Editorials
Why Horror Fans Should Be Excited About ‘Road of the Dead’
One, Mr. George A. Romero, has gotten a lot of love from me recently. He, obviously, made my Top 10 Zombie Film List and landed on my 4 Fright Films for the 4th, and we just celebrated the 32nd birthday of my favorite Dead film, Day of the Dead. His name has been on my tongue a lot (that sounds wrong), but for good reason. Romero invented the zombies we have today. With one film, Night of the Living Dead, he created an entire subgenre. That film will be celebrating its 50th anniversary next year, and I couldn’t be more thankful to have it in my life.
The films that followed Night, Dawn and Day, join to create an amazing trilogy. Each is easily considered a classic of the horror genre. They’re important films that use the living dead as placeholders for societal ills, and critics and audiences adore them all. The series doesn’t stop there, of course. It has grown to encompass a total of six films. The last two of which were met with much less reverie than Romero’s previous efforts.
In the past few months there has been a steady drip of news regarding the future of his Dead films. Outside of Brad’s surprisingly timely April Fool’s joke, there was the zombie-noir Romero couldn’t get funding for, and most recently we got early word on the upcoming Road of the Dead. Fan reaction to this latest news has been tepid to say the least. In the comments section of this site and on twitter the remarks have not been too kind:
Master of Horror
I find it so upsetting to see fans turn their back on the man like this. I understand if you weren’t a fan of his last, Survival of the Dead. I wasn’t either. Even if you haven’t enjoyed the last three Dead pictures, you should appreciate that as a creative, as a director, he feels he has a story to tell. Directors certainly make films with an audience in mind, but they also do it because they have a passion to create. This is a man who has dedicated his life to the horror genre, and every time you sit down to watch Dawn of the Dead or even, The Walking Dead, you have George Romero to thank. You might not want to see Road of the Dead; you certainly don’t have to (if it gets made). I just find it disrespectful that after the hours of entertainment he has provided us fans, we act as if we don’t even want to see what else he may have in store.
Growing up there were three horror directors that were massively influential to me: Wes Craven, Dario Argento, and George Romero. Craven was able to maintain respectable amounts of critical and commercial success until the end. Argento has continued to work fairly steadily, and despite fans generally being unimpressed by his recent filmography, there is still a level of excitement when he announces a new project. The hope being this one will be “the return to form”. I feel that way too (I’m still looking for Sandman), and I also feel that way when Romero’s name is attached to a film.
Mad Max…With Zombies!
Beyond Romero’s legacy, there’s another reason to cheer this film on: the plot! Yes, at first glance it does sound incredibly cheesy:
The story is set on an island where zombie prisoners race cars in a modern-day Coliseum for the entertainment of wealthy humans.
What gets me excited, though, is this is the perfect continuation of the living dead saga. In Land of the Dead we were shown a world far removed from the initial outbreak. The wealthy were living like kings, while the poor were left to try and scrounge a meager existence. There’s a set-piece early on where two zombies are locked in a cage match with “live bait” – Asia Argento, to be exact. It’s a fun scene that illustrates the chaos of a post apocalyptic society and the lengths people will go to just for entertainment. A look at most reality shows today proves it’s probably not that far off. It sounds like Road intends to tap into that same kind of pulpy Mad Max-ian territory.
Also, throughout the series we’ve seen a clear progression of the zombies’ evolution. In Day we were shown that the undead were “learning” and remembering their past lives. Even with Dawn the zombies were drawn to the mall because they “remember they want to be in here.” After Land delivered the smartest “stenches” we’d seen yet, Romero went back to the beginning of the outbreak with Diary and Survival. Now it sounds that Road will drive us forward again. It’s refreshing to me that he continues to push the narrative further than before.
On paper there doesn’t appear to be much you can do with a zombie tale. They’re reawakened dead who want to consume living flesh. Romero has managed to take that simple conceit and run with it. He’s allowed his living dead to evolve with our times, each incarnation representing something new. Simply look at The Walking Dead to realize it’s important to change things up and grow. That show continues repeating the same plot over and over. Even the spin-off, Fear the Walking Dead, after several strong episodes this season, ended up resorting to the same schtick as it’s sister show. They must fight for their land!
