Movies
Home Sweet Home: 10 Atypical Haunted House Movies
Haunted houses tend to adhere to a familiar formula. Characters get terrorized by paranormal activity within their home or current dwelling, and fleeing rarely is as easy as it sounds. The haunting is usually caused by an unspeakable tragedy that occurred years ago or an inciting event that disturbs the dead, prompting them to unleash pent-up rage. It’s a solid foundation that leaves plenty of room for reinvention and reinterpretation, stretching the limits of a haunted house.
It’s often a simple location change; The Shining and 1408 terrorized a hotel, and Death Spa unleashed supernatural mayhem in a health club. Sometimes it’s the reveal that the protagonists were the ghosts all along. And other retooled haunted house movies toy with the reason behind the haunting, like the entity lurking within the boardinghouse of No One Gets Out Alive.
With The Deep House taking you into an underwater haunted house this weekend, these other ten atypical haunted house horror movies similarly find unique ways to test the haunted house format and try something new.
Burnt Offerings
Adapted from a novel and brought to life by horror TV master Dan Curtis (Dark Shadows, The Night Stalker), many of the familiar tropes in haunted house horror took their cues from this one. The Rolf family gets an opportunity to trade their cramped New York apartment for a mansion on the cheap for summer vacation. The only caveat to the low rental fee is that they must consent to bring the owners’ elderly mother three meals a day up in the attic room. But despite the familiarity with modern haunted house fare as we know it, Burnt Offerings presents a unique haunted house. When most haunted house movies focus on ghosts, Burnt Offerings gives its house life as it feeds off tenants.
The Autopsy of Jane Doe
What if a haunted house was portable? That idea has been explored many times before through cursed objects, like Annabelle, Oculus, or any number of Amityville sequels. But The Autopsy of Jane Doe takes it to a whole new level, with a restless, wrathful spirit trapped within a body. Wherever Jane Doe goes, a new haunted house is born as she transforms her current resting place into a waking nightmare for those around her. In this instance, a local morgue becomes ground zero for paranormal activity that terrorizes a father and son duo.
The Pact
Caity Lotz stars as Annie, a woman still struggling in the wake of her mother’s death. She returns to her childhood home once her sister goes missing, and uncovering the truth behind it becomes all the more terrifying when an unseen presence haunts her. Writer/Director Nicholas McCarthy’s feature debut sets up this horror mystery as a straightforward haunted house, but the truth is far more unsettling. Sometimes, a haunted house isn’t at all what you expect.
The House at the End of Time
The passage of time proves key when unlocking the supernatural mystery driving this spooky haunter. In 1981, a strange paranormal phenomenon caused a devastating tragedy that left Dulce implicated in the murder of her husband and her son marked as missing. Thirty years later, Dulce returns home on house arrest, allowing her to discover the truth behind the events that derailed her life. A heartfelt story of familial love wrapped up in a fresh take on a haunted house story from writer/director Alejandro Hidalgo in his directorial debut. Dulce’s house is indeed haunted, but not by ghosts.
Ju-On: The Grudge
The third entry in Takashi Shimizu’s terrifying franchise introduced Kayako and her equally terrifying son Toshio to international audiences. Kayako and Toshio suffered horrible deaths, and their pain manifested in the form of vengeful spirits. While most haunted houses bear the imprint of past traumas through their ghostly residences, Ju-On takes it further by ensuring that the house is irrevocably cursed. Where most haunted house movies end the moment its protagonists leave, Ju-on begins; the moment you step inside, the haunting follows you home until it kills you.
The Sentinel
In horror, sometimes the perfect home chooses you. For Allison Parker, a desire to strike out on her own finds her in a gorgeous Brooklyn brownstone that’s been converted into apartments. It’s a fantastic piece of real estate, but the place is packed with bizarre neighbors and strange activity. Allison soon finds herself haunted by both memories and unwanted visitors. Eventually, though, poor Allison discovers that she didn’t choose the apartment – the denizens of the building chose her. The sinister evil of the place has a specific purpose in mind for her. Religious horror collides with haunted house fare in an unusual way. The haunted house tropes are there, but it’s Catholicism, sin, and a gateway to Hell that dooms its characters.
