The most exciting upcoming horror movies coming in 2025 and beyond

Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein in Frankenstein
(Image credit: Netflix)

It's officially spooky season, and there's no better way to celebrate Halloween than getting excited for the rest of this year's upcoming horror movies. 2025 has been a great year for horror already, with Zach Cregger's Weapons and Ryan Coogler's Sinners smashing the box office, to pip-tastic dog-led haunted house title Good Boy making waves in the animal acting world. But just because we're in October already, that doesn't mean that horror releases are slowing down.

There are still a whole host of thrills and chills heading our way. This month, Guillermo del Toro's highly anticipated Frankenstein will haunt cinemas before landing on Netflix this month, plus Longlegs director Osgood Perkins' new movie Keeper is still to come. And what would the horror genre be without a sequel or two? That's right, brace yourself for Five Nights at Freddy's 2 and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.

We've got your complete guide to all the best upcoming horror movies on the way in the final months of 2025 (and the start of 2026, too) right here, from new installments in beloved franchises like Predator: Badlands to film festival favourites like Primate. Just grab a pillow to hide behind and keep reading!

The Black Phone 2

The Black Phone

(Image credit: Universal)

Release date: October 17, 2024

We love a horror sequel that audiences are actually excited about and Scott Derrickson’s follow-up to his 2021 supernatural/child abduction hit The Black Phone is shaping up to be one such movie. There’s very little known about The Black Phone 2 currently, but it has been confirmed that original cast members Ethan Hawke, Jeremy Davies, Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw are all returning.

The first movie and its characters were based on a short story written by Joe son-of-Stephen-King Hill, and while he won’t back for the sequel screenplay, Derrickson has teamed up again with C. Robert Cargill who also worked on The Black Phone and the Sinister films. Here’s hoping for more fearful fun from this team that just seems to love the horror genre.

Frankenstein

Oscar Isaac in Frankenstein

(Image credit: Netflix/Getty Images/Presley Ann / Stringer)

Release date: October 17, 2025 (cinemas) / November 7, 2025 (Netflix)

The long-awaited adaptation of Mary Shelley's seminal sci-fi horror story Frankenstein by celebrated genre director Guillermo del Toro (Pan’s Labyrinth, The Devil’s Backbone, Hellboy, Crimson Peak, The Shape of Water) is arriving in limited cinemas in October, and on streaming in November.

Del Toro’s narrative (he’s co-credited as writer with Shelley) revolves around Christoph Waltz’s Dr. Pretorius who tracks down the iconic Monster (Jacob Elordi) – believed to have died in a fire decades before – in order to continue the experiments of Dr. Victor Frankenstein (Oscar Isaac). The all-star cast also includes Mia Goth, Ralph Ineson and Charles Dance. Electrifying!

Predator: Badlands

Elle Fanning in Predator: Badlands

(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

Release date: November 7, 2025

The plot of Predator: Badlands takes viewers to a "future on a remote planet" where "a young Predator, outcast from his clan, finds an unlikely ally in synthetic Thia and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary."

The upcoming film is a new entry in the juggernaut franchise that has been pulling in audiences since 1987. The first trailer made us very excited, and not only because of those Alien connections. The film is directed by Dan Trachtenberg, who is back with the franchise after he stunned in 2022 with his Comanche Nation-set Predator movie Prey, and it stars Elle Fanning (The Neon Demon, The Beguiled).

Keeper

Keeper teaser trailer

(Image credit: Neon)

Release date: November 14, 2025

Exciting news, Osgood Perkins fans! Not content with releasing one of the best and biggest horror films of 2024 with Longlegs, and then treating us hot on its heels to the highly entertaining gorefest that was The Monkey in February, the director is gearing up to deliver yet another descent into darkness before the year is out.

Tatiana Maslani and Tess Degenstein - who both worked with Perkins on The Monkey - will star alongside Rossif Sutherland (Orphan: First Kill, Possessor) in Keeper, set to hit cinemas in October. Sutherland and Maslani play a couple - Malcolm and Liz - who set out on a romantic anniversary retreat, but when Malcolm unexpectedly leaves for the city, Liz is left alone to be confronted by a sinister presence within their remote cabin. You keep making them Oz, and we’ll keep watching them.

