Movies
In Memorium
“I’ll give the filmmaker this much: she addresses the topic of simply abandoning the house. However silly the reasoning is to stay, at least the film thinks ahead a few steps. Too bad the same consideration wasn’t offered to the rest of the script, which devolves into cheap shocks, watery bloodletting, and furious door banging, lethargically orchestrated by Gusack. Despite the multiple camera gimmick, In Memorium simply doesn’t capture much excitement or scares.”
In 2009, Paranormal Activity snuck up on genre fans hungry for a change of pace. Exchanging the visceral highs of gore zone happenings for more aural encounters, the picture struck box office gold, kick-starting an unlikely, but formidable franchise set to haunt the Halloween holiday for years to come. In Memorium has the uncomfortable position of firsties, created and passed around the festival circuit in 2005, a full two years before Activity began production. It’s an incredible coincidence that’s come to pay off in a major way for writer/director Amanda Gusack, who can now mount her tedious thriller on the back of a certified blockbuster, thus guaranteeing some form of distribution that eluded her before.
Tragically, the misspelled title has remained untouched for the last five years. Think of it as the short bus version of Inglourious Basterds.
A filmmaking professional, Dennis (Erik McDowell) has been diagnosed with cancer, refusing a plan of extensive treatment to ride the experience out on his own terms. Renting a house with girlfriend Lilly (Johanna Watts), Dennis has rigged the joint with cameras and sound equipment, hoping to document the slow progression of his disease. Instead of tracking medical malady, the cameras pick up spooky occurrences and apparitional activity. Studying the footage, Dennis senses a personal connection to the demonic events in the house, yet can’t figure out the clues. As the mysterious encounters increase, Dennis and Lilly plan their escape, only to learn that whatever spirit has assumed control of the house wants them to remain there.
Instead of slavishly comparing Activity and In Memorium, let’s just state the facts: reality is difficult to fake. Gusack plays her cards a little smarter than Activity director Oren Peli, launching a sense of the theatrical right away by making Dennis and Lilly cogs in the Hollywood machine. These two have a working knowledge of production, making their labor to document, edit, and display their life a perfectly sensible act, from a distance. There’s a minute amount of web cam realism in play here that’s intriguing, cautiously setting up the ghost story. Frustratingly, the quest for viable haunted house mechanics doesn’t last for long.
While the promise of creepy black-figured occurrences within the rented abode is hinted at, In Memorium is primarily consumed with spreading around dreary exposition, more interested in explaining the domestic disturbance than playing it out visually. Handing this dialogue to severely limited actors doesn’t help the cause, as both McDowell and Watts have difficulty communicating the urgency at hand. The performances are stagy, lacking a feral quality that would typically greet a hard drive haunting. Gusack doesn’t push her cast to frayed ends, instead reinforcing their inexperience through limp blasts of conflict and long-winded scenes of explanation (a pain exacerbated by Levi Powell, here as Dennis’s resentful stoner brother). It’s impossible to feel for these characters, despite Dennis and his unfortunate medical emergency, along with the heavy waves of guilt brought on by the death of his estranged mother. Gusack seems to think a discussion of terror is more compelling than staging terror.
I’ll give the filmmaker this much: she addresses the topic of simply abandoning the house. However silly the reasoning is to stay, at least the film thinks ahead a few steps. Too bad the same consideration wasn’t offered to the rest of the script, which devolves into cheap shocks, watery bloodletting, and furious door banging, lethargically orchestrated by Gusack. Despite the multiple camera gimmick, In Memorium simply doesn’t capture much excitement or scares.
This week’s big new horror release is of course Evil Dead Burn in theaters later in the week, but you don’t have to wait until this weekend to inject fresh nightmares into your eyeballs.
Five brand new horror movies have already released at home this week.
Here’s all the new horror that released on Tuesday, July 7, 2026!
Director André Øvredal’s (The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, The Last Voyage of the Demeter) new movie Passenger is now available on Digital at home.
Here’s the synopsis for Passenger: “A few weeks into their van life adventure, a young couple witnesses a horrific accident that leaves the driver dead. Soon they’re being pursued by a demonic stalker who’s impossible to outrun and follows them wherever they go.”
André Øvredal told Bloody Disgusting in an exclusive chat, “It’s a road movie, which is what I really fell in love with. It’s totally unique for me as a horror movie. Bridging the road movie with a haunting, essentially, on the road. I think it’s the scariest movie I’ve made.”
