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)
#28 – READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME (PENNY LANE IS DEAD)
#27 – IN OUR BLOOD (V/H/S/HALLOWEEN)
#26 – SEND HELP (HEEL)
#25 – THE CARPENTER’S SON (THE BOOK OF SIJJIN AND ILLIYYIN)
#24 – OTHER (YOU ARE NOT ME)
#23 – WHO’S WATCHING (MATCH)
#22 – HOPE (TOUCH ME)
#21 – THEY WILL KILL YOU (MEAT KILLS)
#20 – IT ENDS (ANACORETA)
#19 – TEENAGE SEX AND DEATH AT CAMP MIASMA (PLAY DEAD)
#18 – IRON LUNG (THE DEEP DARK)
#17 – LEE CRONIN’S THE MUMMY (SILENT NIGHT, DEADLY NIGHT)
#16 – BUFFET INFINITY (KETCHUP ON WAFFLES)
#15 – DUST BUNNY (THE YETI)
#14 – BUDDY (MONKEY’S MAGIC MERRY GO ROUND)
#13 – INFLUENCERS (PRIMAL DARKNESS)
#12 – KEEPER (THE HOUSE WAS NOT HUNGRY THEN)
#11 – UNDERTONE (MAN FINDS TAPE)
#10 – EXIT 8 (GHOST TRAIN)
#9 – HONEY BUNCH (BONE LAKE)
#8 – RESIDENT EVIL (WE BURY THE DEAD)

#8 – RESIDENT EVIL (2026)

Released on September 18, 2026!
In theaters now from Columbia Pictures!
Directed by Zach Cregger.
Written by Zach Cregger, Shay Hatten.
Check out the trailer here!

A bumbling, but well-intentioned organ transport worker named Bryan (Austin Abrams) is given a job to take an important package to Raccoon City. But when Bryan hits a woman in the snowy road with his car, it begins a series of horrifying events that turns this simple delivery into a trip through hell’s worst nightmare.

Certifying his role as a master of horror, Zach Cregger has done it again. After the one-two punch that was BARBARIAN and WEAPONS, Cregger delivers another winner with RESIDENT EVIL. The film is a loose adaptation of the game, offering up a tertiary tale occurring concurrently with all the crap that was going on in the RESIDENT EVIL franchise. So don’t expect Mila Jovovitch prancing around with guns blazing. Nope, this is a more grounded take on the film, ripe with monsters and gore, but never forgetting to pepper in jokes all the way through.

And I think that’s what I love about Cregger’s movies. They are filled with shocking moments and real scares, but the comedy is prevalent even right up to the end. Reminiscent of such classics as EVIL DEAD II that seamlessly blends comedy and horror, RESIDENT EVIL had me smiling with devilish glee from beginning to end. I don’t think I’ve laughed so hard at a horror movie in years.

Much of what makes the comedy work is the performance by the hapless hero Bryan, played by Austin Abrams. He’s an unlikely hero, prone to clumsy falls and nervousness, but probably indicative of the type of person who would play the RESIDENT EVIL game for hours or go see all the movies. Abrams line delivery is perfect as he reacts realistically to the shit happening around him. Sure, every other word is “Fuck!” But the actor makes it an art form of Samuel L. Jackson proportions, placing the f-bombs at just the correct moment. Most of the movie centers directly around Bryan and the monsters he’s running from. There are no real cut aways to subplots. This is just one night of hell for him and while there are a few moments when he breaks down, Cregger and Abrams never keep it serious for long. This is a star making performance by Abrams. The guy’s got comedic chops in a Peter Parker, lovable loser sort of way as he bumbles through challenge and monster repeatedly all through this long night.

RESIDENT EVIL is much more than a bunch of jokes and swears though. This movie has one of the best jump-scares I’ve seen in ages. Cregger sets up these scares like a perfect joke as he dangles the horror in front of you and then, even though we know the punchline is coming and he knows that we know the punchline is coming, he takes a beat and then still manages to surprise you. Cregger is a master at building anticipation. There’s a scene where a zombie is running through a house and Bryan is upstairs fumbling with a shotgun to try to load it. He doesn’t cut away to show the monster coming in. The camera stays on Bryan and then a POV shot tracking the sound of the infected zombie getting in the door, running around downstairs, then up the stairs, and then down the hall and finally into the room. We hear all this horror approaching as Bryan continues to try to load the gun. It’s that anticipation though that makes this a perfect scary scene using sound and action but forcing the perspective as such to make it scarier. Cregger uses this method numerous times, taking advantage of space, sound, and a forced perspective to make things amazingly frightening.

