The Best Horror Movies of 2026 (So Far)

“Thrash”

We are living in a golden age of killer shark movies. After 2024’s “Under Paris” about sharks that invade the Olympics and last year’s oddly underrated “Dangerous Animals,” starring Jai Courtney as a psychopath who feeds his victims to sharks, we get a new thriller about gilled terror. In “Thrash,” a historic hurricane brings more than flooded basements; it brings a shiver (yes, that’s the actual name for a group of sharks) to a small southern town.

Tommy Wirkola’s fitfully entertaining film, originally meant as a theatrical release from Sony, he adopts the loose structure of a 1970’s disaster movie, following disparate characters (an agoraphobic young girl, a woman on the verge of giving birth, some kids trying to outsmart their abusive foster parents) and combines it with the chills of a creature feature, embroidered with some socially conscious commentary about climate change and invasive species (courtesy of producer Adam McKay). New to Netflix and already a hit, we’re dreaming about “Thrash 2.”

“Send Help”

Genre legend Sam Raimi returned for an original thriller, and even though it never quite tips into horror, there’s enough horrific stuff on display to have it make the list. But just barely. Dylan O’Brien plays a casually cruel boss and Rachel McAdams his meek underling, but after their private plane crashes on the way to a corporate engagement, the plane goes down and leaves them both stranded on a deserted island. McAdams is a bit of a survivalist (she’s prepared to be a contestant on “Survivor”) and adapts to the conditions on the island quicker than her boss, who turns out to be utterly helpless.

There are more twists and turns from there – some expected, some from left field, each delightful and scary and wickedly funny. “Send Help” is a welcome return for Raimi – to an original story, to the kind of movie that made him such a beloved figure, and to an R-rating. Just the best.

“Faces of Death”

“Faces of Death,” a hilarious, horrific meta commentary on our current obsession with watching horrible videos on our phones (that also wittily interpolates the 1978 original), had a tough time getting to the big screen. But it was all worth it. Because it’s not only one of the best horror movies of the year but it’s also one of the best movies of 2026, period.

Barbie Ferreira plays a content moderator who starts noticing videos that are remaking elements from the original “Faces of Death” movie, only this time they are real murders. She attempts to flag them but is told to leave them alone, which sends her on a dangerous quest to uncover the killer (Dacre Montgomery from “Stranger Things”) and set things right. Writer/director Daniel Goldhaber and co-writer Isa Mazzei clearly have much to say about the way that we cruelly consume content, but they are also perfectly happy to stage ace set pieces and have a ton of fun. What a movie.

“Forbidden Fruits”

Meredith Alloway’s feature directorial debut, which features a coven operating out of a Free People star in a sterile suburban mall, is bitchy and witchy and all sorts of fun. For a while, “Forbidden Fruits,” which was produced by Diablo Cody (whose “Jennifer’s Body” is an obvious forebearer), churns along as a “Mean Girls”-adjacent story of the cool girls (led by Lili Rinehart) and less-than-cool girls (exemplified by Lola Tung), jockeying for power in a modern landscape that is all too ready to pit them against each other. But then it starts to twist – first into a murder mystery and then into something much more bizarre and sinister. By the time it reaches its blood-soaked climax, the beginning of the movie doesn’t just seem miles away but like a distant memory.

The journey of “Forbidden Fruits” is just one of its pleasures, since there are many – the prickly performances, sharp direction, excellent needle drops and plentiful gore, all help to add up to a movie that deserves to be a part of the cult canon, no matter what anybody says.

“Cold Storage”

With “Cold Storage,” David Koepp, the most successful screenwriter in Hollywood history, adapted himself. More specifically, he adapted his whip-smart novel of the same name. “Cold Storage,” which borrows equally from “Clerks” and “Return of the Living Dead,” pits a pair of slackers (Joe Keery and Georgina Campbell) against a killer biological agent that has been buried underneath the all-night storage place where they work. This fungus, which might remind you of “The Last of Us,” turns you into a creepy ghoul that might explode at any given moment. Yes, that lends itself a lot of gooey fun.

