All the Horror You Need to Stream in July 2023

Welcome to Horrorscope, a monthly column keeping horror nerds and initiates up to date on all the horror content coming to and leaving your favorite streaming services. Here’s what to watch in July 2023:

Boils and ghouls it delights me to inform you that Summer is fully, earnestly upon us.

And while well-it, sweaty subject matter abounds in the genre, this is the season where many a horror fan is faced with a grueling reality. Sometimes — when the days are long and the weather is mild — regular movie-watching pace tends to take a dip. And that means being strategic with what makes the cut, as far as movie-watching goes.

There are a couple of ways to tackle this. One of which is to watch shorter movies (more on that later). But another is to do some triage and single out the titles that really matter to you. Luckily, I’m here to help.

Be sure to peruse the complete list below, calendar in hand, for a full picture of what horror movies are coming and going from your favorite streaming services in July 2023.

Please keep in mind that all dates listed below may not apply to viewers outside the US.

July 2023 Horror Streaming Cheat Sheet

• The season finale of The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs will premiere on Shudder on July 21st at the regular time;
• And speaking of Shudder, the streaming service is re-teaming with the Etheria Film Festival and will be streaming the fest’s lineup from July 2nd through 31st.
• A smattering of phantasmagoric Georges Méliès films are hitting the Criterion Channel this month (including the not-to-be-missed The Merry Frolics of Satan).
• Hold on tight, spider monkeys: the whole Twilight franchise is streaming for free on Freevee as of July 17th.
• The first four entries in the Alien franchise arrive on Hulu on the first of the month.
• And if you like foursomes, good news! The first four films in the Jaws franchise arrive on Peacock on the first of the month.

Collection Corner: July 2023 Horror Streaming

• ARROW
  • Permanent Vacation (as of July 7th)
    • “In desperate need of a vacay? Well, be careful who you book with because the flicks trips in Permanent Vacation are dream holidays that you’ll never return from.”
    • Titles include Horrors of Malformed Men, Lake Michigan Monster, and The Wind.
  • Josh Ruben Selects (as of July 21st)
    • “… Here’s a taste of the delightfully dark and salacious gems, many of which molded me at too young an age.”
    • Titles include Elvira: Mistress of the Dark, Bad Moon, and The Guyver.

New(ish) Releases

2021

• The Ice Demon on Screambox as of July 1st;
• Shoky & Morthy: Last Big Thing on Screambox as of July 1st;
• Repulsive on Screambox as of July 1st;

2022

• Shut In on ARROW as of July 14th;
• The Lair on Hulu as of July 28;
• Bones and All on Paramount+ as of July 31;
• Contorted on Shudder as of July 17.

2023

• Bird Box Barcelona on Netflix as of July 14th;
• Unseen on Prime Video as of July 23;
• Knock at the Cabin on Prime Video as of July 25;
• Pensive on Screambox as of July 11;
• Quicksand on Shudder as of July 14;
• Sharksploitation on Shudder as of July 21;
•  Deep Web: Murdershow on Tubi as of JUly 8;
• Cabin Girl on Tubi as of July 12;
• Meet the Killer Parents on Tubi as of July 14.

The streaming service champion of the month is Disney+. Am I throwing them a somewhat insulting bone here? Yes. But listen. It’s been months. Months I tell you! And the mixed emotions of shock and pride I felt when I saw that the least-horror-friendly service had finally (finally!) added something genre-ish to their library was palpable. Good job. Bare minimum achieved.

The streaming service dunce of the month is Netflix. Com’on lads, you can do better than three new horror additions to your library. So much of your content is now focused on in-house productions, and what is cheaper to make than horror? You should be churning goblins, ghouls, and goop like there’s no tomorrow! Though, maybe we’re expecting too much grooviness from a service with the gall to crack down on password sharing.

Horror Streaming Highlights for July 2023

Pick of the Month: The Skeleton Dance (1929)

Synopsis: As the strokes of midnight reverberate through a moonlit cemetery, gnarled branches transform into groping hands and skeletons emerge from their graves to boogie down to the Danse Macabre.

Clocking in at a brisk you-have-no-excuse-not-to-watch-this five and half minutes, The Skeleton Dance is a veritable piece of cinema history! Released in the summer of 1929 the year after Steamboat Willie, the short is the first of seventy-five animated mini-films known as the “Silly Symphonies.” The project was a testing ground for the nascent medium of synchronized sound animation, and The Skeleton Dance proved that Disney’s team was onto something. True-blue spooky season is a couple of months away, but nearly a hundred years later, The Skeleton Dance still carries the power to get you in a bone-chilling mood.

Available on Disney+ July 7th.

Oh, and what’s this? The whole thing is available for free on Walt Disney Animation’s official YouTube page? Wow!

A story that begins and ends with a bat

Synopsis: The simmering domestic drama of the Trenton family is forced to take a backseat when a random act of nature turns a local family pet into a single-minded slobbering killer.

I don’t know why 1983’s Cujo isn’t revered as one of the great cinematic adaptations of Stephen King’s work. But it should be. Dee Wallace gives the performance of her career as the tenacious, imperfect, and courageous Donna Trenton. And young Danny Pintauro deserves a reputation as one of horror’s greatest child actors.

Despite losing both its original director and DoP two days into filming, Cujo is remarkably self-assured. And as far as replacements go, you can do a hell of a lot worse than Lewis Teague and Jan de Bont. Despite being filmed in Winter, Cujo is also one of the sweatiest films ever made! Hot, sticky, and perfect for summer viewing, give Cujo a shot if you’ve dismissed it as a sub-par King adaptation.

Available on HBO Max July 1st.

Satan is good. Satan is our pal.

Synopsis: It’s summertime in suburbia, so you know what that means: it’s time to invent imaginary backstories about your weird neighbors. The leisure to witch-hunt pipeline is very real, folks. What’s Ray Peterson supposed to do? Mind his business when clearly the new folks on the block are Satanists? 

Finally. An answer to the question: what if Rear Window was a slapstick comedy about the Satanic Panic? Directed by Joe Dante, 1989’s The ‘Burbs is the kind of pitch-black PG studio comedy that no one has the guts to make anymore. And what’s this? supporting performances by Bruce Dern, Carrie Fisher, and Robert Picardo? Way to put the “hell” in “hell yeah,” Joe.

Available on Peacock July 1st.

Jennifer Jason Leigh inherits a spooky bordello with a dark history

Synopsis:  When Carol’s beloved (if eccentric) uncle leaves her his nightclub in his will, the aspiring jazz singer jumps at the opportunity. Sure, she just suffered a horrific mental breakdown. But dreams are dreams. And this is precisely the fresh start she needs. But soon, the creaking walls begin to spill their secrets. And Carol begins to suspect that her dear uncle’s eccentricities had a darker, sordid side.

Originally featured in the Criterion Channel’s must-see tribute to Jennifer Jason Lee, 1988’s Heart of Midnight is a nightmarish psychosexual gem that deserves a larger modern audience. The film does a striking job of putting the viewer in Carol’s trembling shoes, blurring reality, memory, and fiction with terrifying results. Anticipating the erotic thriller boom of the 1990s while flirting unabashedly with straight-up horror, be sure to check out Heart of Midnight before it vanishes at the end of the month.

Leaving the Criterion Channel July 31st.

Streamable Horror Incoming This Month

Horror Streaming Titles Expiring Soon