A Look At The Halloween Oriented Films Coming This October
All Hallow's Eve is the one day a year where it it acceptable for you to wear costumes to work and school. It is also the only time of year where ghost movies can be released with a chance of a box office return. Let us take a look at some of those films debuting Halloween season 2002.
Red Dragon
Rating: R
Release Date: October 4th
Hannibal Lector is back! After the success of the sequel, "Hannibal," Red Dragon was greenlighted. Acording to recent buzz, Red Dragon will return the series to its intellectual beginnings. Red Dragon should gross quite a bit, and be on top of the box office for several weeks, if not all of October. However, as the date draws sooner, the pre-debut buzz just doesn't seem to be there. I think the producers would have been smarter had they not revealed anything about the plot, instead only release a teaser trailer and teaser previews.
Below
Rating: R
Release Date: October 11th
Below is your run of the mill horror film, that takes place on a submarine. There is virtually no buzz on Below, and it has found its place in one of the more crowded weekends of the year. Below should take a similar road as FearDotCom and sink fast.
As of the final weekend of September, Below doesn't even have a poster yet. If Dimension Films doesn't kick up the buzz, look for this to be delayed another year.
The Ring
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: October 18th
The Ring is the follow up film to Mulholland Drive for critic dream girl Naomi Watts. The Ring is the the American remake of a Japanese film that broke box office records in Japan. This film should start out small, but as word of mouth travels, look for good legs and a solid box office draw.
I have seen several TV commercials for The Ring, and they are very good!
Abandon
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: October 18th
Abandon is a thriller/murder mystery starring Benjamin Bratt and Katie Holmes. This films campaign reminds me a lot of another recent film, Swimfan. Look for a similar box office return.
Ghost Ship
Rating: Not Yet Rated
Release Date: October 25th
Debuting the last weekend before Halloween, Ghost Ship should rule the box office on Halloween and its opening weekend. However, after October 31st, Ghost Ship will sail out to sea.
© 2002 Jake Sproul