Movies
[BD Review] ‘Hellbenders 3D’ Highly Ambitious, Fun Horror
Burrowers director JT Petty returns to Midnight Madness with Hellbenders, a truly entertaining horror comedy that may have been a bit too ambitious. While filled with laughs, and some incredible creature effects, ultimately it’s a bit fragmented from what feels like budgetary constraints.
The first act of Hellbenders is incredibly strong as Petty introduces the viewer to the motley crew of modern exorcists. In short, this collection of men and women are supposed to sin as much as possible in order to deliver demons back to hell. The idea is that if they get possessed, they can commit suicide and drag the demons down to Hell with them. Hence, the audience is blasted with profanity as they watch an array of disturbing acts and consistent verbal abuse. Watching a bunch of ordained priests act like jerks in absolutely hilarious, but what makes this work is that the audience knows they’re “good people” at heart. Likability is extremely important it making Hellbenders an entertaining flick. Clancy Brown reunites with Petty and delivers quite a standout performance as the drunken leader. Unfortunately, Dan Fogler – who I absolutely love – was underused, and barely even had a reason to be in the film.
Once acclimated to the group, a few of them are sent off to handle a new case, one that ends in disaster. This is the pinnacle of Hellbenders as it taps into to the vein of The Evil Dead and Ghostbusters with its sound design, humor, scares, and FX work. It’s a haunting moment that sets the bar so high that the rest of the film struggles to reach the same level.
From here on out much of the second act is muddled with exposition and a subplot where the new Pope has shut down their division. The final moments, while enjoyable, felt the choking sensation of budgetary constraints. The audience is teased that the gates of Hell are to be opened, but by the time the gang arrives, all of the chaos has already erupted; it’s a bit frustrating, as the viewer deserves to see the madness occur.
Hellbenders is highly ambitious filmmaking that works just enough to make it worth a view. There are quite a few gut busting laughs, creative scares, and even more gore for the horror junkie. Unfortunately, it just runs out of steam by the finale.
This week kicked off with the release of hippo horror movie Hungry at home, and four more horror movies have arrived for at-home viewing as we head into the final weekend of June.
Here are the new horror movies that released on Friday, June 26, 2026!
The Halloween season can no longer be contained to the months of September and October, with “Summerween” becoming a thing in recent years. Essentially, it allows for Halloween to bleed into the warmer Summer months, and the first ever Summerween movie has arrived.
The Asylum released Summerween onto Digital outlets today.
In the film from writer/director Ryan Ebert, “On Summerween, a former circus clown escapes a mental institution to return to his abandoned mansion and hunt the teens partying there.”
Cole Chapleski, Chase Breithoff, Logan Roe, Sophia Sabol, and Clint Morrison star.
Director Ryan Ebert is the man behind a string of recent indie horrors we’ve covered, including Shark Side of the Moon, The Jolly Monkey, Jurassic Reborn, and Predator: Wastelands.
A witchy coming-of-age story from Dark Sky Films, Camp is now playing in select theaters.
Check your local listings to find a theater near you.
Camp is from writer-director Avalon Fast (Honeycomb, The Serpent’s Skin).
“Emily is the root cause of two devastating tragedies very early in her life, and she feels the weight of these accidents as though cursed. At her father’s suggestion, she takes a position at a summer camp for troubled youth to ease her guilt. When Emily arrives, she is welcomed by the other counselors, who accept her as she is and surround her with peace and forgiveness.
“As Emily begins to believe in a new kind of life, she starts to hear a voice whispering from deep in the woods — one that urges her to go home, and one that may be impossible to ignore.”
The film stars Zola Grimmer in her screen debut alongside Alice Wordsworth, Cherry Moore, Lea Rose Sebastianis (Castration Movie Part 1 & 2, In A Violent Nature), Ella Reece, Austyn Van de Kamp (This Too Shall Pass), Sophie Bawks-Smith (Honeycomb), Izza Jarvis, and Aiden Laudersmith.
Producers Tyler Perry and Jason Blum have joined forces for Peacock Original Strung.
The film is now streaming only on Peacock.
“A talented violinist takes a prestigious job as a music tutor for the gifted daughter of an influential and enigmatic family. As she becomes entangled in their opulent world, unsettling secrets begin to surface, forcing her to question her safety, her dreams, and even her sanity.”
Malcolm D. Lee (Scary Movie 5, Space Jam: A New Legacy) directs from a script written by Alan B. McElroy (Wrong Turn, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers).
Chloe Bailey (“Swarm“), Lynn Whitfield (Jaws: The Revenge), Lucien Laviscount (“Scream Queens”), Anna Diop (Us), Coco Jones (Vampires vs. the Bronx), Langley Kirkwood (“Banshee”), and Romy Woods star in Peacock’s Strung.
Produced by Diablo Cody, director Meredith Alloway’s Forbidden Fruits brought a new coven of witches to the big screen earlier this year, and it’s now streaming on Shudder.
Lola Tung (“The Summer I Turned Pretty”), Victoria Pedretti (“The Haunting of Hill House”), Alexandra Shipp (Tragedy Girls), Gabrielle Union (Breaking In), and Emma Chamberlain star in Forbidden Fruits, released by IFC and Shudder.
Free Eden employee Apple secretly runs a witchy femme cult in the basement of the mall store after hours. But when new hire Pumpkin challenges the group’s ‘girl boss’ ways, the women are forced to face their own poisons or succumb to a bloody fate.
“Forbidden Fruits grabbed me by the neck the very first time I read it,” Diablo Cody said. “It’s one of the craziest, most creative, beautifully bonkers projects I’ve ever worked on.”
Meagan Navarro writes in her review for Bloody Disgusting, “Forbidden Fruits may not necessarily forge new terrain in the teen satire space, but Alloway brings so much style and energy to her well-cast single-location stage play adaptation for the Gen Z crowd.”
The film is an adaptation of playwright Lily Houghton’s stage play Of the Women Came the Beginning of Sin and Through Her We All Die. Alloway and Houghton co-adapted.
This week’s new release roundups are presented by HUNGRY.
All aboard the swamp tour from hell – this hippo isn’t playing games…
HUNGRY is now available on Digital. Watch it now!
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