Movies
Make-Out with Violence (V)
“The Zombie/Drama must be a Spartan category; I can’t for one think of another film I’ve seen that took quite such a large leap of faith to enjoy. In so many ways The Deagol Brothers’ film is a horror movie, but the horror on display here is universal to teenage existence.”
“After she died again we had to take her home. She came alive in the trunk”
Brothers Patrick and Carol Darling (Eric Lehning and Cody DeVos) thought the days after high school would just be a magical time, seeing friends, having parties and chasing summer love. Carol loves Addy (Leah High) and Patrick loves Wendy Hearst (Shellie Marie Shartzer). The problem? Neither girl knows the boys intentions. But, what started out as a happy time to remember, would turn out to be a summer they would never forget. Struck by the tragic disappearance of Wendy, her friends struggle to deal with uncertainty of life and death—until one afternoon when Carol discovers Wendy’s body tied to a tree in a field—twitching. Not alive and yet not quite dead, the brothers lock Wendy’s reanimated corpse in the bathroom of their friends house while they desperately try to come to grips with the situation.
Atmospheric and lyrical, like pages from some forgotten photo album snapped to life, Make-Out with Violence is a melancholy gem eerily reminiscent of Sophia Copola’s The Virgin Suicides and David Lynch’s Twin Peaks as seen through the eyes of Wes Anderson. A “so sincere it must be real” emotional journey told through the auspice of a zombie love story, this feature-length directorial debut by The Deagol Brothers and Co-written by star Cody DeVos is a visually stunning and emotionally draining look at unrequited love.
Take a moment to consider the sheer audacity it takes to envision, pen and film a dramatic coming of age love story whose central character Carol passes his day away trying to convince the girl of his dreams to see him as more than just a friend, while his brother lovingly caresses, bathes, dresses and feeds the corpse of the girl who he never got. Now, sit back in amazement as the filmmakers not only pull off that trick, but in their own bizarre way, make you feel compassion not only for the two brothers (one of whom is clearly less well adjusted than the other) but also for the steady stream of peripheral characters who have been touched by Wendy’s passing. On top of all that, you can’t help but look sadly upon Wendy’s decomposing body writhing listlessly in the porcelain bathtub and not wish the two would just kill her and end the suffering.
The film’s soundtrack is an amazing non-stop succession of some 40+ songs—most of which are written and performed by the band Non-Commissioned Officers which includes brothers Eric Lehning and Jordan Lehning (who plays Rody in the film). The soundtrack serves to amplify the nostalgic mood of the feature. In so many ways—as I mentioned before with regards to The Virgin Suicides—Make-Out with Violence feels like a love letter—a reflective remembrance of an event that has long since passed. The synth-heavy pop songs that accompany the films soft visual flair seem to further punctuate that point. It’s as if we are watching some sad and twisted story in a secret 1980’s John Hughes universe where no one is going to get the teenage queen.
The Zombie/Drama must be a Spartan category; I can’t for one think of another film I’ve seen that took quite such a large leap of faith to enjoy. In so many ways The Deagol Brothers’ film is a horror movie, but the horror on display here is universal to teenage existence. It’s not the terror of Dawn of the Dead or the bloody anarchy of 28 Days Later. In truth, it doesn’t need a living dead girl at the center of the story to sell tickets. But, it puts her there as the perfect catalyst to illustrate the divergent paths each brother takes over the course of one summer. The summer after Senior Year. The last summer of absolute youthful freedom before adulthood begins—innocence is lost and times change. That’s what Make-Out with Violence is about, it’s the American Graffiti of Zombie love stories.
This week’s new releases offer everything from giant monsters to Spielberg aliens to ass-kicking martial artists and even an ash-eating medical student. Do we have your interest?
Here’s all the new genre movies that released on Friday, June 12, 2026!
These aren’t all HORROR movies, but we want you to be aware of them all the same…
Norwegian creature feature Kraken is now available on Digital.
The film was also unleashed in select theaters. Check your local listings.
In the monster movie Kraken, “unnatural behavior in wild salmon, followed by inexplicable deaths in Norway’s deepest fjord, points to the mythical Kraken. The ancient, multi-armed monster has awakened, ready to crush everything that moves or makes a sound.”
Pål Øie (The Tunnel) directs Samuel Goldwyn Films’ Kraken from a script by Vilde Eide, Kjersti Jelen Rasmussen, and Natasha Arthur. Sara Khorami, Mikkel Bratt Silset, Øyvind Brandtzæg, Jenny Evensen, Ingvild Holthe Bygdnes, Jon Erik Myre, Hans Morten Hansen, Steinar Klouman Hallert, and Filip Bargee Ramberg star.
An all girls trip into the desert for escapism fun instead implodes in violence in the revenge thriller Find Your Friends, now streaming only on Shudder.
In the film, “Amber and her four best friends flee Los Angeles for a girls’ trip in Joshua Tree, only to find themselves unwelcome in a desert town simmering with quiet hostility. As isolation sets in and encounters with aggressive locals grow more threatening, festering resentments within the group begin to surface.
“What begins as fun and reckless escape spirals into a violent struggle for control and survival, as past wounds and present dangers collide in a night that turns their trip into a nightmare.”
