Summer Screamers
Pastel pagan nightmares, crocodile-infested hurricanes, killer scarecrows and that damn clown from IT—the second half of 2019 is shaping up to be the perfect storm for horror film fans. Whether you’re a horror junkie on the lookout for new screams or just looking for titles to avoid, here’s a preview of the year’s latest scares.
Child’s Play (June 21)
(UA)
Several of the summer’s new scream machines lean hard on common fears: clowns, alligators, scarecrows, and in this case, killer dolls.
The infamous Chucky series is rebooted with modern twists here, as the doll now comes packaged with artificial intelligence. Tribune News’ Katie Walsh states, “Who would have guessed that a ‘Child's Play’ film would leave us with less popcorn-rattling jump scares and more existential questions about the role of Alexa in our lives?”
In the Age of Alexa, this remake is bound to hit closer to home—and make you rethink your next smart toy purchase.
Midsommar (July 3)
(A24)
Ever wondered if a horror film could work in broad daylight? Hereditary’s diabolically talented director Ari Aster aims to answer by rattling viewers in broad daylight with his second feature film, Midsommar. It’s fresh off an early multi-city premiere, where audiences and critics alike seem to agree with a resounding “hell yes.”
The pastel nightmare delves deeper into Hereditary’s themes of grief and complex relationships through the lens of a female lead in unfamiliar territory. It unfolds almost entirely in broad daylight as a struggling American couple find themselves and their friends in the middle of a once-every-90-years festival in a remote Swedish village.
Jordan Peele, director of recent horror hits Get Out (2017) and Us (2019), glowingly contends that a film like Aster’s latest “hasn’t existed yet, and anything after ‘Midsommar’ is going to have to contend with it.” Florence Pugh is also receiving rapturous praise as a “quiet riot” for her range as a grieving, bewildered, and multifaceted lead.
With other reviews calling the film “disturbing and surprisingly hilarious,” “this generation’s Wicker Man,” and “a mind-f*** of the highest order” with a striking opening sequence and horrific finale, Midsommar is a daylight fright likely worth seeing in theatres come July.
Crawl (July 12)
(Paramount)
As if the prospect of looming hurricanes weren’t enough to keep the southern coast states worried, Crawl sprinkles in gigantic alligators. This storm-monster suspense flick takes advantage of the natural disaster setting and ramps it up tenfold with survivalist horror and family drama.
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (August 9)
(Lionsgate)
I almost couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the title of my own personal favorite horror story anthology as a child pop up on a YouTube movie trailer channel. Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark still haunts my childhood bookshelf with its horrific and singular illustrations, perfectly-pitched narrations and dread-drenched boogeymen.
If the trailer is any indication, seeing these characters come alive on the big screen will bring them slinking back into our nightmares.
IT Chapter Two (September 6)
(Warner Bros)
Here we go again.
As if it wasn’t already set in stone before IT’s massive (and surprisingly record-breaking) box office haul, the second chapter is shaping up to be just as nightmare-inducing as the first with a star-studded cast led by Jessica Chastain.
Pennywise has always been that clown for the general public (and is often credited with propelling coulrophobia [fear of clowns] into the mainstream), but he seems to be even more diabolical this time around, especially for the adults still reeling from his red nose.
The second chapter is once again focused on the group of kids from the first movie—only 27 years later. The kids have grown apart from each other, bringing new themes back to old haunts—and likely making the second film darkly applicable to the fears we all hold long after childhood.