Horror (genre)

From 'Scream 7' to 'Psycho Killer,' 15 horror movies to watch in 2026

Ready or not, here comes the return of Ghostface – and a 'Ready or Not' sequel! See these movies to stay scared all year.

USA TODAY

Updated Feb. 12, 2026, 4:12 p.m. ET

Yes, Ghostface is menacing cinemas once again. No, you don't have to worry about having enough Halloween candy.

While October is still officially scary movie season, horror films have become year-round treats. Already in 2026, we've had another "28 Years Later" outing, plus some impressive box-office numbers from Sam Raimi survival gore-fest "Send Help" and indie-hit video-game adaptation "Iron Lung."

This month is known more for a Valentine's Day deluge of rom-coms. But not only does it boast a Friday the 13th, February is also packed with chillers, unleashing a seventh installment of the long-running "Scream" franchise and introducing a new psycho killer in, yep, "Psycho Killer." A "Ready or Not" sequel arrives in March, and then we have a new "Scary Movie" flick to look forward to in June before a revamped "Resident Evil" and Jessica Chastain's supernatural "Other Mommy" hits in the fall and Robert Eggers' werewolf flick "Werwulf" bites on Christmas Day.

Here are 15 films horror fans will want to check out in movie theaters between now and the summer.

'Cold Storage' (Feb. 13)

Joe Keery and Georgina Campbell star in "Cold Storage" as young employees of a self-storage company built on the site of an old U.S. military base, where a parasitic fungus escapes from below while they're on duty.

In the sci-fi horror comedy, Teacake (Joe Keery) and Naomi (Georgina Campbell) work at a self-storage company built upon a former military base. A nasty parasitic fungus breaks loose from below, and the two youngsters team with an aging bioterror operative (Liam Neeson) to keep the mind-controlling, organ-bursting carnage to a minimum.

'The Dreadful' (Feb. 20)

After the death of her husband, Anne (Sophie Turner) reunites with old friend Jago (Kit Harington) while a mysterious knight begins to cause worry in the medieval horror film "The Dreadful."

"Game of Thrones" alums Sophie Turner and Kit Harington reunite for a medieval gothic tale. Anne (Turner) learns her husband has died in the war, and she's torn between Jago (Harington), a man she reconnects with from her past, and her overbearing mother-in-law (Marcia Gay Harden). Oh, and there's a cursed killer knight of mysterious origin running around, too.

'Psycho Killer' (Feb. 20)

James Preston Rogers plays the Satanic Slasher, a masked serial murderer pursued by a police officer after the brutal death of her husband in the horror movie "Psycho Killer."

After her cop husband dies at the hands of a serial killer known as the Satanic Slasher (James Preston Rogers), a Kansas highway patrol officer (Georgina Campbell) heads out on a dogged quest to track down the masked maniac. The investigation into his extremely sick mind turns up something seriously sinister afoot.

'This Is Not a Test' (Feb. 20)

Olivia Holt stars as a teenager who winds up trapped in her high school with other students during the zombie apocalypse in "This Is Not a Test."

Based on the Courtney Summers young-adult novel, this undead take on "The Breakfast Club" stars Olivia Holt as a teenage girl whose hometown suddenly is beset by a zombie apocalypse. She and a group of fellow students hole up in their high school for safety but have to figure out how far they'll go to protect themselves and each other.

'Scream 7' (Feb. 27)

Original franchine heroine Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is enjoying life in her quiet new town when an old foe returns in "Scream 7."

Ultimate final girl Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has built a new life for herself in a quiet Indiana town, and everything's fine until Ghostface comes calling. Whoever's behind the mask this time targets Sidney's teenage daughter (Isabel May) in the seventh "Scream" installment – and the first directed by original writer Kevin Williamson.

'The Bride!' (March 6)

Frank (Christian Bale) and his reanimated bride (Jessie Buckley) are the Bonnie and Clyde of Maggie Gyllenhaal's wild monster movie "The Bride!"

In Maggie Gyllenhaal's genre-smashing, 1930s-set spin on "The Bride of Frankenstein," patchwork creation Frank (Christian Bale) wants a mate. A young dead woman is renanimated to be his Bride (Jessie Buckley), yet she also wants to be her own monster as the two bond, dance and go on an epic crime spree.

'Undertone' (March 13)

Nina Kiri stars as the skeptic host of a paranormal podcast who's sent strange and haunting recordings in the horror movie "Undertone."

