Vertigo Entertainment (USA): 16

The Stand (2020) is a nine-episode American post-apocalyptic fantasy television miniseries, based on Stephen King’s 1978 novel and a remake of the 1994 adaptation. It follows the aftermath of a pandemic caused by an accident at a military biological research station. This results in the release of a deadly influenza strain that wipes out most of the world’s population. As the few remaining survivors navigate this new reality, they are drawn to two opposing leaders – Randall Flagg and Mother Abagail – leading to an ultimate battle between good and evil. In the novel’s dedication to his wife, ...

Doctor Sleep (2019), an American supernatural horror film, is the work of director Mike Flanagan and is based on Stephen King’s 2013 novel with the same title. Acting as a sequel to Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film The Shining, it follows Dan Torrance who continues to suffer from the traumatic events that occurred at the Overlook Hotel. The spirits of the hotel now haunt him in search of his ‘shining’. With guidance from the ghost of Dick Hallorann, Dan learns how to trap these ghosts in psychic ...

How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (2019) is a thrilling animated fantasy movie based on Cressida Cowell’s popular book series. Following his rise to chiefdom, Hiccup and his trusty Night Fury, Toothless, alongside their fellow dragon-riders, continue to save captured dragons and bring them back to Berk. However, the island is becoming crowded with these newfound creatures. Determined to find a safe haven for the dragons as told by his late father Stoick, Hiccup sets out to locate the fabled ‘Hidden World’. At the same time, a Light Fury dragon is being used as bait for notorious dragon hunter Grimmel the Grisly by warlords who want Toothless ...

Andy Muschietti directs the American supernatural horror film, It Chapter Two (2019), with a screenplay by Gary Dauberman. The sequel to the 2017 film, It, is the second part of a two-part adaptation of Stephen King’s 1986 novel, covering the latter half of the book. In 2016, Twenty-seven years since Its defeat, Pennywise returns to Derry, Maine. After brutal attacks from homophobic teens at a carnival result in the death of Adrian Mellon and his boyfriend, Mike Hanlon contacts the remaining members of the ...

The American action thriller film Sleepless (2017), directed by Baran bo Odar and written by Andrea Berloff, is a remake of the French film Sleepless Night in 2011. Two masked men are seen chasing after a van, causing it to crash. The men turn out to be cops – Vincent Downs and Sean Cass (T.I.). As they fight off their attackers and kill one of them, more thugs arrive with guns. In the midst of the chaos, Vincent and Sean manage to steal a duffel bag containing 25 kilograms of cocaine. Vincent has been an Internal Affairs officer for two years and has been ...

It (2017) is an American supernatural horror film directed by Andy Muschietti and written by Chase Palmer, Cary Fukunaga, and Gary Dauberman. The movie is based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Stephen King and focuses on the first half of the story. In October 1988, twelve-year-old Bill Denbrough creates a paper sailboat for his six-year-old brother, Georgie. While playing with it in the rain, Georgie loses the boat down ...

The supernatural horror film, The Woman in Black 2: Angel of Death (2014), was directed by Tom Harper. Set thirty years after the previous film, it follows Eve Parkins as she takes her schoolchildren and headmistress, Jean Hogg, to the isolated village of Crythin Gifford during the London Blitz. On their train journey, Eve meets Harry Burnstow, a dashing RAF pilot stationed nearby. Upon arriving in the seemingly deserted village, they encounter a raving madman named Jacob and quickly flee. Despite their disapproval of Eel Marsh House, an isolated manor on an island in the marshes where they are staying, there are no ...

How to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014) is an American animated action fantasy film based on the book series by Cressida Cowell. Five years after the Viking villagers of Berk and the dragons made peace, Hiccup and his dragon Toothless explore new territories. Despite pressure from his father Stoick, who wants him to become chieftain, Hiccup feels uncertain about being ready for the role. During an expedition, Hiccup and his friend Astrid stumble upon a frozen fortress inhabited by a group of dragon trappers led by Eret, working for a man named Drago Bludvist. This villainous figure aims to capture and enslave all dragons as ...

