Movies
[Review] ‘Some Kind Of Hate” Burrows Under Your Skin To Stay
Some Kind Of Hate shows us the ugly, uncompromising side of teenage reality. During our formative high school years, most people are the worst version of themselves, and Director Adam Egypt Mortimer knows it. His script reduces teenage bullying into a primitive, purely psychological game of torment and removes any social media flavor to present an unflinching new take on the trope of the social outcast out for revenge.
In lingering on the ramifications of bullying, and touching on those who “move on” from it, Some Kind Of Hate will have you cringing by the inciting incident. The editing ensures that when the protagonist, Lincoln ( a moody and effective Ronen Rubinstein) is smacked around, you feel the jarring loss of control yourself. When he’s reprimanded for lashing out, and sent to a juvenile rehabilitation camp in the middle of nowhere, the script makes you feel his lust to be anywhere else.
It’s inside this chakra focused new age healing commune, that we’re introduced to our cast of expendable teens. Right away you’ll feel just how different Some Kind Of Hate is from other slashers. Each of these characters is deplorable in their own regard. It’s a notable departure from most slashers, because this isn’t about an assortment of fun-loving teens unleashing evil. In fact it’s quite the opposite. It’s about the evil you find in yourself when you’re lost in a moment of transition.
In the dregs of this commune, Lincoln feels lost. He’s tormented by a group of listless assholes and he inevitably becomes consumed with rage. In his moment of ultimate vulnerability a real flesh and blood hot girl, Kaitlin (Super lovable, and ultimately desirable grace Phipps) , and a vengeful self-destructive spirit girl, Moira (a fearless Sierra McCormick), befriend him. The horror really begins to spin out of control as both of these relationships develop.
Throughout the runtime the most inviting character on the screen is the blood-drenched Moira, but within that Mortimer presents the arid desert as a character unto itself. The script pushes the on screen torment in a way that will have you considering your own past sins, and forces you to realize you can’t really escape who you once were.
The moodiness of the script and visuals is sometimes undercut by a jarring and inconsistent soundtrack, which is at times pounding, and at others perfectly on point. But there is such a sliding scale that it’s impossible to anticipate what sort of song will carry the transition into the next scene. It’s a missed opportunity, but ultimately not one that detracts too much from the experience.
The themes are heavy, the visual are beautiful, and the trope reversals are constant. Some Kind of Hate ultimately becomes better than the revenge stories that inspired it. Because it understands that amidst psychological torment there are real physical consequences that are under the surface. It isn’t afraid to get under your skin, and linger there because it wants to drive you into feeling uncomfortable.
And when it really excels, it shows the complete loss of control wrought by bullying and torment. Things escalate all too easily, and Mortimer’s script shows an intimate understanding of the dangers of real-world bullying. Moreover, it provides a sound solution and shows that the cycle of violence only ends when someone decides to walk away.
It essentially takes everything you thought you knew about the revenge sub-genre and offers constant reversals among a sea of social commentary. It’s the type of thing Wes Craven would ultimately be proud of because watching Moira’s reign of terror should be mandatory in any middle school. This is a movie that will teach you about real-world horror. It preaches the pitfalls and horrors of real violence, and the perfectly embodies the consequences of psychological violence.
Some Kind of Hate is a bold and brutal film that will challenge your conception of yourself. It’ll bring you back to the worst parts of your teenage years and force you to reexamine the roles you played in the arena of public school bullying. It’s unflinching, chilling, and ultimately required viewing. This isn’t your standard empty minded slasher flick; this is a challenging deconstruction of real world issues with an incredible horror twist. It’ll burrow into your skin, and refuse to leave.
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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