A movie that aims to creep you out both in sight and sound. Evy (Nina Kiri) is the host, and resident skeptic, of a popular paranormal podcast, yet also is caring for her dying mom. She's sent a set of 10 eerie recordings of a pregnant couple dealing with strange noises in their home, and they affect Evy in personally terrifying fashion.

'Forbidden Fruits' (March 20)

Pumpkin (Lola Tung, far left) is welcomed into a witchy cult by Cherry (Victoria Pedretti), Fig (Alexandra Shipp) and Apple (Lili Reinhart) in the horror comedy "Forbidden Fruits."

The horror comedy stars Lili Reinhart as Apple, a mall worker who runs a witchy all-female cult with her friends (Alexandra Shipp and Victoria Pedretti) out of her store's basement. Apple recruits recent hire Pumpkin (Lola Tung) to be part of her weird girl gang but none of them are prepared for this poisonous newcomer.

'Ready or Not 2: Here I Come' (March 20)

Grace (Samara Weaving, left) and her estranged sister Faith (Kathryn Newton) have to survive being hunted in the horror-comedy sequel "Ready or Not 2: Here I Come."

In 2019's "Ready or Not," newlywed Grace (Samara Weaving) survived a bloody night where her satanic cult of in-laws tried to ritually sacrifice her. Now she and her sister Faith (Kathryn Newton) are marked for death and hunted by ultra-wealthy influential families in a power-grabbing game.

'Alpha' (March 27)

Golshifteh Farahani (top) plays a mom worried her daughter (Mélissa Boros) has contracted a new and highly contagious blood-borne disease after getting a tattoo in the body horror movie "Alpha."

"Raw" director Julia Ducournau is back in body horror mode for this HIV/AIDS allegory. Golshifteh Farahani stars as a doctor who works in a hospital ward treating people affected by a blood-borne disease that turns them into marble, and she's worried her teen daughter (Mélissa Boros) has the ailment after coming home from a party with a tattoo.

'They Will Kill You' (March 27)

Zazie Beetz stars as a woman who answers an ad for a housekeeping job in a Manhattan high-rise and the whole place tries to murder her in "They Will Kill You."

Zazie Beetz stars in the action-packed horror comedy as a new housekeeper at a posh Manhattan high-rise. On her first night, she learns that it's actually a temple to Satan and she's the offering du jour for a building full of people trying to kill her. What they're not expecting is her returning fire with fighting skills honed in the prison yard.

'Faces of Death' (April 10)

Scenes of murderous acts are par for the course in "Faces of Death," a meta reimagining of the controversial 1970s cult film.

In a reimagining of the infamous 1978 horror film, Barbie Ferreira stars as a content moderator at an online video platform who happens upon what seems to be reenactments of murders from the original movie. She has to figure out what's real and what's not in a meta narrative that also features Dacre Montgomery and Charli XCX.

'Lee Cronin's The Mummy' (April 17)

The sudden return of a young girl (Natalie Grace) eight years after disappearing in the desert is a source of nightmares instead of joy in director Lee Cronin's "The Mummy."

Director Lee Cronin ("Evil Dead Rise") does his version of the classic monster movie. Young Katie (Natalie Grace), the daughter of a journalist (Jack Reynor), disappears in the desert. Her family is shocked when she suddenly reappears eight years later. What happened? Nothing good, as her return is more horror show than happy reunion.

'Hokum' (May 1)

Adam Scott stars as a reclusive novelist who travels to a remote Irish inn to scatter his parents’ ashes and learns of an ancient witch that haunts the honeymoon suite in "Hokum."

Beware where you holiday, folks. In the supernatural thriller, Ohm Bauman (Adam Scott) is a horror writer who travels to an Irish inn in the middle of nowhere to scatter his parents' ashes. The staff tells tales of an ancient witch that haunts the place's honeymoon suite, causing the novelist to have disturbing visions and face his dark past.

'Obsession' (May 15)

Bear (Michael Johnston) makes a wish that his crush Nikki (Inde Navarrette) would love him more than anything in the world, and it works a little too well in the horror movie "Obsession."

The gonzo "monkey's paw" tale centers on Bear (Michael Johnston), who crushes hard on co-worker Nikki (Inde Navarrette). With a throwback trinket that gives out one wish, he yearns for her to love him more than anything in the world. It works to a terrifying degree, as she becomes an unsettling mix of super-clingy girlfriend and unhinged psycho demon.

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