Early 2000s horror fans prepare to shudder, as action horror is back with a bang, crash, and wallop thanks to two major franchise 2026 reboots. Around the turn of the millennium, a new breed of horror movie started to haunt multiplexes and the nightmares of movie critics all over the world. More concerned with fast-paced editing, large-scale set-pieces, and chaotic sound design than subtle suspense or patient pacing, this style soon earned itself the genre descriptor “Action Horror.”
Now, in 2026, the upcoming arrival of both the Evil Dead movie Evil Dead Burn and Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil reboot proves that this trend is rearing its undead head again. While Cregger’s take on Resident Evil sounds promising and Evil Dead Burn comes from the director of 2023’s acclaimed French indie horror Infested, there is one reason that this trend’s return could cause the blood of many longtime horror fans to run cold. Unfortunately, action horror movies as a whole were infamous for being largely terrible.
Evil Dead Burn and Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil Reboot Will Both Be Action Horror Movies
The descriptions of Resident Evil’s CinemaCon footage, along with the first one-take date announcement trailer for Evil Dead Burn, both bear the hallmarks of action horror. Slick set-pieces, elaborate fight choreography, and an emphasis on fast-paced chases over slow burn suspense all ensure that both movies fit the bill, but it is important to note just how critically unpopular this genre blend proved throughout its most recent heyday, the 2000s.
There were a few underrated action horror cult classics from this era, such as the underrated DC movie Constantine and Dog Soldiers. However, for the most part, the decision to mix action with horror resulted in movies that were too action-packed to be truly scary. 2001’s Thirteen Ghosts, 2002’s Ghosts of Mars, the Underworld movies, 2005’s Doom, the same year’s Alone in the Dark, 2003’s House of the Dead, almost all of the original Resident Evil movies, 2009’s Daybreakers, and 2011’s Priest are only a few critically reviled examples.
Action Horror Has A Bad Track Record (But Both Big 2026 Franchise Releases Look Great)
However, while World War Z was an almost legendarily bad final nail in the trend’s coffin around 2013, there is still some hope for both July’s upcoming Evil Dead Burn and 2026’s Resident Evil reboot. For one thing, Cregger’s Weapons and Barbarian are both truly brilliant horror movies that bend their genre unpredictably, meaning the director can be trusted to offer viewers something memorable with his take on the iconic video game franchise. For another, there have been occasional action horror movies since the ‘00s that fused the two genres to great effect.
2004’s Dawn of the Dead remake was a genuinely incredible siege horror that actively benefited from upping the action quotient of its quieter original. All of the Rec movies stayed nightmarishly effective despite their action-forward storytelling, while 2022’s Predator reboot Prey proved that action and suspense aren’t mutually exclusive. Since these Evil Dead Burn and the Resident Evil franchise reboots have talented directors telling their stories, viewers need not worry about the questionable legacy of the action horror genre just yet. At least, not until the trailers for the two movies start to feature nu-metal soundtracks.