First, an exclusive announcement for subscribers: I will be appearing at the legendary Cinema Arts Centre in Huntington, Long Island, on Wednesday, July 31, to host a screening and post-show Q&A for Dario Argento’s Suspiria. Anything you want to know about this classic supernatural giallo that isn’t already in Broken Mirrors / Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento, here’s your chance to ask.
Now, to preview this week’s review, here’s a Longlegs behind-the-scenes video newly available today. It is gimmicky but clever — William Castle ballyhoo for a post-Internet world. Per distributor Neon, we’re hearing the sound of actor Maika Monroe’s rising heartbeat as she first meets Nicolas Cage in character on set. I’m sure much of this is due to a good actor being so in the moment that the scene may as well be real life. But perhaps some of it is up-and-comer Monroe — the lead or co-lead of such recent films as Watcher (2022) and God Is a Bullet (2023) — thinking, “Holy shit. I’m doing a one-on-one scene with Nicholas freaking Cage!”
The movie, about an FBI agent uncovering occult clues as she tracks a serial killer, opens Friday. Our premium-subscriber review goes live Thursday. In the meantime, here’s something for everyone, followed by a head’s-up of some upcoming horror films….
Upcoming: Not necessarily for review but to keep you informed of new releases in the genre:
Oddity
A year after the wife of a mental-health doctor is murdered, the woman’s blind twin sister, a self-proclaimed psychic, is convinced there was more to the killing than people know. Pursuing retribution, she visits the home of the doctor and his new girlfriend, bringing along dangerous items from her collection of cursed artifacts. Writer-director Damian McCarthy’s film opens theatrically July 19.
Humane
Peter Gallagher, Jay Baruchel and (below) Emily Hampshire star in horror scion Caitlin Cronenberg’s feature directorial debut. Months after after a global ecological collapse in which the wealthy have escaped into enclaves, a retired newsman gathers his four grown children to announce his upcoming voluntary euthanasia. When that plan goes horribly awry, tensions flare and chaos erupts among his children. Streaming July 26 on Shudder.
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