Dread Central’s Most Anticipated Horror Films of Summer 2023
Summer is mere weeks away which means sun, sand, and a plethora of horror titles about to hit cool theaters across the country. 2023 has already proven to be a banner year for the genre, from the sixth entry in the Scream franchise and the bloody (and incredibly successful) Evil Dead Rise to indie hits The Outwaters and Skinamarink. And the horror train shows no signs of slowing down this summer with a new Insidious film, Andre Øvredal’s The Last Voyage of the Demeter, and so much more.
We took on the task of listing all of our anticipated horror releases for Summer 2023. If we know one thing, it’s that this summer is going to be downright spooky.
The Wrath of Becky
Release date: May 26, 2023 (exclusively in theaters)
Directed by Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote
Two years after she escaped a violent attack on her family, Becky attempts to rebuild her life in the care of an older woman – a kindred spirit named Elena. But when a group known as the “Noble Men” break into their home, attack them, and take her beloved dog, Diego, Becky must return to her old ways to protect herself and her loved ones. Read our review of the film here.
The Boogeyman
Release date: June 2 (exclusively in theaters)
Directed by Rob Savage
High school student Sadie Harper and her younger sister Sawyer are reeling from the recent death of their mother and aren’t getting much support from their father, Will, a therapist who is dealing with his own pain. When a desperate patient unexpectedly shows up at their home seeking help, he leaves behind a terrifying supernatural entity that preys on families and feeds on the suffering of its victims.
Falcon Lake
Release date: June 2, 2o23 (select theaters), June 13, 2023 (digital)
Directed by Charlotte Le Bon
A ghost and love story.
Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story
Release date: June 6, 2023 (SCREAMBOX and digital)
Directed by Gary Smart and Christopher Griffiths
A classically trained actor and director, Robert 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 of supernatural serial killer Freddy Krueger in the A 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.
The Angry Black Girl And Her Monster
Release date: June 9, 2023 (theaters, digital, and VOD)
Directed by Bomani J. Story
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. Bomani J. Story, the film’s writer and director, crafts a thrilling tale about a family that, despite the terrors of systemic pressure, will survive and be reborn again. Read our review here.
Brooklyn 45
Release date: June 9, 2023 (Shudder)
Directed by Ted Geoghegan
Five military veterans, best friends since childhood, gather together to support their troubled host, and the metaphoric ghosts of their past become all too literal.
The Blackening
Release date: June 16, 2023 (exclusively in theaters)
Directed by Tim Story
The Blackening centers around a group of Black friends who reunite for a Juneteenth weekend getaway only to find themselves trapped in a remote cabin with a twisted killer. Forced to play by his rules, the friends soon realize this ain’t no motherf****** game. The Blackening skewers genre tropes and poses the sardonic question: if the entire cast of a horror movie is Black, who dies first?
Quicksand
Release date: June 23, 2023 (Shudder)
Directed by Matt Pitts
An American couple, on the brink of divorce, travel to Colombia for a work conference. While on a hike through the rainforest, a storm causes them to become trapped in a pit of quicksand. Unable to move, it becomes a struggle for survival as they battle the elements of the jungle and a venomous snake, in order to escape.
Insidious: The Red Door
Release date: July 7, 2023 (exclusively in theaters)
Directed by Patrick Wilson
The horror franchise’s original cast returns for the final chapter of the Lambert family’s terrifying saga. To put their demons to rest once and for all, Josh (Patrick Wilson) and a college-aged Dalton (Ty Simpkins) must go deeper into The Further than ever before, facing their family’s dark past and a host of new and more horrifying terrors that lurk behind the red door.
We Might Hurt Each Other
Release date: July 11, 2023 (SCREAMBOX)
Directed by Jonas Trukanas
After classmates destroy life-size wooden folk art statues during a wild high school graduation party at a remote cottage, a mysterious killer starts picking them off one by one.
Cobweb
Release date: July 21, 2023 (exclusively in theaters)
Directed by Samuel Bodin
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?
Fear The Night
Release date: July 21, 2023 (theaters, digital, and VOD)
Directed by Neil LaBute
Eight women attend a bachelorette party at a remote farmhouse in the California hills. They are interrupted by the arrival of masked intruders who surround the place and begin shooting arrows at the home and the guests. One partygoer—Tess, a military veteran who is fighting her addictions and her difficulty at fitting in with other people—leads the women in making a stand against the attackers as they fight back in an effort to save themselves over the course of a single dark night.