Five Nights At Freddy's 2

Upcoming video game movies - Five Nights at Freddy's 2

(Image credit: Steel Wool Studios)

Release date: December 5, 2025

In 2023, Five Nights at Freddy’s became Blumhouse’s highest-grossing movie of all time, and the cast and crew behind the popular video game-based smash hit is coming back with its sequel at the end of 2025. The first film followed Josh Hutcherson’s Mike, a troubled security guard who gets a job at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza only to find himself battling killer animatronics.

Director Emma Tammi, her co-writers Scott Cawthon and Seth Cuddeback, and stars Hutcherson, Matthew Lillard, Elizabeth Lail, and Piper Rubio are all returning for Five Nights At Freddy’s 2, which, with the tagline ‘Anyone can survive five nights. This time, there will be no second chances', and will no doubt take the classic follow-up approach of upping the stakes, the action, and - hopefully - the horror. This is also one of our most anticipated upcoming video game movies of 2025!

Anaconda

Jack Black and Paul Rudd in Anaconda

(Image credit: Sony)

Release date: December 25, 2025

There’s a big new creature feature on the horizon and, while this might not have been on anyone’s 2025 horror bingo card, it’s a reboot of 1997’s Anaconda being brought to us by Jack Black and Paul Rudd on Christmas Day. Although at first glance this might feel like an unusual project pairing, Black has some monster movie pedigree from Peter Jackson’s King Kong and Rudd is no stranger to blockbuster action, having played Ant-Man across multiple installments of the MCU.

From what we currently know from the synopsis, the new Anaconda movie could well be a meta affair, as a group of friends going through midlife crises decide to remake a favorite movie from their youth but encounter unexpected events (and, we assume, one very big snake) when they enter the jungle. Joining Black and Rudd on the cast are Steve Zahn (Joyride) and Thandiwe Newton (Westworld). Tom Gormican (The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent) will direct.

Primate

Upcoming horror movie Primate

(Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

Release date: January 6, 2026

Those still reeling from that terrifying chimp attack in Jordan Peele's Nope may want to look away now. Directed by Strangers: Prey at Night's Johannes Roberts, Primate follows a group of friends who jet off to a tropical paradise, only for their vacation to be turned into a living nightmare when a rabid chimp attacks. This is not Roberts' first rodeo when it comes to animal attack movies, as the director previously helmed shark attack movie 47 Meters Down and its sequel. Plus, Primate boasts a pretty big cast, meaning that there are going to be a fair few casualties.

SOULM8TE

M3GAN doll in M3GAN 2.0

(Image credit: Universal Pictures)

Release date: January 9, 2026

The sequel may not have been a box office hit, but there's still more M3GAN on the way – kind of. A new spin-off will follow a man who "acquires an Artificially Intelligent android to cope with the loss of his recently deceased wife," per the official synopsis. "In an attempt to create a truly sentient partner, he inadvertently turns a harmless lovebot into a deadly soulmate." SOULM8TE is described as being in the tradition of "'90s domestic thrillers but with a modern, technological twist," so it sounds like M3GAN's campy humor might be on standby for this installment… The cast includes Evil Dead Rise star Lily Sullivan, Fargo's David Rysdahl, and The Boys' Claudia Doumit.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

Ralph Fiennes as Dr. Kelson in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

(Image credit: Sony Pictures Releasing)

Release date: January 16, 2026

Following the release of 28 Years Later in June 2025, the sequel 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple will continue the adventures of Spike (played by Alfie Williams) only a few months later, and it promises to be even more brutal than its predecessor. The first trailer for the sequel teased more bonkers action from Jimmy Crystal's (Jack O'Connell) cult and a closer look at the mysterious Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes).

Directed by Nia DaCosta and written by Alex Garland, The Bone Temple will follow the events of the previous movie, with the teen protagonist leaving his isolated community to see the infected world for himself. Cillian Murphy is set to reprise his role as Jim from the original 28 Days Later in this second movie, which will be followed by a third and last installment.

