Frightening Strikes

Hokum is a tense supernatural mystery rooted in Irish folklore, blending gothic horror with murder-mystery intrigue. Set mainly within the Bilberry Hotel, the film follows Ohm Bowden, a successful novelist returning to Ireland to scatter the ashes of his late parents at the place where they honeymooned years before. What begins as a personal pilgrimage spirals into something far darker, tied to the legend of a witch imprisoned within the hotel’s honeymoon suite. The Weight of Unresolved Grief Ohm isn’t an easy man to warm to. Abrasive and emotionally guarded, he manages to alienate most of the hotel staff soon after his arrival. But the harsh exterior masks the weight of unresolved grief — a secret he’s carried for far too long — and it gives the character a sharp, uneasy edge. Fiona, one of the hotel employees, is the only person willing to challenge his cynicism, and the brief connection between the pair gives the film an emotional focal point. When Fiona later intervenes during a d...

Undertone is a supernatural psychological horror film that   centres on Evy, a young woman with a troubled past, now living back at home and caring for her terminally ill mother. To cope with the isolation, she co-hosts the titular podcast with Justin, a London-based collaborator we never see: Evy plays the sceptic, Justin the believer, as they dissect urban legends and creepypasta stories. A Strange Email with a Cryptic Message The film opens as they prepare to record a new episode. Justin reveals he has received a strange email containing a cryptic message and a set of audio files - files he unwisely opens. After sampling one, he saves the rest for the recording, allowing both hosts to experience them in real time. What begins as natural curiosity soon develops into something far more sinister. The audio narrative starts innocently enough: a man records his partner while she sleeps because she doesn’t believe she talks in her sleep. But as the content unfolds, increasingly distur...

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 A reclusive novelist travels to a remote Irish hotel to scatter his parents’ ashes, hoping for solitude and closure. Instead, he finds himself drawn into the hotel’s unsettling atmosphere, where staff whisper of an ancient witch said to haunt a long-sealed honeymoon suite. As disturbing visions take hold and a sudden disappearance deepens the mystery, his grief begins to intertwine with something far more s...

The Mummy is a wild and winning blend of possession horror and adventure, with a good chunk of sensationalist gore. Don’t expect anything resembling the Boris Karloff classic or the Brendan Fraser-era swashbuckler - this is something else entirely. Director Lee Cronin takes a familiar framework and reworks it into something darker, stranger, and very much his own. Katie Vanishes Charlie and Laurie Cannon are raising their children in Cairo when their daughter Katie vanishes from their home. The police are called, and a young officer, Zaki, is assigned to investigate. Keen to make an impression on her first case, she is overruled by a dismissive superior officer, who throws suspicion on the parents, and the investigation falters. Eight years later, the Cannons are back in the United States, trying to maintain as normal a life as possible, but are deeply scarred and still haunted by the loss of Katie. Until a phone call changes everything. Unnatural Aging Katie is found alive, inexplica...

The Wretched opens with a terrifying scene as a babysitter arrives at a house for what should be a routine job, only to stumble into something far more sinister, witnessing an unspeakable act that traps her in a hellish nightmare. It sets the scene for a witch-in-the-woods horror film that blends teen thriller elements with folk horror. Thirty-five years on, we’re introduced to Ben, who is staying with his dad for the summer after his parents’ divorce. Already battered emotionally and physically - his broken arm the result of a bungled attempt to steal from a neighbour - Ben arrives as a defensive, chippy teenager, testing the boundaries of his newfound adulthood, but still young enough to need a guiding hand. So Far, So Beverly Hills 90210 Next door, a young family has moved in for the summer, and mum Abby and her son, Dillon, unwittingly have a brush with a ghoulish witch in the woods as she tries to tempt Dillon into her lair. Although thwarted, the creature isn’t put off easily...

Body Cam is the latest film from director Brandon Christensen, whose early work greatly enjoyed. His more recent outings ( Puppet Master , Night of the Reaper ) didn’t quite have the same impact, but putting that aside, I waslooking forward to see what he would do with this new story of two police officers responding to a domestic disturbance that spirals into something far darker than either of them is prepared for. A Nightmare With no Escape When officers Bryce and Jackson arrive at a rundown property to attend to a routine domestic distubance, a volatile confrontation escalates into a tragic shooting. Faced with the consequences, the pair agree—after heavy persuasion from Bryce—to manipulate their body‑cam footage and engineer a cover-up. But as the night unfolds, something far more unsettling is revealed and what starts as a desperate attempt to hide the truth quickly descends into a nightmare, as the officers realise that whatever they’ve tried to bury may not stay hidden—and may...

April is a quieter month for horror, with fewer high-profile releases but a steady stream of smaller titles arriving across cinemas and digital platforms. It’s the kind of line-up where the star attractions take a break and the undertsudies get to take centre stage. There’s still a good mix on offer, though—from creature features and supernatural setups to psychological and character-driven stories. It may not be the busiest month, but there’s enough variety here to keep things interesting. Faces of Death Margot is a content moderator tasked with reviewing the darkest corners of the internet stumbles upon a series of increasingly disturbing videos that blur the line between staged horror and something far more real. Drawn deeper into this disturing material, Margot begins to uncover a hidden network built on exploitation and voyeurism, where the cost of looking away may be just as dangerous as continuing to watch. “Disturbing, timely, and hard to shake.” – Horror Scope Runtime:  98...

