Over the weekend, Blumhouse and Universal released “Halloween Ends,” which earned more than $41 million at the box office. That’s a pretty solid opening for a film that sports a reported budget of only $30 million. That said, it’s also well below the previous two films in the franchise, including the massive $76 million opening for 2018’s “Halloween.” And one of the major reasons that money was seemingly left on the table for ‘Ends’ is the fact the film was simultaneously released in theaters and on the Peacock streaming service.

Continue reading ‘Freaky’ Filmmaker Bashes Day-And-Date Releasing & Asks Studios To “Honor The Sanctity Of The Theatrical Experience” at The Playlist.

Horror has enjoyed such a ubiquity boost since the 2010s that the most humble of its niches, the slasher, went dormant for a few years at the start of the boom. This isn’t a bad thing. As the industry and filmmakers have gradually stopped treating horror as if it’s disposable and started maximizing it if not as art then at least as product, slashers, one of the best investments anyone can make in horror, have lost favor.

Continue reading The Best Slasher Films Ever Made at The Playlist.

Plus ‘The Little Prince,’ ‘The Parallax View,’ ‘The Ascent,’ ‘Nationtime’, ‘Jazz on a Summer’s Day,’ ‘The Kiss Before the Mirror,’ and ‘Shutter Island.’

Continue reading The 9 Best Movies to Buy or Stream This Week: ‘Shutter Island,’ ‘Freaky,’ and More at The Playlist.

Happy Friday the 13th! Do people celebrate Friday the 13th? Or is it just the date that Jason Voorhees ventures to Camp Crystal Lake to murder debaucherous youth? Either way, it’s a significant date in terms of this week’s new releases featured on the latest episode of The Playlist Podcast.

LISTEN: Director Max Winkler Talks ‘Jungleland,’ Working With Charlie Hunnam & Lazer Tag [The Playlist Podcast]

This week, Charles, Mike, and Brian discuss two new films, the bodyswap slasher, “Freaky,” which timed its release perfectly with this Friday the 13th.

Continue reading ‘Freaky,’ ‘Fatman’ & David Fincher: The Good, The Bad & The Masterful [The Playlist Podcast] at The Playlist.

Somewhere between a presidential election and an increasingly dire coronavirus pandemic, something unexpected has happened. Universal Pictures and Blumhouse have delivered a very funny, scary, and refreshingly progressive new flick, “Freaky.” And one of the reasons the Christopher Landon directed movie is so good is because of a scene-stealing turn from newcomer Misha Osherovich.

READ MORE: Vince Vaughn’s killer performance in “Freaky” [Review]

O.K., perhaps I’m a bit biased.

Continue reading ‘Freaky’s’ Misha Osherovich On An Unexpected Conversation About Queerness With Vince Vaughn [Interview] at The Playlist.

There’s been a lot of talk in recent years about so-called “elevated horror,” but what isn’t being discussed as much is the new wave of inventive slasher films that pay homage to the ’80s classics while adding new twists to old formulas. Enter “Freaky,” a new slasher comedy film by Christopher Landon that shakes up the formula by infusing it with a body-swap comedy and lots of heart.

READ MORE: 2020 Fall Film Preview: 40 Most Anticipated Films To Watch

Plot-wise, “Freaky” is not that different from Landon’s previous horror-comedy, “Happy Death Day,” we also have a heroine with some soul-searching to do, troubles at home, and a masked killer chasing her.

Continue reading ‘Freaky’: Vince Vaughn’s Killer Performance Carries This Horror-Comedy With Few Surprises [Review] at The Playlist.

Cinemark, much like the rest of its theater chain competition, is struggling. During a recent investors call, where CEO Mark Zoradi revealed the Q3 losses for the company (via Deadline), it appears that the third-largest cinema chain in the US isn’t immune to the disastrous business that is plaguing the theatrical experience right now, as we continue to deal with a surging pandemic. But Zoradi and his company have a new, “dynamic” plan for the future.

Continue reading Cinemark Reveals “Dynamic” Plan To Shorten Theatrical Windows For Upcoming Films at The Playlist.

The “Happy Death Day” franchise is an underrated gem in the Blumhouse filmography. Sandwiched between genuinely good films such as “Get Out” and “The Purge” franchise, as well as stinkers such as “Fantasy Island” and “Truth or Dare,” is this weird mix of humor and horror, led by an incredibly charismatic performance from its lead, Jessica Rothe.

Continue reading ‘Freaky’ Trailer: Vince Vaughn Stars In Body Swap Horror-Comedy From ‘Happy Death Day’ Director at The Playlist.

Have an UNTITLED UNIVERSAL EVENT FILM on the calendar that’s clearly not ready and you don’t know what to do with? No worries, Blumhouse pictures apparently has so much in the can, Universal can easily pivot to one of their films, which is exactly what they are doing. Today Universal Pictures and Blumhouse Productions’ announced the film in question, “Freaky” will be released on Friday, November 13, 2020 and they even have a surprise trailer at the ready.

Continue reading ‘Freaky’ Trailer: Kathryn Newton Body Swaps With A Serial Killer Played By Vince Vaughn at The Playlist.