Halloween 2014 recovery is still in effect, but as we move into the tail-end of the year, it’s time to look at the slate of horror movies that arrived this week and are heading our way. You’ll notice there is only one wide theatrical release. The rest are going out to select theaters and/or VOD and DVD. The first couple of months of 2015 more than make up for the absence of big theatrical fare (we’ll be previewing those releases in a guide closer to the end of this year). As usual, you’ll find a synopsis accompanying each title and a review link if it applies.
Rest of 2014 Movie Guide
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Out Now
JESSABELLE
Theatrical & VOD
After losing her fiancé in a horrific accident, Jessabelle is forced to recuperate at her father’s ruined Louisiana mansion, where she discovers a strange gift from her long-dead mother, and a terrifying presence determined to destroy her.
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Out Now
HANGAR 10
Limited Theater & VOD
33 years after the infamous Rendlesham Forest UFO incident, three metal detector enthusiasts hunting for Saxon gold in the same region capture incredible footage of UFOs whilst filming their expedition. As night falls – and with their navigation equipment failing – the trio finds themselves facing a terrifying encounter with an unforgiving alien presence.
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Out Now
BILLY CLUB
DVD & VOD
Fifteen years after a gruesome triple homicide devastated their Little League baseball team, four friends reunite to commemorate their dead coach and fallen teammates.A mystery unfolds as the secrets from their past return to haunt them and a vengeful killer, hidden by an antique umpire’s mask, returns to even the score. Billy Club, you’ll never run home faster!
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November 11th
THE HOUSE AT THE END OF TIME
DVD
Thirty years ago, young mother Dulce was accused of murdering her husband and two children in their home. Despite her pleas that a malevolent force in the house was responsible for the killings, Dulce was sentenced to the maximum penalty of imprisonment.Now, as part of her sentence, Dulce is sent back to her old home and the scene of the crime under house arrest, where she’s forced to confront the horrifying memory of what happened there. But this time around she’s determined to unravel the mystery that has haunted her so for long, and with the help of a local priest, give both her loved ones and her own spirits their much-needed peace.
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November 11th
THE BUTCHERS
DVD
Directed by Steven Paul Judd, the film concerns a busload of strangers who become stranded in a storm and have no choice but to take shelter in a museum dedicated to serial killers.But hell literally breaks loose when supernatural forces resurrect John Wayne Gacy, Ed Gein, Jeffrey Dahmer, the Zodiac Killer and Jack the Ripper.
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November 11th
FANTASM
DVD
In an effort to understand his own fascination with the genre, horror fanatic Kyle Kuchta embarked on a journey to six horror conventions throughout the united states. Through interviews with actors, directors, horror experts and fellow fans at conventions, Kyle discovered that it’s not only the love of the genre that makes these gatherings so special, but it’s the sense of community.
Fantasm features insight from such notable names as Tom Atkins (Escape from New York), Heather Langenkamp (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Lloyd Kaufman (The Toxic Avenger), Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2), Richard Johnson (The Haunting) and more, alongside the dedicate fans who attend horror conventions.
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November 14th
WOLVES
Limted Theatrical (Available Now on VOD)
In the film, popular high school student Cayden Richards wakes from a horrific nightmare, only to realize that he’s living it… He is changing into something vicious, unpredictable and wild. Forced to hit the road after the brutal murder of his parents, Cayden tries to hunt down the truth of what he is. In the remote, mountain town of Lupine Ridge, he discovers others like him — Including the beautiful Angelina, a young woman caught between two ancient clans of “wolves”. And when he finally discovers the shocking truth behind his ancestry, Cayden realizes there is only one way to save the woman he loves… a grisly fight to the death against forces more savage than he could have ever imagined.
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November 14th
STARRY EYES
Limited Theatrical & VOD
Starry Eyes tells the story of Sarah Walker, a determined and desperate actor who would do anything to land her first big role. Unfortunately, this leaves her prey to a satanic cult who has been operating as Hollywood’s gatekeepers since the Golden Age. They have the power to make her a star, but it comes at a terrible price. What follows is an occult tale of paranoia and possession that explores themes of transformation, body horror and a woman going through a psychotic breakdown.
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November 21st
A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT
Limited Theatrical
Strange things are afoot in Bad City. The Iranian ghost town, home to prostitutes, junkies, pimps and other sordid souls, is a bastion of depravity and hopelessness where a lonely vampire stalks its most unsavory inhabitants.
Cinema’s first Iranian vampire western, Ana Lily Amirpour’s debut feature basks in the sheer pleasure of pulp. A joyful mash-up of genre, archetype, and iconography, its prolific influences span spaghetti westerns, graphic novels, horror films, and the Iranian New Wave. Amped by a mix of Iranian rock, techno, and Morricone-inspired riffs, its airy, anamorphic, black-and-white aesthetic and artfully drawn-out scenes combine the simmering tension of Sergio Leone with the weird surrealism of David Lynch.
