HORROR TRAILER TALK: The Thing goes National Geographic, non-Zombies, contemporized Werewolves, Satanic Cults, ill-fated flights and Aliens behaving badly

Here are some recent and upcoming horror movies that are on my radar. Click each movie title to link to the trailer.

Blood Glacier (2013) (aka, The Station) is a gory effects-driven German monster movie that borrows heavily from The Thing (1982, 2011). Blood leaks from a glacier which is thawing as a result of global warming. It comes into contact with the local wildlife and turns them into hungry monsters. Nothing original here, but it looks fun and full of mutant animal monster mayhem.

First there was Kurt Russell, then Joel Edgerton, now this guy… CLICK HERE to read our review of Blood Glacier

The Returned (2014) is a zombie movie about “not zombies” that are basically, well…zombies. So yes, it’s another zombie film. The trailer offers promising gore-rich effects and a somewhat interesting story. We can be “returned” from death with a virus, continuing to live, as long as we keep getting regular medical doses of a sort of vaccine. Miss one dose and, well, ZOMBIE MOVIE MAYHEM! The film stars Kris Holden-Ried (Lost Girl, Underworld: Awakening).

Wer (2013) is a contemporized werewolf movie, not to be confused with a werewolf movie with a contemporary theme (a la Ginger Snaps). This approach is common in zombie movies, but I think this may be the first time a werewolf movie has been approached in this manner. Looks very cool and, of course, watch for the transformation scene!

Nothing Left To Fear (2013) stars Clancy Brown (John Dies at the End, A Nightmare on Elm Street) and has a story I can’t quite figure out from the trailer. However, the effects look diverse, well-done and creepy as Hell, maybe a bit Devil culty. So I’m in!

7500 (2014) has seen delay after delay. I think it was supposed to be released in 2012. Now I think it’s slated for 2016. This movie features a lot of familiar faces including True Blood‘s Ryan Kwantan, Jamie Chung (Sorority Row, Sucker Punch, The Man with the Iron Fists) and Amy Smart (Mirrors, The Butterfly Effect). 272 passengers take off on a flight and supernatural things start happening. Is it a psycho killer at 30,000 feet movie? Possibly. Is it a monster movie? Probably. Whatever the case this has too many people I like and an enclosed setting, so I think it’ll be worth the ride.

Alien Abduction (2014) is a movie that NEEDS to be good. It focuses on a likable family which, when done right, can be great. Think Poltergeist (1982). I somewhat enjoyed Dark Skies (2013), but it wasn’t so widely accepted. The Fourth Kind (2009) was another moderately entertaining movie that pretty much missed the mark.

Skinwalker Ranch (2013) is my ace-in-the-hole in case Alien Abduction isn’t up to snuff. At first glance it makes me think “if Signs (2002) was more of a horror movie.” The special effects look diverse, from eerie to gory to scary to weird moving alien-y to mutant-monster-y. Even if the story development sucks, the effects should carry this into a safe zone of satisfaction.