Editorials
21 Horror Movies We Can’t Wait to See in 2021
Let’s try this again, shall we? Last year teased the potential for another great year for horror, with a slew of highly anticipated theatrical releases. All of that derailed quickly only a quarter into 2020, thanks to a pandemic we’re still not through yet. That means that while many of those anticipated titles got bumped to 2021, the release schedule remains precarious.
The good news is that the industry is adjusting; many of the titles once designated as theatrical releases will now receive a PVOD release either simultaneously or a few short weeks after they arrive in theaters. Warner Bros., for example, announced that their 2021 titles would be available on HBO Max on the same day as the theatrical release. In other words, dates may shift but not quite as drastically as last year. Knock on wood. And as 2020 proved, the indie and festival slate never fails to deliver genre surprises throughout the year.
We’re excited to check out these 21 horror titles in 2021, but perhaps even more excited knowing that it’s only the beginning of what’s in store.
Psycho Goreman – January 22
After unearthing a gem that controls an evil monster looking to destroy the universe, a young girl and her brother use it to make him do their bidding. With writer/director Steven Kostanski (The Void, Leprechaun Returns) behind it, you know Psycho Goreman will emphasize that gore.
The Vigil – February 26
Desperate for income, Yakov reluctantly accepts an offer from his former rabbi and confidante to take on the responsibility of an overnight “shomer,” fulfilling the Jewish practice of watching over the body of a deceased community member. Shortly after arriving at the recently departed’s dilapidated house to sit the vigil, Yakov begins to realize that something is very, very wrong. This one’s a supernatural chiller rooted in Jewish lore and demonology.
Come True – March 12
A teenage runaway takes part in a sleep study, so she has a place to stay. Instead, she finds herself on a terrifying and nightmarish journey into the dark depths of her mind. Come True is from writer/director Anthony Scott Burns, the mind behind the chilling “Father’s Day” segment in Holidays.
A Quiet Place Part II – April 23
Following the first film’s events, the Abbott family is forced to venture beyond the home they’d made for themselves. They realize that the creatures that hunt by sound are not the only threats that lurk beyond the sand path…
Last Night in Soho – April 23
A psychological horror film directed by Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead). Anya Taylor-Joy stars as a fashion-obsessed girl who finds a way to travel back to the 1960s, where she encounters her idol, a charismatic aspiring singer. But 1960s London is not what it seems, and time seems to fall apart with shady consequences.
Godzilla vs. Kong – May 21
King Kong and Godzilla duke it out for dominance in this King of the Monsters heavyweight championship event. Look for Millie Bobby Brown and Kyle Chandler to reprise their roles from the previous Godzilla film, while Adam Wingard is directing.
Spiral: From the Book of Saw – May 21
Director Darren Lynn Bousman returns to helm the ninth film in the Saw franchise. Chris Rock stars as detective “Zeke” Banks, his rookie partner played by Max Minghella, and Samuel L. Jackson as police veteran Marcus Banks. The detectives find themselves investigating a mysterious killer leaving spiral symbols and targeting cops. Expect this entry to shake up the formula, at least a little bit.
The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It – June 4
The third entry in the main Conjuring series, and seventh in the expanded universe, this film takes on one of the most sensational cases from the Warrens’ files. One that marks the first time in U.S. history that a murder suspect would claim demonic possession as a defense. While Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return as the Warrens, Michael Chaves (The Curse of La Llorona) picks up the directorial reigns this time.
Ghostbusters: Afterlife – June 11
When a single mom and her two kids arrive in a small town, they begin to discover their connection to the original Ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind. Mckenna Grace and Finn Wolfhard star as the two grandkids but look for appearances by most of the original main cast as well.
The Forever Purge – July 9
The final entry in the franchise. Set after Election Year‘s events, The Forever Purge follows Adela (Ana de la Reguera) and Juan (Tenoch Huerta), who finds solace at a Texan ranch, having fled a drug cartel in Mexico. They’ll run into trouble when a group of outsiders decides to keep purging beyond the allotted time when people can break all laws.
The Green Knight – July 30
Dev Patel plays Sir Gawain, who encounters the mysterious Green Knight (Ralph Ineson), intent on striking a perilous bargain. Gawain contends with ghosts, giants, thieves, and schemers, which becomes a more profound journey to prove his worth. From visionary writer/director David Lowery, expect a heavily stylized take on the Arthurian legend, full of nudity and bloodshed.
Don’t Breathe 2 – August 13
Fede Alvarez co-wrote this surprise sequel but handed the directorial reigns over to Rodo Sayagues. Stephen Lang returns to play the Blind Man, who appears to be the protagonist this round. In Don’t Breathe 2, the Blind Man has been hiding out for years in an isolated cabin and has taken in and raised a young girl orphaned from a house fire. He’ll have to leave his haven to save her once she’s kidnapped.
