Night Swim released January 5th in theaters directed by Bryce McGuire and also written by him and Rod Blackhurst. Night Swim was produced by big names Blumhouse Productions and Atomic Monster and distributed by Universal Pictures. Starring Wyatt Russell from Black Mirror and Kerry Condon from Better Call Saul did not dazzle audiences in theaters and hasn’t seen much change since hitting streaming platforms for rent.

I’ll give credit where credit is due, I did not think they’d be able to pull off an entire movie centered around a pool. Myself and many others thought to ourselves, “just don’t go into the pool,” but they managed to at least try to overcome those limitations. Wyatt Russell is a gem that is the reason this movie isn’t a total flop. The concept has the legs of a short story but Russell’s performance gives it some much needed gas.

Jack in the Box Rises released January 11 directly to VOD and is directed by Lawrence Fowler, written by him and Geoff (Jeff) Fowler and starring Nicholas Anscombe, Isabella Colby Browne, and Leona Clarke. The film was produced by Fowler Media and I couldn’t find a solid source for distribution.

This is the first on the list that I didn’t fully watch, which is now part of my critique. I have the attention span of a lab mouse after succumbing to TikTok algorithms so I reserve high praise and credit to movies that make it impossible to pick up my phone or laptop. Unfortunately this isn’t one of those but in its defense it’s like the 3rd or 4th installment in a franchise that I’ve never watched. The start is a bit corny, an older un-introduced man assigns a teen girl to infiltrate a private boarding school in order to acquire the relic which contains the Jack in the Box demon.

All in all it’s a helluva lot less awful than I thought it’d be from acting to special effects and I didn’t turn it off but rather just tuned in and out. It’s a good background horror movie that you don’t intend to be fully immersed within but that opinion could swiftly change if I watched the other installments.

The Shudder original, Destroy All Neighbors released January 12th directed by Josh Forbes. The film is written by Mike Benner, Jared Logan, and Charles A. Pieper and starring Jonah Ray, Randee Heller, Pete Ploszek, and Kiran Deol (Keer-an Dee-ohl). As mentioned this is a Shudder production in association with RLJE Films who also distributed it and Counterpart Pictures.

Fair warning this one might include spoilers and that this type of humor and gore is not my cup of tea. I found the film foul–but I think that was meant to be part of the charm and would appeal to some. Josh Forbes is giving Ryan Reynolds in Voices and it’s a less serious rendition of the same concept. I found Forbes’ character extremely less endearing however and his overall goal and driving force pissed me off.

I couldn’t tell if it was trying to say that the guy is a shitty serial killer who thinks he’s always the victim despite being a murderer and that those dead bodies re-animate or if it’s in his head. Granted I tuned out frequently from this one, mostly due to disgust. This is for the Anchorman comedy crowd that like a touch of Terrifier gore without as much blatant misogyny.

Sunrise released January 19th in limited theaters and on VOD. It is directed by Andrew Baird and written by Ronan Blaney and stars Alex Pettyfer, Crystal Yu, William Gao, Kurt Yaeger, Olwen Fouéré, and Guy Pearce. Lots of companies produced including Grindstone Entertainment Group, 23ten, Source Management + Production, and Northern Ireland Screen. The film was distributed by Lionsgate in the US and UK.

If I had to describe Sunrise in one word it would be slow. It’s a perfectly fine horror movie, it’s just really…really slow. Alex Pettyfer gives the character Fallon a brooding teen Bat Man like silence. Unfortunately this intense silence is more action-movie than scary-movie in the case of Sunrise.

The juxtaposition of Pettyfer and Guy Pearce as Reynolds, the town’s unelected patriarch that reigns more terror than assistance, pushes things close to cringe territory. It felt like two different movies occurring at the same time, a western and a midwestern tale both fighting for center stage, a new approach and an older approach despite Pearce not being old.

The slowness and need to be watching every scene in order to get the bulk of the story makes this not a movie I’d recommend for most. If you like a lot of nature shots and slow B-roll between short scenes with little to no dialogue then this is your movie. If you’re looking for a vampire tale steeped in bloody tension this isn’t that.

Next up, There is a Monster became available on VOD January 30th and can be watched on Prime now. Directed and written by Mike Taylor the film stars Joey Collins and Ena O’Rourke and distributed by Gravitas Ventures, which is a red flag for me.

The combination of makeup/costume, acting, audio, filming quality, and transitions pissed me off from jump. I highly disliked watching this and even decided to restart it because I’d gotten so annoyed and felt the reason must be that I missed something. The story was unfollowable for me with the aforementioned issues, everything is choppy and weird with a tinny quality to the audio that takes you out of any world building that the film attempts.

The whole thing is a movie made paint-by-numbers style with generic scene setups and very you-speak, pause, then you-speak, then you-laugh, then you-speak style dialogue that distracts from the substance of the conversation meant to drive the plot further. It distracts from any quality that could be derived from it.

