This October is shaping up to be quite a month for horror buffs. Warner Bros. and New Line will be unveiling The Conjuring spinoff Annabelle, Universal will finally release blockbuster Dracula Untold, and the Jason Blum-produced Ouija will also be hitting screens. ABCs of Death 2 has been rumored to release around October 31st as well. Now, we’re hearing that Magnet Releasing has thrown its hat in the ring by dating V/H/S Viral, the third and purportedly final installment its found-footage horror anthology series, for release on VOD platforms on October 23rd.
V/H/S Viral will also be getting a limited theatrical release on November 21st, which seems like a weird strategy by Magnet, but perhaps the flick will be good enough that fans will want to go back for more on the big screen? (Yeah, we somehow doubt that too.) Anyhow, the fact that it’s not facing any competition theatrically in November should make the cinema run worth it for Magnet.
Still, the first trailer hinted at all kinds of gruesome mayhem, including a murderous magician and a demon that enjoys skulking in showers, and the crew recruited for installments this time around is absolutely awesome. We’ve got Marcel Sarmiento (Deadgirl, the superb ABCs of Death segment “D Is for Dogfight”), Nacho Vigalondo (Timecrimes, Extraterrestrial), Gregg Bishop (The Other Side, Dance of the Dead), Todd Lincoln (The Apparition), and (most excitingly) Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Resolution, Spring) all jumping on board to contribute their own bitsy, bone-chilling segments. Talk about a Sinister Six.
What are their segments all about? I can’t wait to find out. All we’ve officially heard so far is that, “V/H/S Viral focuses on fame-obsessed teens who unwittingly become stars of the next internet sensation.” Cool, but not exactly informative. But if I go into V/H/S Viral this fall knowing only what I know now, I’m totally fine with that. Half the fun of this series has been going along with its talented writers and directors on whatever crazy ride they’ve come up with – and if V/H/S Viral is indeed the last outing for this franchise, we have every right to expect the most blood-curdling, jaw-dropping, stomach-churning installment yet.
V/H/S Viral will go viral on October 23rd, then hit theaters on November 21st.
