We’re not even halfway through 2026, but it’s already shaping up to be a particularly strong year for new horror movies. Horror fans have been eating good over the past five months with plenty of spooky, chilling, twisted and intense new releases to enjoy.
Whatever your specific tastes in horror, be it sci-fi, supernatural, or psychological, there have been excellent new movies that are sure to frighten you. And the spookily good times don’t look like ending soon with upcoming horrors like “Passengers,” “Insidious: Out of the Further” and “Backrooms” on the way.
‘28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’
Director Nia DaCosta recently bemoaned the box office failure of “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” in an interview with Empire, and I have to agree. Maybe it was poor marketing, or a release date too close to its predecessor, or maybe the divisive (and, imo, awful) ending of “28 Years Later” turned audiences away. But whatever the reason, people just did not turn out for this sequel. Which is a huge shame, because it’s a fantastic follow-up.
The movie follows the returning Spike (Alfie Williams) as he’s inducted into Jimmy Crystal’s (Jack O’Connell) gang. Meanwhile, Dr. Ian Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) makes a discovery that could change the fate of the franchise’s post-apocalyptic Britain. O’Connell’s Jimmy is one of the decade’s most chilling villains, while Fiennes steals the show in a mesmerizing third-act sequence set to Iron Maiden. It’s dark, bleak and violent, but “The Bone Temple” will rattle around your head long after the credits.
Watch “28 Years Later: The Bone Temple” on Netflix now
‘Iron Lung’
“Iron Lung” is perhaps the odd one out on this list. I have my fair share of issues with this movie, not least of which is the chunky 125-minute runtime (shave 20 minutes off, and this is a much better movie), but audiences loved this sci-fi horror from YouTuber Mark “Markiplier” Fischbach. It’s 87% viewers’ score on Rotten Tomatoes proves it. I’m happy to give it a nod, based on the engaging nature of its setup, even if it slowly sinks under the pressure of sustaining the tension and atmosphere under so much bloat.
Based on the indie video game of the same name, “Iron Lung” is set in a distant future where an apocalyptic event known as the “Quiet Rapture” has caused all stars, planets and people to vanish. Only humans on space stations survived. Discovering a moon covered in an ocean of blood, convicts are forced to explore the depths, welded into a claustrophobic submarine. The flick follows Simon (Fischbach) on the latest mission.
Watch on “Iron Lung” on Prime Video (Buy/rent) from May 31
‘Send Help’
Sam Raimi is allowed completely off the chain in “Send Help,” and I love it. After dipping into the Marvel universe with “Doctor Strange 2,” and struggling to match his darkly playful side with the MCU’s rigid narrative and tonal continuity, this survival horror-thriller is Raimi doing what he does best, and having a ball. It’s packed with spooky moments, but also a wickedly sinister sense of comedy. Plus, it allows Rachel McAdams to shine in a role she feels tailor-made for, and Dylan O’Brien matches her energy.
Linda Liddle (McAdams) is a hard worker but struggles with playing the corporate game. She’s long been promised a promotion, only to have it cruelly taken away by her new boss, the arrogant, nepo baby Bradley Preston (Dylan O’Brien). When the two are stranded on a tropical island after a plane crash, their dynamic is flipped. Linda thrives on the island, while Bradley is basically useless. With no recuse in sight, tensions rise.
Watch “Send Help” on Hulu now
‘Hokum’
Irish filmmaker Damon McCarthy leaped onto my radar with his creepy horror “Oddity” in 2024, and his next (and most recent) genre effort is just as delightfully spooky. “Hokum” does stumble a little towards the end, with a finale that’s a tad more silly than scary, but there’s a solid chunk in this movie where I felt especially creeped out. And as a passionate horror fan, that’s not easy to do after years of being desensitized to the usual tricks.
Adam Scott sheds his lovable persona to play Ohm Bauman, an abrasive American author struggling to complete the final chapter of his trilogy-capping novel. To clear his writer’s block, he heads to a remote hotel in rural Ireland, which was also the site of his deceased parents’ honeymoon. Once on location, he’s told of an evil witch haunting the establishment’s plush suite, and like a fool, he ignores the warning to his own detriment.
Watch “Hokum” in theaters now
‘Obsession’
Curry Barker is out here giving Zach Creggler a run for this money. “Obsession” feels more than a little inspired by “Weapons” and “Barbarian,” and I mean that as a compliment. Like those acclaimed movies, it deftly balances comedy and horror. It’s a disturbing film, with some very intense gore, but it’s also darkly funny. Best of all is the performance from Inde Navarrette, who might give the best performance in a horror movie this side of Toni Collette in “Hereditary.” She should be in the Oscar frame.
Bear (Michael Johnston) is hopelessly infatuated with his longtime friend and colleague, Nikki (Navarrette). Too scared to admit his feelings, he wishes for Nikki to love him “more than anybody else” on a gift shop trinket that turns out to be the real deal. At first, he revels in getting the girl of his dreams, but his one wish comes with some seriously dark consequences, as Nikki begins acting strangely, and her obsession with Bear deepens.
Watch “Obsession” in theaters now
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