I probably wouldn’t have watched this if not for this project and I’m glad I didn’t spend money to rent or go see this film. If you have Prime it’s available to watch for free and if this style is your thing then have at it. I however get annoyed when I watch movies of this quality that money got put into projects like it when stunning stories languish in the bottom of a pile on someone’s desk. This is the second film that I decided to shut off fairly early on. I don’t want to give it a 0% but it’s got a super low one from me.

The next movie I did watch the trailer for and went in having watched some of the PR interviews from the cast. Lisa Frankenstein released February 7 into theaters starring Kathryn Newton, Cole Sprouse, and Liza Soberano. The story is written by Diablo Cody, who also wrote Juno and Jennifer’s Body, and directed by Zelda Williams, director of Kappa Kappa Die and a plethora of acting credits in both film and TV. Produced by MXN Entertainment and distributed by Focus Features in the US and Universal Pictures internationally.

This is the first 2024 horror movie that I saw in theaters and I personally went ecstatic due to Cody having written the script. The following will most likely include some spoilers for this film. To compound on my excitement I’ve loved seeing Cole Sprouse in acting roles beyond The Suite Life. Some of the things from the trailer that I worried would be cringey turned out to be on a sliding scale of silly to hilarious but all endearing. The story often features clever tactical ways to keep the on-screen gore at a minimum while still adding that gore as a main story cornerstone for the 2 evolving characters, Lisa and Taffy.

The choices in set design, costumes, how shots are framed, and the special effect details with the monster keeps the mood lighter and quirky despite the gruesome things occurring. This reinforces the teen-like mindset and perspective of the events in the plot exceptionally well. I found myself chuckling about easter eggs that reminded me of teen experiences like Pabst Blue Ribbon beer showing up in her subconscious.

Releasing directly to Shudder on February 9th, Skeletons in the Closet is directed by Asif Akbar and story by Al Bravo but written by Joshua A. Cohen and Koji Steven Sakai. Terrence Howard starts in the movie alongside Cuba Gooding Jr., and Udo Kier. Produced by Al Bravo Films, Beno Films, and One Dollar Studios and distributed by Allblk I really wanted to like this film. Upon going to watch it however it became apparent that it felt rushed and cheap in a cutting corners kind of way. They clearly had money for some things like wardrobe and hair but skimped on things like CGI and special effects that completely take a viewer out of the film upon appearing on screen.

The film feels like a student project with the lack of attention to detail that if included would draw you into the film more and make the horror impactful. I’m convinced it’s a project made by friends who wanted to make a movie together but not sure if anyone took the actual movie portion seriously. This is another movie of the 84 that I just flat out turned off and refused to watch due to the frequency of physical cringe I sustained before even getting to the meat of the story.

The review of the next one, History of Evil, will be full of spoilers, it’s available now to watch on Shudder and is excellent but it would be hard to explain why without at least some spoilers. Releasing February 23rd the film was directed and written by Bo Mirhosseni and stars Jackie Cruz, Paul Wesley, and Rhonda Johnson Dents. Wesley’s ability to be the knight and shining armor as well as the most unhinged Dexter-like demeanor in the same character is alive and well.

Similarly to the Stefan versus Silas and humanity-turned-off-Stefan in The Vampire Diaries, the Ron at the start of the film is slowly eroded away by the racist and vengeful spirit of the house they seek refuge in. I enjoyed the story elements that provided insight into the fictional 2040’s version of America and The Resistance to that dystopia through people like Alegre and Trudy.

Ron Dyer, her husband, becomes seduced and infected with Cain’s, played by Thomas Francis Murphy, worldview. They sound like bottom feeding right-wing grifters trying to convince one another there’s nothing wrong with just wanting to be back on some imaginary top. A KKK robe hangs in a dedicated-to-racism bomb shelter in Cain’s backyard and a tree stands on the property adorned with strings of film blowing in the wind.

Rope is in the cellar, presumably used to lynch people in said tree on the property. It’s mentioned earlier in the film that the property is a good hiding spot due to the fear surrounding it, which becomes apparent and obvious as the film continues. The melding of post-apocalyptic Handmaid’s Tale America style of horror with supernatural slash possession horror works really well and creates a compelling tale that’s horrifying in the usual ways but also in a way that is truly American.

On February 27 Camp Pleasant Lake released in some theaters and directly to platforms via Starz. Written and directed by Thomas Walton the film features a plethora of actors in various roles including Jonathan Lipnicki, Bonnie Aarons, and Andrew Divoff. I haven’t watched this one yet so my slight review is based on just the trailer. I truly cannot tell what the vibe of this movie is supposed to be from the trailer, it simultaneously seemed like a joke but also that they were taking it seriously. It’s a terror show at a camp with a dark history, fairly standard seeming, and during the trailer we literally see someone with the slasher’s mask pulled above his head like he’s the killer, which could be a spoiler or a misdirect.

