Stunner Nadine Velazquez (“My Name Is Earl”) stars in fashion photag Mario Sorrenti’s feature film debut Discarnate, a supernatural thriller about a neuroscientist’s experiments with a drug that expands the human mind and inadvertently exposes his team to malicious discarnate entities.

A discarnate entity is a soul not yet ascended to God and still possessed of human ego, negativity, and various other shortcomings. These beings are believed to be attracted to people who are experiencing feelings of fear, guilt, and despair — pretty fucked up stuff!

Discarnate marks Velazquez return to horror since 2015’s Crawlspace and 2005’s House of the Dead 2. She is best known for playing hard-bodied stripper Catalina Aruca on NBC’s “My Name Is Earl,” trophy-wife Sofia Ruxin on FX’s “The League,” and her heart-stopping nude scene in Robert Zemeckis’ 2012 bad airline pilot drama Flight.

Discarnate will hold its world premiere at the 2018 Screamfest Horror Film Festival.

The first wave of films for the 18th annual Screamfest Horror Film Festival have been announced. Set to run Oct. 9 – 18 at the TCL Chinese 6 Theater in Hollywood, CA, the lineup features the world premiere of Amityville Murders, a new entry in the Amityville Horror canon based on the true murders that started it all.

Horror icon and Insidious star Lin Shaye, whose own supernatural thriller The Final Wish is set to have its world premiere at this year’s festival, will serve as Screamfest ambassador.

Shaye said:

Screaming is good for the soul. I am extremely excited and honored to serve as this year’s Screamfest ambassador and scream with all of you! I’m thrilled to support and celebrate a space where filmmakers, actors, and fans can unveil their hard work, and celebrate the horror genre.

Screamfest founder Rachel Belofsky said:

We could not be more excited to partner with Shaye. Her work has inspired many and she has become a force in the horror and genre community.

Screamfest is the biggest and longest-running horror film festival in the U.S. The show is a star-studded event where actors and directors talk horror with each other and the public. Festival badges are now available for purchase at the Screamfest website.

The announced first wave of films are as follows:

AMITYVILLE MURDERS: (US) – 2018
Directed by Daniel Farrands
Written by Daniel Farrands
Cast: John Robinson, Chelsea Ricketts, Paul Ben-Victor, Diane Franklin, Burt Young, Lainie Kazan
Produced by Eric Brenner and Lucas Jarach
On the night of November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo, Jr. took a high-powered rifle and murdered his entire family as they slept. At his trial, DeFeo claimed that “voices” in the house commanded him to kill. This is their story.
World Premiere

DEMENTIA II (US) – 2018
Directed by Matt Mercer and Mike Testin
Written by Matt Mercer and Mike Testin
Cast: Suzanne Voss, Matt Mercer, Najarra Townsend, Graham Skipper
Produced by Matt Mercer and Mike Testin
Suzanne wasn’t always this confused. She wasn’t always DEAD either… When an ex-con takes a job as a handyman for an unstable elderly woman to avoid a parole violation, it becomes a choice he may regret.
West Coast Premiere

DISCARNATE (US) – 2018
Directed by Mario Sorrenti
Written by Mario Miscione, Marcella Ochoa
Cast: Thomas Kretschmann, Nadine Velazquez, Josh Stewart, Chris Coy, Bex Taylor-Klaus
Produced by Harald Kloser (Independence Day: Resurgence.White House Down, 2012), Marcella Ochoa, Co-produced by John Michael Elfers
A neuroscientist’s obsession with a drug that expands the human mind inadvertently unleashes a deadly supernatural force on his team.
World Premiere

DRAUG (Sweden) 2018
Directed by Klas Persson and Karin Engman
Written by Klas Persson and Karin Engman
Cast: Elna Karlsson Thomas Hedengran Nina Filimoshkina Ralf Beck Urban Bergsten Matti Boustedt
Produced by Klas Persson and Karin Engman
In the 11th century a missionary goes missing somewhere in the huge forests bordering the northern parts of Sweden. Among the rescue party chosen to find him is Nanna, a young woman on her first real mission and her first return to the part of the country where she was born. But what they will find deep inside those woods is something else entirely. Something dark. Something ancient. Something evil.
World Premiere

THE FINAL WISH (US) 2018
Directed by Timothy Woodward Jr.
Written by Jeffrey Reddick, Jonathan Doyle, William Halfon
Cast: Lin Shaye ( Insidious franchise, Ouija franchise) Michael Welch (Twilight franchise, All The Boys Love Mandy Lane) Tony Todd (Final Destination, Hell Fest, Candyman) Spencer Locke (Insidious: The Last Key, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Resident Evil: Extinction)
Produced by Jeffrey Reddick, Lauren De Normandie, Timothy Woodward Jr, Johnny Cleveland, Thommy Hutson
From the creator of the Final Destination franchise comes a new tale of death. Following the passing of his father, Aaron Hammond (MICHAEL WELCH) returns to his hometown to help his devastated mother (LIN SHAYE) and to confront his past demons. Shifting through his father’s belongings, Aaron comes upon a mysterious item that is far more than it seems.
World Premiere

