June is always a weird time for horror. Usually by now, we’ve found a few things to love. I know 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Obsession, and Mother of Flies are all at the top of my favorites of 2026 (so far). However, it still feels like something is missing when many people are yelling it’s a great year for horror. Also, I don’t have any idea what my top 10 list will look like by the end of 2026. This is the part of the year where I wonder if I’ll even have a top 10 by December. This is partly because I have not met my new personality yet and it means we’re right on schedule.
The cinema that will win me over is uploading somewhere as I write this (at the last minute). It might be some random festival entries that gets my attention via word of mouth. Maybe we’ll meet in the Fantasia Film Festival lineup (looking at Anymart and Sleep No More). Maybe they’re waiting for me at my beloved Fantastic Fest? Or (quite likely) some of the screeners in my inbox that I needed to watch last week? Whatever the remaining movies that are going to shake me up and get me to a nice round 10 titles for 2026 haven’t found me yet. I never find them until it’s time and it’s okay. However, I do know I’m excited for at least five projects hitting the streets this calendar year. I present to you those reasons I plan to put on pants and head to a cinema.
5. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma
Release Date: August 7th, 2026
A young filmmaker is tapped to direct a new entry in a long-running slasher franchise. When she casts the original ‘final girl,’ it leads to a messy relationship that causes “psychological and sexual chaos.” I’m a slasher girl, and the thought that Jane Schoenbrun is anywhere near my subgenre caught my attention. I’ve been avoiding all information because I doubt Schoenbrun is entering the chat without a few surprises up their sleeve. However, every time another cast member announces themselves, it’s another reason for me to brave the summer heat and see this film ASAP.
4. Ghost in the Cell
Release Date: 2026
A deadly unseen threat causes rival gangs and dirty cops to work together to survive a prison with a rising body count. I am a Joko Anwar stan account, and I will be injecting this movie directly into my eyeballs the second it drops. While we were counting down the days until Satan’s Slaves 3: Origin, he was making sure there were other chaotic titles for all of us good little ghouls. He’s really a director for the people, and I cannot wait to see what type of panic attack he’s serving this time.
3. Colony
Release Date: August 28th, 2026
A professor at a biotech conference gets a front row seat to a fast spreading outbreak turning people into zombies. Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan) is back in the zombie business, and I am already seated. I literally have no questions and only looked at the premise because these lists aren’t supposed to be titles and the word “duh” repeated over and over again. This is one of the filmmakers we need to let cook. I expect to feel my heartstrings pulled while being anxious and stressed because that’s what he did to me the last time he entered the zombie chat.
2. The Eyes
Release Date: June 24, 2026
A young woman’s plans for a corneal transplant come to a screeching halt when her sister turns up dead. They had me from the words Korean mystery thriller to be completely honest. However, I’m here for a sister investigating her twin’s death too. More importantly, I love the intersectionality of WOC and disability and will be waving my dollars at this movie until I am escorted from the theater. The Eyes is a reinterpretation of the Spanish thriller Julia’s Eyes (another movie that I need to watch), and I would like to double-feature them both. I want to know who wore it best, and I want to know right now.
1. The Glorious Dead
Release Date: 2026
A small town sheriff and her deputy wake up to find life as they know it is over. I’m always going to make time for an Adams Family film. Especially one where they’re waking the dead and looking at the horrors of living in America. I’ve been watching this one pretty closely and feel like it’s going to be the weird little moment that reminds me why I go to the theaters. It’s one of the movies I’m most excited to see while covering Fantasia Film Fest remotely. Although I would give my queendom to see it in a theater.
I feel good about these five movies. If nothing else, I’m grateful they’re giving me something to look forward to in 2026. I love the weird, the indie, and the international horror stuff made by misfits and outcasts. So, even if these movies don’t warm my cold little heart the way I hope they do, I’m still happy they got made.
