Movies of War

Mar 6, 2026 2:10pm PT Best Horror of March 2026: ‘Ready or Not 2,’ A24’s Bold New Movie, Zazie Beetz Gets Bloody and More By William Earl Plus Icon William Earl @beautifulbill Latest Variety to Host Next Generation Entertainment Podcast Brunch Presented by Google TV at SXSW 2 days ago ‘Suddenly Amish’ Mentor James Is TV’s Best Villain: Breaking Down His Wildest Moments, From Chasing a Contestant With an Ax to Cuddling His Cousin 3 days ago Anne Hathaway Was ‘Fully in Character’ on ‘The Odyssey Set,’ Even When the Camera ‘Wouldn’t See Her for Three Days’: ‘You Never Stop Working’ 4 days ago See All Courtesy of Studios 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. Marquee Madness Image Credit: Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures The Bride! (In theaters March 6 via Warner Bros. Pictures) — Maggie Gyllenhaal wrote and directed this bold vision of the Bride of Frankenstein’s story. The ambitious, big-budget retelling stars Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening, Jake Gyllenhaal and Penélope Cruz. Undertone (In theaters March 13 via A24) — This shoestring indie finds great scares out of a podcaster unraveling a mystery about a haunted-sounding series of audio recordings. See it in a movie theater with crisp audio in order to fully appreciate writer-director Ian Tuason’s bold aural vision. Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (In theaters March 20 via Searchlight Pictures) — The sequel to Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s 2019 hit starts immediately where the first chapter ended, with a blood-soaked bride (Samara Weaving) sitting outside of a burning mansion. This time around, a group of rich families with a dark secret kidnap her and her headstrong sister (Kathryn Newton) in order to play another deadly game. Plenty of big laughs and bloody setpieces come from there. They Will Kill You (In theaters March 27 via Warner Bros. Pictures) — Zazie Beetz stars in this horror-thriller-action-comedy, about a woman who has to fight her way through satanic cult members in a high-rise building. The cast includes Myha’la, Tom Felton, Heather Graham and Patricia Arquette. Off the Beaten Path Image Credit: Paul Gleason Dolly (In theaters March 6 via Independent Film Company and Shudder) — Director and co-writer Rod Blackhurst helms this slasher, featuring a big, masked lunk named Dolly (wrestler Max the Impaler) who hopes to raise a young woman (Fabianne Therese) as a baby. After premiering at last year’s Fantastic Fest, “Dolly” is getting a theatrical release to cause terror on the big screen. Didn’t Die (In theaters March 6 via Level 33 Entertainment) — Meera Menon’s black and white zombie apocalypse film, which she co-wrote with her cinematographer husband Paul Gleason, is about a podcaster who returns to her hometown and processes that nothing will ever be the same again. Scared to Death (In theaters March 13 via Atlas Distribution) — Paul Boyd wrote and directed this film in which a horror movie shoot conjures a real séance. Genre icons Lin Shaye and Bill Moseley star in this dark satire. Vampires of the Velvet Lounge (In theaters March 20 via Strand Releasing) — Vampire hunters take on bloodsuckers who find their victims on dating apps in Adam Sherman’s comedic film starring Mena Suvari, Dichen Lachman and Stephen Dorff. Forbidden Fruits (In theaters March 27 via Independent Film Company and Shudder) — A witchy comedy with a buzzy cast — including Lili Reinhart, Lola Tung, Victoria Pedretti, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Chamberlain and Gabrielle Union — is opening at South by Southwest 2026 before opening wide. Bloodcurdling Books Image Credit: Courtesy of HarperVia Strange Buildings by Uketsu (Releasing March 3 via HarperVia) — Uketsu’s uniquely written tales of dread include floor plans and drawings in order to show some of the impossibly designed rooms within. Spring is a great time to check out what they’re all about. Afterbirth by Emma Cleary (Releasing March 24 via Harper) — This rich story of two sisters grappling with the idea of motherhood is creepy and full of eerie twists. For fans of dreamlike horror stories, “Afterbirth” zips along like a movie but amps up the heart. Killer Series Image Credit: COURTESY OF NETFLIX Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen (Debuting on Netflix on March 26) — Haley Z. Boston created the ultimate spooky in-law tale as a young woman’s life begins to unravel as she meets her fiancé’s family and finds out some spooky secrets. Camila Morrone, Adam DiMarco and Jennifer Jason Leigh star. Jump to Comments Warner Bros’ $30 Million Oscars Race: How ‘Sinners’ and ‘One Battle After Another’ Are Campaigning at the Same Studio Inga Ibsdotter Lilleaas Talks ‘Sentimental Value,’ Bad Bunny’s ‘Moving’ Super Bowl Moment and the ‘Constructed Reality’ of Awards Season Cannes Rocks the Oscars With 19 Nominations for Competition Movies, Venice Films Land 15 Noms Barbra Streisand in Talks for Oscars Performance to Honor Robert Redford ‘Sinners’ Breaks All-Time Oscar Nomination Record With 16 Nods Wagner Moura on Making Oscars History With ‘The Secret Agent’ and His Warning to America: ‘Polarization Is Democracy’s Greatest Threat’ JavaScript is required to load the comments. Loading comments...