By Jay Green
We’ve reached September, which means the Fall and Winter movie Seasons are right around the corner and while I love the summer movie season, the blockbusters and the “event” feeling of everything, there’s just something about the cooler and colder months that I’ve always connected with. As a die-hard horror fan the “spooky season” never really ends, for me, but with the great year in horror we’ve had so far and summer movie season winding down, it felt like the perfect time to talk about the films that are lined up for the rest of the year.Starting with…
THE FRONT ROOM (Dir. Max & Sam Eggers) – September 6th
We immediately crash into September with A24’s The Front Room, a psychological-horror flick starring (the extremely under-appreciated in the genre) singer and actress Brandy (I Still Know What You Did Last Summer) who plays Belinda, a wife and soon-to-be mother who is tasked with having to take in her husband’s distant stepmother Solange (Kathryn Hunter, the Harry Potter series, more recently Poor Things) which grows into a larger problem for the “Boy Is Mine” singer.I’m always open for an A24-produced horror flick, but you throw in Brandy and an R&B lover like myself is instantly tuning in. The film is said to be based off of one of four short stories from author Susan Hill’s The Travelling Bag And Other Ghostly Stories. I also love that not much is being leaked about this project, the trailers have killed it with audiences recently and it looks like it’ll be a good blend of horror and humor that I’m always open to. It’s also written and directed by filmmakers Sam and Max Eggers, siblings of modern horror auteur Robert Eggers (The Witch, The Lighthouse) who also have worked on their brother’s films. Could be a great start to the season.
THE SUBSTANCE (Dir. Coralie Fargeat) – September 18th
I will be completely honest…I have not seen Revenge, which was a pretty big deal French genre project from filmmaker Coralie Fargeat that was a Shudder hit. I hope to change that before the release of her next film, The Substance, aiming for a September 20th release date. The Substance is a body-horror story about a “fading from relevancy” celebrity (played by Demi Moore of ‘90s hit Ghost fame) who takes a black market drug that can create a younger and improved version of herself. The film also stars Dennis Quaid (of Vantage Point fame) and Margaret Qualley (Drive-Away Dolls) and from the teasers I’ve seen it looks to be an extremely stylistic, unique and vibrant looking film…which makes me wonder how disturbing it’ll be from a body-horror respective. It’s been shooting up my “must-see” list a lot as of late, and I don’t know if I’m prepared for what Fargeat has in store for us…that’s the best feeling to have with art.
NEVER LET GO (Dir. Alexandre Aja) – September 20th
Let’s get this one out of way: I have zero idea what this one will be. I saw a trailer for it online but didn’t watch it. Why? Because it’s from Alexandre Aja and stars Halle Berry. Aja is a French filmmaker who has a few different gems under his belt so far. The 2006 remake of The Hills Have Eyes, the 2010 remake of the 70s horror flick PIRANHA (in glorious 3D) and the 2019 sleeper hit alligator creature-feature Crawl. The guy has a vision, and he seems to usually knock it out of the park when playing in a sandbox similar to Alien: Romulus director/writer Fede Alvarez. I’m game.
JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX (Dir. Todd Phillips) – October 4th
The first Joker film was a surprise for many, myself included. The comic book film came from filmmaker Todd Phillips (The Hangover series, Old School) in the form of your not-so-typical “CBM” story, but instead a character study of a man with a passion for comedy being pushed to his breaking point…this man was Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix, Her), who by the end of the film becomes The Joker.The film has nods to the character’s source material with the famous Wayne family (with a child Bruce Wayne) playing an integral part in the corruption and doom-and-gloom feel that Gotham radiates with.This sequel, described as being a musical, now introduces The Joker’s now household name (thanks to Margot Robbie!) partner in crime Harley Quinn (played by singer/actress/all-time pop artist Lady Gaga) as she meets Arthur and they begin to take on Gotham together. “Folie A Deux” (also the title of my favorite Fall Out Boy album) often refers to the delusion shared by two people, so I’m sure there will be chaos on screen and a display of both characters’s mental state as the two grow close.Todd Phillips is a favorite director of mine with a quietly impressive catalog so far and his work with Cinematographer Lawrence Sher returning and composer Hildur Guðnadóttir back to crater what I’m sure will be another award-season rager and banger of a comic book film. We’ll see.
