Melissa Barrera takes centerstage 👸🏼, 'The Substance' hits streaming 🧪, 'Psycho II' retro review, & more!

I'm sitting here wondering how the hell Halloween season flew by so fast. I guess, time really is just a man-made construct. The changing months also marks the end of SpookySarahSays' annual #100HorrorMoviesIn92Days challenge. Not to brag, but I wiped the floor with Brett this year, hitting a grand total of 120 new-to-me horror movies watched. Brett, on the other hand, hit a paltry 59 (see his list). It's not a competition, but... I win. 😉 I had an absolute blast with this year's challenge - you can peep my list here - and discovered numerous favorites, like Castle of Blood and The House That Screamed.

Looking ahead, Brett and I conferred and decided it was a perfect time to try out an actor-themed newsletter to kick off November. Naturally, my pick was Melissa Barrera. She's pretty much taken over the horror conversation the last three years with her double stints in Scream (RIP, one of my favorite franchises) and numerous other outstanding features. You could argue her horror career is still in its infancy, but there's no denying that she's staked her claim on the best genre there is. She's a real force of nature - but more on her work below.

As we're all absolutely spiraling over the U.S. election results, it's also the perfect time to put on some comfort horror, get reenergized, and mobilize for what's coming next. Here's my handy-dandy list of some of my go-to comfort films - I know I'll be putting my favorites on loop for the foreseeable future.

Anyway, please take care of yourself, drink plenty of water, go for a walk, and remember: stay spooky.

Issue 023’s Letterboxd list can be found here

Melissa Barrera: A force of nature

When I first saw Melissa Barrera as Vanessa in In the Heights, I had only one thought: she’s a superstar! And she hasn’t proven me wrong since. With a repertoire of Mexican telenovelas, she knows how to bring the drama – always squeezing every ounce of emotion in her performances. She breathes new life into whatever’s on the page; her characters feel like real people with real-world problems. Her Hollywood career is still relatively new, but I’m not doubtful that she has decades of work ahead of her. With five horror credits to her name (so far), she’s staked her claim and shaken up the status quo. She speaks her mind (by the way, #FreePalestine!), and despite those leaving her behind, she digs her feet in deeper and stands her ground.

With a remarkable breakthrough in her back pocket, she quickly cannonballed into the horror pool. The moment she was cast in Radio Silence’s Scream reboot/sequel/requel was the best thing to ever happen to one of my favorite franchises. She brought a warmth to her turn as Sam Carpenter. She kept a calm, yet distant, demeanor, and beneath the surface lurked a warrior just waiting to be unleashed. In the 2022 film, Sam has long buried her past as Billy Loomis’ daughter and left Woodsboro behind. It’d been five very long years since she’d been gone, but when her younger sister Tara (Jenna Ortega) was viciously attacked (seriously, how did she survive that?!), she didn’t blink an eye. Her love for Tara is never-ending, a central component of her character throughout both Scream movies.

Barrera exposed real complexity. She brought raw humanity to Sam. It boggles the mind how much hate was hurled in her direction after Scream (2022) – unfounded vitriol that only fueled her to even greater heights. In Scream VI, she turned in an even stronger performance, using that very public pain as fuel to her inner fire. Having relocated to New York City, along with Chad (Mason Gooding), Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown), and Tara, Sam seeks therapy, keeps her apartment safeguarded with locks on locks, and watches Tara like a hawk. But it’s all to keep her and her friends safe from a possible Ghostface attack. A killer shows up, of course (or else we wouldn’t have a movie), and Sam rises to the occasion to make a case as one of the best modern Final Girls.

And Barrera was just getting started. In Bed Rest, she plays a young woman who struggles to start a family. When she does get pregnant, she’s mandated to weeks-long bed rest and soon starts seeing ghostly apparitions in her home. While the film, as a whole, doesn’t stick the landing, Barrera is the guiding light. She draws from her deep acting well – smashing the role into bits and rearranging the pieces back into a criminally underrated performance. She further adds to her growing filmography with a solid turn in Abigail, playing a junkie who’s trying to do right by her son. It might not be her most outstanding showing, but Barrera still delivers the goods.

Just when you don’t expect it, Barrera outdoes herself with her role as Laura Franco in Your Monster, a delightfully heartfelt horror/rom-com. After a shocking breakup, while she’s undergoing cancer treatment no less, Laura spirals out of control. Unable to control the pendulum of her life, she busts at the seams, with Barrera reveling in an impressive emotion-ranging performance. From wallowing in tears and baked goods to unleashing monstrous rage, Barrera doesn’t hold a single thing back. When a monster (Tommy Dewey) emerges from her closet, she must confront her inner rage and learn to accept and even love what she’s kept locked away. As the film progresses, Laura grows bolder and more self-assured, her insecurities quickly fading. By the grand finale, and a show-stopping musical number (“My Stranger”), Laura does the unthinkable (don’t worry, no spoilers!). It’s an ending you probably won’t see coming (I know I sure didn’t), and that’s the best part. In that single moment, Barrera flips through her emotional Rolodex and knocks you on your back.

With the world at her feet, Melissa Barrera has unequivocally cemented herself as an important voice in horror. The range she’s showcased many actors would kill to have. There’s no holding her back now – and I look forward to what she could possible do next.

Don’t forget to check out my Melissa Barrera-dedicated Letterboxd list, ranking her horror credits from good to great.

Since this is a Melissa Barrera-themed issue, Bee thought it would be great if we share a list of films for fans of Scream VI, released in 2023 and directed by Radio Silence. Check out the list on Letterboxd.

Presence, the new film from Steven Soderbergh and told from the perspective of a supernatural entity, will be released in theaters on January 24, 2025.

According to Variety, Pinocchio: Unstrung has added both Robert Englund and Richard Brake to the cast. The film is due in 2025, eventually leading up to the Avengers-like Poohniverse: Monsters Assemble film.

Josh Ruben’s new film, Heart Eyes, will rip yours out in theaters on February 14, 2025! Watch the first trailer here.

Nosferatu bites into theatergoers on Christmas day. Film Updates has shared the character posters for the film.

Bong Joon Ho’s MICKEY 17 has now been delayed from January 31, 2025 to April 18, 2025.

This November, the Soho Horror Film Festival returns for its 7th anniversary, bringing fearless film lovers their next favorite scary movie, year on year. From November 22nd-24th, the festival will head underground to the Whirled Cinema, Brixton for a 3 day in-person extravaganza. Then, in their continued efforts to remain as inclusive and accessible as possible, the festival will maintain its vanguard of online accessible screenings, running from the November 28th - December 1st with a unique program of films and events to both the in-person and virtual festivals. More info at sohohorrorfest.com.