Now that January is behind us, it’s time to see what a new month of horror looks like. February has 11 titles on its slate, most of which look like the could be pretty good. This is going to be an interesting month for the genre; we’re seeing a few highly-anticipated films get a release alongside some under-the-radar indie gems just waiting to be discovered—there’s slashers, psychos, vampires, zombies and much more this month, so prepare yourselves for the good, the bad and the bloody.
But before we get started, here’s a quick recap of what I watched in January:
- The Scarehouse (review): This was a great indie effort from Gavin Michael Booth, who dished out one hell of an entertaining fun-house slasher. The characters were sick and twisted, spilling plenty of the red stuff from beginning to end.
- Everly (review): This is without a doubt Joe Lynch’s best film to date, delivering a non-stop crimson colored thriller. Salma Hayek is as badass as we’ve ever seen her, disposing of an entire army of assassins one bullet at a time.
- Suburban Gothic (review): Richard Bates Jr.’s follow up to his nasty debut Excision is plenty weird with pitch black humor and a great cast backing it up. While the story is its major fault, there’s plenty of great little moments that tie this one together, making a pretty entertaining hour and a half.
February 6
Enter the Dangerous Mind (VOD)
Director: Youssef Delara, Victor Teran
Cast: Gina Rodriguez, Nikki Reed, Scott Bakula
A reclusive American composer with an online following has a tentative romance with a beautiful social worker. This offers a glimmer of hope, but his mind fractures as the voices in his head grow louder and more destructive.
The Voices (VOD)
Director: Marjane Satrapi
Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Gemma Arterton, Anna Kendrick
A mentally ill factory worker stumbles innocently into the role of a killer, guided along the way by his evil talking cat and benevolent talking dog.
February 10
Fear Clinic (Blu-ray/VOD)
Director: Robert Hall
Cast: Thomas Dekker, Robert Englund, Cleopatra Coleman
A doctor works to cure patients suffering from crippling phobias by placing them inside his invention which induces and controls hallucinations.
February 13
What We Do in the Shadows (VOD)
Director: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi
Cast: Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonathan Brugh
Follow the lives of Viago, Deacon, and Vladislav – three flatmates who are just trying to get by and overcome life’s obstacles-like being immortal vampires who must feast on human blood. Hundreds of years old, the vampires are finding that beyond sunlight catastrophes, hitting the main artery, and not being able to get a sense of their wardrobe without a reflection-modern society has them struggling with the mundane like paying rent, keeping up with the chore wheel, trying to get into nightclubs, and overcoming flatmate conflicts.
Wyrmwood (VOD)
Director: Kiah Roache-Turner
Cast: Jay Gallagher, Bianca Bradey, Leon Burchill
Barry is a talented mechanic and family man whose life is torn apart on the eve of a zombie apocalypse. His sister, Brooke, is kidnapped by a sinister team of gas-mask wearing soldiers & experimented on by a psychotic doctor. While Brooke plans her escape Barry goes out on the road to find her & teams up with Benny, a fellow survivor – together they must arm themselves and prepare to battle their way through hordes of flesh-eating monsters in a harsh Australian bushland.
Girl House (VOD)
Director: Trevor Matthews
Cast: Ali Cobrin, Adam DiMarco, Slaine
A Halloween-style slasher for the digital age, it follows a beautiful young college student who, needing money for tuition, moves into a house that streams content to an X-rated website. After a deranged fan hacks in to determine the house’s location, she finds herself in a terrifying fight for her life.
February 20
Digging Up the Marrow (VOD)
Director: Adam Green
Cast: Ray Wise, Adam Green, Will Barratt
A documentary exploring genre based monster art takes an odd turn when the filmmakers are contacted by a man who claims he can prove that monsters are indeed real.
Treehouse (VOD)
Director: Michael G. Bartlett
Cast: J. Michael Trautmann, Dana Melanie, Clint James
A teenage boy discovers the perpetrators of several brutal kidnappings in his home town.
February 27
Ejecta (VOD)
Director: Chad Archibald, Matt Wiele
Cast: Julian Richings, Lisa Houle, Adam Seybold
The story of one night on earth that changed everything we know about the universe.
The Lazarus Effect (Theatrical)
Director: David Gelb
Cast: Evan Peters, Olivia Wilde, Mark Duplass
A group of medical students discover a way to bring dead patients back to life.
