Blumhouse has become a breakout force in the horror genre over the last decade by dishing out fresh original horror flicks while resurrecting familiar franchises. The list of beloved modern horror flicks Blumhouse creates, from Happy Death Day to The Purge, continues to grow every year, and it has seen a lot of success with its modern Halloween trilogy. Blumhouse is only looking to expand its horror portfolio with a strong slate of upcoming films.
In 2022 alone, Blumhouse is pumping out a couple of Stephen King adaptations that’ll be sure to terrify audiences as well as a few intriguing original horror stories that see some prominent names making a return and some newcomers making big debuts. Not to mention, Michael Myers is set to have one last bout against Laurie Strode in director David Gordon Green’s final Halloween film, Halloween Ends, before Green takes on another legendary horror franchise. In short, Blumhouse is about to treat horror fans with a slew of noteworthy horror movies.
Firestarter
After capturing the attention of the horror community with his chilling directorial debut, The Vigil, director Keith Thomas’ next film is set to create a modern adaptation of Stephen King’s 1980 novel Firestarter.
The film follows a young girl named Charlie (Ryan Kiera Armstrong), who is forced to go on the run with her protective father (Zac Efron) as she attempts to control her fiery psychic powers. Hopefully, Firestarter can outshine the generally maligned 1984 adaptation. Based on some glimpses we’ve seen of it and Thomas directing, it could be the start of a strong resurgence of King adaptations.
Vengeance
While most know B.J. Novak for playing Ryan on The Office, he’s set to star in his upcoming feature directorial debut Vengeance.
Novak stars as a New York City radio host traveling down south to investigate the murder of his girlfriend. Not much is currently known about Vengeance, aside from the likes of Ashton Kutcher, Issa Rae, Boyd Holbrook, and Dove Cameron starring alongside Novak, but a trailer is likely just around the corner as the film is currently set to hit theaters on July 29th.
Halloween Ends
Blumhouse and David Gordan Green’s Halloween trilogy is ending with the upcoming Halloween Ends that’ll see legendary slasher Michael Myers have one last duel with Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode.
Halloween Kills ended on an incredibly bloody and tragic note setting up a brutal final battle between Laurie and Michael that MUST live up to the hype. After all, this is more than likely the last time we’ll see Curtis as Strode, so Halloween Ends must give her the proper send-off she deserves.
The Black Phone
Sinister and Doctor Strange director Scott Derrickson returns this summer to deliver a haunting horror tale with The Black Phone.
Originally, The Black Phone was supposed to be out already, but got shifted to a prime June 24th date after it received rave reviews out of its premiere at last year's Fantastic Fest. It’s a supernatural horror story of a young boy trying to survive against a masked killer. It has been labeled as a chilling coming-of-age story with major Sinister vibes. Ethan Hawke’s performance as The Grabber has been immensely praised.
Run Sweetheart Run
The latest film from director Shana Feste, Run Sweetheart Run, looks like it could be a fun modern vampire flick that sees a date from hell turn into a bloody fight for survival.
The only problem is that Run Sweetheart Run has been stuck on the shelf since its 2020 Sundance Film Festival premiere and is now set to likely skip theaters and release on Prime Video at some point, which isn’t that a bad thing. Perhaps we could see it appear through another Welcome to the Blumhouse slate on Prime Video meaning that subscribers could get a unique vampire flick soon.
Dashcam
Host director Rob Savage returned last year with the premiere of his second found-footage film Dashcam at Toronto International Film Festival and Blumhouse will hopefully release it sometime soon.
Dashcam is a COVID-era found footage horror trek that sees a controversial live streamer drawn into a night of terror after she picks up a bloody passenger. It’s a very solid follow-up for Savage that brings viewers into an engaging and scary thrill ride from start to finish that could be a big hit for Blumhouse when it reaches a wider audience.
M3GAN
Although not much is known about director Gerard Johnstone’s upcoming sci-fi horror film M3GAN, there are some details that make it one of Blumhouse’s more interesting upcoming horror films.
Plot details are still kept under wraps for M3GAN, but its recently received January 13th, 2023 release date suggests we could know more about it soon. M3GAN also looks promising given that Malignant co-writer Akela Cooper is penning the screenplay and that Get Out star Allison Williams is set to star.
Mr. Harrigan’s Phone
Blumhouse will have another Stephen King debut this year as director John Lee Hancock’s adaption of Mr. Harrigan’s Phone is set to hit Netflix sometime this fall.
The film is a modernized adaptation of King’s short story of the same name that follows a teen boy who establishes a supernatural connection with a recently deceased elderly man he befriended. It stars Jaeden Martell and Donald Sutherland and given the thrills and chills Hancock provided with The Little Things, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone could be a memorable adaptation.
Christine
Blumhouse is clearly trying to adapt as many of Stephen King’s novels as possible. Their upcoming adaptation of Christine from Hannibal creator Bryan Fuller could be their most high-profile yet.
John Carpenter’s 1983 adaptation is generally regarded as one of the best King adaptations of all time, so Blumhouse’s remake has a lot to live up to. However, it could find a good avenue given that there aren’t many haunted car horror films out there and given that Blumhouse founder Jason Blum recently said the script for this adaptation had been completed, it might not be too far away.
The Exorcist (Sequel)
Just as David Gordan Green finishes up his modern Halloween trilogy, he’s then taking on an even tougher trilogy as he’s set to direct a direct sequel to The Exorcist that’ll spawn a new modern trilogy.
There probably aren’t many people who envy Green and Blumhouse for attempting anything with The Exorcist because the pressure to get it right is insurmountable. The Exorcist is generally regarded as one of the best horror films of all time and is far from being as simple as resurrecting Halloween, so they’re going to face a lot of fair skepticism leading to its release in October 2023.