Movies
Priest 3D
“‘Priest,’ the second directorial effort from ‘Legion‘ helmer Scott Stewart, is yet another apocalyptic action/horror film that’s heavy on breathless spectacle and light on just about everything else that matters.”
Priest, the second directorial effort from Legion helmer Scott Stewart, is yet another apocalyptic action/horror film that’s heavy on breathless spectacle and light on just about everything else that matters. Like Legion, the setting is again a dust-covered desert wasteland, albeit this time around on a parallel Earth that’s been decimated by both nuclear war and a centuries-old battle between humans and a race of vicious animalistic vampires.
Very loosely adapted from the TokyoPop comic book of the same name created by Hyung Min-woo, the movie tells the story of a Jedi-like warrior Priest (Paul Bettany), who along with his former comrades has been relegated to the fringes of society – their prominent crucifix facial tattoos a permanent signifier of their role on the front lines of the war against the vampires. In an early scene we witness the effects of their social ostracization when a young boy is quickly ushered away from Priest by his mother, who casts wary glances back at him amid frantic whispers of “we don’t talk to Priests”.
After a brief animated prologue depicting the history of this alternate reality (hand-drawn by Samurai Jack creator Genndy Tartakovsky), we are quickly thrown into the story when we witness a teenage girl and her parents being attacked by an army of vampires at an isolated outpost. The adults slaughtered as their horrified daughter takes refuge in a cellar, we cut away just as her hiding place is discovered and the shadow of an imposing figure engulfs her cowering frame.
It turns out that the girl is Priest’s teenaged niece Lucy (Lily Collins) and her kidnapper a powerful half-vampire/half-human known as Black Hat (Karl Urban), who is leading a new crop of the animalistic bloodsuckers in a rebellion against the human race. Receiving news of her capture from a hotheaded young lawman named Hicks (Cam Gigandet) – also Lucy’s boyfriend – Priest springs into action over the protestations of his superiors, a corrupt group of steely-eyed monsignors who exercise an almost Orwellian grip over the remaining human population.
Dispatched by the monsignors to hunt him down (“dead or alive”) along with three other warrior priests is the beautiful Priestess (Maggie Q), who summarily defies the monsignors’ orders and joins up with the two men in their quest to save Lucy from becoming one of the “Familiars” – a word used for half-human/half-vampires who are kept as pale-eyed slaves by their full-blooded counterparts in the quarantined areas to which they have been relegated.
Thankfully, Stewart and Legion co-writer Peter Schink aren’t responsible for the script this time around, which was instead penned by newcomer Cory Goodman (Apollo 18). Given the former pair’s tendency toward both narrative illogic and expository dialogue spew in Legion, this is definitely a step in the right direction (“When I was a shawty” may go down as one of the most ill-advised bits of dialogue ever written for a mainstream film), though it’s not to say that the script here is necessarily good – it’s still rather prosaic and dispensable. Nevertheless, it possesses a welcome sense of forward momentum that was largely absent from Stewart’s previous effort.
Also on the positive side, Priest is yet another potent demonstration of Stewart’s considerable strengths as a visual stylist. While I could’ve done without the CG-rendered vamps (the utilization of practicals in the close-up shots would’ve gone a long way in making them feel like actual threats rather than the diaphanous video-game baddies they come across as here) and the post-converted 3-D, there are several sequences of kinetic, beautifully-composed action in the film – particularly in the third act speeding-train showdown – that are a five-star feast for the eyes. The widescreen vistas concocted by Stewart and cinematographer Don Burgess are also truly stunning, giving the proceedings a Leone-esque scope that is ultimately betrayed by the relative dullness of what actually happens.
Indeed, all the eye-popping visuals in the world can’t paper over the hollow core that lays at the heart of Priest. Though the cast is fine and does more or less what the shallow script requires of them, the character moments are rote when they should have been redemptive. There are of course the requisite romantic elements here – both between Priest and Priestess (their barely-apparent “sexual tension” hindered by his oath of celibacy) and Hicks and Lucy – but rather than elevate the film’s emotional stakes, they instead land with a resounding thud that would no doubt echo far and wide across the film’s cracked and magnificent dystopian landscape.
This week brings the next installment in the M3GAN Universe, plus a critically acclaimed queer horror movie, two new shark attack movies, and even a Lifetime Original clown thriller.
Here are the new horror movies that released July 27 – August 2, 2026!
Fresh out of theaters, queer supernatural horror film Leviticus is now available on Digital from NEON. Writer-director Adrian Chiarella makes his feature debut with Leviticus.
Joe Bird (Talk to Me) and Stacy Clausen star as star-crossed teenage boys who must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most — each other.
Mia Wasikowska (Crimson Peak) co-stars alongside Jeremy Blewitt, Ewen Leslie (The Nightingale), and Davida McKenzie (Silent Night).
“Leviticus is a strong debut with an incisive voice at the helm,” Meagan Navarro wrote in her review out of Sundance. “We care deeply about Naim and Ryan’s survival, making Leviticus a tense, atmospheric, and claustrophobic vision of young love in a hateful world.”
Just in time for the annual Shark Week festivities, brand new shark attack horror movie The Devil’s Mouth debuted globally on Amazon Prime Video this past Wednesday.
Kathryn Newton (Abigail, Lisa Frankenstein, Ready or Not 2), Lana Condor (Pretty Lethal), Nico Hiraga, Gavin Casalegno, Tommi Rose, and Tayme Thapthimthong star.
