It’s hard to believe that it’s June, the time of year when blockbuster movies usually take up all the space and leave smaller genre films struggling to find an audience. Although we miss our big screen releases, the upside is that this is yet another month in which horror fans can focus on films and TV shows that might not otherwise have stayed in the spotlight long, if they ever got their turn in the first place.
But don’t worry, because in addition to independent horror films there are a lot of high profile debuts to excite you, including the long-awaited release of one of the most anticipated video game sequels ever!
The screaming begins on June 4, when the acclaimed documentary Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street premieres on Shudder. The film explores the unusual legacy of A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge – a sequel which was originally derided, but later earned a cult following as a queer horror classic – and the impact it had on the film’s star, Mark Patton. Bloody-Disgusting critic Trace Thurman reviewed the film out of Fantastic Fest, and hailed it as “simultaneously heartwarming and heartbreaking.”
‘Scream, Queen!’
Or, if you’re looking for something brand new on June 4, you can open up the ol’ Crackle app and watch the new zombie thriller The Clearing, starring Liam McIntyre as a man trying to save his daughter as the zom-pocalypse begins.
You only have to wait one day for the next big wave of new horror movies, and they might just surprise you. Becky stars Lulu Wilson (The Haunting of Hill House) as young girl who must fight off an evil Kevin James (yes, THAT Kevin James). You can see how the comedian fares in a horror-thriller on VOD (and select drive-in theaters) on June 5.
‘Shirley’
Also on June 5, Elisabeth Moss (The Invisible Man) plays one of the greatest horror writers of the 20th century in Shirley. Moss plays Shirley Jackson, the author of The Haunting of Hill House and The Lottery, who draws inspiration for her latest, harrowing novel from a new houseguest. Directed by Josephine Decker (Madeline’s Madeline) and co-starring Odessa Young, Logan Lerman and Michael Stuhlbarg, it’s the film Bloody-Disgusting’s Meagan Navarro called “a spellbinding psychodrama that bends reality.”
But wait, there’s more! Pontypool director Bruce McDonald returns with the new thriller Dreamland on VOD on June 5. Dreamland stars Juliette Lewis, Henry Rollins and Stephen McHattie in a film about a killer hired to take the finger of a legendary jazz musician.
‘Dreamland’
June 9 brings two more horror films to VOD and DVD, and one of them comes with snacks! The Candy Witch is about an evil urban legend with a hook hand. And if that sounds familiar, remember that the remake of Candyman was supposed to come out in June but got delayed by the pandemic, so this mockbuster from the director of Pet Graveyard (get it?) is actually beating the “buster” to the punch by a VERY long time. Also on VOD and DVD on June 9 is the thriller Outback, about a couple who get lost in the Australian wilderness and have to find their way home on foot.
Netflix jumps into the monthly horror fray on June 10 with Reality Z, a Brazilian remake of the cult favorite British horror comedy Dead Set. Like the original, Reality Z shows what happens to the secluded cast of a reality TV series when the zombie apocalypse strikes. Also coming to Netflix on June 10 is the Italian horror series Curon. In the series, “Seventeen years after the tragic events that forced her to leave Curon, a woman returns home with her twin children. They soon discover that the town is cursed: when you hear the bells of the old church tower ringing, repressed feelings come back to the surface.”
Thursday, June 11 brings with it a new supernatural horror story on Shudder, with an unexpected twist. Warning: Do Not Play tells the story of an aspiring filmmaker who learns of the existence of a movie that was shot by a ghost. The South Korean film is the latest from Kim Jin-won, the director of 2007’s The Butcher.
‘Good Boy’
If it’s a new month, there must be a new episode of Into the Dark, the Hulu series of holiday-themed horror features from Blumhouse. In honor of Pet Appreciation Week, the June 12 thriller Good Boy stars Judy Greer as a woman whose emotional support dog is killing the people who add anxiety to her life. Good Boy comes from director Tyler McIntyre (Tragedy Girls) and co-stars Ellen Wong and Maria Conchita Alonso.
Also on June 12, the South African supernatural thriller The Soul Collector debuts on VOD. The film tells the story of an old man who’s doomed to collect souls for eternity, and the family who unwittingly turns up in his path.
Over on Netflix on June 13, a new television series based on the works of best-selling thriller writer Harlan Coben arrives on Netflix. Harlan Coben’s The Woods is a six-part Polish production that tells the story of a prosecutor whose sister mysteriously disappeared 25 years ago, but the discovery of a new body suggests she might still be alive.
‘Scare Package’
A cab driver accidentally winds up in a war against the forces of evil in Driven, a new thriller arriving on VOD on June 16. The film stars Casey Dillard, who also wrote the screenplay, and the pitch makes it sound like a supernatural version of Collateral.
Shudder has a very special Scare Package for you on June 18! The horror-comedy anthology film takes place in a video store, where tales are told that highlight and subvert all your favorite horror movie clichés. The film co-stars Noah Segan and Baron Vaughn, who also make their directorial debuts on segments of the anthology. Meredith Borders reviewed Scare Package for Bloody-Disgusting and said the film is “gory and silly as hell” and also says, perhaps most importantly for anthology film fans, “you won’t find any weak links here.”
Also on June 18, Netflix debuts the second season of The Order, a horror fantasy series about werewolves at war with magicians. But you’ll want to watch that quickly, because June 19 brings with it one of the biggest premieres of the month: The Last of Us: Part II, the sequel to the acclaimed blockbuster video game about post-apocalyptic survival. The game is a PlayStation 4 exclusive, so dust off that console if you haven’t been playing much lately. (Actually, dust it off anyway. When was the last time you dusted?)
‘The Last of Us: Part II’
Back in the world of television – like, ACTUAL television, not just streaming – the second season of NOS4A2 debuts on AMC on June 21. And in the world of streaming, albeit on a service based on a television station, the second season of the recently rebooted The Twilight Zone debuts on June 25 on CBS All Access. This season’s cast includes Ethan Embry, Billy Porter, Sky Ferreira, Jimmi Simpson, Jurnee Smollett, Topher Grace, Chris Meloni and many more!
Back in the realm of streaming, June 25 brings with it the Shudder film Yummy, a gory Belgian horror film about an undead, flesh-eating outbreak at a plastic surgery clinic. And closing out the month on Netflix, June 27 debuts the third and final season of the acclaimed German Netflix series Dark, about missing children and time travel!
And of course, as always, there are surely some surprises ahead in the month of June. So stay tuned to Bloody-Disgusting for more announcements and updates!
“NOS4A2”
- June 4th – Scream Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street, Shudder
- June 4th – The Clearing, Crackle
- June 5th – Becky, VOD & Drive-In Theaters
- June 5th – Shirley, VOD
- June 5th – Dreamland, VOD
- June 9th – The Candy Witch, DVD/VOD
- June 9th – Outback, DVD/VOD
- June 10th – “Reality Z,” Netflix
- June 10th – “Curon,” Netflix
- June 11th – Warning: Do Not Play, Shudder
- June 12th – “Into the Dark: Good Boy,” Hulu
- June 12th – The Soul Collector, VOD
- June 13th – “Harlan Coben’s The Woods,” Netflix
- June 16h – Driven, VOD
- June 18th – Scare Package, Shudder
- June 18th – “The Order” Season 2, Netflix
- June 19th – The Last of Us: Part II
- June 21st – “NOS4A2” Season 2, AMC
- June 25th – “The Twilight Zone” Season 2, CBS All Access
- June 25th – Yummy, Shudder
- June 27th – “Dark” Season 3, Netflix