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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 editor of Variety.com 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.

Our favorite shows from the year included the North American wrap-up of the Eras Tour, Bruce Springsteen's postponed concerts, Dead & Company's Sphere run, a Charli XCX/Troye Sivan teaming, Joni Mitchell's first official headlining shows in 20 years, Missy Elliott's first headlining tour ever, and more.

From thrillers like “Babygirl” and “Love Lies Bleeding” to genre-bending horror flicks like “The Substance” to inspirational sports dramas like “The Fire Inside,” women directed some of last year’s most audacious and acclaimed films. However, those female filmmakers remained the exception, not the rule. Women accounted for just 16% of directors working on the 250 […]

When Chris Smith saw a headline about 47-year-old L. A.-based tech entrepreneur Bryan Johnson’s quest to spend $2 million a year to become 18 again, the director knew he’d found the subject of his next documentary. But there was a problem. “I wrote to (Bryan’s team), and they said I was the sixty-fifth production company/person to […]

Andy Cohen and Anderson Cooper rang in 2025 with the most chaotic energy. The Watch What Happens Live host and Anderson Cooper 360 host welcomed the new year with their usual shenanigans on CNN’s

Justin Baldoni is calling out Ryan Reynolds. After Blake Lively accused Baldoni—her director and costar on It Ends With Us—of sexual harassment on set, he filed a $250 million lawsuit against The