THE GOLEM (Israel) 2018
Directed by Doron Paz and Yoav Paz
Written by Ariel Cohen
Cast: Alex Tritenko, Brynie Furstenberg, Hani Furstenberg, Ishai Golan, Lenny Ravich
Produced by Ariel Cohen, Doron Pazm Shalom Eisenbach, Yoav Paz
In this re-imagining of the old mystical folklore, when a woman’s tight-knit Jewish community is besieged by foreign invaders, she conjures a dangerous creature to protect them but it may be more evil than she ever imagined. THE GOLEM is the third feature for co-directed by Doron and Yoav Paz.
North America Premiere

THE HAUNTED (UK ) 2018
Directed by:
David Holroyd
Written by David Holroyd
Cast:
Sophie Stevens, Nick Bayly, Ray Macallan, Maggie Daniles, Kirstie Steele, Virginia Denham
Produced by:
Crispin Manson, Matthew Stradling
In a rambling, isolated house, Emily’s first night-shift as carer to an elderly dementia patient turns into a nightmare as she is tormented by a vengeful spirit and uncovers the house’s dark secrets.
World Premiere

LOST IN APOCALYPSE (China) 2018
Directed by Sky Wang
Written by Sky Wang, Baiying Wu
Cast: Martin Yang, Mingyi Yang, E’Naan Zhang, Ray Wang, Fengzhu Jia, Qianhua Chen, Simpson Tang, Man Yang
Produced by Iris Liu
A group of seemingly unrelated individuals fight their way out of a virus-infested hotel, only to find themselves at a worse place than before.
West Coast Premiere

OPEN 24 HOURS (US) 2018
Directed by Padraig Reynolds
Written by Padraig Reynolds
Cast: Emily Tennant, Brendan Fletcher, Vanessa Grasse
Produced by
A paranoid delusional woman, Mary White (Vanessa Grasse), has just been released from a mental hospital for setting her serial killer boyfriend on fire. Her boyfriend, James Lincoln Fields is brutal serial killer known as The Rain Ripper. After being released from the Hospital, Mary’s vulnerable demeanor aids her in obtaining employment at an all night petrol station. However, left alone to her own devices, her paranoia and hallucinations return with furious consequences. Customers and friends suddenly start turning up dead, mutilated, all around her. Is The Rain Ripper back to finish her off?
West Coast Premiere

PLEDGE (US) 2018
Directed by Daniel Robbins
Written by Zack Weiner
Cast: Zachery Byrd, Aaron Dalla Villa, Cameron Cowperthwaite, Phillip Andre Botello, Jesse Pimentel, Erica Boozer, Joe Gallagher, Zack Weiner, Jean-Louis Droulers
Produced by Mark Rapaport, Keaton Heinrichs, Akiva Nemetsky
A group of college freshmen pledge an exclusive fraternity but soon realize there’s more at stake than they could have ever imagined.
US Premiere

SPLINTER-VERSARY– 10 year anniversary screening of SPLIINTER
***Splinter premiered at Screamfest 2008 and took home six awards that year. ***
A couple retreats to the wilderness for the weekend but are car-jacked by an escaped convict and his girlfriend on the run from the police. As they travel the backroads, they find themselves in deeper trouble. A parasitic creature has taken over the woods, and the two couples are now in its sights. Finding shelter at a gas station, they must use their wits and every weapon at their disposal to stave off the onslaught, not only from the insatiable creature, but also each other.
Directed by:
Toby Wilkins
Produced by:
Kai Barry & Ted Kroeber
Executive Producer(s):
Graham Begg, Chad Burris, Jamie Carmichael, Mark Cuban
Written by:
Ian Shorr, Kai Barry
Main Cast:
Shea Whigham, Paulo Costanzo & Jill Wagner

TUMBBAD (India) 2018
Directed by Rahi Anil Barve, Anand Gandhi
Written by Mitesh Shah, Adesh Prasad, Rahi Anil Barve, Anand Gandhi
Cast: Sohum Shah, Harish Khannaa, Anita Date, Mohd Samad, Jyoti Malshe, Deepak Damle, Dhundiraj Prabhakar Jogalekar
Produced by Amita Shah, Mukesh Shah, Sohum Shah
A greedy village boy, in 19th century India, pursues a cursed Ancestral treasure, guarded by the devil himself. TUMBBAD opened the Venice’ Film Festival’s Critic’s Week 2018.
West Coast Premiere

YOU DIE (Italy) 2018
Directed by Alessandro Antonaci, Stefano Mandalà, Daniel Lascar
Written by Alessandro Antonaci, Stefano Mandalà, Daniel Lascar
Cast: Erica Landolfi, Simone Moretto, Micol Damilano, Rocco Marazzita, Alice Piano, Simone Valentino, Carola Cudemo, Ja’Michael Darnell, Daniele Marmi
Produced by Daniel Lascar, Simone Offredo, Francesco Scrufari
US Premiere

Mary Elizabeth Winstead (10 Cloverfield Lane) is set to play Huntress opposite Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn and and Jurnee Smollett-Bell’s Black Canary in director Cathy Yan’s (Dead Pigs) eagerly anticipated adaptation of DC Comics’ Birds of Prey.

