Most Anticipated Horror Movies Of 2021

A number of major horror movie titles are set to be released in 2021. The year is gearing up to be a monumental time for the film industry as studios are overwhelming the calendar due to the reshuffling of premieres following coronavirus delays. As the horror genre continues to have a resurgence, 2021 will look to add to the trend with a slew of highly anticipated sequels and original ideas.

2020 was looking to be a big year for the horror industry. Leigh Whannell’s The Invisible Man paved the way in February by obtaining stellar reviews while making a splash at the box office. The rest of the year would have continued with other standout titles if the pandemic didn’t wreak havoc on the world. There are still a few other notable movies hoping to debut by the end of the year, including Antebellum, A Quiet Place Part II, Candyman, and Halloween Kills.

So what does that mean for horror fans for 2021 and beyond? It’s very possible that some of the aforementioned titles will get shifted, as studios are still fine-tuning their release date schedules. That said, there are still noteworthy titles already set to premiere throughout 2021; here are the most anticipated.

Escape Room 2 – January 1, 2021

Following the box office success of 2019’s Escape Room, a psychological thriller directed by Adam Robitel, a sequel was quickly greenlit. Robitel is back at the helm for Escape Room 2, which was originally planned to release in April 2020 before being delayed a few times. Taylor Russell and Logan Miller are reprising their roles as Zoey Davis and Ben Miller, respectively. They will be joined by Isabelle Fuhrman, Thomas Cocquerel, Holland Roden, Carlito Olivero, and Indya Moore. Not much has been revealed about the film’s plot but it’s likely to pick up after the first installment’s cliffhanger involving Zoey and Ben’s doomed flight.

Morbius – March 19, 2021

After the release of Venom, Sony Pictures will look to expand their Marvel shared universe with Morbius. The superhero horror film focuses on Michael Morbius, a scientist who becomes a vampire after trying to cure himself of a rare blood disease. Jared Leto is set to portray the titular character who was first introduced through Marvel Comics in 1971. Plans for a Morbius movie went public in late 2017 before Daniel Espinosa was hired to direct. Filming then took place in early 2019 with a planned release of July 2020. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the release was pushed back eight months. Morbius also stars Matt Smith, Adria Arjona, Jared Harris, Al Madrigal, and Tyrese Gibson in key roles.

Last Night In Soho – April 23, 2021

After 2017’s Baby Driver, filmmaker Edgar Wright will take a shot at psychological horror with Last Night in Soho. The movie, which is written and directed by Wright focuses on a young girl with an interest in fashion design who time travels to the 1960s. While in 1960s London, the girl encounters a singer who happens to be her idol. As with most time travel scenarios, it comes with many consequences and the era is not at all what it seems. Anya Taylor-Joy stars in the movie alongside Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie, Matt Smith, Diana Rigg, Terence Stamp, Rita Tushingham, and Jessie Mei Li. Last Night in Soho was slated to release in September 2020 before the pandemic hit, pushing back the premiere date.

Spiral: From The Book of Saw – May 21, 2021

Spiral: From the Book of Saw was another horror film set to release in 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic shifted release dates. Lionsgate pulled the ninth installment of the Saw franchise back a full year but it’s still one of the most anticipated titles in the genre. Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, Spiral centers on a detective played by Chris Rock who takes the lead on murder investigations that have a connection to the town’s past. He then finds himself in the middle of the killer’s infamous game. The cast also includes Samuel L. Jackson, Max Minghella, Marisol Nichols, and Zoie Palmer.

Dark Harvest – September 24, 2021

Norman Partridge’s 2007 horror novel is getting the movie treatment at MGM with a planned 2021 release. David Slade is directing Dark Harvest, a story set on Halloween 1963. It focuses on a midwestern town where each year, teenage boys face off against a pumpkin-headed creature known as “Sawtooth Jack”. The one who defeats the creature is awarded the “October Prize”, a new car and a year without bills. The cast of the movie is currently unknown at the time of this writing.

Halloween Ends – October 15, 2021

Halloween Ends will be the third and final installment of the reboot trilogy developed by David Gordon Green and Danny McBride. The first entry, Halloween, debuted in 2018 and effectively retconned every previous sequel that came after John Carpenter’s 1978 original film. The movie took place 40 years after the original and pinned Michael Myers against Laurie Strode. Rather than being the sole target, Michael Myers has his sights set on Laurie’s daughter and granddaughter. The Strode women will come face-to-face with the Shape again in Halloween Kills, but the conflict reportedly comes to a close in Halloween Ends. If Halloween Kills is delayed, there’s a chance Halloween Ends could also be pushed back.

Don’t Breathe Again – Fall 2021

Don’t Breathe was a sleeper hit of 2016, performing well at the box office. Many critics also praised the cast performance as well as the original story written by Fede Álvarez. Shortly after the film’s debut, it was announced that a sequel was in the works. Rodo Sayagues will take over as the director for the sequel titled Don’t Breathe Again. Álvarez co-wrote the script and will stay on as a producer. The movie has a planned release date of Fall 2021, but there’s a chance that could be delayed based on pandemic delays. Details regarding the cast and plot are currently unknown.

Other Possible 2021 Releases

There are a handful of horror movies that have been pulled from the release date calendar due to the ongoing delays surrounding the coronavirus pandemic. It’s likely that some will be moved to 2021 as studios continue to shuffle their schedules. The Guillermo del Toro-produced supernatural horror, Antlers, was slated for 2020, but there’s a good chance viewers will need to wait until 2021 for it to hit theaters. James Wan’s Malignant is another candidate that could move to 2021 after having a 2020 release. Blumhouse was also gearing up to debut The Forever Purge in 2020, but the movie has since been delayed indefinitely; a 2021 release looks more and more likely.