Movies
Dead of Night (V)
“Like the three-legged puppy in a litter of show dogs, DEAD OF NIGHT is an unfortunate smear on Matheson’s otherwise brilliant resume, best forgotten completely, or quietly smothered out in the barn after chores are done.”
If you could somehow take the pedigree of made-for-TV horror anthologies and depict it in a “family tree” format, you’d see Richard Matheson’s name repeatedly popping up in the lineage like some sort of horny bulldog that keeps getting studded out to his cousins. After writing episodes of THE TWILIGHT ZONE, NIGHT GALLERY, and THE NIGHT STALKER in the late 60s/early 70s, Matheson cranked out a couple of stand-alone horror anthologies for the networks: TRILOGY OF TERROR for ABC in 1975, and DEAD OF NIGHT for NBC in 1977, both directed by Dan Curtis.
Everybody’s seen TRILOGY OF TERROR even if they don’t remember seeing it. It’s the one with Karen Black getting chased by a screaming African Zuni doll brandishing a tiny knife. And even if you don’t remember seeing the 1975 version, you’ve probably stumbled across the inferior 1996 remake that was broadcast on the USA Network. The fact is, if you can fondly recall a particularly good anthology segment from 1970s television, there’s a good chance it was penned by Matheson, a prolific television writer who regularly switched between NBC and ABC like they were swinging wives at a 70s key party.
DEAD OF NIGHT certainly doesn’t start out very promising, especially for genre fans, with the narrator gravely informing the audience that “dead of night is a state of mind” (whatever that means) before pulling a bait-and-switch by announcing that only ONE of tonight’s three tales is actually horror-themed. The other two will involve “mystery” and “imagination”, respectively. Cue the groans and complaints. “Mystery and imagination”? What is this, AMAZING STORIES?
Being in a “dead of night” frame of mind might make it difficult to enjoy the first tale, “Second Chance”, a whimsical, soft-focus bore starring Ed Begley, Jr., as a young man who loves to fix up old cars like Moon Roadsters and Haines Speedsters and such, and drive them through miles of repetitive day-for-night footage. One day his Jordan Playboy travels back in time as far as the television budget will allow, and just as things start to get interesting, the tale simply ends, with Begley, Jr., taking over narrating duties to explain that he’d rather just drive off into the sunset and move on to the next story.
“No Such Thing as a Vampire” steps up to the plate, with a smarmy Patrick Macnee as a wealthy home-owner whose wife has apparently been bitten by a vampire. His servants attempt to assist him by providing garlic and vampire-related advice, but Macnee is insistent that vampires do not exist, and so the servants hit the bricks in exasperation. Macnee calls on an old buddy to perform an examination, but once the buddy arrives it becomes obvious that Macnee is up to something sneaky. A talky segment that’s short on atmosphere despite its surface-level, horse-and-buggy trappings. With an ending so anti-climactic it makes the ending of the Begley segment look like the lat five minutes of SEVEN, “No Such Thing as a Vampire” is thankfully not the horror tale.
That dubious honor would be left to “Bobby”, the final story, about a grieving mother’s attempts to bring her dead son back to life with the help of occultism. Remade as one of the tales in the aforementioned TRILOGY OF TERROR II for USA Network, “Bobby” still manages to provoke a few admirable chills. With “Bobby” the anthology finally bears horror fruit, but it can’t combat the sheen of mind-numbing boredom that comes with the first two segments. Like the three-legged puppy in a litter of show dogs, DEAD OF NIGHT is an unfortunate smear on Matheson’s otherwise brilliant resume, best forgotten completely, or quietly smothered out in the barn after chores are done.
DVD Extras: Deleted scenes from “No Such Thing as a Vampire”, a few cuts from Robert Cobert’s music score, a photo gallery, and the a 1969 pilot for a possible DEAD OF NIGHT television series. Titled “A Darkness At Blaisedon”, it’s a muddled mess.
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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