{"id":403411,"date":"2026-01-10T04:06:29","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T04:06:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/403411\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T04:06:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T04:06:29","slug":"new-horror-movies-in-2026-what-were-screaming-about-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/403411\/","title":{"rendered":"New Horror Movies in 2026:\u00a0What We’re Screaming About Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

In January 2026, American life sometimes resembles an episode of \u201cThe Munsters.\u201d The U.S. is a twisted, backwards, spooky sitcom land these days \u2014\u00a0a bizarro world where treating every fresh horror like it\u2019s \u201cgood\u201d news doesn\u2019t always make logical sense but nevertheless feels essential to staying sane and \u201cin character.\u201d A ghoulish mask can be as comforting as a warm cup of spider stew when you live in a haunted house, and with so many reasons to form an angry mob right now, there\u2019s no reason you shouldn\u2019t stop and shine your neck bolts<\/a> whenever and wherever you can.\u00a0<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what makes this woefully weird time for people such an oddly good window for horror movies to thrive. Upcoming displays of cinematic freaks and frights promise as much escapism as they do confrontation, and by the looks of things, they\u2019re less shock-driven and have a warmer embrace for more carefully engineered unease. If 2025 flirted with cuteness, romance, and franchise reassurance<\/a>, the next 12 months appear poised to lean back into dread and uncertainty. These films don\u2019t just want to scare you; they want to see what you\u2019ll pretend to ignore.\u00a0<\/p>\n

From \u201c28 Years Later: The Bone Temple\u201d to \u201cInsidious 6,\u201d major franchise installments are still sprinkled throughout the year. But there\u2019s a noticeable tension running through the slate ahead that draws out a sense of nostalgia and rupture. Studio safety nets are ripping, and independent risk-taking may be the scariest, smartest way out. We\u2019re still waiting on even vague timelines for plenty of smaller projects \u2014 including Ben Sottak\u2019s \u201cThe Hallowarrior\u201d with Milly Shapiro; David Prior\u2019s \u201cThe Boy in the Iron Box\u201d for Netflix; writer\/director Adrian Chiarella\u2019s debut feature \u201cLeviticus,\u201d premiering at the last Sundance in Park City, Utah; Larry Fessenden\u2019s secretly shot \u201cTrauma\u201d; and \u201cNightborn,\u201d Hanna Bergholm\u2019s first movie since \u201cHatching,\u201d among others.<\/p>\n

As a matter of content, ghosts and demons remain, of course, but spirits are increasingly paired with scripts about families collapsing under real-world pressure while society\u2019s systems rot and collapse. The strange relief of recognizable monsters and the pure terror of problems with no shape make the future enticingly chaotic, projecting a horror scene that\u2019s less interested in mincing metaphors than in extracting a reaction.\u00a0Whether you\u2019re barely surviving or still forcing a smile, do yourself a favor and use your nightmares to escape. Not away from reality entirely, but into challenges that feel more containable.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Everyone knows the horror lover\u2019s life revolves around October, so we\u2019ve selected a whopping 31 scary movies to keep an eye on in 2026. They\u2019re all expected to reach audiences soon, and 10 already ranked among IndieWire\u2019s 46 Most-Anticipated Movies<\/a> overall. Listed in calendar order, happy haunting!<\/p>\n

With editorial contributions by Kate Erbland, Ryan Lattanzio, Elaina Patton, and Sarah Shachat.<\/p>\n

\t\u201c28 Years Later: The Bone Temple\u201d (January 16, Sony Pictures)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""28
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Sony Pictures\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Maybe franchise\u00a0filmmaking\u00a0is\u00a0good? Just six months after Danny Boyle\u2019s\u00a0much-anticipated\u00a0(and totally worth the wait) \u201c28 Years Later\u201d\u00a0arrived, here\u00a0comes Nia DaCosta\u2019s snappy follow-up, \u201c28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.\u201d If the ending of Boyle\u2019s film (hello, Jack O\u2019Connell,\u00a0you\u00a0wonderful weirdo) made you hungry for more, the \u201cHedda\u201d filmmaker is here to deliver, promising to take us further and deeper into a world besieged by baddies who want more than just your blood.\u00a0Tasty!\u00a0\u2014KE<\/p>\n