SMILE 2 – October 18th
The first Smile film, the feature length debut from Parker Finn (who created the short film its based off of) was such a good time. Following an excellent marketing campaign the supernatural horror flick followed a therapist who witnesses the death of one of her patients and soon after starts to deal with an experience that goes from haunting to disturbing fairly quick and they all have one connection…a smile.I won’t spoil much of that one, it’s a great experience and felt like another take on a similar concept that Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street executed so well back in the day. This new film follows a pop star (Naomi Scott, the 2019 Charlie’s Angels remake) who starts to have a similar situation as our lead in the first film, this time as she’s about to start a big tour. The previews of this one have been fun. Not showing too much, but showing just enough and it looks like it’ll be even more of a fun experience with full concert moments, similar to this year’s Trap, there seems to be some back-up dancer smiling action, an encounter with a fan backstage, and Lukas Gage taking a 25-pound plate to the face. Oh, and “Scream King” Kyle Gallner is returning as his role from the first film!Parker Finn seeing a short grow into a crowd-pleasing feature and now a sequel (fingers crossed for more) feels special. Can’t wait to see what he does in the genre down the line.
HERETIC (Dir. Scott Beck & Bryan Woods) – November 15
This one was a surprise trailer, for me, since I usually try to avoid trailers online…that being said this one looks like a real chiller. Another A24-produced project, Heretic stars Sophie Thatcher (Showtime’s Yellow Jackets) and Chloe East (2022’s The Fabelmans) as two missionaries who, after trying to convert a man (Hugh Grant, HBO’s The Undoing) find themselves trapped in a much more harrowing situation.A part of me feels like there’s going to be another, more bizarre element to this one but on the surface it’s still giving us a peek at what could be a surprise hit come November. After all, it is dropping just in time for Thanksgiving week.This is the latest from writing and directing team Scott Beck & Bryan Woods, the writing team behind A Quiet Place and directing team behind last year’s sci-fi “Dino Thriller” and Adam Driver starring 65 and seeing them take on this type of concept should be a great time.
Y2K (Dir. Kyle Mooney) – December 6th
This one was not on my radar at all, mostly because it felt like ages ago since it was announced…but none of that matters because I’m fully on board with Saturday Night Live alum Kyle Mooney’s Y2K. The actor’s directorial debut follows two high schoolers in 1999 as they crash a New Year’s Eve party that turns to disaster when the infamous “Y2K problem”.The film stars Jaaden Martell (2017’s IT remake), Julian Dennison (Godzilla V Kong), Rachel Zegler (The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes) and Mooney himself.It has a real This Is The End feel to it while also having a bit of Superbad at its core…I also get some Small Soldiers vibes with this one and the 2000 setting, Chumbawamba needle drop and a tiny glimpse at some possible blood candy all kind of feel like my type of thing served in one film.It’s always interesting to see a comedic actor take on the horror genre and I’m sure Y2K will be another one to keep an eye on.
NOSFERATU (Dir. Robert Eggers) – December 25th
And last but certainly not least, a must-see upcoming film that I personally have been itching for since its announcement: Robert Eggers’s Nosferatu. A new take on the 1922 classic F. W. Murnau film that was based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula, this new crack takes place in 19th-century Germany and follows a young woman who is stalked by an ancient man…an ancient vampire.There have been a number of vampire stories told over the last two decades, really, with a lot of highs and lows but there’s something about this one that feels special.
Is it the Director? Robert Eggers is easily one of the most notable names when it comes to auteurs in the Horror space. With films like The Witch, The Lighthouse and The Northman it’s easy to see why the filmmaker’s name alone turns heads. Is it the cast? This take stars Lily-Rose Depp (HBO’s The Idol), Nicholas Hault (The Menu), Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Bullet Train), Emma Corrin (Deadpool & Wolverine), Ralph Ineson (The Green Knight), Simon McBurney (The Blue Pale Eye) and Willem Dafoe (more recently Kinds Of Kindness). More importantly it has modern horror favorite Bill Skarsgard (August’s The Crow remake, IT) playing the so-far-well-hidden title character…so that’s certainly a plus if you’re someone who’s been following Skarsgard who’s been a horror staple for the last decade. It’s easily a mixture of both sprinkled with the thought of us all-things-art lovers getting to see a classic piece of literature, one of the most iconic stories in horror history and a relic in the gothic world, on the big screen again and really getting that classic feel that you get when you read Stoker’s original story. Previews show off a cold and dreadful atmosphere that looks gorgeous from a visual perspective and the performances are bound to be incredible.Eggers hasn’t missed yet, and knowing that this is a passion project of his feels even more promising. Nosferatu could be a remake for the ages.
That just about wraps up the highlights that have caught my attention for this final part of the year in the horror corner. There are a few more in between that are sure to be just as great with Tim Burton returning with Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice in September, E.L. Katz’s Samara Weaving starring post-apocalyptic survival-thriller Azrael (with a script from frequent genrewriter Simon Barrett), Damien Leone brings his much awaited “carnage candy” Terrifer 3 to theaters in October and the Melissa Barrera (the Scream series, Abigail) led Your Monster coming right after that. I can only imagine there will be more sleeper hits, streaming surprises and word-of-mouth growers on top of this already exciting final leg of the year.
The rest of 2024 is loaded for genre-fans and with the great mix of stories, new and old, the year certainly looks like it’ll go out with a bang.
