2026 Halloween Preseason
Over here at Halloween central, we have been busy putting final touches on the redesign of our website. We’re bringing you a new experience that feels more like a year-round horror publication designed around our seasonal horror movie lists. We have more features to add as we move forward, but it is September and our first order of business is to get the preseason under way. As per usual, everything can be streamed right from the comfort of your own home horror cave. Consider this your roadmap into early season horror.
💀 Let the Journey Begin! 💀
2026 got off to a great start and gave us a lot of fresh finds to keep things spicy as we warm up for the spooky season. One of these days I am going to do a deep dive into our “Wrong Bitch” collection, but for now let’s celebrate new inductees to the list: Rachel McAdams and Zazie Beetz. Yeah, you done messed with the Wrong Bitch.
Forbidden Fruits is a fun look at a sisterhood that makes a brotherhood seem functional. I’m a huge fan of Victoria Pedretti ever since The Haunting of Hill House so even if it punches below its weight, it’s worth a watch. We’ll get to the other entrants as we move through the list.
Catching Up…
Picking up a few movies from last couple of years, we have a pair of exorcisms that proves this genre, however unoriginal and tropey, is just what a dedicated horror fan needs to round out the season. All you have to decide is Al Pacino or Russell Crowe. Or both because you can never overdo the exorcism. A sequel to Five Nights at Freddy’s, a remake of Witchboard, and a not-so-imaginary friend in an innocent teddy bear are also on the list - and don’t judge until you have seen them. Critics can be harsh.
We’re not sure how we missed Borderline last year, but we are down for anything that Samara Weaving does. And who can resist a modern reimagining of the 1941 Universal Monsters classic icon, the Wolf Man?
Stuff We Missed
We always pick up a few films that have escaped our line-up in the past like Becky (another “Wrong Bitch” hero) and an all-star roster in The Dead Don’t Die, because we didn’t get enough of Bill Murray in Zombieland. We added They to the preseason because, well, it’s a good horror movie, but also to illustrate the fun that film distribution has with its audience. Marketed as “Wes Craven presents They,” it actually means that Wes Craven had nothing to do with the film other than lending his name. And somehow, our past lists have missed Odd Thomas and a true classic, Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds - a film that gave me my first horror nightmare.
Revisiting the Good Stuff
A handful of old favorites round out our preseason because sometimes you need to revisit the rewatchable. Except Bone Tomahawk. I’m not sure how rewatchable that one is but how often do you get to say or see a Troglodyte? Chris Hemsworth in A Cabin in the Woods though? Totally rewatchable.
If my math is right, that brings us to 31 movies in 30 days and a helluva start to the season. Stop by often as we continue to upgrade features on our new website. Until then, check out the full 30-Day Preseason Calendar on our watch party hub here.
We’ll see you on the socials and until then, stay spooky. 🦇