Best New Horror Movies of 2026

Critics Consensus: Packing unforgettable scares into a sleek runtime while Austin Abrams’ crack comedic timing provides crucial levity, Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil is a propulsive tribute to the pleasure and terror of playing a truly spooky video game.

Synopsis: From the mind of visionary filmmaker Zach Cregger (Weapons, Barbarian) comes a thrilling — and terrifying — reinvention of the Resident Evil franchise. In an… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Austin Abrams, Zach Cherry, Kali Reis, Johnno Wilson

Directed By: Zach Cregger, Oliver Berben, Victor Hadida, Richard S. Wright

Critics Consensus: A bloody valentine to slasher horror that celebrates personal self-discovery as much as it does the possibilities of cinema, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma combines killer style with a big, still-beating heart.

Synopsis: After years of slapdash sequels and waning fandom, the Camp Miasma slasher franchise is handed over to an enthusiastic young director (Hannah Einbinder, Hacks) for… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Gillian Anderson, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Patrick Fischler, Hannah Einbinder

Directed By: Jane Schoenbrun, Daniel Bekerman

Critics Consensus: Taking an icky conceit and twisting it to deviously crowd-pleasing ends, Obsession is dauntingly disturbing while also skillfully amusing and thrilling.

Synopsis: After breaking the mysterious “One Wish Willow” to win his crush’s heart, a hopeless romantic finds himself getting exactly what he asked for but soon… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless

Directed By: Curry Barker

Critics Consensus: Merging an emotionally-involving queer relationship with its clever monster concept, Leviticus executes its intriguing hook with eerie aplomb.

Synopsis: Two teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most — each other.

Starring: Joe Bird, Stacy Clausen, Mia Wasikowska, Jeremy Blewitt

Directed By: Adrian Chiarella

Critics Consensus: Putting director Sam Raimi’s penchant for diabolical mayhem to great use, Send Help doesn’t need any assistance in thrills thanks to a very game Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien along with a viciously clever script.

Synopsis: In “Send Help,” two colleagues become stranded on a deserted island, the only survivors of a plane crash. On the island, they must overcome past… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O'Brien, Edyll Ismail, Dennis Haysbert

Directed By: Sam Raimi, Jonathan Hook

Critics Consensus: A direct continuation of 28 Years Later that ups the gore while deepening the dread, The Bone Temple is finely adorned by Nia DaCosta’s unnerving direction as well as Ralph Fiennes and Jack O’Connell’s inspired performances.

Synopsis: Expanding upon the world created by Danny Boyle and Alex Garland in 28 Years Later — but turning that world on its head — Nia… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ralph Fiennes, Alfie Williams, Jack O'Connell, Erin Kellyman

Directed By: Nia DaCosta, Cillian Murphy

Critics Consensus: A classic haunted house story enriched with atmospheric folklore and perfectly-timed shocks, Hokum further solidifies writer-director Damian McCarthy as a modern master of horror.

Synopsis: When novelist Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) retreats to a remote inn to scatter his parents’ ashes, he is consumed by tales of a witch haunting… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Adam Scott, David Wilmot, Peter Coonan, Florence Ordesh

Directed By: Damian McCarthy, Terence Chan, Andrew Childs, Dan Kagan

Critics Consensus: Buddy weaponizes the cheery conventions of children’s entertainment into an inventive, hilarious, and creepy descent into pop culture madness.

Synopsis: Remember BUDDY–the bright orange unicorn and star of that classic children’s television show who brought joy and life lessons into your living room? Inside the… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Cristin Milioti, Delaney Quinn, Topher Grace, Keegan-Michael Key

Directed By: Chris 'Casper' Kelly, Kevin Flanigan, Dexter Braff, Roberto Linck

Critics Consensus: Anchored by Daisy Ridley’s magnetic performance and a grimly inventive premise, We Bury the Dead keenly uses familiar zombie tropes as a framework to deliver a beautifully shot, emotionally resonant meditation on loss and grief.

Synopsis: After a catastrophic military disaster, the dead don’t just rise — they hunt. The military insists they are harmless and slow-moving, offering hope to grieving… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Daisy Ridley, Brenton Thwaites, Matt Whelan, Mark Coles Smith

Directed By: Zak Hilditch, Lee Broda, Ford Corbett, Jatin Desai

Critics Consensus: A startlingly assured feature debut from director Kane Parsons, Backrooms bends the liminal spaces that have haunted the internet for years into a horror film that’s as mesmerizing as it is terrifying.

Synopsis: A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom.

Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Renate Reinsve, Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett

Directed By: Kane Parsons, Kane Parsons, Jesse Savath, Judson Scott

Critics Consensus: Layering modern anxieties about technology onto a nightmarish outbreak, Colony lacks the vivid characterizations that distinguish director Yeon Sang-ho’s best work but mostly reaffirms his mastery over zombie mayhem.

