Entertainment
As the sun rises on 2018, it's time to look to the future, not back at the past. We have an entire year ahead of us, filled with potential, possibility, and...pants-shaking scares? Yup. It's time to gaze out onto a year chock-full of thrills and chills, by checking out all the scary movies to look forward to in 2018.
This is the year horror, long considered too niche and not serious enough for mainstream Hollywood, should finally get some attention from the rest of the industry. With directors like Steven Soderbergh dipping into psychological thrillers and Lars Von Trier filming a straight-up slasher, maybe the long-criticized genre will finally get some respect. And with impeccably-credentialed actors like Helen Mirren joining the fray, too, this might be the last year that horror is considered any lesser than other movie genres.
That said, there's still plenty for gore hounds and horror heads, new and familiar. Classic franchises like Predator and Halloween are getting a fresh start with full reboots, and new mythologies like Slender Man and The Conjuring get a chance to expand with new films. There's enough films here to keep you shivering with delight throughout the coming year, so let's dive in.
1
'Winchester: The House That Ghosts Built'
Helen Mirren plays Sarah Winchester in a ghost story based on the real-life oddity, and supposedly most haunted house in the world, The Winchester Mansion.
Coming Out: Feb. 2, 2018
2
'The Strangers: Prey At Night'
A sequel to home-invasion thriller The Strangers, this sequel gets slightly political, following a family of four evicted from their home and chased by the same three strangers from the previous film. You think they'd go after the mortgage lenders.
Coming Out: March 2018
3
3 'Unsane'
Steven Soderbergh tackles this tale of a young woman committed to a mental institution, unsure if she can trust her own mind whether anything is real. Starring Claire Foy, Juno Temple, and Jay Pharaoh.
Coming Out: March 2018
4
'Slender Man'
Based on the creepypasta that made internet rounds, and back in the news due to grisly real-life murders blamed on the fictional figure, this horror movie looks like it's getting back to spooky basics with bugs, jump-scares, and terrors in the woods.
Coming Out: May 2018
5
'The Nun'
This Conjuring spin-off sounds like a joke set-up: A ragged priest and a new nun walk into the Vatican...in this case they're investigating another nun's suicide and uncovering dark secrets.
Coming Out: July 2018
6
'Goosebumps 2: Horrorland'
Jack Black is rumored to be back for this Goosebumps sequel, but little else is known about this second entry in the popular kids' horror series.
Coming Out: October 2018
7
'Hellfest'
Jennifer Lynch was originally slated, but now it looks like Gregory Plotkin, the man behind Paranormal Activity will take the helm. A serial killer gets loose in a theme amusement park on Halloween, killing with impunity as guests think it's all part of the act.
Coming Out: October 2018
8
'Halloween'
This reboot's going to pretend no other film in the franchise existed except for the original, and get back to slashing teenagers. Promo photos feature Jamie Lee Curtis, but no word yet on how she fits in (especially if this version is ignoring her sibling connection in past films).
Coming Out: October 2018
9
'Day Of The Dead: Bloodline'
The latest entry in George Romero's zombie franchise has a group of military operators and civilians trapped in a bunker, trying to figure out how to escape in a world overrun with zombies.
Coming Out: Jan. 5, 2018
10
'Primal Rage'
When a couple takes a road trip through the Pacific Northwest, they realize they're being stalked by a Bigfoot-like creature. As they head further north and learn more about the Native American mythology of the area, they realize the creature stalking them might be worse than they think.
Coming Out: Jan. 26, 2018
11
'The Predator'
Shane Black, who appeared in the original, writes and directs this reboot. It's the same story — guerilla band heads into jungle, encounters hunter who hunts the hunters.
Coming Out: August 2018
12
'Beyond The Green Inferno'
This sequel to The Green Inferno's bloody grindhouse jungle trap has been in the works for years, but Eli Roth swears it's coming out soon.
Release Date TBD
13
'A Quiet Place'
In this thriller written and directed by The Office's John Krasinski, an ancient evil is drawn to sound, and a family living on a farm uses sign language and walks carefully to avoid attracting it.
Coming Out: April 2018
14
'DEAD Afterlife'
Imagine watching your own funeral from Beyond, only to see your reanimated corpse come to life and start attacking those you love. That's what happens to scientist Donald Conlee after he's administered his own superdrug "Awake", and now it's up to him to stop the problem from the spirit realm.
Release Date TBD
15
'Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich'
Whether this film is a continuation of the Puppet Master franchise remains to be seen, but it's being penned by the writer of violent prison grindhouse Brawl In Cell Block 99, with Udo Kier returning for a role.
Release Date TBD
16
'The Wolf Man'
Part of Universal's classic monster reboot, little is known about this film's specifics. Currently The Rock is rumored for the lead, but if it's a Wolfman movie, you know there'll be some angry villagers and furry fellas.
Coming Out: March 2018
17
'God Particle'
Another film from J.J. Abrams, this third official Cloverfield installment follows a group of astronauts orbiting the earth who make a terrible discovery. Starring, among many, Chris O'Dowd and Zhang Ziyi.
Coming Out: April 2018
18
'The Little Stranger'
It's 1947, and country Dr. Faraday makes a visit to Hundreds Hall to see a patient. The hall has been home for generations to the now-declining Ayers family, and is where Faraday's mother worked as maid. When he arrives, Dr. Faraday realizes something more than decay is at work with the Ayers, and has no idea how closely his life ties in to the mystery. Starring Charlotte Rampling, Will Poulter, and Ruth Wilson, and based on the book by Sarah Waters.
Coming Out: August 2018
19
'The Meg'
What would the year in horror be without a Giant Killer Animal movie? This year it's back to the ocean for MEG, starrng Jason Statham.
Coming Out: August 2018
20
'Cadaver'
A former cop and recovering drug addict, played by Shay Mitchell, takes the graveyard shift in the morgue at the hospital where she got sober. Soon after a brutally murdered body comes in, she begins witnessing more vicious murders, and must face off against a larger evil.
Coming Out: August 2018
21
'Pennywise: The Story Of IT'
This horror documentary takes a look at one of the scariest clowns in human history — Pennywise from IT.
Coming Out: Sept. 8, 2018
22
'Slaughterhouse Rulez'
Simon Pegg and Nick Frost have started Stolen Pictures, a new production company, and horror/comedy Slaughterhouse Rulez is the first film out of the gate. Slaughterhouse is the elite boardinghouse where newcomer Don Wallace struggles to fit in. When a controversial fracking operation opens a sinkhole in the school woods, all hell is unleashed and the pecking order reversed as students and teachers alike struggle to survive.
Coming Out: September 2018
23
'Overlord'
Based on an original idea by Bad Robot's J.J. Abrams and Hunger Games screenwriter Billy Ray, this World War II story will be anything but a straightforward historical pic. A group of paratroopers are dropped behind enemy lines to complete a mission crucial to D-Day success, but as they get closer to the Nazi-occupied village, they realize there's more going on than military operations.
Coming Out: October 2018
24
'The House That Jack Built'
Lars Von Trier tries his hand at the slasher genre, following serial killer Jack (played by Matt Dillon) over 12 years as he commits the murders that shape his career.
Coming Out: November 2018
Given the shifting nature of film scheduling, some of these movies are bound to get shuffled around, and some not yet on the slate might get rushed ahead. But for now, make sure your nightlight's in working order, and get ready to shriek in the new year.
