Having become a real force in big screen-for-small-budgets horror via its pacts with studios such as Universal, the Blumhouse team is spreading its terror tentacles even wider, preparing a batch of eight films to premiere at different times on Amazon.
The specifics of the films – with the umbrella title Welcome To The Blumhouse have now been revealed, along with a rough idea of a release schedule. It should surprise no one that the first set of four – The Lie, Black Box, Evil Eye and Nocturne, will debut in double features across different weeks this October, before Halloween hits.
The Lie is written and directed by Veena Sud, and stars Mireille Enos, Peter Sarsgaard, and Joey King. When their teenaged daughter confesses to impulsively killing her best friend, two desperate parents attempt to cover up the horrific crime, leading them into a complicated web of lies and deception.
Directed by Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr. and script by Osei-Kuffour Jr. and Stephen Herman, Black Box stars Mamoudou Athie, Phylicia Rashad, Amanda Christine, Tosin Morohunfola, Charmaine Bingwa and Troy James in the story of a single father who, after losing his wife and his memory in a car accident, undergoes an agonizing experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is.
Then there's Evil Eye, directed by Elan Dassani and Rajeev Dassani, which stars Sarita Choudhury, Sunita Mani, Omar Maskati and Bernard White. A seemingly perfect romance turns into a nightmare when a mother becomes convinced her daughter’s new boyfriend has a dark connection to her own past.
Finally, Nocturne, written and directed by Zu Quirke. Sydney Sweeney, Madison Iseman, Jacques Colimon and Ivan Shaw feature in the story of a timid music student at an elite musical academy, who begins to outshine her more accomplished and outgoing twin sister when she discovers a mysterious notebook belonging to a recently deceased classmate.
The first two arrive on Amazon on 6 October, followed by the second pair on 13 October. Four more films in the thematically-linked programme will debut next year.