callie Hernandez, Nathaniel Dean, Alexander England, Benjamin Rigby, James Franco, and Noomi Rapace.  It is directed by Ridley Scott.

Look for the film in theaters on May 19, 2017.

Synopsis:
The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise but is actually a dark, dangerous world. When they uncover a threat beyond their imagination, they must attempt a harrowing escape.

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Matthew McConaughey recently sat down for an interview in which he discussed his upcoming role in the long talked about adaptation of Stephen King’s The Dark Tower, and why the role of the man in black won his heart over an undisclosed role in Guardians of the Galaxy.

“I like ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, but what I saw was ‘It’s successful, and now we’ve got room to make a colorful part for another big-name actor,’” he tells Playboy. “I’d feel like an amendment. ‘The Dark Tower’ script was well written, I like the director and his take on it, and I can be the creator, the author of the Man in Black — a.k.a. the Devil — in my version of this Stephen King novel.”

He continues: “We’ve done the first one. It’s a fantastic thriller that takes place in another realm, an alternate universe, but it’s very much grounded. For instance, the gunslinger’s weapon isn’t a lightsaber or something; it’s a pistol. I enjoyed approaching my character as if I were the Devil having a good time, getting turned on by exposing human hypocrisies wherever he finds them.”

Look for The Dark Tower in theaters on July 28, 2017.

Idris Elba, Matthew McConaughey, Fran Kranz, Abbey Lee, Tom Taylor, and Katheryn Winnick co-star.

Based on the King-penned fantasy series, the film follows a wandering knight who is the last hope of the fallen land of Mid-World. He is charged with finding the Dark Tower while battling his nemesis, the Man in Black.

Nikolaj Arcel directs with Ron Howard and Brian Grazer producing under their Imagine Entertainment banner along with Stephen King and Erica Huggins.

The post Matthew McConaughey Talks The Dark Tower and Why He Chose it Over Guardians of the Galaxy appeared first on Dread Central.

A new international trailer is here for the upcoming chiller Don’t Knock Twice, starring Katee Sackhoff going one-on-one with a hell of a nasty witch.

IFC Midnight will be releasing the film on VOD and in limited theatres on February 3rd. It’s also getting a release in the UK on March 31, 2017, through Red and Black Films.

Sackhoff (Oculus, Riddick, “Battlestar Galactica”) stars alongside Lucy Boynton (Miss Potter, Ballet Shoes, Mo) and Nick Moran (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows).

Caradog James (The Machine, Little White Lies) directs from a script by writing duo Mark Huckerby and Nick Ostler (Howl).

Synopsis:
“Knock once to wake her from her bed, twice to raise her from the dead…” So goes a disturbing urban legend involving an abandoned house supposedly inhabited by a vengeful, child-stealing witch.

When troubled teen Chloe (Boynton) raps at the door one night, she has no idea the horror she’s about to unleash. Fleeing to the country home of her estranged mother (Sackhoff)—a recovering addict who’s turned her life around to become a famous artist—Chloe must learn to trust the woman who gave her up years ago in order to stop the bloodthirsty, shape-shifting demon stalking them. This wild supernatural shocker delivers a barrage of nonstop jolts and searing nightmare images.

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Underworld: Evolution begins the franchise’s contradictory tradition of improving on its predecessor while conversely regressing. Written and directed by those responsible for the original (Kevin Grevioux is absent from the story credit, leaving it to Danny McBride and director Len Wiseman), its spirit remains true even if priorities have shifted somewhere along the way.

Related Story: Before the Blood Wars Part 1

Picking up where Underworld left off, the last remaining vampire elder, Marcus, has awakened. Rather than waste time assessing the strengths of his coven after the loss of Viktor, he massacres those who betrayed him. Evolution raises the stakes from the get-go, but these efforts create some shortsighted miscalculations. For example, it makes sense in theory for Marcus to kill Kraven early on, as it establishes our new villain with a bang and turns the world on its ear. But it loses something by removing one of the original’s most chaotic characters. Marcus is the anthesis of endless politicking, and now that he’s a vampire/lycan hybrid, it’s hard to tell where his character ends and that transformation begins. It’s impossible to imagine this Marcus leading the covens, and Evolution has no interest in political reprise. Instead, Marcus lays waste to everyone and goes on the hunt for our resident Death Dealer, Selene. It appears he wants revenge for her part in the betrayal, but it’s her blood he’s after, as it’s the key to finding his brother, William.

Marcus and William are the originals of their species. Marcus, the first vampire. William, the first werewolf (not lycan). Evolution opens in 1202 A.D., with Viktor, Marcus, and others in the throes of the “Vampire-Werewolf War,” a conflict that started with the creation of these monsters. As I wrote last time, Underworld’s strength lies in its mythos, so it’s disappointing to see Evolution stumble right out of the gate. Marcus and Viktor are seen together in the 13th century, a contradiction of Viktor’s original explanation of one elder being awake at any given time—a process that’s been in place for over a thousand years.

