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To celebrate its 15th anniversary, as well as the Halloween season, Blumhouse and AMC Theaters are re-releasing Paranormal Activity as part of AMCs Blumfest. Variety reports AMC and Blumhouse are teaming up for a six-week program focusing on all things horror, which kicks off Sept. 25 with the Paranormal Activity screening. The movie stars Katie Featherstone and Micah Sloat and is directed and written by Oren Peli.

This whole month is a love letter to Halloween and our fans, Jason Blum, founder and CEO of Blumhouse said. I cant believe we're already celebrating the 15th anniversary of Paranormal Activity because it feels like were just getting started.

Related The Most Realistic Depiction of Witches Is In This 2021 Indie Horror Film

Taking its inspiration from the practices of actual witches, this no-budget horror masterpiece was created and stars a real-life family of four.

AMCs Blumfest is being held in 54 cities in the U.

Something about having a scary movie marathon on a late Autumn night feels so right. It’s the perfect Halloween season activity to enjoy with friends and family. Whether it be campy horror, a ghost story, or a classic slasher, the horror genre has a wide variety of franchises that make for incredible movie marathons.

It’s no secret some horror franchises get a bad rap because, let’s face it, horror sequels can be pretty awful. Still, no proper horror movie marathon is complete without a few unintentionally hilarious bad films to laugh at between the genuinely scary ones. Despite the inconsistent scares, these horror franchises are perfect for late-night movie marathons.

Update October 25, 2023, by Anthony Jeanetta. Late October is ideal for gathering friends and family and having a horror movie marathon. This list is updated to include more of the best horror franchises perfect for a scary movie marathon.

Masterclass

It’s not every day that your podcast hits 200 episodes or gets a brand new logo, so it’s been a big week for Trace and me over at Horror Queers.

We’ve had an incredibly busy October on the pod, what with an extended conversation with Don Mancini about the last 30+ years of the Chucky franchise, a discussion about biphobia and Paul Verhoeven’s classic Erotic Thriller Basic Instinct, and our (now annual) check-in on David Gordon Green’s Halloween trilogy, Halloween Kills.

For our 200th episode, we wanted a special, perfect 5-star film, so we knew we had to go with Karyn Kusama‘s The Invitation (2015). In the film, grieving Will (Logan Marshall-Green) and his new girlfriend Kira (Emayatzy Corinealdi) attend a dinner in the Hollywood Hills at the behest of his ex, Eden (Tammy Blanchard) and her new boyfriend, David (Michiel Huisman).

But something’s off:...

Stars: Logan Marshall-Green, Tammy Blanchard, John Carroll Lynch, Michelle Krusiec, Aiden Lovekamp, Mike Doyle, Jordi Vilasuso, Marieh Delfino, Jay Larson, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Michiel Huisman | Written by Matt Manfredi, Phil Hay | Directed by Karyn Kusama

Karyn Kusama’s latest film sells you the whole seat, but you’ll only need the edge…

Written by Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay, and directed by Kusama (Jennifer’s Body), The Invitation stars Logan Marshall-Green as Will, a man whose ex-wife, Eden, invites him to a dinner party two years after she mysteriously vanished. Eden is acting incredibly strange, at least in Will’s eyes, and peculiar goings-on lead him to suspect that she and her new boyfriend may have sinister intentions for their guests.

The best horror films play around with very relatable human emotions, and like recent Australian hit The Babadook, grief lies at the center of The Invitation. Early on the film,...

Stars: Logan Marshall-Green, Tammy Blanchard, John Carroll Lynch, Michelle Krusiec, Aiden Lovekamp, Mike Doyle, Jordi Vilasuso, Marieh Delfino, Jay Larson, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Michiel Huisman | Written by Matt Manfredi, Phil Hay | Directed by Karyn Kusama

Karyn Kusama’s latest film sells you the whole seat, but you’ll only need the edge.

