It’s almost officially holiday season! In a month and a half we will have successfully navigated through another winter of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. festivities. With all the hustle and bustle of recipe gathering, snow shoveling, present shopping, and binge drinking, it’ll be easy to forget about the movies that are due for release in theaters in the next few weeks. So, I’ve decided to compile them all – along with their respective release dates – to set this as a reminder that there are still some horror and science fiction titles in theaters going into 2015!
The Godzilla remake smashed its way through theaters and made the franchise a phenomenon again. Annabelle proved to be a fair sequel to The Conjuring and spawned a new villain. People proved that they are still infatuated with the idea of killing random people for sport as seen with the massive success of The Purge: Anarchy. And Ouija became the first and only #1 horror movie at the box office in 2014. We also had Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones, Deliver Us from Evil, Oculus, As Above/So Below, and Devil’s Due. It’s true, we’ve had some great horror moments with all the releases this year, but there’s still some time left to enjoy the following titles:
Wolves (November 14, 2014) – Limited
This one comes out today, but I’m still including it in the list. Written and directed by David Hayter, Wolves is the “coming of age story” of Cayden Richards, who’s roaming the world aimlessly after the murder of his parents. Eventually he meets a lunatic much greater then himself, who sends him to the town of Lupine Ridge to look for the answers to his many questions. This is, obviously, going to be about werewolves. Starring Jason Momoa (“Baywatch,” “Stargate Atlantis,” “Game of Thrones”), Merritt Patterson (“Kyle XY,” “Ravenswood”), Lucas Till (Dance of the Dead, X-Men: Days of Future Past), and Kaitlyn Leeb (Wrong Turn 4, “Degrassi: The Next Generation”).
V/H/S: Viral (November 21, 2014) – Limited
The third entry in the popular V/H/S anthology franchise, this time the film revolves around “fame-obsessed teens who unwittingly become stars of the next internet sensation.” It appears this new venture could end up being the most mainstream, or at least aimed at a specific audience. Segments written by Justin Benson, Gregg Bishop (Dance of the Dead), Aaron Moorhead, Marcel Sarmiento (Dead Girl), and Nacho Vigalondo (Open Windows). Starring Justin Welborn (Rob Zombie’s H2, The Crazies), Emmy Argo, Emilia Ares Zoryan, Nick Blanco, Dan Caudill (No Good Deed), and Angela Garcia.
Sleepwalker (November 21, 2014) – Limited
I don’t know about this one. IMDB lists it as a drama, where BoxOfficeMojo lists it as a horror film. Either way, it’s written and directed by Mona Fastvold with Brady Corbet. The film follows a couple, Kaia and Andrew, as they renovate Kia’s secluded family estate. They end up having a shaky start due to Kia’s sister, Christine, and her boyfriend, Ira, showing up unexpectantly. Tension rises between members of both groups that culminates in one of them going missing, leaving the others to search them out and confront their own dark realities. Starring Gitte Witt, Christopher Abbott (“Girls”), Stephanie Ellis, and Brady Corbet (“24”).
The Babadook (November 28, 2014) – Limited
Filmed in Australia, The Babadook is the recipient of numerous awards, a success in foreign markets, and is ready to make a killing (ha!) in the United States. In the feature length directorial debut from Jennifer Kent, a widow deals with the sudden loss of her husband all while also dealing with her young son’s irrational feel of a monster lurking in the house. Obviously, his fear is going to be real here and not the work of an over-active imagination! Starring: Essie Davis (The Matrix: Reloaded), Daniel Henshall (“Turn”), Noah Wiseman, Tim Purcell, and Cathy Adamek. Warning: IMDB tags this movie for portraying a dog’s death, so be careful!
The Pyramid (December 5, 2014) – Wide
I’ve never been into movies about Mummies and the Pyramids, but for some reason this title has my interest. Maybe I just want to see the visuals? This one is written by Daniel Meersand and Nick Simon and the directorial debut of Gregory Levasseur, most known for penning High Tension, The Hills Have Eyes, and P2. U.S. archaeologists discover a new pyramid located beneath the Egyptian desert. Once they open and start examining the contents of the pyramid, they become trapped in its endlessly dark mazes. Worst part is, something is down there with them. Starring Denis O’Hare (“CSI: Miami,” “True Blood,” “The Good Wife,” “American Horror Story”), Ashley Hinshaw (“True Blood”), James Buckley (“The Inbetweeners”), Christa Nicola, and Amir K.
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (December 17, 2014) – Wide
If you’ve never heard of The Hobbit, then you’ve probably been living under a rock. This needs no explanation. It’s the final movie in the second trilogy from J. R. R. Tolkien, so help make this one go out with a bang!
The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death (January 2, 2015) – Wide
Daniel Radcliffe is not returning for this installment in the franchise, but that doesn’t mean we should pass this one over. More-so, it’ll be a good, relaxing horror flick to help with your hang over the day after New Years. Written by Susan Hill and Jon Croker and directed by Tom Harper, this time the spirit of the Woman in Black is re-awakened by a gaggle of WWII evacuees who arrive at the house 40 years after its first haunting. Starring Helen McCrory (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2), Jeremy Irvine, Phoebe Fox (“Switch”), Leilah de Meza, Oaklee Pendergast, and Leanne Best (“Ripper Street”).
**This list is subject to change as more titles may be added before the end of the year.
