A Look Ahead at the Films of 2012

2011, a great year for film, is officially over.  What seemed like a horrendous year for genre films in 2010 was quickly wiped clean by some very solid entries in 2011.  The year saw a few major studio films really shine for genre film fans, but the real gems were some of the smaller films that were discovered on the independent or foreign circuit.  This new year could see a return to form for major studios as an extremely lengthy list of titles are set to be released in the world of horror, sci-fi, cult, and fantastique.  Similar to last year, 2012 will see many big name directors like Christopher Nolan, Peter Jackson, Ridley Scott, Quentin Tarantino, Chan-wook Park, Oliver Stone, and Tim Burton, release not only some of the most anticipated films of the year, but some of the most anticipated films for us genre fans.

Without further ado, let’s take a look at 2012.  Below you will first see a list and description of the 25 most anticipated films for us here at Destroy the Brain followed by a list of other titles that might peak your interest this year as well.  Like always, feel free to leave your comments in the comment section below to let us know what you are most excited about.  We want to hear from you guys as well so that we know what to cover on the site in 2012.

The below titles are listed in order of release date.  The ones not given a release date as of yet will be found below the others.

 

The Hunger Games

March 23

It’s amazing what a well-edited trailer can do.  Because the book series has such a following, mainly among young adults, it was a given that this film was going to get some attention.  Yet, I don’t think any of us would have expected the hype that has befallen on this film now following the incredible first full-length trailer.  In The Hunger Games, Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) has to fight for her life among 23 other teenagers for the viewing pleasure of the public until one is left standing.  It sounds hokey and it’s obviously not new territory by any means (can we say Battle Royale), but I have been won over by the marketing of this film and I say . . . let the games begin.

 

The Cabin in the Woods

April 13

I feel like I have been talking ad nauseam about one of my most anticipated horror films of 2012.  It seem like ages ago when we first heard about Joss Whedon and Drew Goddard’s (both Buffy alums) deconstructionist take on the traditional story of kids going into the woods for a weekend of fun.  Well, I’m pretty sure we can all thank Marvel that this is finally going to be taken off the dusty shelf it has been sitting on for years.  Because if they hadn’t cast Chris Hemsworth to star in Thor and hire Whedon to put together The Avengers, this film may have just slipped into the darkness. To add to the anticipation, the film recently screened in Austin followed by an extremely positive response.  This year Friday the 13th can’t come soon enough!

 

Wettest County

April 20

Three of 2011’s most talked about actors together in a film directed by the guy who gave us my favorite western of the past ten years, The Proposition . . . sign me up. Tom Hardy, Gary Oldman, and Jessica Chastain all gave amazing performances in 2011, now they will all come together for a film about a bootlegging gang during the depression.  John Hillcoat is also known for adapting Cormac McCarthy’s devastating novel The Road.  Although that didn’t grab me as much as the book did or The Proposition did,  I will gladly pull up a stool and have a drink with the Wettest County.

 

The Avengers

May 4

This is not another sorry attempt at reviving the popular British spy show from the 60’s.  This is the comic-book movie that many of you have been dreaming of.  Marvel fans have dreamt about seeing all of their favorite superheros fighting together on the big-screen.  On the comic-book page it feels slightly less epic compared to the massive movie screens found today.  That is why Marvel’s film is met with so much excitement at even the slight mention of the title.  Then there’s also the plus of having Joss Whedon, who won over comic geeks with his run on The Astonishing X-Men, directing the group dynamic.  I hope that we’re not building up to much pressure for the film.

 

Dark Shadows

May 11

Even though it worries me a little that the film is coming out in the first half of the year and we haven’t even seen a glimpse of a teaser poster yet alone a trailer, this lands on this list due to the very nature of this project.  Not only is Dark Shadows one of the most beloved horror television series ever made but Tim Burton is a name that many of us are familiar with and love.  His cult masterpieces Edward Scissorhands, Beetlejuice, and Ed Wood, seem to hint at what we can expect from this gothic tale of a vampire and his eccentric and wealthy family.  Plus . . . it doesn’t hurt having character actor Johnny Depp play the iconic Barnabus Collins.

