2017 is the year of unoriginality. Excuse me, the year of remakes, reboots and sequels. When you see how many of the marquee releases slated for next year aren’t original films, you’re going to be stunned. Really, it’s kind of hard to believe the lineup. Sure, we’ll see plenty of new indies and foreign flicks pop up, but that doesn’t erase the planned calendar year as it stands, which is just riddled with familiar titles. Some you may not care to invest in. Some you may. Either way, we’re here to make sure you know what horror movies to look out for in 2017!
Split (January 20, 2017)
Night Shyamalan almost became a parody of himself with a string of stinkers in the 2000s, but 2015’s The Visit was a return to form for the once lauded fear practitioner. We’re excited to see Split, which looks like Psycho on steroids!
Official Synopsis: While the mental divisions of those with dissociative identity disorder have long fascinated and eluded science, it is believed that some can also manifest unique physical attributes for each personality, a cognitive and physiological prism within a single being. Though Kevin (James McAvoy) has evidenced 23 personalities to his trusted psychiatrist, Dr. Fletcher (Betty Buckley), there remains one still submerged who is set to materialize and dominate all the others. Compelled to abduct three teenage girls led by the willful, observant Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy, The Witch), Kevin reaches a war for survival among all of those contained within him—as well as everyone around him—as the walls between his compartments shatter apart.
The Bye Bye Man (January 13, 2017)
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (January 27, 2017)
The Resident Evil franchise began feeling as though it had run its cinematic course around Resident Evil: Extinction. After that Paul W.S. Anderson just said screw horror fans in general, and screw zombie fans, we’re turning the franchise into a full-on science fiction story with a whole lot of ideas that feel absurdly disjointed and a major neglect of the undead! The franchise hasn’t been shining too bright in recent years but we’re really, really hoping that Anderson actually incorporates at least a little bit of horror in what is – at this point – planned as the final (until Hollywood remakes the first flick in 2019) film in what started as a horror story before morphing into… something else.
Picking up immediately after the events in Resident Evil: Retribution, humanity is on its last legs after Alice is betrayed by Wesker in Washington D.C. As the only survivor of what was meant to be humanity’s final stand against the undead hordes, Alice must return to where the nightmare began – Raccoon City, where the Umbrella Corporation is gathering its forces for a final strike against the only remaining survivors of the apocalypse. In a race against time Alice will join forces with old friends, and an unlikely ally, in an action packed battle with undead hordes and new mutant monsters. Between regaining her superhuman abilities at Wesker’s hand and Umbrella’s impending attack, this will be Alice’s most difficult adventure as she fights to save humanity, which is on the brink of oblivion.
Rings (February 3, 2017)
A new chapter in the beloved RING horror franchise. A young woman becomes worried about her boyfriend when he explores a dark subculture surrounding a mysterious videotape said to kill the watcher seven days after he has viewed it. She sacrifices herself to save her boyfriend and in doing so makes a horrifying discovery: there is a “movie within the movie” that no one has ever seen before.
A Cure for Wellness (February 17, 2017)
Official Synopsis: An ambitious young executive is sent to retrieve his company’s CEO from an idyllic but mysterious “wellness center” at a remote location in the Swiss Alps. He soon suspects that the spa’s miraculous treatments are not what they seem. When he begins to unravel its terrifying secrets, his sanity is tested, as he finds himself diagnosed with the same curious illness that keeps all the guests here longing for the cure.
Get Out (February 24, 2017)
A young African-American man visits his Caucasian girlfriend’s mysterious family estate.
The Belko Experiment (March 17, 2017)
Official Synopsis: The story revolves around the American Belko company in South America which is mysteriously sealed off at the beginning of a work day, and its employees are ordered to kill each other or be killed themselves. This starts an escalation of violence, where we discover the true nature of each and every Belko employee.
The Dark Tapes (March 17, 2017)
A genre-defying mixture of horror, sci-fi, myth, mystery and thrills told as four interlocking tales in one intelligent anthology. Ghosts, spirits, creatures, demons and more from the paranormal world collide with rational curiosity.
Alien: Covenant (May 19, 2017)
Synopsis: The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise. When they uncover a threat beyond their imagination, they must attempt a harrowing escape.
Amityville: Awakening (June 30, 2017)
With Franck Khalfoun behind the camera, interest is higher in the Amityville franchise than it’s been since the 2005 remake. While I wasn’t crazy about Andrew Douglas’ remake (which really didn’t add, build upon or improve any element of the original), Khalfoun’s film is an entirely different story. If you’re not familiar with Khalfoun, you should be: he’s the genius who directed the disconcerting Maniac remake and the creepy Christmas flick P2. He’s a talented gent and we’re thinking this might be the best Amityville film that wasn’t released in 1979.
Belle, her little sister, and her comatose twin brother move into a new house with their single mother Joan in order to save money to help pay for her brother’s expensive healthcare. But when strange phenomena begin to occur in the house including the miraculous recovery of her brother, Belle begins to suspect her Mother isn’t telling her everything and soon realizes they just moved into the infamous Amityville house.
