This week is the final big time new release week for 2023, as things are going to quiet down a bit for the holidays. But we’re going out with a bang, with 15 new horrors this week alone.
Here’s all the new horror releasing December 5 – December 10, 2023!
For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.
It’s Face/Off meets Freaky Friday when a homicide detective swaps bodies with a serial killer in Devils, the critically acclaimed body-swap psychological thriller that’s now on VOD and streaming on SCREAMBOX. The thriller, written and directed by Kim Jae-hoon, blurs revenge and morality where an unwavering detective takes on a serial killer.
“Devils follows the story of Jae-hwan, a determined homicide detective assigned to take down a ring of serial killers terrorizing the city. The case becomes deeply personal for him as one of the victims is his own brother-in-law. When the detective and the murderer finally collide, an unexpected turn of events leaves Jae-hwan waking up in the hospital – trapped in the body of the very killer he sought to apprehend. With the clock ticking, Jae-hwan must bring the murderer to justice while saving his family from imminent danger.”
The film stars Oh Dae-hwan and Jang Dong-yoon.
Start screaming now with SCREAMBOX on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Prime Video, Roku, YouTube TV, Samsung, Comcast, Cox, Philo, and Screambox.com.
Drafthouse Films, known for its commitment to genre-defying cinema, brought the apocalyptic supernatural horror movie Everyone Will Burn to select theaters last week.
The Spanish horror movie is now available on Digital at home.
Directed and co-written by David Hebrero, the film centers on Lucía, a strange girl who might be connected to a local legend about stopping an impending apocalypse.
“María José (Macarena Gómez, an outlier in her small Spanish town, is grieving after her young son’s suicide. As she teeters on the brink of suicide herself, she encounters a mysterious young girl (newcomer Sofía García) caked in dirt. It is quickly revealed that the girl has telekinetic powers and might be the harbinger of the apocalyptic prophecy that exists within town legend. Despite her penchant for violence, María José feels an instant kinship with the girl because, like her late son, she has dwarfism — and the two of them face off against the vitriolic community who want to nip the potential hellscape in the bud.”
The cast also includes Rodolfo Sancho, Ana Milán, Rubén Ochandiano, Germán Torres, Ella Kweku, Raquel Lobelos, with Fernando Cayo and Saturnino García. Hebrero co-wrote the screenplay with Javier Kiran and shares D.P. credit with Ona Isart.
Wild Eye Releasing is coming down the chimney this holiday season with brand new indie horror movie Nightmare on 34th Street, released onto Digital on December 5.
A mysterious and psychopathic Santa Claus visits a small, rural town with a bag full of unusual gifts and twisted holiday stories in the film, which features Krampus and killer carolers.
Caroline Boulton, Lucy Pinder, Dani Thompson, Ewen MacIntosh, Andy Gatenby and Adam Greaves-Neal star in Nightmare on 34th Street, directed by James Crow.
Traditions die hard in the Norwegian holiday horror movie There’s Something in the Barn, a fun mix of Gremlins and Goosebumps that was also released on VOD this Tuesday.
In the film from director Magnus Martens, “An American family fulfills their dream of returning to their roots after inheriting a remote cabin in the mountains of Norway. However, they are in for a big surprise. An elf with a nasty temper lives in the house’s barn. When the family starts to infuriate the creature, a raw and bloody struggle for survival ensues.”
Martin Starr, Amrita Acharia, and Jeppe Beck Laursen star in the Norwegian horror movie. Aleksander Kirkwood Brown wrote the screenplay.
“Barn elves are deeply rooted in Norwegian folklore and tradition. They are in our souls and part of our culture. Making a movie about a foreign family who do not understand them, then annoys the hell out of them and then must fight them, makes perfect sense. The only weird thing about it is that it hasn’t been done before,” Martens said in a statement.
“I love Christmas movies as much as anyone else and having two kids, I have watched them all over the years around the holidays. But what all of us really seem to miss is a movie that has a new, fresh, and original approach, without losing the classic Christmas spirit. I truly believe that There’s Something in the Barn is what people are looking for.”
James Cameron‘s 1989 sci-fi film The Abyss is returning to the big screen this week with a brand new 4K remaster, and it’s playing in theaters TONIGHT (DECEMBER 6) ONLY!
