Summer movie preview: What to watch if you want to feel a chill down your spine
All week, we'll be running our 2017 summer movie preview. Earlier this week, we talked up our most-anticipated comedies and actioners. Today: thrills and chills.
There's nothing like escaping to the cool dark of a movie theater in the heat of summer.
And for an extra chill, there's nothing quite like a fright to get you shivering.
SEE ALSO: Summer movie preview: What to watch if you're in the mood to laugh
Not every film on today's list is a horror movie per se. But all have the potential to be terrifying in their own way, whether your biggest fears are more immediate and grounded or more fanciful and supernatural.
Here are the films to keep on your radar to if you want to feel that tingle down your spine ...
… and your biggest fear is technology: The Circle (April 28)
Image: stx entertainment
Ever feel creeped out by just how much of your life is online? Do you wonder what could happen your personal data fell into the wrong hands, or worry that your devices seem to be watching and listening all the time? Well, then, this movie probably isn't going to calm you down any. Emma Watson stars in James Ponsoldt's techno-thriller set at a social media company that seems to be too good to be true, whose charismatic leader (Tom Hanks) may be hiding a dark side.
… and your biggest fear is Tom Cruise dying in one of his crazy stunts: The Mummy (June 9)
Image: universal
There might not be a movie star alive who enjoys almost-dying for our amusement more than Tom Cruise does – and there definitely aren't many who sell the fear and the exhilaration of it as well as he does. Although we're not getting a Mission: Impossible movie this year, we will get to see Cruise perform in zero gravity – among other crazy shit – in The Mummy. Plus, Star Trek Beyond's Sofia Boutella plays a genuinely creepy version of the monster stalking him.
… and your biggest fear is spoilers: It Comes at Night (June 9)
Image: a24
What's It Comes at Night about? Honestly, we haven't the faintest, even after watching that spooky teaser trailer, and that's part of the fun. What we do know is that it's made by a buzzy up-and-coming director (Trey Edward Shults, Krisha) and a rock-solid cast (Joel Edgerton, Carmen Ejogo, and more). Plus, it hails from A24, an arthouse distributor with a reputation for cool and offbeat pictures. Maybe It Comes at Night will be amazing and maybe it won't be, but at the very least it's bound to be interesting. (If you really must know more details, though, IMDb has some.)
… and you delight in vengeful bitches: The Beguiled (June 23)
Image: Focus Features
A wounded soldier finds refuge in an all-girls boarding school, sparking a frenzy of sexual tension and dramatic intrigue. Which doesn't sound scary, we know, but just check out the trailer. What sounds like a softcore fantasy apparently becomes a dreadful nightmare, culminating in Colin Farrell screaming about the "vengeful bitches" played by Nicole Kidman, Kirsten Dunst, Elle Fanning, and more. The Beguiled is actually a remake of a 1971 movie starring Clint Eastwood, but knowing Sofia Coppola, she'll have put her own stamp on the premise.
… but, like, in an “existential dread” way: A Ghost Story (July 7)
Image: Andrew Droz Palermo/A24
Although A Ghost Story is literally a ghost story, it's not one about evil spirits or ancient curses. No, the worries it conjures up are more existential in nature. Director David Lowery explores grief, memory, and the passage of time with the help of Rooney Mara, Casey Affleck in a bedsheet, and a whole lot of pie. If you're the kind of person who frets about your own mortality, A Ghost Story might be the kind of movie that keeps you up at night.
… but, like, in a real-world way: An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power (July 28)
Image: Jensen Walker/paramount
All the movies listed above are chilling in their own ways, but at least you can reassure yourself they're fictional. That is not the case with An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power. Al Gore checks back in with our fight against climate change, 11 years after An Inconvenient Truth hit theaters – and, spoiler alert, it turns out things are still getting worse. Way worse. Like, catastrophically worse. An Inconvenient Sequel will terrify you, infuriate you, and, hopefully, inspire you to make the world a slightly less terrible place.
All week, we'll be running our 2017 summer movie preview. Come back every day to find out what to watch if ...
Monday: ... you're an action connoisseur
Tuesday: ... you're in the mood to laugh
Wednesday: ... you want to feel a chill down your spine
Thursday: ... you're feeling nostalgic
Friday: ... you just want to see the best of the best
