The 16 Hottest Scary Movies You Absolutely Cannot Miss This Summer

Host director Rob Savage tearing it up and traumatizing a new generation with a dread-filled feature-length rendition of Stephen King's short story The Boogeyman. This one's got a phenomenal cast, including Sophie Thatcher, Sadie Harper, Chris Messina, and David Dastmalchian. The story focuses on two sisters still reeling from the tragic death of their mother, as they find themselves plagued by a sadistic presence in their house. What a way to kick off the summer movie season! A good old fashioned don't look under the bed and shackle the closet doors romp. Check out our Boogeyman interviews.

This documentary celebrates the beloved Robert Englund. A classically trained actor and director, Englund has become one of the most revolutionary horror icons of our generation. Throughout his career, Englund starred in many well-known movies, but shot to super-stardom with his portrayal as the man of our nightmares, supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger in the Nightmare On Elm Street franchise. This unique and intimate portrait captures the man behind the glove and features interviews with Englund and his wife Nancy, Lin Shaye, Eli Roth, Tony Todd, Heather Langenkamp and more.

Ted Geoghegan's WWI era séance movie explores the horrors of war from within a Brooklyn apartment building. It's Friday, December 27, 1945 and five military veterans have gathered in the ornate parlour of a Brooklyn brownstone. Best friends since childhood, they’ve reunited to support their troubled host–but when his invitation for cocktails turns into an impromptu séance, the metaphoric ghosts of their past become all too literal. Trapped in their host’s lounge, the Greatest Generation now finds themselves put to one final test, with their only route to freedom being more bloodshed.

Serving up a new take on the Frankenstein mythos. 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.  Writer/director Bomani J. Story crafts a thrilling tale about a family that, despite the terrors of systemic pressure, will survive and be reborn again. 

A new horror comedy where they can't all die first! We are so here for this. The trailer promises not only a good amount of humor, but also a plenitude of brutality. Seven friends go away for the weekend, only to find themselves trapped in a cabin with a very strange board game and a killer who has a vendetta. They must pit their street smarts and knowledge of horror movies against the murderer to stay alive. This one hits just in time for Juneteenth weekend, so let's fill those theaters.

A supernatural thriller directed by Vincent Shade, focuses on a law student who finds himself losing his mind in a twisted web of murder and deceit brought on by a dark force from his past.

The alleged "final" installment of the Insidious franchise, The Red Door is also the first entry in this series directed by (and starring) longtime James Wan collaborator Patrick Wilson. Picking up ten years after the last installment, Josh (Patrick Wilson) and a college-aged Dalton (Ty Simpkins) must go deeper into The Further than ever before to put their demons to rest once and for all.

One Cut of the Dead but make it French! The heart-warming Japanese sensation warmed our undead hearts, now Oscar® winner Michel Hazanavicius' remake of Shin’ichirô Ueda’s cult hit follows a director (Romain Duris, L’Auberge Espagnole) charged with making a live, single-take, low-budget zombie flick. Oscar® nominee Bérénice Bejo (The Artist), Matilda Lutz (Revenge), and Finnegan Oldfield (Corsage). One Cut is undoubtedly a love letter to filmmakers, and Final Cut has been described as "a sly love letter to the art of filmmaking and a blood-soaked, hilarious genre farce with a meta-to-the-max premise." Can't wait!

A massive hurricane floods Louisiana and unleashes a threat even deadlier than the rising water level: a relentless horde of giant hungry alligators. When a group of in-transit prisoners and their security guards seek shelter in a local prison, they become prey for the flesh-eating attackers. To survive, the prisoners and guards must fight together, in this action-thriller packed with slithery scares and jaw-clenching suspense.

Seth Rogan is a producer on this one, which instantly piqued our interest. Eight-year-old Peter is plagued by a mysterious, constant tap, tap from inside his bedroom wall – a tapping that his parents insist is all in his imagination. As Peter’s fear intensifies, he believes that his parents (Lizzy Caplan and Antony Starr) could be hiding a terrible, dangerous secret and questions their trust.  And for a child, what could be more frightening than that?

Possession is one hell of a party drug! This one is our Vol 2 Issue #20 subscriber cover for good reason. It's gonna be the talk of the town. When a group of friends discover how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand, they become hooked on the new thrill, until one of them goes too far and unleashes terrifying supernatural forces.

Please tell us Nicolas Cage plays the devil! After being forced to drive a mysterious passenger at gunpoint, a man finds himself in a high-stakes game of cat and mouse where it becomes clear that not everything is at it seems. 

We're joining the happy haunts this summer. A single mom named Gabbie hires a tour guide, a psychic, a priest, and a historian to help exorcise their newly bought mansion; after discovering it is inhabited by ghosts. Bonus: Academy Award Winner (and Chainsaw Award winner!) and FANGORIA cover final girl Jamie Lee Curtis plays Madame Leota. That's reason enough in itself.

Based on the 2018 hit podcast, the series is produced by Blumhouse and will consist of eight episodes. All eight of those will premiere on July 7, so you can bake some empanadas and binge, if you're so inclined. The story is a bit of Sweeney Todd vs gentrification, centered on the titular Dolores Roach. Love, betrayal, weed, cannibalism, and survival of the fittest. Dolores Roach (Justina Machado) is released after an unjust 16-year prison sentence, and she returns to a gentrified Washington Heights.

Dolores reunites with an old stoner friend, Luis (Alejandro Hernandez), who lets her live and work as a masseuse in the basement under his empanada shop. When the promise of her newfound stability is quickly threatened, “Magic Hands” Dolores is driven to shocking extremes to survive.

The Autopsy of Jane Doe and Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark director André Øvredal helms the ship on this expansion based on a single chapter from Bram Stoker’s classic novel, Dracula. As the titular cargo ship Demeter carries a private cargo load of fifty unmarked wooden crates from Carpathia to London, what could possible go wrong!?

Strange events befall the doomed crew as they attempt to survive the ocean voyage, stalked each night by a merciless presence onboard the ship. When the Demeter finally arrives off the shores of England, it is a charred, derelict wreck. There is no trace of the crew. We get a double dose of Dastmalchian this summer, he opens up the summer blockbuster season with an appearance in The Boogeyman and he's back as the Demeter's first mate.

"Where are all the female Travis Bickles and Jack Torrances?" Bad Things director Stewart Thorndike posed the question and answered it with this film. The story focuses on a group of friends whose trip to a snowy resort for a weekend getaway devolves into a psychological tailspin and ends in a bloody nightmare.

That's all the summer lowdown we've got for now! This watchlist should keep you busy for a bitchin' summer, and we'll be sure to update as new release dates are announced.