The cast includes Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell, Melissa Leo, Tony Doupe, Bonni Dichone, Devielle Johnson, Jessica Cruz, Miles Fowler, and Alan Trong.
The screenplay is written by Zachary Donohue (The Den) and T.W. Burgess (Mister Howl). Former Warner Bros production executive Walter Hamada, who steered the Conjuring and It franchises, is producing via his 18hz as part of his first-look deal with Paramount. It screenwriter Gary Dauberman is also producing via Coin Operated.
Supernatural horror, psychological suspense, and an eye-catching creature take center stage in The Leaching, now available on Digital from Dark Star Pictures and Uncork’d Entertainment.
“After waking up in a grave on her father’s isolated forest property with no idea of who she is or how she got there, Vivian must use her limited memory to piece together the nightmarish truth, all the while being tormented by the undead, a giant leech monster, and her ‘father.’
“Over the next few days, she will uncover the framework of a truly nefarious supernatural scheme, but will it be too late?”
The Leaching is written and directed by Evan Showalter (Ante Mortem, Bad Music Terry).
“The Leaching is an exploration of faith, the loss of self, and the monsters (literally) that emerge when people surrender themselves to something greater than they can understand,” says Showalter. “It’s an isolating horror film that plays with a very uncomfortable question.”
A film student finds herself trapped in a giallo nightmare in lo-fi horror movie City Wide Fever, which is now streaming exclusively on the Midnight Pulp streaming service.
The meta horror movie is from debut writer/director Josh Heaps.
In City Wide Fever, “Sam, a young film student, discovers a USB detailing the life and career of forgotten Italian horror director Saturnino Barresi.
“As she begins to investigate his mysterious disappearance, Sam finds herself pulled into a violent conspiracy eerily similar to those of the films she adores.”
Diletta Guglielmi, Angelica Kim, and Nancy Kimball star with Onur Tukel (Summer of Blood), Larry Fessenden (You’re Next), Carolyn Farina, and comedian Ian Fidance.
Paul Lê wrote in his review for Bloody Disgusting, “This isn’t just a case of throwback filmmaking that’s been achieved with contemporary technology; the director used era-authentic equipment to help create this striking and nostalgic piece of modern horror. The end result is a movie… teeming with enough verve and style to make it feel fresh.”
A Gen Z slasher that pays homage to ’90s teen slasher movies, You’re Dead to Me is now available on Digital outlets at home courtesy of distributor Dark Star Pictures.
In the slasher film, “Three high school seniors skip prom for a secluded weekend party free from parents, school, and responsibility, but their escape turns terrifying when they learn one of their classmates has been brutally murdered.”
Denise Richards (Valentine) stars alongside Siena Agudong (Sidelined: The QB and Me, Sidelined 2: Intercepted), Jessica Belkin (“Baywatch” ), Ella Anderson (“Henry Danger,” Song Sung Blue), and Conor Husting (“Boo, Bitch”, Hollywood Stargirl).
The film was directed by Juan Pablo Arias Munoz.
You’re Dead to Me was co-written by Sarah Howard and Terry Castle, the daughter of the legendary producer and filmmaker William Castle (House on Haunted Hill, The Tingler).
Steven Quale (Into the Storm, Final Destination 5) directed the supernatural thriller Black Box, which has now taken flight on Digital outlets courtesy of Aura Entertainment.
The film is based on the short film The Vessel, and an original screenplay from horror writer Stephen Susco (The Grudge, The Grudge 2, Texas Chainsaw 3D, Hell Fest).
Black Box (Flight 298) follows the supernatural events surrounding Vero Airlines 298 from New Orleans to Seattle.
Tom Brittney, Holly Leena White, Betsy Blue English, Dane Whyte O’Hara, Kaja Chan, Asa Ali, Boadicea Ricketts, Ceallach Spellman, Georgina Leonidas, Molly Belle Wright, Hanneke Talbot, Danny Mack, and Weronika Rosati star in Black Box.
Hammerstone Studios’ Alex Lebovici (Barbarian, Boy Kills World) and Jon Oakes (Drive, The Guilty) will produce alongside Capstone’s Christian Mercuri and David Haring (Bill & Ted Face the Music), Warren Zide (The Final Destination, American Pie), and Susco. Ruzanna Kegeyan and Roman Viaris of Capstone, and Clark Baker (Vessel) will executive produce.
What happened to Flight 298? Find out on Digital outlets now.
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