Things go drastically wrong for a group of British holidaymakers in Spain. After meeting at a nightclub in a Mediterranean resort, seven young adults decide to continue partying aboard a luxury yacht in the middle of the ocean. But when one of them dies in a freak accident, the others argue about what to do, which leads to a ruthless fight for survival.

Olly Blackburn’s debut feature is totally frightening in one major way: The disgusting group of club-going, drug-taking, irresponsible, violent young people he and his co-writer have created are all too real. But don’t look for any societal critique here; DP is about as deep as Victoria Beckham.

Rated R for a scene of strong sexual content involving an aberrant violent act, graphic nudity, violence, language and drug use.

Director: Oliver Blackburn
Stars: Sian Breckin, Nichola Burley, Jaime Winstone
Studio: Magnet Releasing

Beautiful Carmen Colson and her ironworker husband Wayne are placed in the Federal Witness Protection program after witnessing an “incident”. Thinking they are at last safe, they are targeted by an experienced hit man and a psychopathic young upstart killer. The ensuing struggle will test Carmen to the limit.

This latest Elmore Leonard adaptation once earned acceptance into the world of “Quentin Tarantino Presents …” productions, but QT, who once turned EL’s novel Rum Punch into Jackie Brown, has since disassociated himself from John Madden’s first foray into thriller territory. Want to know why? Pity.

Rated R for violence, language and brief nudity.

Director: John Madden
Stars: Thomas Jane, Diane Lane, Mickey Rourke
Studio: The Weinstein Company
Release Date: 23 January 2009 (USA)

An origins story which reveals the cause of the centuries-old blood feud between the Death Dealers and the Lycans. Lucian (Sheen), a powerful and influential Lycan, rallies his race in an uprising against the vampire king Viktor (Nighy). Joining Lucian is his secret lover, Sonja (Mitra), a vampire who empathizes with the Lycans and looks to help free them from slavery.

Exactly how Rhona Mitra’s name has become synonymous with ill-advised horror projects is something for her and her agents to figure out, but it’s not like she doesn’t make sense in this role — it’s the movie’s existence itself that has us, and many, many others, asking questions. And not to kick a once-powerful franchise when it’s down, but the footage showed at Comic-Con back in July didn’t necessarily rally the masses to this cause, though in this age of direct-to-DVD sequels, something tells me this isn’t the last we’ve heard of the war between Lycans and Death Dealers. (Or Selene — she appears in this one!)

Rated R for bloody violence and some sexuality.

Director: Patrick Tatopoulos
Stars: Rhona Mitra, Michael Sheen, Bill Nighy
Studio: Screen Gems
Release Date: 23 January 2009 (USA)

Tom (Ackles) returns to his hometown on the tenth anniversary of the Valentine’s night massacre that claimed the lives of 22 people. Instead of a homecoming, however, Tom finds himself suspected of committing the murders, and it seems like his old flame (King) is the only one will believes he’s innocent.

Jensen Ackles is finding the transition away from small screen rife with lead roles in ill-advised horror remakes — just like his “Supernatural” co-star, Jared Padalecki, who will be seen in the upcoming Friday the 13th. Sigh. I just don’t get it … This project has enough scrappy talent to generate convincing scares, but why can’t they be trusted with an original screenplay? Oh, and apparently Valentine’s Day is in January this year.

Rated R for graphic brutal horror violence and grisly images throughout, some strong sexuality, graphic nudity and language.

Director: Patrick Lussier
Stars: Jensen Ackles, Jaime King, Kerr Smith, Betsy Rue
Studio: Lionsgate
Release Date: 16 January 2009 (USA)

Haunted by strange dreams and recurring ghostly visions, Casey Beldon (Yustman) turns to a spiritual advisor (Oldman) for help. Together, they learn that Casey had a twin brother who never made it to term, and that her intended sibling is tied to a curse that requires Casey’s death in order to manifest itself in our world.

After you watch The Unborn’s trailer, perhaps you can ask yourself the following question: Is David Goyer a better screenwriter (The Dark Knight, Dark City) than director (The Invisible, Blade: Trinity)? I don’t mean any aggressive disrespect, but I fail to see one shred of ingenuity in this preview, though I say the sight of a possessed Idris Elba makes him a good pick for a potential Nick Fury, should that role, uh, come to term. All that said, I must remember there’s a generation or two behind me that’s probably never seen The Exorcist, so here’s hoping Goyer pushes beyond the usual genre devices and helps Cloverfield’s Odette Yustman get her Linda Blair on. The power of Goyer compels me!

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and terror, disturbing images, thematic material and language including some sexual references.

Director: David S. Goyer
Release Date: 9 January 2009 (USA)
Stars: Odette Yustman, Gary Oldman, Cam Gigandet, Meagan Good, Carla Gugino
Studio: Rogue Pictures