The new remaster is later getting a physical media release on March 12, 2024.
“If you haven’t seen the film before, this is the way to experience it,” James Cameron promised in a video posted to social media last month. “And if you have, you’ll be seeing the film I actually set out to make. With some big surprises not seen in the original released version. I hope you’ll take advantage of seeing The Abyss, my first ocean film, back in theaters.”
In the film, which starred Ed Harris, “A civilian diving team is enlisted to search for a lost nuclear submarine and face danger while encountering an alien aquatic species.”
The Abyss was nominated for four Academy Awards and won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. The film pulled in $90 million at the worldwide box office back in 1989.
Billed as a “hallucinogenic urban exploring horror movie,” John Pata’s Black Mold won Best Indie Feature at this year’s Panic Fest in the US, and it’s coming to Tubi this week.
Black Mold will exclusively debut on Tubi Thursday, December 7.
In the film, “Brooke (Agnes Albright) and Tanner (Andrew Bailes) sneak into abandoned, off-limits buildings for the sake of their art and also the adrenaline rush. But when the daredevil pair break into their holy grail – Franklin Hill, a large facility with a history – they encounter a dangerously paranoid squatter (Jeremy Holm) who holds them captive. The longer their attacker keeps them there, the more it becomes clear there’s something else profoundly wrong with the place as dangers surface at the intersection of artistic pursuits and internal sabotage.”
Black Mold is a Head Trauma Production, in association with The Line Film Co. and Shatterglass Films. It was produced by Sarah Sharp, Jen Shelby, Robert Patrick Stern, and Iman Sharabash, with Jill Gevargizian, Tony Wash, and Kevin McGrail on-board as Co-Producers.
Writer/director Meshal Aljaser’s NAGA had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival back in September, and the film is coming to Netflix this week.
NAGA will begin streaming exclusively on Netflix Thursday, December 7.
In the Saudi genre film, “Stranded amid Riyadh’s desert dunes, Sarah, a local Saudi girl, escapes heartaches and the vengeance of a vigorous camel after discreetly sneaking out of her parent’s home for a romantic date that landed her astray.”
Adwa Bader, Khalid Bin Shaddad, Amal Alharbi and Yazeed Almajyul star.
Director William Brent Bell (Orphan: First Kill) is back with brand new horror movie Lord of Misrule this week, which Magnet brings to theaters and VOD on December 8.
The film follows “Rebecca Holland (Tuppence Middleton), who has recently taken over as priest of a small town. When her young daughter Grace (Evie Templeton) goes missing at the local harvest festival, a desperate search begins. The closer they edge towards finding Grace, the more secrets emerge from the town’s dark past. Soon, Rebecca must decide just how much she is willing to sacrifice to rescue her daughter from the grip of evil.”
Ralph Ineson (The Witch, Green Knight) and Matt Stokoe also star.
Tom de Ville‘s (The Quiet Ones) script has been said to echo The Wicker Man and Midsommar.
Director Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II-IV, Spiral) is back with brand new horror movie The Cello, which will release here in North America on Friday, December 8.
The Cello tells the story of a cellist who finds out his new cello comes with a centuries old curse. The film is written by Turki Alalshikh, a best-selling poet, musician and lyricist, based on his novel, and is produced by Rozam Media, Alamiya, and Envision Media Arts.
After the recent premiere, Director Darren Lynn Bousman said, “Getting to experience the movie in Riyadh with a packed audience was surreal. I have been so lucky in my career to shoot all over the world and Cello took me to Saudi Arabia, Prague & Ireland. It was such a fantastical adventure getting to work and play in such different and unique areas. We had the great fortune to work with superstars of the Arab region. Then, add Jeremy Irons and Tobin Bell into the mix it & was a once in a lifetime experience.”
Elham Ali, Samer Ismail, Suad Abdullah, Ibrahim Samman, Muhanad Al-Hamdi, Fahad Alqahtani, Baraa Alem and Ghassan Massoud also star.
Filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos (The Killing of a Sacred Deer, Dogtooth) is back with Poor Things, a Frankenstein-like tale based on the 1992 novel by Alistair Gray.
Emma Stone stars alongside Willem Dafoe in the critically acclaimed Poor Things (93% on Rotten Tomatoes), which Searchlight is bringing to theaters on Friday, December 8.
