New year, new horror. Heck yeah. On the heels of increasingly exciting genre lineups over the last few years, and coming off the wild high horror high that was 2018, we’re living in a bit of a horror golden age. That means that it’s a particularly exciting year to look at the crop of horror movies coming up in 2019. Like last year, it’s a diverse mix – studio horror, indies, possible awards contenders, and campy B-movies alike. No matter what kind of horror you’re into, 2019 probably has something for you.
While there are always some fun surprises that pop up on the calendar along the way, this year’s lineup is already stacked, We’ve got challenging and unpredictable fare likeClimaxandVelvet Buzzsaw, festival titles likePiercingandOne Cut of the Dead, some big-hype horror sequels withAnnabelle 3andIt: Chapter 2, the return ofPetSematary,Child’s PlayandThe Grudge. And that’s just skimming the surface. Check out the rest below.
For more movies to put on your radar, be sure to check out ourmost anticipated movies of 2019and to keep up with all the horror movies to know, be sure to check out our fullhorror movies release date calendar.
The Final Wish
Release Date:January 24th
Director:Timothy Woodward Jr.
Cast:Lin Shaye, Tony Todd, Michael Welch, Melissa Bolona, Spencer Locke, Jean Elie
Final DestinationcreatorJeffrey Reddickbrings his flourish for inescapable, fated carnage (and movies with the word “final” in the title) to a new tale of terror and death withThe Final Wish.Michael Welchstars as a young man who returns to his hometown after his father’s death and has to face his devastated mother (Lin Shaye) and the demons of his family’s past. But when he discovers a mysterious item in his father’s belongings, he unleashes a true force of terror that taps into the old “be careful what you wish for” Moneky’s Paw dilemma.Final DestinationstapleTony Toddis on hand too!
Release Date:February 1st
Director:Nicolas Pesce
Cast:Mia Wasakoska, Christopher Abbot, Laia Costa
Nicolas Pesce‘sThe Eyes of My Motherwas a gorgeously-shot, somewhat divisive horror throwback that demonstrated a spectacular knack for technical execution and disturbing imagery from the debut feature director. For his sophomore filmPiercing,Pesce leaves behind the black-and-white Hitchcokian vibes in favor of a lush, stylish giallo throwback with one seriously twisted romance at its core. The film starsChristopher Abbotas an Average Joe husband and father who’s just absolutely desperate to kill someone. When he stages a business trip to purge himself of his dark desires, he orders a hooker (Mia Wasikowskain her best performance yet), who has some deviant desires of her own. Surreal and strangely sexy with a surprising amount of humor and tenderness beneath the depravity,Piercingis a surprising and impressive followup for the filmmaker that will make you even more curious what he’s going to do withThe Grudge.
Velvet Buzzsaw
Director:Dan Gillroy
Cast:Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, John Malkovich, Billy Magnussen, Toni Collette, Natalia Dyer, Zawe Ashton, Daveed Diggs
Nightcrawleris one of the best movies of the last ten years, so any reunion between writer-directorDan Gillroyand actor-producterJake Gyllenhaalwould be cause to get excited – but the fact thatVelvet Buzzsawis a horror movie about art criticism just makes their new project that much more delicious. And talk about a cast that doesn’t quit. Set in the glitzy, pretentious Los Angeles art scene,Velvet Buzzsawis all about killer art – literally. After a batch of paintings are discovered by an unknown artist, a supernatural force uses the pieces to exact its revenge. Throw in Gyllenhaal giving an unhinged, a horrifying animatronic called “hobo man” andToni Collettedoing… well anything, really, and you’ve instantly created a must-watch movie.
The Prodigy
Release Date:February 8th
Director:Nicholas McCarthy
Cast:Taylor Schilling, Jackson Robert Scott, Brittany Allen
The PactdirectorNicholas McCarthyandMidnight Meat TrainscreenwriterJeff Buhlerteam for the new psychological horrorThe Prodigy.Orange Is the New BlackstarTaylor SchillingleadsThe Prodigyas the mother of a young boy (Jackson Robert Scott), who takes her son to therapy when he starts showing signs of evil possession. There’s not a lot of buzz on this one yet, though McCarthy praised the script for going from a conventional creepy kid film to “a movie that’s gotta be made,” and said he had to re-edit a section of the film becausetest audiences screamed so loudthey missed the dialogue.
Release Date:March 1st
Director:Gaspar Noé
Cast:Sofia Boutella,
Look, you walk into aGaspar Noefilm and you more or less know what you’re going to get — saturated colors, disorienting camera work, truly depraved humor, and grisly violence. It’s what he does. And his latest provocation, the kinetically-charged dance horrorClimax, has all those qualities, but it’s also one of the most accessible and most enjoyable (?) movies he’s ever made. The bonkers film follows a prestigious troupe of diverse and sexy young dancers to a warehouse where they settle in to rehearse and party. Problem is, someone spiked the sangria with a bad dose of LSD, and it’s not long before the dance-offs and sexual dynamic boil over into an outright hellish nightmare. Led by one hell of a performance fromSofia Boutella, who continues to find new ways to put her impressive physical skills to use in film, Climax is a strange brew that is alternately invigorating and exhausting, delicious and disgusting. It’s sexy and sinister with a pitch black streak of humor, but it is never ever boring and it will keep your anxiety flowing from the first sip of Sangria until the sun, mercifully, rises on this parade into hell.
