Happy (almost) 2019, readers! With the new year quickly approaching, it’s time to check out a brand new batch of digital and VOD releases coming our way over the course of the month of January. Uncork’d Entertainment is wasting no time with both The Demonologist and Lifechanger hitting various platforms on January 1st, and then just a few days later both Rust Creek and American Hangman are making their digital debuts on the 4th.
January 8th is the day that both Terror Tales and Loophole come home, and just a week later, Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria heads to digital along with Dry Blood and Doom Room. The Standoff at Sparrow Creek invades various platforms on January 18th, and the month’s digital genre-related releases are rounded out on the 22nd with I Am Not A Witch, West of Sunshine and The Girl in the Spider’s Web from Fede Alvarez.
The Demonologist (Uncork’d Entertainment) – January 1st
A detective is haunted by nightmares of his past and visions he cannot understand. When he investigates a string of brutal murders, he discovers a Cult that worships the four King Demons of Hell, who plan on bringing them forth to destroy the Earth. He must stop the Cult from starting the Apocalypse and finally come to grips with his birthright and destiny as The Demonologist.
Lifechanger (Uncork’d Entertainment) – January 1st
Drew has an identity problem. Every few days, has to shape-shift, or face a painful death. He has to find someone and make a copy. He takes everything: their looks, memories, hopes, and dreams. Their entire life. He becomes them, and they die horribly. Enter Julia, the object of Drew’s affection. How can he make things right when he’s never the same person for very long? How do you gain back trust when who you are keeps changing? Part psychological thriller, part body horror, Lifechanger follows one shape-shifters’ twisted quest to repair the damage he’s caused, while leaving a trail of bodies in his wake.
American Hangman (Vertical Entertainment) – January 4th
American Hangman is a thriller built around a relentlessly ticking clock and a rapidly approaching deadline and verdict. A kidnapping, broadcast live on social media, turns into the trial of a judge who presided over a botched criminal case. This time, however, the audience gets to play judge and jury, deciding if the judge himself gets to live or die.
Rust Creek (IFC Midnight) – January 4th
Hermoine Corfield (Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, xXx: The Return of Xander Cage) stars as Sawyer, an ambitious, overachieving college senior with a seemingly bright future. While on her way to a job interview, a wrong turn leaves her stranded deep in the frozen Kentucky woods.
Suddenly, the young woman with everything to live for finds herself facing her own mortality as she’s punished by the elements and pursued by a band of ruthless outlaws. With nowhere left to run, she is forced into an uneasy alliance with Lowell (Jay Paulson), an enigmatic loner with shadowy intentions. Though she’s not sure she can trust him, Sawyer must take a chance if she hopes to escape Rust Creek alive.
Loophole (High Octane Pictures) – January 8th
The gene for violence is discovered, setting off a demand for world-wide testing, promoting the belief that these people will commit a violent crime. College student Lexi Smith finds herself in the middle of a collision between science and religion where all of humanity hangs in the balance.
Terror Tales (High Octane Pictures) – January 8th
When Michael wakes up he is horrified to find that he is riding shotgun with a psychopath (Christopher Showerman, “Supergirl”) who reveals to him that his wife and daughter are held captive in the attached cargo trailer. The trailer is rigged to release a deadly toxin when triggered by a switch in the car. Thinking of his family’s safety, he cooperates with everything the psychotic driver asks him to do even if it means breaking the law.
During this bizarre ride, the driver subjects Michael to three horrific tales of the macabre including a demon that takes a mother (Lynn Lowry, “Shivers”) on a journey of self-discovery and reveals to her the horrifying truth behind her son’s suicide. The next tale transpires in the '80s where a Detective is hot on the trail of a serial killer known as The Sledgehammer (Jonathan Tiersten, “Sleepaway Camp”) who is terrorizing a video store owner and his wife. In the final tale, an evil deity (Yan Birch, “Wes Craven's The People Under the Stairs”) is using the human body as a host to possess its victims. When the deity destroys one victim it jumps to another causing an epidemic of possessions being reported. With a burning desire for the truth behind his abduction and the safety of his family, will Michael have the will to survive the madness? Your sanity will be tried and tested in Terror Tales.
Doom Room (Wild Eye Releasing) – January 15th
A woman wakes up locked in a small room with no memory of how she arrived there. Unable to escape, and tormented by a series of paranormal entities, she must uncover the riddle of who she is and how she got here.
Dry Blood (Epic Pictures) – January 15th
In a rural mountain town, an unstable drug addict must unravel a surreal murder mystery as he’s terrorized by malevolent ghosts, a deranged sheriff, and the frightening hallucinations from his withdrawal.
Suspiria (2018) (Lionsgate) – January 15th
Young American dancer Susie Bannion arrives in 1970s Berlin to audition for the world-renowned Helena Markos Dance Company, stunning the troupe’s famed choreographer, Madame Blanc, with her raw talent. When she vaults to the role of lead dancer, Olga, the previous lead, breaks down and accuses the company’s female directors of being witches. As rehearsals intensify for the final performance of the company’s signature piece, Susie and Madame Blanc grow strangely close, suggesting that Susie’s purpose in the company goes beyond merely dancing. Meanwhile, an inquisitive psychotherapist trying to uncover the company’s dark secrets enlists the help of another dancer, who probes the depths of the studio’s hidden underground chambers, where horrific discoveries await.
The Standoff at Sparrow Creek (RLJE Films) – January 18th
In THE STANDOFF AT SPARROW CREEK, after a shooting at a police funeral, reclusive ex-cop Gannon (James Badge Dale) finds himself unwittingly forced out of retirement when he realizes that the killer belongs to the same militia he joined after quitting the force. Understanding that the shooting could set off a chain reaction of copycat violence across the country, Gannon quarantines his fellow militiamen in the remote lumber mill they call their headquarters. There, he sets about a series of grueling interrogations, intent on ferreting out the killer and turning him over to the authorities to prevent further bloodshed.
I Am Not A Witch (Film Movement) – January 22nd
When nine-year-old Shula is accused of witchcraft, she is exiled to a witch camp run by Mr. Banda, a corrupt and inept government official. Tied to the ground by a white ribbon, Shula is told that she will turn into a goat if she tries to escape. As the only child witch, Shula quickly becomes a local star and the adults around her exploit her supposed powers for financial gain. Soon she is forced to make a difficult decision - whether to resign herself to life on the camp, or take a risk for freedom.
The Girl in the Spider’s Web (Sony Pictures Home Entertainment) – January 22nd
Claire Foy (“The Crown”) stars in a new Dragon Tattoo story as Lisbeth Salander, the highly-skilled vigilante from the acclaimed Millennium book series. Salander and journalist Mikael Blomkvist find themselves caught in a web of spies, cybercriminals and corrupt government officials, as they race to rescue a dangerous program capable of global destruction held by shadowy figures linked to Lisbeth’s past.
West of Sunshine (Uncork’d Entertainment) – January 22nd
Separated from his family and caught in a cycle of gambling and debt, Jim has less than a day to repay a violent loan shark. His day is turned upside down when he must look after his young son. Jim's relationship with his son is tested as his plans to pay back the loan fail. When his last desperate effort to repay the debt puts his son's life at risk, he must make a choice between his past and a second chance at life.
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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