Nightcrawler, Krampus And Spectral All Slotted For Release

Today brings news of a slight release date bump for one project and finalized dates for two more. Writer-director Dan Gilroy’s Nightcrawler, which stars an emaciated Jake Gyllenhaal as a crime journalist, has been moved from October 17th to October 31st this year. Additionally, Michael Dougherty’s Krampus will hit theaters on November 25th, 2015, and the Nic Mathieu-directed Spectral will land on August 12th, 2016.

Coming to us first is Nightcrawler, which is shaping up to be a must-see movie this fall. The shocking first trailer made quite an impression, and the tantalizing official synopsis below just raises our expectations:

An official selection of the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, NIGHTCRAWLER is a pulse-pounding thriller set in the nocturnal underbelly of contemporary Los Angeles. Written and directed by Dan Gilroy, NIGHTCRAWLER stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Lou Bloom, a driven young man desperate for work who discovers the high-speed world of L.A. crime journalism. Finding a group of freelance camera crews who film crashes, fires, murder and other mayhem, Lou muscles into the cut-throat, dangerous realm of nightcrawling — where each police siren wail equals a possible windfall and victims are converted into dollars and cents. Aided by Rene Russo as Nina, a veteran of the blood-sport that is local TV news, Lou blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Also starring in NIGHTCRAWLER are Bill Paxton and Riz Ahmed.

Next, Krampus is somehow one of two competing projects about the demonic German creature infamous for snatching up naughty children and spiriting them away to his lair (the other big one is Kevin Smith’s Anti-Claus). Trick ‘r Treat director Michael Doughtery’s involvement suggests that we’re in for a particularly twisted horror comedy. Additionally, Legendary slotting Krampus for November suggests the studio may believe it could have staying power at the box office through the holiday season.

Finally, Spectral has shaped up into a very exciting action thriller, thanks to its intriguing premise and strong cast. James Badge Dale, Emily Mortimer, Max Martini and Bruce Greenwood all star in the pic, about a Spec Ops team deployed to a European city to combat a phantom threat that defies explanation.