March is an exciting month for the genre because it’s being led almost entirely by independent horror, which includes a couple of festival favorites in Raw and The Devil’s Candy. That said, there’s also a handful of under-the-radar horror movies that look just as good. And finally, we’ll get to see Greg McLean’s brutal thriller The Belko Experiment—that movie looks like a nasty bit of fun, so be on the lookout for it as well! But before we get started, here’s what I watched in February:
The Girl With All The Gifts (review): A refreshing new spin on the storied zombie genre, The Girl With All The Gifts is a thrilling horror movie with a big, bloody heart.
The Blackcoat’s Daughter (review): Oz Perkins’ feature film debut is a knockout led by three brilliant performances in this slow-burning tale of the devil.
March 3
Lavender (Theaters, VOD & Digital HD)
Director: Ed Gass-Donnelly
Cast: Dermot Mulroney, Abbie Cornish, Justin Long
After losing her memory, a woman begins to see unexplained things after her psychiatrist suggests she visit her childhood home.
March 7
Devil in the Dark (VOD)
Director: Tim Brown
Cast: Dan Payne, Robin Dunne, Briana Buckmaster
Two estranged brothers find themselves stalked by an terrifying unknown presence while on a weekend hunting trip in remote British Columbia.
Ghosts of Darkness (VOD)
Director: David Ryan Keith
Cast: Michael Koltes, Paul Flannery, Steve Weston
Two paranormal investigators are unexpectedly thrown together in the hope of solving a 100 year mystery. Locked for three nights in a house with a dark and unsettling past, the two investigators must put their differences to one side and work together. Scepticism and showmanship are soon put to one side when the two investigators realise there is more at stake than just their professional reputation. For once they have stumbled onto the real thing, but this time it’s their own lives at stake.
March 10
Personal Shopper (Theaters)
Director: Olivier Assayas
Cast: Kristen Stewart, Lars Eidinger, Sigrid Bouaziz
Revolves around a ghost story that takes place in the fashion underworld of Paris.
Raw (Theaters)
Director: Julia Ducournau
Cast: Garance Marillier, Ella Rumpf, Rabah Nait Oufella
When a young vegetarian undergoes a carnivorous hazing ritual at vet school, an unbidden taste for meat begins to grow in her.
Brimstone (Theaters & VOD)
Director: Martin Koolhoven
Cast: Dakota Fanning, Kit Harington, Guy Pearce
From the moment the new reverend climbs the pulpit, Liz knows she and her family are in great danger.
The Dark Below (Theaters)
Director: Douglas Schulze
Cast: Lauren Mae Shafer, David G.B. Brown, Veronica Cartwright
A tense, fear driven film that utilizes minimal dialog to tell the story of a woman struggling for survival beneath a frozen lake while a serial killer stalks her from the surface.
March 17
The Belko Experiment (Theaters)
Director: Greg McLean
Cast: Abraham Benrubi, Adria Arjona, Michael Rooker
In a twisted social experiment, 80 Americans are locked in their high-rise corporate office in Bogotá, Colombia and ordered by an unknown voice coming from the company’s intercom system to participate in a deadly game of kill or be killed.
The Devil’s Candy (Theaters & VOD)
Director: Sean Byrne
Cast: Ethan Embry, Shiri Appleby, Kiara Glasco
A struggling painter is possessed by satanic forces after he and his young family move into their dream home in rural Texas, in this creepy haunted-house tale.
March 23
The House on Willow Street (Theaters & VOD)
Director: Alastair Orr
Cast: Carlyn Burchell, Gustav Gerdener, Zino Ventura
After a young woman is kidnapped, her captors soon come to realize that in fact they may be the ones in danger and this young woman has a dark secret inside her.
March 24
Dig Two Graves (Theaters & VOD)
Director: Hunter Adams
Cast: Ted Levine, Samantha Isler, Danny Goldring
A girl’s obsession with her brother’s disappearance leads her on a nightmarish journey through a small town’s Gothic landscape where she is faced with a deadly proposition. How far will she go to save the people she loves?
Life (Theaters)
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Cast: Rebecca Ferguson, Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal
Astronauts aboard the International Space Station are on the cutting edge of one of the most important discoveries in human history: the first evidence of extraterrestrial life on Mars. As members of the crew conduct their research, the rapidly evolving life-form proves far more intelligent and terrifying than anyone could have imagined.
March 31
Here Alone (Theaters & VOD)
Director: Rod Blackhurst
Cast: Lucy Walters, Gina Piersanti, Adam David Thompson
A young woman struggles to survive on her own in the wake of a mysterious epidemic that has decimated society and forced her deep into the unforgiving wilderness.
Predictions
What you shouldn’t miss:
As you can see there’s a lot of great stuff this month, including a couple of must-sees in Raw and The Belko Experiment.
- I don’t really have a whole lot to say about Julia Ducournau’s Raw other than it has been one of the most talked about horror movies of the last year, as it made its way through the festival circuit. For that alone, to see what all the hype is about, I had to pick this one. The trailer is ridiculously good, too.
- While I have yet to be blown away by anything Greg McLean has made, the notion of him working alongside James Gunn for a brutal thriller like The Belko Experiment is just too good to dismiss. This was an easy pick.
What you should take a chance on:
Oh man, there’s way too many great looking movies this month to narrow down these picks, but for the sake of this segment I’m going with The Devil’s Candy, Brimstone, and Life.
- The Devil’s Candy is yet another movie heavily focused on the devil (we’re seeing a lot of those lately) and it looks totally twisted. I’ve heard quite a few good things about this one during its festival run, so it’s certainly one to keep an eye on.
- While Brimstone hasn’t received the same kind of praise, the cast is just too good to pass up and it genuinely looks interesting.
- It’s hard to say what kind of movie Life is going to be like—it does seem eerily similar to Alien (not necessarily a bad thing)—but that cast and set-up certainly make this one worth a look.
Which film are you looking forward to the most?
Without a doubt I gotta go with Raw.
What an amaaaaaazing month to look forward to… unfortunately Raw doesn’t hit screens here in Australia until next month though 😦
Yeah this month is so strong; a lot to look forward to! I won’t get Raw anywhere near me either, but excited for it nonetheless!
Brimstone and The Devil’s Candy certainly caught my eye while reading this list. The House on Willo Street and The Belko Experiment also look like they could be good. Lots to keep my eyes peeled for again.
Nice! Brimstone looks promising—really digging that cast!
What a month it’s going to be. Out of all these RAW is definitely the one I’m most excited about. Do you ever get your articles featured on any film or TV sites? I’m actually a community manager over here at moviepilot.com and would love to showcase some of your horror movie posts on our site!