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The Last Horror Blog: Most Anticipated 2017 Horror Movies
If you forced me to guess, I’d say that the best horror movies of 2017 will probably be the ones we haven’t heard much about yet – there’ll be an indie or some festival darling that didn’t get millions of dollars in TV ad buys. Those movies tend to come out of nowhere – and honestly, they make life interesting. I like surprises.
This doesn’t mean, however, that there won’t be some good films over the course of the next 12 months from the studio system. Of course, as has been the case for the past few years, Hollywood is fixated with sequels, reboots, and remakes. That will continue in 2017 – but I’m excited about a few of those, too. I suspect many of you are as well. So, while we don’t know every horror film coming out in 2017, here are some of the ones that are going to be worth keeping an eye on.
Split
Release date: January 20
M. Night Shyamalan has become the punchline to an unfunny joke after bursting onto the scene with The Sixth Sense like a half a lifetime ago, but the filmmaker keeps plugging away. His latest film, Split, actually looks like it could be a step back toward genre respectability, even.
Here’s the official synopsis:
“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. 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, The Witch), 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.”
Can Shyamalan build on the goodwill generated by his previous outing, The Visit? We’ll find out in a few weeks.
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Also out in Janaury (which is rapidly becoming the new October…) are The Bye Bye Man, Amityville Awakening, and Resident Evil: The Final Chapter.
Rings
Release date: February 3
I got really tired of Asian girl ghost movies back in the day –- a subgenre catapulted into the spotlight by Hideo Nakata’s Ringu — but it’s been long enough that I’m actually sort of intrigued by Rings. This is another American riff on the tale of the haunted videotape that causes people to die a week after viewing it, but the trailer looks interesting enough. Let’s just hope this is a one-off and not an attempt to launch an entire renaissance for a subgenre better off left for dead…
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The Belko Experiment
Release date: March 17
If you want to sum up Greg McLean’s The Belko Experiment in the simplest way possible, it’s basically Battle Royale in an office building. That’s right – imagine showing up for work on a Monday morning and being told that your big productivity goal for the day is to kill your cubicle-mates. That’s what this movie – based on a James Gunn screenplay – is all about.
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Alien: Covenant
Release date: May 19
Ridley Scott’s Prometheus was pretty divisive – but Alien fans seem excited about Scott’s newest project in the cinematic galaxy he helped create. And based on the trailer, it’s easy to see why. Alien: Covenant looks like a step away from Prometheus – taking the series back to its Xenomorph roots.
Here’s the plot breakdown:
“Bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, members (Katherine Waterston, Billy Crudup) of the colony ship Covenant discover what they think to be an uncharted paradise. While there, they meet David (Michael Fassbender), the synthetic survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition. The mysterious world soon turns dark and dangerous when a hostile alien life-form forces the crew into a deadly fight for survival.”
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The Dark Tower
Release date: July 28
There are two big films based on landmark Stephen King books releasing this year, and this is the one I’m most excited about. Idris Elba as Roland, Matthew McConaughey as Randall Flagg, and some great looking visuals have me giddy to see a studio attempt to bring the master of horror’s most ambitious work to the screen. The Dark Tower done right could be as big as Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings when it’s all said and done.
Annabelle 2
Release date: August 11
I was not particularly enamored of the first Annabelle film – a spinoff title spawned by the success of The Conjuring – but apparently some of you were. Which is why the killer devil doll is back for another adventure this summer. Maybe this one will actually be good…
A collector purchases Annabelle from a second hand store in her state to use as parts and original material for her similar cared for dolls. The woman then passes away and her huge doll collection and estate is inherited to her only daughter of 2 children and her husband whom are going through financial hardship.
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It
Release date: September 8
This is the other big Stephen King movie of 2017, a remake of It – his 1,100 page novel. Many of you will remember the book was turned into an ABC miniseries back in the 1990s, with Tim Curry as the creepy murderous clown Pennywise.
Bill Skarsgard is donning the makeup this time out – and the early images haven’t looked particularly promising, but it’s too soon to write this one off. Of course, I’m still curious to see how they’ll film the book’s ending, which – as the miniseries proved – is essentially unfilmable.
Insidious 4 and Saw Legacy
Release date: October 20 and 27
If you found yourself thinking “Hey, I’d really love yet another Insidious film, or the return of the very long in the tooth Saw franchise”, then October is for you. I’m actually okay with a fourth Insidious film, but Jigsaw should stay dead and buried. We can do better than this, Hollywood.
To Be Announced
Naturally, with it being so early in the year, there are a number of films slated for 2017 without a firm release date. Here’s the best of the bunch:
Cult of Chucky
World War Z 2
Jeepers Creepers 3
Hellraiser: Judgment
Suspiria
Will we see all of these this year? Maybe, maybe not. I’m guessing we definitely will not see a new entry in the reboots of Halloween and Friday the 13th. I’m also betting that we’ll hear The Strangers 2 is happening, only to see it dissolve into nothingness yet again.
So, with all of that in mind – what are you guys looking forward to over the next 12 months?