“Child’s Play”
Cast: Aubrey Plaza, Mark Hamill (voice), Tim Matheson, Brian Tyree Henry
Synopsis: A mother gives her son a toy doll for his birthday, unaware of its more sinister nature.
What You Need to Know: The “Child’s Play” series as a whole is a strange, polarizing one. Some fans love the gonzo direction that creator Don Mancini took and the weird mythology he implemented. Others are more partial to the simplicity, yet still irreverent charm of the Tom Holland-directed original. Naturally, the schism has led to mixed feelings about this reboot (especially angering those who have loved the sequels – Mancini included – considering the last one came out less than two years ago). As a “Child’s Play” agnostic, I have no dog in this fight, but on the surface, the remake has relatively the same plot as the original, just substitute Brad Dourif for Mark Hamill as the voice of Chucky and make him an Internet of Things (IoT) object that will connect to your Alexa and home security system. There could be a lot of fun, timely things done with that premise that is stuffed into the box of an established property. And if nothing else, please, for the love of God, give the film’s distributors and marketing team a medal of some kind. Releasing it the same day as “Toy Story 4” and then also incorporating that fact into the marketing is frankly a genius move.
Release Date: June 21
“Them That Follow”
Cast: Kaitlyn Dever, Walton Goggins, Olivia Colman, Jim Gaffigan
Synopsis: Set deep in the wilds of Appalachia, where believers handle death-dealing snakes to prove themselves before God, “Them That Follow” tells the story of a pastor’s daughter who holds a secret that threatens to tear her community apart.
What You Need to Know: Making its debut at SXSW this past March, “Them That Follow” already looks to be a polarizer. Seemingly similar in tone and subject matter to something like “The Witch,” the film has already had a mixed reception, with some praising the film’s slow-burn and third-act payoff, and others rejecting it entirely. Whatever the outcome may be, it has a terrific cast, including recently Oscar’d Olivia Colman and Kaitlyn Dever, who is already in one of the summer’s best-received films (“Booksmart”) and no doubt will help get some eyeballs on this indie thriller.
Release Date: June 21
“Annabelle Comes Home”
Cast: Vera Farmiga, Patrick Wilson, Madison Iseman, McKenna Grace
Synopsis: Determined to keep Annabelle from wreaking more havoc, demonologists Ed and Lorraine Warren bring the possessed doll to the locked artifacts room in their home, placing her “safely” behind sacred glass and enlisting a priest’s holy blessing. But an unholy night of horror awaits as Annabelle awakens the evil spirits in the room, who all set their sights on a new target-the Warrens’ ten-year-old daughter, Judy, and her friends.
What You Need to Know: Essentially the “Avengers: Endgame” of ongoing horror franchises, “Annabelle Comes Home” sees the return of The Warrens, as well as “Annabelle” series scribe (as well as “The Nun”) Gary Dauberman stepping into the director’s chair for his debut. Despite a vast range of quality amongst the “Conjuring Universe” films, their success cannot be denied, nor faulted, for continuing to find fresh angles for their series to continue (the films themselves can be faulted, but the strategy deserves the hat-tip). With this and the upcoming “Conjuring 3,” it seems that James Wan and company are looking to close the book on the Warrens’ story within this universe, and since the presence of Farmiga and Wilson (though sadly no Wan behind the camera) have usually yielded the best entries, here’s hoping “Annabelle Comes Home” is no exception.
Release Date: June 28
“Midsommar”
Cast: Florence Pugh, Will Poulter, Jack Reynor, William Jackson Harper
Synopsis: A young woman reluctantly joins her boyfriend on a summer trip where things quickly go awry.
What You Need to Know: In reality, the only thing that probably needs to be written here is that it’s director Ari Aster’s follow-up to “Hereditary.” But we’ll continue. Not much is known about the project other than it involves a cult (echoes of “The Wicker Man.” The original; not the bees), is featured prominently in the daytime as opposed to “Hereditary’s” darker color palette, and is said by Aster to be, “’The Wizard of Oz’ for perverts.” The trailer is highly evocative, unsettling, and opaque, so it’s one you can watch without any fear of being given too much information. This isn’t a ranked list, but if it were, consider this one to be at the top.
Release Date: July 3
“Crawl”
Cast: Kaya Scodelario, Barry Pepper, Ross Anderson
Synopsis: A young woman, while attempting to save her father during a Catagory 5 hurricane, finds herself trapped in a flooding house and must fight for her life against alligators.
What You Need to Know: Director Alexandre Aja hasn’t done a straightforward horror film since 2010’s “Piranha 3D,” and it seems that with “Crawl,” the French director was just itching to get back into the creature-infested waters. The premise itself is ripe for a schlocky B-movie, but it seems that Aja has brought the craft and ability to create tension that served him so well early in his career into what could be the monster movie of the summer (with all apologies to the big guy, Godzilla). It’s also worth noting that Sam Raimi is a producer of the film, so if their sensibilities are simpatico, it will be a fun, gnarly ride.
Release Date: July 12
