It’s that time again. With the calendar about to flip over to a fresh, new year, we have compiled a list of some of the most interesting horror movies that are scheduled to be released over the next twelve months. And here it is, the 2026 Horror Preview:
WE BURY THE DEAD – Theatrical, January 2
From Zak Hilditch, writer/director of the Stephen King adaptation 1922, comes “a story about grief, loss, and the undead.” Daisy Ridley of the Star Wars franchise takes on the role of Ava, a desperate woman whose husband is missing in the aftermath of a catastrophic military experiment. Hoping to find him alive, Ava joins a “body retrieval unit,” but her search takes a chilling turn when the corpses she’s burying start showing signs of life. Ridley is joined in the cast by Brenton Thwaites (Titans) and Mark Coles Smith (Mystery Road: Origin). JoBlo’s own Chris Bumbray had the chance to see the movie a while back and wasn’t overly impressed by it (you can read his 6/10 review HERE), writing that “with so much zombie content out there, it’s very difficult to add anything new to the genre. Inevitably, this movie doesn’t manage to overcome the familiarity of the genre, but even still, it is mostly entertaining for much of its running time thanks to the ace technical packaging and good performances from Ridley and Thwaites. It’s solid but unspectacular.”
PRIMATE – Theatrical, January 9
At the helm of Primate is genre regular Johannes Roberts, who has previously directed Hellbreeder, Darkhunters, Forest of the Damned, F, Roadkill, Storage 24, The Other Side of the Door, 47 Meters Down, The Strangers: Prey at Night, 47 Meters Down: Uncaged, and Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City. He also contributed a segment to the horror anthology V/H/S/99. Roberts has written the Primate screenplay with his frequent collaborator Ernest Riera. In this one, a group of friends’ tropical vacation turns into a terrifying primal tale of horror and survival. If you’d like more information on what’s going on, you can check out the 8/10 review from JoBlo’s own Mike Holtz at THIS LINK. He described the film as “an unapologetic blood bath of fun” that’s about a rabies-crazed chimp. Oscar-winner Troy Kotsur (CODA) stars alongside Johnny Sequoyah (Dexter: New Blood), Jessica Alexander (Amadeus), Victoria Wyant (My Fault: London), Benjamin Cheng (d’ILLUSION: The Houdini Musical), Gia Hunter (Sherlock and Daughter), Miguel Torres Umba (National Theatre co-production Kin), Kae Alexander (Ready Player One), Tienne Simon (Grime Kids), Charlie Mann (Lazarus), newcomer Amina Abdi, and Albert Magashi (National Theatre Live: Dear England).
28 YEARS LATER PART II: THE BONE TEMPLE – Theatrical, January 16
28 Days Later director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Alex Garland finally reunited to make a sequel to their zombie (or if you prefer infected people) movie classic. 28 Years Later, which was meant to launch a whole trilogy of 28 Days Later sequels, reached theatres at the end of June 2025 and the second chapter in the trilogy, 28 Years Later Part II: The Bone Temple, will help us kick off the new year. Garland also wrote the screenplays for the sequels that will come after 28 Years Later, but Boyle passed the helm over to Candyman and The Marvels director Nia DaCosta for the sequel. (He might circle back for the trilogy capper.) A lot of viewers seemed to find 28 Years Later to be underwhelming but the first reactions to the sequel have described the new film as brutal, bonkers, and brilliant.
KILLER WHALE – Theatrical, Digital, and VOD, January 16
Virginia Gardner of Halloween, Fall, and A Breed Apart dives into aquatic horror with Killer Whale, which was directed by Jo-Anne Brechin from a screenplay she crafted with Katharine E. McPhee (no, that Katharine McPhee is not the same person as the singer who was on American Idol). The synopsis: Hold your breath as you witness revenge rise from the deep. After a life-shattering tragedy, Trish tries to comfort her best friend Maddie by taking her on a spectacular adventure in a private lagoon halfway across the world. Their peaceful retreat soon becomes a terrifying fight to stay alive when the ocean’s most bloodthirsty predator seeks vengeance for a brutal life in captivity.. Mel Jarnson (Mortal Kombat), Mitchell Hope (Descendants), Ron Smyck (Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire), Scott James George (Thor: Love and Thunder), Isaac Crawley (Sacrifice), Aliandra Calabrese (Joe vs. Carole) and Mia Grunwald (Designing Christmas with You) round out the cast.
NIGHT PATROL – Theatrical, January 16
Starring Jermaine Fowler (The Blackening) Justin Long (Tusk) wrestler CM Punk (Girl on the Third Floor) Dermot Mulroney (Young Guns) RJ Cyler (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl) Freddie Gibbs (Down With The King) YG (White Boy Rick) Flying Lotus (Ash ) Jon Oswald (Lowlife ) and Nicki Micheaux (Lowlife ) director Ryan Prows’ Nigh t Patrol follows an LAPD officer (Fowler) who must put aside his differences with area street gangs when he discovers a local police task force harboring a horrific secret that endangers residents housing projects he grew up in. Long plays officer’s partner recruited as legacy into night patrol. Cyler stars as officer’s brother who sees what he isn’t supposed to see while Mulroney plays Long’s character’s father sergeant with many secrets. Punk rounds out cast as sergeant’s brutal right-hand man. Prows wrote script with Shaye Ogbonna Tim Cairo Jake Gibson. This quartet previously collaborated screenplay for Prows’ feature directorial debut quirky crime thriller Lowlife .
RETURN TO SILENT HILL – Theatrical , January23
Brotherhood of Wolf andSilent Hill director Christophe Gans’ newSilent Hill movieReturn to Silent Hill which is said be “totally independent from two previous movies” in film franchise based on video gameSilent Hill2 The story followsJames man broken after being separated from his one true love When mysterious letter calls him back Silent Hill search her finds once recognizable town transformed by unknown evil As James descends deeper into darkness encounters terrifying figures both familiar new begins question his own sanity struggles make sense reality hold on long enough save lost love. Film stars Jeremy Irvine(Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again ) Hannah Emily Anderson(Jigsaw ).
UNTITLED HOME INVASION ROMANCE – Digital , January27
Directed byAmerican Pie legend Jason Biggs who also stars film comedy thrillerUntitled Home Invasion Romance (that does seem be final title) will tell us following story:With marriage on rocks Kevin whisks wife Suzie away romantic getaway wildly misguided plan fake break-in play hero But when things spiral someone turns up dead Kevin finds himself center murder investigation with lies piling up faster than alibis. Biggs’ co-stars include Meaghan Rath(Hawaii Five-O ) Anna Konkle(PEN15 ) Justin H.Min(Beef ) Arturo Castro(Broad City ).
SEND HELP – Theatrical , January30
Rachel McAdams reteams with her
