Horror fans get your watchlists ready as Matt Glasby – author of The Book of Horror: The Anatomy of Fear in Film, available here – takes a look at what horror to watch (and what to watch out for) in May and June.
Clown in a Cornfield
Based on the Bram Stoker Award-winning 2020 novel by Adam Cesare, directed by Eli Craig of the excellent Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, and produced by the folks who brought you Smile, this small-town slasher could prove to be a franchise starter. Katie Douglas is the new kid in Kettle Springs, Missouri, who discovers that the local mascot, Frendo the Clown, is more Pennywise than Ronald McDonald. Although it’s a clear attempt to cash in on the coulrophobic charms of It and Terrifier, early word has been encouraging.
Final Destination: Bloodlines
After five good-to-great popcorn films with no stinkers, the most consistent horror franchise of all time returns. But while the basic premise is rock solid—essentially a slasher film with death as the bad guy and everything in the known universe a potential weapon—and the late Tony Todd returns for a fitting last stand, do we really need any back story? Reassuringly, the trailer is a masterpiece of lethal mundanity (think: BBQs, broken glass, rakes and lawn mowers), suggesting new directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein have really got the memo.
Bring Her Back
After scoring a worldwide smash hit with 2022’s spooky, emotionally sophisticated Talk to Me, Australia’s Philippou brothers are back for more. Starring Sally Hawkins from The Shape of Water, plus Billy Barratt, Sora Wong and Jonah Wren Phillips, Bring Her Back is a “spiritual successor” to their extraordinary debut, with Hawkins playing a grieving mother whose new foster kids discover her preparing to perform a mysterious ritual. If it sounds like a mixture of A Dark Song and Goodnight Mommy, well, that’s alright with us. However this one plays out, it’s definitely not to be missed.
Dangerous Animals
People love shark movies; they also love serial killer movies. Sitting smack-bang in the middle of this deadly Venn diagram is the latest from Australian director Sean Byres (The Loved Ones), which concerns a surfer (Hassie Harrison), abducted by a murderer (Jai Courtney), so he can feed her to an even bigger predator—one with fins. It may sound stupid, but the trailer’s pretty classy—think The Shallows rather than Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!—although if someone makes a Jaws joke in the first ten minutes, abandon ship.
28 Years Later
Could this be the ultimate heritage sequel? A mere 23 years after Danny Boyle and Alex Garland reinvented the infection movie—why they didn’t wait another five is anyone’s guess—the entire team (including star Cillian Murphy, now producing, producer Andrew McDonald and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle) reunites for more cinematic splatter. Jodie Comer, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ralph Fiennes and Jack O’Connell provide fresh blood, and a third sequel—directed by Nia DaCosta—is already on the way. Let’s call that one 28 Minutes Later.
M3GAN 2.0
Like an embittered writer, everyone’s favourite super-camp killer doll returns to battle that most modern of evils: AI. Directed once again by Kiwi talent Gerard Johnstone, it continues the story of well-meaning roboticist Gemma (Allison Williams) and her orphaned niece Cady (Violet McGraw), with a defence contractor stealing M3GAN’s tech to do their evil bidding. Auckland once more stands in for America and, of course, Jemaine Clement cameos. A second caps lock-friendly spin-off, SOULM8TE, is planned for 2026.
