Many movie genres have seen their popularity ebb and flow significantly over the years – especially Westerns and musicals – but horror has remained consistently popular among audiences and a reliable money-spinner for studios.
However, with literally hundreds of horror movies being released every single year, it becomes increasingly difficult to stand out in such a crowded field, where the vast majority of film ideas have basically been done before. Originality certainly isn’t the be-all and end-all of a movie, because there’s something to be said for a competent, well-executed take on familiar material, but at the same time, who among us doesn’t crave something totally, face-meltingly unique every now and then?
Where the horror genre is concerned, it doesn’t get much more fascinatingly original than the following 10 upcoming films, each of which firmly challenges the notion that horror – and, indeed, Hollywood as a whole – is fresh out of provocative and enticing new ideas.
From a singularly wild take on body horror to an irresistible sequel setup, a howlingly unexpected adaptation of a classic story, and everything else in between, these are the most ingeniously premised horror movies set to release in the near future.
Anyone complaining that originality in Hollywood is dead need look no further than A24’s new comedy-horror Death of a Unicorn, which revolves around a father, Elliot (Paul Rudd), and his daughter Ridley (Jenna Ortega), who accidentally hit a unicorn with their car.
Elliot’s scheming pharma CEO boss, the ludicrously monikered Dell Leopold (Richard E. Grant), then takes the unicorn for himself, as his team of scientists discover that its remains have the potential to cure cancer.
Leopold of course plots to exploit this for massive financial gain, yet before long the unicorn’s very, very pissed off mate arrives, seeking revenge on those who have killed and desecrated its partner.
This is nothing if not a huge, wild, enthusiastic swing of a movie, and though Death of a Unicorn marks the debut of writer-director Alex Scharfman – which is always a coin flip for audiences – the marketing certainly suggests that he’s coming out of the gate with a darkly hilarious banger.
