‘Slapface’ February 3rd (Shudder)
After the death of his mother, Lucas (August Maturo), a loner who lives in a rundown home with his brother Tom (Mike Manning) regularly seeks solace in the nearby woods. With his only “friends” being a group of female bullies, he keeps to himself most of the time. But, after a strange encounter with an inhuman monster, Lucas begins to withdraw from others. When the two reach a tentative trust, a bizarre friendship is born, and Lucas is swept up in a series of primal adventures. Slapface won the “Best Audience Award” for “Best Horror/Thriller/Sci-Fi” Film at the Cinequest Film Festival in 2021 and was written and directed by Jeremiah Kipp, based on his short film of the same title.
‘Jackass Forever’ February 4th (Theaters)
After eleven years, the Jackass gang is back for one more round of punishment and degeneracy. Celebrate the joy of a perfectly executed shot to the groin as Johnny Knoxville, Steve-O and the rest return for another round of hilarious, wildly absurd and often dangerous displays of stunts and comedy. Johnny Knoxville has stated that this may very well be the final rodeo, in which case they’re all definitely going out with a bang. We salute you, boys.
‘Moonfall’ February 4th (Theaters)
The master of disaster Roland Emmerich is back once again with more big budget mayhem. In Moonfall, a mysterious force knocks the Moon from its orbit around Earth and sends it hurtling on a collision course with life as we know it. With mere weeks before impact and the world on the brink of annihilation, NASA executive and former astronaut Jo Fowler (Halle Berry) is convinced she has the key to saving us all – but only one astronaut from her past, Brian Harper (Patrick Wilson) and a conspiracy theorist K.C. Houseman (John Bradley) believe her. These unlikely heroes will mount an impossible last-ditch mission into space, leaving behind everyone they love, only to find out that our Moon is not what we think it is.
‘The Long Night’ February 4th (Theaters)
While searching for the parents she’s never known, New York transplant Grace (Scout Taylor-Compton) returns to her childhood southern stomping grounds with her boyfriend (Nolan Gerard Funk) to investigate a promising lead on her family’s whereabouts. Upon arrival, the couple’s weekend takes a bizarre, terrifying turn as a nightmarish cult and their maniacal leader terrorize the pair en route to fulfilling a twisted ancient apocalyptic prophecy. Scout Taylor-Compton previously starred in both of Rob Zombie's Halloween films as Laurie Strode. Directed by Rich Ragsdale, The Long Night is her latest venture into the horror world, and the studio behind it, Well Go USA Entertainment, has also come out with hits like Train to Busan, the Ip Man franchise, and Triple Threat.
‘Death on the Nile’ February 11th (Theaters)
Kenneth Branagh's adaptation of Agatha Christie's famous crime novel Murder on the Orient Express proved to be solid box office gold in 2017 thanks to the simple power of a good murder mystery and a talented cast. Branagh returns as both director and star once again in Death on the Nile, with a new cast including Gal Gadot, Armie Hammer, Annette Bening, Russel Brand, Ali Fazal, Don French, Rose Leslie, Emma Mackey, Sophie Okonedo, Jennifer Saunders, and Letitia Wright. Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot’s Egyptian vacation aboard a glamorous river steamer turns into a terrifying search for a murderer when a picture-perfect couple’s idyllic honeymoon is tragically cut short. Set against an epic landscape of sweeping desert vistas and the majestic Giza pyramids, this dramatic tale of love gone wrong features a cosmopolitan group of impeccably dressed travelers and enough wicked twists and turns to leave audiences guessing until the final, shocking denouement.
‘Blacklight’ February 11th (Theaters)
Just when he thought he was out, they pull him back in. So seems to be the curse of Liam Neeson and nearly all of his action hero characters of the past decade, but to his credit, who does it better this consistently right now? In the tense action thriller Blacklight, Neeson stars as Travis Block, a freelance government operative living on the fringes and coming to terms with his shadowy past. When he discovers an undercover team that’s targeting U.S. citizens, Block finds himself in the crosshairs of the FBI director (Aidan Quinn) he once helped protect. But as Block attempts redemption by enlisting a journalist (Emmy Raver-Lampman) to get the truth out, his daughter and granddaughter are threatened — and a danger that has existed on the margins.
‘Texas Chainsaw Massacre’ February 18th (Netflix)
The first new addition to the franchise in four years, following 2017’s Leatherface, is slated to be released this year exclusively on Netflix. Directed by David Blue Garcia with a screenplay by Chris Thomas Devlin, Texas Chainsaw Massacre (no ‘the’) will act as a direct sequel to Hooper’s original film and ignore all the other entries. Similar to the new Halloween films’ approach towards Michael Myers, Leatherface will now be a much older, but no less deadly, antagonist. The film stars Nell Hudson and Elsie Fisher as Melody and Lila, a pair of sisters who run afoul of the terrifying Leatherface (Mark Burnham) and must enlist the help of the sole survivor of the original massacre, Sally Hardesty (Olwen Fouéré).
‘Uncharted’ February 18th (Theaters)
Based on one of the best-selling, most critically acclaimed video game series of all time, Uncharted introduces audiences to the young street-smart Nathan Drake (Tom Holland) and showcases his first treasure hunting adventure with wisecracking partner Victor “Sully” Sullivan (Mark Wahlberg). In an action-adventure epic that spans the globe, the two go in dangerous pursuit of “the greatest treasure never found” while also tracking clues that may lead to Nathan’s long-lost brother. Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland, Venom) will be directing.
‘Hellbender’ February 24th (Shudder)
16-year-old Izzy leads an isolated life on a lonely mountaintop. All she’s learned is from her protective mom and the wilderness that swallows them. Izzy dreams of a live gig, but her mother thinks she’s too sick and mustn’t be around others. Questioning her illness and starved for companionship, Izzy sneaks down the mountain where she befriends brazen Amber. Izzy is in heaven until a cruel drinking game with a live worm unleashes a new kind of hunger. Hellbender, which had its world premiere at the 25th Fantasia International Film Festival in August 2021, is the sixth feature film written and directed by the filmmaking Adams family, Toby Poser, John Adams, and their daughter Zelda Adams (The Deeper You Dig, Halfway to Zen, The Shoot). Zelda stars in the film, along with her mother and sister Lulu, and took home the Best Actress award at the Fantasia International Film Festival.
‘Studio 666’ February 25th (Theaters)
Described as a new generation's version of The Beatles Help!, The Monkees’ Head, or KISS Meets the Phantom of the Park, the Foo Fighters are taking that ’60s / ’70s old school band film fun and mixing it with horror to create an original musical gore fest. Directed by BJ McDonnell, STUDIO 666 follows what happens when the legendary rock band (with Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett, and Rami Jaffee playing themselves) rents an Encino mansion steeped in grisly rock and roll history to record their 10th album.
