With this being Valentine’s Day weekend, all eyes turn to the airy love of springtime. And by that, we mean new seasonal movie releases.
Of course, not just any movie releases; we’re most interested in horror movies opening between March and May. This year offers an assorted crop of thrilling new horror titles, from tried-and-true franchise sequels to wildly unique originals. We have female-centric horror outings to anticipate, prestige A24 titles, superhero horrors, controversial violence, and much more. To get you ready for the next three months of all things horror, here are the 10 most anticipated horror movies this spring, ranked.
The Invisible Man (February 28)
Okay, okay, so The Invisible Man technically opens a couple before March begins, but given the awesome showing director Leigh Whannell demonstrated with Upgrade last time out, his new effort deserves our attention.
In a twist on the classic tale, the movie follows Cecilia (Elisabeth Moss), a woman whose abusive former lover takes his own life. When she assumes the death a sham, Cecilia is suddenly tormented by an invisible force she comes to believe is her dead ex.
The New Mutants (April 3)
Don’t tease us anymore, Marvel! After years of delays, pushbacks, reshoots and other signs of trouble in paradise, The New Mutants is finally poised to bow before audiences this April.
The decidedly darker, edgier, and more horrific superhero movie centers around five adolescent mutants who discover they have terrifying abilities. While harbored in a secret warehouse against their will, the mutants must hone their newfound skills, make an escape, and avenge those who did them wrong.
Antebellum (April 24)
Racial discomforts are sure to bubble to the surface in the American South-set horror flick Antebellum, which comes from the producers of Get Out and Us this April.
The plot concerns Veronica (Janelle Monae), a successful author who travels to the deep south to research her new book. However, the fish-out-of-water scenario turns into an unspeakable nightmare when the customs and mores of the antebellum South threaten to do more than undermine Veronica’s work. Can she unwrap the head-spinning mystery before it’s too late?
Vivarium (March 27)
With a mysterious sci-fi bent, Vivarium looks to be one of the freakier and more original genre joints set for release this springtime.
Starring Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots, the film follows a young house-hunting couple in search of the perfect place to start a family. However, when they tour a suburban neighborhood full of identical houses that prove to be a nightmarish maze, the couple can’t tell up from down. Surreal, labyrinthine, and sure to mess with your head!
Swallow (March 6)
One upcoming horror movie that has already generated positive buzz is Swallow, the disturbing tale of a young woman’s penchant for imbibing odd inedible household objects.
Starring Haley Bennett, the Carlo Mirabella-Davis film follows Hunter, a newly pregnant stay-at-home mom who develops an eerie appetite. As Hunter begins swallowing perilous objects, her husband and children try desperately to get her condition under control. The harder they try, the hungrier Hunter becomes.
The Hunt (March 13)
Craig Zobel’s new horror-thriller The Hunt was besmirched with so much controversy that the movie was canceled by Universal ahead of its release last September. But come this March, The Hunt resumes.
The movie was lambasted for its insensitive premise about 12 strangers waking up to find themselves the object of a game-shooting manhunt. Given the mass shootings in America, the public outcry forced the studio to shelf the film. But with a $14 million price tag, it’s hard to simply let the film fall by the wayside. As such, The Hunt sets its sights on Friday the 13th.
Antlers (April 17)
Given the promising pedigree of producer Guillermo del Toro and director Scott Cooper, not to mention the morbid premise, Antlers is easily one of the most anticipated horror flicks headed our way this spring.
Set in rural Oregon, the film is about a local teacher (Keri Russell) and her sheriff brother (Jesse Plemons), who becomes embroiled in a deeply disturbing mystery surrounding a young student. As the cryptic layers of the story are peeled back, a harrowing discovery suggests the student is harboring a monstrous beast in his home.
Spiral: From The Book Of Saw (May 15)
With the preemptive pitch to conjure his own Saw story, Chris Rock is sure to turn in an inspired spin on the moribund Jigsaw saga. And with Samuel L. Jackson onboard, we cannot wait.
In Spiral: From The Book of Saw, directed by franchise vet Darren Lynn Bousman, the plot picks up when a hotshot detective (Rock) and his rookie partner (Max Minghella) land a grisly murder case that calls to mind the sadistic work of the Jigsaw. Before they know it, both men are mere pawns in the newfangled Saw trap.
Saint Maud (March 27)
When A24 puts their faith in a horror picture, we listen. The prestige distributor behind such elevated horror movies as Hereditary, Midsommar, The Lighthouse, The Witch, and more has a new gem up its sleeve: Saint Maud.
The UK film from writer/director Rose Glass centers on Saint Maud, an extremely zealous nurse who becomes manically obsessed with healing one of her sick patients. The better her patient becomes, the further Maud spirals into a state of insanity.
A Quiet Place Part II (March 20)
Given the massive critical and commercial success of its predecessor, no single horror movie of the spring comes with greater anticipation than A Quiet Place Part II.
With the proud patriarch out of the way this time out, all eyes turn to mama Evelyn (Emily Blunt), who must guide her two children through an unspeakable gauntlet of sound-attracted monsters. Added to the cast is Cillian Murphy, who joins the Abbots on their quest for survival. With both writers and director John Krasinski back onboard, we expect the same level of horrifying entertainment when the film drops this March.
