22 Horror and Thriller Movies Coming in 2021 That Sound Downright Terrifying

Throughout 2020's nightmarish fever dream, we at least experienced some escapism through a handful of creepy new horror movies, from Elisabeth Moss's chilling encounters in The Invisible Man to Kristen Stewart's trippy sea-monster shenanigans in Underwater. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, many slated movies were understandably put on the back-burner, including Candyman, A Quiet Place Part II, and Halloween Kills. Right now, it looks like we'll be getting ample scares in 2021, so we're keeping our fingers crossed and our holy water at the ready. Ahead, we've rounded up all the new horror movies set to come out in 2021, from the third Conjuring movie to a Fear Street adaptation!

The Devil's Light
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The Devil's Light

In The Devil's Light, Sister Ann (Jacqueline Byers) has a calling for exorcising demons, but sisters aren't allowed to exorcise demons in her institution. It's only when she comes face to face with a new mysterious demonic force with a connection to her past that she's able to fully realize her powers.

Release date: Jan. 8

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The Vigil

In the supernatural horror The Vigil, a young man (Dave Davis) must look over a recently deceased member of his former Orthodox Jewish community. While he's keeping vigil, an evil spirit called a dybbuk lurks about.

Release date: Feb. 26

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Morbius

Based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, the film Morbius features Jared Leto as Michael Morbius, a scientist with a rare blood disease who tries to cure himself and ends up becoming a vampire. The supporting cast includes Jared Harris, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona.

Release date: March 19

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A Quiet Place Part II

The surviving Abbotts (Emily Blunt, Millicent Simmonds, and Noah Jupe) are back in A Quiet Place Part II, inhabiting their dreary postapocalyptic world where sound-sensitive monsters wreak havoc. Exploring beyond the boundaries of their once-safe home, they find that the monsters aren't their only threat.

Release date: April 23

Last Night in Soho
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Last Night in Soho

This psychological thriller features a young girl who loves fashion design and somehow finds herself going back in time to the '60s. During this blast to the past, she meets her idol and discovers that things are not as they appear. The film features Anya Taylor-Joy, Thomasin McKenzie, and Matt Smith.

Release date: April 23

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Spiral

The ninth film in the Saw franchise, Spiral stars Samuel L. Jackson, Chris Rock, and Max Minghella as officers investigating a series of gruesome murders. Rock's character, Zeke, ends up in a dangerous cat-and-mouse game with the killer.

Release date: May 21


The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It
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The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It

We've had quite a few movies with Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga as paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren, but this installation is technically the third in the Conjuring series. The upcoming film follows how a murder suspect, Arne Cheyenne Johnson (Ruairi O'Connor), becomes the first person to claim demonic possession as a defense.

Release date: June 4

The Forever Purge
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The Forever Purge

The final addition to the Purge franchise, The Forever Purge yet again brings us back to the annual Purge, during which all crimes are legal in America over the course of a 12-hour window. Among the cast are Ana de la Reguera, Josh Lucas, Tenoch Huerta, Leven Rambin, and more.

Release date: July 9

Old
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Old

We don't know much about M. Night Shyamalan's upcoming thriller, which was created on 35 mm film instead of digital. We do know that the cast is stacked, featuring players such as Gael García Bernal, Alex Wolff, Eliza Scanlen, Thomasin McKenzie, and Ken Leung.

Release date: July 23

Don't Breathe 2
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Don't Breathe 2

The Blind Man (Stephen Lang) from the horror thriller Don't Breathe is back, and this time, he's been hiding out in a remote cabin and raising a young orphan. Now, there's a new group of criminals who take the girl, so he's forced to leave his home to get her back safely.

Release date: Aug. 13

Deep Water
Getty | Pascal Le Segretain

Deep Water

Real-life couple Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas portray a husband and wife who start to play dangerous games with each other in Deep Water. The erotic thriller is based on the Patricia Highsmith novel of the same name in which a couple's open marriage takes a turn when some of the wife's lovers go missing. Its supporting cast includes Tracy Letts, Finn Wittrock, Jacob Elordi, Lil Rel Howery, and more.

