9 horror films you can watch in August (and where to watch)

Looking for horror to stream or watch in theatres this month? There is plenty to choose from, so we recommend checking out all of the streaming platforms; but in the meantime, here is a short list of films you can watch.

Barbarian – This is one of my newer favorites, mostly due to the WTF-ness of it all. It’s one of those films that keeps you on your toes trying to figure out just what the hell is going on. The first half hour or so leads you in one direction, then it seems to become a totally different story. Everything eventually meshes together in a crazy, gory, action-packed final third, and I highly recommend watching it if you haven’t already.

If you enjoyed last year’s Weapons, you should also like Barbarian, since they were both created by Zach Cregger.

Barbarian began streaming on HBO Max August 1.

Hellcat – A young woman named Lena regains consciousness in the back of a moving camper trailer, and she is seriously injured. The driver of the vehicle tells her that they only have an hour to get Lena medical help. Any longer than that, and she will likely die. The question is, can Lena trust that information?

Hellcat streams on Shudder August 14.

Immaculate  - Sydney Sweeney stars as Sister Cecilia, a young nun who travels to Italy after receiving an invitation to join a convent that serves as a caregiving facility for dying nuns. Once at the convent, Cecilia notices some very strange things, including an older nun who has scars on the bottoms of her feet in the shape of crosses.

Cecilia is shocked when it is found that she’s pregnant, and despite the fact that the nuns treat her reverently, she begins to feel that something is very wrong.

Immaculate is streaming on Netflix as of August 13.

Horror sequel Insidious: Out of the Further hits theatres in August

Insidious: Out of the Further – Lin Shaye returns to the role of Elise in the latest film in the Insidious franchise. Gemma (Amelia Eve) is a young mom living in the house she grew up in with her own daughter. Gemma discovers she can not only travel into The Further, but she can also bring anything residing there into the real world when she returns.

Insidious: Out of the Further opens in theatres on August 21.

Mother Mary – Mother Mary (Anne Hathaway) is a world famous pop star who is attempting a comeback after a serious onstage injury. After becoming overwhelmed at a costume fitting, she reaches out to her former costume designer and best friend Sam (Michaela Coel), who agrees to help.

When the two reconnect, old arguments resurface, along with some supernatural happenings

Mother Mary will stream on HBO Max on August 21.

Penny Lane is Dead – “Set on a hot summer’s night in 1986 Australia, Penny Lane is celebrating getting into college with her longtime girlfriends Toni and Amy. The night, however, does not turn out as planned. After Penny's jealous and troubled cousin Kat decides a cruel prank is in order, what begins as a thoughtless spiked cupcake game spirals into a night of bloodshed. In the Ozploitation tradition, Mia-kate Russell’s debut feature is a blood-soaked descent into love, betrayal and survival, infused with dark comedy and rage.”

Penny Lane is Dead will begin streaming on Shudder August 28.

X, Pearl, and MaXXXine – Ti West’s X trilogy was uneven overall, but still well worth watching – and Mia Goth’s performance was fantastic in each of the three films. For my money, X was the strongest overall, and definitely excelled in giving off late-70s horror vibes (it’s very Texas Chain Saw Massacre-esque).

X is the tale of a group of people who aspire to make a porn film in a farmhouse owned by  elderly couple Howard and Pearl. In the midst of all of this, a vicious killer stalks them.

Pearl is the backstory of the old woman in X, and Goth steals every frame of this one, giving a completely unhinged performance.

MaXXXine is a sequel to X, involving the lone survival of the farmhouse massacre, Maxine (Mia Goth). Maxine is an adult film star who has just been cast in her first “real” film. But her dreams may not come true when she is stalked by a mysterious killer who knows about her bloody past.

X, Pearl, and MaXXXine are streaming on Hulu as of August 3.

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