Horror Weekly News: The Portrait trailer drop. Stephen King's new anthology to release on May 2024.

 

You may just want to cover up some portraits after watching the latest horror movie trailer of THE PORTRAIT. 

The movie that stars Ryan Kwanten, Natalia Cordova-Buckley, and Virginia Madsen, is about a woman dealing with a husband who after being in an accident, is no longer the person he used to be. 

The wife, Sofia, comes across a portrait in her new home and is shocked to find that the man in the painting closely resembles her husband. 

But there might just be something off about the painting because it appears to move. Or is Sofia just imagining things. 

In the trailer, we see Sofia inspecting the life-size portrait of a man called Calvin which was painted in 1937. The man is identical to her husband, prompting Sofia to dig deeper into finding out just who Calvin was. 

Her neighbor seems to know Calvin too and assumes Sofia has seen him as well. 

She soon learns that the artist was a genius and commended for his artwork in his time but he was also notorious for hurting women. 

It isn’t long before Sofia realizes her husband Alex is displaying odd and aggressive behavior. 

Just what mysteries does the Portrait hold?

Horror fans who watched the trailer were quick to point out similarities with Oscar Wilde’s famous novel, THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY. 

 

 The famous novel, which was later adapted into a well-known movie starring Ben Barnes, was about a young handsome man called Dorian Gray who gets sucked into the hedonistic pleasures of London. 

An artist uses Dorian as a muse and paints a portrait of him and Dorian, swayed by the attention he receives, declares that he would give his soul away if it meant that he could be young forever. 

As Dorian journeys through life, he finds love, loses it because of his arrogance and learns to his horror that with every sin he commits, his portrait ages drastically and appears cruel. 

Years pass, but Dorian Gray does not age at all. He falls in love again, tries to redeem himself after being horrified at the recent changes on his portrait but learns that his motives are never noble. 

Along the way, he kills all those who try to harm him for his misdeeds. 

Eventually, growing tired of the things he has done, Dorian Gray decides that the only way to absolve himself is by getting rid of the portrait. He stabs the portrait only to suddenly age rapidly. 

Later, when the servants find him, the initially do not recognize him but do so later after identifying his belongings. The portrait however, has been restored to its former state. 

Dorian Gray is young again, but only in the portrait. 

THE PORTRAIT does seem to borrow ideas from the famous novel which means that Sofia probably sees her sins in the portrait. Her guilt of being responsible for her husband’s condition may have resulted in it being manifested into supernatural occurrences.

Directed by Simon Ross, and written by David Griffiths, THE PORTRAIT will release on December 8th. 

 

 In other news… 

Fans of Stephen King have another reason to rejoice. 

A new anthology has been announced which will contain twelve stories One of them is a sequel to the terrifying novel, CUJO. 

Titled YOU LIKE IT DARKER, the anthology is scheduled for release on May 21, 2024. The anthology is already available for pre-order on Amazon. 

Here is an overview of the book (taken from Amazon): 

'You like it darker? Fine, so do I', writes Stephen King in the afterword to this magnificent new collection of twelve stories that delve into the darker part of life - both metaphorical and literal. King has, for half a century, been a master of the form, and these stories, about fate, mortality, luck, and the folds in reality where anything can happen, are as rich and riveting as his novels, both weighty in theme and a huge pleasure to read. King writes to feel 'the exhilaration of leaving ordinary day-to-day life behind', and in You Like it Darker, readers will feel that exhilaration too, again and again.

'Two Talented Bastids' explores the long-hidden secret of how the eponymous gentlemen got their skills. In 'Danny Coughlin's Bad Dream', a brief and unprecedented psychic flash upends dozens of lives, Danny's most catastrophically. In 'Rattlesnakes', a sequel to Cujo, a grieving widower travels to Florida for respite and instead receives an unexpected inheritance - with major strings attached. In 'The Dreamers', a taciturn Vietnam vet answers a job ad and learns that there are some corners of the universe best left unexplored. 'The Answer Man' asks if prescience is good luck or bad and reminds us that a life marked by unbearable tragedy can still be meaningful.

King's ability to surprise, amaze, and bring us both terror and solace remains unsurpassed. Each of these stories holds its own thrills, joys, and mysteries; each feels iconic. You like it darker? You got it.