Fans of the strange and unusual should be defrilling right about now, as summerween is still in full swing and spooky season will soon be upon us. And what better way to celebrate than to look ahead at the best upcoming horror movies heading to our screens later this year and beyond.
2026 has been a banner year for the horror genre, starting off strong in January with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple and getting gnarlier along the way. The genre has also thrown a few spanners in the works, with surprise smash hits like Obsession and Backrooms breaking records. But there's still more to come. The Insidious franchise will grow even bigger this month, before the Halloween season kicks off with Other Mommy and the next DC movie, Clayface.
Below, you'll find a roundup of the most exciting upcoming horror movies of 2026 and beyond, including reboots of Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project. If this list gets you in the mood for a spooky marathon, head to our guide to the best horror movies for the finest scarefests cinema has to offer.
Upcoming horror movies of 2026
Insidious: Out of the Further
Release date: August 21, 2026
This is the sixth movie in the Insidious franchise, and this time demons have a chance to make it to the real world... permanently. Directed by Jacob Chase, Insidious: Out of the Further centers around a young, working mother who discovers she can travel into a purgatorial realm of lost souls. However, unbeknownst to herself, she accidentally brings demons back with her, and well, the past few movies in the franchise have already taught us about the dangers of that. Out of the Further focuses on a new stack of characters, but franchise favourite Lin Shayne is returning as psychic medium Elise Rainier.
Resident Evil
Release date: September 18, 2026
After blowing all of us horror fans away with Weapons and Barbarian, Zach Cregger is back and will be directing the reboot of the Resident Evil movie. If you aren't familiar already, Capcom's iconic game franchise of the same name are some of the best horror games of all time, and many fans have a soft spot for the original Resi movies as well. However, Cregger's adaptation will take some liberties. The movie is set in and around Raccoon City and focuses on the second Resident Evil game. But instead of following Leon around, the film introduces a new character, a medical courier named Bryan, played by Austin Abrams.
Other Mommy
Release date: October 9, 2026
Anyone who has or is around little children will know that they can say the strangest things sometimes, and often talk to creepy imaginary friends no one else can see. Well, Other Mommy takes that one step further. From Rob Savage, the director of Host and The Boogeyman, Other Mommy follows a little girl who forms a relationship with a sinister entity in her home who pretends to be her mother. This one is giving major Coraline vibes, with Jessica Chastain playing both the real mom and the other mommy. The first trailer gave us a little taste of what to expect and had cinema-goers jumping out of their seats when it played for the first time before The Odyssey.
Clayface
Release date: October 23, 2026
I never thought that I'd be adding a new superhero film to this list, but I have super high horror hopes for the upcoming DC movie Clayface. From the trailer, body horror isn't going to be shied away from; in fact, it'll likely be front and centre as we follow the actor Matt Hagen, who has had his face disfigured and then his body transformed by a scientist. The guy just can't catch a break, can he? Horror extraordinaire Mike Flanagan co-wrote the script on this one along with Hossein Amini, and The Woman in Black director James Watkins is helming it. We seem to be in very good hands here.
Return of the Living Dead
Release date: November 13, 2026
Every seasoned horror fan knows about the classic The Return of the Living Dead from the '80s. So if you are a zombie fan chances are you'll be interested in Return of the Living Dead, a new outing in the franchise that is set directly after the original. So yeah, it sounds like we are getting another horror franchise with the Halloween (2018) treatment. That means probably retconning the previous sequels. I'm still waiting for a trailer for this one but I'm excited to see what it has in store for us.
Werwulf
Release date: December 25, 2026
After taking on witches and vampires, Robert Eggers is now looking towards a new kind of monster with his upcoming horror, Werwulf. Set in 13th-century England, the movie centers around Aaron Taylor-Johnson's farmer and his wife, played by Lily Rose Depp, living in a rural village. But it's not just a lack of food and warmth the peasants have to fear, as a howling monster stalks the countryside. The movie also stars Willem Dafoe and Ralph Ineson. It seems like another winner if you ask us, and the perfect Christmas horror movie to look forward to.
Upcoming horror movies of 2027
Paranormal Activity 8
Release date: May 21, 2027
The eighth installment of Blumhouse's enormously popular found footage franchise Paranormal Activity was announced in January 2026. No plot details have been released, but we know the upcoming movie is written and directed by Undertone helmer Ian Tuason.
A Quiet Place: Part 3
Release date: July 30, 2027
After the 2024 spin-off, A Quiet Place: Day One, earned $262 million against a $67M budget, it makes sense that the franchise would still be kicking. Heading our way in 2027 is the next entry in the main A Quiet Place franchise with Krasinski back to write, direct, and produce the horror. So far, we don't know anything in terms of plot for the flick; however, since it's a mainline entry, it's likely that it will follow on from the events of A Quiet Place Part 2. It should also be noted that originally this film was set for 2025; hopefully, no more delays are revealed, but we'll keep you posted if anything changes.
The Conjuring: First Communion
Release date: September 10, 2027
Less than six months after The Conjuring: Last Rites marked Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson playing everyone's favorite demon hunters Lorraine and Ed Warren, Warner Bros. confirmed the release date of prequel The Conjuring: First Communion. With such a long way to go until we'll see it in theaters, next to nothing is known about the fright-filled follow-up as it stands, but we do know that Garrett Wareing and Amanda Fix will play younger versions of the paranormal-obsessed paramours.
The Blair Witch Project reboot
Release date: September 24, 2027
Little is known about the latest reboot of found-footage sensation The Blair Witch Project beyond the (impressive) line-up of people shepherding the new movie to the screen. Horror hotshots Jason Blum and James Wan are producing alongside the original film's directors and cast. Dylan Clark, meanwhile, is following in the footsteps of Obsession's Curry Barker and Backrooms' Kane Parsons by making the leap from YouTube to feature filmmaking with Blair Witch. Can it recapture the scare factor of the original? That's a tall order. But after a disastrous sequel and so-so reboot, we're overdue a great reinvention.
Gremlins 3
Release date: November 19, 2027
OK, so we don't know if Gremlins 3 is going to be a horror movie exactly, but given how the original '80s movie is one of the best Christmas horror movies of all time, and the second film had some pretty gnarly special effects, we say it is still a worthy addition to this list for now. While we have literally no idea what the story will be this time round, we do know that the script will be co-written by Columbus, Zach Lipovsky, and Adam Stein. There were also reports that Chris Columbus would be the director for the flick back in January 2025. Stay tuned for more news!
For more, check out our guides to all the movie release dates this year and new TV shows.
