Movie fans often look forward to the summer movie season, as these months often see the release of some of the biggest blockbusters of the year, giving audiences a chance to celebrate time away from school or work with entertaining, while not always thought-provoking, action and comedy films. The last few weeks have become a dumping ground for films that, on paper, could have been huge hits, but get pushed to the end of the season because studios have lowered their expectations after seeing their competition.
While some movie fans dread the end of the summer, others begin to get excited, as Halloween is only months away, which sees the release of more high-quality horror movies.
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The fall movie season can mean two drastically different things for a movie studio. On the one hand, horror fans are clamoring to see horror movies on the big screen to get in the Halloween spirit, forcing the biggest names in the genre to compete for box office domination. On the other hand, releasing any horror film, no matter how poor the quality, will be more effective in the month of October than any other time of year.
The coming months have quite a few releases that we’re quite excited to see on screens both big and small, marking many notable returns from seminal horror franchises.
It – September 8
Possibly the most anticipated horror movie of the year, the latest adaptation of Stephen King’s novel It has already broken records and could possibly break a few more.
In the first 24 hours that the film’s trailer was available on YouTube, it earned more views in that time frame than any other trailer, scoring nearly 200 million views. Early box office projections have the film making $50 million in its opening weekend, which would make it the biggest opening weekend of a film in September.
With both the original novel and 1990 mini-series adaptation of that novel being beloved by many, fans have been weary about the upcoming adaptation, but with impressive footage having made its way online and early reviews being very positive, It could be a case of a film blowing a previous adaptation out of the water.
mother! – September 15
Compared to the other horror films coming out this fall, mother! is a more nontraditional installment in the genre, leaning far more into psychological horrors than monsters or murderers.
Little has been released about the details of the plot, other than a couple’s relationship is tested when a series of strangers begin to arrive at their home during an attempted vacation. As their ordeal unfolds, it becomes clear that the people arriving at the house aren’t quite “strangers” and have specific motivations behind their arrivals.
With the star-studded cast of Jennifer Lawrence, Javier Bardem, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Ed Harris, in addition to being directed by Darren Aronofsky, mother! looks to be unpredictable and unsettling.
Gerald’s Game – September 29
This year will go down as one of the most popular for Stephen King, with multiple movies and TV series being created from his works. The only one headed to Netflix is one of his most controversial stories, Gerald’s Game.
During a sexual encounter, Jessie (Carla Gugino) willingly allows herself to get handcuffed to a bed, only for her partner to undergo serious trauma. Restrained to a bed at a secluded lake house, Jessie is left alone with her thoughts and no rescue in sight, forcing her to confront her darkest fears.
Considering the film all takes place from the perspective of the main character, Gerald’s Game is one of the most difficult of King’s story to bring to life, which director Mike Flanagan happily confronted for the sake of this live-action adaptation.
Cult of Chucky – October 3
The Child’s Play franchise has undergone a variety of changes over the years, but those changes have all seemingly been effective, as the seventh film in the franchise will be hitting Blu-ray and VOD outlets in October.
Cult of Chucky is set to bring together many of the victims of the murderous doll’s crimes to connect with one another over the impact he’s had on their lives. Unfortunately, this also means Chucky can conveniently finish what he started over the decades as all of those who have defeated him have come together into one place.
The upcoming film was written/directed by Don Mancini, who has written each installment in the franchise, making the saga one of the most consistent of any horror franchise, regardless of whether it was released in theaters or has gone straight to video.
Leatherface – October 20
Another familiar franchise making a return this fall season is the one kicked off in 1974 with the horror masterpiece The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
The upcoming Leatherface intends to show the origins of the killer featured in Tobe Hooper’s tale of weary travelers who encounter a cannibalistic family in the heart of Texas, helmed by French filmmakers Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury.
Many might remember that a prequel to the franchise has already come out, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, but this was technically a prequel to the 2003 remake of the original film. Leatherface aims to stick closer to the original film’s gritty roots.
While the film will be hitting select theaters and VOD outlets on October 20, DirecTV subscribers will have exclusive access to the film beginning September 21.
Jigsaw – October 27
For seven straight years, from 2004 to 2010, horror fans could expect to see a new installment in the Saw franchise in theaters the last Friday before Halloween. With the 3D installment considered the final chapter, the franchise has been revived to bring audiences Jigsaw.
In the film, bodies have begun turning up all over the city with distinct characteristics that point towards a familiar killer: John Kramer. While the killer taking credit for Jigsaw murders has been dead for over a decade, has an apprentice stepped up to take his place or was his demise all part of an elaborate ruse?
One of the directors, Michael Spiereg, recently revealed to Entertainment Weekly, “It’s such a perfect Halloween scare-fest. It’s perhaps not quite as vicious and more fun, which is something we tried to inject into it. But it’s still full of good fun gore, that’s for sure. And, on top of that, it’s got a really great mystery, and there are very interesting twists. It’s Saw for 2017.”
