Movies
Evidence
There’s a good idea or two at play in Evidence but the level of imagination McCoy and Haskin hopes their audience will have in order to lose themselves in some very unconvincing and poorly orchestrated high-stakes sequences ceased to exist around the time people stopped buying into McCarthyism. If anything, Evidence makes you appreciate the “less is more” approach of found-footage brethren The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity better; at least they don’t have end credits that would throw Gaspar Noe into an epileptic fit.
Some spoilers below
One of the biggest pet peeves I have with low-budget films of any genre is when the creative team doesn’t understand how to work within their budget. I’m not one to stifle creativity, but sometimes it behooves a crew to know when to scale back on elaborate and expansive ideas and scenes. It’s true that a lack of funds can cause ingenuity that might shape the genre and define the ability of a filmmaker but for every Evil Dead, there’s a dozen films like Evidence that attempt to create a high concept idea (in this case, a twist that, in all honesty, is actually kind of neat) on a dime that comes off as cheap and silly instead of inventive.
Granted, the found-footage genre is known for its shoestring budgets and in the beginning, director Howie Askins embraces that; sadly, this is only while he’s doing fairly unremarkable things. Screenwriter Ryan McCoy stars as Ryan, a self-absorbed film student hell bent on shooting a documentary about his friend Brett (Brett Rosenberg) on their first camping trip. Dragging along a few female friends (Abigail Richie and Ashley Bracken), the group ventures out of L.A. and into the mountains where strange noises and shaking bushes are at every turn. Ryan is blamed for the odd occurrences at first – staging the outing for the sake of his artistry – but an unidentifiable creature in the distance and a run-in with a weapon-toting mountain man is enough to put the group into a state of paranoia as they start to strongly contemplate getting the hell out of Dodge.
The kids are of the generic variety, being comprised of a pompous director, a jock, and two girls who could practically be the same character if it were not for one of them being ever so slightly more outward about their sexuality. McCoy plays his character with the proper amount of narcissism and Rosenberg provides the level-headed reasoning and bravado, but the actresses are given almost nothing to work with and give bland performances in return. It’s a real shame, because the male leads exit the film halfway through and we’re left with two hollow characters that do nothing but scream for forty-five minutes.
The reveal, which involves military involvement and creatures, would be nifty enough to warrant a viewing if it weren’t for director Howie Askins’ decision to show way too much. Schlocky Roger Corman flicks could get away with men in deformed gorilla masks and furry costumes, but that was then and Evidence is happening in the here and now when we should know better. The military conspiracy that comes into play midway through the film is welcome after a generic – but fairly well orchestrated – setup but as the scale becomes larger and the twists and turns become more elaborate, the cheapness becomes as distracting as the ill-used costumes. Locations appear a bit too familiar, costumes (And presumably actors) are used over and over again to make it look like there are more people in the scene than there really are and black trash bags double as hazmat tarp.
There’s a good idea or two at play in Evidence but the level of imagination McCoy and Haskin hopes their audience will have in order to lose themselves in some very unconvincing and poorly orchestrated high-stakes sequences ceased to exist around the time people stopped buying into McCarthyism. If anything, Evidence makes you appreciate the “less is more” approach of found-footage brethren The Blair Witch Project and Paranormal Activity better; at least they don’t have end credits that would throw Gaspar Noe into an epileptic fit.
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.
You must be logged in to post a comment.