It’s August, you know what that means: time to get hype for the spooky season this October!
Welcome to the Blumhouse is an anthology series of four horror movies that launched on Amazon Prime last October. Produced by Blumhouse Television and Amazon Studios, last year’s movies included Emmanuel Osei-Kuffour Jr. and Stephen Herman’s Black Box, Veena Sud’s The Lie, Zu Quirke’s Nocturne, and Elan Dassani, Rajeev Dassani, and Madhuri Shekar’s Evil Eye.
This year, the anthology series returns with four new horror movies, and yes, as the headline says, one of the movies focuses on an elderly woman fighting to save her local bingo hall. According to their press release, “The Welcome to the Blumhouse slate once again showcases both well-established and breakout actors collaborating with emerging, predominantly female, directors.”
You can check out a synopsis for each movie (and my fangirl flailing) below.
BINGO HELL
Synopsis: When a sinister figure threatens the residents of a low-income community, a feisty senior citizen tries to stop him in Bingo Hell, a wickedly original horror movie with a fiendishly funny twist. After 60-something neighborhood activist Lupita (Adriana Barraza) discovers that her beloved local bingo hall has been taken over by a mysterious businessman named Mr. Big (Richard Brake), she rallies her elderly friends to fight back against the enigmatic entrepreneur. But when her longtime neighbors begin turning up dead under grisly circumstances, Lupita suddenly discovers that gentrification is the least of her problems. Something terrifying has made itself at home in the quiet barrio of Oak Springs, and with each new cry of “Bingo!” another victim falls prey to its diabolical presence. As the cash prizes increase and the body count steadily rises, Lupita must face the frightening realization that this game is truly winner-takes-all.
Fangirl reaction: I absolutely want more movies to embrace the absolute doneness of our elders. Give me more 60-year-old heroines you cowards! Lupita ain’t got time for gentrification or sinister evils lurking in her beloved bingo hall.
Directed by: Gigi Saul Guerrero
Written by: Shane McKenzie, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Perry Blackshear
Starring: Adriana Barraza, L. Scott Caldwell, Richard Brake and Joshua Caleb Johnson
BLACK AS NIGHT
Synopsis: A resourceful teenage girl leaves childhood behind when she battles a group of deadly vampires in Black as Night, an action-horror hybrid with a strong social conscience and a biting sense of humor. Fifteen years after Hurricane Katrina ravaged New Orleans, a new threat leaves its mark on the Big Easy in the form of puncture wounds on the throats of the city’s vulnerable displaced population. When her drug-addicted mom becomes the latest victim of the undead, 15-year old Shawna (Asjha Cooper) vows to even the score. Along with three trusted friends, Shawna hatches a bold plan to infiltrate the vampire’s mansion in the historic French Quarter, destroy their leader, and turn his fanged disciples back to their human form. But killing monsters is no easy task, and soon Shawna and her crew find themselves caught in a centuries-old conflict between warring vampire factions, each fighting to claim New Orleans as their permanent home.
Fangirl reaction: Vengeful teenage girl waging war on vampires who are targetting the underprivileged in New Orleans, only to discover warring vampire factions? Sold.
(Also Keith David is in this one and if he ends up being a vampire I’m gonna faint)
Directed by: Maritte Lee Go
Written by: Sherman Payne
Starring: Asjha Cooper, Fabrizio Guido, Mason Beauchamp, Abbie Gayle with Craig Tate and Keith David
MADRES
Synopsis: Beto (Tenoch Huerta) and Diana (Ariana Guerra), a young Mexican-American couple expecting their first child, move to a small town in 1970’s California where Beto has been offered a job managing a farm. Isolated from the community and plagued by confusing nightmares, Diana explores the rundown company ranch where they reside, finding a grisly talisman and a box containing the belongings of the previous residents. Her discoveries will lead her to a truth much stranger and more terrifying than she could have possibly imagined.
Fangirl reaction: When you find a talisman + a mysterious box from previous residents, it’s probably best to just move, especially if you’re pregnant – assuming you can move that easily when you’re a marginalized couple in the 70s.
Directed by: Ryan Zaragoza
Written by: Marcella Ochoa & Mario Miscione
Starring: Tenoch Huerta, Ariana Guerra, Evelyn Gonzalez, Kerry Cahill, and Elpidia Carrillo
THE MANOR
Synopsis: A malevolent force preys upon the residents of a sleepy nursing home in The Manor, a gothic tale of terror with a modern twist. When a mild stroke diminishes her ability to care for herself, Judith Albright (Barbara Hershey) moves to Golden Sun Manor, an assisted living facility with a sterling reputation. But despite the best efforts of the staff, and a budding friendship with fellow senior Roland (Bruce Davidson), strange occurrences and nightmarish visions convince Judith that a sinister presence is haunting the massive estate. As residents begin to die mysteriously, Judith’s frantic warnings are dismissed as fantasy. Even her devoted grandson Josh (Nicholas Alexander) thinks her fears are the result of dementia, not demons. With no one willing to believe her, Judith must either escape the confines of the manor, or fall victim to the evil that dwells within it.
Fangirl reaction: I know I’m gonna feel some kind of way when folks begin claiming this woman’s valid fears are dementia, but we’ll see how things play out.
Written and directed by: Axelle Carolyn
Starring: Barbara Hershey, Bruce Davison, Nicholas Alexander, Jill Larsen, Fran Bennett and Katie Amanda Keane
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The first two movies (Bingo Hell and Black as Night) will premiere on October 1 with the last two (Madres and The Manor) premiering on October 8 exclusively on Prime Video.
(Image: Blumhouse Television/Amazon Studios)
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