As you know, CinemaCon is currently underway and our own Chris Bumbray has been in Las Vegas covering the event. The Universal Pictures panel recently concluded and there were several horror films on display for fans.
One of the biggest was Halloween Kills, the highly anticipated sequel that picks up exactly where David Gordon Green’s previous Halloween film left off. With Michael Myers caged and burning in Laurie’s (Jamie Lee Curtis) basement, the Strode family are rushed to hospital with life-threatening injuries, but when Michael manages to free himself, his ritual bloodbath resumes.
Universal showed off a new trailer for Halloween Kills which was packed with plenty of gruesome kills. Michael Myers seems to be angrier than ever, but this time, the entire town is aware that he’s real and alive. “He’s coming for me, but I’m coming for him,” Laurie says as she recruits the rest of Haddonfield to out an end to Michael once and for all. We get to see Laurie’s daughter and granddaughter (Judy Greer and Andi Matichak) looking tougher than ever, as well as a brief glimpse at Anthony Michael Hall as Tommy Doyle, one of the kids Laurie babysat in the original 1978 film. I’m excited about this one!
We also caught a glimpse at The Black Phone, the new horror film from Scott Derrickson based on the short story by Joe Hill. Ethan Hawke was on hand to introduce the movie and he teased that he’ll be breaking his “no bad guy policy” to play “darkness itself.” Sign me up! With a big top hat and eerie pale skin, Ethan Hawke’s character fancies himself as something of a magician who lures kids into his van. Once he has them, he imprisons the children in a bunker that includes a black phone connected to nothing. One such kid ends up in the basement, but is able to communicate with the spirits of those who Hawke’s character has killed before through the phone! The kids then try to teach him how to fight back and survive. Bumbray said that The Black Phone looks badass and scary and that Ethan Hawke is absolutely EVIL in it.
Halloween Kills will debut at the Venice International Film Festival on September 8, 2021, before hitting theaters on October 15, 2021. The Black Phone is set to debut on January 28, 2022.