Halloween Kills & other Blumhouse release-date changes

With pandemic uncertainty keeping theaters closed, Blumhouse recently announced schedule changes for three of their upcoming releases.

Blumhouse has been an omnipresent force in mainstream horror for several years. Jason Blum’s low-budget, high-concept approach to film production has yielded a prolific output, even if the quality and inspiration isn’t always there.

With continued uncertainty over the safety of American multiplexes due to COVID-19, several films on Blumhouse’s 2020 slate have been pushed back.

Deadline recently reported on the handful of films, which include the following release-date changes:

• Candyman (October 16, 2020)
• The Forever Purge (July 9, 2021)
• Halloween Kills (October 15, 2021)

While Nia DaCosta’s update of Candyman was met with initial skepticism from horror fans, a recent teaser trailer went over with much fanfare on social media. It approached the lore of the urban-legend titular character through the simplicity of shadow-play and paper-cut figures.

Meanwhile, the plot of The Forever Purge remains a mystery. As someone who found 2013’s The Purge more interesting on a second viewing (it’s not at all subtle, but neither was George Romero when he made The Crazies or Dawn of the Dead), there is something to be said for creator James DeMonaco’s sledgehammer approach to class warfare in a not-so-distant future America.

But the highest-profile film of an admittedly high-profile bunch, Halloween Kills, has been pushed to October 2021. Director David Gordon Green and John Carpenter released a joint statement explaining the decision, with some details that imply the wait will be worth it:

"“After weighing our options, we have chosen to push the film’s theatrical release by one year. On top of a traditional release, Universal has agreed to an IMAX presentation of the film in October 2021…“"

The full statement from Carpenter’s Twitter can be found here. And if you scroll down a bit, you’ll find that The Horror Master left a tease to whet your whistle for Halloween Kills…

Do you agree with Blumhouse about pushing Halloween Kills to 2021? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.