Horror movies that will blow everyone away in 2019
An American Werewolf in London
John Landis' landmark 1981 film An American Werewolf in London is notable for several reasons. It established Landis as a daring filmmaker with a strong visual style, proved that you could successfully blend gut-wrenching horror with comedy, and more or less introduced the world at large to Rick Baker, the makeup effects genius behind what is still today the most convincing onscreen werewolf transformation ever (for which he won the first of seven Oscars). Remaking the film will be a tricky proposition, but fortunately, an eminently qualified filmmaker has come aboard to give it a shot: Max Landis, John's son and something of a fan of the original.
The younger Landis is most well known for writing the amazing found-footage superhero film Chronicle, and he'll be handling scripting duties on Werewolf as well. Asked about any involvement he might have by, the elder Landis told Collider, "I get money… My son is brilliant, he really is, and he wants to do it. So what am I going to say? No? I know it won't be as bad as (the awful 1997 sequel) An American Werewolf In Paris." It's unfortunate that Dad isn't a little more excited, but Max is sure to treat this update with the utmost respect.
Firestarter
Stephen King's novel Firestarter, about a young girl with powerful pyrokinetic abilities on the run from sinister government agents, was previously adapted in 1984, with a young Drew Barrymore starring. While it's one the more faithful adaptations of King's work, it wasn't particularly well-received—but after the smash success of this year's It, filmmakers are lining up to take their shots at any other King properties that might need re-adapting.
Enter horror impresario Jason Blum, whose Blumhouse Productions has been behind a ton of the most successful fright flicks in recent years. He'll be producing an updated take on Firestarter, with frequent producing partner and prolific screenwriter Akiva Goldsman set to direct. Goldsman is familiar with King, having penned this year's Dark Tower adaptation, and he actually won an Oscar for writing A Beautiful Mind—hopefully, he'll deliver the big-screen Firestarter fans have been waiting decades to see.
It: Chapter Two
Speaking of It, most fans only had one question after the end credits: "when can we see the sequel?" Now we have our answer—Sept. 6, 2019—but getting it wasn't as easy as you might think. The second chapter of the two-part story wasn't even greenlit by studio Warner Bros. until they were absolutely positive they had a hit on their hands, which means It: Chapter Two's script hasn't even been written yet—that's the bad news. The good news is that a sequel is now certain, because Chapter One recently became the highest-grossing horror film of all time—and director Andres Muschietti and screenwriter Gary Dauberman are both on board.
While Muschietti's hiring isn't official, it's all but certain given the staggering success of Chapter One. Dauberman has officially been hired, and the original production team (which includes Muschietti's sister Barbara) is also returning. Dauberman is becoming known for writing hits—he's the writer of both Annabelle films, and he's also handling The Nun, the next installment in Warner's Conjuring universe. With those films and the most successful Stephen King adaptation yet on his résumé, we can expect to see a lot more of his spine-tingling work in the future.
The Conjuring 3
Good news, Conjuring fans: Warner Bros. has committed to a third entry in the series, having hired Conjuring 2 screenwriter David Leslie Johnson to handle scripting duties. While James Wan will almost certainly return as producer, he told Entertainment Weekly that he may have to hand off the director's chair this time around, saying, "I wouldn't turn anything down… I am quite busy potentially for the next couple of years. So who knows if they'll actually wait for me to come back and do another one?"
Few other details on Conjuring 3 are available at this time, but Wan is right—he'll be plenty busy. In addition to producing a slew of upcoming projects, he's currently helming Aquaman for Warner's DC Extended Universe. As for Johnson, he's also attached to upcoming reboots of Invasion of the Body Snatchers and A Nightmare on Elm Street.
The Crooked Man
Yet another entry in the Conjuring universe, The Crooked Man will be based on the character introduced in one of the freakiest scenes of The Conjuring 2. Details are extremely sketchy about how the Crooked Man's backstory will be filled out, but Variety reports that the script is being handled by up-and-coming screenwriter Mike Van Waes, while Wan and regular producing partner Peter Safran are on board as producers. More details will certainly trickle out over the next year, and perhaps we'll even get some idea of where the Crooked Man fits into this universe when The Nun is released next year.
Untitled Wizard of Oz horror movie
Warner Bros. and subsidiary New Line are doubling down on the horror over the next couple of years, and it appears they're using a lot of the same talent to develop multiple projects. Mike Van Waes, who's working on the screenplay for The Crooked Man, has another horror movie on his plate that sounds interesting indeed—it's set in the world of L. Frank Baum's Oz.
