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

Horror Channel (UK) Unleashes a Fear-filled February of Premieres

Starting Friday and Saturday evenings in February, Horror Channel presents eight films, including the UK TV premiere of Daric Gates, The Appearing, and the network premieres of Paul Hyett’s The Seasoning House, Stephen King’s Secret Window, and Renny Harlin’s The Covenant.

Here’s the broadcast schedule:

Fri 5 Feb @ 10.55pm – Screamers (1995) (Network Premiere)

Sat 6 Feb @ 9.00pm – Darkness Falls (2003) (Network Premiere)

Fri 12 Feb @ 9.00pm – The Appearing (2014) (UK TV Premiere)

Sat 13 Feb @ 10.50pm – When A Stranger Calls (2006) (Network Premiere)

Fri 19 Feb @ 10.50pm –Truth or Dare (2012) (Network Premiere)

Sat 20 Feb @ 9.00pm – Secret Window (2004) (Network Premiere)

Fri 26 Feb @ 9.00pm – The Covenant (2006) (Network Premiere)

Sat 27 Feb @10.45pm – The Seasoning House (2012) (Network Premiere)

Click HERE for more information.

Important Update for FILM4 Frightfest Glasgow 2016

Due to circumstances beyond anyone’s control, the Frightfest premiere of Cell, director Tod Williams’ adaptation of the Stephen King novel of the same name, has been pulled from the Glasgow lineup, to be replaced by the World Premiere of the latest by direction John Suits, Pandemic.

Here’s the official synopsis: Pandemic is a science fiction thriller featuring non-stop action from a first person shooter perspective as the all-star cast of Rachel Nichols (Star Trek, ‘Chicago Fire’), Mekhi Phifer (Insurgent, Divergent), Missi Pyle (Gone Girl), Alfie Allen (John Wick, ‘Game of Thrones’), Danielle Rose Russell (A Walk Among the Tombstones), Paul Guilfoyle (‘CSI: Crime Scene Investigation’) and Pat Healy (Cheap Thrills) scour a devastated Los Angeles to ward off the infected and keep the survivors contained. Revolutionary in its immersive component, we know you are going to love this new model shocker.

The film will screen in the same slot as CELL and there are no other changes to the programme.

Also in attendance will be Tyler MacIntyre, director of the horror comedy Patchwork. He joins Nathalie Dormer (star of The Forest), Joe Begos (The Mind’s Eye director), Can Evrenol (Baskin director), Johannes Roberts (The Other Side of the Door director) and Paul Hyett (Heretiks director).

Single tickets went on sale on January 25 and are available HERE.

Backtrack Hits UK Cinemas Today

Starring Adrien Brody (The Grand Budapest Hotel, Predators, King Kong) and Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, Event Horizon, The Hunt for Red October), Backtrack comes to UK cinemas today (January 29). Hailed as The Babadook meets The Sixth Sense, the film also stars Robin McLeavy (Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Killer, Hell On Wheels) and was directed by Michael Petroni (The Book Thief, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader).

The official synopsis: Psychologist Peter Bower’s life is thrown into turmoil when he discovers that the patients he has been seeing are ghosts. Risking his own sanity, Peter delves into his past to uncover a terrifying secret which only he can put right.

Layers of Fear Set to Hit Steam, PS4, and Xbox One in February

The psychedelic horror game, Layers of Fear, has been set to release on February 16 for PC (Steam), PS4, and Xbox One. Created by Bloober Team, the game follows the perspective of a painter who is losing his grip on reality while the world around him becomes sinister and very unpredictable. Following in the vein of games such as Eternal Darkness, The Evil Within, and P.T., the game promises to deliver scares with a mind trippy twist.

Dark Regions Press Announce Release of Discoveries: Best of Horror and Dark Fantasy.

Curated from the pages of Dark Discoveries Magazine, Dark Regions Press have announced an anthology featuring a roster full of the authors that made Dark Discoveries one of the premier magazines of dark fantasy and horror. Former Dark Discoveries Publisher and Editor-in-Chief James R. Beach and Managing Editor & Designer Jason V Brock have collected ten years of award nominees, best of stories, fan favorites and honorable mention tales from the life of DDP, including stories from the magazine, newsletter and their other anthologies. Featuring a rare story by Ray Bradbury, as well as stories by William F. Nolan, Richard Laymon, Elizabeth Engstrom, W. H. Pugmire, Steve Rasnic Tem and many others, the anthology is available now from DarkRegions.com and Amazon in eBook, trade paperback, and deluxe lettered hardcover formats.

Click HERE for more details and to order Discoveries: Best of Horror and Dark Fantasy.

DNA Films Acquires Award Winning Novel The Loney

The people who brought last years’ sleeper hit Ex-Machina and Danny Boyles’ 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later have recently acquired the rights to Andrew Michael Hurley’s critically acclaimed and award-winning modern gothic horror novel The Loney. Set in 1976 on the English coastline, The Loney follows two brothers as they embark on their annual pilgrimage with their parents to visit a nearby shrine. Joined by a priest, the parents hope the shrine will cure their son of his severe learning difficulties and muteness. The old house where they are staying is engulfed by a murderous tide daily, while the family deals with the mysterious death of last years’ priest. Stranger still are the couple staying at a house across the bay with a pregnant girl in a wheelchair who is possibly underage.

Laird Barron’s Latest Now Available for Preorder

Coming March 18, 2016, the latest novella by weird fiction writer Laird Barron, Man With No Name is available for preorder. Here’s the official synopsis: Nanashi was born into a life of violence. Delivered from the mean streets by the Heron Clan, he mastered the way of the gun and knife and swiftly ascended through yakuza ranks to become a dreaded enforcer. His latest task? He and an entourage of expert killers are commanded to kidnap Muzaki, a retired world-renowned wrestler under protection of the rival Dragon Syndicate. It should be business as bloody usual for Nanashi and his ruthless brothers in arms, except for the detail that Muzaki possesses a terrifying secret. A secret that will spawn a no-holds barred gang war and send Nanashi on a personal odyssey into immortal darkness.

Click HERE to preorder.