Believe it or not, horror fans, but “The Conjuring” Universe is the genre’s most lucrative franchise ever. How profitable are we talking? $2.1 billion at the box office over eight films costing a mere $178 million to produce. Yup, James Wan and Peter Safran hit the cinematic motherlode with these movies, and their success looks like it’ll continue for a while.

READ MORE: The 25 Most Anticipated Horror Films Of 2023

So, it’s safe to say expectations are high for “The Nun II,” the sequel to the franchise’s highest-grossing entry, 2018’s “The Nun.” The ninth installment in “The Conjuring” Universe takes place four years after the events of the first film, with Taissa Farmiga‘s Sister Irene returning to face off against an ancient evil force she’s all too familiar with.

Continue reading ‘The Nun II’ Trailer: The Ninth Film In The Conjuring Universe Hits Theaters On September 8 at The Playlist.

Like “Searching” back in 2018, the standalone sequel “Missing” has again embattled another only child with one dead parent. Only this time, it’s the alive parent who finds themselves at the center of a viral, true crime mystery. Killed by the same illness of lymphoma as Margot Kim’s mother Pam – whose story in director Aneesh Chaganty’s previous film is touched upon in a brief excerpt from a fictional true crime series: “Unfiction” – June Allen’s (Storm Reid), father left her and her mother’s lives at a young age.

Continue reading ‘Missing’ Review: Screenlife Sequel To The Thriller ‘Searching’ With Storm Reid Never Quite Connects at The Playlist.

After Aneesh Chaganty’s computer screen thriller, “Searching,” accrued a healthy 71 on Metacritic and saw box office takings of around $75 million (on a budget of $880,000), the urge to make a follow-up became a question of when not if. And sure enough, in 2019, Chaganty announced his intention to anthologize the series with a standalone sequel before the COVID-19 pandemic suddenly put the entire movie industry on hold.

Continue reading ‘Missing’ Trailer: Storm Reid Stars In The Anthology Sequel To Aneesh Chaganty’s Computer Screen Thriller ‘Searching’ at The Playlist.

Since last year, HBO has been shooting their high-profile series adaptation of the beloved narrative-focused video game “The Last of Us” in Calgary. The series takes place 20 years after a deadly virus, how timely, has destroyed modern civilization. It focuses on Joel, who is tasked to smuggle Ellie (a 14-year old girl) from an oppressive quarantine zone to the Fireflies, a group searching for a cure. It is a brutal and emotional adventure across America that should make for some compelling television.

Continue reading ‘The Last Of Us’: Storm Reid Joins HBO’s Post-Apocalypse Series at The Playlist.

In many modern horror movies, things are aggressively didactic. Baddies are bad, heroes are good; audiences – in their perceived inability to assign morality or allegiance to a story on their own – are dumb. This formula can be useful when employed well (as in “Get Out”), but most great horror films teeter on the balance beam of nuance. Enter Leigh Whannell’s “The Invisible Man,” a film whose smarter points, like its antagonist, ultimately blink in and out of existence before standing, dark and disappointing, and clocking you over the head.

Continue reading ‘The Invisible Man’: A Well-Crafted Horror With Some Very Visible Flaws [Review] at The Playlist.

Two-time Golden Globe nominee David Oyelowo solidified himself as an industry powerhouse after turning in a jaw-dropping performance as the revered Martin Luther King, Jr. in Ava DuVernay‘s masterpiece “Selma.” His portrayal introduced the world to his breadth of roles, which includes over two decades of complex character work, often excelling in the grey area of his characters’ moral ambiguity.

Oyelowo’s latest film is “Don’t Let Go,” the Blumhouse-produced, Jacob Estes (“Mean Creek“)-written-and-directed sci-fi thriller.

Continue reading David Oyelowo Talks Time Travel, Method Acting & His New Blumhouse Thriller ‘Don’t Let Go’ [Interview] at The Playlist.

“Relive” hinges on a clever premise, and boasts a cast that includes David Oyelowo, Storm Reid, Bryan Tyree Henry, Alfred Molina, and Mykelti Williamson. It is written and directed by Jacob Aaron Estes, who also helmed “Mean Creek” and “The Details,” and comes from the good folks at Blumhouse.

Continue reading ‘Relive’: Blumhouse Horror Drama Starring David Oyelowo Is A Misguided ‘Twilight Zone’ [Sundance Review] at The Playlist.

Ava DuVernay has made small indies, prestige pictures, and award-winning documentaries. Now, she’s leaping into the blockbuster studio world with Disney‘s “A Wrinkle In Time,” which is aiming to be a springtime sensation.

The adaptation of Madeleine L’Engle‘s beloved and acclaimed novel brings together an eye-popping ensemble — Oprah Winfrey, Reese Witherspoon, Mindy Kaling, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Michael Peňa, Storm Reid, Zach Galifianakis and Chris Pine — for this magical story of a young girl who embarks on a fantastical quest to find her missing father.

Continue reading ‘A Wrinkle In Time’ Trailer: Find Your Inner Warrior at The Playlist.

Ava DuVernay flirted with the job of directing Marvel’s “Black Panther,” but ultimately decided to go her own way, which means we get the best of both worlds — Ryan Coogler helming the Marvel movie (which released a bunch of new images this morning), and the “Selma” director getting her own big-budget Disney movie, with an adaptation of Madeline L’Engle’s beloved sci-fi/fantasy novel “A Wrinkle In Time.”

DuVernay shot the movie last year, but it’s remained fervently under wraps, but with a trailer set to bow at D23 this coming weekend, the veil has been lifted with Entertainment Weekly premiering the first official images from the movie in their new Comic-Con preview issue.

Continue reading Oprah, Chris Pine, Mindy Kaling & More Dazzle In First Look Photos From Ava DuVernay’s ‘A Wrinkle In Time’ at The Playlist.

“Anyone can learn a trick, but doing something that no one else is willing to do makes you a magician. I can do what no one else can,” Bo (Jacob Latimore) attests in a critical moment of confession, avowing his commitment to achieving the extraordinary in “Sleight.” It’s a line that wouldn’t feel out of place in Christopher Nolan’s “The Prestige,” as Christian Bale’s thaumaturge pledges similar sacrifices to his craft at all costs.

Continue reading Low-Budget Superhero Tale ‘Sleight’ Makes Director J.D. Dillard One To Watch [Review] at The Playlist.