Top 10 Horror Movies To Watch In 2026: A Spooky Preview

There's no doubt that 2025 was an incredible year for the horror genre. From Oscar contenders like Sinners to box office hits like Weapons to creative smaller projects like Bring Her Back and Together. There were also impressive sequels like The Black Phone 2 and 28 Years Later.

Thankfully, this seems like it's a trend as 2026 is also shaping up to be a big year for horror. There are several exciting sequels on the horizon for long-running franchises and some exciting projects by acclaimed filmmakers. 2026 has the potential to live up to the great 2025 because of films like these.

They Will Kill You

The trailer for They Will Kill You recently dropped and revealed that it should be one of the most fun horror movies of 2026. For starters, it boasts an intriguing cast of Zazie Beetz, Myha'la, Heather Graham, Tom Felton, Patricia Arquette, and more.

They Will Kill You follows a woman (Beetz) who gets a job as a housekeeper at a high-rise in New York, only to learn that the community that lives there hired her to sacrifice her as part of a Satanic cult. It sounds similar to Ready or Not, which was a great blast of a horror movie.

The trailer is what really sold They Will Kill You because it's clear that it will be bloody, violent, and full of action. The protagonist seems to have some combat skills, allowing her to fight back in unexpected ways.

Evil Dead Burn

Not only is Evil Dead one of the best horror series around, but it's also one of the best long-running movie franchises, period. There isn't a single lackluster entry and though they've shifted away from the comedic elements of Evil Dead II and Army of Darkness, things are still going well.

2013's Evil Dead was as gory as it gets, while 2023's Evil Dead Rise is an underrated horror gem. We're set for a new entry with Evil Dead Burn, though not much is known about the details besides some members of the cast and crew.

The cast features names you might not know but who have quality credits like Hunter Doohan (Wednesday) and Souheila Yacoub (Dune: Part Two). French filmmaker Sébastien Vaniček will be directing after his great 2023 movie Infested. If Evil Dead Burn is like the rest of the franchise, this will be great.

Resident Evil

Unlike Evil Dead, the Resident Evil movie franchise is one that hasn't exactly worked. The games are iconic but the films have mostly been negatively received, from the Paul W. S. Anderson projects to the 2021 reboot, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City.

Due to that, the idea of a new entry wouldn't be exciting, but the people behind it give us reason for hope. For starters, Zach Cregger is directing and co-writing the film following his incredible horror movies, Barbarian and Weapons. Having someone who nails scary scenes is crucial here.

Resident Evil is meant to work as a reboot of the series and Cregger has loaded up the cast. The talented Austin Abrams (Euphoria), Paul Walter Hauser (Cobra Kai), Zach Cherry (Severance), and Kali Reis (True Detective: Night Country) combine with Cregger to make this an intriguing release.

Return To Silent Hill

Like Resident Evil, Silent Hill is a legendary horror video game series that hasn't translated too well to the big screen. In 2006, Silent Hill was poorly received, but over the years, people have come to appreciate it more. That said, the sequel remains a misfire.

The franchise has been dormant ever since, though that changes in 2026 with the appropriately titled Return to Silent Hill. Christopher Gans, who helmed the 2006 film, is back in the director's chair, and the trailers show that this is taking a lot from Silent Hill 2, which many consider one of the best horror games ever made.

The story sees James (Jeremy Irvine) come to Silent Hill after he receives a letter from his deceased wife saying she's waiting for him there. Once he arrives, he learns that Silent Hill isn't a normal town and a heartbreaking yet captivating story unfolds. If it's anything like the game, this could be a classic.

Clayface

Moving away from video game adaptations, we have a comic book adaptation. Clayface is part of James Gunn's new vision for DC movies but is going to be something totally different. While Superman, Supergirl, and Peacemaker are on the sci-fi action side of things, Clayface is a body horror film.

Body horror isn't something we've typically seen in the superhero genre before, making Clayface all the more intriguing. There are strong names involved, like director James Watkins (Speak No Evil) and writer Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House).

The film follows a rising actor who gets disfigured by a gangster and goes to a scientist for help, who turns his body into clay. Clayface has been portrayed comedically in shows like Harley Quinn but this take is sure to be something more serious. With Gunn's reputation for superhero projects, we're excited.

Scream 7

Along the same lines as Evil Dead, the Scream franchise hasn't really put out any bad movies. That said, as excited as we are for a new entry, there is some concern with Scream 7 due to all the behind-the-scenes issues.

The previous two installments focused heavily on Sam and Tara Carpenter but the studio fired Melissa Barrera (Sam) for her pro-Palestine comments and Jenna Ortega (Tara) left soon after due to all the changes and issues. However, Neve Campbell is back as franchise protagonist Sidney Prescott.

The consistency of the Scream franchise is why there's still reason for hope. The cast also added Isabel May, Joel McHale, McKenna Grace, and several others, while bringing back the likes of Stu Macher and Roman Bridger, meaning this is sure to be an interesting entry.

Werwulf

Some of the best rising directors in Hollywood work in the horror genre. Right near the top is Robert Eggers, who has been putting out fantastic movies since his feature debut, The Witch, in 2015. That's why simply having his name on the director's chair is enough to make Werwulf exciting.

He's done films about a witch, a vampire, and now he's tackling werewolves. Werwulf is set in 13th-century England (Eggers famously said he never wants to make a movie set in modern times), and centers on a mysterious creature who stalks a village near a foggy countryside.

Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Lily Rose-Depp, Ralph Ineson, and Willem Dafoe are back to work with Eggers again, meaning we should get more of what made Nosferatu so great. Eggers' career is proof that if his name is attached, we will be watching.

The Bride!

It's interesting that we get The Bride! in 2026 given the success of Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein in 2025. This film indeed draws inspiration from 1935's Bride of Frankenstein and Mary Shelley's iconic 1818 novel.

The Bride! has a lot going for it beyond the famous story. For starters, Maggie Gyllenhaal is directing (also writing and producing) and her previous film, The Lost Daughter, was met with widespread acclaim. Then there's the stellar cast that has been put together to bring this to life.

Oscar-nominated Jessie Buckley is playing the titular bride, while Academy Award winner Christian Bale will be portraying Frankenstein. There's also Jake Gyllenhaal, Penélope Cruz, and so many others. We expect The Bride! to be a major critical darling.

Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come

In 2019, the filmmaking duo known as Radio Silence (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett) released Ready or Not, which was one of the most fun horror comedies in a long time. While there were laughs to be had, the setup of the story is absolutely chilling.

Ready or Not saw Grace (Samara Weaving) marry into a family that ultimately played a game of hide-and-seek designed to murder and sacrifice her. She survived and that seemed to be the end of it, but Ready or Not 2: Here I Come brings Grace back, along with her sister, Kathryn Newton's Faith.

Weaving and Newton are ideal for this genre given their past projects and this time, they face others who want to sacrifice them because Grace survived the first time around. With a wacky premise and additions to the cast like Sarah Michelle Gellar and Elijah Wood, this should be a tremendous sequel.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple

28 Days Later was a fantastic, groundbreaking horror film in 2003 and the sequel, 28 Weeks Later, was really good a few years later. It took more than a decade for a third film to arrive and 28 Years Later ended up being possibly the best entry of them all.

Surprisingly, less than a year later and another installment is here in 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. Again written by Alex Garland, this doesn't have Danny Boyle as the director but Nia DaCosta is an excellent filmmaker, evidenced by her work on Candyman and The Marvels.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple takes place soon after the previous movie and sees young Spike inducted into a gang of killers while Ralph Fiennes' Dr. Kelson forms a relationship that could change the world. It sounds like another winner in this impressive franchise.