IFC Films has released an official trailer for the IFC Midnight title I Trapped the Devil. Set during Christmas time, it follows a man who makes a surprise visit to his brother only to discover that his brother has who he believes is the Devil locked in his basement.

The movie is written and directed by Josh Lobo, who is making his debut, and stars AJ Bowen, Jocelin Donahue, Scott Poythress, Susan Burke, Chris Sullivan, Rowan Russell, and Josh Marrott.

Click on over to the other side for an official synopsis for I Trapped the Devil, and to check out the trailer.

The Sacrament
Blu-ray l DVD l Instant l Netflix
Directed by Ti West
Written by Ti West
Starring Joe Swanberg, AJ Bowen, Gene Jones, Amy Seimetz, and Kentucker Audley
Magnet Productions
Rated R | 99 Minutes
Release Date: May 1, 2014 (U.S.)

It is such a welcome feeling to a horror nut like me to watch a movie and actually feel unnerved and uncomfortable. That was how I felt just minutes into Ti West‘s The Sacrament. In a genre as cliché driven as horror, ominous foreshadowing is par for the course. “Let’s investigate,” “I have a bad feeling about this,” “I’ll be right back”… we’ve seen it all before. But there’s something about real-life plausible situations that can be much scarier than possessed dolls and masked killers. Enter Eden Parish.

Patrick (Kentucker Audley) works for Vice, a multimedia company from New York that specializes in controversial stories mainstream news outlets won’t cover. His sister Caroline (Amy Seimetz) is a recovering addict who joins a reclusive parish that ups and leaves the U.S. to an undisclosed location outside of the U.S. This seems like the perfect story for Vice so Patrick, lead reporter Sam (AJ Bowen), and cameraman Jake (Joe Swanberg) set out via helicopter to meet Caroline and the residents of the “heaven on earth” that is Eden Parish.

You’re Next
Director: Adam Wingard
Screenwriter: Simon Barrett
Cast: Sharni Vinson, AJ Bowen, Nicholas Tucci, Wendy Glenn, Joe Swanberg, Barbara Crampton, Amy Seimetz, Ti West
Lionsgate Films
Rated R | 91 Minutes
Release Date: August 23, 2013

Coined by Carol J. Clover in her 1992 book Men, Women, and Chainsaws: Gender in the Modern Horror Film, the “Final Girl” is a popular trope in horror films that refers to the last woman alive to fight the killer.

Sally Hardesty from The Texas Chain Saw Massacre; Ellen Ripley in Alien; Halloween‘s Laurie Strode; Heather Langenkamp’s Nancy from A Nightmare on Elm Street – all of these are resilient women who are masculinized through “phallic appropriation” by taking up a weapon, like a knife or chainsaw, against their would-be killer.

The “Final Girl” convention forces the male audience to identify with a female character in a male-oriented genre associated with exploitation, voyeurism, and brutality. Think about horror movies – slasher films in particular – how many of them end with a lone male survivor?

If you haven’t read Clover’s book, I would highly recommend it, as it raises some interesting questions about the nature of horror films and their relationship to feminism. It seems that for a horror film to be successful, it’s necessary for the surviving character to be female – even if she is masculinized.

This brings us to Adam Wingard‘s latest film, You’re Next. Written by Simon Barrett, You’re Next isn’t interested in deconstructing the horror genre or mocking its tropes, but rather reinvigorating them. The “Final Girl” is resurrected in the form of Erin (Sharni Vinson), a survivalist who fights a gang of axe-wielding psychopaths in creepy animal masks.

The House of the Devil
Directed by Ti West
Starring Jocelin Donahue, Greta Gerwig, Tom Noonan, Mary Woronov, AJ Bowen, Dee Wallace
Dark Sky Films
Release Date: February 2, 2010

When entering into The House of the Devil, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I had heard some good things about it in passing, but it was one of those movies where I didn’t read one review. Even more rare an occurrence for me personally, I hadn’t even seen one single trailer for the film, making it an almost completely natural movie-watching experience. And when it was all said and done, I must admit: I might just start approaching all movies with this complete lack of prior knowledge, because it paid off big time.

The House of the Devil tells the story of an average young college girl named Sam (Jocelin Donahue) who’s in an average college girl section of her life. When she lands a new place to live and get her out of her terrible dorm living situation, it’s great news for her; but it also creates bills that she doesn’t exactly have the money for.

When she notices a job posted on a bulletin board looking for babysitters, it’s the perfect answer to some immediate income, and the cushion of a couple of months to get situated and find a much better income solution. Sadly, the job doesn’t appear to play out as she had hoped, and the stress begins to really set in. But like a blessing from above (or a curse from below), the family seeking a babysitter contacts her again in desperate need of her services. Something feels off, but she reluctantly accepts with simply no other options available to her, and has her best friend Megan (Greta Gerwig) give her a ride there to make sure everything is legit.

As always, click over for a lot more and to watch a trailer for the movie!