Fall film season kicks off with super soldiers, zombies, and Chris Hansen

Summer 2026 at the movies was a bonkers success, with The Odyssey, Toy Story 5, Backrooms, and Spider-Man: Brand New Day cleaning up atop a box office that put up its best numbers since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the wake of all that, most films arriving at your local multiplex this September are bound to feel a bit lackluster. But, among the more horror-oriented films hitting theaters, the looming prospect of awards season means that more prestige-oriented properties are starting to pop up, and Robert Pattinson continues his outstanding run of strange (and strangely perfect) professional choices in a film that’s targeted like a laser at true-crime junkies and those of us who remain weirdly nostalgic for the early 2000s. Primetime and more can be found in the September film preview.

Onslaught (September 4)

The first of two buzzy A24 titles arriving this September, director Adam Wingard’s Onslaught is technically not a sequel to his excellent 2014 action-horror film The Guest. It’s just set in the same universe, takes place in what appears to be the same town, and also features Dan Stevens in a major role. This sort-of-but-not-really follow-up tells the story of an ex-Army sniper (Adria Arjona) who must protect her daughter from a group of genetically engineered government super soldiers who are basically unstoppable killing machines. A whole lot of violence predictably ensues. Bonus points for Stevens’ insanely over-the-top German accent. 

Resident Evil (September 18)

Weapons director Zach Cregger aims to reinvent the Resident Evil franchise with an update that isn’t particularly beholden to the complex lore that has come before. Austin Abrams stars in an all-new story that follows a delivery driver trapped in a race for survival over the course of one single horrifying night. If the trailer is anything to go by, we can expect some unbearable tension, plenty of jump scares, and at least one horrifying basement sequence.

The History Of Concrete (September 18)

An offbeat documentary about concrete and New York City, The History Of Concrete is the feature debut from John Wilson and embraces his familiar kind of curiosity about deeply mundane subjects. On paper, the film is a look at this ubiquitous element of every major city, but as fans of his late, lamented HBO series How To With John Wilson can tell you, Wilson’s work is rarely about a single subject, and The History Of Concrete is no different, encompassing topics both poignant and hilarious. (Is this film just a supersized episode of Wilson’s TV series? Maybe. Are we mad about it? Not at all.)

Primetime (September 25)

Watching Robert Pattinson’s evolution from Twilight heartthrob to character actor who loves playing strange little freaks has been delightful to witness, and 2026 has been an embarrassment of riches for those who enjoy his professional weirdo era. The streak seems set to continue with Primetime, the new A24 film from Lance Oppenheim, which features Pattinson as To Catch A Predator host Chris Hansen. Whether the show was really about protecting children or more about entrapping people in front of a rapt audience of millions, the show was appointment TV for many back in the early 2000s, with Hansen as its occasionally unscrupulous figurehead.