Written by contributor Sophia Mattice
While January and February are considered the dump months in the film industry, I would like to give a defense for those of us who enjoy a good dumpster dive. True, there are plenty of poor quality films that dot the cinematic wasteland of the winter months following the holiday season, but let’s be honest: the summer blockbuster spell is not consistently threaded with high caliber flicks (“live action” Lion King remake, anyone?).
Sometimes, for whatever reason, a studio doesn’t put in the effort and money to market a film due to low commercial and critical expectations, so it gets turned out into the dump months with very little fanfare to fend for itself at theaters.
Without further ado, let’s not forget these dark offerings that might be floating under your radar.
Underwater (Jan. 10)
From the scuttlebutt I hear, Underwater doesn’t change the genre, but it ticks the right boxes quite nicely. Directed by William Eubank and starring Kristen Stewart, the plot follows a group of researchers that have to navigate the dim, eerie depths of the ocean floor after their research vessel is severely damaged in an earthquake. It wouldn’t be a solid jump scare if there weren’t something out there with them in the murky waters, watching and waiting to strike. Also starring Mamoudou Athie, T.J, Miller and Vincent Cassel.
Gretel and Hansel (Jan. 31)
A sinister retelling of an already disturbing fairytale? Yes, please. Despite some apprehension about director Oz Perkin’s penchant for atmosphere over narrative, I am excited for his version of the traditional German legend about a brother and sister abandoned to a forest, then lured in by a cannibalistic witch. Alice Krige of Chariots of Fire and Star Trek: First Contact is unsettlingly mordant as the witch and it’s intriguing to track where Sophia Lillis’s (Gretel) career will take her after the It movies.
Brahms: The Boy II (Feb. 21)
To be blunt, I’ve seen mommy blogs that were scarier than the trailer for this sequel to its 2016 predecessor The Boy, but the concept is so laughably predictable that I feel it could be enjoyable. A young family, lead by Katie Holmes, moves to a creepy house on a creepy estate and wouldn’t you know it, her creepy little boy finds a doll buried in the woods that is heartwarmingly adorable (of course it’s not, it’s creepy). Directed by William Brent Bell who gave us the suspense-laced but ultimately frustrating The Devil Inside, no one should go see this expecting gold, but sorting through cinematic pyrite is not without its pleasures at times.
The Invisible Man (Feb. 28)
Now this is what Universal Pictures should have focused on instead of the cheap gimmick that became the stillborn Dark Universe: Take your classic movie monsters and give them their own modern-day retellings that can also serve as a lens to view societal issues.
You know, actual quality horror movie type stuff.
Granted, the trailer reveals far too much, but what’s there is compelling: Cecilia Kass (Elisabeth Moss) escapes from an abusive relationship with a genius, but possessive boyfriend (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), and disappears into hiding. However, things get even more disturbing when the violent scientist commits suicide and leaves her his vast fortune, making Cecilia suspicious that his death is a hoax. Cecilia’s sanity begins to slip as she frantically tries to prove that she is hunted by (you guessed it) an invisible man. Written and directed by Leigh Whannell, the film could serve as a frightening metaphor for domestic violence and stalking.
