This week is a special one for horror fans, as the first and only Friday the 13th of the year caps off the work week this Friday, May 13th. The horror genre always rises to the occasion when Friday the 13th is near, and this year is no exception. A whopping eight brand new horror movies will be released on Friday the 13th alone, including new Stephen King horror!

The week kicks off with today’s (May 10, 2022) releases of indie horror films Shepherd and Dark Night of the Scarecrow 2, but we’re here to spotlight this Friday’s massive new slate.

Here’s all the new horror releasing on Friday the 13th!

First up we have the gory and controversial new zombie movie The Sadness, which is actually going to be available exclusively on Shudder beginning this Thursday, May 12th.

Rob Jabbaz’s feature debut, The Sadness centers on “a young couple, played by Regina Lei and Berant Zhu, trying to reunite amid a city ravaged by a plague that turns its victims into deranged, bloodthirsty sadists.” Tzu Chiang Wang (It’s Drizzling) and In Ru Chen also star.

Meagan wrote in her 4-star review, “Jabbaz keeps a death grip on the pulse of the current climate, delivering a rage-filled manifesto that aims to tick off every cinematic taboo possible and tests your gag reflex in the process. It’s transgressive horror of the highest, most aggressive order.”

Moving into Friday the 13th, Christina Ricci returns to the horror genre in Monstrous, which is headed to theaters and On Demand on May 13, 2022 via Screen Media.

Ricci (The Addams Family) toplines the horror movie Monstrous, which marks the return of The Lost, All Cheerleaders Die and I Know Who Killed Me director Chris Sivertson.

In the film, “Laura (Christina Ricci), traumatized by an abusive relationship, finally runs away from her former husband with her seven-year-old son Cody. But in their new, idyllic and remote sanctuary, they find they have another, bigger and more terrifying monster to deal with…one that will test both their mental health issues to the limit.”

Ryan Kiera Armstrong as Charlie in Firestarter, directed by Keith Thomas.

Coming to theaters as well as the Peacock streaming service this Friday, the latest Stephen King re-adaptation is Firestarter, which is directed by Keith Thomas (The Vigil).

In Firestarter, “A young girl develops pyrokinetic abilities and is abducted by a secret government agency that wants to harness her powerful gift as a weapon.”

Oh and by the way, the Firestarter score is composed by the legendary John Carpenter (Halloween, Christine, The Fog) and his fellow Halloween franchise composers Cody Carpenter and Daniel Davies. This is especially cool considering Carpenter was originally going to direct the 1980s version of Firestarter, but ultimately departed the project!

Ryan Kiera Armstrong (IT Chapter Two, “American Horror Story”) is playing Charlie in the new Stephen King remake, with Zac Efron co-starring as Charlie’s father.

IFC Midnight’s ‘The Innocents’ Trailer Shows Off Darker Side of Superpowers

Writer/Director Eskil Vogt‘s coming-of-age horror drama The Innocents showcases the darker side of superpowers and youth in theaters and on VOD this Friday, May 13th.

The plot for the IFC Midnight horror movie “follows four children who become friends during the summer holidays. Out of sight of the adults, they discover they have hidden powers. While exploring their newfound abilities in the nearby forests and playgrounds, their innocent play takes a dark turn and strange things begin to happen.”

The Innocents marks the second feature from Vogt, who is also the writing partner of Joachim Trier, both of whom are now Academy Award-nominated for The Worst Person in the World and previously collaborated on supernatural thriller Thelma. The film stars Rakel Fløttum, Alva Ramstad, Ismail Ashraf, Mina Asheim and Ellen Dorrit Petersen.

It’s not exactly a horror film per se but it’s worth mentioning that The Northman, the violent new Viking epic from Robert Eggers (The Witch), is coming home to On Demand this Friday.

Described as “an action-filled epic that follows a young Viking prince on his quest to avenge his father’s murder,” The Northman came exclusively to theaters on April 22, 2022.

Meagan wrote in her review for BD, “The purposeful but brutal violence meted out at every step of Amleth’s mission won’t be for the weak-stomached. All of it creates a detailed and rich tapestry of Viking life.” Meagan adds, “The beating heart of The Northman is a familiar tale of revenge, but in Eggers’ hands, it’s at least deeply engrossing.”

From acclaimed director Robert Eggers comes The Northman starring Alexander Skarsgard, Anya Taylor-Joy, Nicole Kidman, Claes Bang, Ethan Hawke, Willem Dafoe, and Björk. The film is directed by Robert Eggers, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Icelandic poet and novelist Sjón. Producers are Lars Knudsen, Mark Huffam and New Regency.

This Friday offers a wide variety of different horrors, and we’re even getting a new shark attack horror movie as we head into the weekend. Shark Bait comes home on May 13th.

In the film directed by James Nunn (Tower Block), “A group of spring breakers are enjoying the trip of a lifetime on the sandy beaches of Mexico. As the sun rises after a night of partying, they steal a couple of jet skis and race out to sea. But bravado and bad decisions lead to a terrifying accident. Stranded miles from shore, the true horror begins when the group realizes they’ve drifted into shark-infested waters. With no way back and one friend badly bleeding, the group must quickly figure out how to survive the predator lurking in the waters below.”

Holly Earl, Jack Trueman, Catherine Amy Hannay, Malachi Pullar-Latchman, and Thomas Michael Flynn star in Shark Bait, which was formerly titled Jetski.

From Girls and Corpses/Crappy World Films, winner of seven international film festivals, and distributed by 123 Go Films, Night Caller starts streaming on various VOD channels Friday.

Written and directed by Chad Ferrin (The Deep Ones, Exorcism At 60,000 Feet), the film stars several notable names including Steve Railsback, Bai Ling, Lew Temple, Susan Priver, Robert Miano, Silvia Spross, Kelli Maroney, James MacPherson, and Robert Rhine.

In Night Caller, “A telephone psychic is pulled into a complex web of mystery when she receives a call from a serial killer.” You can watch the official trailer below.

The kids aren’t okay in Sebastian Godwin’s domestic thriller Homebound. Brainstorm Media is releasing the film in select theaters and On Demand this Friday, May 13th.

Homebound follows “Holly (Aisling Loftus), a young woman who travels with her new husband (Tom Goodman-Hill) to meet his estranged family, only to find his ex-wife is missing and the children behaving in strange ways.”

Megan reviewed the film out of Fantastic Fest, writing that “Homebound is a slight but tension-filled domestic thriller.”

Hattie Gotobed, Raffiella Chapman, and Lukas Rolfe also star.

And finally, they’re not movies but we want to quick mention two other big time horror happenings for this week. First up, Evil Dead: The Game will finally be released on Friday, May 13th, allowing you to spend the entire Friday the 13th weekend blasting away Deadites with Ash Williams and his fellow survivors from the various films and television series.

Additionally, the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards return to Shudder this Sunday night.

A little something for everyone this week. Watch, play, and enjoy!