Horror News Round-Up: ABCs of Death Court Case, Unfriended Trailer, Sharknado 3 and More

Three weeks into the New Year, and there’s been no shortage of horror movie buzz in 2015 thus far. From the expected trailers, posters and rumours to some perhaps less expected controversy, here’s the past week’s big horror news in brief…

- Elle Fanning Joins Neon Demon
- Blomkamp’s Abandoned Alien Sequel
- Latest On Troll Hunter Remake

Substitute teacher facing jail over horror movie

Ohio substitute teacher Sheila Kearns was convicted of “disseminating matter harmful to juveniles” after screening ‘The ABCs of Death’ to five classes of children aged between 14 and 18. Kearns will not be sentenced until March, and though probation is expected she could face four years behind bars.

We certainly wouldn’t nominate Kearns for any awards as an educator, but we have to question whether criminal charges were really called for, and jail time seems particularly inappropriate. Still, our poll on the matter showed that 58% of readers felt Kearns should not have been taken to court, while 42% supported the action. 

Unfriended trailer threatens anti-social networking

Though the film itself wasn’t on our radar at all before last week, upcoming Universal release ‘Unfriended’ shot straight up our must-see list for 2015 thanks to its surprisingly effective trailer suggesting a bold new take on the found footage approach: a horror movie shown entirely from the perspective of a single computer screen during a video conference call.

28 Days franchise may rage on?

'28 Days Later' writer Alex Garland says he's been in "quite serious conversations" with director Danny Boyle and producer Andrew Macdonald over ‘28 Months Later,’ a third installment in the sort-of-but-not-really zombie movie series, following on from the 2002 original and 2007’s ‘28 Weeks Later.’ Red contact lenses and shakey cam on standby.

Poltergeist remake - y’know, for kids

Actor Sam Rockwell remarked that the upcoming ‘Poltergeist’ remake (which, it must be said, he didn’t sound particularly confident about) is more of a children’s adventure movie than the comparatively hard-edged fright-fest that was the 1981 original. These comments alarmed many old-school horror fans - who are perhaps forgetting the original was (alarmingly) rated PG in the US. Still, sometimes kid-friendly horror can turn out pretty great, recent examples including ‘Paranorman,’ Joe Dante’s ‘The Hole,’ and ‘Poltergeist’ remake director Gil Kenan’s breakthrough ‘Monster House.’

Tara Reid back for more Sharknado

Yep, that wacky direct-to-DVD franchise from Syfy and The Asylum shows no signs of slowing, as three of the core players - actress Reid, director Anthony C. Ferrante and writer Thunder Levin - are confirmed to return for a third ‘Sharknado’ movie. Woo hoo.

Bond vs Dracula - on the runway?

In what sounds like another potentially rather silly movie, one-time 007 and former male model George Lazenby has been cast as a vampire hunter opposite another model-turned-actor James Tratas in horror comedy ‘Dracula 2015: Killer on the Catwalk,’ a new take on the horror icon set in the world of fashion, shooting in Shropshire this spring. That certainly never happened to the other fellow…

And finally - new Friday the 13th video game on the way

26 years after the much-maligned ‘Friday the 13th’ NES game (recently rejigged by fans into an unofficial ‘Freddy Vs Jason’ game), EGM report that masked maniac Jason Voorhees is set to return to the gaming world this October. All being well we should have a new movie too a month later, but when last asked about that the film’s producer Brad Fuller admitted they still don’t have a script ready.

- 13 Horror Movies To Watch In 2015
- Aronofsky’s Real Life Serial Killer Movie 
- Campbell Talks Evil Dead TV Show

Picture Credits: Magnet Releasing, DNA Films, MGM/UA, Syfy, Paramount