2022 has been a major year for disturbing, fucked up movies – hi, gross-out body horror Crimes of the Future, Gen Z slasher Bodies Bodies Bodies, the porn-y horror X and it’s sequel Pearl. It’s also been a major season for horror TV shows too. But, now that it’s officially spooky month, there’s a ton of new gory movies being released in the lead up to Halloween that will bring some fresh blood, jumpscares and deranged content to fuel your nightmares. Among them, Barbarian and Smile already have the internet going feral. Then there’s the new gender-swapped Hellraiser, an adaptation of a Stephen King novella, the finale to the Halloween franchise and so much more to look forward to. Add all of the below to your watchlist!
Barbarian
This fucked up AirBnb-type horror opens with Tess (Georgina Campbell from Black Mirror) finding out she’s been double-booked at the house she rented, and is now staying there with an attractive stranger called Keith (played by Bill Skarsgård – yes, Pennywise the Clown is hot!). As night falls, Tess quickly realises that Keith is gone and that dark secrets lie beneath the quiet rental. Already in cinemas in the US, Barbarian has been a critical and box office hit before it comes to UK theatres on 28 October.
Smile
Leaving people ready to fight any stranger who pulls a toothy grin in their direction, Smile — a “genuinely terrifying horror” — has been all over the internet the last few days. In the same vein as The Ring, it’s about a chain-reactive curse whereby someone with a frightening smile kills themselves and all who witness it become the next victims. Catch it now in cinemas.
Mr. Harrigan’s Phone
Based on the Stephen King novella, this eerie movie from John Lee Hancock (Saving Mr. Banks) follows the down-and-out Craig (Jaeden Martell who was in the It remakes) who cares for and befriends the elderly Mr Harrigan (The Hunger Games’ Donald Sutherland) and buys the old man a mobile phone. When Mr Harrigan dies, Craig feels alone and, struggling with who to talk to after being bullied at school, decides to vent in a voicemail left to his mobile. What he doesn’t realise is that the man’s spirit is listening and ready to take vengeance on behalf of his bestie. From Blumhouse and Ryan Murphy Productions, Mr. Harrigan’s Phone will be available to stream on Netflix from 5 October.
Hellraiser
This gender-swapped reboot of the kinky 80s franchise — about a man who opens an ancient puzzle box and summons sadist spiritual beings from another realm — comes from horror director David Bruckner. Starring Jamie Clayton (The L Word) as the iconic Pinhead alongside Odessa A’zion, Brandon Flynn (Thirteen Reasons Why) and Drew Starkey (Love, Simon), the movie is set to stream on Hulu in the US and Disney+ internationally from 7 October. Fun fact: Gottmik, a contestant on season 13 of RuPaul’s Drag Race, was at one point considered for the role of Pinhead after they gagged all with runway look inspired by the character.
Halloween Ends
For the love of all things unholy, can someone please put Laurie Strode out of her misery and end Michael Myers’ 44 year rampage? How is this babysitter-stabbing boomer not retired? The (supposedly) final segment in the Halloween reboot trilogy and the thirteenth (13th!!) movie in the franchise overall, catches the increasingly MAGA-esque Laurie (Jamie Lee Curtis) four years after the previous film. She’s ready to move on now that Michael has seemingly died, but when a local teen is accused of killing the boy he was babysitting, Laurie is naturally concerned. Coming to cinemas 14 October, you’ll be pleased to know that the movie will see the return of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’ Kyle Richards. If anyone can stop Michael, it’s her.
Bitch Ass
If the creepy crypt-dwelling, piano-playing narrator of this tale looks familiar, it’s because he is played by OG Candyman himself, Tony Todd. He tells the tale of a 90s gang who break into a house as part of an initiation only to find themselves trapped within the deadly games of a masked serial killer called Bitch Ass. Don’t you just hate it when that happens? This ode to Black horror movies of the past is set to be released on 14 October, and has been described as Don’t Breathe meets Squid Game. Sounds bloody!
Wendell & Wild
Jordan Peele stans rejoice. Fresh off the success of Nope, comes another movie written and produced by the horror auteur director. Wendell & Wild is a stop-motion horror comedy directed by Henry Selick (Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas) about demon brothers (voiced by Keegan-Michael Key and Peele himself) who enlist the help of a 13-year-old girl (Lyric Ross) to enter the world of the living and wreak havoc. Also starring Angela Bassett (American Horror Story), James Hong (Everything Everywhere All At Once), Ving Rhames (Pulp Fiction) and Tamara Smart (Resident Evil); Wendell & Wild will first hit cinemas on 21 October before it becomes available to stream on Netflix from 28 October.
Prey for the Devil
In this supernatural horror, we follow a pandemic of demonic possessions and the Catholic Church’s efforts to stop it by training their people in the art of exorcism. Though nuns aren’t allowed to perform the spiritual rituals, one priest (Colin Salmon from the James Bond movies) recognises the talents of the troubled Sister Ann (Jacqueline Byers) and trains her up to take on the church’s most challenging case yet. But it seems a dark force planned these twists of fate as the young girl battling for her soul seems to be possessed by the same demon that once took Ann’s mother, and it now has the nun exactly where it wants her. Directed by Daniel Stamm (The Last Exorcism) and also starring Virginia Madsen (Dune) as Dr Peters, the movie will be released to the big screen on 28 October.