 

Prometheus

June 8

If you would have asked me a month ago what my most anticipated film of 2012 was I would not have had an answer.  Now that the trailer for Ridley Scott’s return to space has been revealed I can confidently say Prometheus.  An outstanding cast, a talented director, breath-taking visuals, and a return to the sci-fi horror genre that he redefined in 1979 with Alien, all add up to what could be a welcome return to form from a director who has lost his edge as of late.

 

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter

June 22

Seth Grahame-Smith’s uneven novel may not have had the energy or the ambition that you would expect from a story about one of history’s greatest presidents staking vampires, but I’m sure director Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted, Night Watch) will invigorate the story.  The director is known for imaginative visuals and I’m sure this hatchet-wielding revenge flick will help genre fans get excited about vampires once again.

 

The Dark Knight Rises

July 20

The Dark Knight Rises is going to be awesome, but it most likely will disappoint.  Trust me . . . I’m saying this as a DIE-HARD Batman fan who even owns Joel Schumaker’s Batman films on DVD.  I say this because of two reasons: One – We know there are going to be a lot of people out there who will undoubtedly say “It wasn’t as good as The Dark Knight.”  Two – Since this is Nolan and company’s last take on the universe, we are all hoping that this will be “THE FILM” that will wrap up and include everything we have wanted in a Christopher Nolan Batman film.  Again, it won’t please everyone.  As much as I want to see this film right now, I’m going to enter the theater on July 20 with cool and calm anticipation.  Nolan is just a man, and Batman is just a character.  It is just really hard because I so desperately want it to be as good as I think its going to be.

 

Savages

September 28

Imagine if director Oliver Stone had directed an episode of Weeds or Breaking Bad.  That’s what looks to be the premise of Savages, a new film for the guy who gave us Platoon, Wall Street, and JFK.   The film follows two pot growers who have to rescue their girlfriend from the Mexican drug cartel.  Oliver Stone is always an interesting director.  His many films over the years have polarized critics, but the gritty world of Natural Born Killers has been met with unanimous approval over the years from critics both young and old.  We will see if that grittiness can be captured once again with Savages.

 

Gangster Squad

October 19

Although some horror fans were turned off by the fact that Zombieland was more of a road-trip, coming-of-age story than balls-to-the-wall zombie carnage, I for one admired how director Ruben Fleischer balanced the comedy, horror, and interesting characters into one of the most enjoyable horror comedies I had seen in awhile.  Not to mention that Woody Harrelson’s character Tallahassee is one of the most bad-ass characters to  have ever stepped into a zombie movie.   This time the director is tackling a new genre, and if you are able to read the aforementioned title, than I think you now what genre I am talking about.  Ryan Gosling and Josh Brolin will play two hard-nosed cops on a hunt for a mobster played by Sean Penn.

 

Skyfall

November 9

Casino Royale re-started a James Bond series that seemed to be slipping into the world of cheese and hokiness.  It brought an intelligent script to the forefront that included some great character sequences and some of the most tense action sequences in the entire Bond series.  Unfortunately Quantam of Solace took one too many steps backward and was more interested in showing Bond drive a boat and fly a plane then telling an interesting story.  Skyfall, being directed by Sam Mendes (Jarhead, Road to Perdition), is hopefully more in line with why I loved Daniel Craig’s initial Bond adventure.  After 22 films, 007 still has the guns to get me excited about espionage, guns, and stopping world domination.

 

Gravity

November 21

The log line of the film may not be anything to write home about: The lone survivor of a space mission to repair the Hubble telescope desperately tries to return to Earth and reunite with her daughter. However, if you consider the fact that writer and director Alfonso Cuaron has been working on this film for over 8 years, you might think twice about pushing aside this upcoming sci-fi feature.  Cuaron has made a name for himself by directing Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and one of my favorite films of the past ten years: Children of Men.  Gravity may be just a passion project for the Spanish director, but for a lot of us it could be a modern-day sci-fi masterpiece.

