As showcased by those game-changing Oscars 2026 nominations, horror has never been more in. It stands to reason, then, that there are a whole bunch of exciting upcoming horror movies releasing this year.
On the hair-raising horizon, there are new interpretations of old classics, like Robert Eggers' Werwulf and Lee Cronin's The Mummy, as well as zany original comedies like Send Help and They Will Kill You. There are sequels in some of the best horror movie franchises of all time, too, like Scream, Ready or Not, and The Evil Dead. In short, there's a lot to keep track of, so we're here to lend a (bloodied) hand and help you map out your future cinema scares.
Upcoming horror movies of 2026
Send Help
Release date: January 30
Directed by horror comedy master Sam Raimi, zany thriller Send Help follows dowdy office assistant Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams), as she and her newly-appointed superior Bradley Preston (Dylan O'Brien) crash land on a remote island on their way to a work event. What starts out as a regular business trip turns into a blood-soaked battle for survival, with the squabbling duo having to put aside their differences – and reassess their power dynamics – in a bid to make it back home. Or not...
"The pitch was outrageous and original," Raimi, who previously directed McAdams in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, previously told Entertainment Weekly. "I knew right away that I wanted to direct this picture."
Iron Lung
Release date: January 30
Iron Lung is one of the best indie horror games ever made, and now we are getting a big-screen version of the sci-fi chiller. The upcoming video game movie is being directed and written by Mark Fischbach (aka Markiplier) and will be released in cinemas on January 30. For those who don't know the game, Iron Lung follows a convict who is tasked to explore an ocean of blood on a desolate moon in a rinky-dink submarine called Iron Lung. It's a terrifying game, one that truly creates feelings of dread, so keep an eye out, folks!
Whistle
Release date: February 6
Directed by Corin Hardy (The Nun, The Hallow), Whistle centers on a misfit group of high school students, who get more than they bargained for when a mysterious new girl starts at their school and introduces them to her supposedly dead-summoning Aztec instrument. (Well, it's one way to make friends, eh?)
After one of them gives in to a dare and carelessly blows on the thing, the youngsters start being picked off one-by-one, as they learn that the markings on the whistle actually read "summon your death", not "summon the dead" – and if the trailer is anything to go by, each kill is more grisly than the last. Shaun of the Dead's Nick Frost, Yellowjackets' Sophie Nelisse, and Deadpool and Wolverine's Dafne Keen star.
Psycho Killer
Release date: February 20
Psycho Killer is the feature directorial debut of Gavin Polone and looks very intriguing. The upcoming horror follows the police officer Jane Thorne, who, while searching for her husband's murderer, uncovers that the crime may have been committed by a serial killer known as "the Satanic Slasher". The movie has an R rating for "strong bloody violence, strong sexual content, graphic nudity, drug use, and language," so don't expect a light watch, folks. This promises to be a thrilling and very dark crime horror, and personally, I can't wait to see it.
Scream 7
Release date: February 27
Not much is known about Scream 7 yet and the movie is keeping its plot points close to its brutally-stabbed-chest for now, though there is a trailer to keep us busy speculating. 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
Release date: March 6
More rebooted Universal Monsters 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 Academy Award nominee 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.
They Will Kill You
Release date: March 27
Starring Heather Graham, Tom Felton, and Deadpool 2's Zazie Beetz, horror comedy They Will Kill You follows a young woman who finds herself having to fight for her life when she signs up to be the housekeeper of a New York City high-rise. Turns out, several of its residents are members of a satanic cult. Not ideal, huh?
Prepare for gory, fast-paced fun with this one, which appears to be a mix of Ready or Not, The Raid and Kill Bill – not a bad trio of movies to take your cues from. Director Kirill Sokolov previously helmed 2018 gem Why Don't You Just Die!, so we have high hopes this will be killer.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come
Release date: April 10
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
Release date: April 17
Yes, you read that right. There is yet another Mummy movie (well, kind of) on the way, this time from Evil Dead Rise director Lee Cronin. Starring Laia Costa and Jack Reynor, it's set to put a spin on the Universal Monsters classic we all know, as it centers on a journalist who's reunited with his missing daughter after eight years apart. "What should be a joyful reunion turns into a living nightmare," the official logline reads.
We got our first look back in January, with a clip that boasts shots of a giant scorpion bursting out of someone's chest, a toothless screaming woman, and a mummified young girl. If Cronin's previous genre flicks are anything to go by, this'll be a far cry from the Rachel Weisz/Brendan Fraser version from the '90s.
