Movies to watch in March, including 'Mickey 17' and 'The Woman in the Yard'

March comes in like a lion this year, with films that are frightening, ambitious and just plain weird. They include the long-awaited follow-up to Bong Joon-ho's 2019 masterpiece, "Parasite," an erotic thriller set in a quaint French village and a gruesome comedy about the murder of a unicorn.

This month's new releases will challenge your expectations. And they will certainly not have you leaving the theater feeling like a lamb.

'Mickey 17'

Mickey 17 | Official Trailer - YouTube

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Bong Joon-ho, the director of four-time Academy Award winner "Parasite," is back with another dark comedy about class structure and workers' rights. Set in a dystopian future, the sci-fi tale stars Robert Pattinson as Mickey, a man living on an Earth now ravaged by catastrophic weather. He signs up to work as an "expendable" employee who embarks on space missions wherein he frequently perishes; every time he dies, he is cloned and reborn. "When scientists want to observe what happens after the human body is exposed to fatal amounts of radiation," for example, it is "Mickey's time to clock in and bleed out," said David Fear at Rolling Stone. As with "Parasite," adventures across the film's grim universe are presented as an absurdist jaunt. "Each time Mickey is resurrected by way of a massive 3D printer," you can "feel Bong's sense of humor shining through," said Charles Pulliam-Moore at The Verge. (March 7 in theaters)

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'Misericordia'

MISERICORDIA directed by Alain Guiraudie - Official Trailer - YouTube

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This sinister psychosexual comedy — a real tongue twister — is the latest from French director Alain Guiraudie, best known for 2013's erotic thriller "Stranger by the Lake," "one of the sexiest, deadliest and most explicit films of the 21st century so far," said Ryan Lattanzio at IndieWire.

"Misericordia" is another exploration of queer desire, taking place in an autumnal French village where a down-on-his-luck baker has returned for the funeral of his former boss. When the protagonist begins to set down roots and intermingle with the locals a little too fondly, things get complicated — and potentially criminal. (March 21 in theaters)

'The Assessment'

The Assessment - Official Trailer - Elizabeth Olsen, Alicia Vikander | In Theaters March 21 - YouTube

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The debut feature from Parisian filmmaker Fleur Fortuné marks the second psychodrama on our March list set in a near-future Earth that has been — you guessed it — ravaged by climate change. Hopeful parents played by Elizabeth Olsen and Himesh Patel must undergo a strenuous and surreal seven-day evaluation to be considered fit to have a child. Alicia Vikander plays the couple's assessor, Virginia, who eventually moves to role-play with the pair in an effort to see how they handle parental challenges (she plays the child). It might be Vikander's most affecting performance since she portrayed Ava, the overdeveloped robot in "Ex Machina." (March 21 in theaters)

'The Woman in the Yard'

The Woman In The Yard | Official Trailer - YouTube

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The latest from massive horror brand Blumhouse was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, a master of campy yet well-constructed horror ("The Shallows;" "Orphan;" "House of Wax"). Danielle Deadwyler stars as Ramona, a single mother of two whose family has begun to observe a terrifying spectral figure outside their rural farmhouse. The premise is chilling not merely because the intruder sits beneath a long black veil, watching the house — but because she claims she has been summoned there. (March 28 in theaters)

'Death of a Unicorn'

Death Of A Unicorn | Official Trailer HD | A24 - YouTube

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If you watched 2023's "Cocaine Bear" and wanted more, "Death of a Unicorn" may be the spiritual sequel you seek. The titular beast is not on any narcotics this time, but the A24 comedy does similarly recall "monster flicks from the '70s and '80s with brutal quality kills placed in a tapestry of social commentary and funny characters," said Brian Tallerico at RogerEbert.com. The story follows a man and his daughter who accidentally kill a unicorn with their car. When they discover the creature has healing magic, the father's boss attempts to exploit it — until the dead unicorn's mate shows up for revenge. "It's a story that Michael Crichton would have dug," said Tallerico, "one about the wealthy ignoring not only the signs in front of them but the history and the mythology of this world." (March 28 in theaters)