October 2017 VOD Releases Include CULT OF CHUCKY, BETTER WATCH OUT, WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES

With the Halloween season finally upon us, that we’ve got a ton of horror and sci-fi titles headed our way via VOD and various digital platforms throughout the month of October. Things kick off with the 1992 horror comedy Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which hits Digital HD for the first time ever on October 2nd. The very next day, Cult of Chucky, Super Dark Times, The Forlorned, and Realive all make their respective debuts, and just a few days later the holiday horror flick Better Watch Out arrives on October 6th.

October 10th is another busy day, with the digital releases of Wish Upon, Dementia 13, The 13th Friday, War for the Planet of the Apes, and Wes Craven’s cult classic Summer of Fear, and for those looking to spend their Friday the 13th at home, you’ve got M.F.A., Brawl in Cell Block 99, and the Psycho-themed documentary 78/52 to look forward to. On October 20th, Leatherface, Greg McLean’s Jungle, and David F. Sandberg's Annabelle: Creation make their VOD bows, and the month closes out with a pair of releases on the 31st: Blood Dynasty and The Tormenting.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) – October 2nd

Kristy Swanson, Donald Sutherland, Paul Reubens and Luke Perry star in this funny, action-packed fright-fest. For pampered cheerleader Buffy (Swanson), the only thing worse than discovering that her town is infested with vampires is being told it’s up to her to defeat them all – including their creepy leader (Rutger Hauer)! But, with help from a mysterious stranger (Sutherland) and a handsome mechanic (Perry), Buffy’s soon kicking serious vampire butt in this cult classic!

Crazy Lake (Indican Pictures) – October 3rd

A group of coeds looking for fun on Spring Break have their beach plans cancelled and opt for Plan B – fun at a cabin on the lake. Sometimes Plan B can be a real killer!

Cult of Chucky (Universal Studios Home Entertainment) – October 3rd

Confined to an asylum for the criminally insane for the past four years, Nica (Fiona Dourif) is wrongly convinced that she, not Chucky, murdered her entire family. But when her psychiatrist introduces a new group-therapy tool — a “Good Guy” doll — a string of grisly deaths plague the asylum and Nica starts to wonder if maybe she isn’t crazy after all. Andy (Alex Vincent), Chucky’s now-grownup nemesis from the original Child’s Play, races to Nica’s aid. But to save her he’ll have to get past Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly), Chucky’s long-ago bride, who will do anything, no matter how deadly or depraved, to help her beloved devil doll.

The Forlorned (Midnight Releasing) – October 3rd

An advertisement lured Tom Doherty to the island, offering him a job renovating the old lighthouse and ramshackle buildings. What he didn't know was that he was the only applicant. None of the locals wanted the job - no one dared. Isolated and alone, Tom soon discovers why. Messages from disembodied voices; ghostly visitations and escalating horrors draw Tom deeper into the island's evil past-a darkness that forces Tom to unbury the truth and brings demons of his own into the light.

Realive (Syfy Films) – October 3rd

In REALIVE, Marc Jarvis (Tom Hughes) is diagnosed with a disease and given a short time to live. Unable to accept his own end, he decides to freeze his body. 60 years later, in the year 2084, he becomes the first cryogenically frozen man to be revived in history. Marc discovers a startling future, but the biggest surprise is that his past has accompanied him in unexpected ways.

Super Dark Times (The Orchard) – October 3rd

Zach (Owen Campbell) and Josh (Charlie Tahan) are best friends growing up in a leafy Upstate New York suburb in the 1990s, where teenage life revolves around hanging out, looking for kicks, navigating first love and vying for popularity. When a traumatic incident drives a wedge between the previously inseparable pair, their youthful innocence abruptly vanishes. Each young man processes the tragedy in his own way, until circumstances grow increasingly complex and spiral into violence. Phillips dives headlong into the confusion of teenage life, creating evocative atmosphere out of the murky boundaries between adolescence and adulthood, courage and fear, and good and evil.