Written by Matt Manfredi and Phil Hay, and directed by Kusama (Jennifer’s Body), The Invitation stars Logan Marshall-Green as Will, a man whose ex-wife, Eden, invites him to a dinner party two years after she mysteriously vanished. Eden is acting incredibly strange, at least in Will’s eyes, and peculiar goings-on lead him to suspect that she and her new boyfriend may have sinister intentions for their guests.

The best horror films play around with very relatable human emotions, and like recent Australian hit The Babadook, grief lies at the center of The Invitation. Early on the film,...

This film was originally reviewed at Tiff 2014.

Edward Zwick is a great filmmaker, but he rarely gives you subtlety. Some have criticized his medium-to-large-budget action films – titles that include Glory, Defiance and Blood Diamond – as too simplistic, which would have stained those efforts more if they were not so compelling and exciting. So, to hear that the director was behind a film about the introspective game of chess and its most famous player, the complex and controversial Bobby Fischer, was nerve-wracking. Would the film skimp on the nuances of the New York chess sensation? Could the Last Samurai director figure out a way to depict the game in an inventive way onscreen?

Well, although Zwick has still not managed to find a way to visually communicate the game of wits and cunning, he has still made a biopic and thriller that should entertain those who do not even know how to play chess.

Pawn Sacrifice

Written by Steven Knight

Directed by Edward Zwick

USA, 2014

Locke, the most recent film directed by Steven Knight, is a masterpiece of focus. With the help of his clutter-free screenplay and a stunning performance from Tom Hardy, Knight makes watching someone drive a car for ninety minutes as thrilling as the most opulent Hollywood set pieces. Although the camera’s perspective doesn’t change much throughout the film, and Hardy is the only person onscreen, the thrilling tale of a man whose life spirals out of control is never anything less than riveting. By necessity, the film is focused in a way few others are, and the concentration makes for a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience.

It’s a shame, then, that Knight can’t bring the same focus to his latest screenplay, Pawn Sacrifice (directed by Edward Zwick), a by-the-numbers biopic of American chess prodigy Bobby Fischer (Tobey Maguire...

Viewers can travel back to 1989 in The Boy, a new SpectreVision film that follows a killer kid and stars Jared Breeze, David Morse, and Rainn Wilson. Ahead of the movie's August 18th theatrical and VOD release, a special screening of The Boy will take place at the Egyptian Theatre in Los Angeles tomorrow night, and we've been provided with two pairs of tickets to give away.

Winners will receive tickets to attend a special 7:30pm screening of The Boy at L.A.'s Egyptian Theatre this Friday, followed by a Q&A with SpectreVision producers Elijah Wood, Josh Waller and Daniel Noah, screenwriter Clay McLeod Chapman, and star Jared Breeze. The panel will be moderated by Jen Yamato of The Daily Beast.

If you don't win the contest, you can still purchase tickets to the special screening via the American Cinematheque website:

http://www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/calendar_egyptian

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This summer saw audiences get reacquainted with Seth MacFarlane's foulmouthed bear Ted, but an entirely different character with the same name is coming to cinemas. He's the center of the upcoming, slow burn dramatic horror "The Boy," and after hitting SXSW in the spring, the movie is on the way to put a chill on the summer season. Read More: The 20 Most Anticipated FIlms Of The 2015 Sxsx Film Festival Starring Rainn Wilson, David Morse, Jared Breeze, Bill Sage, Mike Vogel, Zuleikha Robinson, Aiden Lovekamp and David Valencia, based on the novel "Miss Corpus" by Clay McLeod Chapman and directed by Craig William Macneill, the story follows an isolated nine year-old being raised by his depressed and drunken single father, who falls in with a mysterious drfiter. Here's the official synopsis: It’s the summer of 1989. Nine-year-old Ted Henley (Jared Breeze) and his father John (David Morse) are the proprietors of The.

With Sundance in the rear view mirror and Berlin just around the corner, another huge festival that’s now very much in mind is the 2015 South By Southwest Film Festival (SXSW 2015), to be held in Austin, Texas, this March. And this year, the lineup looks no less eclectic than in any previous year for the festival.

