HOT SPRING SHARK ATTACK And 9 More New International Horror Movies To Watch This July

Do you like body horror? Would you consider “merging” for love? Then you might be interested in Else, the debut film of French director Thibault Emin, releasing via Cineverse’s Fandor streaming service and all digital platforms on July 8. 

Matthieu Sampeur stars as Anx, an introvert who has just hooked up with the confident Cass (Edith Proust) when Paris is placed under sudden lockdown. A mysterious outbreak is ravaging the city, one that causes humans to merge with their surroundings. Trapped in Anx’s apartment, the new couple must navigate their evolving relationship as everything around them starts to shapeshift. Sounds kinda kinky—I’m in. 

Named by FANGORIA Editor-in-Chief Phil Nobile Jr. in the “Terror Teletype” newsletter as the “most purely fun screening” he saw at this year’s Chattanooga Film Festival, Hot Spring Shark Attack adds to the long list of places we need to be afraid of sharks. The sand? Dangerous. The snow? Also risky. And hot springs? Well, you’re just asking for trouble there!

In director Morihito Inoue’s horror-comedy, a small town in Japan is terrorized when a ferocious ancient shark reawakens and targets the local hot spring facilities. (Hey, we all deserve a little self-care.) You can catch the film during special previews at various Alamo Drafthouse locations on July 9. Don’t live near an Alamo? Soak up the fun when Hot Spring Shark Attack swims into theaters and onto VOD and digital platforms on July 11. 

For many of us, fighting hungry zombies with our bare hands would likely be a last resort. But for Singh (Mark-Prin Suparat), a former professional Muay Thai fighter in Netflix’s upcoming action-horror Ziam, his fists of fury might be the best defense he has against the undead. 

Ziam (a play on Thailand’s former name, Siam) sees the tenacious Singh battling a zombie outbreak inside the hospital where his girlfriend, Rin (Nychaa-Nuttanicha Dungwattanawanich), works as a doctor. Director Kulp Kaljareuk told Netflix that the team used practical effects to “create raw and gory flesh” for the zombie horde and that the Muay Thai portrayed in the film “is known for its intensity and the use of the entire body, including elbows and knees as powerful weapons.” Will it be effective? Find out when Ziam takes a bite out of the streamer on July 9.

Evil Dead Rise’s Lily Sullivan stars in writer-director Jordana Stott’s Forgive Us All, a neo-Western apocalyptic horror film arriving on VOD platforms on July 11.

Sullivan plays Rory, a bereaved mother living in a world devastated by a virus that turns humans into deranged cannibals. She takes refuge in an isolated mountain cabin—but the arrival of a stranger on the run from murderous trackers threatens to disturb what little peace she’s found. 

Interestingly, Forgive Us All was entirely self-funded by Stott and their partner and co-producer, Lance Giles, and leveraged a largely local crew. The film was shot in the New Zealand resort town of Queenstown over 27 days. 

The land Down Under is feeding us horror hounds well this month, with Aussie hits Bring Her Back and Dangerous Animals making their VOD debuts on July 1 and 22, respectively. But if you’re craving something new, keep your eyes peeled for folk horror film The Banished, coming to select theaters and VOD platforms on July 18.

Previously titled Baal, The Banished was written and directed by Joseph Sims-Dennett and stars Meg Eloise-Clarke as Grace, who ventures into the dangerous wilderness in search of her missing brother. Injured and lost, she relies on a mysterious hiker on the radio to help her find her way. But can she trust him—and what exactly happened to her brother?

You might have spotted Erin Kellyman very briefly at the end of 28 Years Later, wearing an outfit that, uh, doesn’t bode well. She’s also the star of director Alan Friel’s sci-fi horror Woken, bringing more apocalyptic chills to VOD platforms on July 18. 

In Woken, Anna (Kellyman) wakes up from an accident with no memory of who or where she is. The bad news: the human race has apparently been decimated by a pandemic. The good news? She’s on an island that is supposedly a safe haven, being nursed back to health by the benevolent Helen (Maxine Peake) and Peter (Corrado Invernizzi). She’s also pregnant, and I’ll let you decide which category of news that falls under. But are Helen and Peter telling the truth? Can she trust them? What about the man claiming to be her husband (Ivanno Jeremiah)? Anna doesn’t know and neither do I—you’ll have to watch the film to find out! 

Genre master Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Pulse) returns this month with Cloud, a suspense-thriller that follows Ryôsuke Yoshii (Masaki Suda), a young swindler working the online black market. Sure, he might be cheating everyone, but what does it matter if he’s able to hide behind an internet pseudonym and get rich doing it? Things take a dangerous turn, however, when Yoshii is targeted by a series of mysterious and sinister cyber incidents, leading him to suspect that his former victims are plotting the ultimate revenge. 

Cloud opens in New York on July 18 and floats over to Los Angeles on July 25 ahead of its nationwide rollout. Take a peek at the trailer here.

After meeting an unjust end, a hitman possesses the body of a college student as a vehicle for vengeance. That’s the killer premise of director Kensuke Sonomura’s Ghost Killer, taking over VOD platforms on July 22.

The action-horror stars Akari Takaishi as Fumika, a student who agrees to help the late Kudo (Masanori Mimoto) enact his revenge via her fists. Expect fights, thrills, and a fun twist on the typical possession story. 

The English translation of Austrian novelist Felix Salten’s Bambi, a Life in the Woods (1923) entered the public domain last year, so you know what time it is—it’s childhood-ruining o’clock! From the producer team that brought you Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey comes Bambi: The Reckoning, galloping into theaters on July 25.

This latest entry in the Poohniverse was directed by Dan Allen and follows a mother and son who are being stalked by a vicious, grief-stricken deer after a car wreck. You don’t need to hunt for this deer: get a good look at Bambi’s live-action form in the official trailer. Those antlers look like they could do some serious damage! 

History meets folklore meets the Creature from the Black Lagoon in director Mike Wiluan’s creature-feature Monster Island, creeping onto Shudder on July 25.

Set during the Second World War, Monster Island sees a Japanese ship transporting prisoners of war to occupied territories for slave labor. A swift strike from an allied submarine’s torpedo leaves a Japanese soldier (Dean Fukjioka) and a British POW (Callum Woodhouse) stranded on a deserted island—and they’re not alone. A ferocious creature from mythology, the Orang Ikan, is hunting them, and if they want to survive, they’re going to need to work together. 

That’s all the international horror I’ve got for you this month! Don’t feel like your summer watchlist is stacked enough yet? Check out these new and upcoming releases that are on the Fango team’s radar!