Movies
Baghead (V)
“To say my first experience in mumblecore was good would be an understatement. Truth be told, BAGHEAD has sleeper hit written all over it. It showcases the great lengths to which people will go to make it in the film biz and has a lot of genuine heart, something which many modern indie films are sorely missing.”
This past year at SXSW, there were these rather humorous advertisements for the festival before every screening. Among them were parodies of such classics as CLOSE ENCOUNTERS and GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS. But the one that stuck out to me the most was a peculiar little riff on the HARRY POTTER franchise. It introduced me to the phrase “mumblecore”, which left me kind of perplexed. “So what is mumblecore anyway?” was a question that I posed to quite a few people during my inaugural trip to the festival. Some responded with “Oh, its this indie thing. Low-budget film making. You know what I’m talking about.” But for the most part, I got something along the line of “Are you talking about that commercial in front of (insert movie title here)? I think they just made it up for laughs.”
Eventually though, I got a straight answer. Mumblecore, a term coined during the editing process for Andrew Bujalski’s FUNNY HA HA, is a movement in the indie film scene, dealing with interpersonal relationships of the hipster variety and characterized by hand held cameras, improvised dialogue and inexperienced actors. Finally having some closure, I was ready to embark on my first journey into mumblecore with BAGHEAD, a quirky little comedy with a dash of horror.
“When was the last time one of us had a major role in a feature film?”
“Its been a long time.”
“Never. We’ve never had a role in a big film.”
So begins the plight of struggling LA actors Matt (Ross Partridge) and Chad (Steve Zissis). Having just sat through a pretentious, yet acclaimed, art house flick their friend made, they decide that they’ve had it with being out of work, so they’re going to write and produce a film of their own. It’s the best way to make a splash in the festival circuit and best of all, it’ll have parts for them and their lady friends, Catherine (Elise Muller) and Michelle (Greta Gerwig). Trekking to Big Bear Lake, the group plans to lock themselves in a cabin and come up with a story and screenplay over the weekend (hey, that’s how Lucas wrote THE PHANTOM MENACE…). Problem is, besides for their stockpile of alcohol, they’ve got little to inspire them.
And up until this point, what the Duplass Brothers have on their hands is just a typical, run-of-the-mill indie comedy. That is, until Michelle has a vivid dream the first night in the cabin where a man with a bag over his head stalks her. Matt thinks ol’ Baghead is an excellent character for a thriller and starts to hammer out a script, while Michelle tries to put the moves on him without Chad or Catherine finding out. Getting lost in the creative process, the group begins to question their reality. Was Michelle just dreaming? Or is Baghead out in the woods, waiting for the right moment to strike?
The undeniable charm of the film lies within its actors’ ability to effortlessly work inside of the heavily improvised script. The comedic dialogue that passes between the four friends comes off naturally, in a way that makes you believe both the characters and actors have a true sense of familiarity, and enables them to mold their sensibility to work within a thriller-esque second half. Guts or gore never rear their head in the film; its real moments of suspense that drive home the final stretch and in this day and age, even straight genre films have a hard time of conveying that.
To say my first experience in mumblecore was good would be an understatement. Truth be told, BAGHEAD has sleeper hit written all over it. It showcases the great lengths to which people will go to make it in the film biz and has a lot of genuine heart, something which many modern indie films are sorely missing.
Ghostface is back on the big screen this weekend… well, sort of… with the release of Scary Movie, which marks the Wayans brothers’ return to the horror spoof franchise for the first time since Scary Movie 2 back in the day. It’s likely to be the talk of the horror community for the weekend, but don’t overlook the other six genre movies that were freshly unleashed today.
Here’s all the new horror that released on Friday, June 5, 2026.
The horror spoof franchise is back with Scary Movie now playing in theaters!
Marlon Wayans (“Shorty”), Shawn Wayans (“Ray”), Anna Faris (“Cindy”), and Regina Hall (“Brenda”) reunite for the new Scary Movie, with the cast also including Dave Sheridan, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, Chris Elliott, Jon Abrahams, Damon Wayans Jr., Gregg Wayans, Kim Wayans, Benny Zielke, Cameron Scott Roberts, Heidi Gardner, Olivia Rose Keegan, Ruby Snowber, Savannah Lee Nassif, Sydney Park, and Felissa Rose.
Twenty-six years after outrunning a suspiciously familiar masked killer (“Ghostface”), the Core Four are back in the killer’s crosshairs and no horror movie IP is safe…
Scary Movie will slash through reboots, remakes, requels, prequels, sequels, spin-offs, elevated horror, origin stories, anything with the word legacy in it, and every “final chapter” that absolutely isn’t. A whole lot has changed in the horror genre since the Wayans Brothers were in charge of the franchise; their involvement ended with Scary Movie 2 back in 2001!
Michael Tiddes (A Haunted House) directs Scary Movie 6 from a script written by Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, original Scary Movie director Keenen Ivory Wayans, Craig Wayans (Scary Movie 2), and Rick Alvarez (A Haunted House).