Huntress is a former mafia princess who turns vigilante when her parents are murdered in a mob hit and goes on to join Birds of Prey, a sexy group of colorful female antiheroes. Together they face off against Gotham City crime lord Black Mask in Yan’s film.

Winstead made her horror film debut in 2005’s The Ring 2 and went on to star in a string of notable frighteners, including Final Destination 3, Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof, underrated remakes Black Christmas and The Thing, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, and most recently 2016’s 10 Cloverfield Lane.

Twentieth Century Fox has released a first trailer for its eagerly anticipated X-Men film, The Dark Phoenix. Sophie Turner (“Game of Thrones”) plays mutant Jean Grey, who while on a rescue mission in space is struck by a cosmic force that gives her god-like powers she can barely control.

Making matters worse, Jean starts to hang with a bad crowd and transforms into Dark Phoenix, lashing out against her X-Men family and just being an asshole all around. Vehicles soon get tossed around and a bunch of X-Meny things happen as they try to work shit out and fight some other aliens too.

The Dark Phoenix arrives in theaters Feb. 14, 2019.

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Blumhouse and Universal Pictures have set a Feb. 14 2019 release date for Happy Death Day 2U, a sequel to its hit doom-loop thriller about a college student reliving the day of her murder and attempting to identify the masked killer responsible.

Happy Death Day 2U will reveal the mystery behind the time loop while delving into time travel. Christopher Landon returns to helm with star Jessica Rothe reprising her role. New faces include Suraj Sharma (Life of PI) as a science geek and coder and Sarah Yarkin (”American Horror Story”) as his tomboy, nerdy cohort.

The original Happy Death Day has earned $123 million in worldwide coin.

A fun and final trailer has gone online for Hell Fest, a promising new slasher from director Gregory Plotkin (Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension) and producer Gale Anne Hurd (“The Walking Dead”) for CBS Films and Lionsgate.

Amy Forsyth (“Channel Zero”) plays a college coed visiting old friends who take her to a Halloween haunt, unaware there’s a masked maniac slaughtering the event’s patrons at will.  The trailer is grindhouse-y and makes you wish the movie was too! Oh, well, at least it’s rated R.

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Universal Pictures has released a thrilling new “heritage” trailer for the Blumhouse reboot of John Carpenter’s Halloween. David Gordon Green (Pineapple Express) is at the helm and co-writes with longtime collaborator and actor Danny McBride (”Eastbound & Down”).

Halloween creator John Carpenter is an executive producer on the film and Jamie Lee Curtis reprises her role as iconic final girl Laurie Strode. Judy Greer (War for the Planet of the Apes) plays Strode’s daughter, Karen,  and Andi Matichak (”666 Park Avenue”) is her hot granddaughter, Allyson.

The new film is set 40 years after the events of the original and finds Michael Myers escaping the asylum and returning to the small town where he massacred Strode’s friends on Halloween night. This time, however, she’s ready and waiting!

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MGM wasn’t kidding about rebooting Child’s Play without Don Mancini, the film’s writer and helmer of its six sequels, and actor Brad Dourif, the voice of Chucky. The studio has announced sexy funny-girl Aubrey Plaza (Ingrid Goes West) as its star and tapped Lars Klevberg (Polaroid) to direct.

Most intriguing, however, is the first image revealed of Good Guy doll-gone-bad Chucky, now rumored to be a hacked AI programmed doll run amok (think homicidal Hello Barbie). It looks all right and the revamped story line sounds cool. It could all very well appeal to a new generation of fright fan raised on Annabelles.

But, if you prefer classic Chucky, don’t fret. Universal will continue to release the Don Mancini/Brad Dourif home edition sequels, which continue to get more outrageous and fun, and a ten-episode TV series.

Having helmed comedy classics Road Trip, Old School, and The Hangover franchise, writer/director Todd Phillips knows a thing or two about jokers. so, it’s with great enthusiasm that we wait to see his standalone Joker movie, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the iconic Batman villain.

Images and video of Phoenix in Joker makeup leaked this week and peeps are divided about the look. Why so serious? It’s not a dramatic makeover — underwhelming for some, exciting for others thrilled by its old school appeal.

Joker is set in New York City during the 70s and offers up an origins story not rooted in previous DC Comics lore, but presented as a “character study and cautionary tale” of a disregarded man.

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Bella Thorne (The Babysitter) is taking us for a Ride on Oct. 5 with writer/director Jeremy Ungar’s feature film debut about a ride share driver who picks up a hot chick and convinces her to join him and another fare for an evening of partying. Shit hits the fan, however, when the second passenger pulls a gun on them.

Thorne, currently co-starring in the Purge-like, girls-with-guns satire Assassination Nation, is coming off McG’s dark comedy The Babysitter and Dimension Films Amityville: The Awakening, a reboot of the chilling 1979 classic. She also thrilled in MTV’s adaptation of Wes Craven’s Scream.

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