My Most Anticipated Horror Movies of 2026

2025 gave us an ever-expanding list of truly entertaining horror movies, so 2026 is going to have to bring its A-game to keep up. 

Luckily, it appears the new year got the memo, and there is plenty to look forward to over the next 12 months.

From multiple interpretations of the Universal monsters to the resurrection of a hugely popular series from the 2000s, here are some of my most-anticipated horror films of 2026.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

After the wild, hard-left ending of last year’s 28 Years Later, everyone was left wondering what the hell was going to happen in The Bone Temple. Filmed back-to-back with 28 Years, the trailer for Bone Temple promises to fill in the story gap for Jimmy, one of the most intriguing characters in the franchise. Even though I wasn’t a fan of 28 Years Later, I’m looking forward to seeing more of this world develop, and who could say no to a gang of blonde-wigged, sweatsuit-wearing, Saville ninjas?

The Bride! 

Mary Shelley’s classic story Frankenstein is experiencing a 21st-century resurrection, and Maggie Gyllenhaal is giving it a massive update. Focusing on, well, The Bride!, the story drops us into 1930s gangster-riddled Chicago, where our leading lady and her monstrous beau proceed to wreak chaotic mayhem. It’s punk, it’s got dance numbers, and it’s being accused of some serious genre-bending, all things I love.

Hokum

Director Damian McCarthy’s Oddity was a fresh, original story and the sleeper hit of 2024. His first film, Caveat from 2020, was also pretty decent, but didn’t hit the mark the way Oddity managed to. With his third go-around, McCarthy has garnered some attention. The horror-loving production company Neon acquired the rights to Hokum in 2025, and the film is set for a theatrical release this year. Genre-favourite Adam Scott is set to lead as an author who travels to a remote region of Ireland, unaware of the evils lurking around him. The creep factor has been set to high and I can’t wait to see what Hokum brings to the table.

Scary Movie 6

25 years ago, the Wayans brothers brought the very first Scary Movie into the world, and it took the 2000s by storm. With its crude humour common at the time, it heavily parodied two of the biggest horror movies of the late 90s: Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. It generated four sequels, and in 2025, a sixth movie was announced to be in the works. Scary Movie 6 will parody some of the most popular horror films of the last few years, including Nope, Get Out, Scream, Longlegs, and even Sinners. Will they be able to update the comedy tastes of the 2000s for modern audiences? I can’t wait to find out.

Werwulf

It’s hard not to be excited for another classic monster entry from the dynamic duo of director Robert Eggers and cinematographer Jarin Blaschke. While his 2024 film Nosferatu divided audiences over whether facial hair was appropriate for vampiric counts, the exquisite detail of the period-accurate costumes, set designs, and language is undeniable. Eggers has described Werwulf as the darkest thing he’s ever written, and it was filmed on location in the misty moors of England. It sounds like Eggers is sticking to his classic style and I can’t wait to check it out.

Psycho Killer

Psycho Killer is a film that was stuck in production hell for a long time. It has passed through several hands, and at one point in 2009, Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit fame was set to direct. But, for whatever reason, the reins were eventually handed over to Gavin Polone, an American producer who will make this his directorial debut. Despite its rough start, Psycho Killer just might be worth the wait, with Se7en writer Andrew Kevin Walker handling the screenplay, and Barbarian‘s Georgina Campbell cast in the lead role. Psycho Killer has a lot of potential, and we’ll see if it plays out.

Evil Dead Burn

Sébastien Vaniček’s debut film Infested was 2023’s hidden gem, showing a lot of promise from the French filmmaker. The top quality of Infested garnered him some attention, and horror heavyweight Sam Raimi asked Vaniček to take the helm on Evil Dead Burn, the sixth instalment of the beloved series. There’s not much to say about the plot of Evil Dead Burn, but if the past film is any indication of the direction the story is taking, we’re in for a lot of demonic Deadite mayhem. Burn was also filmed right here in New Zealand (just like its predecessor, Evil Dead Rise), which is always deserving of bonus points.

Honey Bunch