We live in a time where it feels like there are always new horror movies around every corner to simultaneously look forward to. From new installments for Scary Movie, Evil Dead, Insidious, Resident Evil and Terrifier to original flicks from Mike Flanagan and Robert Eggers, there are tons of reasons the 2026 movie schedule (and beyond) will be keeping us up at night.
I’ve rounded up a mostly comprehensive list of all the slashers, serial killer thrillers, psychological chillers, creature features, sci-fi freakshows, and whatever else today’s horror filmmakers are throwing at us. Will any of the releases listed below eventually make our list of the best horror movies ever? Let’s take a look at all the worthy contenders on the way.
Hokum - May 1, 2026
Cast & Director: Adam Scott, Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Austin Amelio, Damian McCarthy (Writer/Director)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s Hokum About? Hokum takes place in Ireland as an author travels to a remote part of the country to spread the ashes of his recently deceased parents, but he soon finds out the place he’s staying is rumored to be haunted by a witch.
Why We’re Excited: Adam Scott has picked some awesome projects (see Severance), and the imagery we’ve seen so far from this movie looks quite terrifying.
Watch While Waiting: Oddity, Krampus
Affection - May 8, 2026
Cast & Director: Jessica Rothe, Joseph Cross, Julianna Layne, BT Meza (Writer/Director)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s Affection About? Affection is about a woman who deals with a cycle of violent seizures that reset her memory whenever they happen, and her struggle to try to get out of this frustrating cycle and be grounded in what’s real.
Why We’re Excited: Jessica Rothe famously relived the same day over and over in Happy Death Day, so we’re interested in how she fairs in this twisty horror movie.
Watch While Waiting: Happy Death Day, Memento, Before I Go To Sleep
Obsession - May 15, 2026
Cast & Director: Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, Andy Richter, Curry Barker (Writer/Director)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s Obsession About? Obsession is about a guy who buys a supernatural toy and wishes for his childhood friend to fall in love with him.
Why We’re Excited: Obsession has screened to fantastic reviews (it has a 97 percent on Rotten Tomatoes) that are highlighting it for being simultaneously funny and genuinely scary.
Watch While Waiting: Heart Eyes, Fresh
Corporate Retreat - May 22, 2026
Cast & Director: Odeya Rush, Zion Moreno, Ashton Sanders, Alan Ruck, Rosanna Arquette, Aaron Fisher (Writer/Director)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s Corporate Retreat About? This fresh horror film is about a corporate team building event consisting of executives of a tech company that turns into a deadly competition for survival.
Why We’re Excited: This mysteriousness of the survival plot has us curious about how twisted this movie will take what it means to climb the corporate ladder.
Watch While Waiting: Ready or Not, Escape Room, The Belko Experiment
Passenger - May 22, 2026
Cast & Director: Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell, Melissa Leo, Joseph Lopez, Walter Hamada (Producer), Gary Dauberman (Producer), André Øvredal (Director)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s Passenger About? Passenger is about a young couple who start to be pursued by a stalker wherever they go, shortly after they witness an accident that leaves the driver dead.
Why We’re Excited: Director André Øvredal has had an interesting career between movies like Scary Stories To Tell In The Dark and The Last Voyage of Demeter.
Watch While Waiting: Hush, Cape Fear (1991)
Backrooms - May 29, 2026
Cast & Director: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett, Lukita Maxwell, Avan Jogia, Kane Parsons (Director), Shawn Levy (Producer), James Wan (Producer)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s The Backrooms About? Backrooms is based on the viral YouTube video series of the same name from Kane Parsons about liminal spaces. The movie will revolve around a therapist who enters these spaces through the framework of an otherworldly dimension in order to find a missing patient.
Why We’re Excited: Backrooms feels like one of the more original horror-movie ideas of the year, and the fact that Kane Parsons and A24 are behind it will thrill followers of his YouTube series.
