Upcoming Horror Releases: June (2024)

I took some time off in May to hang out by the beach and drink lots of margaritas, so I’m fully in the swing of summer! I want sunshine, patio beers, picnic tables and pure summer horror: slashers, shark attacks, summer camps and cabins in the woods. Summer horror is pure fun - let’s save the nihilism for January.

Here are some of the horror books, movies and others that I am looking forward to this month!

In theatres June 21

I can’t believe Russell Crowe is starring in an exorcism movie that isn’t a sequel to The Pope’s Exorcist. The Pope’s Exorcist ruled! Crowe with a bad Italian accent on a vespa, fighting demons like he’s a Marvel superhero! I don’t think The Exorcism will be nearly as camp, but Scream’s Kevin Williamson is involved so there is potential for fun. Crowe plays an actor shooting a supernatural horror film who begins to experience… something.

Published by William Morrow on June 11

A new book by Paul Tremblay (The Cabin at the End of the World, A Head Full of Ghosts) is sure to make noise in the horror community regardless of subject matter, but Horror Movie sounds like it absolutely rules. It’s about a cursed film with a VHS tape cover, which is catnip for horror movie lovers. A cult classic film from 1993 is getting a big budget remake, but the sole surviving cast member is still grappling with the real horrors from the original shoot all too well. I can’t wait to get my hands on this one!

In theatres June 28

I’ll be honest, I’m not the biggest fan of the A Quiet Place films. They are enjoyable enough, but deeply silly and don’t hold up to the slightest bit of logic. I appreciate that Part 2 brought Cillian Murphy back into horror, and the casting of Day One is just as stellar. Scream queen Lupita Nyong’o (Us, Little Monsters) will star with Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things) in this apocalyptic disaster movie that will show us how the aliens first terrorized Earth.

Published by Dutton on June 18

I might need to break up with Riley Sager. I’ve loved some of his books (Final Girls, The Last Time I Lied), hated others (Survive the Night), and been utterly perplexed at his recent output (The House Across the Lake, The Only One Left). But I keep coming back! And I’ll probably pick up this one too, out of morbid curiosity. Middle of the Night is a bit of a departure - a male main character! - but will likely have some sort of twist that will leave me scratching my head. One day I’ll be strong enough to walk away.

In theatres June 7

M. Night Shyamalan’s Trap looks cool, but it won’t be out until August. In the meantime, we get his daughter Ishana Shyamalan’s directorial debut. Dakota Fanning (Signs) stars as a young woman who gets trapped deep in the Irish woods, and joins a group of strangers to fight off the mysterious creatures that attack at night. Intriguing!

On Netflix June 7

Now we’re talking! Shark summer is here, and the sharks are under the Seine. This French film finds a young scientist trying to save the city after finding a giant shark in the Seine, days before a world swimming race will bring thousands of people to the water. Love it! All the shark movies, please.

Published by Dark Matter INK on June 3

Remember how I said summer horror is about fun? Campy, silly, slasher nonsense? That’s what I’m hoping to get from Grim Root. This book, called ‘darkly humorous’ by Read Jump Scares, is a mix of The Haunting of Hill House and The Bachelor. A group of women on a reality dating show are asked to spend the week in a haunted house in a bid to win the hand of an eligible bachelor – who dies suddenly, and the contestants are now playing a dark and twisted new game. I’m in! I’m so in.

In theatres June 21

I’m a Yorgos Lanthimos stan. I consider myself an early adopter of Yorgos. I saw Dogtooth after it was Oscar nominated back in 2010 and loved how truly bizarre it was. I saw The Lobster at TIFF in 2014 and adored it instantly – I still consider it one of my favourite movies – and went out of my way to buy tickets to the premier of The Killing of a Sacred Deer a few years later. I am all in on Weird Yorgos (The Favourite was a bit too mainstream for me!) and Kinds of Kindess is, apparently, a return to form. Working with Emma Stone again (bring back the Colin Farrell collaborations!!), this is an anthology where the cast play different roles in each short film.

Published by Nightfire on June 11

Felker-Martin is a controversial author, both for her written work (Manhunt, a violent novel about trans women hellbent of revenge) and her Twitter, where she’s praised Osama Bin Laden, talked about killing JK Rowling, and that ‘there should be more rape in horror’. She’s a firebrand, that’s for sure! In Cuckoo, a group of queer kids are brought to a conversion camp in the middle of the desert where a mysterious entity lurks.