Better Watch Out (Well Go USA) – October 6th

This holiday season, you may be home, but you’re not alone... In this fresh and gleefully twisted spin on home-invasion horror, babysitter Ashley (Olivia DeJonge) must defend her young charges (Levi Miller, Ed Oxenbould ) when intruders break into the house one snowy night – or so she thinks.

Cold Moon (Uncork’d Entertainment) – October 6th

In a sleepy southern town, the Larkin family suffers a terrible tragedy. Now the Larkin's are about to endure another: Traffic lights blink an eerie warning, a ghostly visage prowls in the streets, and graves erupt from the local cemetery in an implacable march of terror . . . And beneath the murky surface of the river, a shifting, almost human shape slowly takes form to seek a terrible vengeance.

Demons (Uncork’d Entertainment) – October 6th

Eight years ago, Father Colin Hampstead oversaw an aborted exorcism that resulted in the gruesome death of seventeen-year-old Jewel Grant, in rural Louisiana. The deceased girl’s older sister, Kayleigh, grew immediately attached to Hampstead and sought him out, at first for grief counseling and then, for much more.

Eight years later, Hampstead has left the priesthood and become a celebrated fiction writer, specializing in stories about the occult, and he and Kayleigh, now his wife, have a beautiful daughter and run a well-known bed and breakfast in Savannah, GA. When the couple agrees to host a wedding for one of Colin’s college friends, what begins as a Big Chill-type reunion turns into something much more macabre, as the seemingly omnipresent ghost of her dead sister Jewel compels Kayleigh to engage in bizarre, destructive behaviors that endanger the lives of both her friends and herself.

The 13th Friday (Uncork’d Entertainment) – October 10th

When a female refugee discovers an ancient demonic device that opens the gateway to another realm, she unleashes a dark entity that poses as her daughter. After many failed attempts to have the church explain the creation of her worst nightmares, she learns that the house is cursed by an enraged spirit that died on Friday the 13th. And now a group of thrill seeking friends unknowingly unleash its wrath and damn their souls.

Dementia 13 (Chiller Films) – October 10th

A vengeful ghost, a mysterious killer, and a family where everyone has a secret converge in one night of terror in this remake of Francis Ford Coppola’s first feature film.

Demonic (Lionsgate) – October 10th

The film centers on the aftermath of a horrific massacre where five college students were brutally murdered inside an abandoned home. Detective Mark Lewis (Frank Grillo) and psychologist Dr. Elizabeth Klein (Maria Bello) question one of the few survivors who explains they were amateur ghost-hunters, seeking out paranormal phenomenon at the abandoned house, which was believed to be haunted. But what started out as a harmless activity turned into something truly terrifying.

House by the Lake (Random Media) – October 10th

A struggling couple, Scott and Karen, pack up their troubled young daughter and head to a picturesque lake house to reconnect and put their problems behind them.  As Emma spends time with her new nanny, the little girl begins fixating on an imaginary friend she calls the Fish Man.  Karen's fear of the strange man down the beach, Emma's fear of the water and her recurring sleepwalking continue to raise tensions in the house and drive a wedge between Scott and Karen until one night Emma disappears. When she's found breathing underwater in the tub, Emma insists she's been with the Fish Man.  And he's coming back for her. 

War for the Planet of the Apes (Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment) – October 10th

Andy Serkis returns as Caesar in the thrilling and climatic chapter of the PLANET OF THE APES saga as Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel (Woody Harrelson). After suffering unimaginable losses, Caesar resolves to avenge his kind, pitting him against the Colonel for a final showdown that will determine the future of the planet!

Wes Craven’s Summer of Fear (Doppelganger Releasing) – October 10th

Based on the best-selling young adult novel by Lois Duncan of You Know What I Did Last Summer fame, Wes Craven’s Summer of Fear tells the tale of plucky teenaged Rachel (Linda Blair) whose life is turned dangerously upside down when her cousin Julie (Lee Purcell) moves in following the death of her parents in a car crash. Julie enchants everyone in the family and appears to be a loving relative, but Rachel knows her cousin is up to something creepy…something like witchcraft!