Ramy Youssef, Jerrod Carmichael, Christopher Abbott, and Mark Ruffalo also star.
Lanthimos’ latest tells “the incredible tale and fantastical evolution of Bella Baxter (Stone), a young woman brought back to life by the brilliant and unorthodox scientist Dr. Godwin Baxter (Dafoe). Under Baxter’s protection, Bella is eager to learn. Hungry for the worldliness she is lacking, Bella runs off with Duncan Wedderburn (Ruffalo), a slick and debauched lawyer, on a whirlwind adventure across the continents. Free from the prejudices of her times, Bella grows steadfast in her purpose to stand for equality and liberation.”
Described as a “wild Hitchcockian noir,” NEON’s Eileen stars Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie (Last Night in Soho), and it’s coming to theaters on December 8.
An adaptation of Ottessa Moshfegh’s acclaimed novel, Eileen was directed by William Oldroyd (“Lady Macbeth”). Moshfegh wrote the script alongside Luke Goebel.
In the film, “Set during a bitter 1964 Massachusetts winter, young secretary Eileen becomes enchanted by the glamorous new counselor at the prison where she works.”
The official plot description continues, “Their budding friendship takes a twisted turn when Rebecca reveals a dark secret – throwing Eileen onto a sinister path.”
From director Jenn Wexler (The Ranger), Christmas-themed horror movie The Sacrifice Game spreads holiday fear on Shudder beginning on Friday, December 8, 2023.
Fantasia described The Sacrifice Game as “a gripping and stylish ‘70s-set chiller involving school girls, power-mad killers and occult prophecy,” filled with both “gore and lore.”
In the movie, “The Blackvale School for Girls, 1971. It’s bad enough that students Samantha and Clara can’t go home for the holidays, but things take a deadly turn when a gang of cult killers arrives at their doorstep—just in time for Christmas.”
Mena Massoud, Olivia Scott Welch, Olympian Gus Kenworthy, Chloë Levine, Madison Baines, Derek Johns, Laurent Pitre and Georgia Acken star.
“Mr. Robot” creator Sam Esmail directed the upcoming Netflix apocalypse thriller Leave the World Behind, and Netflix will premiere the film on Friday, December 8.
Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke and Mahershala Ali star in Leave the World Behind, with Roberts and Hawke playing a couple on vacation when the world falls apart.
“A family’s (Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke) vacation is upended when two strangers (Mahershala Ali, Myha’la) arrive at night, seeking refuge from a cyberattack that grows more terrifying by the minute, forcing everyone to come to terms with their places in a collapsing world.”
Kevin Bacon also stars in Leave the World Behind.
The film adapts the 2020 novel penned by Rumaan Alam.
Ol’ Kris Kringle wants everyone to have a Scary Little Christmas in Santa Isn’t Real, which XYZ Films is bringing down the chimney on VOD and Digital on December 8.
In the film, “After suffering a brutal attack on Christmas eve, a young woman, Nikki, struggles to convince her friends that the assailant was none other than Ol’ Kris Kringle. When Santa returns to terrorize the group in their remote cabin the next Christmas, Nikki and her friends must overcome disbelief as they fight to stay alive.”
The film was written and directed by Zac Locke, who’s no stranger to horror having previously produced horror films that include 2019’s Black Christmas, The Wind, and Frogman. Locke previously wrote and directed supernatural slasher #Float.
Scarlett Sperduto, Dana Millican, Kaya Coleman star in Santa Isn’t Real.
After an acclaimed festival run beginning with winning the 2023 SXSW Grand Jury Award earlier this year, writer/director Paris Zarcilla’s Raging Grace comes to VOD on Friday.
The film follows “Joy, an undocumented Filipino immigrant who is struggling to do the best she can for her daughter when she secures the perfect job: taking care of an extremely wealthy but terminal old man. The new position pays well and guarantees a roof over their heads. But very soon, Joy and her daughter Grace start to realize everything is not as it seems. Something is festering beneath the surface, threatening all they have worked for.”
Max Eigenmann (Verdict) and David Hayman (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas) star.
Raging Grace was written and directed by BIFA-nominee Paris Zarcilla (Pommel, The Century Egg), produced by Chi Thai (The Promise, Little Miss Sumo).