Event Horizon
The ill-fated crew of the Lewis and Clark spaceship gets sent to answer a distress call from the Event Horizon near Neptune in 2047 after it’d been missing for seven years. They soon discover that the ship went to Hell and back, literally, and it’s gained sentience. It’s a haunted house movie, ghostly machinations, tropes, and all, but set in deep space. Laurence Fishburne leads as Captain Miller, but Sam Neill steals the film as the Event Horizon’s designer turned evil villain. Where we’re going, we won’t need eyes to see.
Relic
Natalie Erika James’s feature debut uses the haunted house framework to relay an eerie, melancholy rumination on dementia’s devastating effects on the afflicted and their loved ones. When Edna (Robyn Nevin) mysteriously goes missing, Kay (Emily Mortimer) and her daughter Sam (Bella Heathcote) arrive at her home to find her. Edna pops back up without a hint of where’s she’s been, though there’s something off about her mental state. Worse, she seems to have brought something back with her. James isn’t interested in hand-holding audiences through her evocative and metaphorical tale that relays Edna’s deterioration through a crumbling house that becomes a horrifying maze.
Lake Mungo
A haunting portrayal of a family coping with loss after the drowning of 16-year-old Alice during a lake outing leads to some unexpected discoveries about the daughter and sister the family thought they knew. Handled mockumentary style, Lake Mungo uses interviews with the family to help piece together the puzzle of Alice’s secretive life after they suspect she’s haunting their home. It’s not the mockumentary format that makes this one unconventional, but the sharp twists throughout that cause you to question whether Alice is haunting the house or if the family is just haunted by grief. The ultimate answer will break your heart.
Hausu
Or simply House, this Japanese cult classic takes the haunted house concept to wacky extremes. The premise has a group of seven high school girls traveling to a remote home belonging to one of their aunts, and it happens to be haunted. That doesn’t adequately prepare the viewer for the madness within. Take the haunted house tropes, like spooky cats, bleeding walls, and vengeful ghosts, and combine it all with psychedelic visuals and funhouse sensibilities. You have the most bizarre haunted house horror movie you’ll ever see in the best way possible. There’s no predicting the madness here.
Summer isn’t even in full swing yet but the horror onslaught continues. If you thought May was a massive month for brand new horror movies, June 2026 also comes loaded with a dense slate of new horror releases.
Save for one reboot, this month brings a ton of original new genre offerings like Leviticus, I Am Frankelda, and Kraken. Also look for new films from visionaries Steven Spielberg and Nicolas Winding Refn to arrive in theaters in June.
Here are eleven new horror movies releasing in June 2026.
Scary Movie – In Theaters Today
Out in theaters today, June 5, is the sixth installment of the popular horror parody film series, marking the Wayans’ return to the franchise they started. Expect spoofs of anything and everything, from Scream (2022) to The Substance (our review).
Michael Tiddes (A Haunted House) directs from a script by Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, original Scary Movie director Keenen Ivory Wayans, Craig Wayans (Scary Movie 2), and Rick Alvarez (A Haunted House).
Marlon Wayans (“Shorty”), Shawn Wayans (“Ray”), Anna Faris (“Cindy”), and Regina Hall (“Brenda”) reunite alongside returning favorites and fresh faces to slash through reboots, remakes, requels, prequels, sequels, spin-offs, elevated horror, origin stories, and anything with the word legacy in it.
The core four are joined by franchise favorites Dave Sheridan, Lochlyn Munro, Cheri Oteri, Chris Elliott, and Jon Abrahams in the legacy sequel.
The ensemble cast also includes Damon Wayans Jr., Gregg Wayans, Kim Wayans, Benny Zielke, Cameron Scott Roberts, Heidi Gardner, Olivia Rose Keegan, Ruby Snowber, Savannah Lee Nassif, Sydney Park, and Felissa Rose.
Watch the official trailer for Scary Movie below.
Disclosure Day – In Theaters June 12
DISCLOSURE DAY, directed by Steven Spielberg.
Legendary director Steven Spielberg is a believer, and he wants to make you one too when his latest invades theaters and IMAX next week. Spielberg revisits the idea of extraterrestrials once more; he previously delivered a trio of sci-fi greats with Close Encounters of the Third Kind in 1977, E.T. in 1982, and War of the Worlds in 2005.
The vague synopsis for Disclosure Day reads: “If you found out we weren’t alone, if someone showed you, proved it to you, would that frighten you? This summer, the truth belongs to seven billion people. We are coming close to Disclosure Day.”
Based on a story by Spielberg, the screenplay is by David Koepp.
Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer, A Quiet Place), Josh O’Connor (Wake Up Dead Man, The Crown), Oscar® winner Colin Firth (The King’s Speech, Kingsman franchise), Eve Hewson (Bad Sisters, The Perfect Couple), and two-time Oscar® nominee Colman Domingo (Sing Sing, Rustin).
Watch the official trailer for Disclosure Day below.
Find Your Friends – On Shudder June 12
An all girls trip into the desert descends into violence in intense thriller Find Your Friends, set to make its Shudder debut on a very crowded June 12.
In the film, “Amber and her four best friends flee Los Angeles for a girls’ trip in Joshua Tree, only to find themselves unwelcome in a desert town simmering with quiet hostility. As isolation sets in and encounters with aggressive locals grow more threatening, festering resentments within the group begin to surface. What begins as fun and reckless escape spirals into a violent struggle for control and survival, as past wounds and present dangers collide in a night that turns their trip into a revenge-fueled nightmare.”
Bella Thorne (The Babysitter), Chloe Cherry (“Euphoria”), Helena Howard (I Saw the TV Glow), Sophia Ali (Uncharted), Zion Moreno (“Gossip Girl”), and Chris Bauer (“True Blood”) star in the feature debut by writer/director Izabel Pakzad.
Watch the official trailer for Find Your Friends below.
I Am Frankelda – On Netflix June 12
I Am Frankelda. Cr. Netflix © 2026.
Mexico’s first stop-motion animated feature film delivers meticulous, handmade artistry from Arturo Ambriz and Roy Ambriz, protégés of Academy Award-winner Guillermo del Toro, and celebrates a unique world of monsters. It also arrives exclusively on Netflix on June 12 (our review).
Here’s the synopsis: “In 19th-century Mexico, Frankelda is a gifted writer whose dark tales are ignored and dismissed. Forced to suppress her voice, she refuses to give up, even as many try to silence her. But when she is thrust into her subconscious, the very monsters she created come to life.
“Guided by Herneval, a tormented prince trapped between dreams and nightmares, she must restore balance between fiction and reality before both realms collapse. Meanwhile, the sinister writer Procustes and his conspirators plot to seize control. As Frankelda and Herneval grow closer, their bond becomes both a strength and a curse.
“To rewrite their fate, she must confront a love that defies existence and reclaim her power as a storyteller—before dark forces consume her imagination and reveal horrors beyond her creation.”
Mireya Mendoza, Arturo Mercado Jr., and Luis Leonardo Suarez lead the voice cast.
Watch the official trailer for I Am Frankelda below.
Kraken – In Select Theaters & on Digital June 12
A monstrous myth comes to life in Norwegian creature feature Kraken, out in limited theaters and VOD on the busiest day of the month in terms of new horror releases.
Pål Øie (The Tunnel) directs from a script by Vilde Eide, Kjersti Jelen Rasmussen, and Natasha Arthur.
In the film, unnatural behavior in wild salmon, followed by inexplicable deaths in Norway’s deepest fjord, points to the mythical Kraken. The ancient, multi-armed monster has awakened, ready to crush everything that moves or makes a sound.
Sara Khorami, Mikkel Bratt Silset, Øyvind Brandtzæg, Jenny Evensen, Ingvild Holthe Bygdnes, Jon Erik Myre, Hans Morten Hansen, Steinar Klouman Hallert, and Filip Bargee Ramberg star.
Watch the official trailer for Kraken below.
Leviticus – In Theaters June 19
“Leviticus is a strong debut with an incisive voice at the helm,” I wrote in my review of one of this summer’s most anticipated releases that sees a vicious curse wreak havoc on young lovers and their conservative community. The latest from NEON arrives in theaters in the back half of June.
Joe Bird (Talk to Me) and Stacy Clausen play star-crossed teenage boys who must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most — each other.
Mia Wasikowska (Crimson Peak), Jeremy Blewitt, Ewen Leslie (The Nightingale), and Davida McKenzie (Silent Night) round out the cast of horror movie Leviticus.
The film comes from writer-director Adrian Chiarella.
Watch the official trailer for Leviticus below.
Rose of Nevada – In Select Theaters June 19
Enys Men filmmaker Mark Jenkin is back with a new hallucinatory, shot-on-film folk horror nightmare, the time-traveling Rose of Nevada arriving in select theaters.
