Movies
Humongous
“Maybe if ‘Humongous’ did something more unique during its exploration and survival scenes, it would stand out more, but it just seems to drag on and on without any cool kills, memorable characters/dialogue, or really anything more interesting than a berry cleavage basket.”
DVD Review
Made during the peak years of the Canadian tax-shelter film era, Humongous has languished in VHS and convention bootleg obscurity over the last three decades, carrying the unfortunate stigma of having a really dark, murky picture. The Scorpion Releasing DVD – the first “official” release in the US, with a remastered picture – presents the exact opposite problem: it’s too bright. So bright, in fact, that it has some J.J. Abrams lens-flare going on in a few scenes and what looks like visible lighting equipment in others. This leads me to believe that Paul Lynch just has no idea what he’s doing when it comes to lighting a set. The actual content of Humongous – and Prom Night – points out two other things about the director; namely that he has a knack for picking out really boring material – coincidentally, both of the aforementioned films were written by William Gray – and has almost no style.
After a brief intro with a rapist getting mauled by dogs and beaten with a large rock, Humongous introduces a familiar – and bland – group of kids, including two brothers and their sister, heading out for a weekend boat trip. After picking up a guy drifting out in the water, the boat erupts in flames – courtesy of the only asshole character of the bunch, who also shoots a gun off next to brothers head for shits and giggles, and is deservedly the first one killed – prompting the friends to swim toward Dog Island. As the kids try to regroup and strategize a way to reach the mainland, a “humongous” man starts picking them off.
And by picking them off, I mean he kills them off-screen for the most part, which is a shame considering the premise – and poster art! – is so promising. Like Prom Night, Humongous is built upon the slasher genome, but ventures off into other territory; once they get to the island, it becomes more of a survival flick (finding food, staying warm, finding shelter, etc.) than a ten-little-Indians sort of deal. Giving credit where credit is due, there is some really random, zany stuff that gives it some personality, like the gun fiasco or when a character picks some berries, brings them back to camp between her breasts, and then has to wash the juice off – it doesn’t get more hilariously inane than that. There’s also – thankfully – not a disco scene in sight.
Once the characters piece together the back story and things finally get going after almost an hour, Gray’s script “pays homage” to Friday The 13th Pt. II while giving us a few glimpses of the killer (but never a solid view), whose appearance clumsily changes from just a guy without a mask shrouded in darkness to a cross between Jason and Madman Marz from Madman. Maybe if Humongous did something more unique during its exploration and survival scenes, it would stand out more, but it just seems to drag on and on without any cool kills, memorable characters/dialogue, or really anything more interesting than a berry cleavage basket.
Special Features
Commentary – Moderated by Katrina Waters, the track features director Paul Lynch, writer William Gray, and horror journalist Nathanial Thompson. Waters reminds you that she’s still there occasionally, but it’s mostly the trio discussing the history of the film, including the rape scene, the vintage credit sequence, casting, and the like. Lynch and Gray pick on each other a lot, making for a fun listen, and they do point out the Texas Chainsaw Massacre influence on Humongous, as well as some Psycho nods, the Prom Night remake, and their distaste for the poster – which I like, but I understand why they hate it. Truth be told, the commentary is much better than the film itself.
Alternate Pre-Credit Sequence (6:35) – Since the version of Humongous on the DVD is uncut, this is an edited, R-rated version of the opening rape sequence. It isn’t really wild and out-of-control (like, say, Irreversible) in either form, but rape is an ugly thing, and the film probably got submitted to the MPAA on a bad day; the gore from the dog attack seems to have been cut down ever so slightly, too. The video quality here is not nearly as good as it is in the actual film, and it really isn’t worth watching to begin with.
The holiday weekend means a light week for new horror releases, but it does bring the return of Dark Castle Entertainment to select theaters. It’s being joined by 6 new horror movies.
Here’s all the new horror releasing June 29, 2026 – July 3, 2026!
For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.
You wished for it. The highest-grossing horror movie of the year (so far), Curry Barker’s Obsession, arrived on Digital on June 30.
In Curry Barker’s theatrical debut Obsession, after breaking the mysterious One Wish Willow to win his crush’s heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon discovers that some desires come at a dark, sinister price.
Michael Johnston (“Teen Wolf”), Inde Navarette (“Superman & Lois”), Cooper Tomlinson (“That’s a Bad Idea,” Milk & Serial), Megan Lawless (The Death That Awaits), and Emmy Award-nominee Andy Richter (“Conan,” Elf) star.
