Vengeful imaginary friends, ruthless aliens, nefarious swimming pools, and movies that are so mysterious we don't even know what the heck they're about yet. Get ready to mark your creepy calendars in 2024.
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00:00 Vengeful imaginary friends, ruthless aliens, nefarious swimming pools, and movies that
00:05 are so mysterious we don't even know what the heck they're about yet. Get ready to mark
00:09 your creepy calendars in 2024.
00:12 No running, no diving, no lifeguard on duty, no swimming after dark, reads the tagline
00:17 for the upcoming film Night Swim. A co-production between Universal, Atomic Monster, and Blumhouse,
00:23 Night Swim will serve as 2024's first horror release. Based on a short film by returning
00:28 director Bryce McGuire and co-writer Rod Blackhurst, the film stars Wyatt Russell and recent Oscar
00:33 nominee Cary Condon.
00:34 There's not much information out there about the plot, but we do know that it's about a
00:38 backyard swimming pool in a mysterious horror, and it releases on January 5th. Producers
00:43 James Wan and Jason Blum are no strangers to horror hits, so we have high hopes for
00:47 this one.
00:48 The last time Blumhouse and Universal released a horror film was at the beginning of 2023
00:52 when Megan grossed $179 million at the international box office. Here's to another viral moment.
00:59 Blumhouse's second horror offering comes in February of 2024, Jeff Wadlow's Imaginary,
01:04 with Lionsgate signing on as distributor. The plot follows a woman who returns to the
01:08 house she grew up in and encounters her imaginary friend, who is very upset at being left behind.
01:13 Wadlow has worked with Blumhouse before, on Truth or Dare in 2018 and Fantasy Island in
01:17 2020.
01:18 "If I had a fantasy and I got to go to Fantasy Island, it would probably be to make this
01:22 movie because making this movie was a dream come true."
01:25 He also directed the superhero sequel Kick-Ass 2. There are no other plot details available
01:30 at this time, but we can confirm the shoot took place in New Orleans in the spring of
01:34 2023. We can also assume that Betty Buckley, the film's announced star, plays the protagonist.
01:39 The idea of a childhood apparition being real is not a new story. The Boogeyman did it most
01:43 recently, but this feels like a new take on the formula. Prepare to scare your inner child
01:48 this winter.
01:49 A Quiet Place was the biggest horror film of 2018, outgrossing the indie hit Hereditary
01:54 and legacy sequel Halloween. A Quiet Place Part II proved almost as successful, and the
01:59 franchise doesn't stop there.
02:01 "This is you playing your own monster in your movie."
02:07 "Yeah, that's embarrassing."
02:10 Writer-director John Krasinski announced a spinoff film, A Quiet Place Day One, which
02:14 takes place in the same universe but depicts different characters. Directed by Michael
02:18 Cernovsky, the film goes back to the very beginning of the alien invasion and unfolds
02:22 in New York City. Black Panther's Lupita Nyong'o plays the lead character, and the rest of
02:27 the cast includes Stranger Things' Joseph Quinn, Hereditary's Alex Wolfe, Guardians
02:31 of the Galaxy's Jumon Hunsu, and American Horror Story's Denise O'Hare. The film is
02:36 due to arrive on March 8, 2024.
02:38 Day One isn't the last we'll see from Krasinski's series, as A Quiet Place Part III will arrive
02:43 in 2025.
02:45 Universal Studios is probably the most beloved creator of classic horror films, and it looks
02:49 like we'll be getting a throwback to their heyday next year. Universal has announced
02:53 a currently untitled monster movie, presumably based on one of their famous creatures, like
02:57 Dracula or Frankenstein. It's produced by the filmmaking collective Radio Silence, the
03:02 team behind Ready or Not and Scream. It will be directed by Matt Battinelli-Olpin and Tyler
03:06 Gillette. We don't know anything about the plot yet, but the cast list looks impressive.
03:10 The film stars Melissa Barrera, Alicia Weir, Dan Stevens, Kevin Durant, Catherine Newton,
03:15 Will Catlett, and Giancarlo Esposito.