\t\u201cNight Patrol\u201d (January 16, RLJE Films\/Shudder)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""Night
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Shudder\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

A ring of corrupt cops, who are also vampires, abuse their power and hunt by night in this outrageous, self-aware concept from director Ryan Prows, RLJE Films, and Shudder. Co-written by the filmmaker, Shaye Ogbonna, Tim Cairo, and Jake Gibson, \u201cNight Patrol\u201d manages to introduce the wacky cross-genre concept and still feel genuinely scary in the trailer \u2014\u00a0even as one officer puts silver grill fangs in his mouth. The pounding horror-comedy pairs pulpy provocation with real menace as an LAPD officer uncovers the evil task force. The stacked cast runs from star Jermaine Fowler and scream king Justin Long to experimental artist Flying Lotus<\/a> and rapper YG. \u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cReturn to Silent Hill\u201d (January 23, Cineverse)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""Return
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Cineverse\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Christopher Gans returns to the franchise he helped define more than 20 years ago, after directing the wonderfully divisive \u201cSilent Hill\u201d film adaptation<\/a> in 2003. He\u2019s facing an unusually stacked challenge today, competing as much with his past performance as he is the new sequel\u2019s playable inspiration. Konami\u2019s beloved \u201cSilent Hill 2\u201d is recontextualized for gamers by a critically acclaimed remake that just hit consoles in 2024. <\/p>\n

The release renewed interest in the horror series as much as it heightened expectations for the movie. But if an afternoon wandering through Silent Hill teaches you anything, it\u2019s that grieving widow James Sunderland (Jeremy Irvine) won\u2019t back down from a fight\u2026 even when he maybe, definitely, absolutely should. Distributed by Cineverse, \u201cReturn to Silent Hill\u201d also features music from the original games\u2019 composer, Akira Yamaoka, and, yes, a practically done Pyramid Head. \u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cDooba Dooba\u201d (January 23, Dark Sky Films)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""Dooba
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Dark Sky Films\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

A queasy found-footage effort told through nanny cams, Ehrland Hollingsworth\u2019s analog horror breakout wields domestic surveillance videos like a perverse, invasive weapon. Traumatized 16-year-old Monroe (Betsy Sligh) tees off with her increasingly unnerved babysitter (Amna Vegha) in the film\u2019s acutely uncomfortable trailer<\/a>. From Dark Sky Films, the promo features some fairly standard, strobe-heavy, occult-adjacent nightmare fuel, but it\u2019s also got the stunted adolescent sitting at her family\u2019s kitchen table \u2014\u00a0smiling and daring her sweet caretaker to, \u201cPunch me like you\u2019ve always wanted to.\u201d The eerie similarities to \u201cFight Club\u201d don\u2019t stop there, with Monroe battling extreme hallucinations after the death of her brother years before. Everyone in the awkward girl\u2019s house announces themselves on loop as a result. Down hallways, upstairs, around corners, through doors, cooing \u201cdooba, dooba\u2026\u201d all the way. \u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cMother of Flies\u201d (January 23, Shudder)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""Mother
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Shudder\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Winner of\u00a0Fantasia Fest\u2019s Cheval Noir for Best Film<\/a>, \u201cMother of Flies\u201d confirms the Adams Family as the next great dynasty of lo-fi horror filmmakers. Zelda Adams, John Adams, and Toby Poser draw from their real-life experiences to spin a supernatural fable about cancer, grief, and the promise of a reprieve from death \u2014 all set in the Catskills. It\u2019s got a DIY feel by design that\u2019s devastating in effect, and the result is one of 2026\u2019s most quietly unnerving releases. \u201cMother of Flies\u201d is also a fascinating litmus test for Shudder audiences, not so much \u201celevating\u201d the horror genre as it is shifting the conversation sideways for an endearing impact that suits the streaming service nicely.\u00a0\u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cSend Help\u201d (January 30, 20th Century)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""Send
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: 20th Century Studios\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

