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Put that Kleenex aside. This isn’t the time to be watching sappy movies about vampires and werewolves falling in love. Grab a pillow or preferably your partner. ‘Cause tis the season to be horrified.

Here’s a list of 10 Horror/Thriller/Sci-Fi movies you ought to be looking out for in 2011!

1) Insidious

The brilliant director-writer duo of Saw, James Wan and Leigh Whannell, have reunited to bring you a terrifying tale about a family who moves to a new house only to discern that it is inhabited by supernatural entities. Patrick Wilson (Watchmen) and Rose Byrne (28 Weeks Later) take on the roles as parents in this horror masterpiece, also brought to you by the filmmakers of Paranormal Activity. Their son is then somehow possessed and goes into comatose mode. When the family moves again to escape the unknown, they realise that the only constant is their own son.

Keep an eye on 1:03 and 1:25 of the trailer above. If that doesn’t creep the hell out of you, then I don’t know what does.

Release Date: 26 May 2011

(More under the cut, including wayyyyy too many 3D movies!)

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2) Dylan Dog: Dead of Night

We were starting to wonder where Superman had flown to.

After his remarkable appearance in Scott Pilgrim vs The World last year, Brandon Routh is back to defend Planet Earth in this action-horror-thriller movie as the lead character named Dylan Dog. Dylan is a paranormal investigator who hunts down supernatural entities in his signature red shirt, black jacket and blue jeans combo. With the help of his undead sidekick named Marcus Adams (Sam Huntington), vampires, werewolves, zombies and a guardian of Hell are being tracked down for a client named Elizabeth Ryan (Anita Briem).  Dylan Dog is an Italian horror comic series created by Tiziano Sclavi. The original comic character, also referred to as “Nightmare Investigator”, uses horror to explain society’s real issues and problems.

Reviews for this movie haven’t been too good in Italy as they describe Brandon Routh to be void and refer to him as being the typical American boy, which isn’t the image of mystery that the original comic character possesses. Hopefully the humour element of this film will boost its already sinking representation.

Release Date: TBA (Rumored to be end of May)

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3) Super 8

What could be better than the pairing of Hollywood’s two greatest sci-fi gurus of all time?

Steven Spielberg and J.J. Abrams do a tag team on this legendary sci-fi motion picture set in 1979, Ohio. A group of six young children, with the help of their handheld Super 8 classic camera, venture out into the night to film their own zombie flick. A disastrous train crash occurs which in the trailer, doesn’t reveal the contents of the train cabin. The Military then looks for the inhuman creature that they had been transporting in the train. Soon after, strange events start occurring and dogs are retreating from the town.

We are pretty excited for this one and can’t wait to see what the hell is in that cabin. An alien, a monster or a giant peacock, who knows. But with the brilliant minds of Abrams and Spielberg working together, we are expecting something really epic.

Release Date: 8 June 2011

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4) The Ward

Fans of John Carpenter, rejoice.

The Prince of Horror is back with this psychological-horror feature revolving a young institutionalised woman named Kristen (Amber Heard), who is haunted by a mysterious ghost. She finds herself bruised, cut and drugged with laughing gas, which causes her admittance into a mental institution. Her four ward mates start to disappear one by one and Kristen is left vulnerable, having to figure out what is lurking within the walls.

Guys (and girls) can enjoy the eyecandy factor that is Amber Heard. She is by far one of the prettiest Hollywood actresses we’ve seen in recent years. Another cutie named Lyndsy Fonseca (Kick-Ass) joins her to seek answers of why and how the patients of the ward are disappearing.

The trailer looks interesting but the whole concept of a young institutionalised patient doesn’t appeal to me. I’ve always been a big fan of John Carpenter, especially with his works on The Thing, which is an amazingly scary and gross film for one which had been shot in 1982. His classic films like Prince of Darkness and most of all, Halloween, have created a high rep for him as being the Prince of Horror.

Lets just hope that The Ward takes us to darker places and impresses us just like how Carpenter’s previous films have done. I have high expectations for this one just ’cause its Carpenter’s.

Release Date: 9 June 2011

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5) Cowboys & Aliens

Another intriguing trailer, just like Super 8‘s.

Based on the graphic novel of the same name by Scott Mitchell Rosenberg, comes a sci-fi action-packed film starring one of Hollywood’s most badass men, Daniel Craig. Veteran Harrison Ford and bombshell Olivia Wilde join him in this tale of a stranger named Jake Lonergan (Craig) who lands on Earth with no memory whatsoever and a shackle embedded onto his wrist. Turns out, Jake is  a wanted man in the town of Absolution and Colonel Woodrow Dolarhyde (Ford) is determined to put him in the barracks.

However, the town soon experiences a turbulence when mysterious forces attack from the sky and Jake’s shackled wrist is the only weapon to stop them. We are expecting a lot from this movie, especially since Steven Spielberg is the executive producer here.

P.S. WE CAN’T WAIT TO SEE DANIEL CRAIG AND OLIVIA WILDE  STARRING SIDE BY SIDE AS LEADS!

