[New Film] Four Summer Horror-Thrillers to Beat the Heat: 4 Takes, 4 Flavors

A blood-chilling counterattack at the multiplex begins—one that will freeze even the sweltering heat in an instant. This summer, four “thriller” and “horror” masterpieces, going beyond simple surprises and digging into viewers’ deepest fears, are ready to hit the screen. We take an in-depth look at each of the highly anticipated releases, armed with overwhelming suspense.

Sight swallowed by darkness, extreme suspense that takes over the senses

The Korean thriller ‘The Pupils’, opening on the 24th, follows a photojournalist, Seo-jin (played by Shin Min-a), who is losing her eyesight to a genetic illness as she hunts down the brutal truth behind her younger sister’s death. ‘Shin Min-a’ splits into twin sisters, delivering a chilling double role that feels perfectly realized. By smartly turning an extreme constraint—loss of sight—into a weapon, the film weaves a locked-room terror so vivid you can almost feel the breath of a mysterious stalker, Hyun-min (played by Lee Seung-yong). The highlight is the meticulous psychological warfare crafted by director Yeom Ji-ho, who proved his directing chops with ‘Next Door Neighbor’, as Kim Nam-hee, playing Do-hyeok, the pursuer of truth, adds weight to the drama.

An endless stretch of asphalt: a blood-soaked road movie designed by an ancient devil

Also hitting theaters the same day, the foreign film ‘Passerger’ is a groundbreaking ‘road horror’ that turns the everyday setting of a closed highway into hell. Immediately after a couple, Maddie (played by Lou Llobell) and Tyler (played by Jacob Scipio), witness a horrific traffic accident, the film captures—without filtering—the sequence that leads them to become merciless prey in an ancient devil’s hunt. The one who cleverly interwove the supernatural with grounded terror is genre specialist director ‘André Øvredal’, from Norway. It’s a work that lets his standout mise-en-scène shine.

A hunt driven by the madness of the top 1%, stained into a pristine wedding dress

Next month, on July 1, ‘Ready or Not: Death’s Hide-and-Seek’, unveiled exclusively at CGV, is a survival thriller that surpasses the reputation of its predecessor, which had horror fans around the world roaring in 2019. It depicts a bloody struggle as bride Grace (played by Samara Weaving) and her younger sister, Faith (played by Kathryn Newton), get swept into a bizarre slaughter game staged by a greedy upper-class family. The horror masters ‘Matt Bettinelli-Olpin’ and ‘Tyler Gillett’ reunite to deliver an even more brutal and stylish ‘catharsis’.

A dazzling comeback of B-movie horror comedy that smashes the rules of the genre

On the same day, at Lotte Cinema, the ‘horror comedy’ bible, ‘Scary Movie’, descends onto screens after 13 years of silence. The film lays out the essence of a daring parody that fearlessly skewers everything from genre monuments like ‘Scream’ and ‘Get Out’ to the latest pop culture. Through a bit of slapstick in which protagonists who had escaped a serial killer’s grasp become targets again, it triggers a nonstop storm of laughter. The original series’ stars, brothers ‘Shawn Wayans’ and ‘Marlon Wayans’, wrote the script themselves to get the foundation right, and under the megaphone of director ‘Michael Tiddes’, a unique B-movie humor explosion breaks out.