From IFC, shark attack movie Chum is now available on Digital.
Alice Eve (Haunting of Queen Mary) stars in shark attack movie alongside Eric Michael Cole, Jim Klock, Elle Haymond, Lisa Yaro, Johnny Gaffney, and Sarah Siadat.
This one sounds very similar to last year’s Dangerous Animals…
Here’s the plot: “A newlywed couple joins friends on a Mediterranean yacht excursion, only to find themselves caught between a predatory shark and a psychopathic killer in their midst-transforming a sun-drenched escape into a fight for survival.”
Jonathan Zuck directs Chum, from a script by Jonathan Zuck and Joe Leone.
Samara Weaving (Ready or Not 2: Here I Come) and Kyle Gallner (Strange Darling) come together in Carolina Caroline, a sexy crime thriller now playing in theaters.
It’s not a horror movie, mind you, but it’s worth a mention here all the same.
Kyra Sedgwick (Family Movie) and Jon Gries also star in the romantic crime thriller.
Director Adam Carter Rehmeier’s film stars Samara Weaving as Caroline Daniels, whose desire to leave her small Texas town brings her into the orbit of a charismatic con man (Kyle Gallner), and together they weave a path of crime and passion across the American Southeast.
Adam Rehmeier previously directed the films Dinner in America and Snack Shack.
Tom Dean wrote the screenplay for Carolina Caroline.
Similar to Steven Spielberg’s upcoming big screen blockbuster Disclosure Day, Signal One explores humankind’s enduring question: what if we aren’t alone in the universe?
The sci-fi thriller is now available on Digital.
Isabelle Fuhrman (Orphan), Josh Hutcherson (Five Nights at Freddy’s), David Thewlis (Harry Potter), Raoul Bhaneja (Possessor), Emma Ho (“The Expanse”), and Dennis Quaid (The Substance) star in Signal One from director Jonathan Sobol (The Art of the Steal).
When tech billionaire Sam Houston (Quaid) hires the brilliant computer scientist Annika (Fuhrman), she ventures to an isolated facility run by the brilliant, nihilistic creator of LITTLEMOUTH, a machine which can communicate with alien intelligence.
Annika soon learns some humanity-altering facts: that we are not alone in the universe, that alien intelligences are communicating around us at every moment, and that we are likely too primitive to even remotely understand what they are trying to tell us.
When the goal of the endeavor shifts from listening to talking back, the project rapidly devolves into chaos. With contact comes consequences, and soon Annika and the team must work to ensure the very survival of our species.
A schoolyard dare becomes an urban legend in the creepypasta-inspired horror anthology The Summoning. The indie film is now available on Digital from Brainstorm Media.
“A babysitting gig becomes a nightmare of urban legend when three teens summon Baby Blue. Survival depends on uncovering the past to escape a mother’s wrath from beyond the grave.”
Felipe Vargas (Rosario, Hive), Sergio Gonzalez, Brandon Piskorik, Corey Benson Powers, and Brian Sepanzyk direct the segments. Valeria San Martín, Justina Ceballos, Daniela Flombaum, Nannu Spannauss, Agustín Olcese, and Giovanni Onetti star.
The Summoning is written by Camilo Zaffora.
Happy Death Day actress Jessica Rothe stars as a mom struggling to keep her grip on her sanity and memory in the mind-bending Affection, now available on Digital at home.
In Affection, “Afflicted by a mysterious condition that resets her memory, Ellie becomes trapped in a cyclical nightmare with a man who claims to be her husband. She soon must uncover the horrifying truth of her existence—before she forgets it all again.“
Joseph Cross (“Big Little Lies”) and Julianna Layne (“Chicago P.D.”) also star in the sci-fi horror thriller. Affection marks the feature debut by writer/director BT Meza.
Daniel Kurland wrote in his review out of the film’s premiere, “Affection is steeped in existential questions and fears that plague modern society, while it embraces the ethos of the ’80s through bold body horror. Add to that Rothe’s revelatory performance, and Affection is a hidden gem that will connect with your mind, body, and soul.”
Lucile Hadžihalilović’s latest dark fairy tale, The Ice Tower, loosely reimagines Hans Christian Andersen’s fable “The Snow Queen,” and it’s now streaming on Shudder.
In the ’70s set film, “Jeanne, a 15-year-old orphan, witnesses the shoot of a film adaptation of the fairy tale The Snow Queen, and she becomes fascinated by its star Cristina (Marion Cotillard), an actress who is just as mysterious and alluring as the Queen she is playing.“
Clara Pacini stars as Jeanne. August Diehl and Marine Gesbert also star in The Ice Tower, and look for a cameo from director Gaspar Noé (Climax, Irréversible).
“For me, The Ice Tower solidified Lucile Hadžihalilović’s place amongst the most fascinating creators of fairy tales today,” said distributor Yellow Veil Pictures co-founder Joe Yanick.
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