The next big horror film of the year, Imaginary, released in theaters March 8, and the trailer left audiences wary initially. Directed and written by Jeff Wadlow and also written by Greg Erb, and Jason Oremland the film does not have a good reputation. Starring DeWanda Wise as the lead Jessica, Tom Payne as Max, Taegan Burns as Taylor, and Pyper Braun as Alice. It was produced by big name studio Blumhouse Productions and Tower of Babble Entertainment, and then distributed by Lionsgate. The following review will contain spoilers.

What seems fairly straightforward, a scary imaginary friend, is given much more depth in Imaginary. I really enjoyed the unique perspective of a step mother who wants to become integrated with her family. In addition to that a reluctant teen daughter and a happy but hurt young daughter have a complicated relationship with their mother. Their father, a musician named Max, is Jessica’s husband and he quickly departs for a tour with his band which is insane because of the current circumstances with his daughters openly struggling in the recent life changes, including the move to Jessica’s childhood home, and he leaves the new stepmother to deal with those challenges on her own.

After moving back to her childhood home Jessica’s nightmares intensify and the youngest daughter, Alice, finds an old teddy bear she calls Chauncey. That old bear is actually a conduit for a spirit type demon thing that pretends to be an imaginary friend while actually trying to consume the imagination of Alice like it tried to with Jessica. We discover that Jessica’s own father sacrificed his sanity and eyesight to save her from Chauncey.

Despite the bad ratings and reviews I enjoyed watching this movie. I loved the layer that is added to the concept of an imaginary friend to create a whole separate universe with its own rules and challenges. I want to see more of the universe created around the portal to this other realm and Chauncey’s seeming connection to a multitude of children’s imaginations—particularly keen on Jessica’s due to its expansiveness.

I wanted to know more about the reality which Chauncey can create to trap others in this other realm. I’d recommend this one, there aren’t huge shocks or surprises from a standard horror movie but I really enjoyed the visual effects, characters and actors who portrayed them, and the story of the blended family.

Next up is a lesser known title, Dead Mail, that was released on March 9 and I haven’t watched it yet. Some of the movies in this video I didn’t go out of my way to watch due to lack of interest but this one I really hoped would become available sooner rather than later. Directed and written by both Joe DeBoer and Kyle McConaghy the film was produced by Alarmist Entertainment and Contact Light Films. The film stars Sterling Macer Jr., John Fleck, and Tomas Boykin and is a project with lots of big endorsements from publications like Variety.

From the trailer the concept is really interesting—a man is being held hostage but manages to momentarily break free and shove a letter into a mailbox. Once the letter is inside it ends up getting mailed, blood and all. The letter is a desperate request for help which ends up as a case given to a detective. Without anything but the letter informing that there’s a captive in an unspecified location the detective is on the case. I will be watching it when it’s available to rent and am excited to see it but anticipating a possible slow burn.

On March 22nd Immaculate released in theaters and is more liked than disliked but not really loved. It’s directed by Michael Mohan and written by Andrew Lobel; produced by Black Bear Pictures, Fifty-Fifty Films, and Lupin Films and distributed by Neon, an indie leader in film distribution. Starring Sydney Sweeney as Sister Cecilia and other church figures played by Álvaro Morte, Dora Romano, Benedetta Porcaroli, Girogio Colangeli, and Simona Tabasco all serving at a Catholic convent in Italy that assists dying nuns. This review will contain spoilers to discuss some of the best elements of the movie in more detail.

Sister Cecilia arrives at the convent only to begin noticing things are a little off there, like more intense versions of rituals and everyone being normal while extremely bizarre things are happening, like they’re in on a secret she doesn’t know. The viewer also doesn’t know the secret and this creates some kinship between audiences and character but is annoying in her approach or rather lack of approach to the weird behavior and occurrences for most of the movie.

After falling pregnant despite claiming to be a virgin Cecilia is lauded as a Holy figure in the convent, the next Virgin Mary. The child is considered a blessing to the religion and they begin to restrict her and look past her personhood in favor of bringing the next Jesus into the world. Cecilia works tirelessly to free herself from the circumstances, even pretending the baby is in danger so that she’s taken to the hospital.

We learn that the convent is a little more organized in their approach to this “blessing” than they had let on. The father is a former geneticist that has been experimenting with the nuns to try and manufacture a new messiah. After being branded with the very crucifix mark that she’d seen scarred on nun’s soles of their feet around the convent, she fights her way out of captivity. While she’s fighting, her water breaks and she manages to get into the catacombs beneath the convent to try and escape. She lights the geneticist man on fire and struggles with him until she’s able to kill him with an important relic.

Cecilia breaks out of the catacombs into daylight and gives birth. After that she bites the umbilical cord and after seeing the baby and hearing strange noises coming from it—harkening back to alluded to monsters in the catacombs. She crushes the baby with a rock after this and Sweeney gives such a good performance that I actually ended up on the edge of my seat, uncomfortable, but riveted with the emotional display and the ability to story tell with just acting and sound effects.

