Best New Horror Movies To Add To Your Watchlist This Fall

The eighth installment in the wildly popular found footage franchise drops viewers smack dab into Halloween season. The new batch of directors featured in V/H/S/HALLOWEEN are Bryan M. Ferguson (Pumpkin Guts) Casper Kelly (Too Many Cooks, Adult Swim Yule Log), Micheline Pitt-Norman & R.H. Norman (Cosmetic), Alex Ross Perry (Her Smell, Queen of Earth), Paco Plaza (REC, Verónica) and Anna Zlokovic (Appendage).

This time around, a collection of Halloween-themed videotapes unleashes a series of twisted, blood-soaked tales, turning trick-or-treat into a struggle for survival. V/H/S Halloween is streaming on Shudder October 3. 

Bone Lake premiered at last year’s Fantastic Fest in Austin, and the “horny thriller” currently holds a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. Directed by Mercedes Bryce Morgan from a script by Joshua Friedlander, Bone Lake stars Maddie Hasson, Marco Pigossi, Alex Roe, Andra Nechita, Eliane Reis, and Clayton Spencer.

The film’s synopsis is as follows: A couple's romantic vacation at a secluded lakeside estate is upended when they are forced to share the mansion with a mysterious and attractive couple. In this darkly hilarious and seductive horror story, a dream getaway spirals into a nightmarish maze of sex, lies, and manipulation, bringing terrifying secrets to light and triggering a bloody battle for survival.

Bone Lake is in theaters October 3.

Are you ready to fall in love and begin a passionate campaign for a Best Animal Performance category in every awards show? Good Boy follows very good boy, canine hero, Indy, as he finds himself on a new adventure with his human owner—and best friend—Todd, leaving city life for a long-vacant family home in the country.

From the start, two things are abundantly clear: Indy is wary of the creepy old house, and his affection for Todd is unwavering. After moving in, Indy is immediately vexed by empty corners, tracks an invisible presence only he can see, perceives phantasmagoric warnings from a long-dead dog, and is haunted by visions of the previous occupant’s grim death. When Todd begins succumbing to the dark forces swirling around the house, Indy must battle a malevolence intent on dragging his beloved Todd into the afterlife.

Good Boy is in theaters October 3.

Bryan Bertino’sVicious is set to premiere at Fantastic Fest in September, followed by a Paramount+ and Digital release shortly after. And if you know how long we waited for The Toxic Avenger (two long years!) you’ll understand why we love to celebrate those pretty immediate release dates.

The Strangers director Bryan Bertino is joined by a cast that includes lead Dakota Fanning with Kathryn Hunter (Poor Things, The Front Room),  Mary McCormack (The West Wing), Rachel Blanchard (The Summer I Turned Pretty), Devyn Nekoda (Scream VI), Klea Scott (Millennium), and Emily Mitchell (Ordinary Angels). The story follows …a young woman who, after being left with a strange present from a late-night visitor, must spend the night fighting for her existence as she slips down a disturbing rabbit hole contained inside the gift.

Vicious is streaming on Paramount + October 10. 

A World War II shark movie? Say no more. Ok, we’ll say a little more. When their boat is sunk while crossing the Timor Sea during World War II, a young troop of Australian soldiers must find a way to survive the harsh seas on a quickly shrinking life raft. Hundreds of miles from anywhere, they must confront interpersonal conflicts, enemy attacks, and the advances of one very large, very hungry great white shark. From Kiah Roache-Turner, director of Wyrmwood and Sting, comes this uniquely terrifying tale.

Beast of War is on demand and digital October 10.

 Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, Jeremy Davies, Miguel Mora and The Grabber himself (Ethan Hawke) are all returning for Black Phone 2. Things get a little frozen and a lot more nightmarish this time around as a now 17-year-old Finn struggles with life after his captivity. His headstrong sister Gwen begins receiving calls in her dreams from the black phone and seeing disturbing visions of three boys being stalked at a winter camp known as Alpine Lake.

Sounds chilling. Scott Derrickson C. Robert Cargill’s sequel will premiere at Fantastic Fest in September. If you can't make it to the fest, fret not, Black Phone 2 will be in theaters October 17.

The townspeople of social media swiftly swooped up their pitchforks and torches when del Toro’s take on our favorite creation was rumored to be bound to a streaming platform. The good folks at Netflix have since officially confirmed that Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein will indeed hit select theaters on October 17, before arriving on the streamer on November 7.

Great news for folks who would like to catch Frankenstein on the big screen, hopefully that select release isn’t too limited. Starring Jacob Elordi as the Creature, Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein, Mia Goth as Elizabeth Lavenza, and Christoph Waltz as Dr. Pretorius. Del Toro’s vision follows a brilliant but egotistical scientist who brings a monstrous creature to life in a daring experiment that ultimately leads to the undoing of both the creator and his tragic creation.