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November 21st
LATE PHASES
Limited Theatrical & VOD
Crescent Bay is not the best place to live out one’s golden years. Once an idyllic retirement community, the secluded neighborhood has been beset by mysterious and deadly attacks. When grizzled war veteran Ambrose McKinley (Nick Damici) moves in, the residents immediately take offense to his abrasive personality. But his take-no-prisoners attitude is just what he needs to survive as it becomes clear that the increasingly violent and patterned attacks are being caused by beasts that are neither animal nor man, and the tight-knit community of Crescent Bay is harboring something truly sinister in its midst…
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November 25th
PHOBIA
DVD
Jonathan MacKinlay is a man trapped inside his home by his own mind. Suffering from agoraphobia, caused by a car accident that took his wife’s life; his existence has been reduced to a monotonous repetition of identical days.As his dread and self-loathing escalate, an onslaught of gruesome visions and twisted, waking nightmares begins to gnaw away at his last shred of sanity. Are these ghastly visions imaginary, private demons…or is he being victimized by a very real entity of infinite terror and unspeakable evil?
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November 25th
FEED THE GODS
VOD
After the death of their foster mother, brothers Will and Kris inherit a box that offers clues about their long-lost parents.Their quest leads them to the creepy town of Tendale that is home to a mythical Bigfoot-like creature with “a taste for tourists.” Soon the town’s insidious past emerges and the boys find exactly what they’re looking for…
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November 28th
THE BABADOOK
Limited Theatrical & VOD
Six years after the death of her husband, Amelia struggles to discipline her out of control 6-year-old Samuel – a son she finds difficult to love. Samuel’s dreams are plagued by a monster he believes is coming to kill tem both. When a disturbing storybook called “The Babadook” turns up at their house, Samuel is convinced that the Babdook is the creature he’s been dreaming about. And when Amelia begins to see glimpses of the creature herself, it slowly dawns on her that the thing Samuel has been warning her about may well be real.
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December 2nd
KINGDOM COME
DVD & VOD
A group of strangers wake up disoriented and soon find themselves being stalked by a supernatural force with sinister intentions. As they begin to question the coincidences that link their pasts, they soon realize that the decisions they make will seal their fates forever.
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December 5th
THE PYRAMID
Wide Theatrical Release
In The Pyramid, the ancient wonders of the world have long cursed explorers who’ve dared to uncover their secrets. But a team of U.S. archaeologists gets more than they bargained for when they discover a lost pyramid unlike any other in the Egyptian desert. As they unlock the horrific secrets buried within, they realize they aren’t just trapped, they are being hunted.
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December 5th
POKER NIGHT
Limited Theatrical & VOD
In this twisted thriller, a young detective is caught in a sadistic game of cat-and-mouse when he is kidnapped and tormented by a masked serial killer. In order to survive, the rookie must use the wisdom imparted to him by senior detectives on their regular poker night.
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December 9th
YOU CAN'T KILL STEPHEN KING
DVD
One summer, a group of friends make a clueless and ill-fated decision to visit the lake where horror author Stephen King lives. Upon arrival, they are greeted by unfriendly townspeople who hate noise and tom-foolery almost as much as they hate uninvited guests and questions about their most famous resident.
As dead bodies begin to mount, one thing becomes clear: the friends must piece together the clues and save themselves before their own Stephen King nightmare is written.
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December 9th
DAY OF THE MUMMY
DVD
Welcome to Egypt, land of the Pharaohs. A place steeped in history and legend; Gods and spiritual guides; untold wealth – and the bone-cracking, blood-spilling guardians of its riches. Jack Wells has arrived in Egypt in search of the famous diamond known as The Codex Stone. His journey leads him to the tomb of the cursed King Neferu, cursed not by name but by nature. With his centuries-old slumber disturbed by timeless human greed, the King rises from the dead with a blood-lust that cannot be quenched and a raging fury that will shred flesh from bone, bringing terrible and tormented death to all who dare witness the Day of the Mummy.
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December 23rd
SANATORIUM
DVD
On New Year’s Eve in 1955, Richard Howell, a patient at the Hillcrest Sanatorium, went on a bloody, child-killing rampage, before he hanged himself.
Fifty-six years later, a team of ghost hunters – from the popular TV series “Ghost Trackers” – prepares to spend the night at the sanatorium.
They hope to capture paranormal activity for the entertainment of their show’s fans. Instead, they unleash a horrifying force of evil…hell-bent on their destruction.