Story points like the lack of consent around impregnation, religious zeal surrounding pregnancy and childbirth, and robbing expecting mothers of their personhood mirror issues surrounding reproductive health rights in the USA. It also mirrors the inherent struggle between science and religion when it comes to literally everything about fetuses.

Shortly it will be clear that Tubi is crushing the game and doing it for free, the next title the first one I liked but not the last. Slay released on Tubi March 22nd, both written and directed by Jem Garrard. I normally don’t watch comedy horror outside of projects but I am glad that this project exposed me to this movie and all of the drag horror on Tubi. Produced by Blue Ice Pictures the plot centers around a 4 queen drag family who travel around performing gigs, like the one that brings them to the Dusk Till Dawn like bar in the middle of the desert.

Starring Trinity the Tuck, Heidi N Closet, Crystal Methyd, and Cara Melle the camped out journey begins with stunning performances from the queens and a cast of characters, figuratively and literally, who occupy the bar. Things go south when vampires descend upon the bar and the group plus other patrons have to hide out inside.

There isn’t a ton to spoil, this is more comedy than outright horror and even features some interesting and complicated relationships between the characters. While battling the vampires the audience is treated to one-line quips and downright filthy reads.

When I heard a second Winnie-the-Pooh horror movie being made I shuddered in disbelief. How could something so horrendous get a sequel? A…sequel? Less than a year after the first monstrosity with the corniest of corny masks for the main villain, Pooh Bear,  Blood and Honey 2, the sequel with an updated Pooh mask became available on VOD March 26. As part of The Twisted Childhood Universe the movie is intended to be a horror version of the books.

Blood and Honey 2 is directed and written by Rhys Frake-Waterfield and stars Scott Chambers, Tallulah Evans, and Ryan Oliva. I will admit that the production quality has increased from the first film, this one being produced by ITN Distribution and Jagged Edge Productions. Some aspects are redeeming, I liked the other Pooh-universe characters like Owl and Tigger, even with the cheesy one liners. The story is more coherent in this one compared to the first one.

Similarly to Terrifier 3 I can imagine that this has its audience but the overly grotesque, the edgy to be edgy kills, and hyper sexualized horror films. The constant joking coupled with attempts to have something deeper happen is stiff and clunky, feeling like dad jokes but in murder font. The two main actors are genuinely talented and the scenes that centered around their story and characters were the best parts.

Obviously they are making a third film and I imagine that they will continue to make them as long as someone pays and someone else wants to watch it—which seems to be the case. At the end Owl proclaims that he’ll bring everyone back to exact revenge against their vanquishers.

The second Catholic nun movie of 2024, The First Omen released in theaters on April 3rd. As a prequel to the movie, The Omen, that came out in 1976 the film is set 5 years earlier in 1971 Rome, Italy and the review will contain light spoilers. Directed by Arkasha Stevenson and written by Nell Tiger Free, Tawfeek Barhom, Sônia Braga, Ralph Ineson, and Bill Nighy the plot is focused around a woman, Margaret, who arrives at an orphanage as a hopeful nun. Produced by Phantom Four Films and distributed by 20th Century Fox, is a well received prequel, receiving an 82% on Rotten Tomatoes tomatometer and 70% from the audience, 2 favorable scores especially when considering it’s a prequel.

Carlita, a troubled orphan, has awful visions and after Margaret befriends her the Father warns her. Carlita shows a drawing of a restrained pregnant woman to a nun, Anjelica, at the orphanage. Right after Anjelica commits suicide in a gruesome way which leads into the revelation that some within the church aspire to bring the Antichrist into the world. In a small man kind of way the church hopes that by bringing the antichrist to Earth people will become fearful and turn to Christianity for salvation.

Margaret continues to uncover information about the orphanage, the church, and the radicals within it. She believes that she’s helping potential victims and taking down an evil cohort of rouge Catholics but things aren’t as they seem. I won’t spoil further but I recommend watching but would also note that I don’t remember anything about the original movies to compare this one to.

Set in the aftermath of the Night of the Living Dead universe, Festival of the Living Dead became available on Tubi starting April 5th. Directed by Jen and Sylvia Soska the reimagining of the universe picks up years after the zombie apocalypse, so long after that the grandchildren of Ben from the first film know legends and tales of those times but no personal experiences. Starring Ashley Moore, Andre Anthony, and Cameron Bicondova, the Enlighten Content produced film centers around a festival that Ash, played by Moore, wants to sneak out and attend with a group of peers.

Written by Miriam Lyapin and Helen Marsh, Festival of the Living Dead is fairly corny and plays into most teen-horror movie tropes. Despite being corny it did make me chuckle and I loved the details that called back to the original 1960s film, even the shotgun that Ben uses makes an appearance in the story. This movie isn’t one I’d go into looking for a reinvention of the wheel but it is interesting enough to maintain watching and lands enough to not need to turn it off.