Synopsis: Horror master Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan) directs a new Korean zombie thriller starring Gianna Jun and Koo Kyo-hwan. Professor Se-jeong (Jun) is thrust into… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jun Ji-hyun, Koo Kyo-hwan, Ji Chang-wook, Kim Sin-rok

Directed By: Yeon Sang-ho

Critics Consensus: That’s one bad ape, and Primate is one lean, mean, effective chiller.

Synopsis: In PRIMATE, a group of friends’ tropical vacation turns into a terrifying, primal tale of horror and survival.

Starring: Johnny Sequoyah, Jessica Alexander, Troy Kotsur, Victoria Wyant

Directed By: Johannes Roberts, Vicki Dee Rock, Nathan Samdahl, Johannes Roberts

Critics Consensus: Tempting fate by picking up where it left off after an extended absence, Ready or Not 2 cheats the sequel curse thanks in large part to Samara Weaving’s ferocious commitment to the bloody bit.

Synopsis: Moments after surviving an all-out attack from the Le Domas family, Grace (Samara Weaving) discovers she’s reached the next level of the nightmarish game –… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy

Directed By: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Tara Farney, Greg Denny

Critics Consensus: Charmingly goofy and packed with incisive insights into the relatable ups and downs of any friend group, Forbidden Fruits is a campy coven worth hanging out with for its concise runtime.

Synopsis: Free Eden employee Apple leads a secret witch cult with coworkers Cherry and Fig. New hire Pumpkin questions their sisterhood, forcing them to confront inner… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Lili Reinhart, Lola Tung, Victoria Pedretti, Alexandra Shipp

Directed By: Meredith Alloway, Katherine Romans, Charlie Traisman, Casey Durant

Critics Consensus: Masterfully using negative space and unsettling audio to build its creeping dread, undertone erupts as a diabolically immersive aural nightmare.

Synopsis: The host of a popular paranormal podcast is sent hidden messages within anonymous recordings, unleashing a demonic presence that is impossible to escape.

Starring: Nina Kiri, Adam DiMarco, Michèle Duquet, Keana Lyn

Directed By: Ian Tuason, Roy Lee, Steven Schneider, Chad Archibald

Critics Consensus: Sébastien Vanicek spills guts with glory in this latest installment of Evil Dead, featuring the meanest, nastiest, and ickiest chapter that is sure to leave fans with a wickedly satisfying Burn for more.

Synopsis: EVIL DEAD BURN unleashes the franchise’s most savage and terrifying ride to date, blazing onto big screens with an all-new chapter of carnage and demonic… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Souheila Yacoub, Tandi Wright, Hunter Doohan, Luciane Buchanan

Directed By: Sébastien Vaniček, Bruce Campbell, Romel Adam, Jose Cañas

Critics Consensus: A fiercely transgressive, self-aware reimagining that occasionally gives way to conventional genre exploitation, Faces of Death interrogates the morbid spectacle of violence with striking brutality and intelligence.

Synopsis: In FACES OF DEATH, the exploration of the original film’s infamous “is it real or not?” conceit continues as a woman (Ferreira) working as a… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Barbie Ferreira, Dacre Montgomery, Josie Totah, Aaron Holliday

Directed By: Daniel Goldhaber, Isa Mazzei, Rick Benattar

Critics Consensus: A hyper-stylized battle royale with a vivid gothic setting, They Will Kill You‘s cyclical structure can grow repetitive but a fierce Zazie Beetz keeps the bloodletting infectiously fun.

Synopsis: THEY WILL KILL YOU unleashes a blood-soaked, high-octane horror-action-comedy in which a young woman must survive the night at the Virgil, a demonic cult’s mysterious… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Zazie Beetz, Myha'la Herrold, Paterson Joseph, Tom Felton

Directed By: Kirill Sokolov, Russell Ackerman, John Schoenfelder, Kirill Sokolov

Critics Consensus: Whistle doesn’t blow it when it comes to milking some memorable frights from its nifty conceit, although this horror flick could’ve dared to be more original beyond its main hook.

Synopsis: A misfit group of unwitting high school students stumble upon a cursed object, an ancient Aztec Death Whistle. They discover that blowing the whistle and… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Dafne Keen, Sophie Nélisse, Percy Hynes White, Nick Frost

Directed By: Corin Hardy, John Friedberg

Critics Consensus: A claustrophobic video game adaptation that can veer into just plain stifling, Iron Lung is more interesting for its production than its story, but it conjures enough atmosphere to announce Mark Edward Fischbach as a filmmaker to watch.

Synopsis: The stars are gone. The planets have disappeared. Only individuals aboard space stations or starships were left to give the end a name — The… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Mark Edward Fischbach, Caroline Kaplan, Troy Baker, Elsie Lovelock

Directed By: Mark Edward Fischbach, Mark Edward Fischbach

Critics Consensus: If Out of the Further‘s modest efforts to put a fresh spin on Insidious only serve to underline how formulaic this franchise has become, some chilling set pieces distinguish it as one of the most effective entries yet.

