When post-apocalyptic movie A Quiet Place was released in 2018, it received both critical acclaim and box office success. The sequel, A Quiet Place Part II, is being released in theatres on May 28, 2021, after many delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The sequel has been hotly anticipated by audiences, with the hope it has as many thrills, scares, and emotional resonance as the first film.
A Quiet Place and its sequel have been referred to as both horror movies and thriller movies. The lines and definitions between horror and thriller are often blurred, especially as the genres have evolved and shifted over the years. Regardless of how one defines them, horror and thriller movies have seen an upswing in popularity recently. Their popularity and the thrills of such movies are often used to promote the theatre experience.
As theatres start opening up again in more countries, it's no surprise that there are numerous horror and thriller films coming soon. Several already have trailers and release dates while others are in various states of production and development. While it would take too long to meaningfully list every horror/thriller film coming out in 2021 or 2022, these are the ones that look particularly interesting and are sure to capture the attention of audiences.
Last Night in Soho
The trailer for this horror-thriller was recently released, to much excitement. Directed by Edgar Wright, the film stars The Queen's Gambit's Anya Taylor-Joy, JoJo Rabbit's Thomasin McKenzie, Doctor Who's Matt Smith, and Shadow and Bone's Jessie Mei Li. The plot follows McKenzie's character Eloise, a young girl passionate about fashion design who is mysteriously able to enter the 1960s in her sleep. She finds herself encountering and blurring identities with her muse, lounge singer Sandy, played by Taylor-Joy. As she gets swept up in the glamour, time seems to fall apart with shady consequences.
Wright also wrote the script for the film, alongside 1917 and Penny Dreadful writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns. The trailer, full of dark shadows and promising scares, indicates that the film will be a departure from the expected for Wright, most known for films such as Scott Pilgrim Vs the World and Shaun of the Dead. Last Night in Soho is set to be released in theatres October 22 2021.
Candyman
Like A Quiet Place Part II, the release of this film was delayed due to COVID-19. Directed by Nia DaCosta and written by DaCosta and Get Out's Jordan Peele, this film is a sequel to the 1992 movie of the same name. The movie follows the legend of the Candyman, played by returning actor Tony Todd, who is a supernatural killer, the ghost of an artist with a hook for a hand who is said to appear when you say his name in the mirror five times.
Watchmen's Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays Anthony McCoy, who was kidnapped and almost killed by the Candyman as a baby before being saved. He moves back into the neighborhood with his girlfriend, played by WandaVision's Teyonnah Parris, and finds himself destined to encounter the Candyman once again. The cast also features Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Colman Domingo, and Vanessa Estelle Williams returning as Anthony's mother. The trailer alone is deeply creepy, with unsettling visuals and an overwhelming sense of inevitable dread. The film will be released in theatres on August 27 2021.
Reminiscence
Described as a science-fiction thriller, this movie was written and directed by Westworld co-creator Lisa Joy. Set in a dystopian Miami where much of the city is underwater, Reminiscence follows a private eye, played by Hugh Jackman, who can give his clients the ability to relieve any memory they want. He becomes romantically involved with a client, played by The Greatest Showman co-star Rebecca Ferguson, and when she goes missing, he must delve into her past to find her. In the process, he may find out who she really is.
The premise of the film is really interesting, and is bound to be full of twists and turns with a Westworld creator at the helm. The movie will also star Thandiwe Newton, Cliff Curtis, Daniel Wu, and Natalie Martinez. It will be released in theatres and on HBO Max simultaneously on August 20 2021.
Don't Worry Darling
While there is not yet a trailer for this upcoming film, it has been categorized as a psychological thriller. The movie stars Black Widow's Florence Pugh as 1950s housewife Alice, who lives with her husband Jack, played by Harry Styles, in a utopian experimental community. She soon begins to suspect that things are not as they seem, and that her husband's glamorous company may be hiding disturbing secrets.
Director Olivia Wilde and her co-writer Katie Silberman altered and rewrote an original script and concept by the Van Dyke brothers, and they have teased a fun but dark and twisted story. Wilde will also have a role in the film alongside a cast that includes Chris Pine, Gemma Chan, Kiki Layne, Nick Kroll, and Kate Berlant, among others. Having wrapped filming in February 2021, the movie is currently in post-production, with the release date yet to be announced.
Firestarter
Firestarter is an adaptation by Universal and Blumhouse Productions of the 1980 Stephen King novel of the same name. The book was previously adapted in 1984 into a movie starring David Keith and a young Drew Barrymore, but this new version is said to be closer in tone to the original novel.
Zac Efron will play a man named Andy, who along with his wife Vicky, developed supernatural powers due to medical experimentation. While he has the power to push people with his mind and his wife has telepathy, their young daughter Charlie has pyrokinesis, the ability to start fires with her mind. Fear the Walking Dead's Michael Greyeyes will be playing John Rainbird, a mercenary hired by a shady company to hunt down Andy and Charlie.
The movie started production in late May 2021, with much of the cast not yet publicly announced, including the casting for Charlie. Directed by The Vigil director Keith Thomas and written by Scott Teems, who recently wrote Halloween Kills, the movie sounds set to be a scary one. The release date has yet to be announced.