17 of the Scariest, Most Gut-Wrenching Movies 2018 Has to Offer

We know, we know. You've burnt through all the horror movies on Netflix [1], including the REALLY scary ones [2]. There's only one thing left to do: turn to the big screen and find out what fresh thrills cinema has to offer in 2018. This year, we've already seen Helen Mirren's battle with a mean house [3], and we've endured another round with the brutal masked villains of The Strangers [4]. And don't forget A Quiet Place [5], which is basically a 90-minute heart attack [6]! Wondering what else lies ahead? We've got the dish on Sundance's biggest scare [7], the upcoming Purge [8] prequel, the return of The Predator [9], and more.

Slice

What It's About: Details are scarce [11], but it "takes place in mysterious city and centers around an enigmatic outlaw framed for a killing spree that targets unsuspecting pizza delivery boys."
Who's Starring: Chance the Rapper
Release Date: TBA

Halloween

What It's About: An older, hopefully wiser Laurie Strode faces down the infamous Michael Myers [12] in this sequel to the 1978 original (which will be ignoring all the films that came out in between).
Who's Starring: Jamie Lee Curtis and Judy Greer.
Release Date: Oct. 19

The House with a Clock in Its Walls

What It's About: A young boy goes to stay with his uncle in a creaky old house, and soon realizes that there's much more to the home than meets the eye — get ready for thrills, chills, witches, and warlocks courtesy of director Eli Roth.
Who's Starring: Jack Black [13] and Cate Blanchett [14].
Release Date: Sept. 21

The Predator

What It's About: The film is neither a sequel, a prequel, or a reboot [15]. Details are being kept under wraps, but it's an entirely new story that follows a group of "rangers," a scientist, and a small child as they attempt to save humanity from a new, far more dangerous species of Predator.
Who's Starring: Keegan-Michael Key, Sterling K. Brown, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, and Olivia Munn.
Release Date: Sept. 14

The Nun

What It's About: Based on the terrifying entity from The Conjuring 2 [16], we will once again come in contact with an ancient and demonic spirit.
Who's Starring: Taissa Farmiga [17] and Demian Bichir.
Release Date: Sept. 7

Slender Man

What It's About: While details aren't abundantly clear, the film is based on the viral internet monster [18] that is known by the same name.
Who's Starring: Joey King (Wish Upon) [19] and Julia Goldani Telles (The Affair).
Release Date: Aug. 24

The First Purge

What It's About: The prequel film [20] will follow the events surrounding the very first "purge" night, which happens on Staten Island.
Who's Starring: Marisa Tomei, Y'Lan Noel (Insecure) and Lex Scott Davis (Training Day)
Release Date: July 4 [21]

The Meg

What It's About: Based on the 1997 novel Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror, the events involve a gigantic prehistoric shark [22] — it's known as the Megaladon (get it?) — that terrorizes a submarine crew trapped at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.
Who's Starring: Jason Statham, Ruby Rose, Rainn Wilson
Release Date: Aug. 10

Hereditary

What It's About: When a woman buries her mother, the entire family is confronted with dark family secrets [23] that have been kept hidden for quite some time.
Who's Starring: Toni Collete and Alex Wolff.
Release Date: June 8

Upgrade

What It's About: After a brutal mugging that leaves him paralyzed in the hospital and his wife dead, a man is convinced by a billionaire to wear an AI implant that enhances his body in spectacular ways. He uses his newfound abilities to take revenge on the men who attacked him and his wife, so expect plenty of body horror from this collaboration between Blumhouse and Leigh Whannell, the creator of the Saw franchise.
Who's Starring: Logan Marshall Green, Betty Gabriel, and Simon Maiden.
Release Date: June 1

Cargo

What It's About: As if a zombie pandemic isn't bad enough, a desperate father finds himself stranded in rural Australia when it goes down. Oh, and he's infected, too, and must find a new home for his infant daughter before he succumbs to the virus.
Who's Starring: Martin Freeman and Caren Pistorius.
Release Date: May 18

Truth or Dare

What It's About: A round of the titular game goes awry [24] during a group of friends' Mexican vacation. Once the crew returns home, they realize they're being plagued by some kind of evil supernatural presence.
Who's Starring: Lucy Hale, Tyler Posey, and Sam Lerner.
Release Date: April 13

A Quiet Place

What It's About: In the post-apocalyptic world that's not too far from our own, the world is infested with monsters [25] who hunt by sound alone. You can imagine how it all shakes down when one family makes a bit too much noise.
Who's Starring: Emily Blunt [26] and John Krasinski [27]
Release Date: April 6

The Strangers: Prey at Night

What It's About: Much like the original, the film will follow a family who is terrorized by three strangers [28], all wearing masks. This story is set in a trailer park [29] during a cross-country trip that's ripe with misfortune.
Who's Starring: Christina Hendricks, Bailee Madison, and Lewis Pullman.
Release Date: March 9

The Cured

What It's About: Set in a world where society has found a cure [30] for an apocalyptic zombie virus, the previously infected try to assimilate back into society.
Who's Starring: Ellen Page.
Release Date: Feb. 23

Winchester: The House That Ghosts Built

What It's About: The true story of Sarah Winchester [31], who basically drove herself insane building one of the craziest (and most nonsensical) houses in history.
Who's Starring: Helen Mirren [32] and Jason Clarke.
Release Date: Feb. 2

Insidious: The Last Key

What It's About: Dr. Elise Rainier (from all the previous Insidious films) faces down some of the worst demons yet . . . in her own childhood home [33].
Who's Starring: Lin Shaye
Release Date: Jan. 5

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