Horror fans are going to be eating well in 2026, as there are some huge franchises are rising from the grave back to the big screen. From sequels like 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, to the return of the Deadites in Evil Dead Burn. But which ones are we most excited for?
2025 was also crammed full of some excellently gruesome stories, like Ryan Coogler’s period vampire flick, Sinners, Zach Cregger’s twisted Weapons, and Danny Boyle’s 28 Years Later. Several horror movies even snuck their way onto our list of the best movies of the year.
Horror has always been a versatile genre that mixes well with other stories, and 2026 is filled with a mixed bag of monsters, serial killers, psychological thrillers, spoofs, zombies, comic book adaptations and more.
So here’s which horror movies we’re most excited about in 2026, ranked from 15-1.
15. Buddy
Director: Casper Kelly
Cast: Cristin Milioti, Topher Grace, Keegan-Michael Key, Michael Shannon, Patton Oswalt
Release date: January 22
What it’s about: A girl and her friends have to escape from a dark, twisted version of a kids TV show.
Why we’re excited: The sheer talent in the cast, along with the warped synopsis, makes Buddy too intriguing to ignore. Yes, it sounds a little similar to Five Nights at Freddy’s in the sense that it’ll feature childish mascots-turned-evil as the villains, but it has the potential to go much further. Plus, after Cristin Milioti stretched her villainous talents in The Penguin, a horror movie role could be an excellent addition to her repertoire.
14. Insidious 6
Director: Jacob Chase
Cast: Brandon Perea, Lin Shaye, Amelia Eve, Maisie Richardson-Sellers, Sam Spruell
Release date: August 21
What it’s about: Blumhouse is keeping the plot for the sixth Insidious movie under wraps for now, including the title.
Why we’re excited: After Brandon Perea became a fan favorite star in Jordan Peele’s Nope and Lee Isaac Chung’s Twisters, he’s adding a new franchise to his roster with the Insidious series. Presumably he’ll team up with the ghost of Elise (Lin Shaye) to defeat some kind of entity, which could be a cool concept, but we’ll just have to be patient.
13. Return to Silent Hill
Director: Christophe Gans
Cast: Jeremy Irvine, Hannah Emily Anderson, Evie Templeton
Release date: January 23
What it’s about: Return to Silent Hill is based on the critically acclaimed Silent Hill 2, and follows James Sunderland (Jeremy Irvine) go back to the terrifying town in search of his wife Mary (Hannah Emily Anderson) when he’s confronted with his own fragile mental state.
Why we’re excited: Silent Hill 2 is one of the best horror games of all time and bringing it to life on the big screen makes Return to Silent Hill an unmissable experience in itself. Plus, director Christophe Gans is returning to make the film as a standalone sequel (presumably ignoring the poorly received Silent Hill: Revelation).
12. Scary Movie 6
Director: Michael Tiddes
Cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Lochlyn Munro, Chris Elliot, Dave Sheridan
Release date: June 12
What it’s about: Paramount’s Scary Movie 6 brings the horror spoof series back to theaters for the first time in over a decade. Although we don’t know what the plot will be this time around, expect Cindy Campbell (Anna Faris) and Brenda Meeks (Regina Hall) to spoof some of the biggest horror movies of the 2010s and beyond.
Why we’re excited: The horror genre has changed and evolved since audiences last saw a Scary Movie, which gives the Wayans family plenty to work with when it comes to taking a fresh stab at franchises like Scream, Saw, The Conjuring, Insidious, or A Quiet Place. That’s without mentioning titles that elevated the genre like It Follows, Hereditary, Get Out, or The Babadook! Basically, it’s going to be a roast of the last decade in horror, and we can’t wait to see it.
11. Send Help
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien
Release date: January 30
What it’s about: Rachel McAdams plays Linda Liddle, an office worker who gets stranded on a desert island with her cold-hearted boss, Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien), and the pair are forced to work together to stay alive.
Why we’re excited: It’s a Sam Raimi horror movie… How could we not be excited? A new tale from the Evil Dead maestro is always something to celebrate, and there’s definitely an intensity to the trailer that shows off a new side to Rachel McAdams. It’s not clear if Send Help will be full of grisly body horror to rival the Deadites, but it’s clear that Dylan O’Brien is going to be in for a rough time on that island.
10. Scream 7
Director: Kevin Williamson
Cast: Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Joel McHale, Mckenna Grace, Mark Consuelos
Release date: February 27
What it’s about: Scream’s original final girl Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is forced to fight to survive yet another Ghostface who targets her teenage daughter Tatum (Isabel May) and the survivors from 2022’s Scream and Scream 6.
Why we’re excited: Not only is original Scream writer Kevin Williamson in the director’s chair for the seventh movie, but it also appears to be bringing back Matthew Lillard as Stu Macher, one of the original Ghostface killers. The Scream 7 trailer teased the star’s return in an ominous line of dialogue at the end, and it could be huge for fans who speculated that Stu didn’t die in the first movie. Let’s hope the twist pays off.
9. The Mummy
Director: Nia DaCosta
Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Jack O’Connell, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman, Chi Lewis-Parry
Release date: 14 January
What it’s about: Set moments after 28 Years Later, The Bone Temple sees survivor Spike fall in with Sir Jimmy Crystal’s cult of killers, while Dr. Kelson starts experimenting with the Rage Virus.
Why we’re excited: 28 Years Later ended by introducing Jack O’Connell’s terrifying cult leader, and it’ll be exciting (and horrifying) to see how a cult leader tries to maintain power in a country that has fallen to the hordes of infected that roam the wilderness.
Did we mention that Cillian Murphy is returning to play Jim from the original movie? We can’t wait to see his inevitable collision with these characters, especially since he shares the “Jim” name as O’Connell’s villain! The trailers also teased that Dr. Kelson have found a cure (or at least a way to pause the infection) which could change the horror franchise forever.
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