As a horror fan I watch a plethora of films both big and
small whether a suspense thriller or a gore-love-fest, whether domestic or
foreign, whether an Indie or big budget Hollywood.
Every horror film has its good merits but
more often than not most people only see the bad; then of course there are some
that are truly bad and those that are so bad they become “good” or the more
appropriate “guilty pleasure.”
With the
exception of CABIN IN THE WOODS (and maybe THE WOMAN IN BLACK) there were few
breakout films of 2012 and fewer more that were indeed “good.”
The few Indie films to make a difference
(i.e. V/H/S, THE BAY, THE AWAKENING) have only been seen by a small audience
and there have been more mediocre films than expected (i.e. UNDERWORLD:
AWAKENING, RESIDENT EVIL: RETRIBUTION, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 4, THE RAVEN, DARK
SHADOWS, THE THEATRE BIZARRE, [REC] 3, CHERNOBYL DIARIES, THE POSSESSION, THE
DEVIL INSIDE, MOTHER’S DAY, THE WICKER TREE, PROMETHEUS, ABRAHAM LINCOLN:
VAMPIRE HUNTER, THE DEVIL’S CARNIVAL, SILENT HILL; REVELATION, SINISTER, and
many more).
2012 has been a lackluster
year and there’s hope that next year will be much better.
Next year – sadly, brings very little to look forward to
other than more remakes and more sequels but maybe there will be a few diamonds
in the rough.
REMAKES
I’d like to first take a look at the remakes on the horizon
starting with the most high profile of the bunch which is another version of
Stephen King’s CARRIE. You’d think that
two remakes, a sequel, and two attempts at a musical were enough to keep anyone
away but not Hollywood. There looks to
be a lot of money behind this film but the same could’ve been said for this
year’s ill advised TOTAL RECALL and we know how that ended up. The remakes for THE EVIL DEAD and MANIAC look
to be more interesting. The original THE
EVIL DEAD has its admirers but truth be told more people enjoy the sequel than
the original so a remake of the original film with a bigger budget and better
SFX actually sounds good. The same goes
for the remake of MANIAC, which looks remarkable like one of the best remakes
to look forward to from the trailer.
Another interesting remake on the horizon is that of the infamous SILENT
NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT which is simply called SILENT NIGHT. This is also a film whose trailer makes it
look on par with the MY BLOODY VALENTINE 3D remake. Other notable remakes on the horizon include
OLD BOY (from director Spike Lee???) and ROBOCOP (whose early pix don’t put me
on ease) and POLTERGEIST (yes, I said POLTERGEIST – WTF?).
SEQUELS
There are way too many sequels scheduled for release in 2013
to mention but I’ll try to pick on a few of the highlights. The most predictable of which is PARANORMAL
ACTIVITY 5. Despite the lackluster
response to the 4th film a new film for release in October 2013 is
already confirmed. Also on the horizon
and more surprising is THE LAST EXORCISIM 2 and THE WOMAN IN BLACK: ANGEL OF
DEATH. Not sure that either of these
films needs a sequel since they were both so self contained but I’m at least
curious as to where they decide to take their films. In terms of franchise favorites first up is
TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE 3D, which given that its suppose to be a sequel to the
Tobe Hooper classic it might actually be an interesting film but the trailer
lacks anything new that hasn’t already been done in other films in the
franchise and being released in January, the dumping ground for studio films that
the studio has little to no faith in.
Next up is the equally questionable CURSE OF CHUCKY and HATCHET III both
of which have a huge fan base and whose fans like that the filmmakers have a
little fun with the material. Also in a
surprise move is the TOOLBOX MURDERS 2 (now called COFFIN BABY) and a FRIGHT
NIGHT 2. The remake for THE TOOLBOX
MURDERS was a highlight and there has been rumors of a sequel since the
original was a moderate success. I’m
completely surprised by the news of a FRIGHT NIGHT 2 considering how poorly the
first one did at the Box Office. Those
few fans of the originals don’t have much to rejoice in as this is meant to be
a straight to DVD sequel with none of the original actors returning. Another surprise is V/H/S/ 2, which will hit
film festivals early next year and if it is anything like its predecessor it
will be one to look out for.
This is just a sampling of the remakes and sequels on the
horizon for release in 2013. There will
be many more added to the release schedule and those that are dropped and
pushed back. I’ve not even mentioned the
sequels and remakes without release dates (i.e. THE AMITYVILLE HORROR: THE LOST
TAPES, DRACULA 3D, HALLOWEEN 3D, or another GODZILLA) nor original (i.e.
non-sequels and non-remakes) such as PACIFIC RIM, JOHN DIES AT THE END, HERE
COMES THE DEVIL, and Rob Zombie’s LORDS OF SALEM. I guess I’ll have to save all those titles
for another time.