Yet another Tubi original, Lowlifes, came out April 11th directly to the platform. Tesh Guttikonda and Mitch Oliver both directed it and it’s written by Al Kaplan. I don’t want to say too much about this because I think going in blind made it 10X cooler and more clever. Ranked really well on average around 70% approval, the plot opens with a family, Amanda Fix, Matthew MacCaull, Elyse Levesque, and Josh Zaharia, on vacation in their RV.

Produced by Front Street Pictures and Lowlifes Productions the twisty had me questioning my own judgement and constantly changing my outlook. Highly, highly recommend if you add any of these to your list to add it—it’s literally free.

Back to the theaters real quick with Sting, directed and written by Kiah Roache-Turner the monster flick released on April 12th. A variety of studios are involved in the production of this film: Screen Australia, Align, Screen NSW, Cumulus VFX, Spectrum Entertainment, See Pictures, and Pictures in Paradise. There’s less mystery surrounding this one than the former title and when broken down it’s extremely straightforward—a young girl, Alyla Browne, raises a spider that is actually a monster intent on destroying anyone who dares get too close to his metaphorical web.

Ryan Corr, the young girl’s father, is forced into dealing with Sting the spider when multiple residents in their apartment building and an exterminator are attacked by the creature. This is another one that didn’t need to re-invent the wheel and by not getting weird or fancy with it that just works. The exterminator, played by Jermaine Fowler, is hilarious and endearing alongside a host of other characters that the girl and her spider regularly come in contact with.

Another theater release, Arcadian, came out on April 12th and ended up on Shudder and AMC+ ever since. Arcadian was directed by Benjamin Brewer and written by Mike Nilon but the big draws of the film are Nicolas Cage (who also stars in Longlegs, a movie that’ll be covered soon) and Stranger Thing’s Jaeden Martell. Alongside them Maxwell Jenkins plays Cage’s other son as the three of them navigate a post-apocalyptic world. Produced by Saturn Films, Redline Entertainment, and Highland Film Group all produced the movie and RLJE Films distributed it.

The family hides every night from creatures following a mass event that wiped out vast numbers of people. The brothers start to diverge in personality as they grow in this new world, one favoring being rational and putting survival above all else as opposed to the other wanting to take more risks in the hopes that they push past just survival and can thrive.

This seemed like a good movie and it started to get a little spooky once we saw what the family feared so much—which is a really slow build. Action is not my vibe and I found this to be more action dystopian YA novel vibe but for boys than horror movies. The monsters give horror but the actual movie itself doesn’t so much, and it’s entirely possible that it didn’t intend to be a horror movie when putting the plot and focal points together. I would recommend this to dudes that I know but it wasn’t for me so I turned it off about 1/3 of the way through.

The star studded cast and seemingly full reveal in the trailer of Abigail made me suspect this would suck. I felt like it might be a cash grab at the upcoming vampire and monster craze. On April 19 Abigail released in the US and I regret not going to see it in the theater. It’s directed by Matt Battinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and produced Project X Entertainment, Vinson Films, and Radio Silence Productions, and distributed by…UNIVERSAL PICTURES. That’s right—we’re back baby. The cast includes Scream Queens Melissa Barrera and Kathryn Newton, Dan Stevens, Will Catlett, Kevin Durand, Angus Cloud (Rest in Peace—Abigail was filmed prior to his tragic passing July 31, 2023), Alisha Weird, and Giancarlo Esposito.

Abigail kept me interested despite seeming to be the most revealed plot ever based on the trailers. I wondered how they could stretch the story to 90 minutes when we knew that Abigail was a vampire and that the band of criminals hired to abduct her had actually been set up in a cage of sorts for Abigail to consume–yes, they actually gave all of that away in the trailer. I loved the ending and discovering that not only is Abigail not what she seemed (though she is a vampire) but that there might be more to explore with the characters and universe they have created around them.

This is another that I don’t want to give much spoiler to other than what is already known from the trailer because I think going in not knowing some details makes the viewing experience more enjoyable. More than pleasantly surprised by Abigail, and wanted to give a standing ovation for Barrera, Stevens, and Weir’s performances. Barrera and Stevens are 2 members of the hit squad hired to abduct a little girl and watch her for one night while her parents are extorted for ransom. It’s an easy enough job for the criminals and they all come in not knowing anyone else or any details about their new co-workers.

Quickly it becomes obvious that rather than the little girl needing protection from them that they need protection from her—she’s a vampire and she likes to play with her food, which is currently the hit squad. The house they’ve been instructed to stay in becomes their fortress and for some of them it also becomes their tomb. Again, this pleasantly surprised me despite being knee deep in old Universal Monster movies most of this year.

With a limited theatrical debut mostly focused on VOD release, the next movie: Bloodline Killer became available April 26th. The movie is directed by Ante Novakovic and written by Anthony Gaudioso and James Gaudioso. It’s billed as starring Bruce Dern, Tyrese Gibson, Shawnee Smith, and Taryn Manning. I’d argue however that Bloodline Killer is mostly about Smith and her family’s storyline which is a more than welcome circumstance. Multiple production studios made the film: Gaudioso Twins Films, Twelve 83 Entertainment, Jars Media Group, and Novakovic Brothers Productions and is distributed by Vertical Entertainment.

