*Updated* This April, genre fans have a lot of interesting films arriving on VOD and Digital Platforms to look forward to, including the highly-anticipated directorial debut from Ryan Gosling, Lost River, which Warner Bros. is set to release on the 10th.
The very same day, IFC Films is debuting the latest from filmmaker John McNaughton- The Harvest- who is the same visionary behind the visceral cult classic Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer starring Michael Rooker. FilmBuff will also be busy on April 10th as they’re releasing The Reconstruction of William Zero, an indie sci-fi thriller starring Amy Seimetz (Tiny Furniture), Melissa McBride (The Walking Dead), AJ Bowen (You're Next), and newcomer Conal Byrne.
April is also chock-full of genre entertainment choices from Uncork’d Entertainment and we’ve also got several indie horror titles making their way to digital as well including the latest from Dark Sky Films, From the Dark.
Hooked Up (Uncork’d Entertainment)- 4/7
From director Pablo Larcuen and executive producer Jaume Collet-Serra (Non-Stop) comes the most terrifying found-footage movie since The Blair Witch Project.
Tonio and Peter, two young Americans, travel to Barcelona to party and, above all, to score with women. During their very first night out partying, they meet some girls that they go home with. There, things will take an unexpected turn. With no possibility of escape, they must face their worst nightmares.
Infernal (Uncork’d Entertainment) - 4/10
Nathan (Andy Ostroff) and Sophia (Heather Adair) are a newlywed couple, both looking forward to a bright future. Not long after matrimony, Heather becomes pregnant and ushers the pair’s first child into the world, Imogene. It soon becomes apparent that Imogene (Alyssa Koerner) is exhibiting strange and dangerous behavior, leaving the new parents floundering in their attempt to find answers. When Imogene’s actions become destructive, it becomes clear that forces beyond the natural world are at work, and that something – or SOMEONE – is pulling the strings.
In this horrifying thrill ride the bonds of family are frayed, sides are taken, and the terrifying events culminate in a shocking finale, all seen through the eyes of a terrified father.
The Harvest (IFC Films) - 4/10
In his first film in nearly 15 years, the director of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer harks back to the depravity that made his 1986 debut a horror milestone.
But less based in reality, The Harvest is closer to a fairy tale from Grimm’s darkest corners. Maryann (an impressive Natasha Calis) moves in with her grandparents after she’s orphaned. Desperately lonely, the preteen sets out to befriend a neighboring deathly ill, bed-ridden boy (Charlie Tahan), despite the outright disapproval of his mother (Samantha Morton). Maryann’s persistence pays off, however, and during a series of secret visits she gradually uncovers some seriously sinister goings-on in the house… Morton as the boy’s overprotective surgeon mom is the stuff of great screen villainy—at once utterly monstrous and tragically desperate—so much so that she makes even frequent heavy Michael Shannon, as the more subdued dad, pale in comparison.
The House Across the Street (Level 33 Entertainment) - 4/10
When Amy (Jessica Sonneborn) moves into a new apartment, she notices strange things happening at the house across the street. Always a curious girl, Amy is compelled to investigate further. The more she finds out, the closer she gets to the center of a horrific conspiracy that threatens to tear apart her new town and destroy the lives of its people.
Lost River (Warner Bros.) - 4/10
Set against the surreal dreamscape of a vanishing city, Billy (Christina Hendricks), a single mother of two, is swept into a macabre and dark fantasy underworld while her teenage son discovers a secret road leading to an underwater town. She must dive deep into the mystery, if the family is to survive.
Directed by Ryan Gosling, Lost River features a cast that includes Christina Hendricks (Drive), Matt Smith (Doctor Who), Iain De Caestecker (Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.), Saorise Ronan (The Grand Budapest Hotel), Eva Mendes (The Place Beyond the Pines) and Ben Mendelsohn (The Place Beyond the Pines).
The Reconstruction of William Zero (FilmBuff) - 4/10
William Blakely, a cutting edge geneticist, wakes from a mysterious accident with fragmented memories and has to re-learn his identity from his twin brother. But when William digs deeper, he realizes the shocking truth: This is not his life at all.
THE RECONSTRUCTION OF WILLIAM ZERO is a sci-fi / drama told from two points of view: one innocent and hopeful and the other hateful and vengeful. It has a structure like a double helix. Upon first look it seems complex. But at the core, it’s simple. These points of view are mirrors – opposites - of each other. They represent two possible versions of the same human, both struggling to belong, both trying to understand their identity and fate.
The Sisterhood of Night (Freestyle Releasing) - 4/10
Based on the short story by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Steven Millhauser, The Sisterhood of Night is a story of friendship and loyalty set against the backdrop of a modern-day Salem witch trial. Shot on location in Kingston, NY, the film chronicles a group of girls who have slipped out of the world of social media into a mysterious world deep in the woods. The tale begins when Emily Parris exposes a secret society of teenage girls. Accusing them of committing sexually deviant acts, Emily’s allegations throw their small American town into the national media spotlight. The mystery deepens when each of the accused takes a vow of silence. What follows is a chronicle of three girls’ unique and provocative alternative to the loneliness of adolescence, revealing the tragedy and humor of teenage years changed forever by the Internet age.
From the Dark (Dark Sky Films) - 4/14
Sarah (Niamh Algar, Vikings, The Light of Day) and Mark (Stephen Cromwell, The Legend of Longwood, Red Rock) are traveling through rural Ireland when car trouble strikes. The couple must head out on foot to find any sign of civilization. Eventually they come upon a lonely house - but the man inside is wounded, and when they try to help him, he attacks. Sarah and Mark manage to escape but soon they are confronted by something even worse.
A sinister being has awakened from a thousand-year sleep and it has set its sights on the stranded young couple. Deep within the dark bog, the two are faced with an unimaginable evil, but they soon realize that there may be one thing that can stop the creature: light. As the sun sets and light sources dwindle, the creature becomes more powerful, and Sarah and Mark find themselves in a fight for their lives where a gas lamp or even just the illumination of a single match may be the only thing that can save them.
Strange Blood (XLRator Media) - 4/28
When a brilliant scientist goes to extremes to develop a universal cure for all disease, he finds himself infected with a bizarre parasite that begins to transform him into a bloodthirsty madman. Starring Robert Brettenaugh, Alexandra Bard, Anna Har, Barbara Jadczak, Thomas O’Halloran, and Scott Harders.
Voice from the Stone (Momentum Pictures) - 4/28
A haunting thriller set at an isolated castle in 1950s Tuscany, Voice From The Stone tells the story of Verena, a determined young nurse hired to help the mute young heir within. But the more she observes the boy, the more Verena becomes convinced he has fallen under the spell of a powerful and otherworldly persona trapped in the villa’s stone walls, one that seems to be rapidly entwining with her own.
Heather A. Wixson was born and raised in the Chicago suburbs, until she followed her dreams and moved to Los Angeles in 2009. A 14-year veteran in the world of horror entertainment journalism, Wixson fell in love with genre films at a very early age, and has spent more than a decade as a writer and supporter of preserving the history of horror and science fiction cinema. Throughout her career, Wixson has contributed to several notable websites, including Fangoria, Dread Central, Terror Tube, and FEARnet, and she currently serves as the Managing Editor for Daily Dead, which has been her home since 2013. She's also written for both Fangoria Magazine & ReMind Magazine, and her latest book project, Monsters, Makeup & Effects: Volume One will be released on October 20, 2021.
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