If \u201cCast Away\u201d had stranded Tom Hanks with the CEO of FedEx instead of\u00a0a volleyball named Wilson<\/a>, it might\u2019ve looked something like \u201cSend Help.\u201d Directed by Sam Raimi, this upcoming survival thriller traps a beleaguered assistant (a blood-soaked Rachel McAdams) on a deserted island with her shithead, executive-level boss (Dylan O\u2019Brien). Smashing together the captive sadism of \u201cMisery\u201d and the cruel workplace dread of \u201cSuccession,\u201d the two-hander sees Raimi mining for fresh terror in the commonplace horror of micromanagement. Misery loves company, just not like\u00a0this. \u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe Strangers: Chapter 3\u201d (February 6, Lionsgate)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""The
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Lionsgate\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

What made \u201cThe Strangers\u201d so divisive in 2008, and later legendary within home-invasion horror, wasn\u2019t just its brutality. Like \u201cFunny Games\u201d and \u201cSpeak No Evil,\u201d Bryan Bertino\u2019s chilling script enraged audiences with its shrugging, violent finale \u2014\u00a0one that not only denied its victims justice but refused to dilute viewers\u2019 experience of evil. The franchise flirted with a greater sense of catharsis when Scarecrow, Pin-Up Girl, and Dollface donned their masks again in 2018 for the far poppier sequel, \u201cThe Strangers: Prey at Night,\u201d directed by Johannes Roberts. But as filmmaker Renny Harlin closes out the standalone trilogy he started at Lionsgate in 2024, the question stands for star Madelaine Petsch: Who will win in \u201cChapter 3,\u201d a woman\u00a0with nothing to lose or the senselessness that started it all?<\/a> \u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cHoney Bunch\u201d (February 13, Shudder)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""Honey
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Shudder\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Recalling the antiseptic dread of Gore Verbinski\u2019s \u201cA Cure for Wellness\u201d but rooted in the lush green inferno of the Ontario woods, \u201cHoney Bunch\u201d<\/a> is a marriage thriller that curdles into a dark fairytale marked by exquisite applications of emotional body horror. Directed by Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli, the Shudder-bound Canadian film stars Grace Glowicki and Ben Petrie as spouses who might not be on the same side in their battle against memory loss. \u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cPsycho Killer\u201d (February 20, 20th Century)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""Psycho
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: 20th Century\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

There\u2019s credibility built into any serial killer<\/a> script written by Andrew Kevin Walker (\u201cSeven\u201d), and 20th Century Studios\u2019 \u201cPsycho Killer\u201d is leaning hard into its author\u2019s wheelhouse after the story spent nearly two decades stuck in development. Directed by Gavin Polone in his debut feature, the upcoming crime film\u2019s metallic, Antichrist-centered trailer pulses with a distant bass and muffled emergency siren that sounds like it\u2019s piped in from Hell. That\u2019s fitting considering actress Georgina Campbell, who proved in Zach Cregger\u2019s \u201cBarbarian\u201d<\/a> that she can sell even the wildest cross-genre nightmares, stars as a Kansas highway patrol officer hunting the sadistic murderer who killed her husband. \u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cScream 7\u201d (February 26, Paramount Pictures)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""Scream
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Paramount Pictures\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Are we excited for \u201cScream 7,\u201d or just bracing for its impact? The legendary slasher series returns with star Neve Campbell back as Sidney Prescott (yes, despite earlier contract disputes) for a seventh installment already\u00a0mired in behind-the-scenes controversy<\/a>. Directed by original \u201cScream\u201d screenwriter Kevin Williamson, the new film finds our grown-up final girl facing down a new Ghostface killer when someone targets her daughter (Isabel May). With Courteney Cox, Jasmin Savoy Brown, David Arquette, and other familiar faces returning for a February 27 release, the question isn\u2019t just\u00a0who\u00a0the murderer is \u2014 but if the \u201cScream\u201d legacy will survive this latest sequel.\u00a0\u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe Bride!\u201d (March 6, Warner Bros.)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""The
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Warner Bros.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

This year is shaping up to be\u00a0a very big\u00a0one for adaptations of all kinds, though not all of them are as promising, or as out of the box, as Maggie\u00a0Gyllenhaal\u2018s punk rock reimagining of 1935\u2019s \u201cBride of Frankenstein.\u201d<\/p>\n

