2026 has been a pretty good year for people who enjoy watching fictional characters make decisions that would get them killed by spooky scary things.
We’ve had supernatural curses, murderous children’s television mascots, creepy liminal spaces, underwater nightmares and haunted hotels. Basically, sleeping peacefully is overrated.
The best part is that these aren’t all the same flavor of horror. Some are psychological, some are supernatural, some are downright bizarre, and one involves Markiplier climbing into a tiny submarine in an ocean of blood.
So, if you’re looking for the best horror movies of 2026, here are five that deserve a spot on your watch-list.
5. Buddy
Your Childhood TV Host Has Issues
If you grew up watching cheerful children’s television, Buddy is here to ruin those memories.
Directed by Casper Kelly, Buddy starts with what looks like a twisted parody of the brightly colored children’s shows many of us grew up with. Then it gradually turns into something much darker, involving children, lost memories and a disturbingly enthusiastic orange unicorn named Buddy.
The clever thing about Buddy is that it doesn’t simply say, “What if Barney was evil?” and call it a day.
Instead, it uses the fake children’s show as a way to explore much creepier ideas about childhood, television and identity. The result is a movie that can be funny one minute and deeply uncomfortable the next.
Also, Buddy has the exact kind of cheerful smile that makes you think:
“That thing has definitely murdered somebody.”
4. Iron Lung
Nothing Good Happens at the Bottom of an Ocean of Blood
There are plenty of horror movies where characters make the mistake of going into a haunted house.
Iron Lung asks:
“What if we put the haunted house inside a tiny submarine and dropped it into an ocean of blood?”
Much better.
Based on David Szymanski’s indie horror game, Iron Lung was written, directed and produced by Markiplier, who also stars in the movie. The story takes place after an apocalyptic event known as the Quiet Rapture, which leaves humanity scattered across space. A convict is sent into a mysterious blood ocean on a barren moon aboard the tiny submarine known as the Iron Lung.
And that’s pretty much all you need to know:
You’re trapped in a metal tube, you’re at the bottom of an alien ocean and something is probably out there.
The movie’s greatest strength is its claustrophobic atmosphere. There is nowhere to run, nowhere to hide and absolutely no convenient staircase leading back to safety.
3. Hokum
Never Trust a Cheap Hotel out in the woods
Adam Scott has spent years being the friendly, slightly awkward guy you could probably trust with your house keys.
You must be logged in to post a comment.