I'm honestly going in with relatively low expectations, but I think a lot of that has to do with the marketing, blurbs, and artwork for the year. I've heard some great impressions from TM preview. My hope is that my impression of the year, which currently stands with it being the weakest lineup I've experienced between repetitive houses and a lack of killer AAA IP's, is simply a repeat of my impression of Blood Moon last year. That house ended up being one of my absolute favorites, so hopefully I see that energy tonight.
From most anticipated to least:
- Insidious: The Further
- Slaughter Sinema 2
- A Quiet Place
- Goblin's Feast
- Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire
- Universal Monsters: Eternal Bloodlines
- The Museum: Deadly Offerings
- Monstruos: The Monsters of Latin America
- Major Sweets Candy Factory
- Triplets of Terror
I was surprised by my #1. I was not an Insidious supporter for pretty much the whole spec season, until a few days ago when I skimmed through the trilogy for Further scenes and realized that despite not being a factor in my recent life, the Insidious franchise actually holds a dear place in my heart as some of the first horror movies I ever got into. That will be a fun energy to experience at HHN. I also think The Further as a setting looks really distinct, cool, and spooky with it's dim blue lighting, heavy fog, and ghastly monster designs. Hoping for the title card Strings to intro us into the house, and an appearance from "He's Got Your Baby" guy.
I think it's time I let myself get excited about Slaughter Sinema 2; A sequel to my favorite original house ever. I've been trying to curb expecations in case they don't deliver, but hopefully this can be like Decendants to Seeds. I am really hoping they kill it with this, and I'll be honest and say I'll be a little bummed if Michael Sembello "Maniac" doesn't make a comeback.
Some very positive TM impressions and a skim through the first two films have bumped this A Quiet Place up quite a bit. I saw both films when they came out and liked them fine enough. Never quite stuck with me like other IP, but the sound gimmick gives this such an interesting opportunity. I'm also curious on how the Angels are portrayed. This feels more experimental than Bugs, and I hope they deliver something special. I was a pretty big detractor of this IP earlier in the year, I would absolutely love to be proven wrong!
Running out of time for writing at the moment, but those are my big thoughts anyways. Hoping for a banger year!