A massive month for brand new original horror is now underway, with May 2026 featuring countless horror movies that we cannot wait to see on screens both big and small.
On that note, six brand new ones are now available as we head into the weekend…
Here’s all the new horror that released on Friday, May 8, 2026!
Mortal Kombat II is now playing in theaters nationwide from Warner Bros.
Mortal Kombat director Simon McQuoid returns to the helm for the new sequel from a script by Jeremy Slater (“Moon Knight,” Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire).
This time, the fan-favorite champions — now joined by Johnny Cage — are pitted against one another in the ultimate, no-holds barred, gory battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders.
Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, Jessica McNamee, Josh Lawson, Ludi Lin, Mehcad Brooks, Tati Gabrielle, Lewis Tan, Damon Herriman, Chin Han, Tadanobu Asano, Joe Taslim, and Hiroyuki Sanada star in Mortal Kombat II.
From New Line Cinema, Atomic Monster, Broken Road Productions, and Fireside Films, Mortal Kombat II is rated R for “strong bloody violence and gore, and language.”
Based on the popular video game created by Kotake Create, NEON’s Exit 8 follows a man trapped in an endless sterile subway passageway as he sets out to find Exit 8.
Exit 8 is now available on Digital at home.
The rules of his quest are simple: do not overlook anything out of the ordinary. If you discover an anomaly, turn back immediately. If you don’t, carry on. Then leave from Exit 8.
But even a single oversight will send him back to the beginning. Will he ever reach his goal and escape this infinite corridor?
Kawamura Genki directs Exit 8 from a script he co-wrote with Kentaro Hirase.
Meagan Navarro wrote in her review, “The true magic of Exit 8 lies with its impressive ability to recreate the feeling of playing a game, as you find yourself scouring the walls, floors, and ceilings of a cosmic backroom hallway to assist the Lost Man in his search for anomalies.”
Dying is not a choice in Whistle, the latest from The Nun director Corin Hardy. Fresh out of theaters, the cursed object horror movie is now streaming exclusively on Shudder.
The horror film follows a misfit group of unwitting high school students who stumble upon an ancient Aztec Death Whistle. Soon, they discover that blowing the whistle and the terrifying sound it emits will summon their future deaths to hunt them down.
As the body count rises, the friends investigate the origins of the cursed artifact in a desperate effort to stop the horrifying chain of events that they have set in motion.
Dafne Keen (Logan), Sophie Nélisse (“Yellowjackets”), Sky Yang (Rebel Moon), Jhaleil Swaby (“Supergirl”), Ali Skovbye (“Firefly Lane”), Percy Hynes White (“Wednesday”), Michelle Fairley (“Game of Thrones”), and Nick Frost (Shaun of the Dead) star.
Owen Egerton (Blood Fest) wrote the script, based on his own short story.
Happy Death Day actress Jessica Rothe stars as a mom struggling to keep her grip on her sanity and memory in the mind-bending Affection, now playing in select theaters.
In Affection, “Afflicted by a mysterious condition that resets her memory, Ellie becomes trapped in a cyclical nightmare with a man who claims to be her husband. She soon must uncover the horrifying truth of her existence—before she forgets it all again.“
Joseph Cross (“Big Little Lies”) and Julianna Layne (“Chicago P.D.”) also star in the sci-fi horror thriller. Affection marks the feature debut by writer/director BT Meza.
Daniel Kurland wrote in his review out of the film’s premiere, “Affection is steeped in existential questions and fears that plague modern society, while it embraces the ethos of the ’80s through bold body horror. Add to that Rothe’s revelatory performance, and Affection is a hidden gem that will connect with your mind, body, and soul.”
Mena Suvari (American Beauty) stars as the legendary Elizabeth Báthory, leading a coven of bloodsuckers who hunt their prey on dating apps, in Vampires of the Velvet Lounge.
The horror comedy is now available on Digital at home.
Deep in the American South, a back alley absinthe bar harbors a deadly secret: Countess Elizabeth Báthory and her glamorous coven of vampires keep their killer instincts sharp by preying on lonely singles through dating apps, seducing and slaughtering to preserve their youth.
But when Elizabeth swipes right on the wrong profiles — a cunning undercover vampire hunter and a band of emotionally stunted bros — the hunt spirals into hilariously horrifying chaos.
Blood flies, fangs pierce flesh, and the bar erupts into a glitter-soaked, green fairy-winged, fang-filled fever dream of grindhouse gore, terrible decisions, and fashionably fatal carnage.
Mena Suvari stars with Dichen Lachman (“Severance”), Stephen Dorff (Blade), India Eisley (Underworld: Awakening), Tom Berenger (Platoon), Rosa Salazar (Alita: Battle Angel), and Tyrese Gibson (Fast & Furious franchise).
Lochlyn Munro (Freddy vs. Jason), Sarah Dumont (Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse), Mark Boone, Jr. (“Sons of Anarchy”), Sherman Augustus (“Stranger Things”), and Timothy Murphy (“True Detective”) round out the cast.
Wristcutters: A Love Story producer Adam Sherman writes and directs.
Canadian horror-comedy Buffet Infinity crosscuts between original, low-budget TV commercials to tell the sinister tale of two restaurants battling it out. Ads for insurance, used car rivals, a local religious scholar, and a recording artist converge to tell the story of an expanding sinkhole, a cult, and an ever-growing restaurant that becomes unsettlingly sentient.
The unconventional film is now available on VOD from Yellow Veil Pictures.
Ahmed Ahmed, Kevin Singh, Donovan Workun, Allison Bench, and Claire Theobald star. Simon Glassman writes and directs, in addition to producing Buffet Infinity.
Luiz H.C. writes in his review, “Buffet Infinity is one of the most rewarding genre productions of the past few years and a must-watch for fans of absurdist humor and Lovecraftian terror. The internet-inspired rapid-fire humor may not appeal to everyone, but I was thoroughly impressed with what may very well be the very first instance of a true analog horror comedy.”
