Media Recap: July 2026

Each month, Barricade’s co-founders share the music, video games, films, and media that they’ve enjoyed.

Written by Barricade Co-Founders

Images courtesy of Ubisoft Quebec, Vidar Logi, Alexa Viscius/NME, and New Line Cinema/Screen Gems/Ghost House Pictures

Arundhati G.

Photo courtesy of Allstar/Working Title Films

TW: mentions of sexual assault

Movies: I watched 12 movies in July. Yes, The Odyssey was one, but instead of opining on it myself, I’d like to direct readers to a really well-written essay by Flint Del Sol about Sinon’s character and the relationship protecting trans people has with maintaining (broadly defined) civilization, both ancient and contemporary, overall. You can read that here. I also enjoyed The Invite, and will be following the hordes of people that can’t stop talking about the blocking to let you all know that the usage of mirrors is incredible. Everyone involved acted their hearts out. 

I rewatched Evil Dead (2013) (meh) and Evil Dead Rise (sucks) in preparation for Evil Dead Burn, which I thoroughly enjoyed. It was brutally gory and the deadite deaths were deeply satisfying, even with minor plot holes and the protagonist having some major plot armor. The film was generally well-paced, although the finale was slightly drawn out. I’m liking that the franchise is taking a turn away from tree rape; my feelings towards portrayals of sexual assault in films remain complex and I recognize that the moments of assault that have traditionally been portrayed in Evil Dead movies have been to emphasize that possession is a violation, but, considering this is an obvious revelation, scenes of possession via (super)natural sexual assault in the franchise have always come across as beyond gratuitous. 

In a revelation that surprises absolutely nobody that knows me, I finally watched High Fidelity (2000) and absolutely loved it. I don’t relate to the protagonist, Rob, but I do relate to the conversations he had with his friends in the record store. Being pretentious isn’t a crime, but the way Rob treats women certainly is. The script was impeccable, and every moment evoked a powerful emotion from me, whether it was abject disbelief, sheer irateness, or genuine joy.

Books: The tragic reality of reading for work is that I hardly have time to read for play. I will not list out the journal articles I’ve pored over this month, or how many times I reread the entirety of the P. J. C. Field version of Le Morte D’Arthur (although if you are seeking a present day English version of Malory’s Arthuriad, I recommend Dorsey Armstrong’s translation). The only book I read cover to cover is Latin: An Intensive Course by Moreland and Fleischer. My reading for pleasure has been minimal this month, but I am happy to report that I’ve finally finished part 1 of Gustav Flaubert’s Madame Bovary. It is not a particularly difficult text (in translation); indeed, what I’m enjoying so much about the work is how easy it is to get through. Reading Madame Bovary feels like taking a giant breath of fresh air. Flaubert’s descriptions are delightfully airy, even when his protagonist is losing her head.

Image courtesy of Ubisoft Quebec/Ben Kuchera

Video Games: After getting my ass handed to me for several straight months in Hollow Knight, and finding Ghost of Tsushima’s world beautiful but emotionally tough to engage with over long periods of time, I played Dispatch through twice over (once for either romanceable character) before returning to Assassin’s Creed Odyssey for a second playthrough. This is the game I bought a PS5 for.

I understand that Brotherhood truthers want Ubisoft to magically make the RPG games disappear, but I genuinely believe that Odyssey is not only a game worth playing, but especially enjoyable if you have little to no experience with the Assassin’s Creed franchise. I actually enjoy how it’s imperative to take on side quests in order to finish playing through the main story because it forces players to interact with the vast, incredible open world, and I enjoy being able to configure my playstyle and manage my loadout as an individual.

Music: I can’t stop listening to “Paradis” by Double Danger & Chilla from the Evil Dead Burn soundtrack. Chilla’s rapid French rap-singing backed by a looming orchestral track just has a certain je ne sais quois. I’ve also been listening to the four already-released songs off of The Wldlfe’s upcoming album, Revolver. My favorite is “Heart” as it scratches an itch that The Maine created when they released American Candy. “Heart” features the type of ethereal instrumentation that is rooted in nostalgia alongside reedy, yearning vocals.

Luna H.

Image courtesy of Independent Jeep Music

Music: This month was admittedly rough for me. A nondescript virus led my borderline dissociation to return with a vengeance. With my loss of consciousness, my music consumption dropped to nothing except for two records: Eartheater’s Trinity and Erika de Casier’s Lifetime. These two projects are my safe albums, if you will—collections of music that I turn to for comfort when my inner world is in turmoil. On nightly walks, I’d blast the orgasmic croons of Eartheater’s “Solid Liquid Gas” in my headphones before being lulled into a trance with Erika de Casier’s “December.” With hushed vocals and immersive electronics, both records lifted me out of my stupor, cradling me as I prepared to face the world again.

Videos: I’m not much of a YouTube or Twitch user, but two videos captivated my attention this month. The first was Arca’s “Diva.Experimental” livestream, which I was lucky to catch in its entirety on July 23. Her live performance of her latest album, XXXXX, took viewers on an odyssey as she lip-synced and danced her way across an abandoned factory lot. A highlight of the night was her feral performance of the aptly titled “Fxck,” in which she painted herself in fake blood before declaring, “You wanted fierce? You got fierce.” Even the audio glitches at the start of the stream were on brand for the experimental pop queen. It’s always a pleasure witnessing Arca enter flow state, even if she ends up with scraped knees and a pebble in her shoe.

On the topic of flow state, I entered another plane of consciousness while watching underscores’ DJ set for her FADER cover release party. Hyperpop’s latest it-girl had my jaw on the floor with her immaculate transitions and God-tier curation (who else would think to mix Shakira and Rihanna with 2hollis?) I think hearing her transform Prince Royce’s bachata croons into a lead-in for “Wish U Well” has permanently altered my brain chemistry. With a nearly hour-long set without a single dud, underscores had me dancing my ass off while washing the dishes—which if you know me, you’ll know is my most dreaded household chore.

Image courtesy of Penguin Random House

Books: I read Rachel Reid’s “The Long Game” and Mariam Rahmani’s “Liquid: A Love Story” for Pride Month, and July feels like a continuation of my queer reading challenge. While starting Benedict Nguyen’s delightfully funny “Hot Girls with Balls,” I took a detour to read the “Run Away with Me, Girl” manga series in its entirety. The three-volume yuri manga centers two sapphic high school sweethearts who have fallen out of touch, but reconnect as one of them prepares for a shotgun wedding. With breathtaking illustrations and a gut-wrenching narrative on unrequited lesbian yearning and intimate partner violence, this series was engrossing and tender.

Image courtesy of Steam/ConcernedApe

Video Games: A year ago, I couldn’t play Stardew Valley because I couldn’t keep track of time and stop my character from passing out at 2 am in-game. Now that I’m on ADHD meds, I can’t put the farming simulator down. As a recovering Civilization VI fanatic, I play cozy games like intense 4X strategies. I’m an absolute min-maxing freak, creating mechanized farms and optimizing every detail of my character's routine to get to bed at a sensible 1 am. Now I just have to figure out how to get to level 100 of the Skull Cavern…