Horror is more popular than ever in movie theaters right now, with Backrooms and Obsession breaking records and outgrossing major presumed blockbusters — including a Star Wars flick.
That’s true for streaming as well, with a bevy of great, underrated horror flicks set to debut on HBO Max and Hulu throughout June.
A24’s Undertone is like Backrooms, but set in the podcasting world while packing a scary punch at the end.
Critics were divided about Keeper when it debuted last year, but I think its fascinating take on folk horror makes it worthy of any scary movie binge list.
If you’re a horror fan, you’ve probably watched Midsommar, but no summer season would be complete without rewatching Florence Pugh showcase her impressive screaming skills.
With 2024’s Longlegs and 2025’s The Monkey, director Osgood Perkins has been killing it lately, and he serves up another slice of strange horror with Keeper. To celebrate his first anniversary with his girlfriend, Liz (Tatiana Maslany), doctor Malcolm (Rossif Sutherland) takes her to a secluded cabin deep in the woods. Their romantic idyll is soon disturbed by Malcolm’s cousin, Darren (Birkett Turton), and his model girlfriend, Minka (Eden Weiss). When Malcolm abruptly leaves to take care of a patient in the city and Minka goes missing, Liz thinks something strange is afoot. Where did Minka go? And what’s up with those strange creatures following Liz around the cabin?
Keeper is a slow-burn horror movie that ratchets up the crazy one eyebrow-raising scene after the next. You probably won’t guess what happens in Keeper, but if you somehow do, I suggest you see a shrink. The movie isn’t for everyone — it bombed when it was released last November, and it has a so-so 49 percent Rotten Tomatoes score. But I genuinely was surprised at how Keeper ended, in addition to all the horrors that it showed me along the way. Without spoiling anything, I can safely say I’ll never look at a jar of honey the same way ever again.
Keeper streams on Hulu on June 5.
Evy (Nina Kiri) is a true-crime podcaster stuck in her childhood home caring for her terminally ill mother (Michéle Duquet). When Evy and her remote co-host, Justin (Overcompensating’s Adam DiMarco), receive some audio files promising a real-life horror story involving a missing young couple, they’re intrigued enough to air them on their podcast. But the normally skeptical Evy begins to believe the terror in those files is real and that her comatose mother is in danger. Is Evy right, or is it all in her head?
Undertone is a low-key horror movie that eventually rewards your patience and curiosity. It takes its time building up its story, slowly piecing together Evy’s lonely life with that of the young couple she’s listening to. Director Ian Tuason brings it all together in the powerful ending, which resembles The Blair Witch Project’s in sheer impact and mystery. You might be asking yourself what happened after it’s over, and part of the fun is figuring out what you just saw — and what you didn’t see.
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Undertone starts streaming on HBO Max on June 25.
After experiencing a devastating tragedy, Dani (Florence Pugh) accompanies her emotionally distant boyfriend Christian (Jack Reynor) on a trip with his friends to a secluded commune in Sweden. Upon arrival, Dani witnesses several strange events, including a ritualistic suicide and several of Christian’s friends’ sudden disappearances. What’s going on in the commune? And is Dani the key to all this madness?
Midsommar is a prime example of “elevated horror” done right. Yes, there’s a heavy subtext involving family trauma, but director Ari Aster doesn’t forget to serve up the scares. What separates Midsommar from the pack is that it takes place largely during the day. There are few shadows to hide the evil that’s in plain sight, which makes the film even creepier. Better still is Pugh’s terrific performance, which accurately conveys the bottomless despair Dani feels as a result of her past. The last scene of the film, featuring a character slowly smiling at the camera, remains one of the chilling things I’ve seen in a horror film.
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