Last Updated on August 3, 2021
That song is straight heat. And it perfectly sets the tone for this here seasonal horror ten spot. That’s right y’all, after including some dubious titles on our Top 10 Genre Joints to see in Spring of 2018 (I’m talking to you CORBIN NASH), we’re fitting to get back on track with our annual summer preview. You know the deal, we’re set to highlight a double-fistful of horror/thriller/action joints to scope on the big-screen between the months of June and August. We’ve got continued franchise fare, new blockbusters, fresh boogeymen, promising indie outings…all of which lead up to what’s been likened to a new generational EXORCIST. We’ve got a hell of a mixed bag for ya. So heed the words of Willy, sit back, twist a spliff, pop a brewski and kick the season off right with our Top 10 Genre Flicks to see in Summer 2018!
#1. HEREDITARY (JUNE 8TH)
I can’t remember being this excited for what’s become a unanimously hailed must-see horror film, a movie so disturbing and profoundly unnerving that it’s been equated with this generation’s THE EXORCIST. Naturally, such high expectations are impossible to meet, but then again, THE BABADOOK lived up to an ungodly amount of hype. So did THE WITCH. Let’s hope the same goes for HEREDITARY, Ari Aster’s feature debut about a woman slowly untangling the devastating nature of her ancestry after the death of her mother. Toni Collette burns up the screen, and if you didn’t already know, she’s one of the finest living actors working today. It’s my approximation that the movies success rides squarely on her shoulders, as it should. Can’t wait to see this one and report back to you guys shortly!
#2. THE LITTLE STRANGER (AUGUST 31ST)
From FRANK and ROOM director Lenny Abrahamson comes a very promising upscale haunted-house-period-piece called THE LITTLE STRANGER. Starring Domnhall Gleeson, Ruth Wilson and Charlotte Rampling, the story is set in the English countryside during the hot 1947 summer, and follows a young doctor as he returns to the haunted mansion his mother used to serve as a housemaid. There, a head-spinning mystery unravels as Dr. Faraday (Gleeson) comes to realize he has more in common with the house than initially thought. Adapted from the Sarah Waters novel by DANISH GIRL scribe Lucinda Coxon, THE LITTLE STRANGER has A-list prestige written all over it. Which I love. Horror stories warrant, need and deserve the highest caliber of talent possible. We see you del Toro!
#3. UNDER THE SILVER LAKE (JUNE 22ND)
Full disclosure, I thought IT FOLLOWS was wildly overrated. In fact, I found not a second of it scary or even remotely unsettling. The metaphor was cool, but that was about it. That said, I am more than willing to give its director David Robert Mitchell a second chance with his L.A. set, hopefully hipster-bashing new thriller UNDER THE SILVER LAKE. The flick stars Andrew Garfield as a seemingly hebetudinous paranoiac that gets drawn into a web of intrigue when a billionaire mogul is murdered and a sexy young nymph (Riley Keough) is kidnapped. With a mordant sense of humor that ought to skewer the vapid Hollywood lifestyle, UNDER THE SILVER LAKE’s pool scenes are almost a shot-for-shot redo of Marilyn Monroe’s final unfinished picture, SOMETHING’S GO TO GIVE!
#4. THE FIRST PURGE (JULY 4TH)
No bullshite, one of the best all around genre joints of 2016 was THE PURGE: ELECTION YEAR. And despite franchise creator James DeMonaco handing the directorial reins over to Gerard McMurray (BURNING SANDS), THE FIRST PURGE still ranks quite high on the must-see summer genre roster. Hell, never mind ELECTION YEAR, this sucker drops on the 4th of July…you can’t get more patriotic than that! With the ever-lovely Marisa Tomei headlining this time around, THE FIRST PURGE will function as a prequel meant to explore the genesis of the annual anti-outlaw scourge. DeMonaco wrote the script, as he did for the first episode of the currently filming TV show adaptation, which should give us plenty of hope that THE FIRST PURGE could be as good as the last!
