All the Horror You Need to Stream in June 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 June 2023.

At the risk of being overly formal, I’d like to get some housekeeping out of the way before we launch into this month’s horror streaming offerings. I will not be calling the streaming service formerly known as HBO Max by its new name. The change from Amazon Prime Video to Prime Video? I could deal with that. But Max? No. Not going to happen. Sorry. We all have limits, and this is one of mine.

Back to the fun stuff: it’s no coincidence that June is always something of a banger month for new horror additions to streaming libraries. Could there be some kind of subconscious correlation between Pride Month and genre film? Surely not. In any case, let’s not question a good thing: this month is stacked! So let’s get into it.

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 June 2023.

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

June 2023 Horror Streaming Cheat Sheet

• Here ye! There are a good handful of hangers-on from 1980s horror collection leaving The Criterion Channel at the end of the month. Make sure to check out Brain Damage (1988); Basket Case (1982); Dream Demon (1988); Society (1989); Tetsuo: the Iron Man (1989), and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Miss Osbourne (1981).
• If modern horror anthologies are your bag 2012’s The ABCs of Death and its 2014 sequel (as well as the first three entries in the V/H/S series) are leaving Hulu at the end of the month.
• The entire Evil Dead franchise (excluding this year’s Evil Dead Rise) is hitting HBO Max on the first of the month.
• Twilight enjoyers can find the franchise on Hulu at the start of the month.
• Both John Carpenter’s The Thing and its bastard 2011 son are on Tubi as of the first of the month.

The streaming service champion of the month is Tubi, which is (1) free; (2) genre-film friendly, and (3) reliably good at acquisitions. The People’s Streaming Service prevails once again.
The streaming service dunce of the month is once again Disney+, which has really cemented its status as an enemy to horror movies. It’s not all that surprising that the most straight-edge/capitalistic streamer would be the most antagonistic to a rebellious genre like horror. But I’m not going to pull punches! Up yours, D+!

New(ish) Releases

2020

• Girl on Crackle as of June 1st;
• The Call on Prime Video as of June 1st.

2021

• Willy’s Wonderland on Redbox as of June 13th;
• Captive on Tubi as of June 15th.

2022

• Desert Shadows on Crackle as of June 15th;
• Barbarian on Hulu as of June 25th;
• Terrifier 2 on Plex as of June 1st;
• Play Dead on Tubi as of June 17th.

2023

• Cryptid on Crackle as of June 1st;
• Infinity Pool on Hulu as of June 23rd;
• There’s Something Wrong with the Children on Paramount+ as of June 15th;
• M3GAN on Prime Video as of June 27th;
• Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story on Screambox at some point in June;
• Subspecies V: Bloodrise (2023) on Screambox at some point in June;
• Unwelcome on Shudder as of June 23rd;
• Brooklyn 45 on Shudder at some point in June;
• Children of the Corn on Shudder at some point in June;
• Trap House on Tubi on June 9th.

Collection Corner: June 2023 Horror Streaming

• ARROW
  • Ero Guro (as of June 2)
    • “The Japanese sub-genre of horror and pink films Ero Guro combines the erotic (ero) and the grotesque (guro) to deviant, decadent and unforgettable effect.”
    • Titles include Shogun’s Joy of Torture, Blind Beast, and Irezumi.
  • Eli Roth Selects (as of June 16)
    • “I absolutely love Arrow and have been a collector of their editions for years, and Arrow Player is the most streamed channel in my house. I’ve seen a lot of Select lists, and while I agree with them, I wanted to highlight some that people might have otherwise overlooked.”
    • Titles include Audition, Basket Case, Contamination, Creepshow 2, Donnie Darko, Madhouse, Society, The Addiction, The Mutilator, The Suspicious Death of a Minor. (Follow this link for Roth’s comments on each title!).

