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Repeat Business: 30 Horror Film Franchises Getting A Restart

With an increasing number of films in development emerging as reboots, sequels or prequels –it’s only fair that the village bike of cinema, horror, gets her fair share. Each film in the following list has existed previously and varies from those in development to those awaiting release. Whether by remaking an already-existing film, rebooting a franchise via a new approach, reinterpreting the source material or re-editing an existing picture the chances are you’ve heard of them all before.

26. The Woman In Black: Angel of Death

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The highest grossing British horror film in over twenty years, The Woman In Black, succeeded critically and financially and now a sequel is in the works. With the tagged on subtitle Angel of Death, the film has Brit director Tom Harper and writer Jon Croker attached. Croker’s script is based on an idea by Susan Hill, the author of the novel on which the original is based.

Set forty years after the first film, this time Eel Marsh House has been seized by the government and transformed into a mental hospital. After receiving bucketloads of troubled World War II soldiers, the woman in black wakes and immediately sets about disposing of them. After scaring the shit out of them. Luckily for the inhabitants, Eve, a beautiful young nurse, arrives to care for them and or morphs into some sort of Jovovichian kicker of paranormal arse.

When the first artwork surfaced it did raise some eyebrows as the image depicts a gaggle of children all entering Eel Marsh House alongside a nurse-schoolmarm figure. Original reports about the plot made reference to evacuated WWII children being relocated to the house – but hasn’t been mentioned since.

There’s yet to be any casting announcements apart from rumours of Daniel Radcliffe returning and as it stands, Croker’s gonna have to pull off one hell of a Keyser Soze to make that one fly.

The Woman In Black: Angel of Death is scheduled to start shooting in 2013.

25. The Last Exorcism 2

The mere existence of this film renders the title of the first The Last Exorcism redundant. Well it wasn’t the last exorcism was it? No, Daniel Stamm’s first film could accurately have been called The Penultimate Exorcism. Or this upcoming sequel could be retitled The Last Exorcism Lasted A Bit Longer Than Expected. Crappy hypothetical titles aside, the first flick’s contrived plot twists meant that it missed the chance to explore new angles of exorcism lore.

Nevertheless, a sequel was announced and is now in post-production with new director Ed Gass-Donnelly taking over for Stamm. Eli Roth is also back in the role of producer. Also returning is star of the original, Ashley Bell, reprising her role as possessed girl Nell Sweetzer and Louis Herthum as her father Louis Sweetzer.

The sequel continues Nell’s story six months after the original where we find her in the woods with no recollection of the events of the previous film (possibly because she went on a Windex-fuelled bender.) Not one to be stopped by amnesia, evil and in particular the demon, are back in full force to make Nell’s life even more miserable. How nice of them.

The film is also boasting a surprise twist never before seen in an exorcism film. Our guess? The butler did it.

The Last Exorcism 2 will hit theatres March 1st, 2013.

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