Happy (almost) December, everyone! While the holidays may be underway, that doesn’t mean horror is taking a break, as we have a lot of great genre movies headed to VOD, Digital, and On Demand over the next few weeks. Things kick off tomorrow with The Last Matinee on ARROW (this writer enjoyed it immensely) and throughout December, films like Dune (2021), Antlers, and Halloween Kills (with extra footage) will be headed to the small screen along with a ton of indie horror, including Silent Night, The Advent Calendar, Agnes, Benedetta from Paul Verhoeven, and Red Snow. Also, Joe Bob and Darcy return to Shudder on December 17th for an all-new holiday special.
Happy Streaming and Happy Holidays!
The Last Matinee (ARROW) - Exclusively on ARROW December 1st
A cold, wet day. A declining cinema. All you want is to get out of the rain and watch a good film. But who else is in there, hiding in the dark? When Ana takes over projection duties from her ailing father, she doesn’t expect anything worse than a broken reel or a burned-out bulb. But there’s a sadistic killer in the auditorium, and soon blood is running in the aisles as he starts picking off the audience members one by one. Can Ana and the few remaining survivors escape the murderous madman, or will they be victims of his matinee massacre?
The Advent Calendar (Shudder) - Exclusively on Shudder December 2nd
Written and directed by Patrick Ridremont, Eva (Eugénie Derouand, Paris Police 1900), an ex-dancer, is now living in a wheelchair, unable to walk. When her friend Sophie (Honorine Magnier, Tomorrow is Ours) gives her an old wooden antique advent calendar before Christmas, she realizes each window contains a surprise that triggers repercussions in real life. Some of them are good, but most of them are bad, really bad. Now Eva will have to choose between getting rid of the calendar or walking again – even if it causes death and destruction to everyone she holds dear around her.
Dune (2021) (Warner Bros. Home Entertainment) - December 2nd
“Dune” tells the story of Paul Atreides, a gifted young man born into a great destiny, who must travel to the most dangerous planet in the universe to ensure the future of his people.
Red Pill (Midnight Releasing) - December 3rd
On the eve of the 2020 election, a posse of six progressives ride into red country armed with heart, humor, and naiveté, what they really need is heavy artillery. Despite the glaring warning signs that Cassandra (Pinkins) is so keenly aware, the group ignore the red flags and focus on their triumphant dreams of getting the vote out. A frightening prescient look at the weaponization of Whiteness in America; their dreams of getting the vote out are quickly slashed—death is their final ballot entry.
Silent Night (RLJE Films) - Exclusively on AMC+ December 3rd
From producers Matthew Vaughn (Kingsman franchise), Trudie Styler (Moon) and Celine Rattray (The Kids Are Alright), Silent Night follows parents Nell (Keira Knightley) and Simon (Matthew Goode) who have invited their closest friends to join their family for Christmas dinner at their idyllic home in the English countryside. As the group comes together, it feels like old times – but behind all of the laughter and merriment, something is not quite right. The world outside is facing impending doom, and no amount of gifts, games or Prosecco can make mankind’s imminent destruction go away. Surviving the holidays just got a lot more complicated.
Twas the Night (Vertical Entertainment) - December 3rd
Life is lovely for Holly and Nick. They just got engaged, their careers are growing, and are preparing their new home to have over their soon-to-be in-laws for the first time. Stressed with the holiday decorations and only a short time before the parents arrive, Holly accepts help from a nearby man in a Santa suit to put the final touches on their holiday décor. As he perfects the final adornment, a misfortunate accident sends him flying off a ladder, rendering him unconscious. Frantic and focused on making good first impressions, Holly and Nick resort to the only choice they see as reasonable – hide the body in the bathroom and invite the in-laws in. Their outrageous actions land them in a hilariously impossible situation to escape.
Death to Metal (Wild Eye Releasing) - December 7th
After a freak accident, a disturbed priest is transformed into a mutated killing machine on a mission to wipe out the godless fans of heavy metal music.
Death Valley (Shudder) - Exclusively on Shudder December 9th
When a secret experiment goes horribly wrong, bioengineer Dr. Chloe becomes trapped inside a secret underground facility. With only 24 hours before a fatal decontamination protocol destroys the entire lab, Chloe deploys an emergency distress signal before a terrifying creature of unknown origin can consume what’s left of her.
Alerted by the distress beacon, battle-weary guns for hire, Marshall and Beckett are commissioned to carry out a covert operation to extract the imprisoned scientist. Upon deployment, the team is ambushed by another heavily armed militia hell-bent on finding a way into the compound themselves.
Severely outnumbered, the mercenaries find entry to the bunker through an unsealed emergency hatch only to find themselves in a horrific fight for survival. With time and ammunition running out, the team must locate Dr. Chloe while also navigating the underground maze of corridors before they’re hunted down one by one.
Agnes (Magnet Releasing) - December 10th
A nun’s disturbing behavior sparks rumors of demonic possession at a remote convent. When a priest in waiting and his disillusioned mentor are sent to investigate, their methods backfire, leaving a wake of terror and trauma.
Hurt (Gravitas Ventures) - December 10th
A soldier reunites with his wife to take in the attractions at their favorite Halloween spot: the “Haunted Hayride.” But when real terror follows them home, they must fight for their lives… or become the next attraction.