03:18 There has been speculation about the monster in question, of course. The project's previous
03:21 title? Dracula's Daughter, the name of Universal's famous 1936 film. But perhaps the initial
03:26 title is just a red herring and we're being led astray. We'll find out for sure on April
03:31 19th.
03:32 Ishana Knight-Shamalan, M. Night Shamalan's daughter, will get a chance to show everyone
03:36 what she's made of with her first film, The Watchers. Dakota Fanning plays Mina, an artist
03:40 who finds herself lost in a vast forest in Ireland, stalked by mysterious creatures.
03:45 Based on A.M. Shine's horror novel of the same name, Shamalan Sr. is a producer on the
03:50 movie under the Blinding Edge Pictures and Inimitable Pictures banners. The film remains
03:54 in production thanks to a SAG Afterwaver amid the strike. New Line Cinema jumped on board
03:59 as a distributor. We'll see how it turns out on June 7th, 2024.
04:03 Based on Nicholas Adams' 1992 novel Horoscope, this 2024 movie follows a group of college
04:09 friends who get a horoscope reading and then start dying in ways that seem connected to
04:13 their celestial fates. It sounds a little like Final Destination with an astrological
04:17 twist. The cast includes Spider-Man's Jacob Batalon, Alana Bowden, Aiden Bradley, Avantika,
04:23 Humberly Gonzalez, Wolfgang Novogratz, Larson Thompson, and Owen Furet.
04:27 Though this is Anna Hallberg and Spencer Coen's first feature, they previously directed a
04:31 horror short called Blink that premiered at South by Southwest in 2022. Hallberg and Coen
04:37 were hired to direct Horoscope in part because of this earlier short. Horoscope premieres
04:41 June 28th, 2024.
04:44 Following his daughter's feature film debut, M. Night Shyamalan returns on August 2nd with
04:48 his follow-up to 2023's Knock at the Cabin. Earlier in the year, Shyamalan signed a multi-year
04:53 first look deal with Warner Bros., and Trap is the first product of that deal.
04:57 In classic Shyamalan style, details about the film are limited. Though the director
05:01 describes it as a psychological thriller set at a concert. Shyamalan famously hates any
05:06 spoilers when it comes to his films, but he told NME,
05:09 "It's very unusual and very new compared to what I've been trying to do recently, but
05:13 I'm feeling very excited about the story. So much so that I can't wait to tell it to
05:17 you guys."
05:19 One of 2022's most shocking horror movies, the Danish film Speak No Evil premiered in
05:23 the U.S. on Shudder. In typical Hollywood form, the film is getting an American remake
05:27 just two years after the original. The original movie centers on two families, one Danish,
05:32 one Dutch, who become friends while on vacation. When the Dutch family invites the Danish family
05:36 to their house for the weekend, chaos ensues. Misunderstandings and culture clashes pile
05:41 up and things come to a horrific end. The plot of the remake appears similar to the original,
05:46 though it's likely the social context will shift considering the new setting.
05:49 The Danish film hinges on the longstanding rivalry between the Danish and the Dutch,
05:53 a specific history that may be hard to replicate.
05:55 "This is not about doing things differently. It's not about that. No, this is about doing
06:00 what is right."
06:01 Perhaps a great cast will save the film from forgettable remake territory. The remake stars
06:05 James McAvoy, Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNary, and young actor Alex West Leffler. James Watkins,
06:11 best known for Eden Lake and the Woman in Black, directed and co-wrote the movie, which
06:15 premieres August 9, 2024.
06:18 Alien remains one of the most beloved horror/sci-fi franchises of all time, and any addition to
06:23 the series will usually produce excitement and speculation. Fans looking for more may
06:27 have their prayers answered in the summer of 2024 with Alien Romulus — or at least
06:31 that's what it's currently being called.