SXSW 2015 will see the debut of two big-studio comedies (Paul Feig’s Spy, starring Melissa McCarthy; and Etan Cohen’s Get Hard, starring Will Ferrell and Kevin Hart), some red-hot documentaries (none more so than Alex Gibney’s Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine) and a vast array of smaller indie titles. Intriguingly, Judd Apatow’s Amy Schumer vehicle Trainwreck will be screened as a work-in-progress.

Elsewhere, Alex Garland’s well-received Ex Machina will be making an appearance, as will Ryan Gosling’s much-maligned Lost River. And curiously, there will be a...

South by Southwest, the multi-faceted film, music and technology festival held annually in Austin, TX will feature such upcoming films as Paul Feig’s Spy, David Gordon Green’s Manglehorn, Alex Gibney’s documentary Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine, and Ondi Timoner’s Russell Brand profile Brand: A Second Coming as headliners in this year’s film festival lineup.

SXSW runs from March 13 to 21 in Austin and is now in its 22nd year. Variety has details of the 145 films and 100 world premieres bowing at this year’s festival. Brand, as previously reported, will be the festival’s opening night film.

Other notable titles on the list are the Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart comedy Get Hard, a rough cut of Judd Apatow’s Trainwreck, the directorial debut of 28 Days Later screenwriter Alex Garland, Ex Machina, and a new comedy by Michael Showalter, Hello, My Name is Doris.

On the small screen,...

Top brass at the 22nd South By Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival have announced the feature line-up for the upcoming festival, set to run from March 13-21 in Austin, Texas.

SXSW will showcase 145 features. The line-up includes 60 films from first-time film-makers and comprises 100 world premieres, 13 North American premieres and 11 Us premieres.

Head of film Janet Pierson and her team of programmers culled selections from a record 2,385 feature-length submissions composed of 1,614 Us and 771 international features. The record of 7,335 total submissions marks a 13% gain on 2014.

For the first time the number of films in the juried Narrative Feature and Documentary Feature selections have risen from eight to ten. The complete Conference line-up and schedule will be released on February 17.

Besides the Narrative Feature Competition and Documentary Feature Competition selections listed below, feature entries include Judd Apatow’s work-in-progress comedy Trainwreck starring Amy Schumer in Special Events, music film 808 (pictured) in 24 Beats Per Second and Alex Garland’s sci-fi...

Rainn Wilson, Mike Vogel, David Morse, Zuleikha Robinson and Bill Sage have joined the cast of The Boy, which is currently shooting in Colombia.

The project is the first in a planned trilogy, which follows the childhood of future serial killer Ted Henley (Jared Breeze) at ages 9, 14 and 18 respectively, ending with his full transformation into a mass murderer. Rainn Wilson is playing William Colby, a stranger who intrigues the young boy. David Morse portrays Ted's father John Henley, the owner of a motel. Mike Vogel and Zuleikha Robinson are playing a married couple who stay at Henley's motel with their young son (Aiden Lovekamp), with Bill Sage rounding out the cast as a small town's sheriff.

Craig Macneill (The Afterlight) is directing from a screenplay he co-wrote with Clay McLeod Chapman. They both created the characters in the novel Miss Corpus and made the short film this project is based on.

Rainn Wilson, Mike Vogel, David Morse, Zuleikha Robinson and Bill Sage have joined the cast of The Boy, which is currently shooting in Colombia.

The project is the first in a planned trilogy, which follows the childhood of future serial killer Ted Henley (Jared Breeze) at ages 9, 14 and 18 respectively, ending with his full transformation into a mass murderer. Rainn Wilson is playing William Colby, a stranger who intrigues the young boy. David Morse portrays Ted's father John Henley, the owner of a motel. Mike Vogel and Zuleikha Robinson are playing a married couple who stay at Henley's motel with their young son (Aiden Lovekamp), with Bill Sage rounding out the cast as a small town's sheriff.

