The next calendar year will feature some highly-anticipated films, and among the forthcoming titles includes major horror movies coming in 2022. Oddly enough, the horror genre was a big factor in jumpstarting the box office back to life. A Quiet Place Part II, Spiral, and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It released in the spring of 2021, just as theaters worldwide started to reopen. Though many studios are continuing to release movies in theaters, others are adapting to the new normal with streaming platforms, which will continue with horror movies in 2022.
Despite limits in accessibility for a portion of 2021, there was no shortage of horror movies. Zack Snyder's Army of the Dead received a lot of buzz by combing a heist film with the zombie subgenre. Netflix also got a ton of attention after releasing the Fear Street trilogy. As for sequels to well-known properties, 2021 saw the arrival of Nia DaCosta's Candyman and David Gordon Green's Halloween Kills. Other notable releases included Malignant, Last Night in Soho, and The Night House.
2022's horror movies will continue the trend of classic reboots and revivals, bringing back legendary figures like Ghostface, Leatherface, Pinhead, and Michael Myers. There will be titles based on popular novels in addition to original stories developed by worthwhile names. With that said, here's every major horror movie coming in 2022.
Scream – January 14, 2022
The long-awaited Scream sequel will kick off 2022's horror slate eleven years after the last installment. The fifth movie in the franchise will be the first without horror legend Wes Craven, but the film will be going back to its roots. The core trio of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), Dewey Riley (David Arquette), and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) will be back in the mix alongside a new group of Woodsboro teenagers targeted by Ghostface. The figure behind the mask has a connection to the past and the present as the Scream movie from Ready or Not's Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett blend the different eras of the franchise. Also, viewers can expect Melissa Barrera to play a key role as the Sidney-like character, Sam Carpenter.
Morbius – January 28, 2022
Marvel will dive back into the horror genre with the release of Morbius, a movie based on the comic book character Michael Morbius. The movie, set within the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters (SPUMC), will star Jared Leto as the scientist in focus who is dealing with a rare blood disease that results in vampirism, forcing him to investigate a cure. Morbius' friend, Loxias Crown (Matt Smith), is another victim of the disease as FBI agents played by Tyrese Gibson and Al Madrigal have the vampires on their radar. Daniel Espinosa's Morbius will also feature the return of Michael Keaton's Vulture, who has appeared in the MCU and SPUMC.
Orphan: First Kill – January 28, 2022
2009's Orphan wasn't a critical success, but the psychological horror movie found a fan-following, which ultimately led to another installment. Rather than go the sequel route, the story will expand in the form of a prequel titled Orphan: First Kill. Actress Isabelle Fuhrman is back as Leena Klammer, a woman with a form of dwarfism that allows her to impersonate a child named "Esthers." This time around, she's fooling a married couple played by Julia Stiles and Rossif Sutherland while pretending to be their missing daughter. The wife, Katie, has her suspicions, leading to Leena's turn to violence.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre – February 18, 2022
Upon acquiring the rights to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre rights, Legendary got the ball moving on a new sequel that serves as a direct follow-up to 1974's The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Co-written by Fede Álvarez and directed by David Blue Garcia, Texas Chainsaw Massacre follows sisters Melody (Sarah Yarkin) and Lila (Elsie Fisher) as they relocate to a small Texas town with friends for a new opportunity. They soon encounter Leatherface (Mark Burnham) and the mayhem surrounding his sadistic family. Final Girl Sally Hardesty will also appear, but this time, she's played by Olwen Fouéré. Texas Chainsaw Massacre will bypass theaters and instead release exclusively on Netflix.
The Black Phone – June 24, 2022
Scott Derrickson's The Black Phone will make its wide release after officially premiering in September 2021 as part of Fantastic Fest. The movie, which C. Robert Cargill co-wrote, is based on author Joe Hill's 2004 novella. The story follows a serial killer known as The Grabber (Ethan Hawke), who targets young children in a Colorado town during the '70s. Finney Shaw (Mason Thames) becomes a new victim before turning to a disconnected phone located in the basement, seemingly transmitting messages from past victims. The Black Phone has received favorable reviews in preview showings, proving Derrickson found a worthwhile project after departing from Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Nope – July 22, 2022
Jordan Peele's next film, titled Nope, is arriving in mid-2022. For a time, only the release date was announced, but Universal Pictures has since revealed some of the cast, which includes Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, and Barbie Ferreira. Kaluuya, of course, starred in Get Out, the first movie Peele wrote, directed, and produced. Other than the poster revealing an ominous cloud hovering over a small town, not much has been revealed. Granted, with Peele involved, expectations are high for this 2022 horror movie.
Salem's Lot – September 9, 2022
A new adaptation of Stephen King's Salem's Lot is coming in the fall of 2022. Based on King's 1975 novel of the same name, Salem's Lot follows a writer named Ben Mears (Lewis Pullman) who returns to his hometown of Jerusalem's Lot, realizing it's being terrorized by a vampire. Rather than run, Ben finds allies willing to protect the town. The novel has been the source material for several projects, including the recent series titled Chapelwaite, blending King's Salem's Lot and the "Jerusalem's Lot" short story. Other cast members in this version from Gary Dauberman include Makenzie Leigh, Bill Camp, Spencer Treat Clark, Alfre Woodard, William Sadler, and Pilou Asbæk.
Halloween Ends – October 14, 2022
David Gordon Green's modern Halloween trilogy will officially conclude with the appropriately named Halloween Ends in October 2022. Originally scheduled to debut in 2021, the third entry in the series and fourth in the current continuity was pushed back following Halloween Kills' year-long delay. Halloween Ends will pick up four years after the previous movie, bringing the story to the present-day as Michael Myers is very much alive and seemingly immortal. Survivors Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her granddaughter Allyson Nelson (Andi Matichak) will surely have revenge on their minds because of the deaths of friends and family members, including Laurie's daughter and Allyson's mother, Karen (Judy Greer).
Evil Dead Rise – October 21, 2022
2022 is scheduled to welcome a new installment in the Evil Dead franchise, thanks to Evil Dead Rise. The fifth movie in the series comes nearly a decade after 2013's Evil Dead, a reboot from Fede Álvarez that loosely followed events of previous movies. Though Bruce Campbell isn't reprising his iconic role as Deadite-slayer, Ash Williams, the actor is serving as an executive producer alongside franchise creator Sam Raimi. Evil Dead Rise will follow sisters Ellie and Beth, who get their hands on a dangerous book, presumably the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis, an ancient object with the power to call upon evil demonic creatures. Instead of debuting in theaters, Evil Dead Rise will premiere on HBO Max just in time for Halloween 2022.
Hellraiser – TBA
Aside from expanding well-known horror franchises like Scream, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween, and Evil Dead, 2022 will also see the return of Hellraiser. The movie, which shares the same title as the 1987 original, marks the eleventh feature film in the series that made Pinhead one of the most popular horror icons. Hellraiser comes four years after the last installment, Hellraiser: Judgment, but is expected to act as a franchise reboot. In the early stages of the remake's development, Doug Bradley was set to reprise his role as Pinhead, but the new movie went with Jamie Clayton instead. Odessa A'zion will portray the protagonist of David Bruckner's modern horror movie revival, which will debut exclusively on Hulu.