Watch While Waiting: The Shining, Vivarium, Skinamarink
Find Your Friends - June 12, 2026
Cast & Director: Helena Howard, Bella Thorne, Zión Moreno, Chloe Cherry, Sophia Ali, Chris Bauer, Jake Manley, Israel Broussard, Izabel Pakzad (Writer/Director)
How to see it: Shudder subscription
What’s Find Your Friends About? Inspired by the writer/director’s own “wild girls trip” in Joshua Tree, when she had a wild “100 MPH car chase” with a green Mustang, per Variety. The movie is specifically about a group of friends having to dodge “increasingly insidious men”.
Why We’re Excited: Find Your Friends has some of the internet’s it-girls together, and we’re hyped to see them in this.
Watch While Waiting: The Descent, Cabin in the Woods
Scary Movie 6 - June 12, 2026
Cast & Director: Marlon Wayans, Dave Sheridan, Shawn Wayans
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s Scary Movie 6 About? If you were around in the early 2000s, you remember the hilarious horror parody movies called Scary Movie. Well after over a decade, the Wayans are returning to the franchise for the release of Scary Movie 6, which is set to make fun of the latest offerings from the genre. You can check out the first Scary Movie 6 trailer to see if the franchise is still your cup of tea.
Why We’re Excited: The original writers of Scary Movie are back, and we’re very curious how a 2026 movie from the franchise will look after all this time.
Watch While Waiting: The Scary Movie films, The Haunted House, The Blackening
Evil Dead Burn - July 24, 2026
Cast & Director: Hunter Doohan, Luciane Buchanan, Souheila Yacoub, Tandi Wright, Victory Ndukwe, Sébastien Vanicek (Writer/Director)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s Evil Dead Burn About? Based on what we know about Evil Dead Burn, the filmmaker has said he wants to “make a mean film” that “leaves you feeling exhausted” with this Evil Dead movie. And, we just got the first look at it on YouTube that takes your right into the film’s thrills. We know that it follows a woman who goes to spend time with her in-laws after the loss of her husband. When they are turned into Deadites, the getaway turns hellish.
Why We’re Excited: Right now we’re most intrigued by what the title means and how its French director will forward this long-running franchise.
Watch While Waiting: Vermines (2023), other Evil Dead movies
Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma - August 7, 2026
Cast & Director: Hannah Einbinder, Gillian Anderson, Amanda Fix, Arthur Conti, Eva Victor, Zach Cherry, Sarah Sherman Jasmin Savoy Brown, Quintessa Swindell, Kevin McDonald, Jack Haven, Jane Schoenbrun (Writer/Director)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s Teenage Sex And Death At Camp Miasma About? This one follows a queer filmmaker (played by Hannah Einbinder), who is hired to remake a classic slasher franchise akin to Friday The 13th. When she becomes obsessed with casting the final girl of the original movie (Gillian Anderson), “a whole new kind of slasher emerges,” per Deadline.
Why We’re Excited: I Saw The TV Glow proved Jane Schoenbrun is one of the most original and inventive horror filmmakers working right now, so of course we’re interested in their latest.
Watch While Waiting: I Saw The TV Glow, We're All Going to the World's Fair
Fall 2 - August 7, 2026
Cast & Director: Harriet Slater, Arseme Thomas, Tom Brittney, Peter & Michael Spierig (Directors), Scott Mann and Jonathan Frank (Writers)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s Fall 2 About? Shiloh’s sister from Fall, Jax, decides to celebrate her life by doing a plank walk at an inactive volcano, Mount Guanyin in Taipei, with her friend Luce. However, things go wrong for them, too, when they find themselves stranded over 3k feet in the air after a rockslide and a tsunami. How will they get out of this?
Why We’re Excited: The first Fall movie was a nail-biting thriller, and we can’t wait to watch this latest installment.
Watch While Waiting: Fall, Send Help, The Long Walk
The End Of Oak Street - August 14, 2026
Cast & Director: Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, Christian Convery, P.J. Byrne, Chris Coy, David Robert Mitchell (Director)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s Flowervale Street About? So far, we only know that The End Of Oak Street (previously called Flowervale Street) will revolve around a family that starts to become suspicious of weird happenings on their street.
