2026 Horror Movies We Can’t Wait to See

Good riddance to 2025; there’s a brand new year ahead packed to the gills with hotly anticipated new horror releases.

Even more exciting is that this only covers what’s already been announced; expect to get inundated with surprise announcements and film festival discoveries to further fill the calendar with horror goodies. Until then, this guide covers the notable highlights, from big releases like Scream 7 and Evil Dead Burn to anticipated chillers like Hokum, Obsession, and beyond.

Welcome to Bloody Disgusting’s 2025 Horror Preview.

If this preview of the year’s looming horror offerings is any indication, 2026 is going to be a whirlwind for nonstop horror. Of course, expect some release dates to shift and many surprises yet to be announced in the coming months. In other words, this is only the beginning of the year’s horror offerings. Could this be the year for Adam Wingard’s Onslaught, for example? We’re keeping our fingers crossed. Mike Flanagan’s Untitled Exorcist film shifted off its March release date, but could it still arrive in 2026? We’ll have to wait and see. 

In the meantime, buckle up for all the horror on the horizon.

Here are over 50 horror movies we’re excited to check out in 2026.

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We Bury the Dead – January 2

Daisy Ridley stars as a woman searching for her husband after a catastrophic military disaster causes mass casualties, who then return from the dead.  And they’re growing more violent the longer they’re undead. The latest from writer/director Zak Hilditch (1922) also stars Brenton Thwaites (Ghosts of War, Maleficent), Mark Coles Smith (Beast of War), and Matt Whelan (“Narcos”).

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Primate – January 9

The Strangers: Prey at Night and 47 Meters Down director Johannes Roberts revives the killer chimp horror movie with mischievous glee. It stars Johnny Sequoyah and Oscar®-winning Troy Kotsur (CODA) in his first horror role. The plot sees a tropical getaway interrupted by a family’s pet turned violent, prompting a terrifying bid for survival.

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28 Years Later: The Bone Temple – January 16

Nia DaCosta takes the helm for the second installment of this trilogy. It’ll pick up from the previous film, following Jack O’Connell’s “Sir Jimmy Crystal“ and his merry band of evil-doers, with young hero Spike (Alfie Williams) now under his wing. Also expect Ralph Fiennes’ Dr. Kelson and his breathtaking memorial to death to play a major role.

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A Useful Ghost – January 16

Thailand’s official submission for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards introduces an unconventional love story. It follows a grieving widower who discovers his deceased wife has possessed a vacuum cleaner. Love sucks in this supernatural comedy.

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Killer Whale – January 16

Halloween 2018’s Virginia Gardner, Mel Jarnson, and Mitchell Hope star in an aquatic thriller that sees a beach getaway upended by not a shark, but a killer whale. Jo-Anne Brechin (Designing Christmas With You) directs from a script co-written with Katharine E. McPhee.

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Night Patrol – January 16

An LAPD officer puts aside differences with the local street gangs when he discovers the local force is harboring a dangerous secret in the latest from Lowlife and V/H/S/94 director Ryan Prows. Justin Long, CM Punk, Jermaine Fowler, RJ Cyler, Freddie Gibbs, YG, Flying Lotus, Dermot Mulroney, Jon Oswald, and Nicki Micheaux star.

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Dooba Dooba – January 23

A babysitting gig grows increasingly uncomfortable by the child’s baffling behavior in the found footage horror movie from Ehrland Hollingsworth. Dooba Dooba was shot entirely on an in-home security camera and draws on elements of analog horror popularized on YouTube. 

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Mother of Flies – January 23

A young woman facing mortality ventures into the woods to escape death in the latest from filmmaking trio Toby Poser, John Adams, and Zelda Adams (Hellbender, Where the Devil Roams, Hell Hole), collectively known as the Adams Family. Lulu Adams also stars in the witchy tale.

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Return to Silent Hill – January 23

Director Christophe Gans returns to the Silent Hill franchise with an adaptation of the beloved game Silent Hill 2. Jeremy Irvine is James, alongside Hannah Emily Anderson as Mary Crane. You live here now…

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Iron Lung – January 30

A convict navigates an ocean of blood on a desolate moon via submarine in a desperate search for survival resources. Content creator Markiplier self-releases his self-financed adaptation of the indie horror game created by David Szymanski, named by Bloody Disgusting as one of the Best Indie Horror Video Games You Might’ve Missed in 2022.

