Movies
Macabre (Bloody Disgusting Selects)
“It may not win any awards or anything, but it’s entertaining and coherent, and I think we should encourage our Eastern brothers to try different things more often.”
A couple years ago I caught a short named Dara, which I enjoyed quite a bit, so I was curious to see how the feature version, Macabre, played out. The story has been changed some in order to accommodate a 90 minute narrative, but unlike certain other films of its type, I never got the impression that I was watching a padded version of a story intended to be told in 20 minutes… at least until its final reel. Slight spoilers follow.
While I liked the film overall, it began to really annoy me how no one in the movie would just die when they were brutally attacked. Almost every single fight in the movie (there are four villains and six good guys) is interrupted by someone we thought was dead (or at least incapacitated in some way) running into the room and helping the person on their side. Some of the villains even return 2-3 times. When this sort of storytelling device is employed, I began to lose whatever fear I have for the characters, as they start to feel inhuman. It’s OK to have the one time for a villain – it’s a time honored tradition in horror movies. But by the 3rd time our main villain starts to show signs of life again after being dispatched by a hero that himself just seemingly came back from the dead, it gets silly and annoying. Not to mention repetitive, and knowing that it started life as a short made me wonder if they didn’t have enough and decided to give every character an extra life in order to pad things out a bit.
That said, it’s still an entertaining entry in the never-ending sub-genre of folks who are on a road trip and end up all getting killed at the hands of a creepy family in the middle of nowhere. The fact that it’s an Asian (specifically Indonesia) film helps; I’m so used to seeing these folks deal with ghosts and such, it’s a breath of fresh air to have them tackle a more grounded enemy (of course, again, there is that immortal nonsense). It’s essentially a combination of Inside and Frontiere(s), but I’ve seen plenty of our movies get ripped off by other countries, and I’ve seen plenty of American movies that are ripoffs of foreign films, but I think this is the first foreign “homage” of a different country’s film(s). It’s nice.
I also enjoyed the mild dark humor, something almost NEVER seen in an Asian horror film (y’all too serious!). They get a lot of mileage out of one guy’s decapitated head sliding around the floor, and there’s a great sight gag of our heroes, chained up in a room, trying to avoid being covered in blood that is pooling toward the drain (the killer in the next room is tidying up after a kill). And there are a few cops who show up halfway through (this would be one of the few instances where I felt they were padding it a bit prior to the ending) that are oblivious to what is going on, which of course is always a delight to the audience who knows better.
As with some other Asian films such as Bloody Reunion, it’s not so much that it’s a unique story or anything, but the fact that it’s not yet another ghost/supernatural yarn about a haunted device or a vengeful spirit who is seeking a proper burial makes it SEEM much more original than it is, and it’s always interesting to see how other countries tackle well-worn material. It may not win any awards or anything, but it’s entertaining and coherent, and I think we should encourage our Eastern brothers to try different things more often.
Read BC’s longer (and slightly more spoiler-y) review at Horror Movie A Day!
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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