The new feature, which follows Gyllenhaal\u2019s 2021 directorial debut, \u201cThe Lost Daughter,\u201d features a zany plot and a star-studded ensemble\u00a0led by \u201cHamnet\u201d star Jesse Buckley and Christian Bale<\/a>. Complete with a gender-swapped mad scientist portrayed by Annette Benning and a 1930s outlaw love story at its core, \u201cBride!\u201d might just be the high-energy, female-directed ode to James Whale\u2019s classic monster movies that\u00a0we\u2019ve\u00a0all been waiting for.\u00a0\u2014EP<\/p>\n

\t\u201cDolly\u201d (March 6, Independent Film Company\/ Shudder)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""Dolly"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Shudder\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

A \u201cgrotesque, beautiful backwoods nightmare,\u201d<\/a> \u201cDolly\u201d marks director Rod Blackhurst\u2019s leap from a haunted backyard pool in 2024\u2019s\u201dNight Swim\u201d to an atypical creature-feature encased in blood and porcelain. The Shudder title centers on a young woman abducted by a \u201cmonster-like figure\u201d who wants to raise her as its child. Starring Fabianne Therese, Seann William Scott, Ethan Suplee, and Max The Impaler, this Sitges selection signals the start of what its director called \u201can expansive universe.\u201d \u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cUndertone\u201d (March 13, A24)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""Undertone"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: A24\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Already building up respectable buzz ahead of its Sundance premiere is a left-of-center new horror film courtesy A24, \u201cUndertone.\u201d Ian Tuason writes and directs the film about a podcaster being terrorized by mysterious missives sent her way. The film stars Nina Kiri, Adam DiMarco, Mich\u00e8le Duquet, Keana Lyn Bastidas, and Jeff Yung and was praised at Fantasia Fest last year for its scarily immersive aural atmosphere, with Kiri being the only character actually shown onscreen. A24 tends to be on the pulse of up-and-coming horror, the company helped bring the Philippou brothers (\u201cTalk to Me\u201d) and Robert Eggers (\u201cThe Witch\u201d) to audiences for the first time \u2014 and look at them now. \u2014RL<\/p>\n

