Cheryl Eddy is a senior writer for io9; she covers horror, books, TV, movies, sci-fi, fantasy, and weird culture, sometimes all at once. Email tips to [email protected].

The top story

With a new year comes a fresh crop of horror sequels and franchise continuations, including Scream 7, Scary Movie 6, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Evil Dead Burn, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, and Insidious: The Bleeding World.

Familiar monsters will also make a return, albeit presented in entirely new ways. We’ll see Maggie Gyllenhaal’s punky Bride of Frankenstein riff, The Bride!; Evil Dead Rise director Lee Cronin’s new Mummy; and Werwulf, the next painstakingly period tale from Nosferatu’s Robert Eggers.

What we’re waiting for

Big-name directors are bringing plenty of excitement to theaters. Master of splatter Sam Raimi does desert-island survival in Send Help. M. Night Shyamalan’s collaboration with novelist Nicholas Sparks on a supernatural romance is indeed real and not something you imagined; it’s called Remain.

Two of the most exciting emerging directors have new releases on the way: the prolific Osgood Perkins, whose The Young People has his most A-list cast yet with Nicole Kidman leading the charge, and Weapons master Zach Cregger, who brings us his spin on Resident Evil.

We’re also intrigued by the latest supernatural tale from Boogeyman director Rob Savage, Other Mommy, starring Jessica Chastain—and The Green Knight director David Lowery’s intense-looking thriller Mother Mary, which stars Anne Hathaway as a pop star and Michaela Coel as her fashion-designer frenemy.

And then, we also have our calendars circled for Obsession (an indie io9’s Germain Lussier says is a must-see); the creepypasta-inspired The Backrooms; and the plainly titled They Will Kill You, starring the ass-kicking scream queen we need right now: Zazie Beetz.

Oh, and even superheroes are crossing genres this year: DC’s Clayface, which has a script from Mike Flanagan, will extend James Gunn’s new DC universe into weird, body-horror places.

Unconventional wisdom

So far this round-up has been heavy on the movies, but don’t forget to keep the small screen in mind when mapping out your frights. Friday the 13th gets a prequel in Peacock’s Crystal Lake; Apple TV digs into horror comedy with Widow’s Bay; and Flanagan returns to TV—Prime Video instead of Netflix this time—for the prom-night terrors of Carrie.

Also, a special shout-out to what looks like an animal attack revival in the making. Anaconda might not have made much of an impact late last year, but 2026 is bringing Primate (a pet chimpanzee goes Cujo); Whalefall (a scuba diver gets slurped up by a whale and must fight his way out); and shark movies from Renny Harlin (movie you love: Deep Blue Sea; new movie: Deep Water) and Tommy Wirkola (movies you love: Dead Snow, Violent Night; new movie: Shiver).

The busy Wirkola also has Violent Night 2 coming this year, bringing back Stranger Things’ David Harbour as a Die Hard sort of Santa Claus—with Kristen Bell’s Mrs. Claus along for the ride this time.

Who to follow

@StephenKing on X – The horror author is still seeing his work adapted (and re-adapted) at a rapid clip, and he regularly sounds off on those projects, as well as his recommendations, insights, and opinions on a variety of topics.

@jason_blum on X – The founder of Blumhouse clearly loves horror, not just his own projects. That said, the Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 content will surely taper off once his studio has a fresh title in theaters.

@Flanaganfilm on Instagram – Mike Flanagan knows what you want to see: fun behind-the-scenes glimpses of what it’s like to be making some of the best work in Hollywood right now, horror or otherwise. That includes marking milestones, like filming on the last day of his Carrie series in late October 2025.

@axelle_carolyn on Instagram – Not only does Axelle Carolyn post about the films (The Manor) and episodes of genre TV series she’s directed (Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Carrie), but her ‘gram also showcases her deep love of all things spooky and stylish, including her memorabilia-filled home.

Companies to watch

Blumhouse: Blum’s horror company, now allied with James Wan’s Atomic Monster, stomped all over naysayers after M3GAN 2.0 bombed by coming out of 2025 with its first billion-dollar year. Will that trend continue upward in 2026?

Jason Universe: After all that fanfare about rebooting Friday the 13th’s masked killer—in a short film that was actually pretty great, despite being a thinly veiled cider commercial—Jason Universe has yet to make its next move known. The short has since vanished from the Jason Universe YouTube, and though the A24-produced Crystal Lake series is coming, there’s been no elaboration on when Jason might return to the big screen. (There are three Friday the 13ths in 2026, so this would be a killer year to make such an announcement!)

A longshot bet

Even if it didn’t star Severance’s Adam Scott, we’d be quaking in anticipation for Damian McCarthy’s Hokum. The Irish filmmaker freaked us the hell out with 2024’s Oddity, and it seems likely his witchy latest will push him firmly onto the horror A-list, where he so clearly belongs.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.