Top 10 Most Anticipated Summer Genre Flicks!

Last Updated on August 3, 2021

It’s hard to believe that we’re only a couple of weeks away from the official launch of cinematic summertime 2015. Insane. You know how it goes these days, May 1st pretty much kicks off a 3 or 4 month stretch of lowest common denominator yet big-budget blockbusters and over-bloated comic-book fare. But fret not friends, that’s where we come in. For this week’s Top 10, plan to help you navigate which movies coming out between May and August that are actually worthy of going out and shelling your hard earned cash for. Big, small, midsized, sci-fi, thriller, horror, sequel, original…you name it.

So let’s just dive headlong right into it, shall we. Ladies, gents..here is our Top 10 Most Anticipated Summer Genre Flicks!

#1. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (MAY 15TH)

Theron. Hardy. Miller. Mad motherf*cking Max! Not sure how much harder I need to peddle the product, but I will say FURY ROAD has, for my money, left all other upcoming summertime genre flicks in the dust! That’s how utterly pumped we are for the arrival of May 15th and the long awaited return of MAD MAX! Sure there’s some cause for concern over the numerous reshoots and production delays, not to mention the overly familiar Bane mask Hardy seems to rock here, but so f*cking what…this is a sequel 30 years in the making from visionary George Miller. And perhaps the best part? The flick is Rated R for intense sequences of violence throughout, and for disturbing images. Ah yeah baby, start your engines!

#2. TERMINATOR GENISYS (JULY 1ST)

As first promised 30 years ago, the motherf*cking T-800 is back! Now if only we can pretend the last two TERMINATOR iterations never existed, and instead mount or excitement and expectations on top of where Jimmy Cameron left us in ’91. After-all, this is GENISYS we’re talking about! From director Alan Taylor (Game of Thrones, THOR: THE DARK WORLD), Arnie The Schwarz indeed returns to the role that catapulted him into an iconic global superstar, now teaming with John Connor (Jai Courtney) and mama Sarah (Emilia Clarke) in a new timeline to quell the planetary threat known as, yup, Judgment Day. I’m no theologian, but come on Arnie, Leadeth to Destruction!

#3. SINISTER 2 (AUGUST 21ST)

One of the more genuinely chilling horror joints to come out in recent years is SINISTER, in large part due to the convincing performance of its star Ethan Hawke. Well, Hawke has flown the coop for the sequel, SINISTER 2, as has director Scott Derrickson, but that doesn’t negate our expectations for too much. Why? Well, Derrickson co-scripted the sequel, and has entrusted Irish director Ciaran Foy (THE CITADEL) to bring the story to frightening fruition. Not only that, James Ransone returns as So-So, joining the new franchise addition Shannyn Sossamon in a story that sees a single mom and her twin boys terrorized by a vicious apparition plaguing their new countryside abode.

#4. INSIDIOUS: CHAPTER 3 (JUNE 5TH)

After a bit of a drop off with the second installment, the INSIDIOUS franchise looks to return with a motherf*cking bang when CHAPTER 3 hits the deck this June. You see, longtime James Wan co-writer and collaborator Leigh Whannell finally makes his much anticipated directorial debut with a story that chronologically predates the original 2010 horror hit. I personally cannot wait to see what Whannell has in store, especially since he penned the script by his lonesome this go around. No interference, no compromise, just one man’s twisted vision. I love it! Along with series holdovers Whannell, Angus Simpson and Lin Shaye, newcomers Stefanie Scott and Dermot Mulroney take the lead in carrying the story.

#5. POLTERGEIST (MAY 22ND)

This house is clearrrr! If we can all agree that Tobe Hooper’s POLTERGEIST is as close to a perfect horror film as there ever was, then we can surely all agree to temper expectations with the somewhat dubious redo. That said, the template of terror has been laid, and with the great Sam Rockwell and Rosemary DeWitt leading the charge, this could be one surprise sleeper hit come late May. English director Gil Kenan (MONSTER HOUSE, CITY OF EMBER) seems suited for this kind of material, which, judging by the trailer, is awfully clown-heavy this go around. Plus, with Sam Raimi’s Ghosthouse producing and his OZ screenwriter David Lindsay-Abaire on the keys, I have to assume this is more than a cynical cash-grab.

#6. BURYING THE EX (JUNE 19TH)

Joe Dante’s 40 year track record in pictures inherently gives his new horror comedy, BURYING THE EX, the benefit of the doubt as a must see summer event. I know I’ll be there! The plot concerns a young man’s deep seeded regrets over moving in with his girlfriend that dies and comes back to life as a rotten flesh-eating corpse. Good enough on its own, but when you consider the two leads in Anton Yelchin and Ashley Greene (both incredibly charming, I can attest having interviewed them for other movies), greater faith should be conjured. Throw in Alexandria Daddario and her swollen chesticles and bingo bongo…BURYING THE EX never sounded so fun!

#7. MAGGIE (MAY 22ND)

Well I’ll be damned! Care to guess who implausibly garnered all kinds of acting accolades out of TIFF last year? Believe it or not, Arnie the Schwarz! Now, given the Governator’s sexual imbroglios, I’m not sure this is the most savory still to promote the upcoming zombie joint MAGGIE (yikes!), but will let that go for now. MAGGIE, costarring Abigail Breslin, focuses on an emotional father/daughter relationship that evolves when the little girl is suddenly infected by a cannibalistic virus. It’s true, zombie flicks have been done to death in the last decade or so, but since this one so clearly has a different take and tone to offer, we’re all in. Besides, a softer and more sympathetic Papa Schwarz? Too intriguing to miss!

#8. THE GIFT (JULY 31ST)

One of the best movies I ever had the fortune to review here at AITH was an Aussie crime joint called THE SQUARE, co-written by WARRIOR star Joel Edgerton. Well, Edgerton now makes his feature length directorial debut with a script he wrote in THE GIFT, which was apparently gripping enough to attract the A-list likes of Jason Bateman and Rebecca Hall in the lead roles. Good enough for us! Here’s the gist: Hall and Bateman are a happily married couple whose lives take a terrifying turn for the worst when an old high-school acquaintance of his resurfaces and lavishes the two with a bevy of mysterious gifts. Soon, an irreparable truth is brought to light that will change the course of their lives forever.

#9. THE GALLOWS (JULY 10TH)

Holy hell! You guys peep the trailer that dropped yesterday for the summertime Blumhouse joint THE GALLOWS? Shite looks gnarly right?! Granted, the flick comes from relative unknown directors Travis Cluff and Chris Lofing, and stars a cast of young inexperienced actors, but so goddamn what. Peep the premise. 20 years after a horrific accident took place during a school play in a small town, a new generation thinks it wise to resurrect the drama out of some misguided sense of honor. Of course, it proves a really dumb decision, and soon the fresh-faced teens are running for the motherf*cking lives!

#10. JURASSIC WORLD (JUNE 12TH)

Now that we’ve had 14 years to wash the odious taste of JURASSIC PARK 3 out of our mouths (shame on you Joe Johnston), a genuine sense of enthrallment is starting to bubble up for JURASSIC WORLD. And why not? Since the last entry, the landscape of film technology has increased exponentially. Question is, how much CG will employed over the eye-popping animatronics that ruled the day in 1993? I for one hope they go heavier on the practical FX and lighter on the CG fakery, but beggars can’t be choosers I suppose. And how’s this for a disparity? Director Colin Trevorrow’s only other feature, SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED, had a budget of $750,000. The cost of JURASSIC WORLD? Try $150 million.