Movies
[Book Review] Small Press Roundup: ‘Red Empire,’ ‘Stainless’ and ‘By the Time’
Small press horror is always a crapshoot. Better have your lady friend kiss those dice before you roll, cause with indie fiction you never know what you’re gonna get. But for some reason, an unusually stellar streak of small press titles have arrived on my doorstep the last several weeks, and pure luck may be the only explanation. A trio of novels––by authors Joe McKinney, Todd Grimson, and J. David Osborne––really stood out of the pack. And while my expectations were admittedly low, it’s always nice to be pleasantly surprised. Whether you’re intrigued by grisly vampire romance, nature vs. human smackdowns, or the horrors of Siberian prisons (and who isn‘t really?), these guys can really bring the heat. The Red Empire and Other Stories
By Joe McKinney
Redrum Horror
January 1, 2012
Joe McKinney is the author of the apocalyptic Dead Worldseries, but there’s nary a zombie to be found in The Red Empire and Other Stories. Tales about crime dominate this 9-story anthology, which makes sense when you consider that when he’s not writing, McKinney is a San Antonio police sergeant with 15 years of law enforcement experience. He throws in a couple of ghost stories and a non-fiction piece for good measure, but the highlight of the book is the title piece. In his horror novella The Red Empire, McKinney gleefully introduces mutant red ants and an escaped convict to a rain-drenched town, and cranks the ingredients into a pulpy, page-turning stew. It’s a 1950s monster movie, in story form.
3.5 Skulls out of 5
Stainless
By Todd Grimson
Schaffner Press
January 18, 2012
Todd Grimson’s vampire novel reads like a gruesome, grown-up sequel to Let Me In…except that Stainless was published 11 years before John Lindqvist’s new horror classic hit bookstores. Along with the similarly excellent Brand New Cherry Flavor, Grimson burst onto the horror lit scene back in the mid-90s with Stainless––now getting a re-release from Schaffner––but lately his literary output has been limited to short stories popping up in an online mag here and there. Too bad, cause even 15 years later, Stainless really holds up. Justine is a 400-year-old vampire; Keith is her human familiar. Moving back and forth in time, Grimson tells the story of their grim romance, from their first meeting after Keith’s hands had been maimed by drug dealers to their final confrontation with a sadistic vampire leader. Blood will flow and heads will roll, but Grimson keeps his story grounded in emotion and reality. Some will undeniably cower away from the uber-bleak characters, but Grimson is an excellent writer, and those with a renewed interest in this increasingly popular subgenre owe it to themselves to give Stainless a look.
4 Skulls out of 5
By The Time We Leave Here, We’ll Be Friends
By J. David Osborne
Swallowdown Press
December 10, 2010
It was a short story in last year’s Demons anthology that first turned me on to J. David Osborne, and it turns out his 2010 debut novel is even better than expected. This spare, violent, hallucinatory survival piece about rival Russian gangsters in a 1953 Siberian prison reads like the hard-edged framework of a richly drawn epic. Osborne sketches a vivid outline and allows his readers to make some obvious (and not so obvious) connections on their own, while constantly allowing the threat of calculated brutality to linger in the background. Speaking of brutality, a few of his stronger scenes will make even the most jaded horror lover squirm. (Hint: tattoo removal.) By The Time We Leave Here, We’ll Be Friends is a bleary, opium-addled fever dream from a highly talented new author. Osborne is one to watch.
4.5 Skulls out of 5
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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