Wanna See Something REALLY Scary?
The year 2015 was an up and down year for horror films. For every The Visit, it felt like we had a handful of unoriginal, dreary, Paranormal Activity-style sequels or, worse, Poltergeist remakes. At one stage last year my wife and I went to the cinema, and it was my turn to choose the movie. With not much else on offer I made the mistake of choosing The Gallows, and, well, she’s never let me forget it.
Horror fans might as well get used to such roller-coasting mistreatment. It’s not like we’re at the edge of a new dawn in ground-breaking horror. But at least 2016 offers up a couple of servings to look forward to.
In 1998 a cult-classic was born. Ringu, a Japanese horror film, set in motion a changing of the guard in the horror film industry. With the US remake, The Ring (2002), directed by Gore Verbinski and starring Naomi Watts, the doors flew open for a series of Japanese-inspired horror movies including The Grudge (2004), Dark Water (2005) and One Missed Call (2008).
The Ring scared me. I can admit that. There’s something terrifying about the unknown, about not understanding the cause of events. That evil little girl – how do they make children so frightening? By comparison, The Ring 2 (2005) was a hopeless, lame, waste of two hours. Welcome again to the roller-coaster ride of the horror fan.
Rings will be the second sequel to the 2002 remake. Directed by F. Javier Gutierrez (Before The Fall) and starring The Big Bang Theory’s Johnny Galecki, not a lot is known about the plot. Galecki is rumoured to be playing a college lecturer, and the story seems to revolve around a group of students who form a type of club to watch Samara’s video.
Johnny Galecki and Aimee Teegarden will star in 2016’s Rings
With the release of Rings having already been delayed once, we’re hopeful that we might see this sometime early April (edit: the latest announcement has Rings looking at an October 28 release). And fingers crossed we can make a return to being absolutely terrified.
The Conjuring (2013) is one of the best horror films to be released in recent years, and excitedly opened the door to any number of sequels and spin-offs by cleverly playing our protagonists, Lorraine and Ed Warren (played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson) as experts in the paranormal travelling to haunted sites to bust ghosts. They’re like the Scooby-gang, but not quite as much fun. They also keep a locked, Warehouse 13-style room in which they place the collection of artifacts found among their travels, and we have already seen one spin-off based on the haunted collection found in this room, Annabelle (2014).
What is most exciting about The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Poltergeist, is James Wan (creator of both the Saw (2004) and Insidious (2010) franchises) returning as director. Wan is one of the few truly talented horror film-makers, and under his guidance I expect The Conjuring 2 to live up to the bar set by the first film.
James Wan returns to familiar territory directing The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Poltergeist
Set for a June 17 release, I recommend you see it opening weekend, otherwise you might find yourself facing a dilemma between it and Independence Day 2, and after that blasted mistake I made with The Gallows I just know what I’ll be doing that weekend.
Excitement Meter
Rings 3/5 Been delayed once already and the sequel let us down badly. Please be good, please be good, please……..
The Conjuring 2 3.5/5 Been waiting for this since seeing the first Conjuring. I’m a James Wan fan. Can’t wait.
From the Cheap Seats 