Release date: Aug. 13

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Candyman

In Nia DaCosta's direct sequel to the 1992 Candyman, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II plays Anthony McCoy, a visual artist and the former baby that Helen Lyle (Cassie Kramer) rescued 28 years ago. Supporting players include Tony Todd, who reprises his role as the Candyman, and Dear White People's Teyonah Parris as Brianna, Anthony's girlfriend who works as an art gallery director.

Release date: Aug. 27

Resident Evil
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Resident Evil

Set in 1998 Raccoon City, this upcoming film is a reboot of the Resident Evil franchise. It'll be an origin story based on the first and second installations of the classic survival horror game series.

Release date: Sept. 9

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Halloween Kills

Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and Michael Myers (Nick Castle and James Jude Courtney) are back at it in Halloween Kills, with extra help from some new cast members. This time around, Laurie will lead a mob to take on Michael. Since the movie is part of a reboot trilogy, it probably won't be the last time that we see Michael!

Release date: Oct. 15

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Willy's Wonderland

Nicolas Cage plays a janitor who gets stuck in a funhouse amusement park with Willy the animatronic weasel in this comedy horror flick. Director Kevin Lewis called it a "retro-throwback to the '80s," so it already sounds like it's going to be a fun time!

Release date: TBA

Escape Room 2
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Escape Room 2

Escape Room follows a group of six strangers who, as the title suggests, enter an escape room and find themselves in a deadly maze of games. The sequel picks up where Escape Room left us — with only two characters, Zoey (Taylor Russell) and Ben (Logan Miller), surviving.

Release date: TBA

Abruptio
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Abruptio

Abruptio features James Marsters (aka Spike from Buffy the Vampire Slayer) as Les Hackel, a man who gets an explosive device implanted into his neck. In order to stay alive, Les must commit terrible crimes while figuring out who's manipulating him. The puppet-animated horror movie will also star Christopher McDonald, Jordan Peele, and Sid Haig.

Release date: TBA

Army of the Dead
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Army of the Dead

After directing 2004's Dawn of the Dead, Zack Snyder is back with Army of the Dead, which stars Dave Bautista and follows a group of mercenaries as they plan a heist during a zombie outbreak in Las Vegas. There's more of the franchise to come, with a prequel feature and a spinoff anime series in the works.

Release date: TBA

Fear Street
Getty | Phillip Faraone

Fear Street

R.L. Stine's Fear Street series is getting a Netflix trilogy adaptation starring Gillian Jacobs. Similar to the Goosebumps books, the original YA novel series follows a group of teenagers in Shadyside, OH, who encounter creepy, often paranormal events, only Fear Street features more gore.

Release date: TBA

Malignant
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Malignant

Horror director James Wan (co-creator of the Saw and Insidious franchises and creator of the Conjuring franchise) has an original project that's wrapped up and ready to go, with Annabelle Wallis, Jake Abel, George Young, and more in the cast. We don't know much about the thriller, but Wan has confirmed on his official Facebook page that it's not based on his graphic novel Malignant Man.

Release date: TBA

Wendell and Wild
Getty | Paras Griffin

Wendell and Wild

Yearning for more Key & Peele? You're in luck. Jordan Peele and Keegan-Michael Key are back together in Wendell and Wild as the titular demon brothers who must go up against a nun and her two goth teen apprentices.

Release date: TBA

Wrong Turn
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Wrong Turn

Alan B. McElroy's Wrong Turn film series has a seventh movie coming into the fold. The reboot will follow friends who, while hiking the Appalachian Trail, encounter The Foundation, a community of people who have lived in the mountains for centuries. Stranger Things baddie Matthew Modine is starring.

Release date: TBA