The Horror Movies We Can't Wait to See in 2018

It's going to be a horrifying year...

2018 movies
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  • Photo Credit: Aviron Pictures

With 2017’s record-breaking takes for horror movies like IT and Get Out, it seems movie studios are re-evaluating horror. That's killer news for horror fans like us. 

We’re getting a slew of horror movies in 2018. The first few months of the year are especially jam-packed with horror flicks promising to bring the terror.

Winchester

February 2

The Winchester Mystery House is one of the strangest houses out there. Its bizarre and ghostly history was practically begging for a movie–and it’s finally being indulged. This movie will star Helen Mirren as Sarah Winchester, the widow who built the house in an effort to please the restless spirits she was certain were haunting her.

Related: The Winchester Mystery House 

The Ritual

February 9

Netflix got into the horror game last year with two Stephen King adaptations (1922 and Gerald's Game) and a McG creation. This year, they’re continuing the trend with The Ritual, directed by David Bruckner and based on a novel by Adam Nevill. Bloody Disgusting confirms it's set to arrive on Netflix in February. Crowds at the Toronto Film Festival went wild for the movie, and Netflix paid big for the feature. Hopefully, that’s a sign of the terror contained in The Ritual.

Related: 9 Dark and Twisted Horror Books for Stephen King Fans 

Annihilation

February 23

Annihilation features an all-star cast (Natalie Portman, Oscar Isaac, Gina Rodriguez, Tessa Thompson, and more) and a built-in audience of the many, many people who loved Jeff VanderMeer’s Southern Reach Trilogy, the source material. This utterly creepy post-apocalyptic/monster/sci-fi horror flick looks like it’ll be just as terrifying as the novels.

The Lodgers

February 23

If you like your horror movies a bit more gothic, creepy, and stylized, The Lodgers is for you. Twins Rachel and Edward have shut themselves up in their parents’ Irish estate after some sort of terrifying mass suicide or murder. When Rachel tries to leave, Edward–and the house–are not exactly willing to let her go.

The Strangers: Prey at Night

March 9

2008’s The Strangers was an unexpected smash hit. So, naturally, we’re getting a sequel. The screenplay was once again written by Bryan Bertino. This story follows a family who is stranded in a trailer park, then stalked and tortured by three masked strangers. The Strangers: Prey at Night stars Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) and Martin Henderson (The Ring). The trailer strikes the perfect balance of creepy and darkly humorous.

Related: 9 Horror Movies Inspired by True Stories That Will Send a Chill Down Your Spine 

Unsane

March 23

Alright, we don’t know much about this one, but we’re still excited about it. Unsane, Steven Soderbergh’s next feature, will star Claire Foy (The Crown) and is said to be a psychological horror film. Supposedly, the film was shot only on an iPhone.

A Quiet Place

April 6

If Get Out proved anything, it’s that a comic actor is more than capable of creating an extremely terrifying horror movie. That’s only one of the reasons we’re excited for A Quiet Place, co-written and directed by The Office’s John Krasinski. The film, which follows a family that must remain silent for fear of … something coming to get them, also stars Krasinski’s real-life wife, Emily Blunt, and Wonderstruck’s Millicent Simmonds.

God Particle

April 20

God Particle, supposedly the third installment in the Cloverfield (quasi) series, may not even be called God Particle anymore. It’s also had its release date pushed back four times. Despite all of this, we’re still, somehow, excited for the film–which may be called Overlord now. 10 Cloverfield Place was good and terrifying enough that we’ll keep waiting patiently for the next installment. Especially when it will star Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Chris O’Dowd, and David Oyelowo.

Related: 11 Really Scary Movies That You Shouldn’t Watch Alone 

Truth or Dare

April 27

At first glance, Truth or Dare seems like just another teen horror flick. But something about the trailer has us thinking that there’s a bit more to this game than usual. Final Destination meets It Follows, Truth or Dare stars Lucy Hale and Tyler Posey as friends who get sucked into a game of truth or dare that can and will end their lives.

