Movies
David Ellis’ Next: Vacation Fun Turns Deadly During ‘The Briar Lake Murders’
Earlier this morning we reported that David R. Ellis’ Shark Night 3D was going under the working title of The Briar Lake Murders. We were wrong (and deleted the article). It appears that The Briar Lake Murders is Ellis’ next feature film that’s early in the casting process. There is no shooting date scheduled as Ellis is finishing up Shark Night for Relativity Media (arriving in theaters this September). What we did learn is that Ellis will be working with cinematographer Daniel Pearl, who is known for his DP work on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2003, Friday the 13th and Warners forthcoming The Apparition. We typed out an early synopsis inside.
“A group of rude and insensitive city kids take a weekend vacation to Briar Lake, a picturesque town overlooking a beautiful lake, which to most outsiders would appear to be a peaceful small town. Having zero respect for anyone outside of their group, they are confronted by the hostile and eccentric residents. Following a bizarre experience in the town’s diner, they quickly retreat to the protection of their borrowed vacation lake house, where they plan to let loose and celebrate their weekend out of the city.
After an unexpected visit from the local police, the long weekend is cut short. Two of the locals have been brutally murdered, and this group of “outsiders” become the prime suspects. When the string of murders spins out of control, the group must come together to unravel Briar Lake’s sordid past and uncover the hidden secrets.
A vacation is always fun until you die!”
Movies
‘Abigail’ on Track for a Better Opening Weekend Than Universal’s Previous Two Vampire Attempts
In the wake of Leigh Whannell’s Invisible Man back in 2020, Universal has been struggling to achieve further box office success with their Universal Monsters brand. Even in the early days of the pandemic, Invisible Man scared up $144 million at the worldwide box office, while last year’s Universal Monsters: Dracula movies The Last Voyage of the Demeter and Renfield didn’t even approach that number when you COMBINE their individual box office hauls.
The horror-comedy Renfield came along first in April 2023, ending its run with just $26 million. The period piece Last Voyage of the Demeter ended its own run with a mere $21 million.
But Universal is trying again with their ballerina vampire movie Abigail this weekend, the latest bloodbath directed by the filmmakers known as Radio Silence (Ready or Not, Scream).
Unlike Demeter and Renfield, the early reviews for Abigail are incredibly strong, with our own Meagan Navarro calling the film “savagely inventive in terms of its vampiric gore,” ultimately “offering a thrill ride with sharp, pointy teeth.” Read her full review here.
That early buzz – coupled with some excellent trailers – should drive Abigail to moderate box office success, the film already scaring up $1 million in Thursday previews last night. Variety notes that Abigail is currently on track to enjoy a $12 million – $15 million opening weekend, which would smash Renfield ($8 million) and Demeter’s ($6 million) opening weekends.
Working to Abigail‘s advantage is the film’s reported $28 million production budget, making it a more affordable box office bet for Universal than the two aforementioned movies.
Stay tuned for more box office reporting in the coming days.
In Abigail, “After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.”
4 New Horror Movies Releasing This Week Including ‘Late Night with the Devil’ at Home
‘Ready or Not’: Radio Silence Filmmakers Tease the “Absolute Banger” of a Sequel That’s Taking Shape
‘Sting’ Review – Throwback Creature Feature Entertains With an Impressive Practical Monster
Looking for New Episodes of “Chucky” on Peacock? Here’s What Changed
“We Built Every Creature” – ‘Alien: Romulus’ Goes Heavy on the Old School Practical Effects!
You must be logged in to post a comment.