Well dear horror lover, I’m back. It’s been awhile since I posted, with lots going on over here – including creating a human! But fear not – or fear well – I’ve been keeping up with all of this year’s horror releases, and with the first half of the year all but wrapped, it’s time I dish. Get ready for a massively murderous, grandly gory, fantastically frightful, rapid-fire dump of opinions on all the major releases that have gone bump in the night so far in 2024, plus a few fun surprises.
Let’s begin with the latest summer blockbuster – A Quiet Place: Day One. A prequel that takes us back to the invasion that kicked off the Krasinski-fueled franchise, this film follows a jaded, cancer-ridden, cat-carrying Samira played with the delicate precision of Lupita Nyong’o as she navigates an alien-infested Manhattan on her final quest for cherished memories while she reckons with her own mortality. The majority of scares in this one are of the jump variety, but at least they are relatively unpredictable and accented by terrifically tense moments that will keep you on the edge of your seat. But perhaps most surprisingly, of the three films of the franchise so far, this one has the biggest, warmest heart at its core, and I’m almost positive that the tears I shed cannot simply be blamed on pregnancy hormones.
SpecialK Verdict: An action-packed, sweetly emotional film that will scratch that summer blockbuster itch. Catch it in theaters before it’s too late.
A Quiet Place: Day One is out in theaters.
In another summer release, The Watchers offers the latest from the world of M. Night Shyamalan, this time a directorial debut by his daughter, Ishana Night Shyamalan. A group of misfits – including characters played by Dakota Fanning and Georgina Campbell (of Barbarian fame) – find themselves drawn to an ancient Irish forest, only to end up trapped and observed by unseen forces in the woods. As they work together to unravel the mystery of their fate, they take increasingly perilous risks leaving you wondering what will become of them. While the creative premise of this one is definitely worth the watch, the ultimate twist (and bonus twist) are unfortunately predictable.
SpecialK Verdict: See this one for a fun new approach to spooky, but feel free to wait until it haunts the streaming channels.
The Watchers is out in theaters.
Departing the theaters now, lets peruse our streaming guides. Released earlier this year, Night Swim promised to inject a newfound fear into yet another everyday object – your backyard swimming pool. When a family starts afresh in a new home, they soon realize they are not alone in the soft waves of their blue-tiled paradise. As someone who grew up with nightmares of sharks and stingrays in her neighborhood pool, I was ready for this one. Unfortunately, this latest Blumhouse production flubs a fantastic premise, slathering this attempt with the typical supernatural tropes of the studio’s latest assembly line products.
SpecialK Verdict: Better to leave this one on dry land.
Night Swim is available on demand.
Turning to classic Catholic creeps, this year saw two very similarly habited tales featuring young American novitiates traveling to Italy to unearth ancient demonic sects. In Immaculate, Sydney Sweeney plays Sister Cecilia, who becomes pregnant upon her arrival to the convent. Touted as the next Virgin Mary, Sister Cecilia learns the motives of the nuns and priests around her are far from what they seem. Meanwhile, in The First Omen, we are transported back to the origins of the famous franchise, in which young Margaret seeks out the truth about a convent’s treatment of a disturbed young girl and others before her. Typically, when two films with similar plots are released at the same time, there’s an obvious frontrunner and a clear flop, but in this case I found each to be its own unique thrill ride despite their obvious parallels. The First Omen satisfies true franchise fans by revisiting old characters, practical effects, and other callbacks to the original The Omen, while stunning with spooky new scares that will haunt you from the shadows. Meanwhile, Immaculate tracks more closely to the more modern horror trends of its distribution company, Neon, even touching on the battle for reproductive rights. Both are spine-tingling blasts with strong leading ladies and neither should be missed.
SpecialK Verdict: Your assignment? Treat yourself to your own exercise in film analysis and see The First Omen and Immaculate back to back. I’ll expect an 8-10 page paper comparing and contrasting the two on my desk by Monday.
The First Omen and Immaculate are available on demand.
Winning the year’s award for creativity thus far, Late Night With the Devil snuck into U.S. theaters through IFC Films without much fanfare, after a solid debut at South by Southwest in 2023. This Australia/U.S./United Arab Emirates co-production offers a found footage episode of a 1970s late night talk show featuring mediums, skeptics, and a possessed little girl. It’s rare to watch a horror film these days and truly not know what to expect, but this stylized throwback satisfyingly delivers on the unknown.
SpecialK Verdict: Somewhat hokey, somewhat hilarious, Late Night With the Devil is a fun horror romp you won’t want to miss.
Late Night with the Devil is available on Shudder.
Now we turn to two films you might be tempted to check out thanks to a few powerhouse Sony and Lionsgate ad buys – Tarot and Imaginary. In the former film, a group of college kids does a bit of fortune telling and awakens demons of the zodiac, while in the latter, a woman reckons with an otherworldly invisible friend from her past. I won’t waste your time describing how ridiculous, meandering, and cliche each film is, but I’ll save you the trouble – they simply aren’t good.
SpecialK Verdict: There are so many more interesting and valuable ways to spend your time. Like organizing your finances. Dusting your window blinds. Or counting your ceiling tiles. Skip both Imaginary and Tarot.
Imaginary and Tarot are available on demand.
For a delightfully pleasant surprise, we turn to Under Paris, in which a group of scientists and advocates try to convince the Parisian government that a man-eating shark has made its home in the Seine and will turn the upcoming Olympic Triathlon into a massacre. Sounds absurd, right? Well somewhere along the way, this film takes the terror of classics like Jaws, mixes in the humor of films like Deep Blue Sea, and sprinkles on top a smidge of the ridiculousness of Sharknado for a surprisingly fun and tension-filled summer shark selection. Where recent fishy flicks like The Meg take their human storylines and their CGI a bit too seriously, this one is a bloody romp from its opening scene, recognizing exactly what its audience wants and delivering on it. If only Netflix chose to release this one in theaters instead!
SpecialK Verdict: For a truly fun and gory underwater selection, check out Under Paris.
Under Paris is available on Netflix.
For an indie pick on the fringes of the horror genre, let’s discuss New Life. Featuring a young woman on the run from shady government-like operatives after the death of her boyfriend, the film also tracks in parallel a middle-aged woman recently diagnosed with a life-ending disease on the hunt for the fugitive. Mix in a zombie-like virus and a quietly successful horror-thriller is born. Winner of the 2023 Audience Choice Award at the Heartland International Film Festival, New Life delicately weaves together themes of community and mortality, all cloaked in a thrilling plot with relatable characters facing unreal situations. With writer/director Josh Rosman delivering in his debut, I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next.
SpecialK Verdict: See this sleeper of a winning horror film and you won’t be disappointed.
New Life is available on demand.
Rounding out our list today is The Blackwell Ghost 8 – the latest in a series that may be relegated to the very last of the horror titles you scroll past while perusing your streaming service of choice. Far from a B-movie-quality series, this one has sustained my interest film after film. With an average runtime of about an hour, you can easily binge the whole series in a weekend, and trust me, you’ll want to. The horror mockumentary series begins as a couple attempts to capture ghosts on film in a haunted house, but when the lead, Turner Clay, digs deeper, he finds himself tracking down a serial killer in the backwoods of Florida. Chasing a mystery that never quite seems to end, this series is the perfect blend of supernatural, found footage, and murder-mystery for a lazy summer weekend.
SpecialK Verdict: If you’ve been keeping track of the series, The Blackwell Ghost 8 keeps the mystery moving, and if you’re new to Turner Clay and his films, start with the original and make your way to the latest. You won’t regret it.
The Blackwell Ghost is available on demand.
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