Hokum
Release date: May 1
Severance star Adam Scott plays an author in Damian Mc Carthy's supernatural horror Hokum, who travels to rural Ireland to scatter his parents' ashes – oblivious to the fact that the inn he's booked to stay at is supposedly haunted by an ancient witch.
Over the last five years, Mc Carthy has cemented himself as a genre filmmaker to watch, having wowed audiences with Caveat (2020) and 2024's Oddity, which debuted to a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score. Both films explore psychological trauma and isolation as they see their protagonists – an amnesiac driver and a blind medium – hole up somewhere remote, only to become convinced they're sharing their surroundings with the conduit of a malevolent entity; a toy rabbit and wooden mannequin, respectively. Will Hokum follow suit, or shake things up entirely?
Obsession
Release date: May 15
Obsession is an upcoming horror that is written and directed by Curry Barker. The film follows the music store employee Bear, who uses a magical (and seemingly harmless) toy to make his long-time crush fall in love with him. However, it turns out the wish has some pretty dire consequences for them both… intriguing. The flick was originally slated to hit the big screen in May but was pushed back to October. Hopefully, no more delays are in sight, but we'll let you know if any more calendar changes happen.
Passenger
Release date: May 29
André Øvredal has bought us some horror bangers over the years from the likes of The Autopsy of Jane Doe to The Last Voyage of the Demeter, and now we are getting ready for his latest project: Passenger. Currently, there are no plot details out in the wild for this one. However, we do know that Melissa Leo, Lou Llobell, and Jacob Scipio have all been cast. We'll update you as soon as we know more. However, knowing André Øvredal, we are guessing some paranormal elements will be at play here.
Scary Movie 6
Release date: June 12
If you're more in the mood for a laugh than a truly spine-chilling time, then mark your calendar for Scary Movie 6. Anna Faris, Regina Hall, and Marlon Wayans are all returning to their roles, with Michael Tiddes set to direct. Hardly anything is known about the plot just yet, but the modern horror landscape is ripe for the type of parody Scary Movie does best.
Evil Dead Burn
Release date: July 24
If you are like us, you love some good Deadite action. Evil Dead Burn is the upcoming third standalone entry of the beloved Evil Dead franchise, after 2023's Evil Dead Rise. Like with most of the new horror movies on this list, it's plot is being kept under lock and key currently so we don't know which unlucky souls have messed with the Necronomicon this time around. We do know that Sébastien Vaniček is directing and that filming wrapped in October 2025. Hopefully we get some more clues and teasers soon.
Insidious: The Bleeding World
Release date: August 21
While we know close to nothing about the sixth movie in the Insidious franchise, we do at least know that it will be heading our way sometime in 2026. Directed by Jacob Chase, things are very secretive about the film currently (we know that it's now called Insidious: The Bleeding World, though). Lin Shaye is returning as Elise Rainier, and filming officially wrapped on November 13, 2025. We'll keep you posted as more details head our way!
Resident Evil
Release date: September 18
After blowing all of us horror fans away with Weapons and Barbarian, Zach Cregger is back and will be directing the reboot of Resident Evil. 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, some iterations of the cinematic Resident Evil movies haven't been great, so we are excited to see the franchise get some new life to it.
Other Mommy
Release date: October 9
Other Mommy is Rob Savage's next project, and we are pretty excited about it. Savage is known for his scare work on flicks such as 2023's The Boogeyman and the underrated horror Dashcam. So, we have high hopes for Other Mommy, and it's big Coraline vibes. The story of this one centers on a creature called "Other Mommy" haunting the home of a young girl. Jessica Chastain has been announced as a cast member to and honestly, this sounds like a great premise to celebrate the spooky season with.
Werwulf
Release date: December 25
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, we can expect to see a terrifying and howling monster stalking the countryside and giving villagers an absolute nightmare of a time. While we haven't seen an teasers for this one yet we do know that Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Lily-Rose Depp, Willem Dafoe, and Ralph Ineson are all set to star. It seems like another winner if you ask us and the perfect Christmas horror movie to look forward to.
Upcoming horror movies of 2027
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 can assume it'll see Madison Lawlor and Orion Smith return to play younger versions of the paranormal-obsessed paramours following Last Rites' flashback-heavy prologue.
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.
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