Release Date: 18 August 2011

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6) Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark

Before you continue reading, hit the play button above. Make sure you’re in the dark.

One of my most favourite directors of all time, Guillermo Del Toro, writes and produces this horror tale regarding a young girl named Sally (Bailee Madison), who moves in with her father Alex (Guy Pearce) and his new girlfriend Kim (Katie Holmes). Sally is allured by a hidden basement with a sealed fireplace in the house. While attempting to enter this secret place, goblin-like creatures escape from another realm to haunt Sally.

Kim starts to notice weird happenings around the house. Having motherly instincts, she proceeds to protect Sally thus, creating a bond between them as they uncover ugly truths of the house and what it inhabits.

The trailer looks scary enough and we’re banking our money on this one to not suck because of statements claiming that it delivers a lot of terror. Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark is actually a remake of the made-for-television horror film of the same name in 1973.

Release Date: 18 August 2011

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7) The Thing

Finally, a prequel! This time, a prequel to John Carpenter’s 1982 film of the same name. If you guys haven’t caught his version, please do. I promise you, it is one of the best horror films of his time. It has wonderful acting, with Kurt Russell as the lead and gruesome make-up effects.

This 2011 prequel of The Thing is interestingly set three days before the occurrences of the John Carpenter film. One of my most favourite actresses to date, Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Final Destination 3 & Scott Pilgrim vs. The World), stars as a paleontologist named Kate Lloyd in this sci-fi-horror tale of a monstrous alien which crash-landed in Antarctica in its spaceship.  An experiment by Kate and her scientific team is then done on the alien after discovering it buried in the ice. While doing so, the alien manages to escape and begins its terrifying rampage on the entire team. This alien kills any life form and then perfectly mimics it to wreak havoc on mankind.

As mentioned earlier, Kurt Russell did a splendid job as his portrayal of Macready in John Carpenter’s The Thing. To avoid comparisons of his character with Mary Elizabeth’s, her role in this film is closely correlated to Sigourney Weaver’s character as Ellen Ripley in the Alien series.

Release Date: 13 October 2011

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8) Final Destination 5 3D

 

Seriously? When is enough ever enough?

Writer of the Nightmare on Elm Street remake, Eric Heisserer, writes for this installment of  the Final Destination series. Do I even need to give you a synopsis on this one? Another premonition by a doe-eyed teenager named Sam Lawton (Nicholas D’Agosto), only this time it is of a suspension bridge collapse.

After bad reviews for the previous installment, we are surprised that Warner Bros. even decided to continue on with this film franchise. The first three films had been really great, with creative death techniques and scary visual effects. I don’t know if it’s ’cause of my intense dislike for 3D, but the fourth installment just almost did it for me. I am not one to stand for lousy acting and performances.

Nonetheless, I still have an ounce of hope left in me for this never-ending journey of cheap thrills that is Final Destination. Fingers crossed that it won’t suck as badly as the fourth one. Fingers crossed.

Release Date: TBA

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9) Fright Night 3D

Another remake! And a fun one at that! Tom Holland’s film of the same name in 1985 is being refurnished in this comedy-horror film starring Hollywood stud Colin Farrell, Star trek cutie Anton Yelchin and half of the Franco spices Dave Franco.

Charlie Brewster (Yelchin) is having the time of his life. Graduation is just around the corner and he is rolling up with the popular crowd. Things start to take a turn when a new neighbour named Jerry moves in next door. Charlie starts to have some serious suspicions that this Jerry guy is a vampire. As with most suspicions, Charlie is proven right after observing strange activity in his neighbourhood. With the likes of Christopher Mintz-Plasse (Kick-Ass) as Charlie’s best friend, we are confident that the movie will tickle our tummies.

Colin Farrell sure looks like a badass vampire from hell and we are looking forward to seeing him flash his… fangs. When I was about 8 years old, I remember pleading my mum to stay up for the premiere of Fright Night on Halloween.  (Channel 5 was really great back then) I never regretted that decision because the movie sure scared the kid out of me.

As a fan of comedy and horror, I’m expecting this to be somewhat similar to Zombieland, minus the parade of zombies.

Release Date: TBA

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10) Piranha 3DD

It’s a ridiculous title (yes, that’s the real title) but oh well, I’ll let it slide only because I liked the previous film.

The ending for Piranha 3D last year was pretty spectacular if you ask me. It made me go WTF and for someone like me who doesn’t get easily impressed by Hollywood tricks, it says quite a lot.

There aren’t much details about this film’s plot yet, but then again what else do we expect from a Piranha film set in modern day? Nude girls and snarly comments are a definite guarantee especially after seeing the previous 3D remake.

The team which brought you 2005′s Feast, are working on this horror sequel. Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton (writers for Saw IV) are the screenwriters for this film while John Gulager serves as director. Hopefully, this flick  will be as bloody as the previous one, if not even bloodier. I just hope that they’ll take it easy on the nude scenes and focus more on creating a solid storyline.

Survivors of the previous film are expected to return (Elisabeth Shue, above) to have a bloody bloodbath with the carnivorous sea creatures by the name of Piranhas.

Release Date: TBA

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