Happy Death Day 2U
Release Date:February 13th
Director:Christopher Landon
Cast:Jessica Rothe, Israel Broussard, Ruby Modine, Suraj Sharma, Rachel Matthews, Phi Vu
Happy Death Daywas one of the best surprises of 2017; a snappy time-loop slasher film with a brassy lead character (Jessica Rothe) and a sharp script that kept theGroundhogs Day-style surprises coming until the credits rolled. While a sequel might seem like a risky idea on paper, everything we’ve seen fromHappy Death Day 2Uso far makes me hopeful that Blumhouse and writer-directorChristopher Landonmanaged to capture lightning in a bottle twice, because this slasher sequel looks surprisingly smart and self-aware in all the best ways. When we caught up with Rothe last year, the actress teased a sequel idea that wouldn’t just repeat the beats of the first film, but elevate the material into a " aBack to the Futuretype of genre film where the sequel joins us right from where we left off [and] explains a lot of things in the first one that didn’t get explained." Sign me right the hell up, especially with a concept that allows for so much cheeky fun.
Release Date:March 15th
Director:Jordan Peele
Cast:Winston Duke, Lupita Nyong’o, Elisabeth Moss, Tim Heidecker
Jordan Peele’s directorial debutGet Outwas a veritable sensation in 2017, bringing horror to the Oscars and sparking all kinds of timely and necessary discussions about “post-racial America”. It was also a damn entertaining modern day spin onTwilight Zonestyle horrors that’s just as sharp and witty as you’d expect from the formerKey and Peeleco-creator. So obviously I was already excited for his second filmUs, which he’s described another social-minded horror movie in the vein ofGet Out, but then the trailer dropped. Holy shit, that trailer is amazing and so unnerving, a surreal spin on the home invasion genre that’s all about the way we become own worst enemies — literally, we’re talking creepy-ass dopplegangers here. If the trailer’s any indication, Peele is shaping up to be an essential voice in a golden age of horror.
Pet Sematary
Release Date:April 5th
Directors:Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer
Cast:Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, John Lithgow
Stephen King’s darkest book is getting new life on screen fromStarry EyesfilmmakersKevin KölschandDennis Widmyer.Pet Semataryweilds grief and the fear of mortality with the force of a truck, crashing through the illusions of safety or rationality we wrap around ourselves for comfort and stripping life down to its barest fragility. It’s a scary and deeply upsetting novel, one of King’s best, and it’s in the hands of two filmmakers who have proved they’re not afraid to get bleak and dark with their material. Then they went and cast the thing, and it’s honest to god perfection;Jason Clarke,Amy Seimetz, and freakin’John Lithgowas Jud Crandall. You really couldn’t ask for more. There’s a lot left in the mythology of King’s book that wasn’t touched in.Mary Lambert’s 1989 remake and I’m excited to see how deep and how dark Kolsch and Wydmyer decide to go with the material. If we’re living in a resurgence of King adaptations,Pet Semataryis one of the most exciting titles you can have on the lineup.
The Curse of La Llorona
Release Date:April 19th
Director:Michael Chaves
Cast:Linda Cardellini, Patricia Velásequez, Raymond Cruz, Marisol Ramirez
One of the greatest Latin American legends finally gets the Hollywood treatment with New Line’sThe Curse of La Llorona. Inspired by the legend – a mournful ghost who wanders the river looking for her children (who she drowned in a fit of rage) bringing grief and tragedy to any who hear her cries –La Lloronahas the potential to be one of the biggest horror hits of the year, tapping into a potent cultural icon and landing in a prime release date. If the blockbuster territory launch date doesn’t convince you that the studio believes in this movie, set your sights on directorMichael Chaves, who was hand-picked by the studio to take overThe Conjuring 3beforeLa Lloronaeven hit theaters.
BrightBurn
Release Date:May 24th
Director:David Yarovesky
Cast:Elizabeth Banks, David Denman, Meredith Hagner, Jackson A. Dunn, Matt Jones
This surprisingly little project immediately caught everyone’s eye thanks to two factors: producerJames Gunnand a superman-but-evil story line that promises a keen mashup of horror and superhero cinema. Sounds pretty good.Elizabeth Banksstars inBrightBurnas the Martha Kent in the equation, an Earth woman who adopts an alien baby with her husband when the child comes crash-landing onto the planet. But this kid is no Man of Steel, ad the child quickly develops dangerous abilities no one knows how to control. The trailer boasts strong visuals and a sly tonal reversal, and while “Evil Superman” isn’t exactly the most original concept, there are some genuinely unnerving and chilling moments in there.
