This week is all about horror at home, as all of this week’s new releases can be watched from the comfort of your couch. The list includes the home debuts of three of this year’s big theatrical releases. Here’s all the new horror releasing May 2 – May 7, 2023!
For daily reminders about new horror releases, be sure to follow @HorrorCalendar.
Universal’s brand new horror-comedy Renfield has been playing in theaters since April 14, and the film is now available on at-home VOD ($24.99) beginning today.
Meagan wrote in her review of Renfield, “It won’t reignite fervor for a new Universal Monsters resurgence, but Renfield makes for an entertaining enough time at the movies.”
Nicolas Cage sinks his teeth into the most iconic bloodsucker of all time in Renfield, playing Count Dracula alongside Nicholas Hoult’s fly-eating henchman, Renfield.
“In this modern monster tale of Dracula’s loyal servant, Nicholas Hoult stars as Renfield, the tortured aide to history’s most narcissistic boss, Dracula (Oscar® winner Nicolas Cage). Renfield is forced to procure his master’s prey and do his every bidding, no matter how debased. But now, after centuries of servitude, Renfield is ready to see if there’s a life outside the shadow of The Prince of Darkness. If only he can figure out how to end his codependency.”
Universal’s Renfield is based on an original pitch from “The Walking Dead” creator Robert Kirkman. Chris McKay (The Tomorrow War, LEGO Batman Movie) directed the movie.
The film co-stars Awkwafina (The Farewell, Shang-Chi and the Legend of Ten Rings), Ben Schwartz (Sonic, The Afterparty) and Adrian Martinez (The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, Focus).
Ryan Ridley (“Rick and Morty”) wrote the script for Renfield.
Academy Award winner Russell Crowe plays real-life exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth in The Pope’s Exorcist, which is also now available on at-home PVOD ($24.99) today.
Julius Avery (Overlord) directed The Pope’s Exorcist.
In The Pope’s Exorcist, “Gabriele Amorth, the Vatican’s leading exorcist, investigates the possession of a child and uncovers a conspiracy the Vatican has tried to keep secret.”
Franco Nero (Django, John Wick: Chapter 2) stars as the titular pope. Laurel Marsden (Ms. Marvel), Cornell S. John (Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald), Peter DeSouza-Feighoney, Alex Essoe (Doctor Sleep) and Daniel Zovatto (It Follows) also star. Ralph Ineson (The Witch, The Green Knight) voices the film’s demon.
From Sony’s Screen Gems, The Pope’s Exorcist is based on real-life exorcist Father Gabriele Amorth, “the legendary Italian priest who performed over 100,000 exorcisms for the Vatican.”
Evan Spiliotopoulos wrote the current draft with revisions by Chuck MacLean, based on Michael Petroni-revised original drafts by Chester Hastings and R. Dean McCreary.
Adam Driver battles prehistoric terrors in Sony’s Sam Raimi-produced 65, which is now available to watch at home. You can purchase the film on Digital for $19.99.
You’ll be able to rent 65 at a cheaper cost beginning on May 16, and the high concept action-horror movie will also be hitting DVD, Blu-ray and 4K UHD on May 30, 2023.
Meagan wrote in her review of 65, “The potential for what could’ve been had 65 fully embraced the absurdities of its plot is what lingers once it’s over.”
Sam Raimi joined forces with A Quiet Place writers Scott Beck and Bryan Woods for 65, who directed the high concept genre film from their own original screenplay.
The original movie from Columbia Pictures stars Adam Driver, Ariana Greenblatt, and Chloe Coleman, and we had no idea what the movie was about until the first trailer hit. Turns out, it’s a survival horror experience set on Earth in the distant past, inhabited by dinosaurs. Adam Driver is tasked with blasting them away with futuristic video game weapons.
“After a catastrophic crash on an unknown planet, pilot Mills (Adam Driver) quickly discovers he’s actually stranded on Earth…65 million years ago. Now, with only one chance at rescue, Mills and the only other survivor, Koa (Ariana Greenblatt), must make their way across an unknown terrain riddled with dangerous prehistoric creatures in an epic fight to survive.”
