April marks the halfway point to Halloween, and plenty of new horror movies and shows are coming out this week to celebrate that. The biggest releases include a new season of Black Mirror on Netflix, The Last of Us season 2, and Blumhouse's new thriller from Happy Death Day scribe Christopher Landon.
Did you hear? Happy Death Day 3 is moving forward!
I've combed through all of the major streaming services and theatrical listings in search of other notable films releasing this week and found a movie about cursed videotapes, a summer camp slasher, and more!
Mickey 17 (VOD, Apr. 8)
Bong Joon Ho's latest movie is a sci-fi film with a satirical twist. Robert Pattinson plays Mickey, an "Expendable" employee tasked with assisting the colonization effort on the ice planet Nilfheim. Expendables have one of the worst jobs of all.
Their entire purpose is to be used like cannon fodder or experimentation material, dying over and over again and then being re-printed in a machine using technology similar to cloning. It's an innovative, funny, and timely movie featuring an incredible performance from Pattinson. If you didn't get the chance to watch it in theaters, you'll be able to rent or buy Mickey 17 on digital this week.
Seven Veils (VOD, Apr. 8)
Amanda Seyfried stars in this dark psychological drama about a theatre director struggling with the re-emergence of disturbing repressed memories while preparing a production of the famous opera Salome. The film is receiving praise for its direction and Seyfried's moving central performance.
Rumpelstiltskin (VOD, Apr. 8)
See the fairy tale character Rumpelstiltskin like you never have before in this horror film that recently premiered at FrightFest in the UK. Coming to VOD this week, Rumpelstiltskin follows a princess who gets into a dangerous situation with an ancient creature. Expect gory practical effects and action.
Desert Fiends (VOD, Apr. 8)
Gravitas Ventures is releasing this indie horror film about a group of friends who break down in a deserted location and encounter a terrifying family intent on killing anyone who crosses their paths. It sounds a little like The Hills Have Eyes.
In the Lost Lands (VOD, Apr. 8)
George R.R. Martin fans won't want to miss this epic adaptation of his short story of the same name, starring Milla Jovovich and Dave Bautista as a witch and a hunter searching for a legendary artifact. Paul W.S. Anderson directed the film, reuniting him with Jovovich from when the pair worked on the Resident Evil movies together.
The Cursed Tapes (VOD, Apr. 8)
After his father dies and he inherits his estate, a man stumbles upon a box of old home movies. Viewing them, he learns that his dad found an evil entity while he was alive and spent much of his life trying to understand and contain it. The tapes paint a disturbing picture of a creature locked away in the bowels of the very house the man just inherited.
Black Mirror season 7 (Netflix, Apr. 10)
This week, Netflix is set to debut the next highly-anticipated season of its popular dark sci-fi anthology series Black Mirror. Among the new episodes is a sequel to "U.S.S. Callister," we'll also see the return of some characters from the interactive Black Mirror special Bandersnatch.
Creator Charlie Brooker has teased that the six new episodes present a mixture of genres, and at least two are almost feature-length. The cast includes stars like Will Poulter, Awkwafina, Emma Corrin, Peter Capaldi, Paul Giamatti, Rashida Jones, Cristin Milioti, Billy Magnussen, and more.
Shadow of God (Shudder, Apr. 10)
Shudder is celebrating the fact that we've reached this year's "halfway to Halloween" mark with some new movies! Among them is the exorcism horror movie Shadow of God, about a strange phenomenon causing the death of several Vatican priests. Father Mason is forced to return home, where he learns about dark secrets harbored by his hometown.
Drop (Theaters, Apr. 11)
Drop is one of the most anticipated horror movies of the spring. The latest from Happy Death Day writer and director Christopher Landon, Drop stars Meghann Fahy as a single mother excited to return to the dating world.
What starts as a romantic evening soon turns into a horror show when a mysterious person begins air-dropping threats to her phone, telling her that if she doesn't murder her new date, her young son will pay the price.
Marshmallow (Theaters, Apr. 11)
If you're not burnt out on summer camp horror stories after Hell of a Summer, or you want something darker and more serious in tone, keep an eye out for Marshmallow. Morgan is a shy kid, hesitant about being sent away to summer camp, and for good reason, it turns out.
At this secluded camp, he listens to his fellow campers tell scary stories around the campfire, one of them involving a sinister doctor lurking in a nearby cellar. Morgan starts to see the doctor stalking him from the shadows. Could this story have become a reality? Marshmallow marks the feature directorial debut of Daniel DelPurgatorio with a script by Black Friday writer Andy Greskoviak.
The Last of Us season 2 (HBO, Apr. 13)
With The White Lotus wrapped, HBO is moving on to its next big prestige show, The Last of Us, based on the popular video game series developed by Naughty Dog. Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey return as Joel and Ellie, continuing this dark and gripping post-apocalyptic series. Early buzz for this season has been overwhelmingly positive, but critics warn fans to prepare themselves before watching as this season gets even more grim than the first.