By MICHAEL GINGOLD
Blumhouse Television and Amazon Prime Video have released the details on the next four movies in their on-line fear franchise.
Following up BLACK BOX, THE LIE, NOCTURNE and EVIL EYE, the new quartet of WELCOME TO THE BLUMHOUSE features will debut next year, once again employing the talents of female and emerging filmmakers. They are:
- THE MANOR, written and directed by Axelle Carolyn (TALES OF HALLOWEEN, THE HAUNTING OF BLY MANOR), starring Barbara Hershey, Bruce Davison, Nicholas Alexander, Jill Larsen, Fran Bennett and Katie Amanda Keane. After suffering a stroke, Judith Albright moves into a historic nursing home, where she begins to suspect something supernatural is preying on the residents. In order to escape, she’ll need to convince everyone around her that she doesn’t actually belong there after all. Executive produced by Jason Blum, Jeremy Gold, Marci Wiseman, Lisa Bruce, Sandy King and Richard J. Bosner.
- BLACK AS NIGHT, directed by Maritte Lee Go and written by Sherman Payne, starring Asjha Cooper, Fabrizio Guido, Craig Tate, Keith David, Mason Beauchamp, Abbie Gayle and Frankie Smith. A teenage girl with self-esteem issues finds confidence in the most unlikely way, by spending her summer battling vampires that prey on New Orleans’ disenfranchised with the help of her best friend, the boy she’s always pined for, and a peculiar rich girl. Executive produced by Jason Blum, Jeremy Gold, Marci Wiseman, Lisa Bruce, Maggie Malina and Guy Stodel.
- MADRES, directed by first-time feature director Ryan Zaragoza and written by Marcella Ochoa and Mario Miscione, starring Tenoch Huerta, Ariana Guerra, Evelyn Gonzalez, Kerry Cahill and Elpidia Carrillo. A Mexican-American couple expecting their first child relocate to a migrant farming community in 1970s California. When the wife begins to experience strange symptoms and terrifying visions, she tries to determine if it’s related to a legendary curse or something more nefarious. Executive produced by Jason Blum, Jeremy Gold, Marci Wiseman, Lisa Bruce, Sanjay Sharma and Matthew Myers.
- BINGO, directed by Gigi Saul Guerrero (pictured above; INTO THE DARK: CULTURE SHOCK) and written by Shane McKenzie and Guerrero, along with Perry Blackshear (THEY LOOK LIKE PEOPLE, THE SIREN). In the Barrio of Oak Springs live a strong and stubborn group of elderly friends who refuse to be gentrified. Their leader, Lupita, keeps them together as a community, a family. But little did they know, their beloved bingo hall is about to be sold to a much more powerful force than money itself. Executive produced by Jason Blum, Jeremy Gold, Marci Wiseman and Raynor Shima.
“Coming off the successful launch of the first four films of the program, which has surpassed our expectations, we are excited to reveal the next chapter coming in 2021,” says Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon Studios. “The spine-tingling, edge-of-your-seat thrills continues in this next collection of titles that will surely entertain, surprise and shock our global customers.”
“We’re thrilled to see how audiences around the world have responded to the films in the WELCOME TO THE BLUMHOUSE slate,” says Blumhouse Television president Jeremy Gold. “We couldn’t be prouder of the work of these talented filmmakers, cast and crew on all the movies. And we’re excited to introduce the next wave of films and the incredible filmmakers at their helm.”