Directed by James Watkins and written by Jane Goldman, The Woman in Black (2012) is a gothic supernatural horror film. It tells the story of lawyer Arthur Kipps, who is sent to the village of Crythin Gifford in 1889 to retrieve documents from the late owner of Eel Marsh House, Alice Drablow. During his visit, three young girls tragically pass away after seemingly being hypnotized by a mysterious presence. In 1906, Arthur’s wife Stella dies after giving birth to their son Joseph, and four years later he makes his journey to Crythin Gifford. Despite being met with ...

How to Train Your Dragon (2010), an animated film based on the book by Cressida Cowell, follows the story of Hiccup, the son of Viking chieftain Stoick the Vast. The village of Berk is constantly under attack by dragons, and Hiccup, who is considered too weak to fight, instead devotes himself to creating mechanical devices with guidance from village blacksmith, Gobber. When he accidentally shoots down a rare dragon known as a Night Fury, he can’t bring himself to kill it. As Stoick prepares to lead a strike against the dragons’ nest, he enrolls Hiccup in dragon-fighting training with fellow teens Fishlegs, ...

The film The Lake House (2006) is a fantasy romance directed by Alejandro Agresti, with David Auburn as the writer. That same year, Kate Forster, a doctor, leaves her rental lake house near Chicago and begins working at a downtown hospital. In order to make sure her mail gets forwarded, she leaves a note in the mailbox. She also mentions the pawprints on the front walkway and a box in the attic that were there when she moved in. Two years prior, architect Alex Wyler moves into the same lake house and discovers Kate’s letter. Confused, he realizes there are no pawprints ...

Eight Below (2006) is an American survival drama film, adapted from the 1983 Japanese film Antarctica. In January 1993, Jerry Shepard, a guide at a National Science Foundation Antarctic research base, agrees to take UCLA professor Dr. Davis McClaren to Mount Melbourne in search of a rare meteorite from Mercury. Due to poor ice conditions, they travel by dog sled. Despite successfully reaching the mountain, they are forced to return to base camp when a storm approaches. However, McClaren pleads for additional time and Shepard grants him half a day, which is just enough for McClaren to locate a fragment of the meteorite. On their way back to camp, McClaren ...

The American crime thriller film, The Departed (2006), was directed by Martin Scorsese and written by William Monahan. It is a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs, and also draws inspiration from the Boston Winter Hill Gang. In 1980s Boston, Irish Mob leader Frank Costello takes a liking to a young Colin Sullivan. After many years, Sullivan becomes a spy for the Massachusetts State Police (MSP) and joins their Special Investigation Unit (SIU). Meanwhile, another recruit at the police academy named Billy Costigan is asked by Captain Queenan and ...

Dark Water (2005) is an American supernatural horror film directed by Walter Salles and written by Rafael Yglesias. A remake of the 2002 Japanese film, it tells the story of Dahlia, who finds herself in a custody battle with her ex-husband Kyle over their daughter Cecilia. While Kyle wants Cecilia to live near his apartment in Jersey City, Dahlia has found a more affordable option on Roosevelt Island, where she has also discovered a good school for her five-year-old. Eventually, they settle on an apartment just blocks away from Cecilia’s new school, but as they ...

The Ring Two (2005) is a psychological supernatural horror film and serves as a sequel to the 2002 remake of the Japanese film Ring. Hideo Nakata directed this installment instead of Gore Verbinski. Set six months after the events of the first film and its accompanying short Rings, Samara Morgan’s cursed videotape has made its way to teenagers in Astoria, Oregon. It is Jake Pierce’s seventh day after viewing the tape, and he enlists his friend Emily to watch it with him. While Emily supposedly watches the tape, Jake steps into his kitchen briefly ...

The Ring (2002) is an American psychological supernatural horror film directed by Gore Verbinski and written by Ehren Kruger. Two teenage girls, Katie and Becca, discuss an urban legend about a cursed videotape that leads to death in seven days. Tragically, Katie is found dead the same night after watching the tape a week prior. At her funeral, her mother asks her sister Rachel, a Seattle-based journalist, to investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding her daughter’s death. During her investigation, Rachel uncovers that all of Katie’s friends also ...