Van Waes came to the attention of Warner Bros. when the studio came across his Black List script titled Hammerspace, which they purchased and also have in development. They obviously think they have a hot young talent on their hands, as "Horror Film Set In Oz"—as fantastic an elevator pitch as that is—sounds like something that could either go spectacularly right or ridiculously wrong. Judging by the studio's recent winning streak, the former seems more likely, so it's probably not too early to get excited about what could be the most bonkers horror film of 2019.
Untitled Joss Whedon World War II horror film
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Joss Whedon is nothing if not an entertaining storyteller, but his film output has so far been limited largely to micro-indies and superhero blockbusters (which is not necessarily a bad thing). Fans waiting for an original Whedon project are going to get more than they bargained for in 2019, however: speaking to Complex, the writer/director not only revealed that he's been hard at work on a passion project, but also gave up a few details that make it sound pretty intriguing.
"It's definitely a departure from the things that I'm known for. It's as dark as anything I've ever written," Whedon explained. "It's a historical fiction-slash-horror movie about a time when the world was going insane, World War II." He went on to discuss the "eerie" parallels he uncovered between 1930s Germany and the modern-day United States in the course of his research. We'll have to wait to see what kind of craziness Whedon is crafting, but it sounds safe to say that cerebral scares and snappy dialogue will be involved.
The Blob
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The 1958 low-budget horror classic The Blob (starring a very young Steve McQueen) has already gotten the remake treatment once, in 1988. That version was pretty inessential, and some horror fans may wonder whether another attempt at updating the material after another 30 years is really necessary. If you're one of those, then you should know that Samuel L. Jackson is starring in the forthcoming re-remake, which would make it very necessary indeed.
Speaking to the Toronto Sun on the press tour for Kong: Skull Island, Jackson strongly suggested he'd be participating in the film: "I've been running from or chasing King Kong, Godzilla, the Wolfman, whatever, since I was a kid… so I'm doing Kong for the same reason I'll probably be doing The Blob. I just got a call the other day, [and the producers] finally got their money from China to do Blob."
His casting was later confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter, and (unconfirmed) rumors have popped up online suggesting Halle Berry is joining the cast as well. Veteran action director Simon West (Con Air, The Expendables 2) has long been attached to the project, but his involvement is also unconfirmed. We'll have to wait to see how The Blob takes shape, but one thing seems certain: Mr. Jackson will have a few choice words for the monster.
Bride of Frankenstein
Universal's "Dark Universe," a re-imagining of the studio's classic movie monsters, hasn't gotten off to the most scintillating start. The 2014 false start Dracula Untold, once confirmed by producers to be the first installment in their cinematic universe, endured a critical savaging and was subsequently excluded from the shared universe party; the next film tasked with kicking off the series, this year's The Mummy, similarly failed to live up to expectations. But the studio is building a strong stable of actors to revive their classic fiends—Russell Crowe had a brief cameo as Dr. Jekyll in The Mummy, and Johnny Depp has signed on to play the Invisible Man—and to producers' credit, they now actually seem to be hitting the brakes in an effort to learn from their mistakes.
Universal recently announced that the second installment was being pushed back from 2018 to Valentine's Day 2019, with the studio alluding to the need to "allow each… chapter the right time to find the perfect cast, filmmakers and vision to fulfill it." Interestingly, it won't be an Invisible Man or a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde film, but a remake of the 1935 classic Bride of Frankenstein. Javier Bardem has been cast as Frankenstein's monster, and directorial duties will be handled by Bill Condon, who helmed this year's smash hit live-action adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. The Dark Universe may have had a stumble or two at the box office, but it could still recover nicely.
Untitled Alien: Covenant sequel
This year's Alien: Covenant offered a little more of what fans wanted from the Alien series than 2012's Prometheus, which is by design: director Ridley Scott heard their complaints, and for better or worse decided that if they wanted Xenomorphs, he would give them Xenomorphs. Covenant was a critical and box office success, but Scott hasn't forgotten about Prometheus' Engineers or the overarching story in which they play a part—he's recently teased that the creator race will be returning for the sequel to Covenant, which he's currently developing.
In an interview, Sir Ridley teased: "There will be three or four different players coming in… one of which will be the Engineers." When pressed for further details, he elaborated, "Where we go next is obvious. We're gonna actually go to the planet," before realizing what he was saying and cutting himself short with, "I'm not gonna tell you the whole story." Obviously, the venerated director has a tough time keeping his mouth shut, so we're certain to get more details before this sequel—which may or may not be called Alien: Awakening—hits theaters sometime in 2019
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