Why We’re Excited: It’s a rare horror movie produced by J.J. Abrams from his Bad Robot production company, and one of five Anne Hathaway movies coming out in 2026.
Watch While Waiting: Presence, Donnie Darko
Insidious: Out Of The Further- August 21, 2026
Cast & Director: Amelia Eve, Brandon Perea, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Lin Shaye, Sam Spruell, Laura Gordon, Jacob Chase (Director)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s Insidious 6 About? Rather than the sixth Insidious movie being a continuation, this will be a spinoff. Per Deadline, Insidious: Out Of The Further follows a young mother raising her daughter in the same house she grew up in when she learns she can travel into The Further.
Why We’re Excited: Following 2018’s lackluster sequel subtitled The Last Key, franchise star Patrick Wilson got behind the camera for 2023’s somewhat better The Red Door. Despite the franchise’s dwindling creative results, Insidious taking a new direction here could be interesting.
Watch While Waiting: The first two Insidious movies, Come Play
Resident Evil - September 18, 2026
Cast & Director: Austin Abrams, Zach Cregger (Writer/Director)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s Untitled Resident Evil Movie About? We don’t know much about the plot of the next Resident Evil movie, but per the writer/director (via Deadline) it will be “unlike any of the previous films” and a “wild ride.” He’s a big fan of the video games and has said the movie will follow one central protagonist as “they descend deeper into hell.”
Why We’re Excited: Zach Cregger earned the respect of horror fans with Barbarian, and has another original horror movie (higher on this list) in the works with Weapons which looks awesome. Seems like as good of a time as any for him to take on a franchise, and Resident Evil could use a good movie about it.
Watch While Waiting: Weapons, the Resident Evil movies
Victorian Psycho - September 25, 2026
Cast & Director: Maika Monroe, Thomasin McKenzie, Jason Isaacs, Amy De Bhrún, Jacobi Jupe
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s Victorian Psycho About? Based on the novel of the same name by Virginia Feito, this one’s about a governess named Winifred Notty hired to live with the Pounds family. Since this is in a horror movie list, you can probably guess that it’s no Mary Poppins story.
Why We’re Excited: Maika Monroe has become a mainstay in the horror genre, and her opposite Jason Isaacs is going to be a creepy good time.
Watch While Waiting: The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, The Babysitter, Nanny
Terrifier 4 - October 1, 2026
Cast & Director: Damien Leone (Writer/Director)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s Terrifier 4 About? Apparently Terrifier 4 will finally give audiences the origin story of Art the Clown. Damien Leone told Collider that he’s “taking a bit of a risk” by uncovering Art’s backstory, but teased that he’ll do so in a “Lynchian way.”
Why We’re Excited: The Terrifier movies have consistently grabbed our attention, and we’re interested to see what’s up his sleeve next following its massive success.
Watch While Waiting: The other Terrifier movies
Other Mommy - October 9, 2026
Cast & Director: Jessica Chastain, Jay Duplass, Dichen Lachman, Rob Savage (Director)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s Other Mommy About? Based on the novel by Bird Box author Josh Malerman, this upcoming horror flick, which was previously titled Incidents Around The House, is about an eight-year-old girl named Bela who becomes haunted by an entity she calls “Other Mommy.”
Why We’re Excited: Other Mommy is produced by the horror geniuses of our time, James Wan and Jason Blum, and the plotline sounds particularly terrifying.
Watch While Waiting: The Sixth Sense, Come Play
Clayface - October 23, 2026
Cast & Director: Tom Rhys Harries, Max Minghella, Naomi Ackie, James Watkins (Director)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s Clayface About? James Gunn’s DC universe recently had a very successful start with Superman, and in 2026 the upcoming Clayface movie hopes to continue the streak with a tale Gunn has described as a “pure fucking horror” film, and just in time for Halloween! Between that and the movie’s script being written by Mike Flanagan, who is very famous in the horror space, it’s going to be a lot of horror fans' most anticipated comic book movie. You can check out the first, very haunting footage.