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Send Help – January 30

 

Sam Raimi (The Evil Dead, Drag Me to Hell) is back in the director’s seat with the darkly comedic psychological thriller written by Damian Shannon & Mark Swift (Friday the 13th, Freddy vs Jason). Linda Liddle (Rachel McAdams) and Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien) find themselves dealing with violent work grievances once marooned on an island.

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Worldbreaker – January 30

Director Brad Anderson (Session 9, The Machinist) teams with stars Luke Evans (Dracula Untold) and Milla Jovovich (Resident Evil franchise) on a post-apocalyptic sci-fi action thriller that puts a family in the crosshairs of a monster siege that’s destroying humanity.

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Dracula – February 6 

Luc Besson (Léon: The Professional, The Fifth Element) puts his own spin on the literary classic, with Caleb Landry Jones (Get Out) as the bloodsucking prince. Christoph Waltz (Django Unchained) and Zoë Bleu also star; Danny Elfman (Batman, Beetlejuice) composed the score.

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The Strangers: Chapter 3 – February 6

Renny Harlin’s reboot trilogy comes to a close, with Madelaine Petsch returning as Maya for the final girl’s ultimate confrontation with the masked killers. Gabriel Basso (Super 8), Ema Horvath (“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”), Pablo Sandstrom, and Richard Brake (Barbarian) round out the cast.

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Whistle – February 6

 The Nun director Corin Hardy is back with cursed object horror movie Whistle, which sees high school teens dealing with a deadly curse they unwittingly unleash when they discover an Aztec Death Whistle. Dafne Keen (Logan, “The Acolyte “), Sophie Nélisse (“Yellowjackets”), Sky Yang (Rebel Moon), Percy Hynes White (“Wednesday”), and Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead) star.

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Cold Storage – February 13

A quiet nightshift turns deadly when a parasitic fungus escapes from the lowest sublevel of a buried military base in the horror-comedy adaptation of the novel by David Koepp (Jurassic Park, Death Becomes Her). Liam Neeson, Joe Keery (“Stranger Things “) and Georgina Campbell (Barbarian, The Watchers) star in the film helmed by Jonny Campbell (Netflix’s Dracula). 

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Honey Bunch – February 13

Violation filmmakers Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli’s twisted love story tests a couple’s marriage when they check in at an experimental medical facility in a bid to reverse amnesia. Instead, mistrust ensues as signs emerge that the place isn’t what it appears. Grace Glowicki (Dead Lover), Ben Petrie (Dead Lover), Jason Isaacs (“The White Lotus”, Event Horizon), Kate Dickie (The Witch), India Brown (“Invasion”), and Julian Richings (Beau is Afraid, Anything for Jackson) star.

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Psycho Killer – February 20

A Kansas highway patrol officer tracks her husband’s murderer, one far more depraved and sadistic than she could’ve predicted in the Satanic slasher directed by Gavin Polone (Zombieland, Panic Room) and written by  Andrew Kevin Walker (Sleepy Hollow).  Georgina Campbell, James Preston Rogers (The Blackening), Grace Dove (The Revenant), Logan Miller (Escape Room), and Malcolm McDowell (Halloween, A Clockwork Orange) star.

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Redux Redux – February 20

Irene Kelly travels through parallel universes, killing her daughter’s murderer over and over again, putting her humanity at stake in the sci-fi revenge thriller written and directed by brothers Kevin McManus and Matthew McManus (The Block Island Sound). Michaela McManus (“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit”), Jim Cummings (Halloween Kills), Jeremy Holm (“Mr. Robot”), Taylor Misiak (“Dave”), Grace Van Dien (“Stranger Things”), and newcomer Stella Marcus star.

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This is Not a Test – February 20

Writer/Director Adam MacDonald (Out Come the Wolves, Pyewacket) adapts the 2012 young adult novel of the same name by Courtney Summers, which follows a group of high schoolers as the zombie apocalypse erupts mid-class. The YA horror movie stars Olivia Holt (Heart Eyes), Froy Gutierrez (The Strangers), Luke MacFarlane (“Bros”), Corteon Moore (“From”), Chloe Avakian (“Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy”), and Carson MacCormac (Clown in a Cornfield).

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Scream 7 – February 27

Neve Campbell is back as Sidney Prescott, with the character taking center stage when Ghostface targets her daughter (Isabel May) in the seventh installment. She’ll be joined by returning players, including David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Scott Foley, and Matthew Lillard, with Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown also set to reprise their roles from the previous two installments. Original Scream writer Kevin Williamson directs from a script by Guy Busick (Scream 2022, Scream VI) and Williamson.