Our FANGORIA #29 cover story Queens of the Dead hits theaters just in time for Halloween. A zombie apocalypse breaks out in Brooklyn on the night of a giant warehouse party, where an eclectic group of drag queens, club kids, and frenemies must put aside their drama and use their unique skills to fight against the brain-thirsty, scrolling undead.

Starring Katy O’Brian, Jaquel Spivey, Tomas Matos, Nina West, Quincy Dunn-Baker, Jack Haven, Cheyenne Jackson, Dominique Jackson, and Margaret Cho. Directed by Tina Romero, this feature directorial debut and Tribeca Festival 2025 – Audience Award Winner will be in theaters October 24.

The found-footage debut from YouTuber Chris Stuckmann follows a woman searching for her sister, who ominously disappeared in the last tape of her investigative series, ‘Paranormal Paranoids’.

It’s the end of the line for the Warrens. The Conjuring: Last Rites marks the end of the highest-grossing horror franchise to date. This is the ninth entry in James Wan and Peter Safran's The Conjuring universe, longtime franchise  stars Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, this time investigating the infamous Smurl family haunting, which was said to have taken place from 1974 to 1989 in West Pittston, PA.

Pierre Tsigaridis (Two Witches), sophomore feature Traumatika is billed as a movie you survive rather than see. Starring Rebekah Kennedy (Two Witches), Ranen Navat (Into the Box), Sean O’Bryan (The Veil), Susan Gayle Watts (To Hell and Gone), Emily Goss (The House on Pine Street), AJ Bowen (The Sacrament) and Sean Whalen (The People Under the Stairs), the story follows a young boy as his night terrors become reality when his mother begins showing signs of demonic possession.

What he’s about to experience will haunt him for the rest of his life and claim countless lives across generations. Traumatika is in theaters September 12.

Dev Patel unleashes the wrath of faeries in Bryn Chainey’s feature directorial debut, Rabbit Trap. Dev Patel and Rosy McEwen star as a musician and her husband who move to a remote house in Wales. It turns out the music they make disturbs local ancient folk magic, bringing a nameless child to their door who is intent on infiltrating their lives. The upcoming folk-horror-thriller hits theaters September 12. 

Written and directed by Colin Krawchuk, The Jester 2 takes place on Halloween night, as teen magician Max finds herself locked in a brutal showdown with the Jester, a nightmarish and supernatural trickster with real dark magic and a killer act. As illusions turn lethal and every escape is a trap, Max must pull off the ultimate trick: staying alive. On this deadly night, the only escape… is to beat the devil at its own game.

The film serves as a follow-up to 2023’s The Jester, also co-written and directed by Krawchuk. The Jester 2 is coming to theaters for two nights only, September 15 and 16.

Produced by Jordan Peele, Him stars Marlon Wayans and Tyriq Withers. The sports horror follows a star football player who collides with an iconic but volatile quarterback whom he idolizes. Here’s the official synopsis:

Cameron Cade, a rising-star quarterback, has devoted his life, and identity, to football. On the eve of professional football’s annual scouting Combine, Cam is attacked by an unhinged fan and suffers a potentially career-ending brain trauma. 

Him is in theaters September 19.

Hungry for a little ‘80s horror vibes? Well, Night Of The Reaper looks to be serving that up in spades. As our writer, Ryan Scott put it: “For anyone who is a sucker for an ‘80s throwback, this seems to have it all. VHS tapes, babysitters, a killer in a mask, a creepy basement and a mystery that needs solving. And yes, a body count made up of largely unsuspecting young people. What more could one ask for?” Here’s the official synopsis:

“In the heart of a quiet, 1980s suburb, college student Deena returns home and reluctantly takes on a last-minute babysitting job. That same night, the local sheriff receives a cryptic package that pulls him into a sinister scavenger hunt that sets off a game of cat and mouse with a dangerous killer. As the clues unravel, Deena finds herself ensnared in a nightmarish mystery that she may not survive.”

Night of the Reaper is streaming on Shudder September 19.

Director Renny Harlin returns with the second installment of his Strangers trilogy reboot. When the titular villains learn that one of their victims, Maya (Madelaine Petsch), is still alive, they return to finish what they’ve started. With nowhere to run and no one to trust, Maya must survive another horrific chapter of terror as The Strangers – driven by a senseless, unceasing purpose – pursue her, more than willing to kill anyone who stands in their way. The Strangers: Chapter 2 is in theaters September 26.