Longer Days, Darker Nights - A Look at Upcoming Horror Releases in May 2026
As the weather warms and the evenings grow lighter, those cosy nights spent with something dark and unsettling start to feel a little rarer. Still, May looks set to be a solid month for horror fans, with a line-up that covers a wide range of the genre. The month’s releases range from supernatural horror and psychological chillers to creature features, offering a mix of intense genre thrills with slower, mood-driven stories.
Whatever your preference, there’s a good spread of titles arriving throughout the month. Here’s a look at what the horror films in May have in store.
Hokum
As disturbing visions take hold and a sudden disappearance deepens the mystery, his grief begins to intertwine with something far more sinister. Trapped within the hotel’s shadowy past, he must confront both the truth behind the legend and the darkness within himself.
This supernatural folk horror is a classic ghost story rooted in Irish folklore and mysticism.
“Steeped in mood, mystery, and old‑world dread.” - Horror Circuit
Runtime: 102 mins
Cinema release on the 1st of May
Affection
After a serious accident leaves her with a memory that resets each morning, Ellie Carter relies on her husband’s careful routines and recordings to keep their family life intact. Their young daughter becomes her anchor, even as the gaps in her recollections grow harder to ignore.
When unsettling visions and unexplained behaviour begin to surface, she starts to suspect that the version of events her husband presents isn’t the full story. As the strain on their home deepens, she must piece together what really happened before the truth slips beyond her reach again.
Described as a sci-fi psychological horror thriller, this sets a tone of the mind-bending and macabre, promising a thought-provoking watch.
“Quietly terrifying from the first frame.” - Horror Circuit
Runtime: 94 mins
Limited cinema release on the 8th of May
Obsession
A socially awkward young man, Bear, discovers an old charm said to grant a single wish. Hoping to finally win the attention of Nikki, the woman he’s long admired, he makes his wish - and something inside her shifts. What begins as a subtle change soon grows unsettling, as an unseen force takes hold and her behaviour turns increasingly volatile.
Realising his wish has awakened something dangerous within her, he’s forced to confront the entity now steering her actions before it spirals beyond his control.
With a deeply unsettling take on possession horror, this promises to take love-bombing to a whole new level.
“Stylish, seductive, and deeply unsettling” - Bloody Disgusting
Runtime: 100 mins
Cinema release on the 15th of May
Passenger
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A young couple’s van-life journey takes a horrifying turn when they witness a fatal accident on a remote road. Believing they’ve left the scene behind, they continue on. only to realise something has followed them.
An unseen presence begins to stalk them, appearing wherever they go and refusing to let them escape. As the road stretches endlessly ahead, their journey becomes a race for survival against a force that cannot be outrun and may already be closer than they think.
The director himself, André Øvredal, has referred to this as his 'scariest movie".
“A relentless, guilt‑soaked haunting.” — Nightfall Review
Runtime: 96mins
Cinema release on the 22nd of May
Corporate Retreat
A high-powered executive team heads to a luxury woodland lodge for a weekend of bonding and strategy. What begins as structured exercises and forced camaraderie soon crumbles as tensions surface and the retreat’s planned schedule starts to unravel.
Cut off from the outside world, the group finds themselves drawn into a series of increasingly disturbing “activities” that seem tailored to their personal secrets. As alliances shift and trust erodes, survival may depend on how far each is willing to go to stay ahead.
Team building and deadly power games with a viscuoius edge.
"Bloody, biting and brutally funny" - Horror Cicuit
Runtime: 101 mins
Cinema release on the 2nd of May
Saccharine
Hana is a medical student who is desperate to lose weight and joins a disturbing underground trend, known as "The Grey" which involves consuming the ashes of the dead. When she unknowingly ingests the remains of a vengeful spirit, she becomes haunted by visions of the woman’s final days and the violent truth behind her death.
As the haunting intensifies, she must uncover who the woman was, and why she won’t let go, before the possession consumes her completely.
Exploring toxic diet culture, this looks like a chilling take on achieving perfection.
“Body horror with a razor‑sharp edge.” - Nightfall Review
Runtime: 99 mins
Cinema release on the 22nd of May
My Best Friend’s Dead
Grieving after losing her best friend in a sudden accident, Olivia performs a forbidden ritual to bring her back. The resurrection works but the returned friend is followed by a demon that begins killing the men who cross their path.
As the bodies pile up and the demon’s hold strengthens, the two women must confront the cost of their reunion before the creature claims them both.
Billed as a "wild supernatural comedy horror", early signs are that htis is a tale of grief that is “Darkly funny, deeply unsettling.” - Horror Circuit
Runtime: 93 mins
VOD/digital release on the 26th of May
Backrooms
When patient Clark mysteriously disappears, his therapist, Dr. Mary Kline, uncovers the truth behind his growing obsession with the “Backrooms” - an endless labyrinth existing beyond reality itself. Determined to find him, she enters the shifting maze of yellow corridors where time, space, and logic no longer behave as they should.
As they search for a way back home, the pair must survive the unseen entities stalking the endless complex, where every corridor leads deeper into terror.
After a long wait, Backrooms is shaping up to be claustrophobic horror at its most disorienting.
“A nightmare of liminal dread.” - Fright Zone
Runtime: 107 mins
Cinema release on the 29th of May
Speed Demon
A runaway train hurtles through the night after a mysterious passenger becomes violently possessed. With the crew overwhelmed and the passengers trapped, a young nun is forced to perform her first exorcism in the confined, speeding carriage.
As the demon grows stronger and the train races toward disaster, she must confront her own doubts to stop the entity before it claims everyone on board.
This tale of high speed terror looks like one you could have fun with if you don't take it too seriously.
Runtime: 95 mins
Cinema release on the 29th of May
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