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The Bride! – March 6

Christian Bale is Frankenstein’s Monster and Jessie Buckley is the Bride of Frankenstein in director Maggie Gyllenhaal’s 1930s radical reimagining inspired by James Whale’s classic horror movie. One that will put the Bride first in her own story. The film also stars Peter Sarsgaard, Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal, and Oscar winner Penélope Cruz.

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undertone – March 13

A paranormal podcast host finds more than she bargained for when she moves into her dying mother’s house to become her primary caregiver. The slow-burn liminal horror film stars Nina Kiri (“The Handmaid’s Tale”), Kris Holden-Ried (“The Umbrella Academy”), Michèle Duquet (The Virgin Suicides), Keana Lyn Bastidas (“The Hardy Boys”), and Jeff Yung (The Shrouds).

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Alpha – March 27

The world collapses the day 13-year-old Alpha returns home with a tattoo on her arm in the latest from writer/director  Julia Ducournau (Raw, Titane). Golshifteh Farahani (The Patience Stone) and Tahar Rahim (“The Serpent”) star.

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Hunting Matthew Nichols – March 27

Markian Tarasiuk’s directorial debut takes a pseudo-documentary approach and follows a sister searching for her brother, Matthew, who vanished in 2001 while filming a Blair Witch Project-inspired investigation into a local cult legend. Tarasiuk stars as himself alongside Miranda MacDougall and Ryan Alexander McDonald.

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 Ready or Not: Here I Come – March 27

Ready or Not star Samara Weaving, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett, and writers Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy are all back for the sequel that picks up moments after the last film. A new game ensues, this time with Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Néstor Carbonell, David Cronenberg, Elijah Wood, Kevin Durand, Olivia Cheng, Varun Saranga, and Daniel Beirne joining the explosive fun.

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They Will Kill You – March 27

Zazie Beetz (Joker, Wounds) stars as a woman who answers a housekeeping ad for a New York high-rise, unaware that its inhabitants tend to go missing. Kirill Sokolov (Why Don’t You Just Die!) directs from a script co-written with Alex Litvak. The film also stars Myha’la (Bodies Bodies Bodies), Patricia Arquette, Heather Graham, and Tom Felton. Considering Ready or Not 2 shifted into the same release date, They Will Kill You may likely shift release dates.

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Lee Cronin’s The Mummy – April 17

Evil Dead Rise director Lee Cronin gives his unique spin on the Mummy movie, with plot details under wraps. Jack Reynor (Midsommar) and Laia Costa (“The Wheel of Time”) star in the fresh take on the classic monster.

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Apex – April 24

Charlize Theron will be fighting for her life next year in the Netflix survival thriller described as Free Solo meets Silence of the Lambs. Theron stars as a rock climber being hunted by a killer played by Taron Egerton (Carry-On). Baltasar Kormákur (Touch) directs from a script by Jeremy Robbins (“The Purge“ television series).  Eric Bana (Deliver Us from Evil) also stars. 

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Deep Water – May 1

International passengers en route to Shanghai from LA instead find themselves in shark-infested waters in the new shark thriller from Deep Blue Sea director Renny Harlin. It stars Aaron Eckhart and Ben Kingsley, with Molly Wright (The Best Christmas Pageant Ever), Angus Sampson (Insidious), Kelly Gale (Plane), and Li Wenhan from K-pop group UNIQ.

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Hokum – May 1

Adam Scott (“Severance”) stars as a reclusive novelist disturbed by witchy tales at an Irish inn. The new nightmare from Oddity writer/director Damian McCarthy also stars Peter Coonan (“The Alienist: Angel of Darkness”), David Wilmot (“Station Eleven”), Florence Ordesh (“Departure”), Will O’Connell (“Game of Thrones”), and Michael Patric (“Frontier”).

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Obsession – May 15

A hopeless romantic gets far more than he bargained for after breaking the mysterious One Wish Willow to win his crush’s heart. Writer/Director Curry Barker (Milk & Serial) brings the scares and intensity in this wish-fulfillment horror movie starring Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson, Megan Lawless, and Andy Richter. Prepare to meet your newest horror Obsession.

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Disclosure Day – June 12

Steven Spielberg is back in the science fiction world with Disclosure Day, written by frequent Spielberg collaborator David Koepp. The film stars SAG winner and Oscar® nominee Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer, A Quiet Place), Emmy and Golden Globe winner Josh O’Connor (Challengers, The Crown), Oscar® winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, Kingsman franchise), Eve Hewson (Bad Sisters, The Perfect Couple), and two-time Oscar® nominee Colman Domingo (Sing Sing, Rustin).

