Movies
The Butterfly Effect: Revelation (V)
“It might not be the most compelling film to come along in years—but hey…the first BUTTERFLY EFFECT is hardly a classic by any stretch of the imagination. Still, REVELATONS—like that original—is a fairly entertaining way to kill 90-minutes of your life.”
It’s an inauspicious beginning when I sat down to view the first film in the latest incarnation of the After Dark Horrorfest. You see, 2 years ago, I named BUTTERFLY EFFECT 2 one of the top 5 worst films of the year. So, the prospects for a third film in the franchise were dire to begin with.
Call it a case of measured expectations but to be honest BUTTERFLY EFFECT: REVELATIONS isn’t that bad a flick. Of course it scores major points for casting perennial Horrorfest actress Rachel Miner in a principal role. Miner is now a three-time Horrorfest alumni, previously appearing in 2007’s TOOTH & NAIL and 2006’s PENNY DREADFUL. But, if Miner is the veteran, then everyone else in comparison are fresh off the bus.
Written by first time scribe Holly Brix and Directed by Seth Grossman (whose resume is also pretty thin) the film stars Chris Carmack (The OC) as Sam Reed and Miner as his sister. Sam is a jumper (not to be confused with that terrible Hayden Christensen film). Like the central characters in all of the BUTTERFLY EFFECT films, Sam can transport himself back in time. He uses this gift to help the police solve murders—a penance he pays because 10-years earlier he was unable to stop the murder of his girlfriend. But one day, Sam is visited by his ex-girlfriend’s sister and he discovers that the wrong man may be sitting on death row. Unable to stop his feelings of guilt Sam jumps back to save her, but he fails, and inadvertently creates a chain reaction that brings about the birth of a serial killer. Now Sam must continue to jump back and forth through time as he tries to stop the killings. But every leap further complicates matters, and the police—who believe the actual murder is Sam—are closing in.
Like all of the BUTTERFLY EFFECT films, this one is also saddled with a plot that makes very little sense. The effect of movement through time seems to have only one constant rule; if you change the past, the future you return to is also changed. However, the film cheats this rule repeatedly by assuming certain things never change. Or, they only change when they are convenient to the storyline. Of course in a time travel film the suspension of disbelief is so strained that writers and directors can simply cover up plot holes with a phrase as motherly as “It happens that way because I said so”.
BUTTERFLY EFFECT: REVELATIONS might not be a necessary film. It certainly appears that someone loves the franchise enough to continue it on after the utter disaster of Part 2. And come on…compared to that film, this production is a 180 degree turnaround. It might not be the most compelling film to come along in years—but hey…the first BUTTERFLY EFFECT is hardly a classic by any stretch of the imagination. Still, REVELATONS—like that original—is a fairly entertaining way to kill 90-minutes of your life.
This week kicked off with the release of hippo horror movie Hungry at home, and four more horror movies have arrived for at-home viewing as we head into the final weekend of June.
Here are the new horror movies that released on Friday, June 26, 2026!
The Halloween season can no longer be contained to the months of September and October, with “Summerween” becoming a thing in recent years. Essentially, it allows for Halloween to bleed into the warmer Summer months, and the first ever Summerween movie has arrived.
The Asylum released Summerween onto Digital outlets today.
In the film from writer/director Ryan Ebert, “On Summerween, a former circus clown escapes a mental institution to return to his abandoned mansion and hunt the teens partying there.”
Cole Chapleski, Chase Breithoff, Logan Roe, Sophia Sabol, and Clint Morrison star.
Director Ryan Ebert is the man behind a string of recent indie horrors we’ve covered, including Shark Side of the Moon, The Jolly Monkey, Jurassic Reborn, and Predator: Wastelands.
A witchy coming-of-age story from Dark Sky Films, Camp is now playing in select theaters.
Check your local listings to find a theater near you.
Camp is from writer-director Avalon Fast (Honeycomb, The Serpent’s Skin).
“Emily is the root cause of two devastating tragedies very early in her life, and she feels the weight of these accidents as though cursed. At her father’s suggestion, she takes a position at a summer camp for troubled youth to ease her guilt. When Emily arrives, she is welcomed by the other counselors, who accept her as she is and surround her with peace and forgiveness.
“As Emily begins to believe in a new kind of life, she starts to hear a voice whispering from deep in the woods — one that urges her to go home, and one that may be impossible to ignore.”
The film stars Zola Grimmer in her screen debut alongside Alice Wordsworth, Cherry Moore, Lea Rose Sebastianis (Castration Movie Part 1 & 2, In A Violent Nature), Ella Reece, Austyn Van de Kamp (This Too Shall Pass), Sophie Bawks-Smith (Honeycomb), Izza Jarvis, and Aiden Laudersmith.
Producers Tyler Perry and Jason Blum have joined forces for Peacock Original Strung.
The film is now streaming only on Peacock.
“A talented violinist takes a prestigious job as a music tutor for the gifted daughter of an influential and enigmatic family. As she becomes entangled in their opulent world, unsettling secrets begin to surface, forcing her to question her safety, her dreams, and even her sanity.”
Malcolm D. Lee (Scary Movie 5, Space Jam: A New Legacy) directs from a script written by Alan B. McElroy (Wrong Turn, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers).
Chloe Bailey (“Swarm“), Lynn Whitfield (Jaws: The Revenge), Lucien Laviscount (“Scream Queens”), Anna Diop (Us), Coco Jones (Vampires vs. the Bronx), Langley Kirkwood (“Banshee”), and Romy Woods star in Peacock’s Strung.
Produced by Diablo Cody, director Meredith Alloway’s Forbidden Fruits brought a new coven of witches to the big screen earlier this year, and it’s now streaming on Shudder.
Lola Tung (“The Summer I Turned Pretty”), Victoria Pedretti (“The Haunting of Hill House”), Alexandra Shipp (Tragedy Girls), Gabrielle Union (Breaking In), and Emma Chamberlain star in Forbidden Fruits, released by IFC and Shudder.
Free Eden employee Apple secretly runs a witchy femme cult in the basement of the mall store after hours. But when new hire Pumpkin challenges the group’s ‘girl boss’ ways, the women are forced to face their own poisons or succumb to a bloody fate.
“Forbidden Fruits grabbed me by the neck the very first time I read it,” Diablo Cody said. “It’s one of the craziest, most creative, beautifully bonkers projects I’ve ever worked on.”
Meagan Navarro writes in her review for Bloody Disgusting, “Forbidden Fruits may not necessarily forge new terrain in the teen satire space, but Alloway brings so much style and energy to her well-cast single-location stage play adaptation for the Gen Z crowd.”
The film is an adaptation of playwright Lily Houghton’s stage play Of the Women Came the Beginning of Sin and Through Her We All Die. Alloway and Houghton co-adapted.
This week’s new release roundups are presented by HUNGRY.
All aboard the swamp tour from hell – this hippo isn’t playing games…
HUNGRY is now available on Digital. Watch it now!
You must be logged in to post a comment.