Not everyone feels this way. Cregger has commented that taking on this dream project of his turned out to be bittersweet. Now as I’ve said before in my IRON LUNG review, I’m not a gamer, but I am an avid comic book fan and I know how, shall we say, passionate fans can be regarding the little details. Turns out Cregger took some liberties with some things regarding the powers of these monsters and the basic rules of the world. I know some might disagree, but nevertheless, Cregger’s RESIDENT EVIL feels like you’re watching someone play a video game. The story functions as a series of challenges that lead to another challenge and so on. Every ten to fifteen minutes there is a new challenge Bryan must face as if you’re going through the levels of a video game. You can almost separate this film into levels from the car to the farmhouse to the road to Raccoon City and so on. Each level Bryan overcomes, he is rewarded with a new, tougher challenge. Bryan even counts his bullets to remind the viewer how much ammo he has. So maybe Cregger didn’t stick completely to the script of the game, but it was a thrilling ride from start to finish. Not that I want Cregger to leave horror, but he has the chops to handle Spielbergian levels of epic cinema, never forgetting to add personality and grounding to his lead. I could see him doing one hell of an Indiana Jones film with the way he handles horror, comedy and action so well.

But I don’t know what those fans want. More Mila Jovovich and bad CGI? Hasn’t there been umpteen of those? Cregger made a frightening and gory horror movie that moves like a freight train rarely stopping to catch its breath. Some of the monsters like the creature made of multiple bodies, the fat guy in the sewer and the climax at the Umbrella tower gave visuals and thrills the like we haven’t seen in a horror before. RESIDENT EVIL is a fantastic, fun and bloody good time. And I hope Cregger keeps his streak going in the horror genre and beyond.

Worth Noting – WE BURY THE DEAD (2024)

Released on January 2, 2026!
Streaming on Hulu from NEON Films and Vertical Entertainment!
Directed/Written by Zak Hilditch.
Check out the
trailer here! !

Daisy Ridley plays Ava, who volunteered to be a part of the body clean-up after the US accidentally detonated an experimental bomb over Tasmania, causing mass casualties. Ava’s husband was within the blast radius, and her real goal is to get past the military borders to see if her husband survived or at least to recover his body. Ava pairs up with Clay (Brenton Thwaites) to get past the military and into the forbidden zones. But they soon find themselves ill-prepared for what horrors lay ahead.

I always hate it when early word about a movie is negative and I skip watching it and then it turns out the film is actually pretty good. That’s the case with WE BURY THE DEAD. While the film isn’t a thrill-a-minute, it does fill the spaces with utter dread and suspense. Ava’s quest is a dire one. It is most likely that she is on this mission to find the dead body of her husband. Still, this noble quest gives her something to cling to in this time of global catastrophe. That’s what this story is about. Holding on to something until it’s time to finally let go in a time when everything else makes no sense. It’s a universal concept and makes for a compelling motivation.

Ridley shows much more range here than she ever did in the STAR WARS movies. Here she must face horrifying odds and emotionally devastating truths. The actress can act. She just hasn’t had any films to challenge her in this way, or at least in anything I’ve seen. Here she is tough as nails and determined, but always almost to the point of completely breaking down.

The zombies themselves are rather unique. They are in a harmless state for a while, then evolve into walking threats and eventually begin running if they are given enough time. What really differentiates them from other denizens of the undead is that they chomp and grind their teeth. This sound offers up a visceral feel. Grinding one’s teeth is awful anyway—an old girlfriend did this while she was sleeping and it used to make me squirm. Add in a growing appetite for flesh and you’ve got one gnarly zombie.

The film reaches a logical, almost Romero-esque end where the zombies continue to evolve into something a little more than brainless hunks of meat. This idea tracks as the zombies have been evolving all through the film-changing from basically pieces of furniture to a real threat. And while I won’t reveal the fate of Ava’s husband, her quest comes to a fitting end once all the cards are on the table. It all ends quite dramatically and hit me hard, mainly due to Ripley’s performance.

Of course, as with most zombie films, man is the most dangerous threat, as evidenced by a twisted sequence in the third act. This is going to turn a lot of folks off as this scene is quite depraved, but I was impressed the film went into this gruesome territory.

I guess the lesson to learn here is to not trust the critics. Not even me, even though I try to be deaf to the hype machine. WE BURY THE DEAD is a solid zombie film. And while there still are plenty of zombie films made, few are worth mentioning. WE BURY THE DEAD truly is.

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!