\t\u201cReady or Not 2: Here I Come\u201d (March 27, Searchlight Pictures)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""Ready
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Searchlight Pictures\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Samara Weaving returns to the most dangerous game of hide-and-murder in this follow-up to 2019\u2019s horror-comedy \u201cReady or Not.\u201d Now it\u2019s not just her in-laws who are gunning for her\/trying to stab her. It\u2019s all the richest families in the world. Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett work from a script by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy, with Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, N\u00e9stor Carbonell, Kevin Durand, Olivia Cheng, Nadeem Umar-Khitab, David Cronenberg, and Elijah Wood joining the cast.\u00a0A trailer is available for the film<\/a>, which hints at the gory fun to come. \u2014SS<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe Mummy\u201d (April 17, New Line\/Warner Bros.)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Lee
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Lee Cronin\u2019s take on Universal\u2019s \u201cThe Mummy\u201d was well into post-production before the studio also confirmed \u201cThe Mummy 4,\u201d a separate legacy sequel from Radio Silence set with original stars Brendan Fraser and Rachel Weisz last fall. When it comes to mummy movies, it\u2019s the more the merrier. But Cronin deserves extra fan support for releasing his film \u2014 starring series newcomers Jack Reynor and Laia Costa \u2014 so close to the news of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett\u2019s still-brewing cultural behemoth. He\u2019ll go far delivering the same ferocious, tactile gore he put on display in \u201cEvil Dead Rise,\u201d<\/a> and even further by foregoing that late-\u201990s pastiche to instead embrace the icon\u2019s 1932 cinematic debut. \u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cHokum\u201d (May 1, Neon)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""Hokum"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Neon\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Already in the running for scariest release of the year, Neon\u2019s big horror movie for this spring has a teaser that will squeeze the fountain soda out of you. That makes sense coming from storied scare-master Damian McCarthy, the magician-like filmmaker behind the recent Shudder sensation \u201cOddity,\u201d and his earlier hidden gem, \u201cCaveat.\u201d In McCarthy\u2019s next dark fairytale, \u201cSeverance\u201d star Adam Scott plays an author journeying to the director\u2019s home country of Ireland to spread his parents\u2019 ashes. Ther,e he encounters a ghostly presence and rumors of a witch. \u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cObsession\u201d (May 15, Focus Features)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""Obsession"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Focus Features\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\u201cObsession\u201d announces YouTuber Curry Barker as a genre voice the entire horror-loving world should be watching (even if this isn\u2019t his directorial debut).\u00a0A Midnight Madness standout<\/a>\u00a0from TIFF 2025, the film centers on a music shop clerk\/hopeless romantic (Michael Johnston) who uses a novelty wishing toy to get exactly what he\u00a0thinks\u00a0he wants. \u201cIs her love real?\u201d he asks in the trailer, speaking on the phone to an oddity helpline. \u201cJust because you chose this for her doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s not real,\u201d the operator replies. Think \u201cThe Monkey\u201d meets \u201cThe Substance,\u201d as Barker turns wish fulfillment into a moral trap with massive implications \u2014 and major buzz coming into the new year.\u00a0\u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cScary Movie 6\u201d (June 12, Paramount Pictures\/Dimension Films)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""Scary
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Can you say, \u201cWhazzup?!\u201d It\u2019s been 13 years since the last \u201cScary Movie,\u201d and this summer\u2019s reboot from Paramount and Dimension Films can\u2019t come soon enough. Directed by Michael Tiddes and written by Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, and Keenen Ivory Wayans, the upcoming spoof reunites the original architects of the horror-comedy with stars Anna Faris and Regina Hall. After a decade-plus of elevated genre interpretations and hyper-serious film discourse, \u201cScary Movie 6\u201d is poised to skewer everything from thoughtless legacy sequels to trauma porn masquerading as scream-worthy art. \u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cShiver\u201d (July 3, Sony)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Director
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Norwegian filmmaker Tommy Wirkola, best known for the wonderfully bizarre \u201cDead Snow\u201d movies out of Sundance, turns up the heat this summer with \u201cShiver.\u201d Arriving just in time for peak \u201cJaws\u201d repertory season on July 3, Sony\u2019s survival horror saga is produced by Adam McKay and Kevin Messick, and it stars Phoebe Dynevor, Whitney Peak, and Djimon Hounsou among others. Around the same time last year, Sean Byrne gave shark horror<\/a> his unique Australian spin with \u201cDangerous Animals\u201d for Shudder<\/a>. In 2026, why not let the guy famous for inventing frozen Nazi-zombies take a bite at \u2019em, too? \u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cEvil Dead Burn\u201d (July 24, Sony\/Warner Bros.)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Scenes
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

With Lee Cronin<\/a> off making his \u201cThe Mummy\u201d for Universal, and legendary \u201cEvil Dead\u201d creator Sam Raimi busy stranding Rachel McAdams on an island in \u201cSend Help,\u201d director S\u00e9bastien Vani\u010dek had to step in and lead the Deadites\u2019 next standalone sequel. The French filmmaker broke out with 2023\u2019s \u201cInfested,\u201d<\/a> a hidden gem set in an apartment building that was frequently compared to Cronin\u2019s \u201cEvil Dead Rise\u201d the same year. Pairing Vani\u010dek and \u201cEvil Dead\u201d feels strangely inevitable in hindsight, but not knowing how compatible those two forces might be evokes a fear of something truly unnatural. \u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cInsidious 6\u201d (August 21, Sony)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Lin
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Beating projections at the box office in 2023, \u201cInsidious: The Red Door\u201d seemed to close the book on the beleaguered Lambert family \u2014\u00a0but it still left franchise fans with plenty of questions about the blood-boiling, demonic realm known as the Further. With series scene-stealer Lin Shaye back as the psychic paranormal investigator Elise Rainier, there\u2019s no reason the sixth \u201cInsidious\u201d can\u2019t deliver even more satisfaction while exploring a hellish dimension that\u2019s always been impervious to time. The upcoming Blumhouse and Atomic Monster sequel comes form director Jacob Chase. It\u2019s co-written by the filmmaker and David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick, a frequent contributor to The Conjuring Universe<\/a>. \u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cClayface\u201d (September 11, DC Studios)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Director
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Veteran horror director James Watkins (\u201cEden Lake,\u201d \u201cSpeak No Evil\u201d) joins DC with the story of Matt Hagen (Tom Rhys Harries), an actor who turns to science to fix his disfigured face, and ends up one with made of, wait for it, clay!\u00a0 Naomi Ackie, Max Minghella, and Eddie Marsan also star in a script from Mike Flanagan (\u201cThe Life of Chuck\u201d) and Hossein Amini (\u201cDrive\u201d), and, of course, overseen by DC overcaptain\/executive producer James Gunn. This will be a different kind of Clayface from the one that cameos in \u201cBirds of Prey,\u201d but it remains to be seen just how profane Rhys Harries\u2019 take on the monstrous character will be. The film is set to release on September 11. \u2014SS<\/p>\n

