Tag: Horror

Lee Cronin’s The Mummy (2026) | REVIEW

Natalie Grace as “Katie,” the titular mummy in LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY — PHOTO: Warner Bros. Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Lee Cronin — Screenplay by Lee Cronin.

Given that more than a dozen movies about a mummified corpse coming back to life have been released over the years, including but not limited to the Universal Classic Monsters films, you can’t just name your movie The Mummy anymore without confusing audiences. To distinguish their latest film from the multiple other films called The Mummy — including the iconic Boris Karloff-led original, the beloved Brendan Fraser-led action-adventure film from 1999, and the Tom Cruise-led 2017 film, which was designed to kickstart a shared universe of Universal Monsters (called the Dark Universe), which was cancelled as a result of that very 2017 film failing — producer Jason Blum suggested that they should put their writer-director’s name in the title of the film, despite Lee Cronin by no means being a household name, not even with many horror film fans. Cronin, however, did put himself on the map with his sophomore feature Evil Dead Rise, which was both a critical and box office success. Because I really liked his Evil Dead installment (and some pretty strong trailers), I was really excited to see his vision of The Mummy. Having now seen it, I can say that while there are things that I really liked here, this is a pretty significant step down from his aforementioned sophomore effort.

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Thrash (2026) | REVIEW

Trailer title card — PHOTO: Netflix (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Tommy Wirkola — Screenplay by Tommy Wirkola.

Norwegian filmmaker Tommy Wirkola, best known for the Christmas action-comedy film starring David Harbour titled Violent Nights, is the writer-director behind this week’s big Netflix film release, Thrash. Thrash is a survival thriller with a, as you might expect given Wirkola’s involvement, tongue-in-cheek comedic approach. It is a film about shark-infested waters in a flooded American town that has been hit by intense waves as a result of an intense hurricane.

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Ready or Not 2: Here I Come (2026) | REVIEW

Kathryn Newton and Samara Weaving in READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME. Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (Scream; Abigail) — Screenplay by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy.

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s Ready or Not 2: Here I Come kicks off right where the popular first film left off. Grace (played by Samara Weaving) has just survived a crazy ordeal moments after getting married. Her new family — the Le Domas’, who were secretly satanists — tried to kill her before sunrise, as they believed they would all die if they didn’t. Grace, now in a bloodied wedding dress, survived the night, while her in-laws and her new husband all exploded at dawn for not fulfilling their satanic bargain. But things aren’t over for our bloodsoaked heroine. When she meets up with her sister Faith (played by Kathryn Newton), with whom she hasn’t spoken in years, at a hospital, they’re both incapacitated and taken to the manor of a wealthy and influential family known as the Danforths. The Danforths are one of multiple families with a seat on a council of elite families, who all owe their successes to their supernatural satanic lord known as Le Bail. Because Grace survived the night, the families must compete in another game of diabolical hide-and-seek to determine who will have the ‘high seat’ on the council and, essentially, control the world. To survive, Grace, now alongside her sister, must again overcome the odds and hold out until dawn.

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Scream 7 (2026) | REVIEW

Neve Campbell hiding from the Ghostface killer in SCREAM 7 — PHOTO: Paramount Pictures (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Kevin Williamson — Screenplay by Kevin Williamson and Guy Busick.

When Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (often referred to as Radio Silence) took over the reins to this long-beloved slasher franchise from the late, great master of horror Wes Craven — starting with 2022’s Scream legacy sequel — they did a good job of steering the film series in the right direction by creating two films (also including Scream VI) that successfully introduced a new core group of characters, inserted the effective meta-genre commenary that Craven’s films were known for, and earned strong box office returns and critical reception. That goodwill was dealt a significant blow when, after Radio Silence had already exited the seventh film in the series due to scheduling conflicts, the rebooted series’ lead, Melissa Barrera, was, shockingly, fired for pro-Palestinian posts on social media. Following this, co-lead Jenna Ortega announced that she would not return for the seventh film, and director Christopher Landon left the project (and was replaced by original Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson). Recently, boycotts have been announced, and protests have been organized. The very public behind-the-scenes drama has led to a troubled production, and, among the fanbase, there were concerns that this seventh entry would suffer for it. After having seen the film, I can say that, well, ultimately, it’s not just drama behind the camera that’s holding Scream 7 back.

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Send Help (2026) | REVIEW

Rachel McAdams as Linda Liddle in 20th Century Studios’ SEND HELP — PHOTO: 20th Century Studios (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Sam Raimi — Screenplay by Mark Swift and Damian Shannon.