The plot is very TV show format with story A being the main through thread story, about the serial killer terrorizing the community around Halloween, and then stories B and C running consecutively sort of in the background then converging. It truly feels like a season's worth of stuff happens during the movie. Despite this it’s another that pleasantly surprised me and wasn’t nearly as bad as I had thought upon learning of its existence.

Just want to appreciate Tubi and PlutoTV for a moment, they provide free access to channels upon channels of TV and film in exchange for watching ads while the costs of streaming services, cable, and cable alternatives like YouTube and Apple TV are all the same at this point price-wise.

Next on the list, Humane also released April 26 but in a very limited way and then became available in July to stream. Directed by Caitlin Cronenberg and written by Michael Sparaga I am so thankful I went in blind to this movie. Production companies Victory Man Productions, Prospero Pictures, Telefilm Canada, Red Jar Capital, XYZ Films, and Crave it’s distributed by IFC Films in the US. In a dystopian not-so-distant future where the environment has reached its limit society has resorted to unique ways to maintain order and relative peace.

All of the starring cast Jay Baruchel, Emily Hampshire, Sebastian Chacon, Alanna Bale, Sirena Gulamgaus, Uni Park, Enrico Colantoni, and Peter Gallagher bring their A-game. The writers have built a world that you learn about seamlessly as the plot drives forward, solving the mystery of the circumstances as you go. It feels natural and well timed to discover the depraved vision of the future that doesn’t feel that radical now that Project 2025 is a possible reality.

Throughout the film depending on which character’s point-of-view you’re getting insight into it’s easy to see how that character could see themselves to be in the right. If you take each character's world view and apply it in a vacuum devoid of emotion and guilt they don’t sound as crazy. I think Humane is a good challenge to one’s morality and how harshly judgement is passed onto society while also absolving oneself of involvement…even when involved.

I loved this movie and I can’t recommend it enough, especially if you already have a Shudder/AMC+ subscription. Humane is a film on this list that had me putting my phone away, taking my constant AirPod out, and closing my laptop to watch. Regardless of watching Humane if you’re in the USA and can still register to vote for the upcoming Presidential election—please register to vote. Start by visiting Vote-dot-Gov and even if it’s too late for this election, be prepared for your local elections and midterms; so basically it can’t hurt and it's our civic duty.

May started off with Tarot releasing on May 3rd, a Spenser Cohen directed film written by himself, Anna Halberg, and Nicholas Adams. Its release was moved up from an original late June release date planned. The production companies Screen Gems, Alloy Entertainment, and Ground Control all produced the film and Sony Pictures Releasing distributed it. The main plot follows Haley, played by Harriet Slater, and a group of her friends including her recent ex-boyfriend Grant, played by Adain Bradley. She uses a spooky deck of tarot cards to read each person’s fortune while celebrating their friend’s birthday at a mansion.

The group’s sun signs are also incorporated into the lore surrounding the tarot deck and haunting. After having their fortunes read they start to die in ways associated with the fortunes they’d been told. Once they realize this it’s a game against time as the entity attached to the deck comes to fulfill their fortunes. Despite a critical and negative response to the film from moviegoers it is considered a box office success, making over 6 times as much as the budget for the film. I think in large part due to a lull during April and May of large scale theatrical horror releases despite that untapped market of moviegoers existing.

Next title — Silence of the Prey released May 14th in the US. Directed by Karyn Kudzina and Michael Vaynberg and written by Karyn Kudzina and Saro Varjabedian and I’m pretty certain it went straight to VOD. The film is produced by Savant Artists and now distributed by Tubi and other streaming platforms. We enter a high key illegal and suspicious operation of providing undocumented maids to rich clients.

Despite the man whom the woman has brought the main character, Mary, played by Lorianna Izrailova, to work for not wanting children he eventually agrees to let Mary and her daughter stay with him while Mary is in his employment. A desperate Mary looks beyond the red flags the old man is waving in her face and can’t blame her.

I liked the start of the film but started feeling lost in the plot and unsure what even happened. I started tuning out past that initial start that piqued my intrigue. The seemingly too good to be true employment set up ends up being just that and soon enough Mary and her daughter have to fight psychologically, emotionally, and physically to regain freedom.

By mid-May the horror roster picked up and I Saw the TV Glow dropped on May 17th in a limited theater release that quickly rolled into its streaming release by June. Both written and directed by Jane Schoenbrun, the Lovecraftian horror genre is stunning. It’s stunning visually, how the story is told, and the superb acting that the leads Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine lend to the main characters’ journeys. The 1996 set story is told from the perspective of 2 teens struggling with their identities as they discover who they are. They bond over their shared love of a TV show called, The Pink Opaque.

