Summer usually signals blockbuster season at the cinema and while there’s plenty of the standard fare to tickle the taste buds, in a slight diversion from the norm, the next couple of months looks set to be a full-on frightfest. And being paid up patrons of all things cinematically dark and disturbing, we thought we’d bring you the lowdown on a bumper period of horror films, here’s our scary summer film preview…
The First Purge – Out now
Fans of the hit and miss franchise will be delighted with this recently released origin story where the roots of the dystopian experiment are fully explored. In an effort to bring the crime under one percent for the rest of the calendar year, a sociological theory is initiated in Staten Island as the Purge hits the inner city.
Playing around loosely with the black lives matter movement and America’s current fears, we see a shameless political party, where the powers that be are intent on causing chaos and disorder all for their own warped pleasure. Blumhouse brought us the sublime and wonderfully conceived Get Out, but this is a more overt and crude reflection, in the increasingly popular politically charged horror genre.
The Night Eats the World – July 13th
This Parisien zombie flick centres around Sam, who after a heavy night of partying wakes up in his apartment only to find the streets are awash with the bloodthirsty living dead. Overwhelmed by his new reality, Sam barricades himself in and ponders the possibility that he may be the only survivor in this terrifying scenario.
A truly innovative and entertaining take on the zombie premise in what looks set to be a worthwhile addition to a saturated genre.
The Devil’s Doorway – July 13th
This Vatican investigation presented and packaged with a fairly unique and original narrative, The Devil’s Doorway, is a found footage frightener that uses grainy 16mm footage, appropriate for the 1960s setting.
Having arrived in Ireland at a home for ‘fallen women’, jaded, aging priest Father Thomas and his young and enthusiastic companion Father John who have been assigned the task of investigating and documenting a series of bizarre phenomena find a lot more than their faith can handle. Cue a Catholic horror cliche-laden jump fest.
The Secret of Marrowbone – July 13th
Sergio G. Sánchez is the screenwriting brains behind The Orphanage and here makes his directorial debut in what looks like being a well-cast horror drama that has a distinct art house flare while ticking the horror box with its sinister setting.
Having moved into an old house following the death of their mother, four young siblings get much more than they bargained on in this stylish multi-layered plot that takes the subtle suspense approach when it comes to frights.
Slender Man – August 24th
The controversial digital age urban legend that was born on Reddit, the Slender Man, gets a shot at the silver screen in what could be seen as a distasteful project given the tragic stabbing of a teenage girl by her schoolmates in Wisconsin. What started out as a fictional blog post for fans of the paranormal took on a life of its own that had teenagers across the globe obsessing over the disturbing influence of the mysterious tentacled, fictitious character.
Tapping into these already implanted audiences fears, the film will delve into the Slender Man universe and the monster’s apparent connection with vanishing children.
The Little Stranger – August 31st
The film adaptation of Sarah Waters’s horror novel The Little Stranger is set for the big screen in what looks set to be a creepy and unsettling watch. In the blazing summer of 1948 Doctor Faraday receives a call out to a patient at the crumbling mansion Hundreds Hall, owned by the Ayres family for over two centuries and where his mother was once a housemaid.
What unfolds is a period ghost story as Dr. Faraday becomes entangled in the family’s paranoid delusional experience that rings a little to close to home.
The Nun – September 7th
When the Vatican gets word of the apparent suicide of a young Nun in Romania they send a team to investigate the reasoning behind her death only to discover that a malevolent force – one with which fans of The Conjuring 2 will be familiar – is wreaking havoc in the remote cloistered abbey.
The Conjuring universe has become a hugely successful collection of horror films and The Nun looks set to follow suit with another box office smash.
And finally, later in the year, Nicholas Cage returns to our screens in what looks like a welcome return to the top of the acting charts in this mind-bending and chaotic revenge flick. Cue complete carnage as Cage does broken, unhinged torment like only he can…
Mandy – September 14th
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