When it comes to horror, people have different tastes. Some just want a spooky experience that’ll make them jump a few times. Others want a film that buries into their skin and reappears in the corner of their eye at 2am in the morning.
10. Child’s Play
The first of four horror remakes on this list, we don’t know much about this revived Chucky. The things we do know come from this admittedly creepy children’s toy advertisement boasting about how this new ‘Buddi’ comes with sensor cameras, WiFi compatibility, cloud-backed voice recognition, and “can comprehend inflection, tonality and subtle variations in the human voice.”
Not yet dated in NZ – releases June 21 in USA.
9. Zombieland 2
After making absolute bank with Venom, director Ruben Fleischer returns to the fan-favourite zom-com along with Woody Harrelson, Jesse Eisenberg, Emma Stone, Abigal Breslin and the original writers. Fingers crossed for another Bill Murray cameo.
In cinemas October 10.
8. Escape Room
Another one in the “dumb fun” sub-category, this survival horror takes the popularity of puzzling escape rooms and goes full Cube on it. It might not sound original, and it’s not. In fact, there’s already an escape room horror called Escape Room which looks impressively rubbish. What sets this new one apart? We’re keen to find out.
In cinemas March 14.
7. Happy Death Day 2U
Blumhouse’s humorous horror hit returns with nearly the exact same premise but with even fewer f*cks to give. From what we’ve seen in the first trailer, that seems to be a good thing as Jessica Rothe’s character from the first appears more frustrated than frightened this time around. It looks fun in the way Edge of Tomorrow was, but she’s not the only victim here, so expect some different jumps and tense moments from those who don’t have the ability to rewind time.
In cinemas February 14.
More info on Happy Death Day 2U
6. Brightburn
A baby alien crashlands on Earth and into the arms of caring rural parents who want to raise him right. Sound familiar? It absolutely is, until that baby turns into a killer kid as this bloody good trailer depicts.
In cinemas May 23.
5. Grudge
This will be the first time someone else has remade Takashi Shimizu’s Ju-On: The Grudge. No, the Sarah Michelle Gellar one doesn’t count since Shimizu did that remake himself. Director Nicolas Pesce has his hands all over this 2019 re-remake. Anyone who saw his debut feature The Eyes of My Mother will know why Grudge is worth keeping an eye on.
In cinemas August 8.
4. Pet Sematary
Starring Jason Clarke, John Lithgow, and the world’s most pissed-off cat, this new Stephen King adaptation follows hot of the heels of It, 1922, and Gerald’s Game. It follows a father whose deceased son comes back to life thanks to an ancient burial ground. This is, by no means, a good thing.
In cinemas April 4.
3. It: Chapter 2
James McAvoy, Jessica Chastain and Bill Hader star in the sequel to 2017’s hit horror, set 27 years after the events of the first film. Director Andy Muschietti returns, along with Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise.
In cinemas September 5.
2. High Life
Robert Pattinson stars in Claire Denis’ tale of criminals sent into deep space, and towards a black hole—while being sexually experimented on by scientists. Juliette Binoche, Mia Goth, and André Benjamin co-star. We’ve already heard more details about this than we’d have liked, so reckon you should just stick to this basic info until you get the chance to see it…
Not yet dated in NZ – premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival but has also yet to be dated for general release.
1. Us
Oscar-winning filmmaker Jordan Peele follows his debut feature Get Out with this social horror-thriller. Two parents (Lupita Nyong’o and Winston Duke) take their kids to their beach house to unwind with friends (Elisabeth Moss), but relaxation turns to tension and chaos with the arrival of shocking strangers at nightfall. Tim Heidecker co-stars, which feels like a great fit for Peele’s tone.
In cinemas March 14.