06:33 Plot details are being kept under wraps, but 20th Century Studios told Variety,
06:37 "Alien Romulus focuses on a group of young people on a distant world who find themselves
06:42 in a confrontation with the most terrifying life-form in the universe."
06:46 Fede Alvarez, known for his films Evil Dead and Don't Breathe, helms the project. 20th
06:50 Century Studios' Steve Asbell told The Hollywood Reporter the studio took on the
06:54 project based on the strength of Alvarez's pitch. The cast includes Kaylee Spaney, David
06:59 Johnson, Archie Renaud, Isabella Merced, Spike Fern, and Aileen Wu.
07:03 No further details have emerged from the shoot, apart from Alvarez's cheeky photo in celebration
07:08 of Alien Day. See what it's all about on August 16, 2024.
07:13 Legacy sequels have become more common lately as studios continue to capitalize on nostalgia.
07:17 First up, a Beetlejuice sequel, which arrives more than 35 years after the original. The
07:22 1988 film follows a family who moves into a home haunted by its previous residents.
07:27 When a shifty spirit gets involved, things get wacky. Catherine O'Hara, Winona Ryder,
07:31 and Michael Keaton reprise their roles in the sequel alongside some new faces. In a
07:35 brilliant casting move, Jenna Ortega portrays Ryder's daughter. Joining Ortega are Willem
07:40 Dafoe, Justin Theroux, and Monica Bellucci, who plays Beetlejuice's wife.
07:44 The film is set for a September 6th release, though strikes could delay this date. Director
07:49 Tim Burton told The Independent that filming halted with just two days left in the shoot,
07:53 but that he hopes to resume as soon as they can. He said of filming,
07:56 "I really enjoyed it. I tried to strip everything and go back to the basics of working with
08:00 good people and actors and puppets. It was kind of like going back to why I liked making
08:04 movies."
08:05 "Well, I'm back. I feel real good about myself, you know what I mean? So, we'll not further
08:12 delay."
08:13 Daniel Peele is the horror director of the moment, and his next film will no question
08:16 be one of the year's most discussed movies, even though we know basically nothing about
08:20 it apart from its Christmas release date. This secrecy seems par for the course for
08:24 Peele, who always keeps the details of his films hidden until the last minute. Nope,
08:29 was still a total mystery when Kiki Palmer and Daniel Kaluuya were cast in the film.
08:33 This project falls under Universal's five-year deal with Peele's production company, Monkey
08:37 Paw. Three films into it, Peele has been enormously successful. His first film, Get
08:42 Out, received four Oscar nominations, which is an unusual feat for a horror movie, and
08:46 grossed $255 million at the worldwide box office. Us and Nope were both critical and
08:51 commercial successes as well, and we have no doubt fans will flock to the theater to
08:55 see this next film, regardless of the plot.
08:59 The '80s were a great decade for horror, filled with all things creepy, cheesy, gross, and
09:04 hilarious, and today, the decade is a popular source for modern horror remakes. The original
09:08 Witch Board came out in 1986 and follows a college student who becomes possessed by a
09:12 forgotten Ouija board. The remake, which stars Madison Eisemann, Aaron Dominguez, Antonia
09:17 Duplatt, Charlie Tahan, and Jamie Campbell Bower, also centers on a Ouija board of sorts.
09:22 The film is set in New Orleans and took place in the spring and summer of 2023. Due to its
09:27 independent status, SAG-AFTRA granted the film a waiver to keep the cameras rolling.
09:31 Eismann plays Emily, a recovering addict who opens a cafe along with her fiancé Christian
09:36 and her group of friends. Emily comes across an old pendulum board that sends her into
09:40 a dark spiral. They enlist the help of an occult expert, not knowing they are now connected
09:44 to the board and a powerful group of witches who may put Emily and her friends in harm's
09:48 way.
09:49 Witch Board director Chuck Russell knows all about sequels. Russell also directed A Nightmare
09:53 on Elm Street 3, Dream Warriors, the 1988 remake The Blob, though most moviegoers remember
09:59 him best for The Mask.
10:00 [music]