All the Horror New to Streaming in June 2020, and Whats Leaving – Film School Rejects

Welcome to Horrorscope, a monthly column keeping horror nerds and initiates up to date on all the genre content coming to and leaving from your favorite streaming services.

This column has addressed film-burnout in the past in the context of COVID-19. And as we enter Pride Month (keeping in mind the first Pridewas a riot), protests condemning racial violence have swept the nation and underpinned the necessarily unavoidable horror of the real world. At times like these, passive entertainment can feel frivolous. But in the event that you do have the capacity for film-watching right now, or are looking to film as a way to actively listen and learn about what is happening in the world, there is plenty to sit with this June.

Horror has always been political, and there are plenty of ways to engage politically through horror media. This months recommendations tease out the Black and Queer-focused entries from this months incoming and outgoing titles. Post-script: If I were tasked with teaching a course on Horror 101, you can bet that Horror Noire would be on the syllabus. The documentary is an essential distillation of how the history of Black Americans in Hollywood played out in the horror genre. Horror Noirehas been streaming on Shudder since last year, and if you havent seen it yet, now might be the time.

Be sure to peruse the complete list below, calendar in hand, for a full picture of what horror flicks are coming and going form your favorite streaming services this month.

Synopsis:Mark Patton shares his story of being closeted while starring in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddys Revenge, a film some have dubbed the gayest horror movie ever made.

The controversy surrounding Freddys Revengehas evolved over the years. Its initially infamous homoerotic subtext has become a large part of the films new life as a queer classic. But its a reappraisal complicated by the uneasy outing of the films star who, at the time, was not ready to come out. Thirty years after the films initial release, Patton attempts to make peace with the film that halted his career before it even began and embrace his new legacy as cinemas first male scream queen.

Scream, Queen! has been streaming on Amazon Prime since March, and its wonderful that more folks will have access to this insightful doc.Scream, Queen! also headlines Shudders expanded Queer Horror collection, which includesAlena, All Cheerleaders Die, Better Watch Out,Hellraiser, Knife + Heart, Lizzie,Lyle(premiering June 8th), The Old Dark House,The Quiet Room,Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street(June 4th),Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama,Stranger by the Lake, Sweet Sweet Lonely Girl, andThe Wild Boys.

Synopsis: An 18th-century African prince is turned into a vampire while visiting Transylvania. Two centuries later, he rises from his coffin in Los Angeles and meets Tina, a woman whom he believes is the reincarnation of his dead wife.

If youve ever wanted to see a vampire chasing a woman to the Shaft theme, have we got a picture for you.Blacula is a brilliant entry of 70s sleaze: silly, unsubtle, and joyously subversive. Directed by William Crain and starring William Marshall, Blacula is a revelation of Black horror representation and a trailblazing entry in a new genre of horror. Its meaty, its meaningful, its one of the most impactful films in Black horror history. BONUS: Shudder is also streamingBlaculas sequel, Scream Blacula Scream. Which features an awesomeperformance from Pam Grier. Hell yeah.

Synopsis: Haiti, 1962: A man is brought back from the dead only to be sent to the living hell of the sugarcane fields. 55 years later in Paris, at a prestigious boarding school, a Haitian girl confesses an old family secret to a group of new friends.

Horror is littered with films that come at voodoo with a colonial lens, I Walked With a Zombie being a chief offender. Bertrand Bonellos eighth feature, Zombi Child,is a rug pull; its a tone poem to the enigma of french youth and an honest attempt to grapple with the lingering imprint of Frances colonial spirit. Bonello wades willingly into thorny issues, confronting them in turn with a characteristically cool hand and a conviction that in the present the past can never truly die. With marvelous performances by its young cast and a dreamlike gait, Zombi Child is well worth seeking out.

Synopsis: The third cinematic adaptation of Richard Mathesons novella I Am Legend sees a world decimated by an incurable man-made virus. Immune scientist Robert Neville is almost positive he is the last human survivor in what is left of New York Cityand perhaps the world. At least he has his dog!

While Will Smiths one-man horrorshow is inarguably top-heavy, I Am Legendremains a solid piece of post-apocalyptic filmmaking. Wonky CGI and inexplicable Shrek comic relief be damned. If youre looking for a big dumb pandemic-resonant blockbuster, theres a lot to enjoy here if you take it for what it is, including an underappreciated performance from Will Smith whose back must be hurting from carrying the whole film on his shoulders.

Leaving Hulu June 30th.

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All the Horror New to Streaming in June 2020, and Whats Leaving - Film School Rejects