Portal Runner (Terror Films) - December 10th
When 15-year-old Nolan discovers a secretive family legacy and a portal that enables him to travel to parallel worlds, it’s a young boy’s dream come true … until it becomes a nightmare when he realizes he’s being pursued across the ages by an evil force. When he becomes stranded on Christmas in an alternate world with his quirky family and a rebellious and petulant older sister he’s never met before, he realizes Mae may be the key to defeating his adversary and must enlist her help fast … before it’s too late for them all.
Halloween Kills: Extended Cut (Universal Pictures Home Entertainment) - December 13th
Survivors of Michael Myers’ rampage form a vigilante mob and set out to hunt Michael down, once and for all. The Extended Cut has more thrills, kills, and an alternate ending.
Achoura (Dark Star Pictures) - December 14th
Four friends reconnect when one of them, who disappeared 25 years ago, suddenly comes back into their lives. Together, they will have to confront the terrifying events of their youth and fight a monstrous creature born of a horrible legend.
The Darkness of the Road (Uncork’d Entertainment) - December 14th
A single mother and her young daughter are driving on a desolate road in a moonless desert. After meeting a young female hitchhiker at a gas station, the mother realizes her daughter is missing. As they search for her, a merciless force begins to torment the two women, unraveling a world of terror they must survive if they are to discover the terrifying truth behind the daughter's disappearance.
Fortress (Lionsgate) - December 17th
In this dazzling action cyber-thriller, Bruce Willis (Pulp Fiction) plays Robert, a retired CIA agent living at a secret resort in the woods. One day, his estranged son drives to the camp for a visit — but he’s followed by Robert’s old nemesis, Balzary (Chad Michael Murray, “One Tree Hill”). As the site is besieged by Balzary’s attack squad, father and son retreat to a high-tech bunker. But are its steel walls and advanced weapons powerful enough to match Balzary’s bloodthirsty plans for revenge?
Joe Bob Ruins Christmas (Shudder) - Airs Exclusively on Shudder on December 17th at 9 pm EST
Per Joe Bob’s Tweet: We're baaaack! It's an auction, it's a telethon, and it's the kind of genre-bending movie choices that are guaranteed to make you say "Huh? What? Explain that one again." Join us for a major distortion of what Christmas is all about.
Mother/Android (Hulu) - Exclusively on Hulu December 17th
Set in the near future, “Mother/Android” follows Georgia (Chloë Grace Moretz) and her boyfriend Sam (Algee Smith) through their treacherous journey of escape as their country is caught in an unexpected war with artificial intelligence. Days away from the arrival of their first child, they must face No Man’s Land – a stronghold of the android uprising, in hopes of reaching safety before giving birth.
Antlers (Searchlight Pictures) - December 21st
Acclaimed director Scott Cooper and monster maestro Guillermo del Toro bring to life a multi-dimensional terror experience with Antlers.
The myth of the dreaded "wendigo" comes to shocking life in this terrifying horror thriller. When a small-town Oregon teacher (Keri Russell) and her brother (Jesse Plemons), the local sheriff, seek to help a troubled young boy who possesses a strange secret, the consequences are more dreadful than they could have possibly imagined.
Arrebato (1979) 4K Restoration (Altered Innocence) - December 21st
Horror movie director José is adrift in a sea of doubt and drugs. As his belated second feature nears completion, his reclusive bubble is popped by two events: a sudden reappearance from an ex-girlfriend and a package from past acquaintance Pedro: a reel of Super-8 film, an audiotape, and a door key. From there, the boundaries of time, space, and sexuality are erased as José is once more sucked into Pedro’s vampiric orbit. Together, they attempt the ultimate hallucinogenic catharsis through a Moebius strip of filming and being filmed.
Benedetta (IFC Films) - December 21st
A 17th-century nun in Italy suffers from disturbing religious and erotic visions. She is assisted by a companion, and the relationship between the two women develops into a romantic love affair.
The Scary of Sixty-First (Utopia) - December 24th
While out apartment hunting, college pals Noelle and Addie stumble upon the deal of a lifetime: a posh duplex on Manhattan's Upper East Side. But soon after moving in, a more sinister picture of the apartment emerges when a mysterious woman arrives and claims the property used to belong to the infamous and recently-deceased Jeffrey Epstein.
With this news, Noelle becomes obsessed with the visitor—to the point of infatuation. As the pair plunge deeper into the conspiracies of the Epstein case, Addie falls into her own bizarre state: a pseudo-possession complete with inexplicable fits of age-regressed sexual mania. As they peel back on these strange occurrences, the truth reveals itself to be more twisted than they could have ever imagined.
Red Snow (4Digital Media) - December 28th
When an injured bat transforms into a handsome vampire, struggling horror novelist Olivia Romo hides him in her garage to protect him from a vampire hunter. Besotted by the creature, she feeds him animal blood, but any chance of romance is soon thwarted when a gang of fellow bloodsuckers invade her home in search of their missing friend.
Sensation (Vertical Entertainment) - December 31st
When a lowly postman is inducted into a top-secret superhuman DNA program, it's revealed that he'll be able to receive, control, and send information based on the senses of others. As his training unfolds, strange and unsettling occurrences begin to follow him as he’s placed in bizarre scenarios that make him question his reality.
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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