 

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey

December 14

The Lord of the Rings is this generation’s original Star Wars trilogy.  They represent a new cornerstone in geek film culture and proved that a film that has elves, dwarves, and wizards, can be taken seriously by both excited fanboys and the prestigious Academy Awards.  The Hobbit (part one) lays down the stones that were first traveled on in the original trilogy.  It’s a journey that seems even more familiar thanks to the fact that director Peter Jackson will be once again leading the team.

 

World War Z

December 21

Max Brooks’ zombie novel transcends the zombie novel.  I don’t take that phrase lightly either.  Told through numerous interviews that recount the events that lead to the years leading up to the outbreak, to the slow spread of it, to the horrific events that lead to the dwindling population, World War Z is epic in scope and seemed impossible to film upon first reading.  Marc Forster and Brad Pitt will be doing the impossible when the film gets released this Christmas season.

 

Django Unchained

December 25

Easily, Django Unchained is in my top three most anticipated films of 2011.  Keep in mind, this is coming from the guy who has been disappointed with director Quentin Tarantino’s past two films.  Don’t get me wrong, Inglorious Basterds has its moments of greatness, but it felt like a mess of ideas that had no clear direction.  Django Unchained is going to be the film that redefines the career of a director who has long sat at the head of the geek table completely content with pleasing only himself and his film snob friends.  I say this because after reading the script (you can read my review of the script HERE), I found myself blown away by the tone and control Tarantino has over the story.  I can not wait to see this dark tale of a dentist turned bounty-hunter and a freed slave as they search for the wife of the once captive man.

 

Cogan’s Trade

(To Be Determined)

Brad Pitt is back again on this list! What is up with this guy? Andrew Dominik has only made two other films besides the upcoming Cogan’s Trade.  The first was the film that put Eric Bana on the map, Chopper.  The second film was the arthouse film disguised as a western , The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford.  A mob poker game goes wrong when a heist occurs forcing an enforcer (Brad Pitt) to investigate.  The Australian director should be on your list of director’s to keep an eye on.

 

John Dies at the End

(TBD)

Next we have a director that needs no introduction.  Phantasm. The Beastmaster. Bubba Ho-Tep. All of these films are some of the most original and bizarre entries in genre film-making.  John Dies At the End looks to only convince you more-so of of Don Coscarelli’s weridness.  Hallucinatory drugs, other dimensions, and time travel are some of the themes you can expect from this sure-to-be genre treat.  Also, it stars one of my favorite actors, Paul Giamatti.

 

Looper

(TBD)

Another upcoming director that is getting much deserved buzz is Rian Johnson.  Brick took the formula of a hard-cased crime novel and planted it in the world of high-school teenagers.  How it didn’t end up being a complete mess is beyond me.  But that is just what this man is capable of.  Looper continues to eschew the world of detectives and crime by combining it into the world of science fiction.  In the film, a  killer who works for the mob of the future recognizes one of his targets as his future self.

 

The Lords of Salem

(TBD)

You have to remind yourself, Rob Zombie also gave us House of 1000 Corpses and The Devil’s Rejects; two sick and twisted, darkly funny horror films that also happened to be a whole lot of crazy bat-shit fun.  I’m not going to get into why his particular take on a popular horror series didn’t work.  I will say though that I think Lords of Salem is the absolute perfect film for Zombie.  Combining his love of rock music and the gothic stylings of a coven of ancient witches, this film could cast a spell over even the most cynical of Zombie fans.

 

Only God Forgives

(TBD)

Nicolas Winding Refn and Ryan Gosling re-team after working on my favorite film of 2011, Drive.  That’s all I need to say.  That should be enough to get you in the theater. It also happens to center around a Thai boxing match between a lieutenant and a gangster.  I told you . . . it’s going to be amazing.