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Scary Movie 6 – June 12

Miramax and Paramount are bringing the beloved horror spoof franchise back, and they’re getting the gang back together in celebration. Original creators Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, and Keenen Ivory Wayans are back, and so are Regina Hall, Anna Faris, Lochlyn Munro, Dave Sheridan, and Jon Abrahams. 

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Shiver – July 3

What’s Fourth of July without sharks? Plot details are scarce for this shark thriller that stars Phoebe Dynevor (Fair Play), Whitney Peak (Hocus Pocus 2), and Djimon Hounsou (A Quiet Place: Part II). But it’s the director that signals violent fun ahead: Tommy Wirkola (Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Dead Snow, Violent Night).

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Evil Dead Burn – July 24

Director Sébastien Vaniček (Infested) aims to deliver one nasty Evil Dead movie, “a film that hurts.“ Souheila Yacoub (Dune: Part Two), Hunter Doohan (“Wednesday”), Luciane Buchanan (“The Night Agent”), and Tandi Wright (Pearl) star.

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Flowervale Street – August 14

Up next from director David Robert Mitchell (It Follows) is a mysterious genre movie for J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot that’s rumored to feature dinosaurs. Anne Hathaway, Ewan McGregor, Maisy Stella, and Christian Convery star in the film described as a “thrill ride.”

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Insidious: The Bleeding World – August 21

Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) is back in the latest sequel, destined to venture into the Further once more to stomp some ghost butt.  Jacob Chase (Come Play) helms the sixth installment starring Amelia Eve (“The Haunting of Bly Manor”), Brandon Perea (Nope), Maisie Richardson-Sellers (“Legends of Tomorrow”), Sam Spruell (“Fargo”), and Island Austin. Chase co-wrote the script with David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (The Conjuring 2, Orphan).

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Clayface – September 11

DC is giving Batman villain Clayface the body horror treatment that’s being compared to David Cronenberg’s The Fly. James Watkins (The Woman in Black, Speak No Evil) directs from a script by Mike Flanagan (“The Haunting of Hill House,“ Doctor Sleep) and Hossein Amini (Drive). Tom Rhys Harries (The Gentlemen) and Naomi Ackie (Blink Twice) star.

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Resident Evil – September 18

Zach Cregger takes on the Resident Evil franchise with a new entry designed to take the film back to the IP’s horror roots, one that won’t be too beholden to the lore. Kali Reis (“True Detective: Night Country”), Zach Cherry (“Severance”), Johnno Wilson (“Twisted Metal”), Austin Abrams (Weapons), and Paul Walter Hauser (The Naked Gun) are among the cast.

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Other Mommy – October 9

Up next from director Rob Savage (Host) is an adaptation of Josh Malerman’s (Bird Box) horror novel that follows 8-year-old Bela, who lives in a home strained by her parents’ troubled marriage, only to see her life further upended by a sinister entity she calls “Other Mommy.“  Arabella Olivia Clark (The Housemaid), Jessica Chastain (IT: Chapter Two, Crimson Peak), Jay Duplass (“The Creep Tapes “), Dichen Lachman (“Severance”, Jurassic World: Dominion), Sean Kaufman (“The Summer I Turned Pretty”), and Adam Silver (Velvet Buzzsaw) star.

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Whalefall – October 16

Austin Abrams stars as a diver in search of his deceased father’s remains who gets swallowed by an 80-foot, 60-ton sperm whale and has only one hour before his oxygen runs out. Brian Duffield (No One Will Save You) directs 20th Century Studios’ aquatic survival thriller from a script he co-wrote with Daniel Kraus, based on Kraus’ 2023 novel. Josh Brolin,  Elisabeth Shue (“The Boys”), Jane Levy (Evil Dead), John Ortiz (Kong: Skull Island), and Emily Rudd (Fear Street Part Two: 1978) also star.

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Remain – October 23

A grieving architect moves to Cape Cod for work after leaving a psychiatric facility, where he meets a mysterious woman in the supernatural romance thriller from M. Night Shyamalan, based on the novel he co-wrote with author Nicholas Sparks (The Notebook, A Walk to Remember). Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko), Phoebe Dynevor (“Bridgerton”), and Ashley Walters (“Adolescence”) lead the cast.

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Violent Night 2 – December 4

Santa Claus (David Harbour) is back and ready to smash skulls in the follow-up to 2022’s yuletide action thriller. Director Tommy Wirkola is also back to direct, alongside returning writers Pat Casey and Josh Miller. Daniela Melchiorand Kristen Belljoin the sequel.

