Movies
Stump the Band (V)
“I wanted to be surprised, I wanted to be shocked, I wanted to be entertained, but when all was said and done, I was—like the band—just plain stumped!”
Backroads Americana has surly taken more than its share of hits since DELIVERANCE made move-going audiences squeal like pigs over the fear of being felled-upon by redneck lunatics. This time around corporate retreats (See SEVERANCE) and teens in peril (See WRONG TURN) pass the torch to a “Rock Chick Band” that the writer and director never even bother to provide a name for.
The no-name-band of 4 sexy vixens, a lesbian roadie, an overprotective boyfriend and their lecherous manager are touring the northern US when a stop for directions leads them off the beaten path. The proverbial broken-down car and a skinny dip later and the unlucky seven land right in the arms of a group of whacked out country boys with a very literal foot fetish.
The fact that the filmmakers behind STUMP THE BAND couldn’t bother to name the band in the film shows a true lack of attention to detail in the production. Simply put, they could have called the band “Stump”, and then the film would work on so many more levels! Like the name of the band would be in the title and the more obvious joke would be that the fate that befalls the girls (having their feet cut off…get it…stumps!) would have been funnier. As it stands right now the film is neither funny nor frightening.
Given my affinity for a long-range of bad horror films involving rock bands (ROCK N’ ROLL NIGHTMARE and BLACK ROSES) I was really expecting to enjoy this film. In addition, ever since MISERY took a pretty sledgehammer to Paul Sheldon’s ankles, I’ve had a pretty weak spot for podiatric peril. I mean, SAW showed virtually nothing and I was damn near weeping like a kindergartner with a fallen ice cream cone when the guy from THE PRINCESS BRIDE started hacking off his freaking foot. So, it seems like a killer whose signature move is chopping off sexy girls feet was gonna send me through the roof. But, I didn’t even cringe once. I was too absorbed by the grade-school acting and irritating antics of the characters. It’s like horror movie 101—make the principal cast so annoying that you’re actively rooting for their deaths. I guess in that regard the film succeeds. In all other, including watchability it fails miserably.
Is it the backwoods drama that’s just getting overplayed, or is it the expectation that I was gonna see something fun—a kind of throwback to the ridiculous plot devices and situation that occurred all throughout the 1980’s—that’s really getting me down? I just can’t put a finger on it. In reality the acting is no worse than a dozen or more other no-budget flicks I see every month. I guess the dual promise of severed limbs and rock band road trip antics failed to deliver on my expectations. Perhaps I should shoulder a bit of the blame myself. I can’t express enough—once again—how much measured expectations must come into play when checking out direct-to-video flicks like this one. I wanted to be surprised, I wanted to be shocked, I wanted to be entertained, but when all was said and done, I was—like the band—just plain stumped!
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!
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