Halloween is right around the corner, and who better to entrust the scariest month of the year to than Blumhouse? The studio that built its reputation on low budget horrors is back at Amazon Studios for their Welcome to the Blumhouse anthology, four genre flicks featuring an ethnically diverse array of filmmakers and actors. This being its second year, I’m thinking this is already established as an annual tradition.
Amazon has released four trailers for the upcoming batch of films, starting on October 1st with Bingo Hell, from Mexican director/actress Gigi Saul Guerrero and starring Babel‘s Adriana Barraza. The same day sees the debut of Black as Night from director Maritte Lee Go and featuring Asjha Cooper (There’s Someone Inside Your House) and Keith David. Horror icon Barbara Hershey stars in The Manor on October 8th, alongside Madres led by Narcos: Mexico and The Forever Purge actor Tenoch Huerta.
“Bingo Hell“
Release Date: October 1, 2021 (Prime Video)
When a sinister figure threatens the residents of a low-income community, a feisty senior citizen tries to stop him in Bingo Hell, a wickedly original horror movie with a fiendishly funny twist. After 60-something neighborhood activist Lupita (Adriana Barraza) discovers that her beloved local bingo hall has been taken over by a mysterious businessman named Mr. Big (Richard Brake), she rallies her elderly friends to fight back against the enigmatic entrepreneur. But when her longtime neighbors begin turning up dead under grisly circumstances, Lupita suddenly discovers that gentrification is the least of her problems. Something terrifying has made itself at home in the quiet barrio of Oak Springs, and with each new cry of “Bingo!” another victim falls prey to its diabolical presence. As the cash prizes increase and the body count steadily rises, Lupita must face the frightening realization that this game is truly winner-takes-all.
“Black As Night”
Release Date: October 1, 2021 (Prime Video)
A resourceful teenage girl leaves childhood behind when she battles a group of deadly vampires in Black as Night, an action-horror hybrid with a strong social conscience and a biting sense of humor. Fifteen years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, a new threat leaves its mark on the Big Easy in the form of puncture wounds on the throats of the city’s vulnerable displaced population. When her drug-addicted mom becomes the latest victim of the undead, 15-year old Shawna (Asjha Cooper) vows to even the score. Along with three trusted friends, Shawna hatches a bold plan to infiltrate the vampire’s mansion in the historic French Quarter, destroy their leader, and turn his fanged disciples back to their human form. But killing monsters is no easy task, and soon Shawna and her crew find themselves caught in a centuries-old conflict between warring vampire factions, each fighting to claim New Orleans as their permanent home.
“Madres”
Release Date: October 8, 2021 (Prime Video)
Beto (Tenoch Huerta) and Diana (Ariana Guerra), a young Mexican-American couple expecting their first child, move to a small town in 1970’s California, where Beto has been offered a job managing a farm. Isolated from the community and plagued by confusing nightmares, Diana explores the rundown company ranch where they reside, finding a grisly talisman and a box containing the belongings of the previous residents. Her discoveries will lead her to a truth that is much stranger and more terrifying than she could have imagined.
“The Manor”
Release Date: October 8, 2021 (Prime Video)
A malevolent force preys upon the residents of a sleepy nursing home in The Manor, a gothic tale of terror with a modern twist. When a mild stroke diminishes her ability to care for herself, Judith Albright (Barbara Hershey) moves to Golden Sun Manor, an assisted living facility with a sterling reputation. But despite the best efforts of the staff and a budding friendship with fellow senior Roland (Bruce Davison), strange occurrences and nightmarish visions convince Judith that a sinister presence is haunting the massive estate. As residents begin to die mysteriously, Judith’s frantic warnings are dismissed as fantasy. Even her devoted grandson Josh (Nicholas Alexander) thinks her fears result from dementia, not demons. With no one willing to believe her, Judith must either escape the confines of the manor or fall victim to the evil that dwells within it.