Wish Upon (Broad Green Pictures) – October 10th

After her father (Ryan Phillippe) presents her with a mysterious music box, Clare Shannon (Joey King) is surprised to find her every wish coming true. Her joy slowly morphs into terror as she begins to realize the bloody price of each new wish.

Amityville: The Awakening (Dimension Films/Google Play) – October 12th

The film follows Belle (Bella Thorne) and her family after they move into their new home, but when strange phenomena begin to occur in the house, Belle begins to suspect her mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh) isn’t telling her everything. She soon realizes they just moved into the infamous Amityville house where between illusion and reality lies evil. 

*Coming Exclusively to Google Play*

78/52 (IFC Midnight) – October 13th

The screeching strings, the plunging knife, the slow zoom out from a lifeless eyeball: in 1960, Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho changed film history forever with its taboo-shattering shower scene. With 78 camera set-ups and 52 edits over the course of 3 minutes, Psycho redefined screen violence, set the stage for decades of slasher films to come, and introduced a new element of danger to the movie going experience. Aided by a roster of filmmakers, critics, and fans—including Guillermo del Toro, Bret Easton Ellis, Jamie Lee Curtis, Eli Roth, and Peter Bogdanovich—director Alexandre O. Philippe pulls back the curtain on the making and influence of this cinematic game changer, breaking it down frame by frame and unpacking Hitchcock’s dense web of allusions and double meanings. The result is an enthralling piece of cinematic detective work that’s nirvana for film buffs.

Brawl in Cell Block 99 (RLJE Entertainment) – October 13th

A former boxer named Bradley (Vince Vaughn) loses his job as an auto mechanic, and his troubled marriage is about to expire. At this crossroads in his life, he feels that he has no better option than to work for an old buddy as a drug courier. This improves his situation until the terrible day that he finds himself in a gunfight between a group of police officers and his own ruthless allies. When the smoke clears, Bradley is badly hurt and thrown in prison, where his enemies force him to commit acts of violence that turn the place into a savage battleground. From the director of Bone Tomahawk, Brawl in Cell Block 99 stars Vince Vaughn (Hacksaw Ridge), Jennifer Carpenter (“Dexter”), Udo Kier (Blade) and Don Johnson (“Miami Vice”).

M.F.A. (Dark Sky Films)- October 13th

M.F.A., which was nominated for the Grand Jury Award at the 2017 SXSW festival, tells a gripping story of a young woman forced to take action to protect herself in "perhaps the bravest, rawest rape-revenge thriller yet" (No Film School). Noelle (Francesca Eastwood, Final Girl, Outlaws and Angels), an art student struggling to find her voice, is sexually assaulted by a fellow classmate. Attempting to cope with her trauma, she impulsively confronts her attacker, leading to a violent altercation that culminates in his accidental death. Noelle tries to return to normalcy, but when she discovers she is only one of many silenced sexual assault survivors on campus, she takes justice into her own hands. A vigilante is born - retribution is the inspiration she's been waiting for.

Axeman 2: Overkill (Sinning Works) – October 17th

AXEMAN 2: OVERKILL marks the return of the Axeman at Cutter’s Creek. When a crazed evangelical Christians, murderous bank robbers and revenge-seeking vigilantes clash in the quaint town of Cutter’s Creek, there’s only one axe-wielding local legend who can separate them – and dismember them!

The Dark Tower (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) – October 17th

Based on the best-selling book series by highly-acclaimed author Stephen King. The last Gunslinger, Roland (Idris Elba), has been locked in an eternal battle with the Man in Black (Matthew McConaughey), determined to prevent him from toppling the Dark Tower, which holds the universe together. With the fate of the worlds at stake, good and evil will collide in the epic battle as only Roland can defend the Tower from the Man in Black.

Red Christmas (Artsploitation Films) – October 17th

Genre icon Dee Wallace (The Hills Have Eyes, The Howling, E.T., Cujo, Critters) stars in a critically acclaimed role as the stressed-out mother of a squabbling family, gathered together in a remote Outback estate on Christmas Eve.  Their petty dramas threaten to blacken the holiday until a mysterious and deformed stranger appears at the door seeking bloody vengeance.