Liam Neeson plays the military professional who has dealt with the fungus before and his presence in the movie feels like a pointed joke – the man who has starred in 100 action movies has little bearing on the actual plot, leaving it up to the twentysomethings to figure it out. “Cold Storage” had a minimal theatrical release but will be out on 4K disc soon. And it deserves to be in your collection. It feels like something you would take home from the video store on a Friday night, based on the title and the cover alone. An underrated gem that deserves to be rediscovered – or discovered in the first place.

“28 Years Later: The Bone Temple”

The follow-up to Danny Boyle’s absolutely astonishing legacy sequel (released last summer), “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” continued the story while also swapping directors (to “Candyman” remake director Nia DaCosta), composers (to Hildur Guðnadóttir) and cinematographers (hello Sean Bobbitt!) The sensation was familiar and new. And the screenplay for the second entry in a supposed trilogy, by the great Alex Garland, was surprising and shocking in unexpected ways.

We travel along two tracks as an audience, which is also very satisfying. On one path, we follow young Spike (Alfie Williams) as he falls in with a group of murderous weirdos led by Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell), while another parallel narrative tracks Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) and his attempt to tame (or maybe it’s befriend?) one of the local zombies he has named Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry). How these two threads collide is astonishing, with Fiennes giving an all-timer of a performance, and DaCosta nimbly dancing between the two storylines, along with multiple tones. Should there be a third film (and this one really ends on a cliffhanger, so we’re praying there will be), Boyle will return to direct. It could end up being one of the great cinematic trilogies about finding hope in the most desperate times. Something we can all relate to.

“Dracula”

After being released in France last summer, “Dracula” finally came to the United States. And it really is a hoot. French filmmaker Luc Besson, who helmed “The Fifth Element” and “Lucy,” emphasizes the romance elements of the Dracula story, with Dracula (Caleb Landry Jones) searching for the reincarnated form of his beloved (Zoë Bleu) through the centuries.

Besson borrows liberally from previous adaptations of the Bram Stoker story, from John Badham to Francis Ford Coppola to Tod Browning, while also injecting some flourishes all his own, like a gaggle of adorable gargoyles that tend to Dracula in his giant, empty castle. There’s nothing in “Dracula” that you haven’t seen before (and if you’re turned off by the recent allegations of sexual misconduct against Besson, fair enough) but it is a sweeping, sumptuous, relentlessly entertaining riff on the story, with a lush Danny Elfman score and some fine, filigreed performances (including Christoph Waltz as the Van Helsing stand-in). In other words, it doesn’t suck.

“Backrooms”

A24’s ingenious smash, based on a series of creepy online videos, is set largely in a creepy liminal space that goes on forever. (It is discovered, cleverly, behind a bargain basement furniture store.) Chiwetel Ejiofor plays the owner of the crappy furniture store, who soon becomes obsessed with this alternate world and recent Oscar nominee Renate Reinsve plays his therapist, who is also drawn into the strange, yellow-tinged corridors and angled chambers.

The strength of “Backrooms” is in its simplicity; director Kane Parsons, who did many of the earlier online videos, suggests a vast world cluttered with lore but is smart enough to not engage with almost any of it. It’s so satisfying to see a movie that is not encumbered by needless mythology or exposition, that coasts along on the strength of its creepy vibes and terrific lead performances. One of the surprise smashes of the year, the story of “Backrooms” will undoubtedly unspool for years to come. But unlike other would-be franchise starters, we cannot wait to learn more about the world. And Parsons, who was just 19 at the time that he shot the movie, seems like a genuine wunderkind, inspired as much by other horror movies as by videogames, YouTube clips, animation and architecture. He’s a one-of-a-kind and so is “Backrooms.”

“Her Private Hell”

It’s been 10 years since Nicolas Winding Refn’s last film – the glittery, fashion-world horror movie “The Neon Demon” that saw Elle Fanning hunted (and, spoiler alert, consumed) by predatory models played by Bella Heathcote and Abbey Lee. It was awesome.

