Movies
Scream
“SCREAM just does it for me. I don’t know if it’s the memorable characters, the cheese-ball dialogue, or the fact that the voice on the phone is mildly disturbing – however you play it, even the most skeptical horror fans have to agree that SCREAM revived the need for blood and guts…”
“Do you like scary movies?” To a horror movie fanatic, you might as well have said, “You had me at hello.”
SCREAM just does it for me. I don’t know if it’s the memorable characters, the cheese-ball dialogue, or the fact that the voice on the phone is mildly disturbing – however you play it, even the most skeptical horror fans have to agree that SCREAM revived the need for blood and guts. I can even forgive the fact that it paved the way for some less-than-desirable teeny bopper gore fests. (Ahem, I Know What You Did Last Summer…)
Director Wes Craven takes screenwriter Kevin Williamson’s rules-infused slasher flick to a whole new level- starting with the intense opening. Going into the movie for the first time, the last thing you expect is for hipster Drew Barrymore’s character to get sliced and diced in the opening sequence. But after playing phone tag with a serial killer and being lured into his deadly game, she ends up on the losing end- hanging from a tree, her insides on the outside.
Wait, didn’t that scene just play into every stereotype in the book? A girl, home alone, talks to a stranger, puts herself in harm’s way, and dies as a result? Absolutely- but that’s the beauty of it. That’s what SCREAM is all about: the beauty of clunky horror stereotypes and their end results.
The story moves on to follow our heroine, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), in the aftermath of her mother’s death one year prior. Killer set up for a drama- but add in a homicidal maniac with a thirst for her blood, and by golly, you got yourself a horror movie.
From start to finish, the film twists and turns in such a way that, despite the vivid self-proclaimed formula, keeps you guessing. The ending is also genuinely satisfying and does little to stray away from the film’s overall theme. You can even say ‘I told you so’ when the killer (or, this case, killers) makes his confession. Once you’ve seen it, go back and watch it for a second time. You’ll be amazed at the in-your-face clues strewn into every scene.
What sets SCREAM apart from other like-films is that it openly makes fun of itself. There’s an underlying cynicism that fans of the genre, even the most casual, will immediately catch. Unlike other ‘scary movies,’ the characters in SCREAM are well aware that those films exist. They openly talk about them. Randy (Jamie Kennedy) even sets forth the rules of surviving a horror movie- all of which play out at one point or another during the film’s 111 minutes.
Even the look and feel of the film was incredible. Craven does a stellar job at bringing to life a small town brought to its knees by an unidentified killer. Using a combination of fast-paced action, dramatic close-ups, and suspenseful jingles, he brings forth the genius we’ve seen in his earlier work to mark his territory as one of the reigning ‘kings of horror.’
Despite a few things I can’t look past (Tatum (Rose McGowan) in general, Dewey’s (David Arquette) blatant stupidity, the death of Principal Himbry (Henry Winkler), and, finally, “My mom and dad are gonna be so mad at me!”), I can’t say anything negative about the film. It did what it set out to do- kill some teenagers, stir up some controversy, and set the wave for 90’s horror.
Too bad others didn’t follow the same set of rules.
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.
You must be logged in to post a comment.