Top 10 Genre Flicks to See in Summer 2017 (Part 2)!

Last Updated on August 3, 2021

So, two weeks ago we kicked off the unofficial Summer countdown with a list of Top 10 bigger budget studio genre flicks to see between May and August, and now it’s time for the flip-side. Yup, we’re now fixing to give you a new list of smaller, more independent genre-joints to mix in with the larger fare at the cinema this summer. A lot of movies that didn’t make the last list are bound to be included here, though I’m glad to say not a single remake, sequel or reboot is featured. We’re all about the little guy this time out!

Not listed is the already-released A DARK SONG, which is a must-see, and next week’s chilling dramatic thriller HOUNDS OF LOVE, which also should not be missed.

So what the hell are you waiting for?! Scroll below to scope our Top 10 Genre Flicks to see in Summer 2017 Part Deux!

#1. WIND RIVER (AUGUST 4TH)

Although it’s drifted away from AITH coverage, I’m taking a confident leap of faith – based solely on Taylor Sheridan’s last film HELL OR HIGH WATER – that his new flick WIND RIVER will be one of the best films released this summer. Easily. Consider the premise. A U.S. Fish & Wildlife agent (Jeremy Renner) teams up with a newbie FBI agent (Liz Olsen) to a solve the brutal murder of a young girl on an Indian reservation. So simple, so compelling! Our man C.Bum already gave the flick a sterling 9/10 mark out of Sundance this year, noting how the film is on par with not just HELL, but the Sheridan written SICARIO as well. WIND RIVER, the #1 destination for gritty indie thrillers this summer!

#2. IT COMES AT NIGHT (JUNE 9TH)

How many of you laid eyes on the newest trailer for IT COMES AT NIGHT that dropped last week? What’d you think? For us, the maddening mystery of exactly what “comes” is too damn intriguing to miss when this fit of post-apocalyptic paranoia drops in theaters this June. If his last movie KRISHA is any indication, writer/director Trey Edward Shults is sure to leave us battered, bruised, shocked, enthralled, entertained! Joel Edgerton headlines a smaller cast, with prestige distro-house A24 backing the flick like it did THE WITCH and GREEN ROOM. These dudes know a good movie when they see it!

#3. A GHOST STORY (JULY 7TH)

To be blunt, I kind of hated David Lowery’s PETE’S DRAGON, but there’s something undeniably alluring about his new low-key flick A GHOST STORY, starring Casey Affleck and Rooney Mara. Our man Bumbray saw the flick at Sundance earlier this year and gave it a superlative 9/10 grade. The intimate spellbinder follows a white-sheeted ghost that returns to its home after realizing it has deceased. Affleck plays the titular apparition, Mara plays his widowed wife who becomes the subject of the ghost’s haunting presence. The flick, which was hidden from the public during filming and only announced after it had wrapped, currently boasts a 89 Metascore rating.

#4. CAMERA OBSCURA (JUNE 9TH)

The second of two photographic frights due this summer comes by way of CAMERA OBSCURA, the feature debut of longtime producer Aaron B. Koontz (SACRAMENT, STARRY EYES). Adapted from his own short-film APERTURE (2015), the story follows an increasingly paranoid war-vet photographer who begins losing his grip on reality when ghastly images begin showing up in his developed photos. Cool idea, hopefully more in line with the original Korean SHUTTER than its gormless American counterpart. Christopher Denham stars along with Nadja Bobyleva, Noah Segan, Catherine Curtin and Chase Williamson.

#5. THE BAD BATCH (JUNE 23RD)

Coming off her critically lauded feature debut A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT, writer/director Ana Lily Amirpour looks to skirt a sophomore slump with the delectably disturbing new effort THE BAD BATCH, starring Keanu Reeves and Jason Momoa. Billed as a dystopian love-story set in a cannibal-ravaged Texas wasteland, we’ll try not to let our man E.Walk’s unfavorable review out of Fantastic Fest last year sway us too much. If nothing else, this looks like a f*cked up, fun-filled midnight movie to see hammered one night with friends. You into it?

#6. A BEGINNERS GUIDE TO SNUFF (JUNE 16TH)

Although we hesitate to back anything that self-proclaims comparisons to early Coen Brothers, The brothers Butcher (THE HAMILTONS, THE VIOLENT KIND) have put in enough work of their own to see what they have in store for the sure-to-be gory pitch black comedy A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO SNUFF. Joey Kern and Luke Edwards star as two struggling brothers trying to make it big in Hollywood who decide to make a faux-snuff film. Attempting high realism, they kidnap a woman (Bree Williamson) only to regret it soon after upon realizing she isn’t your ordinary damsel in distress!

#7. POLAROID (AUGUST 25TH)

It’s high-concept on a shoestring for POLAROID, Norwegian director Lars Klevberg’s RING/FINAL DESTINATION mashup about an old polaroid camera with a secret curse. As it goes, whenever someone snaps their photo with said camera, they die in grisly fashion shortly after. The script comes from Attack of the Show scribe Blair Butler, who actually adapted the feature length story from Klevberg’s own short screenplay of the same name (2015). Hopefully the movie isn’t as confusing. Madelaine Petsch, Javier Botet, Mitch Pileggi (X-Files yo!) and Kathryn Prescott all star in the flick.

#8. DARK SIGNAL (JUNE 2ND)

If exec-producer Neil Marshall says it’s good enough, then by golly, let’s all tune the f*ck in to DARK SIGNAL when it lights up in theaters this June. The promising British chiller comes from writer/director Edward Evers-Swindell (THE INFESTATION), a longtime Marshall collaborator (THE DESCENT, THE DESCENT 2), in a story that finds the spirit of a recently murdered dead girl return via a message left for a local radio station. Good setup! A host of unknown actors from the U.K. star, including Siwan Morris, Gareth David-LLoyd and Joanna Ignaczewska. Early word has been generally positive!

#9. DEAD AWAKE (MAY 12TH)

Due only next week is DEAD AWAKE, the new sleep-deprivation thriller helmed by Phillip Guzman. His longtime writing pal Jeffrey Riddick (FINAL DESTINATION) inked the script, as he also did Guzman’s upcoming 200 HOURS, another movie about the dangers of ill-gotten shut-eye. As for DEAD AWAKE, it stars Jocelin Donahue as a young gal who must stave off a rash of homicides linked to severe sleep paralysis. Lori Petty, Brea Grant, Jesse Bradford and Riddick himself star in the flick that’s garnered decent reviews in the limited amount published. Stay tuned for our very own next week!

#10. WISH UPON (JULY 14TH)

Such an affinity we have for goofy killer box and board-game movies like OUIJA and WITCHBOARD, that we cannot avoid John Leonetti’s WISH UPON when it drops in theaters this July. Sure this guy gave us the underwhelming ANNABELLE, but at least it was scripted by Barbara Marshall, who wrote the favorably reviewed VIRAL in 2016. Starring Elisabeth Rohm, Joey King, Sherilyn Fenn and Ryan Phillippe – the story, which is a loose variation on the classic Monkey’s Paw tale – centers on a teenage girl who discovers a mysteriously magical box that whenever used, has murderously motivated consequences.