Forget flowers — give your partner the gift of global horror this Valentine’s Day! February is delivering a bouquet of new international horror movie releases, so whether you have a taste for Giallo, gore, or even dinosaurs, you’ll find the perfect feature to slot into your “dinner and a movie” date night plans.
Find a new film to love. Here are ten international horror titles getting a North American release this February.
1. Dario Argento Panico (United Kingdom)
Italian horror and Giallo master Dario Argento (Suspiria, Opera, Phenomena) is the subject of a new documentary by director Simone Scadfi. Featuring exclusive interviews with Argento himself, along with fellow genre icons Guillermo del Toro, Gaspar Noé, and Nicolas Winding Refn, Dario Argento Panico offers an intimate and insightful look at the legendary filmmaker’s life and career.
Dario Argento Panico began streaming on Shudder on February 2. If you live in New York City, you can also catch it on the big screen as part of the “Panic Attacks: The Films of Dario Argento” retrospective playing at the IFC Center through February 8.
2. Gods of the Deep (United Kingdom)
Something tentacled this way comes. Director Charlie Steeds’ Lovecraftian Gods of the Deep is swimming up from the darkest depths of the ocean and onto digital platforms on February 6.
In Gods of the Deep, a submarine team undertakes a daring mission to explore a mysterious opening in the ocean floor. What they discover is a lost world… and some less-than-friendly new neighbors.
3. Here for Blood (Canada)
What happens when a gang of cultish masked home invaders runs foul of a pro-wrestler on babysitting duty? Find out when director Daniel Turres’ horror-comedy Here for Blood enters the SCREAMBOX ring on February 9.
Shawn Roberts (Resident Evil franchise) plays the all-wrestling, all-babysitting Tom O’Bannon in Here for Blood, which also stars Maya Misaljevic and Joelle Farrow. Check out our blisteringly violent exclusive clip for a first look at the action!
4. Out of Darkness (United Kingdom)
Previously titled The Origin, Out of Darkness brings Paleolithic scares to theatres on February 9. Set 45,000 years ago, the film sees a small boat arriving on the shores of a raw, desolate landscape. Its starving, desperate passengers set off for the mountains in search of shelter — but as night falls, they realize they are not alone on the land.
Scottish director Andrew Cumming helmed Out of Darkness, which was shot in the Scottish Highlands and features a fictitious ancient language. Best take your spear to the theater — you never know what might come out of the shadows when the lights dim.
5. Double Blind (Ireland)
You might have trouble sleeping after watching Double Blind, a psychological horror film from Irish filmmaker Ian Hunt Duffy that’s getting a digital release on February 13.
Starring The Walking Dead’s Pollyanna McIntosh alongside Millie Brady, Double Blind follows a group of test subjects participating in an experimental drug trial. There’s just one nasty side effect they need to contend with: if they fall asleep, they’ll die. I hope the coffee is brewing…
6. Jurassic Triangle (United Kingdom)
A group of colleagues are thrust into a fight for survival when their helicopter crash lands on a mysterious island in Jurassic Triangle, coming to digital platforms on February 13. And as you might have guessed from the title, something toothy is waiting for them when they crawl from the wreckage.
Getting stranded on an island with your coworkers? That’s bad enough. Discovering that the island is also inhabited by dinosaurs and other blood-thirsty creatures? I’d ask for a raise.
7. Midnight Peepshow (United Kingdom)
Either the most or least appropriate film on this list to watch on Valentine’s Day (depending on how you look at it), anthology horror Midnight Peepshow releases on VOD on February 13.
Featuring segments directed by Andy Edwards, Airell Anthony Hayles, Ludovica Musumeci, and Jake West, Midnight Peepshow uses a darkly magical peepshow booth in London’s Soho neighborhood as a springboard for some seedy scares. As the tagline promises, sometimes, you just can’t look away…
8. Monolith (Australia)
Lily Sullivan had a little trouble with a vinyl record in Evil Dead Rise. Will she have more luck with the podcast format in Monolith, a claustrophobic new sci-fi chiller from director Matt Vesely?
In Monolith, Sullivan plays a disgraced unnamed journalist who tries to salvage her career with a podcast but potentially stumbles on an alien conspiracy instead. All you have to do is listen… But you can also watch the film in select theaters and on digital platforms from February 16.
9. Stopmotion (United Kingdom)
Director Robert Morgan is known for his creepy stop-motion shorts like The Cat with Hands. But for his first feature-length film, he took a hybrid approach — telling the tale of stop-motion animator Ella Blake (Aisling Franciosi) whose unsettling creations start taking on a life of their own.
I caught Stopmotion at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival last year, and it blew me away. Find out why when Stopmotion comes to theatres on February 23, and get a preview of your nightmares by checking out the trailer here.
10. Dr. Cheon and the Lost Talisman (South Korea)
A fake exorcist learns the hard way that you shouldn’t mess with the spirit world in director Kim Seong-sik’s Dr. Cheon and the Lost Talisman, which you can watch on Blu-ray, DVD, or digital platforms from February 27.
Gang Dong-won (Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula) stars as the eponymous Dr. Cheon, who ain’t afraid of no ghosts because he doesn’t believe in them. Despite this, he’s made a career out of performing fake exorcisms on camera, which puts him in a bit of a predicament when he’s thrust into a case that’s all too real.
That’s your February watchlist sorted — and since this is a leap year, you’ve got a whole extra day to enjoy all that the wide world of horror has to offer. Check back in March for more global horror goodies from your friends at Fango!