I’m eternally grateful I went into this only knowing the above details and started getting teary eyed early on. I am not transgender but the effective story telling and silent, unspoken tension between the characters and themselves is palpable. I related to the characters raw emotions and how they communicated their struggles through their show fandom, being reminded of my when I’ve felt those feelings and relating in ways only art makes possible. The two characters find solace in their similarities and in the show which mirrors the culture around Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a show that many teens enjoyed and featured a lesbian main character who had on screen relationships.

Produced by Fruit Tree, Smudge Films, Hypnic Jerk, and Access Entertainment distributed by the indie juggernaut A24, Schoenbrun has said in interviews that Emma Stone and her husband fell in love with the script immediately which started the process of getting the film made. I’m so tragically happy and thankful that movies like this are made and that stories like this can become an expansive representation of the commonalities in the human experience.

The much anticipated The Strangers new installment The Strangers: Chapter 1 released widely in theaters May 17th. Directed by Renny Harlin, the first part of a trilogy of movies intended to be a relaunch of the franchise starring Madelaine Petsch from Riverdale and Froy Gutierrez from Teen Wolf. The pair play a young couple who stop in Venus, Oregon on their way to Portland only to be hunted by a 3 person group wearing masks. I’m loving the Oregon and Pacific Northwest love the last 5 years in horror, with movies like Longlegs and Antlers tapping into the spooky, foggy region full of supernatural lore, particularly that of Indigenous peoples from the area.

Produced by a list of companies: Lionsgate, Fifth Element Productions, Stream Media, Sherborne Media, and LipSync the movies are being distributed by Lionsgate. I’m not fully sure what the intentions of the reboot are in the sense that not much new information is learned about the trio, which is what I mistakenly thought it would be about. I didn’t go in blind to this one due to being a fan of the first movie and anticipating this release like many others.

Chapter 1 is widely not loved, getting below an average of 50% by large collections of reviews. Despite being relatively lackluster it still delivered enough on its promise to make almost 6x the budget during the theatrical release. I love Petsch and will still be watching the other 2 installments in the franchise, one slated to drop before the end of this year that will be included later in this list and the 3rd to come out in 2025.

Finishing off the month with a May 31 theatrical release, In a Violent Nature was written and directed by Chris Nash. The out of the box film was produced by Shudder Films, Zygote Pictures, and Low Sky Productions and is distributed by IFC Films in theaters, its largest release yet and on the Shudder streaming platform following that. Starring Ry Barrett as Johnny, a serial killer slasher who reanimates in search of a locket that had been hanging on a fire tower at the start of the film. This drew critical acclaim for its unique story telling through the POV of the slasher, with limited dialogue and a lot of slow walking in the forest.

Many of the murders Johnny subjects his victims to are absolutely gruesome and gnarly, with the added point that he goes after the entire friend group with equal venom over the locket—something they believed to be innocuous. I think the basis is clever and often have seen forum posts or been part of conversations mulling over a horror movie from the slashers perspective.

The narrative is told in a way to make neither Johnny or the friend group well known to the audience, so the draw is more about seeing how the circumstances we see in slasher films play out from the POV of the killer. The killer decides to go after one victim rather than another, or slowly approach while they have slightly off screen conversations that are normally the focal point in horror films. I think it’s great for what it is but it is one that isn’t my cup of tea.

Something that I thought would be my cup of tea, the highly anticipated movie, The Watchers, released via  a wide theatrical release on June 7. The Ishana Shyamalan directed film kicked off summer horror releases is her directorial debut. Written by Ishana Shyamalan based on the acclaimed A.M. Shine novel of the same title. The large production garnered attention from the start, in part due to the cast that includes my girl, Dakota Fanning (happy as hell to have her back on my screen and been a fan of her acting since Uptown Girls).

The cast also includes Georgina Campbell from Black Mirror and Barbarian, Olwen Fouéré from Sunrise and Tarot just this year alone, and the most recent Sally Hardesty from the 2022 Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and Oliver Finnegan from Outlander but a fairly newer actor on the scene. Produced by New Line Cinema, Blinding Edge Pictures, and Inimitable Pictures then distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures the film barely cleared its $30 million budget with a $33 million box office result. The initial trailers had many intrigued, including myself, but I definitely planned off rip to wait until this hit streaming to watch.

This is available on Max currently and I tuned out working on other stuff because the plot never picked up steam for me. I felt confused while fully tuned in and then couldn’t tell you the gist after that. I honestly don’t know if this is great or not because I got bored—which could just be a me thing but I feel slightly less bad about that due to the low ratings that fans and critics alike have given to the film.

The next up, All My Friends Are Dead released at Tribeca Film Festival on June 8 then later on demand in August. The thing that I knew about this movie going in was that JoJo Siwa was in it to some capacity. Directed by Marcus Dunstan and written by Josh Sims, Jessica Sarah Flaum, and John Baldecchi I thought it would be way worse than it turned out to be. Produced by Roundtable Entertainment and Film Mode Entertainment then distributed by Cineverse it’s performed as expected, not an instant classic or anything but not the worst thing I’ve seen or even close to the worst on this list. Jade Pettyjohn is the star of the movie who is attending a festival that is a revamp of a previous festival that ended in a serial killer committing murders based on 7 deadly sins.

