Movies
Dorian Gray (V)
“Even with several minor flaws, Dorian Gray fills the screen with enough booze, boobs, and blood to satisfy the desires of horror and literary fans alike. The film is a proficient tribute to Oscar Wilde’s original material while managing to escalate Gray’s depraved lifestyle and its consequences to even greater heights.”
Dorian Gray shuns overproduction and cheesed up dialogue in bringing Oscar Wilde’s Victorian gothic horror novel to life. It almost feels out of place for a period film to remain faithful to the source and play it straight (READ: It’s nothing like Robert Downey Jr. version of Sherlock Holmes or the Kate Beckinsale version of Van Helsing). Outside of several small doses of CGI, which were used to great effect for the infamous painting, Dorian Gray could be mistaken for a film made 50 years ago.
After inheriting his recently deceased uncle’s estate, young Dorian Gray (Ben Barnes) moves to London. He quickly falls under the guidance of Lord Henry Wotton (Colin Firth) who imparts his views on life to the impressionable youth. These views all boil down to one core belief that Firth repeats in various manners, “There’s no shame in pleasure.” Dorian transforms from a naïve and gentle youth to a womanizing pleasure seeker with no concern for anyone but himself. Of course, along the way he makes a pact with the devil – Dorian’s soul in exchange for eternal youth.
Firth routinely steals the scenes and is the true driving force behind the film. Several times I was laughing out loud at Firth’s witty replies and opinions on life. He’s got so many great one-liners (thanks Oscar Wilde) that you literally can’t wait for him to dispense another nugget of wisdom upon Dorian.
Barnes on the other hand, is listless, but passable in the titular role. Early on, his awestruck gullible act is a bit overplayed and, well, rather dull. As he turns into the playboy he gets better, but he never portrays with any conviction the truly tragic character the role demands. In fact, his turning from good to bad literally happens in one scene making it feel extremely rushed.
In the best scene in the movie, Dorian beds a young woman at her coming out party while the girl’s mother frantically searches for her. The mother finds Dorian half-dressed, alone in an upstairs bedroom. She questions him about her daughter’s whereabouts to which he plays coy. Dorian then seduces the mother and has another roll in the hay. After the mother leaves, Dorian lifts up the bed skirt to reveal the hiding and now traumatized daughter and quips, “Now, where were we?” A few moments later Firth admits to some party guests that he just lost “a game of double or nothing” to Dorian. Classic!
The film has plenty of small flaws to detract from an otherwise pleasant viewing experience. Particularly, some of the effects, which included some dodgy looking lightning flashes and a train that makes nary a sound, that is, until it runs over some poor soul. Also, oddly Dorian keeps objects that could clearly tie him to at least one murder casually lying around in his attic. Small things, but they do add up.
Even with several minor flaws, Dorian Gray fills the screen with enough booze, boobs, and blood to satisfy the desires of horror and literary fans alike. The film is a proficient tribute to Oscar Wilde’s original material while managing to escalate Gray’s depraved lifestyle and its consequences to even greater heights.
It’s nice to see an adapted film that sticks close (enough) to the source material and still manages to be entertaining to the end. And that is exactly what Dorian Gray accomplishes.
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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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