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: Sony “Five Nights at Freddy’s 2″ (Opening in theaters on Dec. 5 via Universal Pictures) — The second chapter of the spooky video game adaptation brings Josh Hutcherson back as the everyman fighting animatronic robots gone haywire. Bonus points for casting both “Scream” bad boys, Matthew Lillard and Skeet Ulrich, to excite the Gen Xers tagging along as chaperones.
“Anaconda” (Opening in theaters on Dec. 25 via Sony Pictures Releasing) — Paul Rudd and Jack Black topline this meta sequel to the giant snake movie. Who knows if it will live up to the high camp of the Jennifer Lopez-starring original, but with a strong supporting cast including Steve Zahn and Thandiwe Newton, as well as a wild Christmas Day release, there’s hope it’s just as funny, gross and over the top. -
Off the Beaten Path
Image Credit: Gabor Kotschy “Man Finds Tape” (Opening in theaters on Dec. 5 via Magnolia Pictures & Magnet Releasing) — Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead are producers on this twisty indie that finds horror in mysterious found footage tapes. First-time directors Paul Gandersman and Peter Hall conjure impressive imagery and solid scares in this story of siblings investigating a murder and stumbling upon even darker small-town secrets.
“Silent Night, Deadly Night” (Opening in theaters on Dec. 12 via Cineverse) — This remake of the classic holiday slasher features “Halloween Ends” star Rohan Campbell as the murderous Santa, and is written and directed by Mike P. Nelson, who helmed the excellent 2021 “Wrong Turn” reboot. Given the ‘80s fun of the original film, the property seems ripe for a more nerve-shredding take.
“Dust Bunny” (Opening in theaters on Dec. 12 via Lionsgate) — Bryan Fuller’s first foray into writing and directing a film is this stylish horror adventure, where a little girl (Sophie Sloan) hires a hitman (Mads Mikkelsen) to kill the very-real monster living under her bed. There’s some great humor and heart in this genre blend from the “Hannibal” and “Pushing Daisies” mastermind.
“The Plague” (Opening in theaters Dec. 24 via Independent Film Company) — Writer and director Charlie Polinger’s body horror film — about boys creating their own dark social system at water polo camp — debuted in the Un Certain Regard section of this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Joel Edgerton plays the coach alongside a crew of talented young actors. -
Killer Series
Image Credit: Clay Enos/Netflix “Stranger Things” (Season 5) (The first four episodes will debut on Nov. 26 on Netflix) — The Hawkins crew returns for one last battle against evil. This last season will be split into three sections, but early episodes waste no time jumping into the Upside Down action.