But thankfully the 10-year wait was worth it. “Her Private Hell” feels, in some respects, like a continuation of “The Neon Demon.” Instead of a young model, the lead is Sophie Thatcher as a young starlet whose former lover (Havana Rose Liu) is now her stepmom. If you thought that is bad, there’s a black-leather-clad serial killer terrorizing the city and a mysterious poison fog that is enrobing her neon-trimmed skyscraper. Charles Melton, dressed like a 1950’s street tough, plays a mysterious American GI who is also hunting for the killer (he suspects that the leather man has abducted his daughter).

“Her Private Hell” is dazzling and singularly striking, a dream-logic odyssey through a made-up city full of Japanese gangsters, slippery operatives and ditzy starlets (the bubbly Kristine Froseth is the Fanning surrogate). The whole thing is set to a lush, overwhelming score by frequent Brian De Palma collaborator Pino Donaggio, which wraps “Her Private Hell” in velvety decadence. It might not be to everybody’s liking, but if you prefer your horror movies coated in glitter and studded diamonds, “Her Private Hell” will probably be your new favorite movie.

“Obsession”

The runaway success of the year is “Obsession,” a movie that was made for $750,000 and has grossed more than $429 million worldwide. And it’s easy to see why. “Obsession” has a strong central conceit – Bear (Michael Johnston), a nerdy music store employee, makes a wish on an occult store novelty for his adorable colleague Nikki (Inde Navarrette) to fall in love with him. Of course, things go terribly, murderously wrong. (Including one murder that was so intense it had to be trimmed to avoid an NC-17 rating. When was the last time that happened?)

Written, directed and edited by Curry Barker, a whiz kid who got his start in comedy and YouTube videos, “Obsession” has an agreeably grimy aesthetic, full of sickly colors and tight close-ups. But there’s also a puckish sense of humor to the whole thing, which makes it perfect for repeat viewings and clips to be shared on social media. Plus, Navarrette gives one of the most winning performances of the year. It’s rare these days to see an actress transform into a star before your eyes in a single movie. But that happened with “Obsession.” And she deserves everything that’s coming to her. No wish necessary.

“Resident Evil”

Of course Zach Cregger, director of “Barbarian” and “Weapons,” was going to make a “Resident Evil” that nestles comfortably in the world and mythology of the game, while doing something completely unique. It is also worth mentioning that it is miles better than any of the previous movie adaptations, including the long-running series shepherded by Paul W.S. Anderson and a loose reboot that came out a few years ago.

In “Resident Evil,” Austin Abrams plays a medical delivery guy who, one snowy evening, is tasked with taking a high-priority package to a hospital in Raccoon City. It just so happens that the night he ventures out on his quest is also the first night of the zombie apocalypse, unleashing all manner of messed-up monsters to slow him down and kill him. Cannily acknowledging its video game roots (why so many locked gates!) while also proving some lovely character moments, “Resident Evil” is all-gas, no-brakes fun, a horror extravaganza where there’s some gnarly creature lurking around every corner and no one – and we do mean no one – is safe from creepy-crawly terror. If we weren’t so interested in what original idea Cregger was concocting next, we’d be very excited for him to come back to this world and explore things further. It’s never too late to insert another game cartridge.

“Hokum”

Over the summer NEON released “Hokum,” which starred Adam Scott as a tortured novelist who checks into an extremely haunted house in rural Ireland, was mostly overlooked, with audiences instead focusing on viral sensations “Backrooms” and “Obsession.”

And it’s a shame, too, because “Hokum” is really, really great – the kind of sturdy, old-fashioned (but never dull!) ghost story that draws you in and keeps you there. Scott’s Ohm, who is visiting Ireland to distribute his late parents’ ashes and to attempt a conclusion to a hugely popular trilogy, is a huge jerk. The kind of character that every actor loves to play. But as he gets sucked into the mystery, both supernatural and earthly, his demeanor starts to soften; the edge starts to fade. And the character that lies underneath is vulnerable and susceptible to everything that the hotel throws at him. It must have been a lot of fun to play. Damian McCarthy, the filmmaker behind 2024’s “Oddity,” knows how to build a sequence and is smart enough to make things spooky but never trite, leaning on folklore and colorful characters, to create a beautiful, atmospheric tapestry. Now that it’s on streaming, don’t skip “Hokum.” Pretty soon you’ll be recommending it to all of your friends.

