Movies to watch in July, from 'Twisters' to 'Longlegs'

July is shaping up to be a freaky month at the movies. New releases include a buzzy horror original that some critics are calling "the scariest film of the decade," a CGI-laden disaster sequel unveiling the wrath of Mother Nature and a rom-com about faking the moon landing. 

'MaXXXine' (July 5)

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This is the third installment in director Ti West's bloody arthouse slasher trilogy starring Mia Goth, preceded by "X" and "Pearl." "MaXXXine" is a chronological sequel to "X," and follows adult film star Maxine (Goth) as she works toward her big acting break in '80s Hollywood. This time around, she must also contend with a serial killer (possibly the notorious real-life Night Stalker) who is targeting Los Angeles stars. Ti West "wants to do for scuzzbucket '80s sex-and-horror schlock what [Quentin] Tarantino did for Hollywood drive-in pulp," said Variety. "'Maxxxine' is a grisly exploitation thriller set between quotation marks, with an anachronistically empowered heroine at its center."

'Fly Me to the Moon' (July 12)

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TV writer Greg Berlanti has had a hand in a number of iconic series, from "Dawson's Creek" to "You" to the CW's Arrowverse. Following in the rom-com footsteps of his last feature film, 2018's "Love, Simon," the '60s-era "Fly Me to the Moon" features a workplace will-they-won't-they between a NASA director (Channing Tatum) in charge of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing and a marketing specialist (Scarlett Johansson) who is hired to improve NASA's public image. Strangely, her marketing strategy involves shooting a "backup" version of the moon landing — just in case the Apollo mission fails. Conspiracy theorists who have long suspected the moon landing was faked will be psyched. 

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'Longlegs' (July 12)

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Osgood Perkins is not only the director of creepy indie successes like "The Blackcoat's Daughter" and "Gretel & Hansel," he's also the son of Anthony Perkins, best known for playing Norman Bates (and his mother) in Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho." The horror bug is clearly in the gene pool, as Perkins' new film, "Longlegs," has been declared one of the "scariest films of the decade" by some early viewers. "After the movie screened at Beyond Fest in May 2024, X was flooded with reactions that extolled the film's atmosphere of unrelenting dread," said Slash Film. "Soon after, outlets began reporting on how the new film was 'making audiences cry.'" Nicholas Cage stars as an occultist serial killer who is being hunted by an FBI agent (Maika Monroe) assigned to an unsolved case involving his crimes. Succinctly: "'Longlegs' is a visceral serial killer thriller straight from the bowels of Hell," said Inverse. 

'Sing Sing' (July 12)

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Amid all the excess on this month's list, "Sing Sing" is a small, humane film based on the true story of prison inmates staging theatrical shows inside New York's maximum security Sing Sing Correctional Facility. The film "straddles the line between drama and documentary," said Time Magazine, and is inspired by the real-life Rehabilitation Through the Arts program. Many of the cast are formerly incarcerated individuals who were involved in the program themselves, plus "two professional actors [who] help anchor the story," recent Oscar nominees Colman Domingo and Paul Raci. "It's a love letter to the transformative power of performing arts," said Deadline. 

'Twisters' (July 19)

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In the grand tradition of action-packed summer blockbusters, "Twisters" is a big-budget sequel to 1996's "Twister" that promises even more tornadoes. Directed by Lee Isaac Chung ("Minari"), the premise has been updated for the modern age. They "incorporated the causes and effects of climate change into the plot," said Time, as climate change notoriously causes more extreme and deadly weather patterns. These adrenaline-fueled storm-chasers are played by Daisy Edgar-Jones, Anthony Ramos and Hollywood's latest golden boy, Glen Powell. If you want to watch violent rotating air columns wreak havoc, pursue people across Oklahoma prairies and demolish everything in sight, this is the summer flick for you.