All through October, I’ll be posting reviews of the best of the best films in the horror genre released since October 1, 2025, through September 30, 2026. As an added bonus, I’ll be doing a secondary review that may be somewhat related to the main review or slightly missed the countdown by inches. Follow along the countdown every day in October. Feel free to agree, disagree, or better yet, give me your own picks for your favorite horror movies of the year. Happy Halloween!

The Best in Horror 2025-2026 So Far…

#31 – DOLLY (GATOR FACE)
#30 – THINESTRA (SACCHARINE)
#29 – ONSLAUGHT (BEAST OF WAR)

#29 – ONSLAUGHT (2026)

Released on September 5, 2026!
In theaters now from A24 Films!
Directed by Adam Wingard.
Written by Simon Barrett, Adam Wingard.
Check out the trailer here!

When a trio of scientifically bred super soldiers escape a secret government facility, the residents of a small mobile home park including a PTSD-addled former soldier Celeste (Adria Arjona) and her daughter Daisy (Blake Kennedy), must do anything they can do to survive.

Filmmaker Adam Wingard burst onto the scene with YOU’RE NEXT and THE GUEST, only to be drafted up to the big leagues to helm GODZILLA VS KONG movies. But Wingard returns to his roots with ONSLAUGHT, even using this film to serve as connective tissue between YOU’RE NEXT and THE GUEST. Though he doesn’t make ONSLAUGHT steeped in lore from those previous movies, it doesn’t enrich the experience to have seen those two before this one.

Wingard takes this time to highlight some fun Raimi-esque angles and some less than mainstream themes in ONSLAUGHT. There are a lot of stylized shots, musical choices, and simply odd details that show Wingard was working overtime to distance himself from his big budget work. For the most part, I liked it, yet I still feel that the filmmaker is still trying to find his own distinct voice as the stylistic choices feel like a mixture of Tarantino, Raimi, Tony Scott, and Michael Bay. Don’t get me wrong, I love films by those guys and though Wingard may feel like this is more his style, it doesn’t exactly feel like something wholly original yet. That said, the stylized scenes were a whole lot of fun and made the first hour whiz by with lots of creativity.

The idea of the super soldier is not new. ONSLAUGHT is basically a more horror-centric version of UNIVERSAL SOLDIER. AGAIN, not a bad thing, but the similarities must be pointed out. I did

Worth Noting – BEAST OF WAR (2025)

Released on October 10, 2025!
Streaming on Shudder from WellGo USA!
Directed/Written by Kiah Roache-Turner.
Check out the trailer here!

A troop of fresh-faced Australian soldiers are attacked by Japanese forces during WWII in the Timor Sea. When their ship is destroyed, the few survivors find themselves clinging to debris from the battle and facing a giant Great White Shark who is circling them for dinner.

I love me some shark horror. I love it so much I even wrote a low budget one myself called SHARK WATERS and am in the process of writing a second one as I write this review. There are plenty of shark films out there to watch, but the likelihood of them being good is around the same chances of catching a good Bigfoot flick. So, I understand the groan many of you might utter every time a new shark movie comes out.

But BEAST OF WAR is a good one as it tells a semi-original tale of man vs beast and adds some international and historical flavor to the mix. Sure, we’ve all heard of the tale Quint told in JAWS about the USS Indianapolis and how after surviving an arial attack, the floating soldiers faced scores of sharks in the water. But surely that can’t be the only time this type of occurrence happened. Turns out it wasn’t, as the story in BEAST OF WAR is based on true events, or at least that’s what the opening scribe tells us.

What transpires is a rock-solid action horror jaunt that places our survivor inches away from the chomping jaws of death. Filmmaker Kiah Roache-Turner paces the action well, taking his time to introduce these soldiers in boot camp and even attaches an interesting theme; the necessity of teamwork to survive in war. Being the director of both WORMWOOD movies as well as last year’s STING, Roache-Turner knows action and keeps the thrills fast and furious from beginning to end, but doesn’t rely simply on the shark for those high-tension moments.

But alongside of the sharky moments, the theme of teamwork is played out through three characters; the alpha male Aborigine Leo (played by Mark Coles Smith), the weaker Will (Joel Nankervis) and Des (Sam Delich). When the self-centered Des refuses to help Will out of a deep mud pit during training, Leo steps up to save Will. This causes a rift between Leo and Des who is punished for the selfish act while Leo and Will are rewarded for teamwork. This rift continues through boot camp and then on the warfront after they are all survivors of the attack with a shark stalking them. For these guys to get out of this situation, they need to put sour feelings behind them. That’s a decent motivator for the group, more than just happening to be on a beach for some fun in the sun like many a shark flick.

The strong acting is another factor that sets BEAST OF WAR apart from the rest of the shark frenzy. Mark Coles Smith is a strong leading man as Leo, conflicted with a loss of his little brother Archie (played by Aswan Reid) to a shark as a kid. While his buddy Will (played by Joel Nankervis) is sort of nebbish and too reliant on Leo as a protector, he gets some moments to shine. And like any good villain, Sam Delich sticks to his guns as not a team player, even when it really isn’t fortuitous for him to do so as the selfish Des. There’s also a fun role for Sam Parsonson as a soldier with a massive head wound who is hallucinating and spouts non-sequiturs to lighten the mood.

Finally, the shark itself. Gnarly. It’s all scarred up and looks this this isn’t his first rodeo. There are plenty of great moments as the shark submerges and snags one of the soldiers. It looks like this is a combination of practical and digital effects and both are utilized well here, even though underwater, the open mouth shark looks a bit like a smiling Bruce from FINDING NEMO at times.

Roache-Turner does a lot with a little here. For the most part, BEAST OF WAR plays out like a single set play with the bulk of the action taking place on a floating piece of debris and the water around it. But through some nice drama, creative camera work and some especially good lighting, bathing the scenes in reds, blues, and blacks, the filmmaker delivers a visually stimulating film despite what looks to be a limited budget.

Every year there’s at least one shark horror movie of note. It might not be at JAWS level but still delivers enough thrills and chills to make for an effective reminder to never go swimming in the ocean again. BEAST OF WAR is that type of movie and if you’re like me, and sharks are your greatest fear, this film will surely stoke those fear flames some more.

Once again, feel free to agree, disagree, or how about you play along at home and give me your own picks for your favorite horror movies. It’s October, so let’s talk horror. Come back tomorrow for the next level in the Best in Horror Countdown. Be sure to hit all of the pertinent bells and whistles down below and you’ll never miss a post! Happy Halloween, folks!