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Werwulf – December 25

The next movie from director Robert Eggers (The Witch, Nosferatu) is a 13th-century period piece described as a medieval horror movie. In it, a werewolf terrorizes a foggy countryside. The filmmaker co-wrote the screenplay for Werwulf alongside Sjón, the Icelandic poet and novelist who previously co-wrote the Viking movie The Northman with Eggers. The filmmaker reteams with Nosferatu stars Willem Dafoe, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, and Lily-Rose Depp.

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The Backrooms – TBD

Kane Parsons’ massively viral YouTube horror universe, known as The Backrooms, is headed to the big screen courtesy of A24. It stars Creep actor Mark Duplass, Finn Bennett (“True Detective”), Lukita Maxwell (Afraid), Avan Jogia (Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City), Chiwetel Ejiofor, and Renate Reinsve. Considering production took place over the summer of 2025, odds are likely this liminal horror movie will appear sometime in 2026.

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Bodycam – TBD

When two police officers show up to investigate a domestic dispute, a startling escalation leads to a tragic accident. Not wanting to be crucified by the public, the officers attempt to cover it up – only to reveal that their body cameras aren’t the only things watching them. The latest from Night of the Reaper director Brandon Christensen is set to arrive on Shudder in 2026.

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Crazy Old Lady – TBD

On a stormy evening, Pedro receives a desperate call from his ex-girlfriend asking him to look after her senile mother, Alicia. What begins as a simple favor soon turns into a terrifying ordeal when Alicia refuses to let him leave. Trapped in the house, he’s forced to play along with her sadistic games to survive the night. Crazy Old Lady will head to Shudder sometime in 2026.

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Dolly – TBD

A young woman, Macy, fights for survival after being abducted by a deranged, monster-like figure who wants to raise Macy as their child in this grimy 70s-style horror movie from director Rod Blackhurst. Fabianne Therese, Seann William Scott, Ethan Suplee, and Max the Impaler star.

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Forbidden Fruits – TBD

Free Eden employee Apple secretly runs a witchy femme cult in the basement of the mall store after hours – with fellow fruits Cherry and Fig. But when new hire Pumpkin challenges their performative sisterhood, the women are forced to face their own poisons or succumb to a bloody fate in this Diablo Cody-produced horror comedy. Lili Reinhart leads a cast that includes Lola Tung, Victoria Pedretti, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Chamberlain, and Gabrielle Union.

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The Mortuary Assistant – TBD

A recent Mortician graduate discovers a sinister presence when she begins the night shift at her new job in this video game adaptation. The film is being directed by Jeremiah Kipp (Slapface) and co-written by Tracee Beebe (Dog Years) and game designer Brian Clarke. Willa Holland (“Arrow”) and Emmy Award Nominee Paul Sparks (“Boardwalk Empire”) star in the undated Shudder release.

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Orphans – TBD

Isabelle Fuhrman returns as Esther in the upcoming prequel, also starring Stephen Moyer (“True Blood”), Susanne Wuest (Goodnight Mommy), and Simon Man (“Westworld”). William Brent Bell (Orphan: First Kill, The Boy) directs Orphans from a script by David Coggeshall (Orphan: First Kill, The Haunting in Connecticut 2: Ghosts of Georgia).

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Over Your Dead Body – TBD 

Samara Weaving and Jason Segel star as a couple who embark on a weekend getaway with secret plans to murder each other in the remake of Tommy Wirkola’s darkly comedic thriller The Trip. The film, adapted by Nick Kocher and Brian McElhaney, features an all-star lineup also including Timothy Olyphant, Juliette Lewis, Paul Guilfoyle, and Keith Jardine. The Lonely Island’s Jorma Taccone directs.

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River – TBD

Genre favorites Jane Levy (Evil Dead) and Jessica Rothe (Happy Death Day) will face off against a masked killer in this Shudder release heading to theaters sometime in 2026. Max Mattern (“Devil in Disguise: John Wayne Gacy”) and Dane DiLiegro (Prey) also star in the feature debut of writer/director Joshua Giuliano.

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The Young People – TBD

Filmmaker Osgood Perkins continues his partnership with Neon with their fourth collaboration. Plot details are scarce, but it’s said to follow school friends, one of whom begins exhibiting strange behavior. Lola Tung and Nico Parker lead the ensemble, which also includes Nicole Kidman, Brendan Hines, Cush Jumbo, Heather Graham, Johnny Knoxville, Lexi Minetree, Lily Collias, and Tatiana Maslany.

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What are you most looking forward to in 2026?