Haunted Mansion
Release date: July 28, 2023 (exclusively in theaters)
Directed by Justin Simien
Inspired by the classic theme park attraction, Haunted Mansion is about a woman and her son who enlist a motley crew of so-called spiritual experts to help rid their home of supernatural squatters.
Sympathy for the Devil
Release date: July 28, 2023 (theaters, digital, and VOD)
Directed by Yuval Adler
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 as it seems.
Talk To Me
Release date: July 28, 2023 (exclusively in theaters)
Directed by Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou
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. Read our review here.
Meg 2: The Trench
Release date: August 4, 2023 (exclusively in theaters)
Directed by Ben Wheatley
Jason Statham and Wu Jing reprise their roles in the sequel to the 2018 smash aquatic horror hit. The film will center on the two as they lead a daring research team to dive into the deepest known parts of the ocean. However, their undersea voyage soon takes a turn for the worse when a malevolent mining operation threatens their mission while they must also meanwhile face off against colossal Megalodons.
Elevator Game
Release date: August 11, 2023 (Shudder)
Directed by Rebekah McKendry
Elevator Game follows socially awkward teenager Ryan, who discovers that the night his sister disappeared she had played ‘The Elevator Game’ — a ritual conducted in an elevator, in which players attempt to travel to another dimension using a set of rules that can be found online. Ignoring warnings, he resolves to follow and find her.
The Last Voyage of the Demeter
Release date: August 11, 2023 (exclusively in theaters)
Directed by Andre Øvredal
Based on a single chilling chapter from Bram Stoker’s classic novel Dracula, The Last Voyage of the Demeter tells the terrifying story of the merchant ship Demeter, which was chartered to carry private cargo—fifty unmarked wooden crates—from Carpathia to London. 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.
birth/rebirth
Release date: August 18, 2023 (exclusively in theaters)
Directed by Laura Moss
A single mother and a childless morgue technician are bound together by their relationship to a little girl they have reanimated from the dead. Read our review here.
Bad Things
Release date: August 25, 2023 (Shudder)
Directed by Stewart Thorndike
GLOW’s Gayle Rankin stars as a woman on the edge, staying in a closed hotel, haunted by the past. Hari Nef co-stars in this psychological terror from Lyle director, Stewart Thorndike.
The Dive
Release date: August 25, 2023 (theaters, digital, and VOD)
Directed by Max Erlenwein
A deep-sea diving trip at one of the world’s most remote spots becomes a fight for survival for sisters Drew and May when a catastrophic landslide sends rocks tumbling into the sea. After being struck by the rockfall, May now lies 28 meters below the surface, trapped by debris and unable to move. With dangerously low levels of oxygen, it is up to Drew to fight for her sister’s life. She must put her own life in jeopardy and risk paying the ultimate sacrifice. But with no help in sight, time is quickly running out…
They Listen
Release date: August 25, 2023 (exclusively in theaters)
Directed by Chris Weitz
The plot details are being kept under wraps, but this Blumhouse Film stars John Cho and Katherine Waterston.
Perpetrator
Release date: September 1, 2023 (Shudder)
Directed by Jennifer Reeder
Perpetrator follows Jonny, a wild and impulsive teenage girl living precariously in a town where young women continue to go missing, and the power she’s forced to unlock to survive. At its core, a horror film inspired by the shared experience of generations of women, Perpetrator is equal parts modern mythmaking, thrilling story of revenge, and extraordinary exploration of youthful chaos.
The Nun 2
Release date: September 8, 2023 (exclusively in theaters)
Directed by Michael Chaves
1956 – France. A priest is murdered. An evil is spreading. The sequel to the worldwide smash hit The Nun follows Sister Irene as she once again comes face to face with the demonic force VALAK – THE DEMON NUN.
Satanic Hispanics
Release date: September 13, 2023 (exclusively in theaters)
Directed by Demián Rugna, Alejandro Brugués, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Mike Mendez, and. Eduardo Sánchez
Police raid a house in El Paso, full of dead Latinos, and find only one survivor: The Traveler. When the cops him to the station for questioning, he tells them about the horrors he’s encountered in his long time on this earth.
Which movies are you most excited to see this summer? Let us know over on Twitter @DreadCentral.
