With the Fourth of July holiday weekend in the rearview and blockbusters making box office headlines, summer is in full swing. That means that peak vacation season is also underway, bringing with it a reminder of all the ways that horror can transform even the most relaxing setting into a harrowing survival nightmare. This week’s […]
With the Fourth of July holiday weekend in the rearview and blockbusters making box office headlines, summer is in full swing. That means that peak vacation season is also underway, bringing with it a reminder of all the ways that horror can transform even the most relaxing setting into a harrowing survival nightmare.
This week’s streaming picks center on vacations gone wrong, with supernatural and other threats crashing plans for poolside relaxation and beyond.
Head Count – Hoopla, Peacock, Pluto TV, Roku Channel
A quiet little creepypasta set at Joshua Tree, where a weekend getaway among friends becomes a mind-bending descent into paranoia after they unwittingly perform a ritual that summons a supernatural entity. In her feature debut, director Elle Callahan transforms a meager budget into an atmospheric tale. The film’s more deliberate pacing means it won’t be for everyone, but Head Count does offer up one doozy of a scare that happens to take place in the middle of a crowded house full of people.
House – Criterion Channel, HBO Max
Also known as Hausu, this Japanese cult classic takes the haunted house concept to wacky extremes. The premise has a group of seven high school girls traveling to a remote home belonging to one of their aunts for summer vacation, and it happens to be haunted. It’s a straightforward setup that doesn’t adequately prepare the viewer for the abject madness ahead. Take the haunted house tropes, like spooky cats, bleeding walls, and vengeful ghosts, and combine them with hallucinogenic visuals and funhouse sensibilities. You have the most bizarre haunted house horror movie you’ll ever see. I mean that as a compliment.
The Last House on the Left (2009) – HBO Max
This intense update on Wes Craven’s early cult classic injects a bit more hope into its grim proceedings, but that doesn’t mean it sacrifices on savage violence. Here, the Collingwoods have just arrived at the family lake house for a vacation when they run afoul of a sadistic bunch led by Krug, newly escaped from prison and on the lam. The Collingwoods are unaware that Krug’s clan has viciously kidnapped and assaulted their teen daughter, but when they catch on, all hell breaks loose. It’s both a harrowing bid for survival and one of the most vicious tales of revenge, making for one of horror’s better remakes.
The Ruins – AMC+ Shudder
A relaxing summer vacation lounging by the resort pool turns into a harrowing fight for survival when a group embarks on a trip to a remote archeological dig in the jungle. They get trapped atop the Mayan temple by the locals and think the harsh elements are the worst of their problems. That’s before they realize the site harbors a very deadly and cunning evil. Instead of a masked maniac picking off unlucky vacationers, it’s one demented killer plant. The seemingly sentient vines dispatch the group one by one in often gruesome ways. That’s not to downplay the survival elements, though; the blistering sun and a lack of food or water means that death is inevitable the longer they remain.
Us – Netflix
A fun summer vacation for the Wilson family turns into a terrifying fight for survival when their doppelgangers show up to claim their lives as their own. Jordan Peele balances the humor with the scares, but above all, Us boasts a captivating, immeasurably talented cast. Lupita Nyong’o’s dual performance as Adelaide Wilson/Red is both heartbreaking and chilling, making for a fierce lead performance. Still, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseph, and Evan Alex are all equally exceptional in the sophomore effort no one predicted.