Annabelle: Creation (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment – October 20th

In “Annabelle: Creation,” several years after the tragic death of their young daughter, a doll maker and his wife welcome a nun and several girls from a shut-down orphanage into their home. They soon become the target of the doll maker’s possessed creation, Annabelle.

Jungle (Momentum Pictures) – October 20th

An enthusiastic young adventurer follows his dreams into the Amazon jungle with two friends and a guide with a mysterious past. Their journey quickly turns into a terrifying ordeal as the darkest elements of human nature and the deadliest threats of the wilderness lead to an all-out fight for survival.

Leatherface (Lionsgate) – October 20th

In Texas, years before the events of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, in the early days of the infamous Sawyer family, the youngest child is sentenced to a mental hospital after a suspicious incident leaves the sheriff’s daughter dead.  Ten years later, the Sawyer teen kidnaps a young nurse and escapes with three other inmates.  Pursued by authorities including the deranged sheriff out to avenge his daughter’s death, Sawyer goes on a violent road trip from hell, molding him into the monster now known as Leatherface.

Assholes (Breaking Glass Pictures) – October 24th

Adah and Aaron are sober drug addicts who meet in their psychoanalyst's waiting room. They have sex, discover they share an anal fetish, relapse on poppers, conjure a demon, and kill Adah's brother. When their faces turn into Assholes, Adah's parents stage a reality show intervention to get the couple sober again.

The Old Dark House (Cohen Media Group) – October 24th

A quintessential dark and stormy night brings a group of travelers to a forbidding mansion in the Welsh countryside, where they find themselves at the mercy of the strange, and possibly dangerous, Femm family. Boris Karloff is, as always, unforgettable, here playing a mute, menacing butler. The superb cast also includes Gloria Stuart, who would star in James Cameron's Titanic 65 years later, Melvin Douglas (Ninotchka, Being There), Charles Laughton (in his first Hollywood film), Raymond Massey (Abe Lincoln in Illinois, East of Eden) and Ernest Thesiger (Bride of Frankenstein).

Shortwave (Vega Baby Releasing/Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) – October 24th

Josh and Isabel Harris, after suffering the loss of their only child, relocate to a secluded hillside research facility with the hopes of repairing their broken family. After years of trying, Josh and his research partner, Thomas, have a breakthrough involving a cryptic shortwave radio signal and its universal origins. Something within the signal resonates with Isabel and she begins experiencing seeming hallucinations and visions of distant memories. Upon further investigation into the phenomenon, the scientists fear for Isabel’s health while Isabel fears the signal has attracted something sinister to their new home.

Blood Dynasty (Castle Films) – October 31st

Blood Dynasty is the third in Alexander’s “Irina” vampire film cycle, that began with 2012’s award winning Blood for Irina and continued in 2014’s Queen of Blood. The character of Irina – inspired in part by Lina Romay’s character in Spanish filmmaker Jess Franco’s Female Vampire – is once more reborn, rising from the sea to bring madness and bloodlust to a lonely young woman living in a decaying motel.

Like the previous films, the vampire Irina is more of a “karmic” character, a dream that is constantly placed in different incarnations in different times and worlds and representing different emotional and psychological states. Like the previous films, Blood Dynasty is slow, hypnotic, immersive and challenging and is driven by Alexander’s own pulsing, swirling electronic score. And like the other films…it’s soaked in dripping, ultra-red blood!

The Tormenting (Breaking Glass Pictures) – October 31st

Amy is a medical researcher with ambitions to open her own health care facility. After visiting a property up for sale, she begins to experience tormenting supernatural visions of a young girl who experienced a horrific death. Amy's life takes a turn when she begins to piece together glimpses of the girl’s last living moments, and starts to understand the spirit’s plea for help to cross over. Seeking a detective’s assistance, Amy becomes determined to seek justice for the girl’s death and bring her soul to peace—even at the risk of being perceived as insane by those close to her.