As I like to remind my readers, my dad had an open mind when it came to what movies my sister and I were ready to watch at a young age. So, as it turned out, when I was a kid, one of my favorite movie characters was Bruce Campbell’s Ash Williams from Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead films (I even dressed up as Ash for Halloween recently). Of those Evil Dead films, Army of Darkness, especially, holds a special place in my heart. As Sam Raimi then transitioned from indie horror to superhero spectacle (with several studio films in between) with his Spider-Man films, which were released as I was growing up, Sam Raimi quickly became one of my favorite filmmakers. Therefore, I was especially excited when I found out that Raimi was going to have an R-Rated original horror-comedy come out in early 2026. Send Help, in which Rachel McAdams re-teams with her Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness director, is that film, and it is so exciting to be able to say that Raimi’s film not only works but is a strong reminder of what made so many of us fall for his brand of cinema in the first place.

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28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (2026) | REVIEW

Ralph Fiennes (foreground) and Jack O’Connell (background) in Nia DaCosta’s 28 YEARS LATER: THE BONE TEMPLE — PHOTO: Sony Pictures Releasing (Still image from trailers).

Directed by Nia DaCosta (Candyman) — Screenplay by Alex Garland (Annihilation; Civil War).

Just seven months after the release of Danny Boyle’s long-awaited 28 Years Later, we already have a direct sequel. This second part in a proposed three-part follow-up to 28 Days Later and 28 Weeks Later is, notably, not directed by Danny Boyle, despite Alex Garland still having penned the screenplay. Instead, the director of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is Nia DaCosta, the Candyman (2021) and The Marvels director, who now must try to recapture the spirit of one of the most iconic zombie, or zombie-adjacent, film series ever made. Having been shot back-to-back, but by different filmmakers, it is only natural that some would be concerned about whether or not they could pull it off successfully. But, thankfully, Nia DaCosta has turned in what is easily her best franchise film. Despite its January release date (a release window most known for being filled with less-than-pleasing films), 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is not only a worthy follow-up to Boyle’s sequel, but it is also the first great film of the year.

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Top 26 Most Anticipated Movies of 2026

Original Photo: Timothee Chalamet as Paul Atreides in Dune: Part Two (Warner Bros.).

Here are my picks for the most anticipated upcoming movies of 2026, ranked by my own personal anticipation rather than any other metric like box office or hype. Normally, I’d go with 25 selections, but because it’s 2026, I decided to go with just one additional selection. But, frankly, this could’ve easily been a top 40 list. If you’re at all interested in a longer list, then check the honorable mentions at the bottom of the list, or click here for my Letterboxd list that contains quite a few more films. But, yeah, let’s get to it!

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IT: Welcome to Derry – Season One (2025) | TV REVIEW

Bill Skarsgård as Pennywise in IT: WELCOME TO DERRY — Photograph Courtesy of HBO.

Having a whole HBO show centered around Stephen King’s IT and its iconic character, Pennywise the Dancing Clown, always felt like it would be an obvious success. It’s honestly a little bit strange that it didn’t come sooner, given that the two-part film adaptations, IT: Chapter One and IT: Chapter Two, are two of the highest-grossing horror films ever made (with Chapter One holding the top position). The wait is over as the first season of the films’ spin-off show IT: Welcome to Derry recently ended. Though it received some online fan criticism for taking its time, I found it to be absolutely thrilling. Frankly, I think it’s a lot better than Chapter Two was.

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Alien: Earth – Season One (2025) | TV REVIEW

Sydney Chandler as Marcy/”Wendy” in ALIEN: EARTH — PHOTO: FX/HULU (Still image from trailers).

Although I grew to be really excited about it, I’ll admit that when I first heard about Alien: Earth, I was somewhat displeased. I admire the work of series creator Noah Hawley a great deal, but, as a defender of Ridley Scott’s prequel films, it upset me that it had been reported that the new show would distance itself from those films and potentially split the canon into two. When I finally watched the show, I was taken on something akin to an emotional rollercoaster ride, as I, from episode to episode, would switch between being skeptical about the show to being head over heels in love with it. So, where did I ultimately land on the show once the season was over and done? Well, I found it to be both a promising and frustrating experience that teased something cerebral that it couldn’t quite live up to, while I thought the show did the titular Xenomorph creature a massive disservice. 

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Frankenstein (2025) | REVIEW

Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein in Guillermo Del Toro’s FRANKENSTEIN — PHOTO: NETFLIX (Still image from the trailers).

Directed by Guillermo Del Toro — Screenplay by Guillermo Del Toro.

There are literally hundreds of films either directly based on or partially inspired by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus, so the story of Victor Frankenstein (and his creature, or monster, that is often wrongly referred to as just ‘Frankenstein’) is one that audiences of most ages know quite well either through having seen films based on the story or through references in pop culture that, with stories as familiar as this one, tend to fasten in your audiovisual language through a process of cultural osmosis. One auteur, however, hopes that his passion project can add something new to the storied legacy of the character, and now Netflix has given that opportunity to that auteur. I am, of course, referring to Guillermo Del Toro, the Oscar-winning filmmaker with a known love for classic monsters, creature effects, and both horror, fairy tale, and gothic storytelling. It should be a match made in heaven, and, frankly, I do think the wait for Del Toro’s take on Frankenstein, his 13th feature film as a director, was worth the wait. 

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