Yesterday, Amazon, the streaming service announced a partnership with Jason Blum’s horror and genre studio, Blumhouse, titled “Welcome to the Blumhouse” a collection of eight feature films that will debut over the next year or so beginning in October. Highlights included “The Lie,” directed by Veena Sud (creator of “The Killing” fame), and starring Joey King (“The Kissing Booth”), “Nocturne,” written and directed by filmmaker Zu Quirke, and starring “Euphoria” breakout star Sydney Sweeney, and “Black Box” starring Phylicia Rashad from “The Cosby Show.” Obviously there seems to be an emphasis on female directors, people of color and in general, a lot of eclectic voices. Today, we’ve got myriad details on each project, release dates, and first look photos. Check them out below.
READ MORE: Amazon Teams With Blumhouse For 8 New Streaming Films; First 4 Debuting In October
BLACK BOX
October 6, 2020
Logline
After losing his wife and his memory in a car accident, a single father undergoes an agonizing experimental treatment that causes him to question who he really is.
Short Synopsis
Having lost his wife and his memory in a tragic car accident, news photographer Nolan Wright (Mamoudou Athie) is desperate to regain a sense of normalcy for both himself and his young daughter Ava (Amanda Christine). So when brilliant neuropsychiatrist Dr. Lillian Brooks (Phylicia Rashad) invites him to participate in an experimental treatment that might reverse his condition, he agrees. Using a hypnosis-inducing device called the Black Box, she unearths lost memories which allows patients to experience them first-hand. But the memories he experiences reveal a much darker past than he anticipated. Even more terrifying is the disfigured creature that threatens to kill Nolan in his surreal dream-state. A haunting descent into one man’s shattered psyche, Black Box is a high-tech thriller that poses the question: Do we run our minds or do our minds run us?
Directed by: Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr.
Teleplay by: Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr. and Stephen Herman
Story by: Stephen Herman
Starring: Mamoudou Athie, Phylicia Rashad, Amanda Christine, Tosin Morohunfola, Charmaine Bingwa, and Troy James
Executive produced by: Jason Blum, Jay Ellis, Aaron Bergman, Lisa Bruce, Marci Wiseman, Jeremy Gold, Mynette Louie and William Marks.
READ MORE: Elisabeth Moss Working With Blumhouse On The Upcoming Thriller ‘Mrs. March’
THE LIE
October 6, 2020
Logline
When their teenaged daughter confesses to impulsively killing her best friend, two desperate parents attempt to cover up the horrific crime, leading them into a complicated web of lies and deception.
Synopsis
A divorced mother and father find themselves trapped in a living nightmare when their daughter confesses to murder in The Lie, a gripping psychological thriller about the lengths parents will go to in order to protect their child. While driving his 15-year-old daughter Kayla (Joey King) and her best friend Brittany (Devery Jacobs) to a weekend retreat in the dead of winter, aging rocker Jay (Peter Sarsgaard) pulls over to the side of the road for a quick bathroom break. Although the two girls enter the surrounding woods together, only Kayla returns. Terrified she could be tried as an adult, Jay and his ex-wife Rebecca (Mireille Enos) cover up Kayla’s crime with a web of lies and deceit. But the truth won’t stay buried, and as one mistake leads to another, the desperate parents discover that what actually happened in those icy woods is more shocking than they imagined.
Written and directed by: Veena Sud
Starring: Mireille Enos, Peter Sarsgaard, and Joey King.
Produced by: Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Christopher Tricarico, and Jason Blum.
Executive produced by: Howard Green, Kim Hodgert, Jeanette Volturno, Couper Samuelson and Aaron Barnett.
READ MORE: Leigh Whannell To Direct Ryan Gosling In ‘Wolfman’ Reboot; Blumhouse To Produce
EVIL EYE
October 13, 2020
Logline
A seemingly perfect romance turns into a nightmare when a mother becomes convinced her daughter’s new boyfriend has a dark connection to her own past.
Synopsis:
At home in Delhi, India, proud parent Usha Khatri (Sarita Choudhury) is overjoyed when her daughter Pallavi (Sunita Mani) calls from New Orleans with news she has met someone special. But as Usha learns more about Pallavi’s wealthy boyfriend Sandeep (Omar Maskati), she becomes convinced something more nefarious than chance brought the young couple together. When Pallavi announces her engagement to Sandeep, mother and daughter are forced to confront dark family secrets and a terrifying supernatural force in this stylish psychological thriller.
Written by: Madhuri Shekar
Directed by: Elan Dassani and Rajeev Dassani
Starring: Sarita Choudhury, Sunita Mani, Omar Maskati, and Bernard White
Executive produced by: Jason Blum, Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Lisa Bruce, Marci Wiseman, Jeremy Gold, Guy Stodel, Anjula Acharia, Emilia Lapenta and Kate Navin.
Produced by: Ian Watermeier, Nina Anand Aujla
NOCTURNE
October 13, 2020
Logline
Inside the halls of an elite arts academy, a timid music student begins to outshine her more accomplished and outgoing twin sister when she discovers a mysterious notebook belonging to a recently deceased classmate.
Synopsis:
When a virtuoso music student commits suicide days before an important concert, her death unleashes a supernatural force in Nocturne, an unsettling tale of sibling rivalry set at a prestigious arts academy. Having grown up in the shadow of her more talented twin sister, shy piano student Juliet Lowe (Sydney Sweeney) is used to always being second-best when it comes to music. But when she finds a mysterious notebook that belonged to the school’s recently deceased star soloist,her playing miraculously begins to improve and she soon eclipses her sister Vivian (Madison Iseman) as the academy’s top student. Along with her newfound abilities, however, comes a series of frightening premonitions. As Juliet’s visions grow more nightmarish, she discovers the true cost of achieving artistic perfection.
Written and directed by: Zu Quirke
Starring: Sydney Sweeney, Madison Iseman, Jacques Colimon, and Ivan Shaw
Executive produced by: Jason Blum, Lisa Bruce, Marci Wiseman, Jeremy Gold, Matthew Myers and Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly.
So, that’s four of eight, all coming around October and beginning October 6 and four more to come. It’s unclear when these will be announced, but clearly Blumhouse and Amazon have found a spot for what could be a fruitful and ongoing partnership. “Blumhouse” is obviously on a tear with this genre and field and who knows how much it could expand from there.