Underworld: Blood Wars (June 30, 2017)
Synopsis: Vampire death dealer, Selene (Kate Beckinsale) fights to end the eternal war between the Lycan clan and the Vampire faction that betrayed her.
Wish Upon ((July 14, 2017)
Official Synopsis: Jonathan Shannon (Ryan Phillippe) gives his 17-year-old daughter Clare (Joey King) an old music box that promises to grant its owner seven wishes. Skeptical at first, Clare becomes seduced by its dark powers when her life starts to radically improve with each wish. Everything seems perfect until she realizes that every wish she makes causes the people who are closest to her to die in violent and elaborate ways.
With shades of The Craft, this reimagining of The Monkey’s Paw looks like perfect bubblegum horror aimed at millennials who may not realize how overused many of the tropes presented are. Still, I can’t help but look forward to seeing mean girls and power-hungry underdogs alike getting their comeuppance.
The Dark Tower (July 28, 2017)
It’s almost hard to believe that Stephen King’s sprawling series The Dark Tower is actually getting the big screen treatment, but we’re excited to see it happen! The story itself is absolutely nuts and travels the genre gamut, so don’t expect a pure horror film. However, that probably won’t be all too relevant as we’ll get some horror, some fantasy, some action and of course, a gnarly adventure. It should also be awfully amazing seeing Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey standing opposite one another.
Gunslinger Roland Deschain roams an Old West-like landscape in search of the dark tower, in the hopes that reaching it will preserve his dying world.
Annabelle 2 aka Annabelle: Creation (August 11, 2017)
While I didn’t hate Annabelle, I didn’t love it. I did however forget it, rather quickly. Having not seen the film since its theatrical arrival, I couldn’t tell you one single detail of the story, other than the obvious involvement of the titular doll. That leaves me hopeful for Annabelle 2, as David F. Sandberg is a filmmaker who just might be on the cusp of truly breaking out. His feature length adaptation of his own uber-chilling short, Lights Out is headed our way this summer, and if Lights Out impresses, well, we’ll all likely be far more inclined to expect something impressive from Annabelle 2.
It (September 8, 2017)
It’s beginning to look like we may actually get to see the big screen reboot of Stephen King’s It happen. It’s been discussed so long we were certain this one was lost in Purgatory, but we’re juiced that it seems to be moving forward, finally. Things won’t be the same without the great Tim Curry, but the original made-for-TV piece has aged quite poorly, so we just might see something special from Andrés Muschietti… assuming he doesn’t let his obvious affinity for computer generated imagery (he massacred the super, super promising Mama by drenching the film in ugly visual effects) get the best of the production.
In the Town of Derry, the local kids are disappearing one by one, leaving behind torn body parts/remains. Soon afterwards, in a place known as ‘The Barrens’, a group of seven kids are united by their horrifying and strange encounters with a clown called Pennywise, which they all share, but one kid, Bill Denborough, has a more personal vendetta with the clown. 27 years after their last encounter together with Pennywise, the ‘Losers Club’ has regrouped from their successful lives and businesses by Mike Hanlon,the only member of the Losers Club that stayed in Derry, because IT has returned, and kids are disappearing again. The only problem is that they have all forgotten what occurred that summer. But through a blood oath, they return. It’s up to The Lucky Seven to regain their memories, to think of the key to killing Pennywise, and to stay alive long enough to end his tyranny but to also realize what brought them together in the first place.
Flatliners (September 29, 2017)
Flatliners is one of the creepier flicks to crawl out of the 90s, therefore it was only a matter of time before someone decided it needed to be remade. Well, that remake will arrive next year and we’re neither optimistic nor pessimistic; we’re just curious!
Medical students experiment on “near death” experiences that involve past tragedies until the dark consequences begin to jeopardize their lives.
Chucky 7 (October 20, 2017)
Don Mancini’s been teasing the newest Child’s Play film for months and we’re excited, especially since it picks up after the events of Curse of Chucky, one of the absolute best of the franchise. We’ve got a synopsis for you below, but it doesn’t matter much; if you’re onboard with Chucky, you know and love what you’re getting into!
Chucky returns after the events of Curse of Chucky to continue terrorizing his wheelchair-prone human victim, Nica. Meanwhile, the killer doll has some scores to settle with his old enemies, with the help of his former wife.
Insidious: Chapter 4 (October 20, 2017)
Typically I’d be writing off a fourth franchise installment before a fourth franchise installment was even conceived of, but Insidious: Chapter 3 surprised the hell out of me, and, in my opinion, was far superior to Chapter 2. That means there’s a legitimate chance that Insidious: Chapter 4 actually impresses. Leigh Whannell once again writes while the promising Adam Robitel will look to continue his directorial success, following up on the surprise sleeper The Taking of Deborah Logan.
Saw: Legacy (October 27, 2017)
Synopsis: “Several years after the tragic death of their little girl, a dollmaker and his wife welcome a nun and several girls from a shuttered orphanage into their home, soon becoming the target of the dollmaker’s possessed creation, Annabelle.”
Dark Universe: The Mummy (Sumner 2017)
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