Based on a story by director James Kondelik (Behind The Walls) and a screenplay by Canadian writer Victor Rose, survival thriller Pitfall headed home to Digital on June 30. Family is murder in this Cineverse release.
In Pitfall, a young man becomes separated from his friends in the woods and plunges into a ten-foot pit lined with spikes, impaling his leg and leaving him helpless. As reality sinks in and his situation grows dire, he realizes the fall wasn’t an accident.
The film stars Richard Harmon (Final Destination: Bloodlines), Alexandra Essoe (The Pope’s Exorcist), and UFC champion Randy Couture (The Expendables) as the ruthless killer who stalks his prey in the woods. Marshall Williams (The Ice Road), Jordan Claire Robbins (The Umbrella Academy), and Matt Hamilton (Murder for Sale) also star.
The Amityville IP leans into Jaws with Amityville Shark House, just in time for the Fourth of July holiday too, as it released on Digital June 30.
Will Collazo Jr. (Amityville Thanksgiving) and Shawn C. Phillips (Amityville Karen) co-direct from a script they wrote with Julie Anne Prescott.
In the movie, after discovering an ominous shark idol hidden beneath the decaying floorboards, Richard unknowingly awakens an ancient and savage force. As the entity begins to merge with him, a quiet coastal town descends into blood-soaked chaos.
With each victim claimed, the monstrous predator grows stronger, fueling a cult’s belief that their dark god has been reborn. Now, the race is on to stop the carnage before evil consumes everything in its path.
Phillips and Prescott also star alongside Tasha Tacosa, Maritza Brikisak, Gigi Gustin (The Retaliators), Adam Marino, and Carl Solomon.
Available on Digital, Blu-ray, and DVD as of June 30 is Jacked, directed by John Fucile from a script he co-wrote with Simon Fraser.
The synopsis: “Set in the summer of 1987, JACKED follows two small-town teenagers whose day at the lake turns into a fight for survival after their car breaks down and they encounter a violent stalker.”
Marla Jean Robison, Tom Koch, Anthony Cipriani, Wynn Reichert, Kam Perez and Bella Marie star.
Get ready to work up a killer sweat and maybe spill some blood with Slashercise, a workout meets slasher hybrid that arrived exclusively on Bloodstream on July 1.
Written and directed by Ama Lea (Deathcember), the retro-styled feature follows “a masked killer known only as Meathead as he stalks the fitness clubs of Los Angeles, turning workout sessions into blood-soaked nightmares. As the city’s top trainers are picked off one by one, a group of determined fitness fanatics must fight back before they become the next bodies on the mat.”
Vanessa Decker (Stiletto), John Bloom (The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs), Spencer Charnas (Ice Nine Kills), Sarah French (Blind), Kelli Maroney (Night of the Comet), Sarah Nicklin (V/H/S/Halloween), Diana Prince (The Last Drive-In With Joe Bob Briggs), Jared Rivet (The Once and Future Smash), Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp), Tiffany Shepis (Victor Crowley), and Lisa Wilcox (A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master) star.
After a record-breaking box office run, A24 and director Kane Parsons’ feature debut is heading back to theaters with bonus footage. AMC Theatres is unleashing Backrooms: Everything Must Go Editiontoday, July 3.
In the film written by Will Soodik, the owner of Cap’n Clark’s Ottoman Empire discovers a strange doorway in the basement of the furniture showroom. He sets out to explore the mysterious, liminal space, walking headfirst into a creepypasta nightmare.
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsvestar.
AMC describes this release as a “theatrically exclusive post-credit” with additional footage from Kane Parsons. Expect 16 minutes of bonus footage, with the new version clocking in at 2 hours and 6 minutes.
The Last Exorcism director Daniel Stamm and Dark Castle Entertainment are back with Lockbox, in select theaters July 3. It adapts Soren Narnia‘s Knifepoint Horror Podcast story “Winthrop” by Emmy-winning playwright Justin Yoffe.
In Lockbox, “Seeking peace after her mother’s death, Ellen retreats to a rural town and takes in her severely traumatized cousin Winthrop. Their fragile domestic balance shatters when an erratic neighbor warns that Winthrop is dangerous. As strange phenomena escalate, Ellen must put everything on the line to defend Winthrop from a dangerous otherworldly entity determined to track him down.”
Lou Taylor Pucci (Touch Me, Evil Dead), Carla Gugino (The Haunting of Hill House, Gerald’s Game, The Fall of the House of Usher) and Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps, Backrooms) star.
This week’s new release roundups are presented by Lockbox.
Be careful who you let in. Carla Gugino and Lou Taylor Pucci star in Lockbox, only in select theaters this Friday. Get tickets.
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