However you feel about Road of the Dead or Romero making another zombie flick, I couldn’t be more excited for the next chapter.
End Nerd Rant.
We’re now officially in the back half of 2026 now that July is here, but what a year it’s been for horror so far. The sequels and reboots are still holding strong at the box office with films like Scream 7 and Scary Movie, but it’s also been a year where new voices are shattering records in unexpected ways.
Markiplier eschewed conventional production and distribution channels with his feature adaptation of Iron Lung, for example. We’re also still in the midst of Backrooms and Obsession-mania, with the former back in theaters with bonus footage and the latter extending its box office reign. Liminal horror has exploded, and low-budget indie horror is seeing just as much, and sometimes even more, success as big studio-backed fare.
All of which to say that 2026 has been a hell of a year so far for the genre, and it’s only getting warmed up. Still on the way are Evil Dead Burn, Insidious: Out of the Further, Resident Evil, Clayface, Whalefall, and Werwulf, just to name a few.
Also catch up with the Best Horror Books and Best Horror Games of the year so far.
Here are the ten best horror movies of the year (so far).
10) Chime
Horror master Kiyoshi Kurosawa is back with one of his most haunting yet, though one that’d likely be higher on this list if it were more accessible. The 45-minute feature was initially produced and distributed as an NFT before receiving a theatrical run earlier this year, with no plans to distribute digitally or on home media. It spins a somewhat cryptic tale, introducing a culinary teacher, Takuji Matsuoka (Mutsuo Yoshioka, Never After Dark), whose classroom becomes disrupted by a strange sound that leads to violence. It’s a quiet but haunting unraveling, one that leaves no aspect of Matsuoka’s life untouched, in true Kiyoshi Kurosawa style. That it defies any easy explanation also ensures Chime embeds itself under your skin.
9) Send Help
Sam Raimi’s splatstick return to form is a delightfully deranged two-hander that doubles as infectious catharsis for anyone who’s ever had a bad boss. Rachel McAdams (Doctor Strange) and Dylan O’Brien (The Maze Runner) face off when their characters are shipwrecked on an island, prompting a bid for survival in more ways than one. While O’Brien often matches her, It’s McAdams who shines as she deftly handles everything that Raimi, working from a script by Damian Shannon & Mark Swift (Freddy vs. Jason), throws at her. Send Help is full of vibrant personality, packed with all of Raimi’s signatures, making for one of the most entertaining films of the year.
8) Mārama
New Zealand filmmaker Taratoa Stappard’s gothic tale begins in familiar fashion, with Mary Stevens (Ariāna Osborne) arriving in Yorkshire upon invitation to learn more about her parents, only to find the remote manor haunted. Just when Stappard’s period horror story feels doomed to succumb to familiar gothic trappings and jump scares, though, its true horror emerges. The more Mary uncovers about her heritage and her Māori culture, the clearer it becomes that this grim home is built on violence and exploitation. Stappard’s vision comes into its own when it leaves behind its gothic influences and embraces its Māori identity; few scenes are as powerful as when Osborne’s Mary performs a haka in response to her vile oppressors, heralding in a righteous bloodbath.
7) Touch Me
Writer/Director Addison Heimann draws from retro Japanese horror, exploitation cinema, and perhaps even hentai for his campy, psychosexual sophomore feature. A toxic friendship plagued by trauma, codependency, and addiction gets tested to the extreme when Brian (Lou Taylor Pucci), a hip-hop-loving, tracksuit-sporting alien, gets between them. Olivia Taylor Dudley and Jordan Gavaris have an easy rapport and play off each other well as directionless, depressed Millennial besties prone to ignoring their problems until they become insurmountable. But it’s Pucci’s inspired, childlike take on the chicken nugget-loving extraterrestrial with tentacled secrets of his own that steals the show. Heimann has a lot on his mind with his sophomore feature and neatly condenses it all into a quirky, eccentric psychosexual camp odyssey that leans heavily into humor.