In the film, “Five friends set out on one last adventure along Thailand’s stunning coast, eager for a final thrill before life in the real world begins. They sign up for a guided swim through a remote cave system known as The Devil’s Mouth, a natural wonder that’s as breathtaking as it is unforgiving. Deep inside the labyrinth of narrow waterways, their journey takes a terrifying turn when they discover that a freak storm the week before flooded the caves with sea life.
“The creatures died in the fresh water, but something survived… and it’s hunting them now— fast, silent, and deadly. Every corridor they round is overflowing with anxiety, and every wrong turn becomes a deadly encounter. As panic spreads and their sense of direction slips away, the group begins to fracture.
“Trust erodes, fear takes over, and survival becomes a savage game. In the suffocating darkness, every choice could be their last as they learn that to make it out alive, sacrifices must be made.”
Jeff Wadlow (Truth or Dare, Imaginary) directs the shark attack movie from a script he revised from Aja Gabel (“Sunny”) and Myung Joh Wesner (“Star Wars: Skeleton Crew”).
And speaking of new shark attack movies, Aura Entertainment brought director Jesse V. Johnson’s Above & Below to select theaters beginning Wednesday. Check local listings.
30 feet below. 10 minutes of oxygen. 1 apex predator.
In shark attack horror movie Above & Below, “Friends embark on a dream vacation of parties and diving, but their trip takes a terrifying turn when criminals attack them at sea.”
This one looks like every other shark movie that’s been released in the last several years, but it’s armed with something that puts it a fin above the competition. Oscar nominated actor Antonio Banderas stars in Above & Below, with the cast also including Christina Ochoa, Laura Marano, Timothy V. Murphy, Louis Mandylor, Jess Liaudin, Ryan Bertroche, Ramiro Alonso, Diego Llinás, Rodrigo Poisón, Mario Tardón, and Donncha Tynan.
Anthony Steven Giordano wrote the screenplay.
Pregnancy nightmare Son of Sara aims to be the next generation’s take on the horror classic Rosemary’s Baby, and it’s now available on Digital at home from Saban Films.
In Son of Sara, “A pregnant woman’s cravings turn sinister as her estranged boyfriend’s return coincides with a terrifying secret about the life growing inside her.”
The film stars Chloe Van Landschoot, Tymika Tafari, Garret Hnatiuk and Jane Moffat.
Canadian filmmaker Houston Bone directed Son of Sara.
There’s something seriously wrong with the newborn in dark fable Nightborn, the new horror movie from Hatching filmmaker Hanna Bergholm. It’s now streaming on Shudder.
In Nightborn, “With dreams of starting a perfect family, Saga and her British husband Jon move to the isolated house where she spent much of her childhood, deep in the Finnish forest. But as soon as their baby is born, despite the reassurance of all around her, Saga knows there’s something terribly wrong with her son. As their marriage starts to crack, Jon struggles to support his wife, but only Saga suspects the terrible truth about her newborn.”
Seidi Haarla (Compartment No. 6) and Rupert Grint (Knock at the Cabin, “Servant”) star in the Shudder horror film that’s been described as “a visceral, gripping and terrifying dark fable about motherhood and unconditional maternal love.” The movie’s cast also includes Pamela Tola, Pirkko Saisio, Rebecca Lacey and John Thomson.
Nightborn is inspired by Nordic folklore.
“Hanna Bergholm’s audacious sophomore follow up to Hatching delivers tension and shocking moments surrounding parenthood and self discovery — with a touch of humor,” said Shudder’s Emily Gotto. “We are thrilled to share Nightborn with audiences.”
Every so often, Lifetime premieres an original thriller that grabs hold of our attention and forces us to tune in. And they’ve got another one headed our way this weekend: Killer Clown.
Inspired by real stories, Killer Clown is a psychological thriller that explores trauma, memory, and gaslighting through the lens of a woman confronting the truth about her mother’s murder.
Premiering Saturday, August 1 at 8pm ET on Lifetime, Killer Clown stars Sara Paxton (The Innkeepers, The Last House on the Left, Weapons)! Watch the official trailer below.
Here’s the full plot synopsis: “Decades after witnessing her mother’s brutal murder at the hands of the Killer Clown, Elizabeth Helmer (Sara Paxton) remains haunted by the crime that shattered her childhood. When she begins investigating the long-unsolved cold case, Elizabeth becomes the target of a terrifying copycat stalker, forcing her to confront painful memories she has spent a lifetime trying to escape.
“As she searches for answers alongside her father Reed (David Cubitt) and husband Dan (Hamza Haq), Elizabeth uncovers a tangled web of family betrayal and long-buried secrets.
“As she closes in on the truth, Elizabeth must separate fact from manipulation and fight to survive before history repeats itself.”
Following Saturday night’s premiere, Killer Clown streams next day on the Lifetime app.
Killer Clown is directed by Annie Bradley and written by Katie Boland.
After multiple delays, Blumhouse Atomic Monster finally launches M3GAN Universe spinoff movie SOULM8TE directly onto Digital platforms this Saturday, August 1.
Lily Sullivan (Evil Dead Rise, Monolith) stars alongside Claudia Doumit (“The Boys”). The spinoff is described as a ’90s-style erotic thriller with a “new technological twist.”
David Rysdahl also stars in SOULM8TE.
The film follows a man (Rysdahl) who acquires an Artificially Intelligent android (Sullivan) to help him cope with the recent loss of his wife. In an attempt to create a truly sentient partner, the man inadvertently turns a harmless lovebot into a deadly soulmate.
Kate Dolan (You Are Not My Mother) directs. The filmmaker rewrote an original draft from Rafael Jordan (Salvage Marines), based on a story by James Wan, Ingrid Bisu and Jordan.
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