Welcome back to Horror Happenings, scary friends. We hope you had a great week and before we get into today’s topic, we were saddened when we learned of the passing of Angus Scrimm. He terrified a generation of horror lovers as the “Tall Man” in the Phantasm series and he will certainly be missed.

Last week we listed the six television events that we were looking most forward to in the new year; now we’re doing the same with the six films that we can’t wait to hit theaters. From teaser trailers to posters to revamped release dates, it was a busy week concerning these future films, so let’s dive in!

The Witch – February 19, 2016

The Witch is the movie that people have been buzzing about since it took home the Best Director prize at Sundance in early 2015. And, good news! The release date has been moved up one week to February 19, so your wait is that much shorter. I was lucky enough to screen the film in the summer of last year and I can tell you that The Witch is a classy and serious movie that is well acted and absolutely gorgeous. The tension is thick, the movie is heavy, and the scares cut deep. Plus, Black Phillip will be a known horror icon. Just wait… Genre fans will start the year off on a very strong note with the feature directorial debut of Robert Eggers.

Amityville: The Awakening – April 5, 2016

The long delayed Amityville: The Awakening will finally be coming to theaters this April and while a revolving release date doesn’t inspire the most confidence, I still have hope for Franck Khalfoun‘s latest. The director of Maniac has assembled a knockout cast for his latest endeavor including The Hateful Eight‘s Jennifer Jason Leigh and Bella Thorne, and horror fans are undoubtedly excited for a new entry into the beloved franchise. 

The Conjuring 2 – June 10, 2016

What else can I say about The Conjuring? I love the first film and after seeing the teaser trailer for the follow up which dropped earlier this week, I am incredibly excited for The Conjuring 2. Tackling one of the most well known cases of the supernatural in modern times, James Wan‘s latest directorial effort centers around the Enfield poltergeist and reunites Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson as paranormal investigators Lorraine and Ed Warren. In case you missed it, check out the teaser below!

The Purge 3 – July 1, 2016

Oh, The Purge: a franchise the size of which no one could have anticipated. While I actually very much enjoy the first movie, there’s no doubt that critics and fans responded much better to the 2014 follow up The Purge: Anarchy. Frank Grillo and Michael K. Williams will reprise their roles in the third film due out later this summer but little else is known about the movie. Will it follow the revolution being started by Williams’s character? Will we visit a different part of the country? Questions will be answered this summer when The Purge 3 hits theaters.

Lights Out – July 22, 2016

Lights Out, produced by James Wan, appears to be the little horror engine that could. Based on the short film of the same name, the movie certainly got my attention when the WB and New Line Cinema gave it a very confident summer release. There are rumors that the movie is testing extremely well with audiences — could this be the next Insidious? We’ll find out come July. In the meantime, a poster and/or teaser trailer should be arriving soon. We’ll be sure to keep you posted with the latest!

Rob Zombie’s 31 – TBD

Lots of news broke this week surrounding Rob Zombie‘s latest directorial effort, 31. Zombie took to crowdfunding to raise the money for his upcoming horror feature screening for the first time this month at Sundance. After we learned that he received an NC-17 rating twice, we learned that he now has an R rating for a theatrical release. That said, Zombie has announced he’ll put out an uncut version of the film as well. Keep your eyes peeled for reviews of the shocker trickling out of the festival in the next few weeks and have a look at the newest poster below!

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Featured Image Credit: A24

Clarke Wolfe writes Horror Happenings for Nerdist every Sunday. You can follow her on Twitter @clarkewolfe.