\t\u201cResident Evil\u201d (September 18, Sony)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Director
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Whether you love or hate the outcome, there\u2019s no denying Paul W. S. Anderson made his mark on \u201cResident Evil\u201d with his maximalist film adaptation in 2002. The director reimagined Capcom\u2019s heart-racing zombie survival games as an action vehicle for Milla Jovovich, trading the source material\u2019s characteristic dread for an ill-fitting velocity that\u2019s so of \u201cit\u2019s time\u201d we almost treasure it now. Raccoon City has endured, however improbably, and by September, the film series will have fully grafted itself onto the imagination of \u201cWeapons\u201d auteur Zach Cregger<\/a> \u2014 signaling another bold mutation. \u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cOther Mommy\u201d (October 9, Universal)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Director
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

From \u201cHost\u201d director Rob Savage comes \u201cOther Mommy,\u201d a domestic nightmare that had its 2026 release repositioned from May to October. That\u2019s not bad sign and maybe even a show of confidence as Universal moves the title\u2019s opening weekend into prime Halloween territory. It stars Jessica Chastain, Jay Duplass, Arabella Olivia Clark, and Dichen Lachman in a twisted story that frames romantic strain through a child\u2019s terror. When an 8-year-old encounters a sinister presence emerging from her closet, Savage leans in and pushes forward to introduce something far stranger than an imaginary friend. \u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWerwulf\u201d\u00a0(December 25, Focus Features)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"Director
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

After spending the past holiday season without a Robert Eggers\u2019 creature feature to warm the bones, the good news is that\u00a0this yuletide will be full of fresh horrors<\/a>. Like his 2024 \u201cNosferatu\u201d adaptation, the filmmaker\u2019s newest folklore-inspired film, \u201cWerwulf,\u201d will\u00a0release\u00a0on Christmas Day, giving less traditional moviegoers something to come out for. The film will see Eggers \u2014 who teamed up with his \u201cThe Northman\u201d co-writer Sj\u00f3n on the script \u2014 once again direct regular collaborators Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Willem Dafoe. While the details are still being kept\u00a0under wraps, the film is said to be set in 13th-century England, which guarantees a medieval flair and, since\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0Eggers, its actors\u00a0attempting\u00a0at least one archaic dialect.\u00a0\u2014EP<\/p>\n

\t\u201cForbidden Fruits\u201d (2026, Shudder)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""Forbidden
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Shudder\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

A mall-set coven movie with a cast this stacked practically arrives halfway to queer cult status, and Shudder feels like the perfect perch to help \u201cForbidden Fruits\u201d go all the way over the top. Directed and written by Meredith Alloway in her feature debut, this upcoming horror-comedy imagines a witchy femme cult run by an Apple Store employee operating beneath the fluorescent hum of the retail center at night. Lili Reinhart, Lola Tung, Victoria Pedretti, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Chamberlain, and Gabrielle Union orbit a cutting drama about performative sisterhood and bloodshed that feels equally inspired by Ryan Murphy\u2019s \u201cScream Queens\u201d as by Sofia Coppola\u2019s \u201cThe Bling Ring\u201d \u2014 but even sleeker and timelier. \u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cIce Cream Man\u201d (2026, Horror Section)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""Ice
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Horror Section\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Eli Roth\u2019s Horror Section is churning out fresh genre movies at a steady clip, and the \u201cHostel\u201d director\u2019s upcoming remake of 1995\u2019s \u201cIce Cream Man\u201d signals an exciting return to the sticky, mean-spirited corner of \u201980s and \u201890s video-store horror his particular brand seems made to preserve. Reworking the core idea for this cult favorite originally starring Clint Howard, Roth will tackle the tale of a traumatized dessert vendor who uses sugar as a delivery system for violence. Also from the Horror Section in 2026, \u201cStiletto\u201d is\u00a0a slasher set in a strip club. Starring Gigi Gustin \u2014\u00a0and teasing scary temptation from a different, more adult angle \u2014\u00a0it\u2019s one of several low-budget flicks coming from the brand this year. \u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe Serpent\u2019s Skin\u201d (Early 2026, Dark Star Pictures)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""The
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Dark Star Pictures\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