6) Backrooms
Director Kane Parsons translates the vast liminal labyrinth of his web series to the big screen in his feature debut, one that instills existential dread with its atmospheric horror and narrative. The ‘ 90s-set horror movie introduces a protagonist with a serious chip on his shoulder over life’s many disappointments, who then discovers his furniture store harbors a hidden door that leads to an endless labyrinth. It’s not just the incredible production design that instills a disorienting sense of doom and terror, but the lead characters’ palpable and profound sense of loneliness and isolation. Parsons exudes impressive confidence and control as he methodically entrusts his quiet worldbuilding and talented leads to carry the dramatic weight. While Backrooms does deflate by the film’s cryptic, cliffhanger-y end, it’s arguably the most effective and scariest yet at capturing the uncanny valley of generative AI.
5) Leviticus
Writer/Director Adrian Chiarella uses an It Follows-like supernatural entity that relentlessly stalks its prey as a launchpad to immerse audiences in the horror of constantly living in fear for simply existing. A conversion therapy ritual among a deeply conservative community plunges a pair of erstwhile lovers into a nightmarish bid for survival when it summons a force that takes the shape of those whom the afflicted desires most. Chiarella refines the horror mechanics and metaphor with much sharper precision, ensuring that the scares and emotional gravity of the young couple’s terrifying predicament reach their intended impact. It’s the central layered performances by Joe Bird (Talk to Me) and Stacy Clausen (Thrash) that clinch emotional investment in their heartbreaking plight, ensuring that the social horror cuts deep.
4) Redux Redux
The McManus Brothers, writer/director duo Matthew and Kevin McManus (The Block Island Sound), dials up the intensity of a classic revenge story by setting it within a multiverse, where Irene Kelly (Michaela McManus) seeks to snuff out every single iteration of her daughter’s murderer, Neville (Jeremy Holm). The more she stalks and slays every world’s Neville, the more she risks losing her humanity entirely. Through a narrative foil in Mia (Stella Marcus), Redux Redux smartly bypasses repetition as it explores the moral complexities and vulnerabilities of Irene’s extremely violent quest. Holm becomes utterly terrifying in the climax, ensuring that no matter whether Irene loses herself to vengeance for good or not, it’s justified if it means ridding the world of this sick maniac.
3) 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
Director Nia DaCosta takes the reins in the second entry in writer Alex Garland and original director Danny Boyle’s trilogy, picking up from the previous conclusion that saw Spike (Alfie Williams) fleeing from the infected straight into the welcoming arms of Sir Jimmy Crystal (Sinners’ Jack O’Connell). From here, DaCosta presents a stark contrast between humanity’s best and worst. The former sees the tender studies of Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) make poignant strides toward humankind’s future, while the latter unleashes more pain and bloodshed courtesy of the Jimmies. The dual paths of light and dark collide in one epic conclusion, an inspired confrontation between good and evil on a stunning set piece of heavy metal insanity. Yet it’s DaCosta’s handling of both extremes that impresses most, teeing up one epic conclusion to this trilogy.
2) Obsession
Sketch comedian turned horror filmmaker Curry Barker (Milk & Serial) wrings blood-curdling terror from a classic Monkey’s Paw wish fulfillment scenario in a way that no one could have ever anticipated. To say that it’s taken the box office by storm would be a massive understatement; Obsession is the top horror movie of the year in terms of gross. It’s not hard to see why, either. While Monkey’s Paw scenarios often yield predictable outcomes, and this outcome is practically telegraphed from the start, Barker manages to surprise with the journey itself. And it’s one insane journey paved with blood-soaked violence and no shortage of nightmare fuel. What truly sets it apart, though, is leads Michael Johnston and Inde Navarrette as the central pair undone by one vicious wish. Expect to see a lot more from breakout Navarette.
1) Hokum
A surly, traumatized writer must break free from his self-imposed shackles of guilt when confronted by a wicked witch haunting a quaint Irish inn in the latest by writer/director Damian McCarthy (Oddity). Adam Scott’s Ohm makes for an atypical but rewarding protagonist, and his complicated emotional journey gives way to a deeply moving story of a man so thoroughly broken by personal trauma that he constantly dwells in darkness. In true McCarthy style, expect the creepy as hell witch to dole out some supernatural retribution for crimes committed, but never in the way you’d expect. The filmmaker has a way of making whimsy pure nightmare fuel; Hokum distorts a kids’ show into eerie, uncanny valley-induced terror in its torment of Ohm. Channeling Stephen King, this creeper plays like a traditional campfire tale in mood and style, infusing genuine scares with a sense of magic and heart.
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