There are a number of moments in THE SKIN I LIVE IN, Pedro Almodóvar’s first thriller since 1986’s MATADOR, that express the playful side that has flowered in his films in the ensuing decades. Yet its heart is cold, dark and dangerous, sometimes seductively and sometimes thrillingly so, and it’s everything you’d expect from a genre work by this (very) particular director.

It should be understood that it is impossible to create a truly great horror film without a proper grasp and appreciation for all cinema. Exposure to a broader frame of reference provides a far richer palette to paint from, unlike the often enthusiastic but traditionally uninspired backyard gutmunchers made by filmmakers who cite other horror movies as their sole influence.

Not possessing an adequate or confident knowledge of the movement, it would be unwise for me to declare THE WOMAN as feminist. However, even with a cursory grasp, it’s difficult not to see the film—and much of director Lucky McKee’s work, for that matter—in some sort of pro-femme light, telling heightened horror stories about the evils and dangers of stealing a lady’s independence and attempting to mold her for yourself. Also, like much of McKee’s work, it’s seriously good.

You know the cinematic-rehash market is getting saturated when a movie called THE THING is advertised as coming “From the Producers of DAWN OF THE DEAD,” and both films in question are reduxes. And while the 2011 THING is being billed as a prequel and not a remake, a remake is what it is.

TAKE SHELTER proves that when the right filmmaker and actor are involved, the hint of the possibility of violence can make an audience just as uneasy as the direct threat of it. In this case, the filmmaker is Jeff Nichols and the actor is Michael Shannon, and that underlying tension is just one of the things that makes the movie so quietly powerful.

It’s not uncommon for studios and distributors, fearing the wrath of critics, to refrain from screening horror movies in advance; APOLLO 18 and SHARK NIGHT 3D went that route just this past month. But DREAM HOUSE, which Universal is opening cold today, seemed an unlikely candidate for such treatment. Directed by Oscar nominee Jim Sheridan, starring current 007 Daniel Craig, Oscar winner Rachel Weisz and Oscar nominee Naomi Watts—how bad could it be?

In wondering if you’re excited to see the latest from THE NAMELESS helmer and [REC] co-director Jaume Balaguero—first of all, you shouldn’t be wondering—ask yourself if you’d like to experience the absolute height of shuddering. In his classically suspenseful tale of stalkerdom, SLEEP TIGHT (opening theatrically today), Balaguero and his obsessive lead will make you feel absolutely nothing less than gross; in a totally good way, mind you.