Cinedigm and Bloody Disgusting acquired all North American rights to The Ancestral, the disturbing new horror film from renowned director Le-Van Kiet (The Requin). The Ancestral is a brand new SCREAMBOX Original that debuted today, only on SCREAMBOX!
The Ancestral released theatrically in Vietnam last year. It held the top spot for two consecutive weekends, making it the second consecutive success for the visionary director Kiet. His bold style first caught the eye of the international community after his film Furie became Vietnam’s highest-grossing film of all time; the film went on to become the country’s submission to the Academy Awards for Best International Feature.
In The Ancestral…
“After suffering a family tragedy, a widower moves his two daughters to a centuries-old ancestral home. When both daughters fall prey to sleep paralysis and night terrors, their father seeks the help of a local psychologist. These chilling secrets and frightening visions eventually prove that not everything is what it seems in the old family house.”
The Ancestral is also written by Kiet with contributions from Vo Nguyen Dan. The film stars Lam Thanh My (Hollow), Quang Tuan (Glorious Ashes) & Mai Cát Vi (The Third Wife).
From Dark Sky Films, The Third Saturday in October is a highly unique experiment ripped straight out of the 1980s, and we’re getting TWO movies this Friday, May 5.
First up, The Third Saturday in October Part V kicks off this throwback double feature, and it’s followed by The Third Saturday in October Part 1. Confused?
The Third Saturday in October Part V is technically the second entry in the slasher series– there are no Parts II, III, or IV- but the recommended starting point in your viewing.
Meagan Navarro explains in her review, “The Third Saturday in October Part V is a clever slasher parody that aims to recreate that feeling of renting Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan on a weekend because someone beat you to the video store and snatched up all the other entries first.” After you’ve seen it, you can then move on to “Part 1.”
Meagan goes on to explain, “The slasher homage series with regional specificity works best as a double feature, with the overlap between them and the respective period aesthetics creating a unique cinematic experiment. It’s impressive what Jay Burleson’s achieved and recreated, likely with so little when viewed as two pieces of a whole. The Third Saturday in October may not be nearly as entertaining as Part V, but it is a fascinating exercise in nostalgia.”
Watch the trailers for both retro slasher movies below…
Megan Fox (Jennifer’s Body) is back in the crime thriller Johnny & Clyde, a new take on the classic Bonnie & Clyde tale that comes to theaters and On Demand on Friday, May 5.
Avan Jogia (Zombieland: Double Tap), Ajani Russell (Betty), and Tyson Ritter (Preacher) also star in Johnny & Clyde, which is said to have a wild supernatural element in play.
“The spin on the iconic Bonnie and Clyde story follows two serial killers (Jogia, Russell) who are madly in love and on a shocking crime spree. They ultimately set their sights on robbing a prosperous casino run by a crime boss, Alana (Megan Fox), and her head of security, Guy (Ritter).”
Tom DeNucci (Vault) directed Johnny & Clyde.
The script was co-written by Nick Principe (Laid to Rest), who teased the project to Bloody Disgusting back in 2021. Principe told us, “…it starts off as a crime/heist picture, but once they get trapped in the cash room it’s definitely balls-to-the-wall slasher/horror. Instead of vampires, it’s just one big, spooky supernatural slasher.”
DeNucci explained to BD, “Megan Fox’s character is very dark. I don’t want to give away too much, but visually we wanted her to almost be like a Disney princess, but a messed up, very dark, twisted version of that. Her look is just incredible … this kind of almost evil princess character. I went into a weird kind of Disney path.”
There’s a hell in every secret. Looking like Cube meets Escape Room, Paramount+ Original movie Death’s Roulette will be released on Friday, May 5, exclusively on Paramount+.
Death’s Roulette follows seven strangers who wake up in a mansion in the middle of nowhere to discover they are part of a twisted game. They have 60 minutes to choose one person to die; otherwise, all of them will be murdered. As the clock ticks down, the most lurid secrets will come to light, and they’ll discover they are all connected by a dark past.
Manolo Cardona, Maribel Verdú, Carla Adell, Juan Carlos Remolina, Adriana Paz, Dagoberto Gama, and Fernando Becerril star. Watch the official trailer below.
The post These 8 New Horror Movies Are Releasing at Home This Week appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.