It’s the most wonderful time of the year, well, at least for us horror film fans! Honestly, it doesn’t even matter if these horror films will be released this month or next month because we can most definitely enjoy watching horror movies at any time of the year. Since Halloween is just around the corner, we’ve decided to compile a list of horror movies that will be released by the end of 2014.
From horror film franchises to horror comedies to independent horror films, we’ve just the right amount of spooky treats for you:
1. Annabelle
- Release date: October 2, 2014
- Cast: Ward Horton, Annabelle Wallis, Alfre Woodard, Tony Amendola
“Annabelle”, the brainchild of James Wan’s “The Conjuring” is a spin-off film based on the origin story of Annabelle aka the demonic Raggedy Ann doll. The doll first made its appearance in “The Conjuring” but the origin story of the doll was never told in the film. However, since the doll became one of the main selling points of the film, the spin-off film aims to put its origin story in limelight.
Starring Ward Horton and Annabelle Wallis, the film is directed by John R. Leonetti (the cinematographer for “The Conjuring” ) and written by Gary Dauberman. “The Conjuring” director James Wan and Peter Safran were involved in the film production too. The film was released around the same time as Dracula Untold.
*P.S: Hit the link for our honest movie review.
- Release date: October 9, 2014
- Cast: Channing Tatum, Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna, Christina Applegate
No, it’s not a creepy horror film but “The Book of Life” could be an animated film worth watching as the story is inspired by the Mexican “Day of Dead” holiday. Much like Halloween itself, the “Day of Dead” is an annually celebrated festival dedicated to remembering the dead in a positive way.
With a unique visual style, the animated film is about Manolo, a young man who is in love with the beautiful Maria but goes on a journey in 2 fantastical worlds after he dies unexpectedly. Through the journey, he must overcome his greatest fear to return to the human world for Maria. Directed by Jorge Gutierrez and produced by Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth), the romantic-comedy film is voice acted by Diego Luna, Zoe Saldana, Channing Tatum, Ice Cube, Ron Perlman, Christina Applegate, Danny Trejo, Cheech Marin, Kate del Castillo, and Eugenio Derbez.
3. The Room
- Release date: October 16, 2014
- Cast: Punjapong Kongkanoi, Jaded Ueachimplee, Kawee Tanjararuk, Suhalit Siamwala, Sawika Chaidej, Atila Gunti, Taweelit Jullasup, Osar Wang
“The Room” is the latest Thai horror film to hit Malaysian cinemas after the screening of “The Swimmers” last month. The film may remind you of another Thai horror film, “3AM” as the film is divided into 3 different short stories; “Green Sonata”, “Honeymoon Suite” and “17.00”.
“Green Sonata” is about a nobleman who loses his wife and begins to experience paranormal events after having an affair with a prostitute in a brothel. As for “Honeymoon Suite”, the story is about Ple, a broken-hearted girl who accepted a special offer to stay in the Honeymoon Suite only to realise that the room is “special” for a reason. Just like “Honeymoon Suite”,”17.00″ is about a story of a mafia and his follower, who were forced to stay in the last room in the hotel, but find it very unsettling to stay in the room after experiencing strange paranormal events. The stories are completely unrelated and the locations of all the stories are set in 3 different rooms.
4. Ouija
- Release date: October 23, 2014
- Cast: Daren Kagasoff, Douglas Smith, Olivia Cooke, Ana Coto, Bianca A. Santos, Erin Moriarty, and Vivis Colombetti
If there is one board game you shouldn’t toy with, that would be ouija board. It’s a gateway to troubles and you’d not want to mess around with the spirits or even worse, the demons. “Ouija” is about a group of teenage friends who are forced to face their worst nightmares after accidentally awakening the dark powers of an ancient spirit board in a foolish attempt to summon the spirit of their lost friend.
It may reminds you of the late Robin William‘s film “Jumanji” but it’s clear that both films are different when they’ve awakened the evil spirits instead of animals. In fact, everyone was under the impression that the game was harmless but the ouija board is believed to be used for demonic possession as well. Directed by Stiles White, the film is produced by the same people who produced “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”, “Paranormal Activity”, and the “Insidious” series.
