This week marks the official start of Summer 2023, and the horror genre is celebrating with four brand new movies that are releasing both in theaters and at home throughout the week.
Here’s all the new horror releasing June 20 – June 25, 2023!
For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.
First up, Japanese surrealist body horror film New Religion is now streaming exclusively on SCREAMBOX beginning today, written and directed by Keishi Kondo.
In the film, “After her daughter’s death, divorced Miyabi begins working as a call girl. One day, she meets an unsettling customer who wants to take pictures of her body parts. Soon, she realizes that every time she allows her body to be photographed her daughter’s spirit gets closer. She must decide how far she is willing to go to connect with her daughter once again.”
New Religion stars Kaho Seto, Daiki Nunami, Satoshi Oka and Saionji Ryuseigun.
The film had its North American premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival and was nominated for Best Narrative Feature. It previously screened at festivals around the world to rave reviews with Horror DNA calling it “a powerful debut.” This includes its World Premiere at Arrow Video Frightfest, Osaka Asian Film Festival (Nominee Japan Cuts Award), the Warsaw International Film Festival (Best Film Nominee) and MotelX – Lisbon International Horror Film Festival.
Start screaming now with SCREAMBOX on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Prime Video, Roku, YouTube TV, Samsung, Comcast, Cox, and Screambox.com.
Fathom Events, Raven Banner Releasing and Swissploitation Films present the premiere of the “modern grindhouse epic” Mad Heidi this week, coming to theaters nationwide for a special one-night engagement on Wednesday, June 21 at 7:00 p.m. local time.
Watch the ultra-violent official RED BAND trailer for Mad Heidi below, which looks like it was ripped straight out of Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriguez’s Grindhouse.
This wicked odyssey of blood and cheese puts a new spin on the classic tale of “Heidi,” finding our heroine (Alice Lucy) all grown-up and living an idyllic life in the Swiss Alps with her beloved grandfather (David Schofield) far above an increasingly-dystopian landscape presided over by Our Very Swiss Leader (Casper Van Dien) – a ruthless dictator bent on world domination through dairy.
But when her goat-herding lover (Kel Matsena) is brutally murdered by government thugs for distributing illegal cheese, Heidi embarks on a wild quest for vengeance that will bring her toe-to-toe against fierce female prison inmates, cheese-fueled Swiss super-soldiers, ninja nuns, and more, as she fights to take down the tyrannical regime and restore freedom to Switzerland.
Exclusive to the Fathom event is an introduction from stars Casper Van Dien and Alice Lucy as well as co-directors Johannes Hartmann and Sandro Klopfstein.
On the TV front this week, Netflix heads to “Skull Island” with a brand new animated series set within Legendary’s Monsterverse. The global debut is set for Thursday, June 22.
“Skull Island” takes viewers on a thrilling adventure as a group of kind-hearted explorers rescues Annie (Mae Whitman) from the ocean, unaware that their act of heroism will lead them to the treacherous Skull Island. This enigmatic place is home to bizarre creatures and terrifying monsters, including the mighty titan himself, Kong.
The series boasts an impressive ensemble cast, with Nicolas Cantu (Dragons Rescue Riders: Heroes of the Sky, The Fabelmans) lending his voice to the protagonist, Charlie. Joining him are talented voice actors Mae Whitman (Family Guy, DC Super Hero Girls) as Annie, Darren Barnet (Never Have I Ever, Samurai Rabbit: The Usagi Chronicles) as Mike, Benjamin Bratt (Poker Face, Coco) as Cap, and Betty Gilpin (Mrs. Davis, Glow) as Irene. Together, they bring these vibrant characters to life and embark on a captivating journey.
“Skull Island” is created, written and executive produced by Brian Duffield (Cocaine Bear, Love and Monsters). Jacob Robinson, Brad Graeber, Jen Chambers, and Thomas Tull also serve as executive producers. The animation is expertly crafted by Powerhouse Animation, acclaimed for their work on hit series such as “Castlevania” and “Blood of Zeus.”
The Monsterverse kicked off with Godzilla in 2014 and continued with Kong: Skull Island in 2017, Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 2019, and Godzilla vs. Kong in 2021.
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (“Game of Thrones,” Mama) and an almost unrecognizable Maika Monroe (It Follows, Watcher) take on a bloodthirsty, Satanic cult in God is a Bullet, a revenge thriller based on the best-selling novel by Boston Teran.
God is a Bullet releases exclusively in theaters on Friday, June 23, 2023. The film will later expand to a digital release in the United States on July 11, 2023.
The film follows “detective Bob Hightower (Coster-Waldau), who finds his ex-wife murdered and his daughter kidnapped by an insidious cult. With the help of the cult’s only female victim escapee, Case Hardin (Monroe), Bob and Case go down the rabbit hole with The Ferryman (Jamie Foxx) to save his daughter and find closure for Case from the cult – and its maniacal leader (Karl Glusman) – that took so much away from her.”
The revenge thriller is adapted for the screen and directed by Nick Cassavetes (Alpha Dog, John Q, The Notebook). It also stars January Jones, Paul Johansson, David Thornton, Jonathan Tucker, Ethan Suplee, and Brendan Sexton III.
Death is a disease that must be cured in The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster, a modern reinterpretation of Mary Shelley’s seminal novel, Frankenstein.
The film is coming to On Demand and Digital outlets beginning Friday, June 23.
In the film, “Vicaria is a brilliant teenager who believes death is a disease that can be cured. After the brutal and sudden murder of her brother, she embarks on a dangerous journey to bring him back to life. Inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster thematically challenges our ideas of life and death.
“Bomani J. Story, the film’s writer and director, crafts a thrilling tale about a family that, despite the terrors of systemic pressure, will survive and be reborn again.”
Laya DeLeon Hayes (“The Equalizer”), Denzel Whitaker (“Black Panther”), Chad L. Coleman (“The Walking Dead”), Reilly Brooke Stith, and Keith Holliday star.