Halloween In July: 5 New Horror Films You Need To See This Summer!

Rejoice, horror fans! As the official start of Summer creeps closer and closer, new details about some of the most anticipated film releases of this year are beginning to drop. This summer, as is often the case, a whole onslaught of new genre films to scare audiences everywhere will welcome us into the new season. From the foothills of Los Angeles to the skyscrapers of New York City, from supernatural serial killers to super-hearing aliens, from mind-bending to straight-up scary, these 5 films will have you squirming in your seat in the coming months. Here’s everything you need to know!

1. A Quiet Place: Day One (dir. Michael Sarnoski) - June 27

The third installment in the A Quiet Place cinematic universe, A Quiet Place: Day One is a prequel that brings us back for a feature-length exploration of the very first day of the apocalypse. But unlike the first two films, we’re not in any old small town. We’re in the Big Apple. And with lots of hustle and bustle comes lots — and lots — of bloodthirsty aliens. Exactly one week after the official start of the Summer season, we’ll have the privilege of watching Lupita Nyong’o and Joseph Quinn fight for their lives in what can safely be assumed is the worst day of their lives (so far). 

2. MaXXXine (dir. Ti West) - July 5

Ti West is going full ‘80s slasher for the closing film of his horror trilogy starring Mia Goth, and getting bloodier than ever before. After uber cult hits X and Pearl, the upcoming MaXXXine fast-forwards a few years from a brutal incident that left the titular character as the only survivor. She was filming a very special kind of movie in a remote Southern cabin, but now she’s come to meet the glitz and glamor of Hollywood with a fierce determination to succeed. And she’s not going to let anyone — especially not some lunatic with a cleaver — get in her way. Before the first week of July comes to a close, it’s Maxine Minx vs. the Night Stalker in an epic battle for stardom. 

3. Longlegs (dir. Oz Perkins) - July 12

In what might be the eeriest release in years, Oz Perkins (the son of horror icon Anthony Perkins) has shrouded his newest film in mystery. We know it’s a classic game of cat and mouse between a killer and a detective — think Se7en or The Prestige — but that’s about it. The teasers and trailers for this film so far have left fans following a trail of unforgivably creepy breadcrumbs to indecipherable codes, mysterious phrases, and eerie soundscapes. Supernatural or not, this one is sure to be a doozy. Starring Nicolas Cage and Maika Monroe, we’re sure excited to see what critics are calling “profoundly unsettling” and “pure nightmare fuel”. One thing’s for sure: Don’t let him in. 

4. Cuckoo (dir. Tilman Singer) - August 2

After model-turned-acting sensation Hunter Schafer demonstrated her fantastic acting chops in Seasons 1 and 2 of "Euphoria", fans have been hungry to see the star in something new. With Tilman Singer’s long-awaited Cuckoo, their dreams will come true. Schafer plays the lead, who, after agreeing to move to a remote German town with her father, is hunted by an escaped patient from an asylum. We don’t know much about this one, but we know it’s a sick and twisted thriller full of bloody visions and even bloodier realities. This film is sure to have audiences scared straight, and after the release of one trailer, we can tell it’s not for the faint of heart. Hunter Schafer may be riding her bike around town once again, but this time it’s not for an ill-fated hookup — it’s for her life. 

5. Blink Twice (dir. Zoë Kravitz) - August 23

Remember the foxy Catwoman from the most recent installment in the Batman franchise? Well, now she’s starring in her very own film, a psychological thriller starring Channing Tatum as an alluring, and dangerous, tech mogul that Kravitz finds herself trapped with. What makes this film even more interesting is that Kravitz directed it herself, the most recent announcement in a trend of actors-turned-directors in Hollywood. More psychological thriller than horror, this film is nonetheless designed to elicit blood-pumping reactions from audiences worldwide, as we’re forced to helplessly watch Kravitz and a friend fight for their survival — and sanity — on an unsettlingly culty private island with a handful of rich and powerful elites. It’s all of our biggest dreams turned into our worst nightmare. The trailer keeps things refreshingly vague, but Blink Twice looks like a better, more skillful escape thriller than Don’t Worry, Darling a couple of years back, so it’s sure to generate some conversation.