The Fantastic Pavilion presents a weekly recap with the most relevant news about the world of genre cinema.
News
Neon has released the official trailer and new posters for Steven Soderbergh’s ghost story/haunted house movie Presence (2024), which stars Lucy Lui and follows a family that “moves into a suburban house and becomes convinced they’re not alone.” Presence had its world premiere earlier this year at Sundance and will now open in U.S. theaters on January 24.
Robert Eggers’ highly anticipated Nosferatu (2024) has a bunch of a brand new character posters, featuring Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe, Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Emma Corrin. Nosferatu arrives in U.S. cinemas December 25.
Director Lex Ortega shared a teaser poster that confirms the production of México Bárbaro III, a new horror anthology based on Mexican legends and traditions. Originally conceived by Ortega, the México Bárbaro film series started in 2014 and reunited such directors as Edgar Nito, Isaac Ezban, Gigi Saul Guerrero, and Jorge Michel Grau. The first sequel, México Bárbaro II (2017), featured segments by Michelle Garza Cervera, Fernando Urdapilleta and Abraham Sánchez, among others. The director lineup for the third entry will be revealed at a later date.
Eugenio Mira’s horror film The Birthday (2004), which stars Corey Feldman, has been restored in 4K to celebrate its 20th anniversary (it premiered at Sitges 2004). Distributed by Drafthouse Films, this new restoration is now available on demand and will continue to play in select U.S. theaters throughout November.
Here’s the official synopsis: “Not everything is as it seems at the old Royal Fulton Hotel. Norman Forrester (Feldman) is finally going to meet his girlfriend’s family at her father’s lavish birthday party. But what was supposed to be an important step forward in their relationship doesn’t exactly go as planned; he’s not on the guest list, his girlfriend is ignoring him, and her father doesn’t like him at all. Rejected and heartbroken, Norman wanders away from the party, only to find something far more sinister than his girlfriend’s family lurking deep within the churning bowels of the ailing hotel: an ancient evil that threatens to bring about the end of the world.”
Home video
Arrow Video’s first releases of 2025 were announced last Friday and they include a limited edition 4K UHD and Blu-ray of Quentin Tarantino’s WWII revenge fantasy Inglourious Basterds (2009). The two-disc set comes with a replica of the Nation’s Pride program, a poster, and three postcards, among other stuff. Brand new extras include interviews with Fred Raskin, Greg Nicotero, and Omar Doom. The set will be released on January 13.
Umbrella Entertainment announced a four-film collector’s edition box set for fans of the Terrifier franchise. To be released on January 31, the set includes Terrifier (2016), Terrifier 2 (2022) and Terrifier 3 (2024) in both 4K UHD and Blu-ray, plus the anthology All Hallows’ Eve (2013) on Blu-ray. Some of the extra goodies are a book, a Terrifier 3 VHS, an Art the Clown brick set, and two posters.
In memoriam
Paul Morrissey (1938-2024). American filmmaker Paul Morrissey passed away last Monday, October 28, in New York City. As reported by The New York Times, his cause of death was pneumonia. He was 86 years old.
Morrissey was best known for his association with artist Andy Warhol. Genre aficionados will particularly remember him for a couple of cult films that dealt with classic horror monsters in the 1970s: Flesh for Frankenstein (1973) and Blood for Dracula (1974), both starring Udo Kier.