Why We’re Excited: The pages of DC Comics have had some great storylines that can lend themselves to great horror movies, but we just haven’t seen DC or Marvel fully commit to it yet. That’s what makes Clayface most exciting!
Watch While Waiting: The Thing, Brightburn
Return Of The Living Dead - November 13, 2026
Cast & Director: Devon Sawa, Casimere “Cash” Jollette, Kynlee Heiman, Alexander Ward, Steve Wolsh (Writer/Director)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s Return Of The Living Dead About? Set in a small Pennsylvania town during Christmas time a year and a half after the events of the original movie. It’s described as a “brand-new adventure” that’s not a reboot or remake, per Bloody Disgusting.
Why We’re Excited: This is the first time we’ll see a movie from this franchise in twenty years. After the long break, we’re so interested about how the iconic horror franchise will be like in 2026.
Watch While Waiting: The five Return of the Living Dead movies
Werwulf - December 25, 2026
Cast & Director: Robert Eggers (Writer/Director)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s Werwulf About? After tackling vampires for Nosferatu, Robert Eggers is taking on werewolves next with a movie called Werwulf, which he co-wrote with his The Northman collaborator Sjón. It’s reportedly set in 13th century England that will feature dialogue true to the time period. At this time, we don’t know much else about the plot.
Why We’re Excited: We loved Nosferatu, and just about everything Robert Eggers has done so far, so who’s to say his streak of creepy good movies won’t continue here?
Watch While Waiting: Nosferatu, The Lighthouse, The Witch
The Third Parent - January 22, 2026
Cast & Director: Rob Lowe, Roselyn Sanchez, Crispin Glover, David Michaels (Writer/Director)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s The Third Parent About Taking place during the Fourth of July holiday, when an unexpected and disturbing visitor named Tommy Taffy arrives at an all-American family’s celebration and insists on being part of the festivities.
Why We’re Excited: Rob Lowe fronting a horror movie is something we’ve just got to see. Oh, and Back To The Future fans – Crispin Glover is playing Tommy Taffy!
Watch While Waiting: Us, Jaws, The Purge
The Exorcist - March 12, 2027
Cast & Director: Scarlett Johansson, Diane Lane, Jacobi Jupe, Chiwetel Ejifor, Laurence Fishburne, Sasha Calle, John Leguizamo, Rahul Kohli, Hamish Linklater, Carl Lumbly, John Gallagher Jr, Carla Gugino, Samanta Sloyan, Kate Siegel, Mike Flanagan (Writer/Director), Jason Blum (Producer)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s The Exorcist About? Mike Flanagan, who has been a notable name in modern horror in recent years with a number of TV shows and movies, is putting together a huge retelling of The Exorcist with a ton of big names. We don’t have details about his version, but the original novel is about the demonic possession of a 12-year-old girl and the two priests who try to exorcise it out of her.
Why We’re Excited: This cast is actually insane, and Mike Flanagan has a great track record of adapting horror titles in pretty incredible ways.
Watch While Waiting: The Exorcist (1973), Doctor Sleep, The Haunting Of Hill House
The Revenge Of La Llorona - April 9, 2027
Cast & Director: Monica Raymund, Jay Hernandez, Raymond Cruz, Edy Ganem, Santiago Menghini (Director), James Wan (Producer), Gary Dauberman (Producer)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s The Revenge Of La Llorona About? Remember 2019’s The Curse of La Llorona? Well, James Wan is producing a sequel about the vengeful ghost from Hispanic American folklore for the Conjuring Universe.
Why We’re Excited: The first La Llorona may not have impressed critics, but that doesn’t mean the subject isn’t worth revisiting. There’s a lot of depth and chilling horrors to be explored behind the folklore story of a woman who drowned her own children after discovering her husband was unfaithful to her.
