Good morning,
As I’ll cover below, Backrooms has become a box office sensation. But did you know there have been 1.1 billion Tik Tok views of user generated content around the movie in the last 30 days? Fans are taking it into their own hands to bring the genre we love out of the, ahem… backrooms and into the light. Yet sadly, not only do I not have a Tik Tok account, I still call X Twitter.
🩸SHOULD WE BE SCARED?
According to NASA, the recently discovered asteroid 2026JH2 passed close to Earth last month—dangerously close. While it was never near enough to threaten us with the fate of the dinosaurs, it did get within 24% of the average distance between the Earth and the moon. That’s pretty damn close.
2026JH2 is expected to make another pass in 2060. There have been enough asteroid threatens the earth horror movies for me to believe the worst could happen again. Did you see Project Hail Mary?. If not, you should watch it before 2059. So… plenty of time.
🩸RECENT HORROR NEWS
Backrooms crawled out of the internet and into theaters.
The creepypasta fever dream officially arrived, and audiences are showing up to wander fluorescent hallways like they forgot how exits work. Early reactions are calling it deeply unsettling, weirdly effective, and proof that Gen Z can apparently turn a meme into existential dread.
Scary Movie is back — and horror fans are… cautiously screaming?
The Wayans brothers’ return to the franchise hit theaters this week, with early reactions split between “finally” and “did we really need this?” Horror parody is officially back in the group chat whether we asked for it or not.
June’s streamer horror dump has arrived.
The monthly “suddenly there are 40 things to watch and somehow still nothing to watch” phenomenon is underway. Shudder, Netflix, Hulu, Max, and Prime all quietly loaded up horror titles for June — including originals, cult favorites, and some surprisingly solid deep cuts.
🩸THE GRUDGE POLL RESULTS
Penny
No new Poll this week. Instead I’m posting the results of the Would you wear a costume to a virtual event poll we hosted last week. 50% of you said maybe. Midsummer Movie Madness isn’t until August. This gives us two months to work on you maybes…
Hear that?… That’s the sound of me and T-Bone rolling up our sleeves.
🩸HAUNTED VACATIONS — THE VILLISCA AX MURDER HOUSE
This sweet little Midwestern vacation spot is considered one of the most haunted houses in the world. Click here to learn more, then book a vacation you won’t soon forget.
🩸NEWSWORTHY NUMBER
134.4 million
That’s roughly where Backrooms has landed worldwide, making it one of 2026’s biggest horror successes — and perhaps the strongest argument yet that “creepy internet nonsense” is now a legitimate studio business model. Somewhere, a haunted Roomba just hired representation.
🩸HORROR IN THEATERS.
Chum –- (June 5) When a group of strangers on a boat get stranded in open water, they soon realize they are not alone... Jaws on a party boat. Trailer
Scary Movie 6 — (June 5th) The Ghostface jokes are back, the Wayans are back, and apparently no horror franchise is safe. If you miss the era when horror and high comedy held hands and skipped through multiplexes together, this may be your weekend. Trailer
The Summoning — (June 5th) Based on a legendary creepypasta, the film revolves around a terrifying bathroom ritual in which a girl must tell a ghost story in front of a mirror summoning the spirit of Baby Blue… In the hood we called this Candyman. Trailer
Backrooms — (May 29th) Backrooms is breaking all kinds of records. Last week I said “I hope it’s worth the wait.” Apparently, it was, as it’s A24’s best opening ever. Trailer
Obsession — (May 15th) Curry Barker’s love gone bad tale increased it’s box office revenue AGAIN! A movie hasn’t increased in both its second and third week since 1982—outside of Christmas. All jokes aside, that’s nothing to laugh about. Congratulations, Curry. Trailer
Coming Soon
Kraken — (June 12th)
Leviticus — (June 19th)
Keep an eye out for
Evil Dead Burn — (July 10th) Another Evil Dead, Whoohoo!
Alpha — (July 10th) blending body humor with grief
🩸COSPLAY CORNER
You gotta hand it to Pennywise Jr. for his level of commitment to the effect. Too bad he wasn’t at Last year’s Midsummer Movie Madness where his level of commitment would have been greatly appreciated. Perhaps he’ll show this year sans sewer odor. [Midsummer Movie Madness Coming Mid-Summer 2026]
🩸HORROR TO WATCH ON STREAMERS
What’s Worth The Watch — a mix of hidden gems, buzzy titles, comfort horror, underseen picks, and classics worth revisiting.
“Summer cult trauma, anyone?”
Streaming on: HBO Max
Midsommar is now streaming on Max. Nothing says “relaxing June viewing” like flower crowns, emotional collapse, and daylight terror. Ari Aster still owes many of us therapy.
“The slasher scholarship nightmare.”
Streaming on: Netflix
You're Killing Me landed on Netflix this week. A teen gets pulled into deadly chaos while chasing college money — because student debt wasn’t horrifying enough already.
“Girls trip from hell.”
Streaming on: Shudder
Find Your Friends arrives on Shudder June 12. Vacation vibes quickly devolve into paranoia and violence. Think “group vacation” but with consequences more severe than passive-aggressive texting.
Comfort horror pick of the week.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers is streaming on Prime Video. If you’ve never watched paranoid sci-fi horror people whisper about like it’s sacred scripture, now’s your chance. Still creepy. Still relevant. Still suspicious of coworkers.
🩸READY OR NOT TRIVIA NIGHT — UPDATE
Free Dread in your mailbox. How cool is that?
The physical prizes won at last month’s Ready or Not Trivia Night went out on Wednesday. We had so much fun we’re doing it again in July. If you missed it last time, DON’T miss it this time! July’s event will have new mind-bending horror games and, of course, there will be The Buzzer of Doom! Stay tuned for date and time.
🩸FINAL SIP
If you saw Backrooms this weekend and suddenly find yourself suspicious of empty office hallways, hotel corridors, or that weird corner of Costco no one ever seems to be in… trust your instincts. Some doors lead nowhere. Others lead to fluorescent lighting and regret. Until next week—stay out of the yellow rooms. 🚪
We read your emails. Questions, comments, things we can improve, or a nice pat on the back: email us at: [email protected].
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