Return to Silent Hill

Return to Silent Hill protagonist James Sunderland

(Image credit: Cineverse)

Release date: January 23, 2026

The upcoming live-action film adaptation of Silent Hill 2 is one to watch next year, even if fans weren't thrilled by the first official images. Return to Silent Hill will be helmed by Christophe Gans, who directed 2006's Silent Hill adaptation, and will star Jeremy Irvine as James, Hannah Emily Anderson as Maria, and Evie Templeton as Laura.

As far as we know, the sequel will follow the events of Silent Hill 2, which sees James head to the mysterious, foggy town of Silent Hill in search for his dead wife after receiving a mysterious letter from her.

Scream 7

Ghostface in Scream 6

(Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

Release date: February 27, 2026

Not much is known about Scream 7 yet and the movie is keeping its plot points close to its brutally-stabbed-chest for now. What we do know, though, is that we can expect a lot of familiar faces to return – one way or another. Along with Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott and Courteney Cox's Gale Weathers, some more surprising figures are seemingly back from the dead, including David Arquette, Matthew Lillard, and Scott Foley, who played Dewey, Stu, and Roman in previous installments of the slasher franchise. Intriguing…

The Bride

The Bride

(Image credit: Niko Tavernise/Warner Bros.)

Release date: March 6, 2026

More rebooted Universal Monster action is on its way, this time revolving around one of horror’s most iconic female characters, and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal – following her hugely successful feature debut The Lost Daughter in 2021 – who's adapting the stunning black and white classic from 1935, James Whale’s Bride of Frankenstein. The new movie takes place in '30s Chicago, where Frankenstein asks Dr. Euphronius for help creating a companion, and when they bring a murdered woman back to life as the Bride (played by Men’s Jessie Buckley), they spark romance, police interest, and radical social change.

Along with its significant heritage, an impressive ensemble cast including Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko, Life, Velvet Buzzsaw), Christian Bale (American Psycho, The Pale Blue Eye), Penelope Cruz (Vanilla Sky, Murder on the Orient Express), Peter Sarsgaard (The Skeleton Key, Orphan) and Annette Bening (Mars Attacks!) makes this another hugely anticipated horror film.

Ready or Not: Here I Come

Ready or Not

(Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

Release date: April 10, 2026

Final girl Grace La Domas is back for more as the highly anticipated sequel to the 2019 horror movie Ready or Not is on the way. Ready or Not 2, officially titled Ready or Not: Here I come, welcomes back star Samara Weaving and will see Scream directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett return to their breakout franchise.

The sequel will pick up right after the first movie, well, kind of, as writer Guy Busick says that Grace has been in the hospital since she took down the Domas family, and for her, no time has passed. However, when she wakes up, she finds that 'winning' hide and seek against her nightmare in-laws actually triggered a much larger game she doesn't quite understand at first. The sequel also stars Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Kevin Durand, and Elijah Wood.

Lee Cronin's The Mummy

The Mummy

(Image credit: Universal Pictures)

Release date: April 17, 2026

Yes, you read that right. There is yet another Mummy movie on the way, this time from Evil Dead Rise director Lee Cronin. Although plot details for the new Mummy are being kept tightly under wraps, or shall we say bandages, we do know that stars Laia Costa and Jack Reynor are playing a married couple, who, along with their daughter, cross paths with The Mummy in question.

Although there are already multiple Mummy movies out there in the ether, Cronin promises his take on the classic monster will be unlike anything horror fans have seen before. The movie was filmed in Ireland and wrapped production in June 2025, so it shouldn't be long until we see an official synopsis and the first look at the movie.


For more, check out our guides to all the movie release dates this year and new TV shows.

Becky Darke
Freelance Writer

Becky Darke is a London-based podcaster and writer, with her sights on film, horror and 90s pop-culture. She is a regular contributor to Arrow Video, Empire, The Evolution of Horror and The Final Girls.

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