Watch While Waiting: The Curse of La Llorona
Paranormal Activity 8 - May 21, 2027
Cast & Director: Ian Tuason (Writer/Director), Jason Blum (Producer), James Wan (Producer)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s Paranormal Activity 8 About? Details about this Paranormal Activity haven't been revealed yet, but the long-running franchise is usually a supernatural found-footage horror movie.
Why We’re Excited: After Ian Tuason’s breakout with undertone, which critics have called “effectively spooky” and “designed to give you a panic attack,” it feels like the right filmmaker is behind the new Paranormal Activity.
Watch While Waiting: undertone, the other Paranormal Activity movies
A Quiet Place Part III - July 30, 2027
Cast & Director: John Krasinski (Writer/Director)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s A Quiet Place Part III About? It’s too early to know many details about A Quiet Place Part III, but it’s expected to complete the trilogy about the Abbott family as they navigate a terrifying apocalypse together. In March, it was revealed that Emily Blunt, Cillian Murphy, Millicent Simmonds and Noah Jupe will officially return along with Sinners’ Jack O’Connell, Jason Clarke and Katy O’Brian joining the franchise, per Variety.
Why We’re Excited: Each of the Quiet Place movies have been really solid horror movies so far, that have us on the edge of our seat – especially for the use and lack of sound, and we look forward to what Krasinski is cooking up for the alleged finale.
Watch While Waiting: The other A Quiet Place movies
The Conjuring: First Communion - September 10, 2027
Cast & Director: Rodrigue Huart (Director), Ian Goldberg & Richard Naing (Writers)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s The Conjuring: First Communion About? This is a The Conjuring prequel about the early years of Ed and Lorraine Warren.
Why We’re Excited: While we’re going to miss Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga’s take on the paranormal investigators, it’ll be interesting to see a new era of their lives.
Watch While Waiting: the other Conjuring movies
Gremlins 3 - November 19, 2027
Cast & Director: Chris Columbus (Director)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s Gremlins 3 About? The plot details for Gremlins 3 haven't yet been revealed. The original movie is about a young man who receives a pet (called a Mogwai) who he names Gizmo, who comes with three rules: keep him away from bright light, do not let it come into contact with water, and never let it eat after midnight. When one of the rules is broken, Gizmo starts multiplying into destructive little guys, and Billy must try to stop them from destroying his town.
Why We’re Excited: Another Gremlins movie has long been talked about, and we can’t wait to see it finally come to pass. Plus, Steven Spielberg as a producer is always a good sign.
Watch While Waiting: The other Gremlins movies
Gladys - September 8, 2028
Cast & Director: Amy Madigan, Zach Cregger (Writer/Director)
How to see it: In Theaters
What’s Gladys About? When Zach Cregger was initially making Weapons, he had a chapter for Gladys that he cut. Since the movie became a big hit, Cregger decided he’ll explore her character through her own spinoff movie. Warner Bros recently nailed down the release date for 2028, per Variety.
Why We’re Excited: Weapons was one of the best horror movies we’ve seen recently, and even led Amy Madigan to win an Oscar for the role. Since there wasn’t much about Glady’s origin story, and who she is, we’re so interested in what we’ll learn about her.
Watch While Waiting: Weapons, Barbarian
Upcoming Horror Movies Without A Release Date Set
Despite all the upcoming horrors that already have release dates, there are still plenty of impending projects that haven't yet locked one down. Here's a rundown of the high-profile frightfests that will hopefully get slotted onto the calendar soon.
- Alien: Romulus 2
- American Psycho Remake
- Blade
- Brides
- Flesh of the Gods
- Final Destination 7
- Happy Death Day 3
- In A Violent Nature 2
- Lice
- Ma 2
- The Mist
- Orphans
- Pendulum
- Thanksgiving 2
- They Follow
- Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey 3
- The Young People
So many horror movies to be excited for in 2026 and beyond! We’ll keep you in the loop on news and updates on these coming titles as the months go by.
