What's left for 2013...?

Can you believe it – its October already? 2013 has been a somewhat promising year for the horror genre, with movie successes such as The Conjuring and You’re Next, fantastic televisual debut’s of The Returned, In the Flesh and Bates Motel and the gaming success of Outlast. So, is there anything left to look forward to before we embark on 2014? Abso-bloody-lutely. 

Returning to the world of gaming, recent installments from survival horror juggernauts including Silent Hill, Resident Evil 6 and Dead Space 3 led this particular gaming genre into an era of disappointment. However, all was not lost. The Last of Us was of course a colossal hit, combining raw emotion, true scares and beautiful scenery into a proper action-horror hybrid. Yet it is the recent influx of indie horror games, or the investment from organisations such as Red Barrels Games, that have resulted in survival horror becoming well... truly horrifying again. The two that spring to mind are of course Outlast and Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs. Both are psychological in their approach but the latter relies less on jump-scares and more on atmosphere. Either way the success of each game has got us pundits scared and excited for the next big release – The Evil Within. 

Okay... admittedly this won’t be released until 2014 but recent promos are enough to keep our chins wagging until then. For those of you who don’t know, The Evil Within will be a third-person survival horror, created by Shinji Mikami – a video game designer and the man who brought us Resident Evil 4. In the past few days, gameplay footage has been released which you can catch below...

To me, this feels a little awkward and incredibly similar to the Resident Evil series but... there is no denying it looks pretty grim. Stay tuned for more information regarding The Evil Within’s release. 

In the world of film, the rest of 2013 is looking relatively average for horror fans. It feels the big-hitters have perhaps come and gone in the form of The Conjuring, Insidious: Chapter 2 and You’re Next. Regardless, upcoming releases include Bad Milo and Dario Argento’s Dracula. The biggest release is of course the remake of Carrie that will be hitting our screens in October. Trepidation is undeniably felt by many, as the original feature by Brian De Palma is a much loved classic, although we may be surprised... only time will tell. Until then, check out the trailer below.

Finally, focusing on television, there are two big series to watch out for in the remaining months of 2013. They are of course The Walking Dead (Season 4) and American Horror Story: Coven. The Walking Dead will air in the UK on October 18^th (13^th in the US) and will follow Rick and the gang as they attempt to rebuild a strong, thriving community. As ever, nothing will be easy for the survivors, with Walkers still looming large and the group’s tumultuous, ever-changing dynamic.

American Horror Story: Coven is the third season of the anthology horror series set both in the modern day and 300 years after the Salem witch trials.  Due to air on October 9^th, with an impressive cast and increasingly intriguing promos, it looks to promise many thrills, chills and an air of ‘evil glamour’ as described by one of the show’s creators Ryan Murphy.

So there we have it - one or two exciting things coming our way to ease us in to 2014. Have I missed anything? Or is there anything you're particularly looking forward to in the next upcoming months? Post a comment!