Movies
‘Lumina’ Trailer – Alien Abduction Horror Movie Crash Lands in Theaters This July
Director Gino McKoy describes the upcoming Lumina as a film that explores “the psychological effect of losing someone to an alien abduction,” and it’s coming to theaters this summer.
You’ll be able to experience the abduction for yourself in theaters July 12, 2024.
“A terrifying sci-fi thrill ride, Lumina follows four friends desperately searching for their abductee friend in a DEEP UNDERGROUND MILITARY BASE. Whether they find their friend or not, what they find in the desert of the US to the sands of the Sahara, will change their lives forever.”
In his feature directing debut, Gino McKoy leads a cast that includes Eric Roberts, Rupert Lazarus, Eleanor Williams, Andrea Tivadar, Sidney Nicole Rogers, Ken Lawson, and Emily Hall.
Here’s the full plot synopsis for the upcoming Lumina…
“PATRICIA, a free-spirited Nubian hippie and amateur videographer, is staying at the house of her rich friend, ALEX, who decides to throw a party that will reunite old friends and introduce them to his new girl, TATIANA. The night seems destined for drama when he invites DELILAH, an old girlfriend who doesn’t hide her feelings for him. Despite the tension running through the celebration, the night goes off without a hitch.
“Everything changes with the sudden appearance of blinding lights from the sky. One second they’re there, the next they’re gone, and the only thing for sure is that Tatiana has disappeared.
“Months go by, during which Alex’s mental state deteriorates. He’s joins an online community of conspiracy theorists and UFO watchers and has even reached out to GEORGE, an old acquaintance whose beliefs demand a matching tin foil hat. Worried about him, Patricia calls Delilah. After a recent falling out Delilah has been reluctant to come by, but jumps at the opportunity to worm her way back into his life.
“Alex is convinced he must find Tatiana and he believes she’s in a DUMB. After an intensely vivid dream about Tatiana being held captive there. The four friends set out on a trip that will change some lives and take others. After being hunted by alien menaces, tracked by the government, and chased by lights in the sky, they quickly realize that they have gotten themselves in too deep.”
Watch the official teaser trailer below.
Gino McKoy said in a statement, “My heart has always been in the stars and space. Lumina was one of the toughest filmmaking journeys of my career and was also my debut film. I remember writing this movie in Florida at my family’s house. I was recovering from a movie in development hell. It was about the deep web and Bitcoin. I was the first in Hollywood to write about this topic and consulted with the FBI about it in 2010/2011. Then Lumina came…
“During my recovery, I found solace in writing Lumina. I wanted to see the psychological effect of losing someone to an alien abduction. How would it affect the people who knew that person, what would they do? I embarked or shall I say I went down the rabbit hole of conspiracies and alien abductions but I came out of it much more informed. Normally a topic like this is met with ridicule and laughter and, in some instances, passive-aggressive behavior toward people who claim to have experienced this phenomenon.
“We shot during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic from October 2020 to January 2021 in Morocco. Before shooting, our fellow producer almost died in a plane crash in the Colorado mountains, while he was on his way to visit us in Los Angeles. The problems snowballed, from an unscrupulous service producer in Morocco to losing my entire cast and having to recast in one week, to my DP being locked in the UK and unable to travel because of the second wave of COVID, to myself almost dying of food poisoning in Marrakech during pre-production. Lumina was a movie within a movie or the equivalent of shooting 10 Hollywood films.
“However, with all that said, abductions are real and millions experience this every year throughout the world. The stigma surrounding this has kept many from revealing the truth, but I spoke to the few who would talk. It was compelling to hear US Marines and other people in various sectors of society share their truth.
“Vindication for those ridiculed about their alien abduction stories happened in 2024 with the US congressional hearings of three former military officials under oath. Lumina is about the journey of a group of friends trying to find the truth and true storytelling at its core. If you are not emotionally attached to the characters in a movie, then it’s not worth watching or telling that story. Movies are emotions and through those emotions, we hope to find the truth and also enjoy living in that moment in time.
“Some say it’s Hollywood but is it Hollywood or art imitating real life and real abductions.”
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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