5. Horns
- Release date: 13 Nov 2014
- Cast: Daniel Radcliffe, Juno Temple, Heather Graham
No longer “the boy who lived“, Daniel Radcliffe is now the boy who has been cursed with horns, as seen in his latest film “Horns”. Based on Joe Hill’s dark fantasy novel of the same name, “Horns” is an American-Canadian dark fantasy thriller film about Ig Perrish, a young man who was accused of the rape and murder of his girlfriend after strange horns started growing out of his temples. Thus, Perrish uses his newly discovered paranormal abilities to lure the deepest secrets from anyone he encounters and eventually uncovers the real killer.
Directed by French film director Alexander Aja (of “Haute Tension and “The Hills Have Eyes” fame), the film received largely positive response after its world premiere at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). We won’t spoil it for you but we must say, Radcliffe looks pretty darn scary in his post-transformation look. On top of that, he had to change his accent from British accent to American accent just to portray his character in the film.
6. Jessabelle
- Release Date: Nov 6, 2014 (not available in Malaysian cinemas)
- Cast: Sarah Snook, Mark Webber, Joelle Carter, David Andrews, Amber Stevens
- Trailer
It looks like any name with “-belle” in it could really be a trend as the upcoming horror film “Jessabelle” is set to haunt your dreams soon! Rest assured though, no creepy-looking doll will be featured in the film as “Jessabelle” is about Jessie, a grief-stricken woman who feels a terrifying presence in her father’s run down Louisiana mansion after she found a gift from her late mother.
Directed by Kevin Greutert, the film is another brainchild from the producers of “Paranormal Activity” and “Insidious”. It was originally slated for release on January 10, 2014 but the release was pushed back to August 29, 2014. The release was once again pushed back to November 7, 2014 with a limited release and a video-on-demand release.
*P.S: By adding “JESSABELLE1988” to your Snapchat, you will get exclusive sneak peeks, messages from filmmakers, and opportunities surrounding the film’s release.
7. The Pyramid
- Release date: December 4, 2014
- Cast: Ashley Hinshaw, Denis O’Hare, James Buckley, Daniel Amerman
- Trailer
Can’t get enough of zombie films like “World War Z” or “Resident Evil”? Well, why not try watching other films based on the undead creatures i.e. mummies, as well? Although mummies will not come alive (or will they?), mummies have always been portrayed as a cursed undead creature in horror genres. In fact, the ancient Egyptian mummies are always discovered or brought back to life by the archaeologists in films.
Using the same concept, “The Pyramid” follows the story of a team of archaeologists who become trapped in a newly discovered pyramid that was buried deep in the Egptian desert. To make things worse, the archaeologists realised that they have become trapped with some unwanted guests in the pyramid. Will they all make it out alive? We don’t know yet but we will find out when it hits cinemas this December.
8. The Babadook
The Babadook Official Movie Trailer 2014 from Kristina Ceyton on Vimeo.
- Release date: October 24, 2014 in UK (not available in Malaysian cinemas)
- Cast: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall
“The Babadook” is perhaps one of the most interesting horror films with refreshing plot as the film throws away all the recent horror cliches; no demon possessions whatsoever. “The Babadook” follows the story of Amelia, a single mother who is battling with her son’s fear of the bogeyman that haunts his dreams. When a disturbing storybook called “Mister Babadook” mysteriously arrives at their house, Amelia begins to realise that there’s a sinister presence all around her.
The film is a feature directorial debut from Jennifer Kent, who has also penned the script for the film. The film was shown at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival earlier in January and it has since received a lot of positive reviews. Rather than just putting jump scares in the film, “The Babadook” also has its focus on the relationship between the mother and the son.
Now, we know our list of horror films to watch in 2015 came a little prematurely that you may think that we haven’t compiled enough horror films in the list. Thus, we have now added some other horror films into the list and let’s just hope that there’ll be more to come. Check out the list below:
- Scouts vs Zombies – February 20, 2015
- The Vatican Tape – February 26, 2015
- Paranormal Activity 5- March 13, 2015.
- Friday the 13th (Remake) – November 13, 2015
- Resident Evil: The Final Chapter – Estimated 2015
Do let us know if there’s a horror film that will be released soon and we will gladly put them into the list! 🙂
