825 Forest Road (April 4th, Shudder)
The creator of the Hell House LLC franchise, Stephen Cognetti, moves beyond that series with 825 Forest Road. The writer/director's new film sees a family move to a small town in
the wake of a tragedy only to find the area has been haunted by the ghost
of a suicide victim for decades.
Restless (April 4th, cinemas)
One of our favourite movies from last year's festival circuit was Jed Hart's directorial debut Restless. The film stars Lyndsey Marshal as Nicky, whose quiet life is disrupted by
the arrival of noisy neighbour Dean (Aston McAuley). With Dean refusing to turn down his thumping music
and the authorities unwilling to intervene, Nicky takes matters into her
own hands.
Drop (April 11th, cinemas)
Having made his name with the horror comedies Happy Death Day and Freaky, director Christopher Landon goes straight with Drop. The thriller stars Meghann Fahy as a single mother who goes on a blind date only to find herself
terrorised by a series of increasingly menacing "drops" to her
cellphone.
Dead Mail (April 18th, Shudder)
Another of our faves from the 2024 festival circuit arrives on Shudder in
April. Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy's 1980s set thriller Dead Mail is an inventive blend of
black comedy and nailbiting tension as a a lost letter investigator finds himself the only hope of salvation when
a synth wizard is held captive in a rival's basement. It's one of the most distinctive pieces of work to emerge from American
indie cinema in recent years.
Sinners (April 18th, cinemas)
Director Ryan Coogler reteams with his Black Panther and Creed star Michael B. Jordan for vampire thriller Sinners. The film sees Jordan play the dual roles of troubled twin brothers who
return to their home in the Jim Crow South, only to run into a greater
evil than they could have imagined.
Havoc (April 25th, Netflix)
Welsh action auteur Gareth Evans (The Raid) writes and directs this action thriller starring Tom Hardy as Walker, a police detective in a crime-ridden city. In the
aftermath of a disastrous drug deal, Walker uncovers a city-wide
conspiracy and finds himself pursued by mobsters and his fellow
cops.
The Ugly Stepsister (April 25th, cinemas)
The feature debut of Norwegian writer/director Emilie Blichfeldt, The Ugly Stepsister delivers a dark twist on the classic Cinderella tale. Lea Myren plays Elvira, a young woman competing with the
beautiful Agnes (Thea Sofie Loch Næss) for the affections of a prince in
this satire of body image and beauty standards.
Julie Keeps Quiet (April 25th, cinemas)
Belgium's Oscar submission this year is writer/director Leonardo van Dijl's Julie Keeps Quiet. The film stars Tessa Van den Broeck as Julie, a teenage pupil at a
prestigious tennis academy. When her coach is suspended following a
pupil's suicide, Julie finds herself the target of rumours regarding her
own relationship with him.
Cloud (April 25th, cinemas)
Kiyoshi Kurosawa previously explored the dark side of the
internet with his early cult hit Pulse and continues in similar vein with his latest dark thriller Cloud. The film stars Masaki Suda as Yoshi, an unscrupulous online seller of dodgy
and dangerous goods. When he becomes dogged by strange and sinister
occurrences, Yoshi begins to realise his victims may be coming for
him.
Swimming Home (April 25th, cinemas)
Based on the novel by Deborah Levy,
writer/director Justin Anderson's Swimming Home stars Christopher Abbott and Mackenzie Davis as Joe and Isabel, a troubled couple whose holiday is disrupted
when they find a naked woman, Kitti (Arianne Labed), floating in
their Greek villa's swimming pool.