Bella Thorne (The Babysitter), Chloe Cherry (“Euphoria”), Helena Howard (I Saw the TV Glow), Sophia Ali (Uncharted), Zion Moreno (“Gossip Girl”), and Chris Bauer (“True Blood”) star in the feature debut by writer/director Izabel Pakzad.
Steven Spielberg is more sure today than he was when he made Close Encounters and ET that aliens are very real, and with Disclosure Day, he aims to make you a believer too.
Okay so it’s not a horror movie, but the sci-fi blockbuster is now playing in theaters.
The vague synopsis for Disclosure Day reads: “If you found out we weren’t alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you? This summer, the truth belongs to seven billion people. We are coming close to Disclosure Day.”
The film stars SAG winner and Oscar® nominee Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer, A Quiet Place), Emmy and Golden Globe winner Josh O’Connor (Challengers, The Crown), Oscar® winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, Kingsman franchise), Eve Hewson (Bad Sisters, The Perfect Couple) and two-time Oscar® nominee Colman Domingo (Sing Sing, Rustin).
Based on a story by Spielberg, the screenplay is by David Koepp, whose previous work with Spielberg includes the scripts for Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, War of the Worlds and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Combined, those films earned more than $3 billion worldwide. Koepp also wrote the script for Jurassic World Rebirth.
Steven Spielberg is of course no stranger to extraterrestrial encounters, directing two of the greatest alien movies of all time: Close Encounters of the Third Kind in 1977 and E.T. in 1982. It’s an arena he returned to in 2005, directing an adaptation of H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds.
Here in 2026, Steven Spielberg sees hope in the existence of aliens. He notes in the final trailer for Disclosure Day, “How will disclosure change us? I believe for the better.”
Another movie that’s not a horror movie but worth mentioning here is the violent martial arts revenge thriller The Furious, which is now playing in theaters from Lionsgate.
Xie Miao (The New Legend of Shaolin) and Joe Taslim (Mortal Kombat) star.
After his daughter is kidnapped by a criminal network and he receives no help from the corrupt police, Wang Wei sets out on a rampage to find her himself.
His only ally is Navin, a relentless journalist whose wife has mysteriously disappeared. Fueled by a furious vengeance, the unlikely duo ruthlessly fights against the kidnappers.
Kenji Tanigaki (Enter the Fat Dragon) directs from a script by Mak Tin Shu (Kung Fu Jungle), Lei Zhilong, Shum Kwan Sin (Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In), and Frank Hui.
A disturbing weight loss craze involving human ashes opens up a haunting world of hurt for a young woman in Saccharine, which is now available on Digital outlets at home.
From writer/director Natalie Erika James (Relic, Apartment 7A), the Australian supernatural body horror film follows lovelorn medical student Hana, who becomes terrorized by a sinister force after taking part in an obscure weight loss craze: eating human ashes.
Midori Francis (“Grey’s Anatomy”), Danielle Macdonald (Patti Cake$), and Madeleine Madden (“The Wheel of Time”) star in Natalie Erika James’ latest nightmare.
From directors Arturo Ambriz and Roy Ambriz, I Am Frankelda is billed as the first ever full length stop motion movie from Mexico, and it’s now streaming on Netflix.
The history-making stop-motion film is a dark fantasy set in a world of monsters.
Here’s the synopsis: “In 19th-century Mexico, Frankelda is a gifted writer whose dark tales are ignored and dismissed. Forced to suppress her voice, she refuses to give up, even as many try to silence her. But when she is thrust into her subconscious, the very monsters she created come to life.
“Guided by Herneval, a tormented prince trapped between dreams and nightmares, she must restore balance between fiction and reality before both realms collapse. Meanwhile, the sinister writer Procustes and his conspirators plot to seize control. As Frankelda and Herneval grow closer, their bond becomes both a strength and a curse.
“To rewrite their fate, she must confront a love that defies existence and reclaim her power as a storyteller—before dark forces consume her imagination and reveal horrors beyond her creation.”
The directors said in a joint statement, “As brothers, we grew up inventing worlds together, drawing, playing, imagining. Over time we understood that fictional characters were not only companions but guides. Sometimes they felt closer than the people around us. They provided us courage, wisdom, and solace. We believe fiction is not an escape from reality but a way of understanding it. A way of converting truth into palatable chunks. I Am Frankelda comes from a lifelong love of storytelling.”
Mireya Mendoza, Arturo Mercado Jr., and Luis Leonardo Suarez lead the voice cast.
Meagan Navarro writes in her review for Bloody Disgusting, “Mexico’s first stop-motion animated feature is a macabre beauty.” Meagan also notes in her review, “I Am Frankelda is a gothic fantasy feature whose boundless creativity is matched by its ambition.”
The lines of reality and delusion blur in Time of Death, now available on Digital.
Michael Kelly (“The Penguin,” Dawn of the Dead 2004) stars with Kevin Pollak (End of Days), Mena Suvari (Vampires of the Velvet Lounge), and Dennis Haysbert (Send Help).
In the horror-thriller, “When a prisoner vanishes without a trace, Detective Frank Morley (Michael Kelly) is sent to a decaying prison on the verge of shutdown. What begins as a routine investigation quickly spirals into a dangerous search for answers.”
Will Wernick (Escape Room 2017, Follow Me) directs from a script by Jason Rosen. They also produce alongside Kelly Delson, Jeff Delson, and Kyle David Crosby.
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