Craig Macneill (The Afterlight) is directing from a screenplay he co-wrote with Clay McLeod Chapman. They both created the characters in the novel Miss Corpus and made the short film this project is based on.

Rainn Wilson and David Morse have joined the cast of The Boy.

Bill Sage, Mike Vogel and Zuleikha Robinson have also been added to the project from SpectreVision partners Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah and Josh C Waller, reports Variety.

Jared Breeze was previously cast as Ted Henley, a young man who is led astray by the mysterious William Colby (Wilson).

The film will be the first in a trilogy charting Henley's transformation into a young serial killer.

Morse will play his father John Henley, with Mike Vogel, Zuleikha Robinson and Aiden Lovekamp as a family who stay at the Henleys' motel. Sage will play the local sheriff of the small town.

Craig Macneill will direct from the script he worked on with Clay McLeod Chapman, who created the characters in his novel Miss Corpus.

The short film Henley was a competition entrant at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.

Wilson is...

Rainn Wilson, David Morse, Mike Vogel, Zuleikha Robinson and Bill Sage are joining the cast of  The Boy , the latest production from Spectrevision. Wilson will portray the character of William Colby, an enigmatic stranger who intrigues and beguiles the young Ted Henley. Morse is John Henley, motel owner and father of the boy who will eventually grow to infamy. Mike Vogel and Zuleikha Robinson play a married couple, who along with their son (Aiden Lovekamp) spend the night at the Henley motel, and Bill Sage will portray the Sheriff of the rural town in which the Henleys reside. Jared Breeze was cast as Henley a bit ago. Spectrevision's previous production,  Cooties , was recently picked up by Lionsgate.

More casting news has come in for the latest flick from SpectreVision partners Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah, and Josh C. Waller, entitled The Boy, as Rainn Wilson, David Morse, Mike Vogel, Zuleikha Robinson, and Bill Sage have all signed up to keep an eye on this evil little bastard.

Principal photography began February 17, 2014, on the SpectreVision production of The Boy, based on the award-winning short subject film Henley, which appeared in competition at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.

Synopsis:

The Boy is the first film of a planned trilogy tracking the childhood of a future serial killer, with installments depicting the character at ages 9, 14, and 18, respectively, and ending with his full transformation to an iconic mass murderer.

The Boy is directed by Craig McNeill from a screenplay by McNeill and Clay McLeod Chapman, who created the characters in his novel Miss Corpus. The pair previously collaborated on the respective direction and writing of the short film.

Elijah Wood's SpectreVision label is moving forward with "The Boy," the first film in a planned trilogy that will explore the childhood of a future serial killer.

Based on the 2012 Sundance short film "Henley," the trilogy will explore the life of the killer at the ages of 9, 14, and 18 - by the end of which he has become an iconic mass murderer.

Craig Macneill directs from a script he co-wrote with Clay McLeod Chapman. Chapman created the characters as part of his novel "Miss Corpus".

Eight-year-old Jared Breeze will play the nine-year-old version of the Henley character. Breeze stars in SpectreVision's upcoming horror comedy "Cooties" which premieres at Sundance this Sunday. Aiden Lovekamp also stars in "The Boy".

Wood, Daniel Noah and Josh C. Waller will produce. Shooting begins February 17th in Medellin, Colombia.

Source: Heat Vision...

SpectreVision partners Elijah Wood, Daniel Noah, and Josh C. Waller have announced their next project that will be looking to send many a shiver down your spine. Tales of evil kids always end up pretty popular so The Boy has his work cut out for him!

Principal photography will commence on February 17, 2014, on the SpectreVision production of The Boy, based on the award-winning short subject film Henley, which appeared in competition at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.

Synopsis:

The Boy is the first film of a planned trilogy tracking the childhood of a future serial killer, with installments depicting the character at ages 9, 14, and 18, respectively, and ending with his full transformation to an iconic mass murderer.