Candyman – August 27
Directed by Nia DaCosta and produced by Jordan Peele, this spiritual sequel returns to Cabrini-Green. Visual artist Anthony (Abdul-Mateen) and his girlfriend Brianna (Teyonah Parris) move there and learn about the horrors of the slasher story firsthand.
Resident Evil – September 9
The Johannes Roberts (47 Meters Down, The Strangers: Prey at Night) helmed reboot inspired by Capcom’s popular games keeps mum on plot details as of now. Based on what we know so far, including the cast, we can expect it to pull from the first two games. We also know that Roberts hopes to capture the games’ visceral terror.
Halloween Kills – October 15
The war between Michael Myers and Laurie Strode rages on in this new installment. This time Tommy Doyle and Lindsey Wallace return as adults to rejoin the fray. Expect double the kills, according to director David Gordon Green.
Army of the Dead – TBD Summer, Netflix
Zack Snyder makes his long-awaited return to zombie action-horror. Following a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas, a group of mercenaries takes the ultimate gamble, venturing into the quarantine zone to pull off the greatest heist ever attempted. There’s no official date yet, but Netflix has announced Army of the Dead for summer 2021.
The Deep House – TBD
The latest by French filmmaking duo Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (Inside, Among the Living) takes on aquatic horror. While diving in a remote lake, a couple of YouTubers who specialize in underwater exploration videos discover a house submerged in deep waters. The divers find the house was home to vicious crimes and soon become trapped. Even worse, the pair realize they’re not alone. Currently marked as in post-production and slated for a 2021 release in native France, a worldwide release likely won’t be far behind.
Malignant – TBD
Plot details are nil, but who cares when it’s James Wan’s return to horror. Described as an original Giallo thriller, Wan directed off a screenplay by Akela Cooper and JT Petty with story by Wan and Ingrid Bisu. The MPAA gave it an R-rating for “Strong horror violence, gruesome images, and for language.” It may not have an official date yet, but it’s only a matter of time.
Saint Maud – TBD
A24 still hasn’t set a new date for their festival darling, though it’s been released in the U.K. Between that and the film’s initial Easter date, we’re hoping Saint Maud rises around Easter this year. It follows a pious nurse who becomes dangerously obsessed with saving the soul of her dying patient.
Slaxx – TBD, Shudder
During an overnight shift at a trendy clothing store, a possessed pair of jeans embarks on a killing spree. It’s up to new employee Libby to stop the bloody rampage. Yes, you read that correctly; this slasher-comedy features a killer pair of jeans. While that’s every bit as silly as it sounds, the deaths do get delightfully bloody.
There’s Someone Inside Your House – TBD, Netflix
An adaptation of the book by Stephanie Perkins, the story sees the graduating class at Osborne High being targeted by a masked assailant intent on exposing each victim’s darkest secret. Only a group of misfit outsiders can stop the killings, but they’ll have to do it before their dark secrets are exposed. This slasher is directed by Patrick Brice (Creep, Creep 2) and will arrive sometime this year on Netflix.
Horror was thriving so well in the 1980s that movies like Pen Densham’s The Kiss (1988) would understandably get lost in the shuffle, only to then gain their fans later on in life. Even still, this one Canadian-American curio has had a more challenging time than others, as far as contemporary reevaluations go, which is very likely due to the movie’s limited availability—at least as of this write-up.
However, the scarceness of The Kiss, while a bit annoying, makes it like catnip for ‘80s horror completists everywhere. Hopefully, a lot of them will walk away satisfied after watching this hidden gem.
Even though The Kiss was intended as the first of several horror collaborations between Astral Pictures and TriStar, as well as the first feature produced by Densham, Richard B. Lewis and John Watson’s Trilogy Entertainment Group, it ended up being the only one produced from that former union. Once the movie was released, TriStar’s distribution jitters—they opted for a regional rollout—did the $6-million flick no favors. TriStar’s cold feet toward horror releases have been well noted, but The Kiss still did a tad better than Night of the Creeps (1986), another genre outing that flopped due to its regional opening.
Shot in Montreal, but set in Albany, New York, The Kiss—which was still called The Host just a few months before its October premiere—concerns an average middle-class family and their forthcoming situation. The uncanny problem in store for them was, in fact, set in motion some years earlier. As that hot and dusty flashback to the Belgian Congo shows, a familial curse was set upon the two Dunbar sisters well before Meredith Salenger’s teenage character was born.
Meredith Salenger, Nicholas Kilbertus and Mimi Kuzyk in The Kiss
The Kiss, which was based on a story by co-writer Stephen Volk (Ghostwatch) and penned by both Volk and Tom Ropelewski, has the outward appearance of The Stepfather (1987). This movie, though, is anything but a gender-flipped retread of that classic domestic disturber. For starters, The Kiss is far less grounded in reality—that much is clear from its unsettling opening scene. There, a trusting girl (Priscilla Mouzakiotis) is the victim of her own deceptive aunt (Céline Lomez); the movie’s titular act, and the story’s first shock, becomes the means of transferring an ancient evil from one host to another.
