Most anticipated horror films of 2019? Here's my list!

Simon Pegg and Nick Frost return!

Mine is a mixed bag of big budget and indie horror, hope you are as excited about these as I am!

ANTLERS:

Director Scott Cooper (Hostiles, Crazy Heart) brings us this tale of a small-town Oregon teacher and her brother, the local sheriff, entwined with a young student harboring a dangerous secret with frightening consequences. Keri Russell stars. Early buzz has this one as a deep, atmospheric piece.

There was a crooked man who walked a crooked mile...

THE CROOKED MAN:

I know I know but the potential here is fiendishly good for yet another Conjuring spinoff. The Nun may have been lackluster but I predict this one will be creepily effective!

Jessica Rothe is BACK!

HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U:

Absolutely loved the original and the gal who made it great, Jessica Rothe is back! What's more this sequel picks up exactly where the last one ended. Same cast, same crew...I must see this one on the big screeen!

MOOSE JAWS:

Love him or hate him, Kevin Smith always brings something kooky, crazy or wild to talk about. TUSK was good in a weird, wacky way though off-putting to some. YOGA HOSERS started off with teen girls singing I'M THE MAN by Anthrax, and now we have the final film in Smith's Canadian horror trilogy, Moose Jaws which is described as JAWS (1975) but with a MOOSE! While I don't feel this will achieve greatness, I still can't wait to see what wicky wacky woo the man has in store for us this time. You know you want to see it to. Admit it!

US:

Jordan Peele hit horror gold last year with his meditative, though provoking take on bigotry mingled with terror in GET OUT. An impressive debut if not full realized, Peele with score big with his next effort about a couple on vacation who receive a very unwanted visitor. While the premise may seem shallow, trust Peele who has already proven his fortitude behind the camera. This guy is going to keep getting better, trust me!

How eerie of a setting is this?

Dafoe looks fantastic and has promised to never work with Lars Von Trier again!

THE LIGHTHOUSE: The Witch might have been one of the least understood horror films, that is by others than us who truly got it. Pure gothic horror through imagery and and a deep rooted timeless dread. It was a masterpiece to me and Robert Egger's next venture THE LIGHTHOUSE promises another slice of dark gothic madness and shot in 35mm black and white no less. Throw in William Dafoe and this will be pure horror gold, I can't wait!

The dead rise again with....Romero's son at the helm? Can you say, "giddy"?

RISE OF THE LIVING DEAD:

Set in the turbulent late sixties, the film tells the story of a brilliant scientist – Dr. Alan Cartwright – who strikes a deal with the military that will give him all the resources he needs to finalize his work in exchange for what he later learns is a price all mankind will have to pay.

I may be getting ahead of myself here but we HAVE been promised a 2019 release date though details are sketchy. All you need to know is...prequel to the original NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD and directed by George Romero's son. Nuff said!

Stephen King. Joe Hill. Netflix. Do you really need more than that?

IN THE TALL GRASS:

Brother and sister are driving through Kansas during their road trip. Suddenly, they hear calls for help coming. They stop to investigate and get lost in field of tall grass. Stephen King and Joe Hill adapt this tale from King's own novella and it's coming to Netflix. While I have been publicly condemning of many King adaptions I am still a huge King (the writer) fan and his recent forays on Netflix (1922, Gerald's Game) have been very well wrought. I say...bring it!

Psycho Sid has never looked more evil...

THREE FROM HELL:

Mmmm...not totally convinced on this one. Don't get me wrong, I get giddy as a weak-kneed soccer mom watching Aquaman thinking about this sequel to one of my favorite films of all time, all genres but...Damn man expectations are through the roof and not sure this can live up to the monumental hype. Look at it this way, there is no way...no way this film will eclipse the original, so will we be happy enough with a DECENT sequel? A lot of questions come to mind. Considering Zombie's recent (or overall) track record will this even be good or another Death House? Will Baby be less annoying than usual? Will an eighty year old Captain Spaulding be the least bit scary? And finally does a character named Mr. Baggy Britches command any kind of credibility? We will see, I hope for the best.

Simon and Nick? YESSSSS!!!!

SLAUGHTERHOUSE RULEZ:

I will close with one of my MOST anticipated films, the new horror comedy from the award winning team of Simon Pegg and Nick Frost. These guys know funny and know horror. This one is set at an exclusive boarding school where the hierarchy is about to be shaken up when a mysterious sinkhole appears in the nearby woods. Whatever! Think about their previous films...Shawn of the Dead and The World's End were entertaining and FUN! This promises to be more of the same.

HONORABLE MENTION:

IT 2, The Girl with no mouth, Sins, Conjuring 3, Laplace's Witch, Dead Ant

I hope you guys like my selections and I'd love to hear your thoughts! Below are my LEAST anticipated films, that promise to blow or at least disappoint:

Turning a blind eye to these:

CHILD'S PLAY looks and sounds ridiculous, PET SEMETARY does not have the feel of the classic at all, RABID sucked then and it will continue to suck (sorry Luca!), GRETEL AND HANSEL will be overwrought and artsy, just what we DON'T need in our horror, CRAWL may have the genius of Aja and Raimi but it will collapse under it's own weight, besides two KINGS of horror teaming up to do yet another Crocodile attack film? I don't know whether to laugh or pee my pants. GARDEN PARTY MASSACRE sounds great and looks like UNCORK'D's finest...ugh!!!

That's it my fiends, thanks for reading and a great horror New Year to you all!