THC's 2016 Movie Preview: April-September!

With the new year comes a slew on new movies for us to enjoy (at least potentially), and so we decided to put together a 2016 Movie Preview, so that we could keep track of what's coming out and when.  

There will be four parts to this preview:

• January-March (Which lists the most movies with actual release dates,  because we're in that time frame now.)
• April-September (Which is a bigger stretch, because less movies have been firmly set for release.)
• 4th Quarter & TBA (The TBA portion lists the most movies in general, because so many have yet to receive 2016 release dates.) 
• Non-Horror flicks (Because we need to know when the Comic Book, Action, and Sci-Fi flicks are hitting the big screen.)

No matter what your tastes, there will be no shortage of movie-going options in 2016. While reading through this preview, be sure to keep in mind that...

• There are plenty of other Horror & Genre films, both big and small, that are set to see release this year. We're only covering the biggest ones, and the ones that interest us the most though, because trying to cover them all would be pointless. Sorry if we miss any that are on your radar. 
• Release Dates are always subject to change, and some of them probably will.  
• You can click the pics to be taken to each movie's IMDB page, for more in-depth info and trailers.
• LEGEND: THEATRICAL, VOD (Video On Demand), LIM (Limited Theatrical), BD (Blu-ray), DVD.

RINGS (4/1, THEATRICAL)

Samara returns with a familiar video tape to strike terror again in the third film of the Ring series, Rings.

Why we need another Ring movie, and one that takes place 13 years after the events of the original, I'm not sure, but we're getting one in April anyway. With that kind of time jump, we're going to go ahead and call this one a reboot, because with no one from the first two movies being anywhere near this one, that's exactly what it is.

It's been delayed, and we still have yet to see so much as a teaser trailer for Rings, so we're not holding our breath for anything great here. You never know though.

BEFORE I WAKE (4/6, THEATRICAL)

A young couple adopt an orphaned child whose dreams - and nightmares - manifest physically as he sleeps.

Originally slated to be released last May, and them last September, we'll finally be able to see Before I Wake this April. We like the trailer, and the cast is more than solid, so here's to hoping that this PG-13 Supernatural Thriller will deliver the goods.

AMITYVILLE: THE AWAKENING (4/15, THEATRICAL)

A single mother moves her three children into the haunted house not knowing of the house's bloody history.

Yet another movie that was delayed and is finally seeing release this April, Amityville: The Awakening makes us feel genuine fear that it might not be all that great. Bella Thorne is in it, so the kids will probably check it out, but we'll give it a chance because Kurtwood Smith is in it, and we'll watch the guy who played Red Forman on That 70's Show in anything. Dumbass.

THE GREEN ROOM (4/15, LIMITED THEATRICAL)

A young punk rock band find themselves trapped in a secluded venue after stumbling upon a horrific act of violence.

Two years ago, director Jeremy Saulnier gave us the excellent Blue Ruin, and this follow-up looks like it might just be every bit as good. It certainly has our interest.

There's nothing concretely listed for May yet, save for Kidnap with Halle Berry, which there isn't very much info on. There's also a Blumhouse movie called Darkness that may or may not see release in May.

Captain America: Civil War and X-Men: Apocalypse are going to rule May anyhow, so that's alright.

THE CONJURING 2 (6/10, THEATRICAL)

Lorraine and Ed Warren travel to north London to help a single mother raising four children alone in a house plagued by malicious spirits.

We liked The Conjuring, and we have no reason to think that this sequel won't be just about as good. Depending on your thoughts on the first movie, that's either really good, or really bad. Either way, we'll definitely check it out.

SHUT IN (6/17, LIMITED THEATRICAL)

A heart-pounding thriller about a widowed child psychologist who lives in an isolated existence in rural New England. Caught in a deadly winter storm, she must find a way to rescue a young boy before he disappears forever.

There's a movie coming out in a few weeks called Intruders, that was originally called Shut In. We thought that this was that movie. Turns out, this is an entirely different movie starring Naomi Watts. It's all still got us confused.

There's not much info on this one out there aside from the fact that it's coming out, so we list it as a curiosity for now, and nothing more.

THE PURGE 3 (7/1, THEATRICAL)

The Purge 3 is an upcoming American social science fiction action horror film directed and written by James DeMonaco, a sequel to 2014 film The Purge: Anarchy and a third installment in The Purge series.

The first Purge sucked, the 2nd one was awesome (we love Frank Grillo), and since Grillo is returning for this third entry in the Purge series, we're kinda geeked about it.

GHOSTBUSTERS (7/15, THEATRICAL)

Four women (Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon) battle troublemaking specters.

You know, a Ghostbusters remake/reboot or whatever just doesn't appeal to me at all. The fact that it's going to star all women as the Ghostbusters makes me like the idea even less... not because I don't like female-fronted movies, because I'm all for it, but because it feels like the only reason this movie is getting made is because "This time it's girls! Won't that be so cool?!?"

I hope I'm wrong about that, and that this movie ends up being funny as hell, but for now, I'm as wary of Ghostbusters as I was last year about Fantastic Four. That's not a good sign.

LIGHTS OUT (7/22, THEATRICAL)

A woman is haunted by a creature that only appears when the lights go out. A feature adaptation of the 2013 short film, "Lights Out" by David Sandberg.

The short film that inspired this movie was terrifying and brilliant, I just hope that they can stretch that concept out to feature length and make it work as well. I honestly remember watching it at like 2 A.M. and getting a serious case of the willies. Check it out for yourself HERE.

SPECTRAL (8/12, THEATRICAL)

A sci-fi/thriller story centered on a special-ops team that is dispatched to fight supernatural beings that have taken over New York City.

We know very little about this one, but with a cast that boasts names like James Badge Dale, Max Martini, and Emily Mortimer, we want to. It's one of only two theatrical releases in August (at least so far), so we imagine that Legendary Pictures must have a good amount of faith in it.

A MAN IN THE DARK (8/26, THEATRICAL)

A group of teens break into a blind man's home thinking they'll get away with the perfect crime. They're wrong.

Last time we saw the adorable Jane Levy was in Fede Alvarez's Evil Dead remake, which we loved. Now the two have re-teamed for this Home Invasion Thriller, and as good as Evil Dead was, A Man in the Dark is high up on our Must See list for 2016.

PATIENT ZERO (9/2, THEATRICAL)

After an unprecedented global pandemic has turned the majority of humankind into violent "Infected," a man gifted with the ability to speak the Infected's new language leads the last survivors on a hunt for Patient Zero and a cure.

Natalie Dormer and Matt Smith in an Infected/Zombie flick sounds like a winning combo to us.