Synopsis: In Insidious: Out of the Further, Amelia Eve stars as Gemma, a young mother raising her daughter in the house she grew up in who… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Amelia Eve, Brandon Perea, Lin Shaye, Sam Spruell

Directed By: Jacob Chase, Steven Schneider, Ryan Turek, Brian Kavanaugh-Jones

Critics Consensus: Concocted with all the restraint of a mad scientist’s experiment, THE BRIDE! lurches in so many different creative directions that the overall effect is both sloppy and inspired.

Synopsis: A scientist revives a murdered woman as a companion for a legendary creature. The aftermath defies all expectations.

Starring: Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Peter Sarsgaard, Annette Bening

Directed By: Maggie Gyllenhaal, Carla Raij, David Webb, Courtney Kivowitz

Critics Consensus: Night Patrol boasts a killer premise and committed performances, but Ryan Prows’ scattershot direction and an overstuffed screenplay undercut its cinematic prowess.

Synopsis: An LAPD officer must put aside his differences with the area’s street gangs when he discovers a local police task force is harboring a horrific… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Justin Long, Dermot Mulroney, Jermaine Fowler, CM Punk

Directed By: Ryan Prows, Maxime Cottray, Grady Craig, Matthew Helderman

Critics Consensus: Buoyed by Caleb Landry Jones’ haunting lead performance and Danny Elfman’s lush score, Dracula reimagines the classic vampire myth as an emotionally charged gothic romance, yet its inconsistent tone holds it back from genre-defining greatness.

Synopsis: When a 15th-century prince (Caleb Landry Jones) witnesses the brutal murder of his wife (Zoë Bleu), he renounces God and damns heaven itself. Cursed with… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Caleb Landry Jones, Christoph Waltz, Zoë Bleu Sidel, Matilda De Angelis

Directed By: Luc Besson, Mark Canton, Dorothy Canton, Ryan Winterstern

Critics Consensus: Director Lee Cronin’s take on The Mummy injects some juicy gore and personal stakes into the classic horror setup, but the scares in this gross-out extravaganza get entombed by a padded running time.

Synopsis: The young daughter of a journalist disappears into the desert without a trace. Eight years later, the broken family is shocked when she’s returned to… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jack Reynor, Laia Costa, May Calamawy, Natalie Grace

Directed By: Lee Cronin, Michael Clear, Judson Scott, Macdara Kelleher

Critics Consensus: A stylish ride weighed down by the litany of clichés it picks up along the way, Passenger drives in circles but has some memorable bumps and jolts during the journey.

Synopsis: After stopping at the scene of a gruesome accident on a remote highway, a couple soon realize they didn’t leave alone. A demonic presence known… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jacob Scipio, Lou Llobell, Melissa Leo, Joseph Lopez

Directed By: André Øvredal, Jenny Hinkey, Pete Chiappetta, Anthony Tittanegro

Critics Consensus: Less a return to Scream‘s roots than a disappointing creative regression, this seventh entry draws little blood with its dull knife of a script.

Synopsis: When a new Ghostface killer emerges in the quiet town where Sidney has built a new life, her darkest fears are realized as her daughter… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Isabel May, Jasmin Savoy Brown

Directed By: Kevin Williamson, Gary Barber, Chris Stone, Neve Campbell

Critics Consensus: Ice Cream Man mistakes self-aware excess for subversion, serving up an increasingly uninspired splatterfest whose half-melted social commentary can’t disguise how little nutritional value lies beneath its gore.

Synopsis: Ice Cream Man follows an idyllic summer town descending into madness when an ice cream man serves kids sweet delights with horrifying results.

Starring: Ari Millen, Charlie Zeltzer, Shiloh O'Reilly, Kiori Mirza Waldman

Directed By: Eli Roth, Eli Massillon, Kevin Scott Frakes, Lorenzo Antonucci

Critics Consensus: A dismal conclusion to a trilogy that had already exhausted The Strangers‘ appeal from the jump, this final chapter goes to show that familiarity can breed contempt.

Synopsis: In the final film of The Strangers trilogy, Maya (Madelaine Petsch) faces the masked killers one last time in a brutal, full-circle reckoning of survival… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Madelaine Petsch, Gabriel Basso, Ema Horvath, Richard Brake

Directed By: Renny Harlin

Critics Consensus: Larded up with too much blubber and not enough bite to justify the tedium, this disappointing survival thriller is beached upon arrival.

Synopsis: Hold your breath as you witness revenge rise from the deep. After a life-shattering tragedy, Trish tries to comfort her best friend, Maddie, by taking… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Virginia Gardner, Melanie Jarnson, Mitchell Hope, Isaac Crawley

Directed By: Jo-Anne Brechin, Michael Gray, Phil Hunt, Compton Ross

Critics Consensus: Qu’est-ce que c’est? Better run, run, run, run, run, run, run away.

Synopsis: Following the brutal murder of her husband, a Kansas highway patrol officer (Georgina Campbell) sets out on a journey to track down the perpetrator. As… View Full Synopsis

Starring: Georgina Campbell, James Preston Rogers, Grace Dove, Logan Miller

Directed By: Gavin Polone, Martin Moszkowicz, Robert Kulzer, Yariv Milchan