Maps to the Stars (VOD)
Director: David Cronenberg
Cast: Julianne Moore, Mia Wasikowska, Robert Pattinson
A tour into the heart of a Hollywood family chasing celebrity, one another and the relentless ghosts of their pasts.
Predictions
What you shouldn’t miss:
The top films to keep an eye on here are What We Do in the Shadows, The Voices and Maps to the Stars.
- I’ve all ready seen What We Do in the Shadows (my review) and it is without a doubt one of the best horror-comedies out there. If you only watch one movie this month, make it this one!
- I’m not going to lie, The Voices has been getting hammered by some bad reviews, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t check it out for ourselves. Ryan Reynolds taking killing orders from his cat is too good to pass up.
- David Cronenberg’s latest, Maps to the Stars, looks bizarre and haunting, all while sporting a phenomenal cast. Horror fans almost have no choice when a guy like Cronenberg gets behind the camera.
What you should take a chance on:
February is another solid month for the genre, so you’re probably safe giving any of these a shot. If I had to pick, though, I think Wyrmwood, The Lazarus Effect and Digging Up the Marrow might have a lot to offer.
- Wyrmwood is an easy one. It’s a post-apocalyptic zombie movie with a hint of Mad Max. It pretty much sells itself.
- The Lazarus Effect is a total toss up. The trailer left me cold, but I really dig the premise and the cast is intriguing as hell. Should be fun seeing a re-animated Olivia Wilde, too.
- Digging Up the Marrow is the latest effort from Adam Green—the man behind Hatchet and Spiral—and it looks like he might have another hit on his hands here. It’s all about monsters and is shot in a faux documentary style. Could be solid!
Which film are you looking forward to the most?
It’s hard to not be excited about a new David Cronenberg film, even when it looks as weird as Maps to the Stars. Which film are you looking forward to the most this month?
themissingreel.com 
Girl House sounds right up my alley!
A psycho slashing up a bunch of cam girls? Yeah, sounds about right!
Music to my ears!
So watch the voices 😀
Yeah I’m pretty excited about that one!
I’ve seen Maps to the Stars and What we do in the Shadows. Like you, I loved the latter. Just picked it up on DVD actually, keen to laugh my way through it again. Out of interest, which did you prefer out of that and Housebound? I was not at all a fan of Maps to the Stars. But it is one of those films that I could definitely understand people liking a whole lot more than me.
Wyrmwood is getting a one night only Friday the 13th screening next week where I’m living. So I am definitely heading along to that!
Oh, that’s a tough question! They’re both fantastic but if I had to pick just one I’d go with Housebound simply because there’s actually an element of horror in that one whereas Shadows is all about the laughs. I’ve heard some really interesting things about Maps, so I’m curious to check it out.
I’m expecting some big things from Wyrmwood so I hope it doesn’t disappoint! Looking forward to seeing your thought son it.
Awesome post man. God there’s too much to see. First of all, I had no earthly idea ‘Maps to the Star’s was a horror film. That thing was being marketed (or so I thought) as a pretty typical social drama, but I’m more curious now that it seems I have had it pegged wrong the whole time! Lol
Secondly, you can’t mention Freddy Kreuger, induced hallucinations, and what sounds sure to be extreme psychological discomfort without getting me very very excited. I think Fear Clinic is sitting top of the list for me. Plus, such a cool title
Thanks! Yeah, definitely a lot of good stuff here. I’m not sure if you could technically put Maps to the Stars in the horror genre, but considering it’s Cronenberg and it looks plenty messed up, I figured why not!
Fear Clinic is such a great idea and Robert Englund is no doubt going to be great, I’m just worried that they’ll have a hard time pulling off such a concept. Hope its good tho!
Yeah, good call. It’s certainly a high-brow concept. Here’s to hoping it does find success!
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again… I’m really looking forward to “The Voices” and I can’t wait to see the review for that one, haha!
“Digging Up the Marrow” actually caught my attention too, maybe because the word “monster” can conjure up anything in my imagination.
While I’m a huge Cronenberg fan from his older works like “The Fly”, “Videodrome”, “Rabid”, “The Dead Zone”, “Scanners”, “The Brood”… I’m really not a fan of the idea of casting Pattinson, haha! So I’m on the fence about “Maps to the Stars” but we both know I’ll be watching it just to find out, haha!
The Voices looks like so much fun! Can’t wait to see that one. I’ve been hearing some pretty good chatter about Digging up the Marrow, too. Maps to the Stars is definitely a toss up, but like you said, it’s David Cronenberg so it gets a watch regardless.