Movies
[Review] ‘Digging Up the Marrow’ Is Fun But Exasperating
Since coming on the scene with Hatchet in 2006, filmmaker Adam Green has developed a devoted following among horror fans. Through his films and the horror sitcom Holliston that he front runs, it’s easy to tell Green is a hardcore horror fan himself, with a deep knowledge and passion for the genre. This clearly shines through in his new film Digging Up the Marrow, his first feature in five years. The premise and set-up for the film are awesome, but amidst all the kick ass monsters and mayhem, what Digging Up the Marrow ultimately boils down to is Adam Green: The Movie.
It’s a painfully indulgent film, with a lot of screen time eaten up by Green mugging for the camera and promoting his work. Although it’s a horror mockumentary, it reminded me of a Morgan Spurlock film, making it more about himself than the subject matter. Here that approach seems criminal, since the apparent inspiration for the film is the artwork of Alex Pardee. If you’re unfamiliar with Pardee’s work, just Google image search his name. His art is pulled straight outta nightmares, mixing familiar images like bunnies and teddy bears with harrowing, dripping creatures. It’s crazy that he’s never been asked to design monsters for a film before (that I know of).
In the film, Green plays himself. He begins by talking about all the crazy fan mail he receives and talks about one package in particular, from retired detective William Dekker (Ray Wise) who claims he has proof that monsters exist. Knowing he’s probably just a crazy old dude, Green sets out to make a documentary about Dekker. Deep down, however, Green can’t shake his curiosity and desperately hopes Dekker has found real monsters – every horror fan’s adolescent wet dream come to life.
Dekker believes the monsters live in an underground metropolis he’s dubbed the “Marrow.” He claims to have found entrances to this world all over the U.S., mainly around cemeteries and another place we all end up at least once in our lives (a punchline I won’t spoil here). He even details run-ins he’s had with a few of them, all of which he’s given names and commissioned portraits of (Pardee’s artwork). As always, Wise is a blast to watch as he balances that fine line between nutty and dramatic. He’s just consistently a joy to watch in everything he’s a part of.
The first half of the film does a good job establishing the mythology of the Marrow. This is essentially done through Dekker’s oral accounts and drawings. By the time Green and Dekker head out into the woods, you’re desperately wanting a glimpse of this mysterious subterranean world and its inhabitants. The big reveals in horror rarely live up to expectations and Digging Up the Marrow is no different, though the glimpses we get of Pardee’s creations are seriously wicked. A couple of them made me grin like an idiot because they were so cool. Sadly, they’re few and far between and once the intrigue is built up, the final 20 minutes devolve into a pretty formulaic found footage romp.
Personally, I would’ve like to have seen Wise and the monsters get more screen time and Green to get a whole lot less. I understand that the film is about our desire for monsters to exist rather than the actual monsters themselves, but after an hour of Green wanking in front of the camera, I needed something more. He’s playing a fictionalized version of himself, I get it. It’s just not a very fun fictionalized version to hang out with. There are some fun cameos peppered throughout (Tony Todd, Kane Hodder, Mick Garris, even Pardee himself), so fans will dig that aspect. I really enjoy Green’s previous work (especially Frozen) and this film can be very fun at times, but overall Digging Up the Marrow is a tiresome and exasperatingly self-aggrandizing trip.
Digging Up the Marrow hits VOD and select cities on Feb. 20.
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.
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