Welcome to Horror Explorer, a curated column showcasing the month’s best movies, series, books and everything else spooky worth checking out. I’m William Earl, the executive digital director of Variety and the publication’s resident horror enthusiast. Please drop me a line at wearl@variety.com if there’s something I should check out for next month’s missive.
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Marquee Madness
Image Credit: © STUDIOCANAL SAS © Reiner Bajo “Dracula” (In theaters Feb. 6 via Vertical) — Luc Besson directs this romantic spin on the classic vampire tale, with Caleb Landry Jones as the titular bloodsucker and Christoph Waltz as his legendary archrival Van Helsing.
“The Strangers – Chapter 3” (In theaters Feb. 6 via Lionsgate) — The last chapter of the Renny Harlin-helmed “Strangers” trilogy stars Madelaine Petsch as the increasingly formidable final girl.
“Cold Storage” (In theaters Feb. 13 via Samuel Goldwyn Films) — A starry cast — including Georgina Campbell, Joe Keery, Vanessa Redgrave, Lesley Manville and Liam Neeson — leads this horror comedy about a deadly fungus escaping a military base. A-list screenwriter David Koepp adapted his own novel for this genre mash-up.
“Psycho Killer” (In theaters Feb. 20 via 20th Century Studios) — Producer Gavin Polone’s feature directorial debut stars Georgina Campbell and Malcolm McDowell. The story centers on an officer who pursues a serial killer who killed her husband.
“Scream 7” (In theaters Feb. 27 via Paramount Pictures) — Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox topline another installment of the long-running series, with original film writer Kevin Williamson in the director’s seat this time. Expect several other alumni to drop by this chapter, too.
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Off the Beaten Path
Image Credit: Courtesy of Cat People “Whistle” (In theaters Feb. 6 via Independent Film Company and Shudder) — Dafne Keen leads this supernatural tale about an Aztec death whistle that dooms whoever blows in it. Corin Hardy, who directed the 2015 indie “The Hallow” and “Conjuring” spinoff “The Nun,” helms the film.
“The Mortuary Assistant” (Debuting on Shudder on Feb. 13) — Willa Holland and Paul Sparks star in this video game adaptation directed by Jeremiah Kipp. The logline? A young woman takes the night shift at a mortuary and spooky things start happening.
“Honey Bunch” (Debuting on Shudder on Feb. 13) — Real-life filmmaker couple Grace Glowicki and Ben Petrie — whose recent film “Dead Lover” has been a festival favorite —star as a husband and wife rebuilding their relationship after she wakes up from a coma and disturbing memories emerge during intensive treatment.
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Bloodcurdling Books
Image Credit: Courtesy of Crooked Lane Books “Trad Wife” by Saratoga Schaefer (Releasing on Feb. 10 via Crooked Lane Books) — The much-discussed Instagram trend gets the “Rosemary’s Baby” treatment as an influencer looks to dark magic to keep her too-good-to-be-true lifestyle alive. A page-turning follow-up to Schaefer’s “Serial Killer Support Group.”
“Dollface” by Lindy Ryan (Releasing on Feb. 24 via Minotaur Books) — Ryan’s suburban slasher pits gossipy PTA moms against a slasher, making for a juicy, irreverent and bloody twist on the genre.
“Night of the Mannequins” by Stephen Graham Jones (Releasing on Feb. 24 via Tor Nightfire) — One of Jones’ novellas gets republished, and this love letter to ‘80s slashers is a tight and spooky volume that gets great mileage out of childhood fears.
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Killer Series
Image Credit: Elizabeth Morris/PEACOCK “The ‘Burbs” (Debuting on Peacock on Feb. 8) — This series adaptation of the cult favorite Joe Dante movie stars Keke Palmer as she moves to the suburbs and finds her neighbors engaged in some dark secrets. Paula Pell, Mark Proksch and Justin Kirk are among the cast’s comedic ringers.