Flub aside, it’s a super cool opening. Vampires gallop on horseback, hacking at werewolves as they charge through a snow-capped valley en route to a decimated medieval village. It gives us a chance to see a snarling, perpetually pissed Bill Nighy again. Viktor remains a weighty presence, and it’s likely the franchise gatekeepers realized his death was premature. I’m glad he was finished off at the end of Underworld in order to close Selene’s arc, but I love how Evolution offers us a glimpse at another era. Viktor wants to see the lycans destroyed (he created the Death Dealers for this very purpose), and Marcus is conflicted about his brother’s extermination. William is taken alive (barely) and sentenced to eternal imprisonment.

The earliest werewolves were feral beasts. Former humans condemned to live as hulking animals. As such, the William creature is an imposing monster and a triumphant practical FX creation. A killer werewolf design by Patrick Tatopoulos. And Marcus’ ability to transform into a giant vampire bat that’s a cross between Nosferatu and Coppola’s Dracula is an intimidating homage to vampiric roots. Evolution showcases some true inspiration on this front, improving on the original’s monster designs by leaps and bounds. It’s a bummer that someone like NECA hasn’t acquired the Underworld license and given us a long-running series of vampire and lycan action figures. These monsters are begging for that treatment.

Marcus’ design offsets his somewhat cloudy motivations. We’re never given a sense of his character prior to becoming a hybrid, and while Evolution can’t be the first time he’s been awake since the prologue, the iterations of his character then and now aren’t all that different. He’s concerned for the fate of his brother and little else. This is a step back from the first movie’s villains, each with different but understandable motivations. Marcus is too simple in a movie that requires him to be more. His entire coven is in ruins, some of that thanks to him. Yeah, he’s been changed by the ingestion of lycan blood, but beyond finding William, he isn’t all that concerned with anything.

Evolution wipes aside much of the original’s world in a few surges of violence. This makes the universe smaller in a sense, but the film does manage to add some cool things to the overall lore. In a nice posthumous moment, we discover Viktor was so paranoid about William getting loose that he hid the key to the werewolf’s prison inside his own body. And why is Selene’s blood the subject of hot pursuit this time? Because it was her father who constructed William’s resting place. As a child, she wandered the halls of this prison, turning her into a living (er, undead) map.

Evolution wants to be a chase story but forsakes the necessary pacing in favor of some incredibly leaden exposition. It’s hardly a deal-breaker, though, as the new additions are welcome. Tannis (Steven Mackintosh) is the exiled record keeper who knows more about the vampire-lycan war than anyone. He lives in constant debauchery inside a hilltop castle guarded by lycan slaves (a touch of the old school, as the next film reveals), and he embraces smarminess in a way that makes Kraven seem noble. Then we’ve got Alexander Corvinus (Derek Jacobi), the immortal father of both Marcus and William. I like the way this character is inserted into the story–a shadowy third party cleaning up after the war in an effort to keep it hidden. He knows his children are scourges but cannot bring himself to do what needs to be done. Corvinus feels a bit underwritten, if conceptually sound. If only he’d been able to interact with the story as something other than an exposition tool.

The filmmakers also realize there’s nothing more to do with Michael’s character. Performance-wise, Scott Speedman fares a bit better this time, and his chemistry with Kate Beckinsale has more spark. That is to say, at least we believe these characters care for each other. But Michael continues to be a blank slate. In Underworld, he was a living McGuffin—the reason everything happened. Aside from fighting off monsters here, he serves almost no purpose. Fans seem to like the Selene/Michael dynamic despite their love story being the weakest part of both movies.

Despite its shortcomings, I think Evolution may be the series’ best. Its problems are at the script level (distinguishing it from the original), but Wiseman uses his increased budget well. The aforementioned opening pulls us back into the universe with blood-soaked confidence, and the production design gets the action out of nondescript apartment buildings and moves us into ancient crypts, sprawling tombs, and high tech yachts. Most importantly, Selene gets to be more of a badass, even if her powers are inconsistent. She lost so much blood from a stab wound in the first film that she spent time recovering. Here, she catches a shotgun blast to the stomach and barely winces. Her fighting abilities come with extra visual flare, too, trouncing a group of soldiers by hopping around the forest like a phantom. It’s even more fun watching her tangle with lycan soldiers and vampire brides. Wiseman had Beckinsale study Russell Crowe in L.A. Confidential in preparation for this part, and the effort pays off. Selene is more of a brawler this time around, and Beckinsale conveys that confidence and toughness well.

This is Kate’s movie. Underworld is more of an ensemble, but it makes sense for Evolution to narrow its focus to Selene, given where she ends up. The problem is that the world around her is weaker this time. So Evolution winds up being a trade-off. It’s a streamlined story populated by characters who aren’t as interesting. But it’s bloodier and rife with punchier action sequences. Unlike the first, it manages a few cool and memorable sequences. The truck versus vampire bat chase at the beginning is a fun combination of action and horror conventions, and the climax inside William’s resting place hinges on an obvious, but nevertheless fun, “wait for it” moment. Wiseman doubles down on the Gothic visuals, conjuring environments that invoke bona fide horror movie atmosphere. And while Underworld ran a bit on the long side, that’s not a problem any of the sequels have. Evolution is the second longest to date, clocking in at 106 minutes. Wiseman has long hinted at a potential extended version but seems to have given up on that dream (or he’s waiting for a “complete” box set once the series is finished). As it stands, Evolution is a strong sequel that grows the world while making its heroine an even cooler participant in it.

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