The Fantastic Pavilion presents a weekly recap with the most relevant news about the world of genre cinema.
News
Sideshow and Janus Films unveiled the teaser for The Shrouds (2024), David Cronenberg’s latest feature film. It’ll open in select U.S. theaters on April 18 and nationwide on April 25.
Here’s its synopsis: “A techno-entrepreneur named Karsh (Vincent Cassel) has developed a new software that will allow the bereaved to bear witness to the gradual decay of loved ones dead and buried in the earth. While Karsh is still reeling from the loss of his wife (Diane Kruger) from cancer – and falling into a peculiar sexual relationship with his wife’s sister (also Kruger) – a spate of vandalized graves utilizing his shroud technology begins to put his enterprise at risk, leading him to uncover a potentially vast conspiracy.”
“This bitch is back,” says the first official teaser for the sci-fi horror sequel M3GAN 2.0 (2025), which will hit cinemas on June 27 (via Universal Pictures and Blumhouse).
Synopsis: “Two years after M3GAN, a marvel of artificial intelligence, went rogue and embarked on a murderous rampage and was subsequently destroyed, M3GAN’s creator Gemma has become a high-profile author and advocate for government oversight of A.I. Meanwhile, Gemma’s niece Cady, now 14, has become a teenager, rebelling against Gemma’s overprotective rules.
“Unbeknownst to them, the underlying tech for M3GAN has been stolen and misused by a powerful defense contractor to create a military-grade weapon known as Amelia, the ultimate killer infiltration spy. But as Amelia’s self-awareness increases, she becomes decidedly less interested in taking orders from humans. Or in keeping them around.
“With the future of human existence on the line, Gemma realizes that the only option is to resurrect M3GAN and give her a few upgrades, making her faster, stronger, and more lethal. As their paths collide, the original A.I bitch is about to meet her match.”
Another upcoming horror flick that just got its first teaser trailer is Final Destination: Bloodlines (2025), the sixth installment in the film series. It’ll debut in theaters on May 16.
Official synopsis: “Plagued by a violent recurring nightmare, college student Stefanie heads home to track down the one person who might be able to break the cycle and save her family from the grisly demise that inevitably awaits them all.”
The first trailers for two major blockbusters – Jurassic World Rebirth (2025) and The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025) – have arrived.
Gareth Edwards directed Jurassic World Rebirth, which stars Scarlett Johansson as the leader of a team that go on a mission to an island that was “the research facility for the original Jurassic Park.” The movie hits the big screen on July 2.
On the other hand, the new Fantastic Four flick – starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach – is part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and will be available to watch in theaters from July 25.
As we previously reported, the U.S. and Canada distribution rights to Macon Blair’s The Toxic Avenger (2023) were finally acquired by Cineverse. And now the remake of Troma’s 1984 cult classic of the same name has gotten a release date: Friday, August 29. The movie stars Peter Dinklage, Kevin Bacon and Elijah Wood. It had its world premiere at the 2023 Fantastic Fest.
Home video
Vinegar Syndrome Labs has put out Juan López Moctezuma’s The Mansion of Madness (La mansión de la locura, 1973) on Blu-ray. The Mexican cult film was “scanned and restored from its 35mm original camera negative.” The disc contains a bunch of extras, including an interview with actress Ellen Sherman and the documentary Alucardos: Portrait of a Vampire (Alucardos: Retrato de un vampiro, 2011).
Arrow Video will release on April 29 a box set dedicated to Japanese V-Cinema. The five-disc limited edition Blu-ray includes the following direct-to-video crime movies: Crime Hunter: Bullets of Rage (1989), Neo Chinpira: Zoom Goes the Bullet (1990), Stranger (1991), Carlos (1991), Burning Dog (1991), Female Prisoner Scorpion: Death Threat (1991), The Hitman: Blood Smells Like Roses (1991), Danger Point: The Road to Hell (1991), and XX: Beautiful Hunter (1994).
Terror Vision announced a Blu-ray edition of Enter the Panther (1976), a Bruceploitation flick starring Bruce Li. Terror Vision noted that Enter the Panther is “one of the rarest films from this martial arts subgenre” and that they tracked down in Spain – with the help of Severin Films – “one of the last remaining prints in existence.” The Blu-ray arrives in March and can be pre-ordered now.