 

Piranha 3DD

(TBD)

It’s not a good year in film unless you have a film with gratuitous boobs, blood, and gore.  Piranha 3DD should prove to be just that.  Director John Gulager ( Feast Trilogy) will be taking over for Alexandre Aja and will be relocating the deadly fish in a waterpark.  I expect that I will be enjoying this quite a bit with a few good friends and plenty of beer.

 

Stoker

(TBD)

. . . And now for something completely different.  Going from B movie sleaze to intense Korean horror.  Chan-wook Park is a director that continues to blow me away.  I watched this past year his 2006 fairy tale, I’m a Cyborg, But That’s Okay, and was floored that this was from the same guy who kicked me in the teeth (and I still said “thank you”) with Oldboy. Stoker marks the English language debut from the director.  He will be working with Nicole Kidman and Mia Wasikowska.  What is the most interesting aspect about this film is that its written by Wentworth Miller; the actor from the show Prison Break and Resident Evil: Afterlife will be making his writing debut.

 

Seven Psychopaths

(TBD)

Martin McDonagh has gone from writing Tony nominated plays about assassins and hoodlums to Golden Globe nominated films about assassins and hoodlums.  Not a bad transition.  McDonagh is known in theater circles for his brutal and violent plays, like the Northern Irish tale of a hitman and his cat, The Lieutenant of Inishmore. Film fans might know him from his existential hitman flick starring Colin Farrell, In Bruges.  Seven Psychopaths is built around similar territory and brings together his star from In Bruges and Christopher Walken, who was nominated for a Tony for McDonagh’s play A Behanding in Spokane.  If you aren’t excited about this, go watch In Bruges and then get back to me.

 

V/H/S

(TBD)

If this isn’t the most clever gosh-darned title of the year I don’t know what is.  Obviously this is in reference to the VHS tape a group of burglars are forced to recover, but the slashes in-between the letters seem to indicate that there is more than meets the eye.  Found footage films are all the rage.  That is not though the reason why this is on this list.  It’s because this seems to bring something new to the table by including multiple  found-footage shorts, written and directed by Adam Wingard, David Bruckner, Ti West, Glenn McQuaid, Joe Swanberg, and the directing quartet known as Radio Silence all into one film.  If you go by what the Sundance Midnight Movies programmer has to say about the film, I think you’ll be excited as well. Trevor Groth revealed this about the film, “Personally, I’m bored by found-footage horror films, which this is. And omnibus attempts rarely work. But this one does. It’s terrifying, and very well executed.”

 

You’re Next

(TBD)

Now you might be surprised that this film is on this list even though Andy and I have both already seen it.  Read Andy’s review HERE. The simple fact is that it really is just that good.  I want to see it again and so does Andy.  In all likelihood, so will you and all your friends after you have a blast with it as well.  It’s a home-invasion film that’s aware it’s a home invasion film.  It’s a horror comedy that actually takes the horror elements EXTREMELY seriously.  Trust us when we tell you, it will in all likelihood be the horror film that you will continue to watch on repeat with your friends at midnight showings ten years from now.

 

Here’s some other genre based films being released in 2012:

 

The Devil  Inside

The Woman in Black

The Grey

Underworld: Awakening

Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of Vengeance

Haywire

John Carter

The Divide

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

Mother’s Day

The Amazing Spiderman

Intruders

Cloud Atlas

Expendables 2

ParaNorman

Frankenweenie

The Wicker Tree

Snow White and the Huntsmen

Men in Black 3

Total Recall

Knights of Badassdom

G.I. Joe: Retaliation

Gone

The Raven

Dunderland

The Bourne Legacy

Silent House

Warm Bodies

House At the End of the Street

Red Tails

Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D

Wrath of the Titans

Hunter Killer

Nurse 3D

The Possession

Fun Size

Dredd

Silent Hill: Revelation 3D

Sinister

Resident Evil: Retribution

Paranormal Activity 4