Horror Streaming Highlights for June 2023

Pick of the Month: Infinity Pool (2023)

Synopsis: An all-inclusive vacation to an isolated island resort never leads to anything horrifying, right? Right? Well, failed novelist James and his heiress wife Em are about to find out! Will James’ writer’s block be cured by the island’s soothing surf and placid beaches? Or will the revelation that the island’s draconian laws are mere suggestions to a privileged few lead the writer down a darker path?

One of the only kinds of inflation I can abide is the career of Brendan Cronenberg (son of David), who has only become more interesting, polished, and self-assured over time. Flawed as it may be, Infinity Pool is a must-watch for anyone with, uh, my notes say “taste”?

Kinky and compelling in equal measure with some banger lead performances from known freaks Alexander Skarsgård and Mia Goth, dive on into the Infinity Pool!

Available on Hulu on June 23.

Expect the unexpected with the most underrated entry in the ‘Child’s Play’ franchise!

Synopsis: The last time we saw Glen, they were naught but a tiny, sharp-toothed babe bursting from Tiffany’s plastic loins as the final jump scare in ‘The Bride of Chucky.’ Now, the tiny tot is all grown up, dying to know who their parents are and what their purpose is. Innocently, Glen manages to resurrect their parents, who proceed to bicker over everything from their kid’s gender to their innate talent for murder.

Seed of Chucky‘s reputation as the stinker of the franchise is inaccurate for two reasons. First, there are no “stinkers” in the Child’s Play franchise. Second, if the series does have a weak link, it’s Child’s Play 3.

While the Child’s Play films have never been shy about switching things up, for many, Seed of Chucky put a bit too much paprika on its slasher sandwich. These people are cowards. Leaning hard and unapologetically into queer paratext, Seed of Chucky is loud and campy in all the right places. The appearance of John Waters should tell you everything you need to know about what this film is trying to do.

Picking up the meta-fiction approach perfected by Wes Craven’s New Nightmare a decade earlier, Seed of Chucky is smarter and funnier than its reputation would suggest.

Available on Tubi June 1**

**Along with every single film in the Child’s Play franchise barring the 2019 remake that doesn’t exist.

A girl’s best friend is her homicidal robot

Synopsis: After unexpectedly becoming the guardian of her orphaned 8-year-old niece, robotics engineer Gemma does what any loving aunt would do: she gives little, emotionally-shattered Cady an un-tested prototype of an AI doll companion. What could possibly go wrong?

Released to thunderous “hell yeahs” as a campy oasis in a sea of self-serious genre fare, 2022’s M3GAN took the internet by storm, as is her prerogative as our new robot overlord.

Directed by Gerard Johnstone (of Housebound fame) and with a screenplay by Malignant scribe Akela Cooper, M3GAN wasn’t the gay icon we expected, the gay icon we absolutely what we deserved. It’s Pride Month. If you can’t meet M3GAN from the comfort of your couch, you’re homophobic. I don’t make the rules (I do).

Available on Prime Video June 27.

A new entry in everyone’s favorite “vampire fail-son” franchise

Synopsis: In this 500-year spanning prequel, we learn about the origins of Radu Vladislas, the sassy half-vampire, half-demon who went from a weapon of the Church to a horrible, long-fingered, blood-slurping goblin man.

If Charles Band‘s Full Moon Entertainment likes one thing, it’s sequels. So a new entry in the Subspecies franchise is less of a surprise than a fun treat. At the risk of showing my hand, my entry point into the multi-film soap opera that is Subspecies was Allison Pregler’s video essay series. You can (and should) watch the first of their videos here. Pregler makes plain what makes the series a fan favorite. Namely that it is very, very silly.

Tubi, bless their hearts, is bringing the entire Subspecies franchise to their library this month. So whether you’re an initiate or an old hat, you can get acquainted with horror’s biggest vampire drama queen: Radu (played in every single film in the franchise by Anders Hove, who more “culturally elevated” readers might recognize from a handful of Lars von Trier films).

Available on Screambox at some point in June

Streamable Horror Incoming This Month

Horror Streaming Titles Expiring Soon