12 Most Anticipated Horror Movies of 2023, Ranked

Although it was schlock, the original The Meg was the good kind of schlock. It did what it was supposed to do in terms of a monster movie and appealed to people of all ages. So we expect more of the same for the sequel, which sees Jason Statham and Cliff Curtis reprising their roles. We don’t know how and why the megalodon came back, but does it matter?

Although the previous Saw installment starring Chris Rock was a bit of a bust, the 10th movie in the franchise may be a return to form, with Tobin Bell set to reprise his role as John “Jigsaw” Kramer, who hasn’t appeared since the 2017 flick. It’s coming out in October 2023, so hopefully, it will at least be engaging enough to keep us in the holiday spirit.

The sequel to The Nun follows Sister Irene as she once again comes face to face with the demonic force Valak, the Nun, in 1956 France. Bonnie Aarons will be reprising her role as Valak, as will Jonas Bloquet and Taissa Farmiga as Irene. Storm Reid will be the new lead actress in the film, and with her roles in Euphoria and The Last of Us, we’re expecting an excellent performance from her.

The Child’s Play franchise has morphed throughout the generations, garnering new fans while embracing its roots and loyal fanbase at the same time. This documentary not only showcases the killer doll and its evolution through all of its iterations but the series’ impact on pop culture and director Kyra Elise Gardner.

This Chris McKay comedy horror serves as a reboot of Universal Pictures’ Dracula series after the Dark Universe went belly-up. The film stars Nicholas Hoult as the title character, alongside Nicolas Cage as Count Dracula, with Awkwafina, Ben Schwartz, and Adrian Martinez in supporting roles. It’s a spin on the servitude concept of becoming a vampire, mainly focusing on a vamp that got bit by Dracula. The folks behind and in front of the screen interested us, but the hilarious trailer got our attention.

This comedy slasher parody comes from director Tim Story. It interrogates the trope that the African-American character is often the first to die in horror movies by placing an all-Black group of friends at a cabin in the woods, where they are confronted with a masked killer who demands that they rank their degrees of blackness so that he can determine the correct order in which to kill them, and must rely on a combination of street smarts and their own knowledge of horror film tropes to survive.

This family-friendly supernatural horror is based on Walt Disney’s theme park attraction of the same name, following the 2003 film. It has a fantastic ensemble cast, including Jamie Lee Curtis, Lakeith Standfield, and Rosario Dawson, to name a few. It takes place in a haunted Louisiana mansion and is directed by Dear White People’s Justin Simien, so we’re expecting a lot out of this.

Set 10 years after the end of the previous first two films, Josh Lambert (Patrick Wilson) heads east to drop his son Dalton (Ty Simpkins) off at an idyllic, ivy-covered university. However, Dalton’s college dream becomes a nightmare when the repressed demons of his past suddenly return to haunt them both. We’re hopefully optimistic that this film is a return to form of the original instead of the uninspired Last Key.

This sequel to the 1973 original comes from David Gordon Green, the mind responsible for the recent Halloween Trilogy, which we enjoyed even if you didn’t. Ellen Burstyn is set to reprise her role as Regan’s mother, Chris Macneil, which leaves us to wonder how Linda Blair‘s character Regan will play into the film. It’s one of the most celebrated horror movies ever, and we can’t wait to see what Green has to say while helming this legacy franchise.

Two estranged sisters, Beth and Ellie, mistakenly unleash demons via an ancient book found in the bowels of the latter’s L.A. apartment building. The sisters’ reunion is cut short, thrusting Beth into a primal battle for survival as she faces a nightmarish version of her sister trying to kill her and her own children. It is the fifth installment of the evil dead film series; original director Sam Raimi and original star Bruce Campbell serve as executive producers. It looks insanely scary and is a must-see in theaters.

Although it has been made abundantly clear Neve Campbell will not be returning as the franchise’s central character Sydney Prescot, the New York setting, fantastic posters, and mix of Scream IV and V cast members have an appealing freshness to it that has us excited. Something about the killer this time around seems wholly new, as well.

The final installment of Ti West’s horror movie trilogy, after both X and Pearl, once again starring Mia Goth. Maxine, the sole survivor of X, continues her journey towards fame to be an actress in 1980s Los Angeles. The need to be a star can be dire, so what happens when you go off to Hollywood? Although there’s no release date, it will arrive sometime in 2023 or possibly in 2024. Pearl was one of our 2022 favorites, so we have high expectations for the last film.