2010 Preview

Okay, now that all the year (and decade) lists are out of the way, it is now time to start looking ahead. I have to admit the slate for 2010 is looking a little sparse, but I'm sure it will fill out as the year progresses. I'm too lazy to rank them, so here they are just random like.

The Crazies (Feb 26th)

I'm not one to get excited over remakes, but the trailer - apart from the ill-advised song choice - really sold me. Olyphantastic versus the infected hordes?! Where do I sign up?

The Descent 2 (TBD)

If I was ranking these things, this would probably be number one. As I've stated before, The Descent was likely the best horror film of the last decade and a sequel does intrigue me. Can they capture the magic twice? Probably not, but I remain optimistic.

The Lovely Bones (Jan 15th)

While the majority of you movie folk down in the States have seen this by now, we Canucks have to wait for the full wordwide release. I've been avoiding the online chatter until I can see it for myself. Peter Jackson has never made a bad movie, although we do know that Mark Wahlberg can be very hit and miss. It should look wonderful at least, if the dream sequences in the trailer are any indication. It seems like I've been waiting for this movie forever and it will be nice to see it finally hit screens.

My Soul To Take aka 25/8 (TBD)

Wes Craven's newest horror should hopefully see the light of day in 2010. When he appeared at FOF in 2008, he sounded extremely excited about it. I'm just wondering what Craven will have to talk about on Twitter once he's finally done with it. While nothing I've seen so far has been particularly striking, it's got to be better than Cursed, right?

Frozen (Feb 5th)
I'm really excited to see Adam Green's little passion project about skiers trapped on a chair lift. The premise is very meaty indeed and I am looking forward to seeing how he handles this bare-bones dialogue-driven project. It's one thing to delight us with the over-the-top gore of his Hatchet films, but this is another beast entirely.


Piranha 3-D (April 16)
Oh boy, am I stoked for this! I'm hoping Alexandre Aja can rebound from the painfully mediocre Mirrors with something really fun like this. At first, I was like, okay, I'll see it, but when I heard Elizabath Shue was cast, it made the whole project somehow legitimate. Add the whole 3-D element to it, and you have my twelve dollars, sirs.

Splice (TBD)
After its successful showing at Sitges, I'm hoping that Canadian director Vincenzo Natali's new genetics-gone-wrong tale makes it way to at least one of the three festivals in my sphere of influence, if not wide release. The screen shots I've spied online are wildly intriguing and the design of the creatures is not quite like anything I've seen before.

The Wolfman (Feb 12)

I figured I'd throw this on here, even though the trailer tends to make it look a tad overblown ala Van Helsing. I'll probably give this one a shot, just because it's a solid cast and a decent director. What the hell else am I going to do Valentine's weekend right?

I could have put Daybreakers and Joe Dante's upcoming The Hole on here to make it an even ten, but I saw both of those at last year's Toronto Film Fest. You however, should be excited because they are both worthwhile films to check out in 2010.

Here's some other titles I'm hoping to see this year, as well.

The Horde

The French new wave petered out in 2009, but I still would very much like to see this bloody zombie flick. With a premise as sweet as Gangsters vs. Cops vs. Zombies, who cares if the ending is shite.

Final Solution

I'm really, really looking forward to this one. I have no idea how close it is to being finished, but the premise of this horror from Denmark is pretty awesome. Director Martin Bech says he was inspired by American and French slashers, so that is all I need to pique my interest. Click the title to redirect to the film's website.

Amer

I just recently discovered this movie on Twitch. It looks like an honest to goodness giallo, which is a huge deal to me. Knowing what a big fan Todd Brown is of the movie, hopefully he pulls some strings to have it play TAD '10 in August. Here's hoping.

Tucker & Dale vs. Evil

Speaking of Toronto After Dark, this movie has TAD written all over it. The trailer got more than a few chuckles out of me, and its showing at Sundance makes it a legitimate selection come August. If not, maybe Fantasia in July?

The Reef
Director of 2007's killer-croc flick Black Water (review to come) Andrew Traucki is bringing us an aquatic horror of another sort. Since you all know what a big fan of Open Water I am, this is a no-brainer for me. God, I'm such a glutton for punishment.

Addendums:

After Dark Films Horrorfest lineup is quite impressive this year, but they unfortunately never get theatrical here in Canada. I'll be sure to look up Lake Mungo, The Reeds, The Final & Hidden when they get released on DVD though.

The Elm Street remake isn't on this list. You should know by now why that is the case.