If horror movies have taught us anything, never blow the Aztec Death Whistle should be high on that list. Especially one you found in a dead kid’s locker. Even if you’ve never watched a horror movie before, your first instinct when you find an old-looking carved skull—again, found in a dead kid’s locker—shouldn’t be to put it in your mouth. That’s just unsanitary and asking for trouble. But without people making this initial bad decision, we wouldn’t have Corin Hardy’s new film, Whistle, and that would be a bummer, because it’s a blast.
2026 came out of the gate swinging when it comes to animals-running-violently-amok movies. There’s the ape-attack-centric Primate, and now this weekend’s Killer Whale from writer/director Jo-Anne Brechin. If you read our most-anticipated movies of 2026 list, you know this is one of three potential killer whale action/horror movies we may see this year. I haven’t seen Primate yet, but there’s plenty of fun chatter about it. Killer Whale, on the other hand, isn’t great, unfortunately.
Hot on the heels of another great year of movies, it’s time to flip the calendar. Which around these parts also means it’s time to look to the future and see what cinema has to offer us this year. With that in mind, here are my 50, or at least 50-ish most anticipated movies coming our way in 2026.
It doesn’t feel entirely accurate to call writer/director Zak Hilditch’s We Bury the Dead a zombie movie, which is how it’s been marketed. At the same time, however, it’s difficult to talk about without mentioning the Z-word. There are undead to be found, though not the swarming, apocalyptic, flesh-hungry variety, nor are they the film’s focus. They exist in this narrative as the impetus, as part of the inciting event to get the ball rolling; they’re presence is unsettling, yes, but not often as dangerous as anticipated.
It’s that time of year again, where I struggle to put together a best-of list. For once, I’ll save everyone the spiel about how I don’t like ranking movies or pitting one film against another. (If you’re interested in that, you can read more about it here.)
Before he wraps up his single-take action franchise next year (the third installment, One Last Shot, is reportedly already in the can), James Nunn is back to grace us with the Kate Beckinsale-fronted DTV offering, Wildcat. And tactical action fans have a great deal to be thankful for.
Ultimately, I’m not entirely sure how I feel about Die My Love, the new film from Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin, You Were Never Really Here). There’s a great deal to appreciate, admire, and even love. It’s certainly stuck with me since I first watched it and I can’t quite shake the idea of. At times it invites the viewer in, at times it keeps us at arm’s length, intentionally oblique to the point where it invites near endless interpretations.
