2018 SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON COVERAGE:

BLUMHOUSE / UNIVERSAL PICTURES PRESENT

A LOOK AT “GLASS” AND “HALLOWEEN”

SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON 2018
Article by Adam Mast
Photos and Video by Shaun Labrecque, Christian Navarrete, and Adam Mast

*Comic-Con International is a nonprofit educational corporation dedicated to creating awareness of, and appreciation for, comics and related popular artforms, primarily through the presentation of conventions and events that celebrate the historic and ongoing contribution of comics to art and culture. While we at Cinemast.net love it all, the primary draw for us are the numerous film and television presentations held in glorious Hall H. And while navigating this San Diego staple can be tricky business, we’ve almost got it down to a science. Of course, we have over 15 years of SDCC navigation under our belts, so that certainly helps. Watch for our San Diego Comic-Con coverage here at the site over the next few days.  

Once the event program for SDCC 2018 dropped there’s no doubt that this Blumhouse panel was the Hall H presentation I was most excited to see. I was fortunate enough to see a very early look at the trailer for M. Shyamalan’s GLASS at CinemaCon back in April and since then, I’ve been counting down the days until I could see it again. Now admittedly, I was hoping that perhaps Shyamalan would go further than just giving fans an official look at the trailer. After all, he screened THE VISIT at the Con in its entirety a few years back. Alas, that wasn’t meant to be as he’s still deep in post-production.

That said, getting to see the GLASS trailer with a packed Hall H crowd was a truly special experience. What’s more, Shyamalan was on hand to talk about the film and he brought Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, and Sarah Paulson along with him. Unfortunately, James McAvoy couldn’t make the trip due to illness.

To say the energy in the air was electric would be a gross understatement. During the panel, Shyamalan spoke of his disappointment at the rather lackluster reception to UNBREAKABLE when it was first released in 2000. It is arguably the director’s strongest film but perhaps it came out a little too early. The 18 years that would follow, however, would not only see more interest in UNBREAKABLE but they would also make way for a cinematic superhero explosion. This explosion would ultimately lead Shyamalan to write and direct a psychological thriller called SPLIT which, in the end, would reveal itself to take place in the UNBREAKABLE universe. Now, after nearly 2 decades, GLASS is upon us; A creative take on superheros and comic books that serves as both a follow-up to SPLIT and UNBREAKABLE.

If there were any downsides to this GLASS panel it’s that it was too damn short and the realization that we have to wait until January to see this damn movie! I’m counting the days!

GLASS

SYNOPSIS: “Following the conclusion of Split, Glass finds Dunn pursuing Crumb’s superhuman figure of The Beast in a series of escalating encounters, while the shadowy presence of Price emerges as an orchestrator who holds secrets critical to both men.”

DIRECTED BY:  M. Night Shyamalan

CAST: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, Sarah Paulson, Spencer Treat Clark, Charlayne Woodard

STUDIO: Blumhouse/Universal Pictures

RELEASE DATE: January 18, 2019

As great as the GLASS presentation was, that’s not all Blumhouse and Universal had up their collective sleeves. They also brought along director David Gordon Green and legendary scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis to talk about a little upcoming horror film called HALLOWEEN.

Given that the HALLOWEEN trailer has already been out for some time, it was safe to say that Con attendees would probably be getting an extended look at the film and that we did! The terrifying sequence we were treated to feature a returning Michael Myers as he menacingly enters a suburb home on Halloween evening. While in the home, Myers does what he does best. Not to be outdone, the original boogeyman leaves that home and immediately enters another, looking to do more of his trademark handy work. Adding to the tension of this nail-biting sequence are the countless young trick r treaters walking the streets and the upsetting sounds of a crying baby coming from inside one of the homes. What’s more, the entire sequence is done in one continuous uninterrupted take! Scary stuff and an absolute confirmation that Green is nailing the tone of what promises to be a glorious bookend to one of the great horror films of all time.

Following the footage, Green talked about his initial meetings with John Carpenter and how excited he was to not only receive the horror icon’s blessing on this project but the added bonus that Carpenter agreed to return as both a creative consultant and the film’s composer. As for Curtis, she’s clearly thrilled to be returning to the role of the character that put her on the map.

A highlight of this panel would find a fan sharing a terrifying real-life ordeal with a packed Hall H crowd and how his love for HALLOWEEN would save him in a very scary situation. We’ve included footage of that highlight along with a GLASS/HALLOWEEN video blog above.

HALLOWEEN

SYNOPSIS: “It’s been 40 years since Laurie Strode survived a vicious attack from crazed killer Michael Myers on Halloween night. She now faces a terrifying showdown when Michael returns to Haddonfield, Ill. — but this time, Laurie is ready for him.”

DIRECTED BY: David Gordon Green

CAST: Jamie Lee Curtis, Judy Greer, Virginia Gardner, Miles Robbins, Nick Castle, Will Patton, Dylan Arnold, James Jude Courtney

STUDIO: Blumhouse/Universal Pictures

RELEASE DATE: October 19, 2018

Watch for more of our extensive SDCC 2018 coverage here at Cinemast.net!