leebutler Horror, Review

Whistle (2026) – Hot Air

Released: 12th February
Seen: 5th August

A good old horror movie staple is the cursed object, something that’s been imbued with evil magic that causes death. The Monkey’s Paw, a tape that makes you die in 7 days, a One Wish Willow – simple everyday items that result in horrific deaths for anyone who happens upon them. This can often make for some truly great horror stories that not only shock the audience but also feel somewhat relatable; everyone at some point has picked up a random item and fiddled with it, so the idea of happening upon a cursed item and accidentally triggering its curse is weirdly believable. Sometimes it can lead to great movies, but often it’ll lead to films that’re just kind of OK, like the film Whistle, a film that doesn’t even have the decency to actually blow and give me an easy pun to make.

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leebutler Crime, Drama, Horror, Review, Thriller

Psycho Killer (2026) – Boring Heads

Released: 20th February
Seen: 6th August

In 1995, the movie Se7en came out to good reviews and a great box office. It’s the film that made people start noticing David Fincher as a director, gave several people involved some much-needed career boosts and is nowadays considered an absolute classic of the genre, showing how genuinely intelligent and dark a crime thriller could actually be. The man who wrote it was Andrew Kevin Walker, who has written several other films, done script doctoring on some major works like Fight Club and even wrote an episode of Tales From The Crypt, so he should be considered a genuinely great writer… and he wrote the script for the movie Psycho Killer, so even the greats can write absolute trash.

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leebutler Horror, Mystery, Review, Thriller

Scream 7 (2026) – Annoyed Yell

Released: 26th February
Seen: 2nd August

In November of 2023, it was announced that Melissa Barrera was no longer going to be a part of Scream 7. She was fired over a handful of posts she’d made calling the attacks in Gaza a genocide, these posts were deemed anti-semitic by Spyglass… they were not, they were calling out the actions of the government of Israel and specifically those of its leader, who right now has a warrant out for his arrest in relation to war crimes, specifically the genocide in Gaza. This was a pretty obvious overreaction back in 2023 but the feeling of anger towards Spyglass only grew as the war raged on and it became even more obvious that Melissa was right, which led to a lot of people calling for a boycott of Scream 7. This is why I didn’t go see the film during its initial release, despite loving this franchise which was my introduction to the horror genre that I love so much. Now Melissa has come out and said she’s moved on from everything, and the film made so much money that it feels silly to keep boycotting it (this isn’t a Harry Potter situation where the people who made it are so hateful that giving them a dollar actively harms others) so I finally saw it… and it’s probably the worst entry in this legendary franchise.

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leebutler Action, Comedy, Review, Thriller

Over Your Dead Body (2026) – Lethally Funny

Released: 10th June
Seen: 12th July

The dark comedy is one of the harder genres to nail because there’s a very fine line between “A dark joke” and “being a tasteless fuck” and it’s a line that’s incredibly easy to cross. Not only that but if you don’t actually push far enough with a joke it can just feel kind of dull, like in the movie How To Make A Killing which showed that you can have a dark comedic premise but fail at the actual comedy element. The idea of a couple trying to murder each other is a premise that can absolutely lead to some great dark comedy if done well, but can also lead to something kind of boring if it’s not committed to properly… fortunately, Over My Dead Body commits just enough to get the job done.

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leebutler Comedy, Horror, Review, Sci-Fi

Cold Storage (2026) – Chill

Released: 12th March
Seen: 12th July

In 1985, Return of the Living Dead was released. Created by John Russo, the co-creator of Night Of The Living Dead, the film was a comedic follow-up to the deeply disturbing original that became a cult hit on its own and was the origin of the idea that Zombies specifically hunger for brains above all else. It spawned a bunch of sequels of varying quality but is still an important element of horror’s history… and Cold Storage is the knockoff brand version of that franchise, and hey considering it’s been 20 years since we got a Return of the Living Dead movie then someone might as well come up with an alternative for us to enjoy.

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leebutler Fantasy, Horror, Mystery, Review

Evil Dead Burn (2026) – Heated

Released: 10th July
Seen: 10th July

In 1979, Sam Raimi ran off into the forest with a bunch of his friends (including the chin-tastic Bruce Campbell) to make a feature length version of his short film Within The Woods. It was an insane idea made on a microbudget with effects that Sam made up on the fly, people got injured on set and for some reason they decided to strap a camera to a plank of wood and have two guys run through the swamp carrying it to get the shot. It was the kind of filmmaking that would make insurance agents weep and it ended up creating the 1981 film The Evil Dead.

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leebutler Comedy, Horror, Review, Thriller

Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come (2026) – FOUND YOU!

Released: 9th April
Seen: 5th July

In 2019, the filmmaking team known as Radio Silence graduated from making short films that were part of anthology features into making a feature-length film all of their own. That film was Ready Or Not which presented us with a young woman named Grace (Samara Weaving) who married into a rich family and had to take part in a little family ritual where they play a game on the night a new family member joins them. Unfortunately, she picks hide and seek and thus is required to hide while the family hunts her. It was a glorious romp of a film, very silly and campy at times but with enough tension, good characters and enough gore to satisfy any horror fan. It ended with a spectacular shower of blood flying everywhere as Grace won her little game and made her new family explode. It was a glorious film that probably didn’t need a sequel, but damn I’m glad it has one.

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leebutler Action, Comedy, Horror, Review, Thriller

They Will Kill You (2026) – Killer

Released: 12th March
Seen: 13th June

In 2019, a fun little horror film called Ready or Not came out and became a major hit, at least among Horror fans. The film itself revolved around a bride being introduced to her new family, who turn out to be Satan worshippers, who need to hunt her down and kill her by sunrise to give their dark lord a tribute to maintain their family’s wealth. It was a truly insane, blood-soaked ride full of dark comedy and some of the most insane action scenes. It was a film that was almost destined to have imitators, and now here comes They Will Kill You that gives a crash course in how to copy from other better films and still make something awesome.

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leebutler Horror, Comedy, Review

Scary Movie (2026) – Laughable

Released: 4th June
Seen: 9th June

In the year 2000, the Wayans Brothers decided it was time to spoof the horror genre that was just entering a boom period (thanks to the movie Scream), so they released Scary Movie. The film was a broad, offensive and ultimately hilarious piss-take of not just Scream but the entire horror genre as it was then. Now, at the time I was too young to watch that movie in cinemas, but once it hit video store shelves, I rented that film at the local Blockbuster so many times that I almost wore the tape out. It was hilarious, one of the funniest films I’d seen at that point. Sure, I can look back and see the parts of it that don’t age particularly well (no comedy ages well, it’s just a matter of time before a joke will die of old age and offensive humour is particularly susceptible to that) but it was still a formative experience so naturally when news of the Wayans Brothers returning to the franchise came out I was excited, surely a new Scary Movie would be just as hilarious and biting as ever… surely.

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leebutler Action, Horror, Review, Thriller

Pretty Lethal (2026) – Pretty Fun

Released: 25th March
Seen: 8th June

In 2024, a little film called Abigail came out and showed people that the combination of ballerinas and bloodshed could end up making a genuinely fun film if done well. Something about the combination of this glamorous artform that’s largely considered the realm of young women and girls blended with about 50 gallons of the red stuff is a recipe for a good time that the whole family can enjoy (provided your family is suitably fucked up). While Abigail was a ton of fun, it didn’t do quite as wel at the box office as it probably should have, thanks to an ad campaign that gave away the film’s big twist… but hey, at least it got a cinematic release unlike the delightfully fun Pretty Lethal which had to take its blood-soaked ballerinas to enjoy them on streaming instead.

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