While horror movies have never really gone out of style, their popularity has never been higher than it is right now. 2017 saw the release of the most successful horror movie of all time--the blockbuster Stephen King adaptation It--while the Oscar-winning satire Get Out was the year's most profitable movie in terms of the budget to box office ratio.
This year has already had one massive horror hit in the shape of A Quiet Place, with a worldwide gross of $214 million to date, and a sequel is already in the works. In all, it's a great time to be a horror fan, and there are plenty more terrifying treats to follow over the rest of the year.
So from serial killers and demonic nuns to ghosts, zombies, and witches, here’s a look at the must-see chillers heading our way over the remaining few months of 2018...
1. The Nun
James Wan's The Conjuring was one of the most successful horror movies of recent years, inspiring not only a prequel, but two spin-offs focusing on the spooky doll Annabelle. The latest movie in this horror series is The Nun. It's set before the other four movies in the series so far, and focuses on the investigation into the earlier life (and death) of Valak, the terrifying demon nun from The Conjuring 2. Wan co-wrote the screenplay, and it's directed by Corin Hardy, who previously helmed the acclaimed low-budget shocker The Hallow and is about to start shooting the remake of The Crow.
Release date: September 7
2. Mandy
Mandy is one of those movies that sounds so insane from early reviews that you wonder if it will truly deliver. Nicolas Cage stars as a man living in a remote mountainous location who is forced to take revenge on an evil cult that kills his wife. The Hollywood Reporter said it is a "half dread-soaked psychotropic horror film, half subhuman bloody revenge flick," while Indiewire described it as a "stunning dose of psychedelia and derangement." If you've seen director Panos Cosmatos's first movie, Beyond The Black Rainbow, you'll know he isn't a filmmaker afraid to deliver something truly strange, and the recent first trailer certainly delivers the crazy.
Release date: September 14
3. Patient Zero
It rarely bodes well when a movie is completed three years before its eventual release, but the calibre of Patient Zero's cast makes it of interest. Former Doctor Who star Matt Smith headlines this zombie infection tale, alongside Stanley Tucci (Transformers: The Last Knight), Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay), and Agyness Deyn (Clash of the Titans). Director Stefan Ruzowitzky also directed last year’s superb revenge thriller Cold Hell, and the movie puts an unusual spin on the zombie genre, with Tucci playing a professor who can communicate with the infected and Smith as a man looking to cure his zombified wife.
Release date: September 14
4. The House with a Clock in Its Walls
After a brief diversion into action territory with this year's Death Wish remake, Eli Roth (Hostel, Cabin Fever) returns to the genre he is best known for with this gothic fantasy. It's an adaptation of the much-loved 1973 novel of the same name about a young orphan boy who helps his uncle and a friendly witch find a magical clock with apocalyptic powers. This is a more family-friendly slice of gothic chills than Roth's usual brand of gruesome horror and the impressive cast includes Cate Blanchett, Jack Black, and Kyle MacLachlan.
Release date: September 21
5. Apostle
Welsh filmmaker Gareth Evans delivered two of the best, most exciting action movies of the past decade when he made the incredible Indonesian-set The Raid: Redemption and The Raid 2. For his next film, Evans swaps bone-crunching action for unnerving horror with the spooky-looking period mystery Apostle. It's a Netflix Original that hits the service in October and stars Legion's Dan Stevens as a man who sets about trying to rescue his sister from a cult. The synopsis describes the movie as a "harrowing occult fable where the only thing more horrifying than madness is the sinister reality behind it." Yes please.
Release date: October 12
6. Halloween
The Halloween series might be one of longest-running and most profitable horror franchises in movie history, but most fans would agree that every entry hasn't necessarily been a good one. The last time Michael Myers stalked the screen was in Rob Zombie's hugely divisive remakes a decade ago, but now, on the 40th anniversary of John Carpenter's original movie, the killer also known as The Shape is back. It's directed by acclaimed indie auteur David Gordon Green, with a script co-written by actor/comedian Danny McBride, and original star Jamie Lee Curtis has returned to the role that made her famous. The movie is a direct sequel to the original movie, and if that wasn’t enough, Carpenter himself is providing another iconic soundtrack. Could this be the Halloween reboot that finally gets it right?
Release date: October 19
7. Overlord
There were rumours earlier this year that this JJ Abrams-produced World War II horror film would form the next part of the Cloverfield universe. After all, 10 Cloverfield Lane and this year's The Cloverfield Paradox started life as unconnected movies with different titles before being rewritten to form part of Abrams' loose sci-fi series, so it wouldn't be surprising if he had the same thing in mind for Overlord. Abrams has subsequently denied this is the case, but either way, the movie sounds like a chilling treat, and it arrives just in time for Halloween. Last month, Variety got an early look at some footage and stated that the movie features "eerie shots of dead soldiers hanging from trees, genetically modified Nazis, and disembodied and fanged heads." Count us in.
Release date: October 26
8. Suspiria
Halloween isn't the only late-70s horror classic getting a remake from an acclaimed director in 2018. Dario Argento's supernatural masterpiece Suspiria has been updated by Luca Guadagnino, the Italian filmmaker behind last year’s Oscar-nominated Call Me By Your Name. This is a tale of a ballet school run by ancient, evil witches, and it stars Dakota Johnson and Chloë Grace Moretz as students who uncover the school's dark secrets. Argento's original movie is noted for its incredible visual style and thunderous soundtrack; we already know that Radiohead's Thom Yorke is providing the score for the remake, and hopefully Guadagnino will deliver something just as stylish.
Release date: November 2
9. The House That Jack Built
Lars Von Trier remains one of the most provocative directors in the world, best known for such controversial, divisive films as Dogville, Nymphomaniac, Dancer In The Dark, and The Idiots. Von trier has made one horror movie to date--2009's harrowing Antichrist--and he returns to the genre in 2018 with The House That Jack Built. This is a '70s-set serial killer movie that follows the gory exploits of a man named Jack over the course of a decade. Matt Dillon plays the killer, and his victims include characters played by Uma Thurman and Riley Keough. Von Trier has said that the movie celebrates "the idea that life is evil and soulless," and its first screening at the Cannes Film Festival in May reportedly caused multiple walkouts. Expect something truly shocking.
Release date: November 29
10. Anna and the Apocalypse
Holiday horror has long been a staple of the genre, but Anna and the Apocalypse might just be the first holiday comedy horror musical. It's yet another zombie movie, but this time the undead action is punctuated by rousing song-and-dance numbers, as a young woman called Anna fights to save her loved ones. Based on an award-winning short film, Anna and the Apocalypse has been picking up rave reviews at various festivals over the past year and it looks like the perfect good-time Christmas zombiefest.
Release date: November 30
11. Tigers Are Not Afraid
This Mexican ghost movie has been compared to the work of Guillermo Del Toro in the way it mixes supernatural thrills and real-world horrors. It focuses on a group of orphaned children who are trying to survive amidst a brutal drug war, and who can also see the ghosts of the dead around them. It's picked up some tremendous reviews at festivals, with critics praising director Issa Lopez’s skill at creating a scary, moving modern fairytale.
Release date: TBC
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