Slender Man

May 18

The internet phenomenon comes to life in Slender Man. When four girls at a Massachusetts boarding school try to disprove the Slender Man’s existence, they end up summoning the creature instead. Starring Joey King (Wish Upon) and Jaz Sinclair (Paper Towns), the film looks like it will capture much of the evocative creepiness that made Slender Man so terrifying to so many.

The Nun 

July 13 

horror movies 2018
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  • The Nun, as seen in The Conjuring 2

    Photo Credit: New Line Cinema

The Conjuring universe continues to spiral outward. The Nun, expected in the later half of 2018, will tell the story of the chillingcharacter first seen in The Conjuring 2. And bonus news, horror fans: It's been reported that the Crooked Man, another terrifying character from The Conjuring 2, will also receive the spinoff treatment. No word yet as to when this second flick wll be released, though it appears to be in the works. After the success of last year’s Annabelle: Creation, we’re cautiously excited for these next films.

The Meg

August 10

We know three things about The Meg: It’s about an extinct breed of shark, it stars Jason Statham, and it’s based on the 1997 novel Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror. Those few facts are enough to get us on board. The Meg is sure to satisfy any shark-movie lover.

Related: Don’t Go Near the Water! 

The Little Stranger

August 31

horror movies 2018
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  • Photo Credit: Potboiler Productions

Sarah Waters’s novels have proven fertile ground for adaptation in the past, so we’re excited to see what can be done with one of her more horror-centric novels, like The Little Stranger. The Little Stranger follows a doctor who has been hired to treat a genteel family who cannot afford to remain in their home any longer—both due to lack of funds and some eerie ghosts lurking around every corner.

Halloween

October 19

horror movies 2018
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  • Photo Credit: Universal Pictures

Michael Myers and Laurie Strode are back. This sequel will ignore all movies after the first, functioning as a direct sequel to 1978’s Halloween. Jamie Lee Curtis and Nick Castle will both reprise their roles from the original film, and Judy Greer will play Laurie’s daughter, Karen Strode. Details are limited, but we’re excited to get back to the basics.

Related: 50 Little-Known Horror Movie Facts Every Fan Should Know 

Deep Blue Sea 2

Unconfirmed

What's that in the water? 2018 may bring us not one, but two shark horror movies. Deep Blue Sea, released in 1999, was one of the most successful shark movies since Jaws. The glorious B movie is mostly remembered for Samuel L. Jackson’s death scene but has garnered a small following in the years after its release. Now Bloody Disgusting reports that a sequel will surface in 2018, though a specific day has yet to be announced. We’re excited to see what a fresh take on the movie will look like.

Suspiria

Unconfirmed

Much like God Particle/Cloverfield 3, Suspiria is a long-awaited remake/sequel that keeps having its release date pushed back. Dakota Johnson will star in the remake of the 1977 Italian giallo classic, directed by Luca Guadagnino (Call Me By Your Name). Originally meant to be released in 2017, the movie is now scheduled to be released in the U.S. some time this year.

The Return of the Killer Klowns from Outer Space

Unconfirmed

horror movies 2018
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  • Photo Credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

This is another sequel with next to no available release information apart from a teasing IMDb page. But if it comes anywhere close to the peaks of the cult classic Killer Klowns from Outer Space, we’ll be there with popcorn. 

Related: These 10 Scary Clowns from Horror Movies Are Guaranteed Haunt Your Nightmares 

Nosferatu

Unconfirmed

horror movies 2018
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  • Photo Credit: Jofa-Atelier Berlin-Johannisthal

Robert Eggers’s The Witch horrified and baffled audiences in equal measure in 2015. His next reported project is a remake of the classic 1922 silent film, Nosferatu. Little is known about the project, though it will star Anya Taylor-Joy, whose performance in The Witch catapulted her into stardom. A 2018 release date is definitely a long shot—indeed, Movieweb theorizes that it won't even begin shooting until the following year. Still, the tantalizing news has our interest piqued and our fingers crossed. Here's hoping for a Halloween 2018 miracle?

Featured still from "The Strangers: Prey at Night" via Aviron Pictures

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