In the horror film, “Three decades ago, the Rose of Nevada vanished at sea, along with its crew. Now, it has returned. In a remote fishing village, its reappearance is embraced as an auspicious sign, with the local citizens convinced the luck of their economically devastated community may turn, if only the ship sails again. Joining the crew is Nick (George MacKay), desperate to provide for his young family, and Liam (Callum Turner), a mysterious drifter eager to escape his past. After a successful voyage, they return to harbor, only to find that nothing is as they remember it.”
Rose of Nevada was written, directed, edited, and scored by Jenkin, who shot the film on a 16mm Bolex camera.
George MacKay and Callum Turner star.
Watch the official trailer for Rose of Nevada below.
Hold the Fort – On Digital June 23
Those in the mood for a scrappy indie horror comedy that rails against the insanity of HOAs should find much to revel in when Hold the Fort arrives on VOD on June 23. Witches, werewolves, and mayhem ensue.
In the film, “Lucas and Jenny think their life is finally coming together when the couple become homeowners. Little do they know that their new house comes with a big catch. Lucas and Jenny soon find themselves in a fight for their lives when they become trapped in a battle between their Homeowners Association and an onslaught of monsters from hell. The horror-comedy takes the timely concern of home-ownership and wraps this up in an entertaining action-packed thrill ride.“
William Bagley writes and directs the film starring Chris Mayers (Adult Swim Yule Log), Haley Leary (“The Walking Dead”), Levi Burdick, and Julian Smith.
Watch the official trailer for Hold the Fort below.
Hungry – On Digital June 23
The wildly unofficial adaptation of Hungry Hungry Hippos comes home to VOD after an extremely limited theatrical run. Rob Hunter called the animal attack flick “a terrific little survival thriller about an angry, angry hippo instead” in his review.
Hungry follows thrill-seeking tourists on a riverboat tour through the treacherous Louisiana swamplands. Lured off the beaten path by the promise of an exclusive adventure, they soon find themselves fighting for survival against a ravenous hippopotamus lurking beneath the bayou’s murky waters.
Madison Davenport (It’s What’s Inside), Tracey Bonner (Greenland), Michel Curiel (“She-Hulk: Attorney at Law”), Jim Meskimen (“Parks and Recreation”), Samantha Coughlan (Arcadian), Olivia Bernstone (Fighting with My Family), River Codack (“Happy Face”), and Joaquim de Almeida (Desperado) star.
James Nunn (Shark Bait, One Shot) wrote and directed.
Watch the official trailer for Hungry below.
Her Private Hell – In Theaters June 24
Nicolas Winding Refn (Drive, The Neon Demon) is back with his first film in a decade, and it’s all but sure to be a conversation starter. Dreamy folklore, cryptic storytelling, and a stunning Giallo-esque vibe haunts the first teaser revealed so far since the film’s Cannes premiere.
In the film, “when a mysterious mist engulfs a futuristic metropolis, unleashing a deadly and elusive entity, a troubled young woman searches for her father. Her quest collides with an American GI on a harrowing odyssey to rescue his daughter from Hell.”
Sophie Thatcher (“Yellowjackets”), Charles Melton (“Riverdale”), Kristine Froseth (How to Blow Up a Pipeline), Havana Rose Liu (No Exit), and Diego Calva (Babylon) star.
The ensemble also includes Dougray Scott (Hitman), Aoi Yamada (Perfect Days), Shioli Kutsuna (Deadpool & Wolverine), and Hidetoshi Nishijima (Shin Ultraman).
Watch the official teaser for Her Private Hell below.
Strung – On Peacock June 24
Producers Tyler Perry and Jason Blum have joined forces on this Peacock original, promising all sorts of twisty psychological turns.
In the film, “A talented violinist takes a prestigious job as a music tutor for the gifted daughter of an influential and enigmatic family. As she becomes entangled in their opulent world, unsettling secrets begin to surface, forcing her to question her safety, her dreams, and even her sanity.”
Malcolm D. Lee (Scary Movie 5, Space Jam: A New Legacy) directs from a script written by Alan B. McElroy (Wrong Turn, Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers).
Chloe Bailey (“Swarm“), Lynn Whitfield (Jaws: The Revenge), Lucien Laviscount (“Scream Queens”), Anna Diop (Us), Coco Jones (Vampires vs. the Bronx), Langley Kirkwood (“Banshee”), and Romy Woods star.
Watch the official trailer for Strung below.
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