“Hope”

Na Hong-jin’s bonkers masterpiece, which premiered in competition for the Palme d’Or at Cannes this past summer, takes place in the late 1980s in the fictional town of Hope Harbor. Signs around the town warn of potential North Korean signs and the outskirts are dotted with landmines. But while they are more worried about invasion from the north, they should probably have been more worried about an invasion … from outer space.

Constructed around a series of breathless action set pieces, “Hope” follows various characters as they chase (or are chased by) rampaging creatures from beyond the stars. Part of what makes “Hope” such galvanizing cinema is the way that director Na stages the action, with long, sweeping shots that chart our characters (primarily a pair of cops and a band of local hunters) as they peer in buildings and around trees, chased by monsters as they ride horseback or careen through town in a police car. At more than two-and-a-half hours it’s one of the more expertly plotted movies you’re likely to see all year, as it mixes humor and horror, action with subtle social commentary, and delivers some of the biggest thrills and most incredible chases you’re ever likely to see. It’s a singular accomplishment.

“The X-Files: I Want to Believe — Vrach Frankenshteyn”

Last year, on David Duchovny’s podcast of all places, “The X-Files” creator Chris Carter let slip that there is a better, more intense, R-rated version of his much-maligned 2008 feature “The X-Files: I Want to Believe,” which Carter directed and co-wrote with longtime collaborator Frank Spotnitz. Earlier this year it looked like this version, which is wholly different than the extended cut that showed up on the film’s home video release, would finally premiere on Hulu. But the supposed date came and went, with Mulder (Duchovny) and Scully (Gillian Anderson) nowhere to be found.

Now, this new version, dubbed “The X-Files: I Want to Believe – Vrach Frankenshteyn,” is finally here. And we’re really hoping for the best here. The original cut of the movie was dreary and drab, a cheap-looking thriller that put Mulder and Scully on a case involving a pedophile priest with psychic abilities (Billy Connolly) and a weird group performing Frankenstein-esque experiments. It was an odd hodgepodge and not in a good, “X-Files”-y way. It was also a pale imitation of both the original series and the first movie, 1998’s excellent “The X-Files: Fight the Future.” In the years since the largely atrocious 2008 movie was released, the show has returned for an “event series” and a follow-up 11th season, to decidedly mixed results, ending with Anderson proclaiming that she was done with the franchise – for good this time. It’s unclear if this new cut of the movie will resurrect its reputation and put a new light on things, or if it will cement what we already felt about the movie – that some franchises aren’t worth revisiting.

“Onslaught”

What if Adam Wingard made a spiritual successor to his cult hit “The Guest,” but instead of a single super-soldier, he focused on a trio of super-soldiers that have had everything but a intense desire to kill everything they encounter bred out of them, unleashed on a small New Mexico town and a single mother trying to protect her young daughter? Now you’ve got “Onslaught,” the latest from Wingard and his frequent collaborator, writer Simon Barrett.

Adria Arjona plays Celeste, a former soldier turned RV park manager, who is taking care of her young daughter when three genetically modified killing machines show up at her door. Now she and her oddball group of misfit neighbors (including Eric Wareheim and Reginald VelJohnson) have to fend off the unstoppable killers. While the movie barely takes a breathe, it does fill in the margins with a number of colorful characters, including Dan Stevens as a Nazi-ish scientist, Rebecca Hall as his wife and handler, Michael Biehn as a military contractor and Drew Starkey as an operative called in to clean up the mess. Throw in an electro score clearly indebted to John Carpenter and some really nifty set pieces and you’ve got one of the more fun horror movies of the year.