Indie horror films are numerous, but often many of these titles get overlooked or simply never acknowledged. I love the presence of horror on the big screen. The number of films from the genre opening in large and small theaters across the globe brings me a lot of joy.
However, we can often forget about horror history. Believe it or not, Halloween (1978) was not a blockbuster film or a hit, but it eventually found a growing audience. Let’s continue to expand the horror fandom library and look at some indie horror releases set for this month & August 2023.
Indie Horror Titles
Waking Nightmare
Pitch Perfect’s Shelley Regner, The Last American Virgin’s Diane Franklin, An American Werewolf in London’s David Naughton, and The Lost Boys’ Jamison Newlander star in Waking Nightmare, a spine-chilling rollercoaster of fear hitting VOD August 18 from Terror Films. Yan Birch (The People Under The Stairs), Stephen Wu (“Brooklyn Nine-Nine”), and Every Heart (Return to Me) co-star.
Jordan suffered manic episodes after the loss of her friend. Her mother has a family doctor prescribe her Ambien to help with her sleepwalking. As time goes on, Jordan has issues remembering what happened. This indie horror tile arrives on August 18, 2023.
The Wendigo
After a social media star disappears in the woods of North Carolina, his friends are set to figure out what happened to him. Ignoring the legend of the cursed land was only their first mistake. That’s the chilling tale in tow of The Wendigo, on digital platforms August 4 from Terror Films. Directed by Jake Robinson, and starring Austin Pigza, Tyler Gene, and Matthias Margraves, The Wendigo is written by Jamie Brown (Fatal Getaway). Terror Films will release the indie horror film worldwide August 4.
Site 13
When Dr. Nathan Marsh wakes up in a mental institution from a 10-year catatonic state, he has to watch the tapes from his last expedition to learn what eldritch horrors he has unleashed on the world.
Site 13 stars Nathan Faudree, Katie Gibson, Leila Quinn, Kelly Ray Shelton, Nichole McFarlane, Dylan Montrond, Tony Urban, Margarite Sundberg, John Wisniewski, Daryl Acevedo, and Collin Dean. Directed and written by Nathan Faudree and Tony Urban, the indie horror film from Terror Films arrives on July 28, 2023.
That’s a Wrap
Award winning director Marcel Walz’s upcoming horror/thriller THAT’S A WRAP is scheduled to release on digital platforms on August 25th, 2023 from Quiver Distribution. Cerina Vincent (Cabin Fever), Monique T. Parent (Jurassic City), Sarah French (Space Wars : The Quest for Deepstar), Gigi Gustin (The Retaliators) and Dave Sheridan (The Devil’s Rejects) star in a film written by Joe Knetter and Robert L. Lucas.
The cast of a film arrive to a wrap party, but someone has dressed up as the slasher in the film, and begins to stage their own kill scenes. One by one, the cast disappear until the true nature of the evening is revealed. Joe Knetter, Marcel Walz and Sarah French produce, with BJ Mezek, Andreas Tremmel, Justus Heinz, Yazid Benfeghoul, Tina Limbeck , Robert L. Lucas and Kai E. Bogatzki executive producing.
Summoning the Spirit
The indie horror film, written by Jon Garcia and Zach Carter and directed by Garcia, premiered to rave reviews at the Miami Film Festival. Summoning the Spirit follows Carla (Krystal Millie Valdes) and Dean (Ernesto Reyes, “American Gods”) as they decide to escape the hustle of the big city, purchasing a home in the remote forest. They have big plans for their new quiet life, only to find something much more sinister. The couple quickly realize that they are on the land of a cult, and the leader claims a telepathic connection to a legendary flesh-eating beast deep in the woods surrounding them. Carla and Dean are forced to uncover the terrifying truth of the cult’s prophecy.
The film is produced by Dark Star president Michael Repsch, Joe Jatcko, Lacy Todd and executive produced by Carla Berkowitz (Critical Thinking), six-time Tony Award winner Jim Kierstead, three-time Emmy nominee William Fernandez and Michael Rubin. Summoning the Spirit will be on Digital and DVD on August 8.
Time’s Up
On New Year’s Eve, a faculty party for local teachers, still reeling from the suicide of a bullied student, goes horribly wrong when an unexpected guest arrives with an unusual request: participate in a scavenger hunt or die!
Accompanied by a diligent reporter as well as a girl bent on discovering the truth about her friend’s death, the partygoers’ race to reveal secrets about their mysterious tormentor and each other before the first firework explodes, and the New Year begins with a bloody surprise! This indie horror film from Dark Sky Films is set to release on July 18, 2023.
