Sunday Scaries: 2026 Horror Films to Anticipate

The Sunday Scaries are upon us once again! Yes, as the weekend concludes, most of us feel an oncoming sense of anticipatory dread about the week ahead. Anxiety about work manifests itself into a feeling that’s known as the Sunday Scaries. However, we at Awards Radar are here to combat that, by taking back the name. Now, we want you think about a horror-centric piece on the site when you hear the term. So, let us continue on with another installment of the Awards Radar Sunday Scaries! Today, we look forward to some of the 2026 horror efforts that are on our minds…

In years past (here, here, here, and here for example), I wrote that if you were to peruse my list of the yearly releases to look forward to, you’ll notice that some horror movies are littered throughout. So, I’m once again doing the same this year, based on my 2026 list (here). Below, I’ve collected six films that I think may once again move the horror needle over the next twelve months. Of course, some will underwhelm, like what I just saw, while others will surprise that we’re not even thinking of. That’s kind of the fun here, right?

Here now a half dozen options for horror movies this year that could thrill genre fans throughout 2026…

Honorable Mention: Evil Dead Burn, The Mummy, Night Patrol, Primate, Psycho Killer, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come, Return to Silent Hill, and Send Help

Special Citation: They Follow (since it’s unclear if it’ll even shoot this year, let alone be released)

6. Scream 7 – This franchise is running the risk of losing goodwill and steam, but for now, I’m still in. This installment will really be the pivot point, either to a new era of Scream flicks, or where the series becomes irrelevant. I’m hoping it’s the former, while being prepared for it to be the latter. Still, on potential alone, I remain intrigued.

5. Werwulf – This arguably should be higher, given how Nosferatu turned out, but Robert Eggers doing werewolves next almost feels too easy. At the same time, he’s perfectly suited to knock this period fright flick out of the park, making it also a potential awards vehicle, if everything comes together. So, it has to be on any list of this nature, without question.

4. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple – I may well have already seen this sequel by the time you read this, so look for a review in the next day or so, but after how interesting 28 Years Later turned out to be, how can you not be interested in this one? In all likelihood, this will have us pumped for a third effort in this sequel trilogy.

3. The Bride! – Consider this one a bit horror adjacent, depending on what Maggie Gyllenhaal has up her sleeve, but this reinterpretation of Bride of Frankenstein should be, if nothing else, visually different than any other genre effort in 2026. Whether it winds up reaching its full potential or not, it sure won’t be boring.

2. Clayface – The word on this Mike Flanagan-penned supervillain movie is that it’s full-on body horror. If so, I’ll be even more excited. Still, one of my favorites in the Batman rogue’s gallery of villains is getting a spinoff origin story. I never expected to see Clayface really get the big screen treatment, so this should be delightful, almost regardless of how it turns out.

1. Resident Evil – After Weapons, how could Zach Cregger getting to play with Resident Evil not top this list? Exactly. Video game adaptations rarely work, but this isn’t exactly an adaptation of the games, as much as it is a new horror film based on the franchise. Plus, Cregger is responsible for Barbarian and Weapons, so anything in the genre that he’s interested in is immediately a must see for me these days.

Stay tuned for all of these horror titles throughout the year!