This week in horror 17.04.21

Zack Snyder's releases trailer for Army of the Dead 

Zack Snyder bravely tackled a highly acclaimed remake of Dawn of the Dead in 2004, now we are all excitedly anticipating the release of his next zombie venture, Army of the Dead. News soared online when Netflix dropped the bombshell that Snyder is back for another battle with the undead last year. Now we only have to wait until the 21st of May to see a motley crew of mercenaries breach forbidden zombie grounds in a bid to pull off an epic heist. The trailer bares its roots quite brazenly, with a focus on the unique route that Snyder has taken; instead of brainless, lethargic, zombies roaming we are roared at by a new breed of hyperintelligent beasts who are skilled, organised, and damn right ruthless. 

Texas Chainsaw Massacre receives an official R rating

The ever expanding Texas Chainsaw Massacre franchise only continues to grow with the latest entry rumoured to be one of the most bloody and brutal yet as the Fede Alvarez produced horror gets a confirmed R rating. David Blue Garcia directs this direct sequel to the original, with a similar stance that 2018's Haloween (David Gordon Green) took through ignoring previous films in the series. Although information has been kept tightly underwraps, we do know that Alice Krige (Silent Hill), Elsie Fisher (Eighth Grade), Jacob Latimore (Detroit), and Sam Douglas (Killing Eve) are set to star in the Sawyer family's latest killing spree. 

Host's Jed Shepherd announces live-action horror game, Ghosts

It's no surprise that here at Dead Northern we are massive fans of 2020's standout film, Host (Rob Savage). Now we get to see writer Jed Shepherd tackle another ghoul themed project as he introduces Ghosts, an ultra-immersive gaming experience where you play in real-time. The story you follow will see you play the role of a TV producer who has to tackle a daunting urban legend known as The Long Lady. Ghosts reunites the cast of Host once again (Haley Bishop, Emma Louise Webb, Radina Drandova, Jemma Moore, and Caroline Ward). One of the most intriguing factors is that the game is entirely live and is only playable on release at 10pm in your timezone. Ghosts takes massive inspiration from live games from the 1990s including Phantasmagoria and Night Trap. The project is currently looking for backers on Kickstarter.

Mike Flanagan announced as director for The Season of Passage adaption 

Christopher Pike's sci-fi horror novel The Season of Passage has grown an impressive fan base since its release in 1992. Joining Flanagan in adapting this beloved book exploring a crew's voyage into Mars is his brother James Flanagan who will be co-writing the film. The Season of Passage is definitely in good hands as Flanagan has become somewhat of an adaption aficionado with numerous hits under his belt including Doctor Sleep (based on Stephen King's novel of the same name), the upcoming Netflix series The Midnight Club (based on another Pike novel) and the now modern classic The Haunting of Hill House (Shirley Jackson's infamous haunted house book).

This weeks article comes via Grace from Film Overload, you can check out more of her work here.