Anything for Jackson is one of those little gems you come across every now and then and wonder why you hadn’t watched it before. It had been on my radar for a while, but I’d never quite felt compelled to commit. The idea of an elderly couple performing a reverse exorcism didn’t feel like a “must-see”. That said, taking the plunge turned out to be a good decision. This is a surprisingly elegant and well-handled horror from Justin G. Dyck—better known for films with “Christmas” in the title. An Ancient Satanic Ritual Henry and Audrey Walsh are an affluent but otherwise unremarkable couple. Henry is the town doctor, Audrey his composed and quietly driven wife. After the loss of their grandson, Jackson, they turn to an ancient satanic ritual in an attempt to bring him back and repair their damaged lives. Early on, Audrey and Henry kidnap a pregnant woman and hold her prisoner in their home in order to perform the ritual and the couple go to great lengths to acquire the knowledge they need...

The first wave of 2026 has hit the shore, proving that horror isn’t riding in on a gentle swell. With Send Help, Scream 7, and 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple already planting their flag on the calendar, the tone has already been set with creative risks, franchise returns, and filmmakers pushing familiar concepts into darker territory. And yet some of the most anticipated titles are still to come. From medieval nightmares and franchise reinventions to cult sequels and viral legends making the leap to the big screen, the months ahead promise a varied stretch for horror. Here’s a look at the films emerging over the 2026 horizon — though release dates may change — with more titles to be added as official dates are confirmed. The Bride! (2026)   Set in 1930s Chicago, The Bride! follows Frankenstein as he works with Dr. Euphronius to create a companion by reanimating a young woman. As the Bride begins to form her own identity, the situation draws public attention and complicates the...

Black Phone 2 shifts the focus away from Finn and places Gwen at the centre of the story, leaning further into the supernatural elements hinted at in the first film. The sequel explores how both siblings continue to deal with the aftermath of their ordeal while introducing a renewed threat as The Grabber returns for revenge — forcing them to confront the killer once more and revealing deeper, darker connections to their family’s past. Life After Survival The story resumes four years after the original. Finn and Gwen are older and changed by what happened to them. Finn has become a rather angry young man, clearly still struggling to process his trauma. Gwen, on the other hand, is moving into adolescence and beginning to look outward — including a growing interest in Ernesto, the brother of Robin and one of The Grabber’s victims. The siblings are as close as ever, but Finn is trapped in the prison of his trauma, unable to talk about his experiences. As Gwen tries to help him through it,...

February is shaping up to be a busier month for horror releases than either January’s cautious trickle or December’s end-of-year slowdown. After a quiet start to the year, February welcomes a slew of new titles spanning studio sequels, indie thrillers, and high-concept supernatural stories. To make sense of the congestion, I’ve split this month’s releases into two groups. The "Looking Good" titles are the films currently generating the most attention — whether through trailers, familiar franchises, or early word of mouth — while "Hmm, Not So Sure" gathers projects that may still surprise, but are arriving with fewer indicators to a standout debut. It’s not a verdict, just a way of navigating a crowded release slate. Looking Good The Morrigan   When Fiona, an American archaeologist, travels to rural Ireland to excavate an ancient burial site, the dig unleashes an ancient force tied to Celtic mythology — The Morrigan, a vengeful war goddess bound to blood, prophecy,...

High-Stakes Robbery and a Risky Escape The film centres on estranged siblings Joe and Sid, who reunite after years apart to pull off a high-stakes robbery. The crime is intended to clear their debts, secure a future, and provide a better life for Sid and her young daughter. With the police closing in, they flee to an isolated farmhouse that Joe has secretly prepared as a hideout. Once inside, Joe guides Sid through a precise sequence of actions involving a hidden cupboard, clocks, and a strange notebook filled with time-travel instructions. The ritual opens a time loop, shifting them into an unspecified period in the history of the house. Joe explains the rules: they must remain there for fourteen days before they can return home. Sid is uneasy and anxious about the separation from her daughter but Joe manages to reassure her and the siblings settle in to wait. The plan, however, quickly unravels. When the fourteen days pass, they are unable to return to their own time and realise they...

Bring Her Back is a dark psychological horror that peers into the abyss of grief and the dangerous lengths we might go to in order to ease it. What begins as an intense study of loss gradually morphs into something far more disturbing, unfolding with a confidence that set it apart from more formula-driven genre entries. An Unconventional Presence Andy and Piper are step-siblings reeling from the sudden death of their father at home. With Andy just three months shy of legal adulthood, the pair are placed into foster care rather than being allowed to remain together independently. Their new guardian is Laura, an experienced social worker and counsellor who initially only wants to take in the younger, visually impaired Piper. She reluctantly agrees to accept Andy as well, on the condition that he maintains good behaviour. At first, Laura appears to be an unconventional but caring presence. Her eccentricities are easy to dismiss as quirky, and her background suggests she is equipped to sup...