The Boy is directed by Craig McNeill from a screenplay by McNeill and Clay McLeod Chapman, who created the characters in his novel Miss Corpus. The pair previously collaborated on the respective direction and writing of the short film.

A riveting mystery drama about living, dying, illusion and reality. In one of the most atmospheric films to come out of California in some time, debut director Nenad Cicin-Sain helms a screenplay by himself and Richard N. Gladstein in the film “The Time Being.” A film ostensibly about painters and painting, the story is more about obsession, self-knowledge and difference between artistic expression and ego. An exciting work by a first time director, this films portends greatness for Cicin-Sain. Wes Bentley plays struggling artist Daniel who is fighting a losing battle balancing his obsession with artistic expression with his relationship with his wife Olivia (Ahna O'Reilly) and his five year old son Marco (Aiden Lovekamp). There have been many...

By Scott Neumyer

Say what you will about the "Paranormal Activity" series, but there's absolutely no denying that director, writer, producer, and creator of the franchise Oren Peli not only crafted one of the most lucrative horror film series in recent memory, but he also helped paved the way for the found-footage phenomenon that currently graces the silver screen a few times every year. The franchise's latest film, "Paranormal Activity 4" (out on Blu-ray and DVD today) takes the terrifying series in a new direction and provides a fresh take on what could easily have become a stale plate of sequels.

MTV recently sat down with Peli to discuss the "Paranormal Activity" series, his rigorous casting process, and the director's favorite horror movies.

Humble Beginnings

MTV: You started this series back in 2007, on the cheap, and it has become an enormous hit. Did you imagine the enormity of it way back then?...

Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman from a script by Christopher Landon (all returning from the previous installment), Paranormal Activity 4 relocates the supernatural evil in a new home when a strange neighbor boy comes calling, and teenage Alex (Kathryn Newton) starts recording the strange events that follow. Series stalwart Katie Featherston is also back, and movie co-stars Brady Allen, Aiden Lovekamp, Stephen Dunham, Matt Shively and Alexondra Lee.

Paramount Home Entertainment releases the film on January 29 on DVD and in a Blu-ray/DVD combo with digital copy, both containing the theatrical cut and an unrated version with previously unseen footage, presented in 16x9 widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound on the DVD and DTS-hd 5.1 Master Audio on the Blu-ray. The latter, as well as the digital copy, will also include “The Recovered Files,” 28 additional minutes of never-before-seen scenes. Retail prices are $29.99 for the DVD and $39.99 for the Blu-ray.

Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman from a script by Christopher Landon (all returning from the previous installment), Paranormal Activity 4 relocates the supernatural evil in a new home when a strange neighbor boy comes calling, and teenage Alex (Kathryn Newton) starts recording the strange events that follow. Series stalwart Katie Featherston is also back, and movie co-stars Brady Allen, Aiden Lovekamp, Stephen Dunham, Matt Shively and Alexondra Lee.

Paramount Home Entertainment releases the film on January 29 on DVD and in a Blu-ray/DVD combo with digital copy, both containing the theatrical cut and an unrated version with previously unseen footage, presented in 16x9 widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound on the DVD and DTS-hd 5.1 Master Audio on the Blu-ray. The latter, as well as the digital copy, will also include “The Recovered Files,” 28 additional minutes of never-before-seen scenes. Retail prices are $29.99 for the DVD and $39.99 for the Blu-ray.

Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman from a script by Christopher Landon (all returning from the previous installment), Paranormal Activity 4 relocates the supernatural evil in a new home when a strange neighbor boy comes calling, and teenage Alex (Kathryn Newton) starts recording the strange events that follow. Series stalwart Katie Featherston is also back, and movie co-stars Brady Allen, Aiden Lovekamp, Stephen Dunham, Matt Shively and Alexondra Lee.