If you didn\u2019t know Australian filmmaker Alice Maio Mackay turned 21 last year<\/a>, you\u2019d never guess it from the confidence of her sixth feature, \u201cThe Serpent\u2019s Skin.\u201d This witchy, girl-on-girl (and sometimes guy!) Fantasia entry filters romance through the director\u2019s clear \u201cBuffy the Vampire Slayer\u201d and \u201cCharmed\u201d inspirations to conjure up an enchanting, melancholy vision of desire in bleeding neon. Funny, feral, and earnest, the fantasy cements Maio Mackay as a singular genre voice. Up next, she\u2019s at work on a sci-fi horror film titled \u201cOur Effed Up World,\u201d<\/a> with Jane Schoenbrun producing, also for Dark Star. \u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cRoqia\u201d (2026, Watermelon Pictures)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""Roqia"\"
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Watermelon Pictures\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Algerian filmmaker Yanis Koussim\u2019s debut feature \u201cRoqia\u201d premiered in Venice<\/a>\u2019s Critics\u2019 Week before riding that buzz across the festival circuit to Sitges, Leeds, and Thessaloniki. A slow-burn psychological thriller told across two timelines with a keen eye for the country\u2019s history, the haunting setup juxtaposes an early-\u201990s car crash that leaves a man bandaged and amnesiac with the present-day decline of an aging exorcist battling Alzheimer\u2019s against the shadows of violent extremism. Watermelon Pictures acquired the U.S. rights and is planning a theatrical release in 2026. \u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe Backrooms\u201d (2026, A24)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"A
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Steam\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Is there any liminal space more infamous or viral than Kane Parson\u2019s \u201cBackrooms\u201d? For A24, the YouTuber and filmmaker takes on his own endlessly replicated nightmares as made famous through internet folklore. Parsons will have to expand the claustrophobic digital dread he used to make the eerie concept stick through his short films. But more than a meme-to-movie play, the story underlying \u201cThe Backrooms\u201d is surprisingly complex and offers wonderfully promising material for a video game adaptation of this nature. If you need a studio that thrives on building style and atmosphere, A24 sometimes wavers but never loses the objective(s) floating in plain sight. Mark Duplass,\u00a0Finn Bennett,\u00a0Lukita Maxwell, and Avan Jogia star. \u2014AF<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe Mortuary Assistant\u201d (2026, Shudder)<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\""The
\n\t\t\t\t\tImage Credit: Shudder\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

Based on the cult-hit indie video game \u201cThe Mortuary Assistant,\u201d this challenging but wisely ambitious adaptation for Shudder tasks director Jeremiah Kipp with successfully transplanting a beloved, playable scare system to the cinematic slab \u2014 without losing vital fear. It\u2019s good work if you can get it, and actress Willa Holland stars as Rebecca Owens, a mortician working the night shift as demonic rituals and emotional possession bleed together in a funeral home run by her strange mentor. Think \u201cFive Nights at Freddy\u2019s\u201d for adult embalmers with trauma, also starring Paul Sparks. \u2014AF<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In January 2026, American life sometimes resembles an episode of \u201cThe Munsters.\u201d The U.S. is a twisted, backwards,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":403412,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[64,63,134,1689,178998,344],"class_list":{"0":"post-403411","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-movies","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-film","12":"tag-horror-movies","13":"tag-movies"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=403411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/403411\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/403412"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=403411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=403411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=403411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}