Last year was a banner year for horror films, with a number of scary features like It, Get Out, and Split drawing critical raves and making loads of money at the box office. We’re hoping the horror renaissance continues in 2018, and with the below list of upcoming films, it looks like that’s all but guaranteed to happen. So take a look below at our 26 most anticipated horror movies of 2018.
*If you’re wondering why movies like The Predator, The Meg, and Annihilation are missing from this list, you can find them on our countdown of 2018 Sci-Fi and Fantasy Movies.
1. Mom and Dad – Jan. 19
For those who think Nicolas Cage is at his best when he’s acting completely bonkers (and that should be everyone), you should love this return to form which sees him and Selma Blair trying to kill their own children after a strange mass hysteria causes parents to go after their kids.
2. The Open House – Jan. 19
This Netflix original doesn’t appear to offer anything new in that it’s about another family moving to a new house that is apparently haunted, but it looks to be pretty well done.
3. Primal Rage – Jan. 26
The last time we were treated to a Bigfoot movie that was actually scary was probably 1972’s The Legend of Boggy Creek. This film looks to change that.
4. Winchester: The House That Ghosts Built – Feb. 2
Based on the true story of California’s mysterious Winchester Mansion, this spooky tale delves into the rumors regarding the site’s spiritual origins.
5. Hellraiser: Judgement – Feb. 13
The first Hellraiser film in some time looks to bring the long-running franchise back to basics.
6. The Lodgers – Feb. 23
This creepy tale sees two siblings held prisoner within their own home by a malevolent force.
7. The Strangers: Prey at Night – March 9
It’s been ten years since the release of The Strangers, one of the best home invasion horror films ever, so this highly-anticipated sequel is long overdue.
8. Unsane – March 23
Steven Soderbergh shot this psychological thriller, about a woman trapped in a mental institution, entirely on an iPhone.
9. The Endless – March 23
This Lovecraftian tale about a cult governed by an apparent supernatural force looks AMAZING.
10. A Quiet Place – April 6
Real life married couple Emily Blunt and John Krasinksi play… a married couple… who will be killed by a strange creature that lives outside their home if they make a sound. While it’s seemingly easy to poke a hole in the plot by asking why they don’t just move (though presumably this will be addressed in the film), the silence of the movie should make for a pretty unique and thrilling viewing experience.
11. Truth or Dare – April 13
A teen-aimed horror flick about a game of Truth or Dare gone wrong, everyone who was a dumb teenager at one point in their life should be able to relate.
12. Slender Man – May 18
The first trailer has already ignited controversy, and good or bad, this is sure to be one of the year’s most-discussed horror films.
13. The Purge: The Island – July 4
The fourth installment in the popular series is a prequel that promises to show how the Purge began. The fact that it takes place on Staten Island guarantees that it will be terrifying.
14. The Nun – July 13
Warner Bros. Pictures
Since The Conjuring franchise can seemingly do no wrong, the series’ demonic nun character is getting her own spinoff.
15. Cadaver – Aug. 24
Shay Mitchell plays a disgraced former cop who takes graveyard shift at a morgue, where she begins to witness horrifying things.
16. The Little Stranger – Aug. 31
This mysterious period piece from the director of Room stars Domhnall Gleeson as a 1940s doctor who makes an increasingly disturbing house call to a family.
17. Slaughterhouse Rulez – Sept. 7
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost, the duo behind genre-benders like Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, and The World’s End, are at it again with this comedy-horror about a sinkhole that unleashes something terrible at a prestigious boarding school.
18. The House with a Clock in Its Walls – Sept. 21
Jack Black is set to star in this Eli Roth-directed adaptation of the novel, about a kid who has to help his warlock uncle locate a clock that can end the world.
19. Halloween – Oct. 19
Universal Pictures
The long-running franchise attempt a course correction by ignoring every sequel since the 1979 original film, as Michael Myers returns to terrorize Jamie Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode.
20. The House That Jack Built – Nov. 29
This serial killer project from Lars von Trier stars Uma Thurman and is said to be incredibly disturbing, if that’s what you’re into.
21. Suspiria – TBD
This long-gestating remake of the 1977 Italian classic is set to finally see the light of day this year.
22. Summer of ‘84 – TBD
This throwback, which looks like a non-supernatural Stranger Things, hopes to capitalize on the current ’80s nostalgia craze.
23. Anna and the Apocalypse – TBD
It’s yet another zombie-comedy-Christmas-musical… oh wait, is that not a thing? Well, it is now.
24. The Cured – TBD
This twist on the zombie genre asks what happens when the affected are cured and re-enter society.
25. Ghost Stories – TBD
A professor investigates three separate ghost stories in this stage play adaptation.
26. Slice – TBD
This may be the most intriguing entry on the list, as the collaboration between A24 and Chance the Rapper boasts a retro-cool vibe and an enigmatic plot regarding someone — or something — murdering pizza delivery boys.