In the present day, Salenger’s role of Amy Halloran, a religious schoolgirl, is dealt a harsh blow in life once her mother, Hilary Halloran née Dunbar (Pamela Collyer), suddenly dies in a freak accident. But rather than a complete stranger sweeping the Halloran widower (Nicholas Kilbertus) off his feet some months later, Joanna Pacula’s character is that chosen temptress. Here, Pacula plays the grown-up version of the afflicted girl last seen in the movie’s opener. Since Amy’s mother is insistent about there being no reunion between estranged sisters, and she even contemplates buying a gun shortly before her tragic demise, it’s presumable that Aunt Felice poses a threat to her family.
The Kiss isn’t a movie ever too concerned about its own predictability. The audience is indeed often one step ahead of the story here, but also keep in mind how every one of those steps is loud. Take, for instance, the death of Amy’s mother; the Halloran matriarch goes out in garish, gruesome fashion, as a supernaturally commandeered truck sends Collyer’s character through a store window first, then leaves her one leg short. The directorial enthusiasm truly comes out in horrific moments such as these.
The Kiss is always sure to revel in its characters’ ills and misfortunes. So if the plot doesn’t impress, then its lurid parts should. Amy’s mother’s exit scene was proof of an eager, first-time horror director proving his worth. Then, bestie Heather (Sabrina Boudot) survives to tell the tale of a bizarre escalator mishap that, despite showing relatively less gore, spikes viewers’ empathy meter. The wilder bits of this movie, however, commence with that inevitable hookup between Felice and Amy’s bewitched father; their kitchen coitus is paralleled by Amy’s feverish classroom terror. The outcome there is a disquieting cross-cut of sex magic and a young woman’s menstrual onset plus hallucinations.
Sabrina Boudot in The Kiss
From foam appliances to bladders, that parade of special effects in The Kiss casts its own spell on the audience. Felice’s familiar, a visibly malevolent cat, was realized here with several models, some more articulate than others. Admittedly, the demon cat’s not as convincing as most of the effects here, but accepting that artifice, as opposed to fighting it, will make the whole experience way more enjoyable. As for the makeup used to manifest Felice’s inner villainy, it is more minimal and subtle than one might like; yet the work done to turn Pacula into an antithesis of herself is nonetheless compelling.
The otherworldly perils and dreadful goings-on wouldn’t work half as well as they do in The Kiss without the story’s contrast effect. Finding frights in picturesque, extremely ordinary settings was something that took off in the ‘80s, thanks to that sweeping shift to locales like the suburbs. And Amy’s home, a replica of a real Montreal suburban house, is the ideal battleground for any proper good-versus-evil story. It’s also prime real estate for this movie’s satanic panic-inspired horrors.
Because of their ostensibly similar plots, The Kiss has been compared to The Exorcist (1973). Except in Densham’s movie, the sinister, non-Christian entity targeting a teen girl lies within something less apparent and, perhaps, more devastating upon its exposure. To an outsider, Pacula’s Aunt Felice is too beautiful and unobjectionable to ever suspect of being a monster. More suspicious is how quickly she rips into the fabric of the Halloran home. Felice’s mere presence upsets the “texture of family life,” according to the director.
The demon cat in The Kiss
Taking out Amy’s mother and best friend, and distracting her father, would suggest The Kiss is playing by a different set of rules. It is initially leaving its adolescent target unsupported in a rather grim scenario. In contrast, though, this story offers up a surrogate parent who does her best to fill in the holes of Amy’s eroding home life. Mimi Kuzyk does good work as that family friend and doctor, Brenda, who guides the lost child without also steering her in any one direction; she is naturally skeptical of Amy’s accusations until it’s almost too late to do anything about them. So although The Kiss does an admirable job of undoing the main character’s support system, it never leaves her without a lifeline. This dark movie, in spite of everything that’s transpired, doesn’t deprive itself of light and hope.
The Kiss is a potent mélange of familiar ideas. If not for the director’s surprise flair for horror, though, the movie would have been less effective. What a shame that Pen Densham didn’t continue with the genre. As for Joanna Pacula, she is, too, owed credit as the wicked vixen opposite Meredith Salenger’s pitiable Amy; she never fails to be unsettling in her role. Pacula makes Aunt Felice a sexy yet intimidating character.
For horror that steadily doles out madness and menace, while also delivering a flashy and ghastly conclusion, The Kiss is certain to please. Yes, it’s cheesy all the way, but most favorably, everyone involved plays everything straight. That kind of commitment goes a long way with this movie.
The Kiss
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