#9. ESCAPE PLAN 2: HADES (JULY 29TH)
We almost went a couple of ways with the 9th spot in the lineup. We thought about the Keanu/Alice Eve sci-fi thriller REPLICAS. We considered Leigh Whannell’s techno-thriller UPGRADE (which drops very soon, June 1st). But in the end, something about seeing Sly in a big-budget B-movie actioner this summer is too damn appealing to omit. Besides, the first ESCAPE PLAN was quite a bit of fun. This time out, under the watchful eye of director Steven C. Miller, The Schwarz is replaced by Dave Bautista, in a story that sees Ray Breslin (Stallone) in a serious bind when he’s challenged with busting one of his allies out of a top security prison. And it’s not just any prison…this f*cker changes shape constantly, operating entirely by computer. Screw HADES, it’s HAL 9-Thou!
#10. THE MEG (AUGUST 10TH)
The hell is this…CRANK 3? DEEP BLUE SEA 2? THE TRANSPORTER 4? Whatever the case, there’s no way in a frost-bitten hell a killer shark flick would not be in the summertime itinerary. Remember, two years ago we waded in THE SHALLOWS, last year we plunged 47 METERS DOWN, so now it only makes sense we out-swim the murderous motherlode – THE MEG! Directed by schlock-hound John Turteltaub (3 NINJAS, NATIONAL TREASURE), starring Jason Statham, Ruby Rose (playing a character named Jaxx Herd mind you), Cliff Curtis and Rainn Wilson – THE MEG (short for Megalodon, the largest predator to ever exist) is a rescue mission movie about a man who must save his ex-wife and a team of explorers who are trapped in a sunken submersible. Ah, so it’s JAWS 46. Let’s f*cking go!
#5. JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM (JUNE 22ND)
While it was tough to take Colin Trevorrow’s JURASSIC WORLD as anything but a farcical laugh-fest, the fact director J.A. Bayona (A MONSTER CALLS, THE ORPHANAGE) is at the helm of JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM has totally restored my faith in the franchise. This guy knows how to balance mega-spectacle with heartfelt drama. In a topical twist, the story picks up four years after the last, with the primary leads out to save the dinosaurs from a raging volcano. Here’s the thing. Part of the movie was shot in O’ahu, Hawaii. As you know, Hawaii is currently under evacuation due to the eruption of Mt. Kilauea. Right now, as I type. That’s some scary synchronicity! I’d like to see Mr. Wonderful Chris Pratt go save Hawaii for real!
#6. DOWN A DARK HALL (AUGUST 17TH)
After taking our collective breath away with BURIED in 2010, then falling back to Earth with RED LIGHTS in 2012, Spanish filmmaker Rodrigo Cortes looks to get back on track in a majorly macabre way this summer when strolling DOWN A DARK HALL. Based on the Lois Duncan novel, the movie stars Uma Thurman, AnnaSophia Robb, Isabelle Fuhrman and Taylor Russell. The story centers on Kit Gordy (Robb), a new student at the Blackwood Boarding School, who uncovers sinister supernatural phenomena brought about by the dark powers of the institute’s headmistress. Cortes’ longtime writing partner Chris Sparling is at the keys here as well, sharing duties with Mary Kills People scribe Michael Goldbach. Could be a sleeper summer gem!
#7. UNFRIENDED: DARK WEB (JULY 20TH)
One of the surprisingly effective PG-13 horror outings to drop in recent years was UNFRIENDED, the ingeniously conceived and well executed techno-thriller about a chatroom stalking phantom. Which is why its R-rated follow-up, UNFRIENDED: DARK WEB, must be seen when it browses theaters this July. Directed by Stephen Susco (THE GRUDGE, TEXAS CHAINSAW 3D), the story follows a teenager who stumbles upon a laptop and later learns it might have been stolen. Worse, the kid soon realizes the owner of the computer may be watching his every move, ready and willing to do whatever it takes to get it back. Early word about the flick has been generally positive, despite going a completely different direction than its predecessor.
#8. SLENDER MAN (AUGUST 24TH)
Despite Sylvain White at the helm (I’LL ALWAYS KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER), the big-screen introduction of a newfangled boogeyman – the SLENDER MAN – is too enthralling a promise to miss this coming August. Besides, the script was written by accomplished genre enthusiast David Birke (DAHMER, ELLE), which gives us more than enough confidence to believe this will be better than, say, THE BYE-BYE MAN from last year. It better be! Starring Joey King, Annalise Basso and Javier Botet as the titular villain, SLENDER MAN follows the lore of a tall, gaunt, faceless being thought to be responsible for the rash of missing children. Apparently a real life father of a girl who nearly died at the hands of two Slender Man worshiping girls has denounced the film!
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