There’s another story going on simultaneously with the current friend group, whom are all influencers, that lost a friend to suicide not long ago. Upon arriving where they’ll be staying they receive a text from someone claiming to be that friend, Collette, Siwa’s character. This starts off another version of the 7 deadly sins killings with each of them representing a sin. I don’t want to say too-too much because the twists are the most interesting thing but it’s truly 2-3 movies smashed into one. It makes it a little hoaky but it also works in making the overall story at the end better which makes the movie not so bad after all.

A break in one’s I’ve seen, Latency came out June 14 and was originally titled Hana’s Game. Directed and written by James Croke the movie stars Sasha Luss as Hana, an agoraphobic game tester. Produced by Grindstone Entertainment Group and Kaos Entertainment the film is an example of an increase of VR and/or AI being incorporated in the horror trend during this decade. Hana receives her next assignment to review a game, which is a VR simulator and helper called Omnia. It claims to analyze the user's brain in order to improve their lives like an AI assistant of sorts. The device quickly causes some horrifying side effects like uncontrollable realistic hallucinations and spasms.

You might be wondering why I didn’t give a spoiler warning and that would be because all of the aforementioned was in the trailer for the film. Latency is definitely a film. I worry that too much is given away from the trailer to make the viewing experience enjoyable. I don’t know this however so this critique is only based on my limited knowledge from the trailer.

A movie about exorcism movies simply titled The Exorcism had a theatrical release on June 21. Directed by Joshua John Miller and written by Miller and M.A. Fortin was produced by Miramax and Outerbanks Entertainment and distributed by Vertical. With a big name like Russell Crowe and a good trailer it’s not surprising why it made $9.5 million at the box office despite being broadly disliked. The film also stars Ryan Simpkins as Crowe’s character’s daughter, and Chloe Bailey as a TV actress that the daughter befriends.

From just the trailer without having seen the movie myself I felt that it was an interesting concept, a cursed movie starts impacting the new lead and his family. Rather than just acting in a possession film he actually starts showing signs of possession while his troubled daughter acts as his personal assistant on set. The trailer confirms that an exorcism will occur but whether that is within the movie within the movie, nightmares, or apparitions is unclear. Unfortunately that might be the only thing unclear from the trailer which could lend to the critiques that it plays too heavily into cliches.

Blackwater Lane is a movie that was released both in theaters and onto VOD on the same day, June 21. The tandem technique to hit both markets of audience members while still offering a limited release is becoming an increasingly popular trend in horror as mentioned in the introduction. Directed by Jeff Celentano and written by Elizabeth Fowler and based on the book by B.A. Paris, Blackwater Lane is a supernatural horror film. Starring some recognizable faces Minka Kelly, Maggie Grace and Dermot Mulroney star in the film. The books that the story is based on came out in 2017 and is titled The Breakdown. The film was produced by Grindstone Entertainment Group, Clear Pictures Entertainment and distributed by Lionsgate Films. This release quietly came and went, not even detectable to me when starting this project earlier in the year.

The trailer jumps right into action displaying that jump scare horror elements will be alive and well. It also alerts to the questioning of the lead’s mental health and whether what she’s experiencing is in her head or she’s actually in danger and being haunted. Now that I see it’s available on Peacock Premium I’ll most likely watch this between recording and posting this video—it looks like the perfect mix of horror and thriller for a fall afternoon.

The much anticipated blockbuster horror movie, A Quiet Place: Day 1 hit theaters on June 28th and is now available to watch on Paramount+ streaming. The 3rd film in the Quiet Place franchise that’s intended to be a prequel and spinoff is directed and written by Michael Sarnoski with the story also by John Krasinski. Produced by Platinum Dunes and Sunday Night Productions and then distributed by Paramount Pictures, not a ton about the characters is known from the trailer and I think that is a superb way to watch.

To basically go into watching it knowing at most that it stars award winning actress Lupita Nyong’o as the lead alongside actors Joseph Quinn from Stranger Things, Alex Wolff from Hereditary and Oppenheimer, and Djimon Hounsou from A Quiet Place Part II, Black Adam, and Guardians of the Galaxy. This movie is another example of a stunning movie including the special effects, the truly phenomenal acting, the smaller details woven throughout coupled with mad symbolism, and the somehow uplifting spirit in light of the apocalyptic circumstances.

I loved that characters don’t start off the way that you think they would, that you see the hope, pain, and confusion surrounding the start of the silent universe from A Quiet Place. I loved the setting of New York and all of the interesting expansions on the lore for the creatures that became possible with the change in setting. It’s brilliantly put together and felt like a roller coaster ride despite knowing the outcome of the world and the invasion of these creatures.