This Is Horror

News Round-up Week Ending 26 February 2016

  • February 26, 2016

  • 8 mins to read

Here’s a selection of some of the horror and genre news that caught our eye during the last week…

Stephen King’s The Mist Set To Become TV Series

Dimension Television — who has recently found success with their TV version of the Scream franchise — has announced that they plan to develop the Stephen King novella The Mist into a new series. According to reports, the show will be drawing on King’s novella as well as director Frank Darabont’s (The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile) 2007 film to tell an original story following the chaos that ensues when a mysterious mist descends upon a small town. King himself has apparently granted his blessing to the project, which comes from writer Christian Torpe (creator of the Danish series Rita).

Here’s the official statement from Weinstein Company and Dimension Films head Bob Weinstein:

“The terror and drama in Stephen King‘s novella are so vast that we felt serialized television is the best place to explore them in greater depth. With this show, Christian has created a fascinating band of characters and a story with infinite scares.”

Beast Within Gets Digital and DVD Release Dates (UK)

Werewolf chiller Beast Within (Uncaged-US) has been set to arrive in the UK on digital platforms this February 29 and on DVD March 14. The Daniel Robbins directed film stars Gene Jones (No Country for Old Men, The Hateful Eight), Ben Getz, and Kyle Kirkpatrick.

Here’s the official synopsis: Orphaned as a child in the wake of a grisly tragedy, Jack was raised alongside his cousin and best friend, Brandon. At age 18, however, Jack’s otherwise uneventful life takes a sinister turn when he’s suddenly plagued by a series of bizarre sleepwalking episodes. After repeatedly waking up in the woods naked with no memory of the night before, Jack straps a camera to himself to document his behavior—and discovers a shocking truth: He is the unwitting heir to a monstrous family legacy of savagery, slaughter and unrelenting horror from which death may be the only escape!

Locke & Key Creators Team Up Again for Tales from the Darkside Comic

Joe Hill (Horns, NOS4A2, Wraith) and Gabriel Rodríguez (Onyx:), the team that released the Eisner Award winning Locke & Key series, have been announced to be getting back together again for a comic rendition of the popular television anthology Tales from the Darkside. Hill takes a contemporary approach to the series, introducing creepy individual tales that connect to form a much larger picture when taken as a whole, drawing inspiration from the series while maintaining a meta-fictional quality to the overall story arc. Gabriel Rodríguez will provide interior art and covers for the series, with Charles P. Wilson III (The Wraith) contributing variant covers. The four book series is set to release in June 2016.

Demián Bichir Joins Scott’s Alien: Covenant

Ridley Scott has announced another cast member to his Alien prequel film Alien: Covenant. Demián Bichir (The Hateful Eight, Weeds, The Bridge) joins Michael Fassbender on the set along side Katherine Waterston, and Danny McBride. Produced by Scott Free, the film is set to release October 6, 2017 for 20th Century Fox. Plot details are scarce, but the story is believed to bridge the gap between Prometheus and the original Alien film, both directed by Scott. The film is set around Covenant, a colony ship in route to what they think is an uncharted planetary paradise. Instead, they find a planet whose sole inhabitant is David (Fassbender), the “synthetic” and lone survivor of the previous Prometheus expedition.

Follow The Path — Beginning March 30 on Hulu

Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad), Michelle Monaghan (True Detective-Season One), and Hugh Dancy (Hannibal) star in Hulu’s dark thriller The Path. Beginning March 30th, the show follows a family navigating a strange cult movement. Mixing mystery with a little romance and a lot of mysticism, episodes will give viewers an in-depth look at our belief systems and what it means to live, and to attempt to live the life we want. Produced by Universal Television and True Jack Productions, the show was created by Jessica Goldberg and Katims and Michelle Lee.

JeruZalem Arrives April 4 for DVD/Blu-ray (UK)

Solo Media and Matchbox Films have announced the UK release of JeruZalem, on digital March 28 2016 and DVD/Blu-ray on April 4 2016. Directed by “The Paz Brothers” Yoav and Doron Paz, JeruZalem is a new found-footage film, taking advantage of the new Google Glass technology.

Here’s the official synopsis: On Judgement Day, Hell shall inherit the earth – Two American girls on vacation follow a mysterious anthropology student on a trip to Jerusalem. The party is cut short when the trio are caught in the middle of a biblical apocalypse. Trapped between the ancient walls of the holy city, the three travelers must survive long enough to find a way out as the fury of hell is unleashed upon them. Starring Yael Grobglas (E4’s Jane the Virgin), Yon Tumarkin, Danielle Madelyn and Tom Graziani.

Chiller’s First Original Series Slasher to Debut in March

Slasher is Chiller’s first-ever original series, set to debut Friday, March 4. Scheduled for eight episodes, the psychological thriller will also air simultaneously on Super Channel in Canada. Staring Katie McGrath (Jurassic World, Dracula, Merlin) as Sarah Bennett, the story focuses on a young woman returning home after a long absence who finds herself in the middle of a series of killings that seem to be based on the brutal murders of her own parents. Everyone around Sarah could be a suspect… or the killer’s next victim. Also starring Brandon Jay McLaren (Graceland, The Killing), Wendy Crewson (Saving Hope, Revenge), Steve Byers (The Man in the High Castle) and Dean McDermott (Ecstasy, CSI), the series was developed by Aaron Martin (Killjoys, Being Erica) and directed by Craig David Wallace (Todd and the Book of Pure Evil).

Click HERE to visit the official twitter account for the show and to view the exclusive teaser trailer.