Paramount Home Entertainment releases the film on January 29 on DVD and in a Blu-ray/DVD combo with digital copy, both containing the theatrical cut and an unrated version with previously unseen footage, presented in 16x9 widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound on the DVD and DTS-hd 5.1 Master Audio on the Blu-ray. The latter, as well as the digital copy, will also include “The Recovered Files,” 28 additional minutes of never-before-seen scenes. Retail prices are $29.99 for the DVD and $39.99 for the Blu-ray.

Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman from a script by Christopher Landon (all returning from the previous installment), Paranormal Activity 4 relocates the supernatural evil in a new home when a strange neighbor boy comes calling, and teenage Alex (Kathryn Newton) starts recording the strange events that follow. Series stalwart Katie Featherston is also back, and movie co-stars Brady Allen, Aiden Lovekamp, Stephen Dunham, Matt Shively and Alexondra Lee.

Paramount Home Entertainment releases the film on January 29 on DVD and in a Blu-ray/DVD combo with digital copy, both containing the theatrical cut and an unrated version with previously unseen footage, presented in 16x9 widescreen with Dolby Digital 5.1 sound on the DVD and DTS-hd 5.1 Master Audio on the Blu-ray. The latter, as well as the digital copy, will also include “The Recovered Files,” 28 additional minutes of never-before-seen scenes. Retail prices are $29.99 for the DVD and $39.99 for the Blu-ray.

He may only be seven years old, but up-and-coming child actor Aiden Lovekamp still managed to deliver a majorly creepy performance as youngster Wyatt in Paranormal Activity 4, which premiered last month in theaters everywhere.

In this third sequel we meet Wyatt and his family as they deal with a strange neighbor boy named Robbie (Brady Allen), who comes to stay with them after his mom is rushed to the hospital. Once Robbie arrives, strange things begin happening, which has sinister effects on everyone around him, including Wyatt.

Dread Central recently had the chance to chat with the precocious actor about his experiences working on Pa 4 and heard more about how he got involved, whether or not he was scared at all while making the movie, and what's coming up next with him.

Check out our exclusive Q&A with Lovekamp below!

Dread Central: How did you get involved with Paranormal Activity 4?...

Paranormal Activity 4 is in the midst of a strong opening weekend, where it’s on track to earn around $33.5 million. Though that’s less than the $52.6 million the horror franchise’s third installment opened to a year ago, the $5 million-budgeted film should easily win the weekend box office. Co-directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, and screenwriter Christopher Landon return to the Paramount Pictures series to introduce a new family, made up of teenage daughter Alex (Kathryn Newton), six-year-old son Wyatt (Aiden Lovekamp) and their parents (Alexondra Lee and the late Stephen Dunham).

read more...

Chicago – Following the first “Paranormal Activity” in 2007, which is most profitable film of all time based on return on investment, filmmakers Jason Blum, Oren Peli and Henry Joost have made a killing for Paramount Pictures.

Rating: 2.0/5.0

But with one movie a year since the second one in 2010, these low-budget films with no-name actors are showing fatigue and that they are overstaying their generous welcome with Friday’s release of “Paranormal Activity 4”.

The only novel plot device used in the fourth film is the Xbox Kinect from Microsoft. When turned on and used normally, the Kinect just makes your body the game controller by tracking your movements. But while viewing the room through a night-vision camera in green lighting, you apparently see the countless projection-tracking dots.

Read Adam Fendelman’s full review of “Paranormal Activity 4”.

That’s then used in the film, of course, to pick up paranormal Boogeymen.

The Paranormal Activity series has been highly divisive since the beginning. Singlehandedly responsible for the rise and recent death of the found footage genre, it has been praised by critics for its suspenseful sensory assault, and decried by audiences for its lack of scares. Since these films were so easy to make on such a small budget and proved they had an audience, Hollywood latched and started producing yearly sequels like their wallets depended on it.

Neither of the two sequels thus far have lived up to the original in terms of pure suspense and terror, and neither left audiences in as large of a fervor as the first did. The plot stringing the series along has also been progressing at a snail’s pace, making sure to only reveal new information right as all of the demon murder happens so that suckers will keep coming back for more. It...