We just got back from the theater for yet another new horror release, and honestly, this winter season has been absolutely stacked. We keep saying it, but it’s true. Cold Storage hit theaters on February 13, 2026, and we managed to track down a screening, though it took a little more effort than usual.
This one didn’t pop up at our go-to theater, which was a bit of a bummer, but we found it eventually. And we’re glad we did, because while it’s not reinventing the zombie movie wheel by any stretch, it’s a genuinely fun time at the movies.
What Is Cold Storage and Where Did It Come From?
So here’s something we didn’t even know going in: Cold Storage is actually based on a 2019 novel of the same name by David Koepp. If that name doesn’t ring a bell immediately, his credits absolutely will.
Koepp is the screenwriter behind the original Jurassic Park, its sequel The Lost World, War of the Worlds (2005), Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, the original Mission: Impossible, Stir of Echoes, Secret Window, and, most recently, Jurassic World Rebirth. The man has been a Hollywood force for decades, and this is one of his own novels getting the adaptation treatment.
The basic premise goes like this: a dangerous fungus escapes from a secret laboratory, and a former bioterrorism agent is called back into action. Alongside two young employees, he must confront an invisible and out-of-control threat. That’s the IMDb summary, and it’s accurate but barely scratches the surface.
We’d classify this as a sci-fi horror comedy, though the sci-fi element is really more about the setting than anything else. There are no aliens, no one’s going to space. The science fiction lives in the backstory of the fungus itself and the military facility where everything goes sideways.
As Meaghan pointed out, “Frankenstein is considered a science fiction novel,” so you don’t need little green men for something to qualify. Fair enough.
The deeper setup is that a decommissioned military storage facility was sold and converted into a regular self-storage business. The problem?
Whoever cleared the place out left behind dangerous biological specimens, including multiple vials of god-knows-what, sealed behind walls in sub-basement levels. The climate has shifted over time, temperatures have changed, and the fungus that was being stored has finally been released.
It’s one of those plot points where you just have to accept it and move on, because as Arthur put it, “You would never do that. That would never happen.” But hey, it’s a horror movie. We’re not here for realism.
A Stacked Cast That Makes It Worth the Watch
If there’s one thing we can’t stop talking about with this film, it’s the cast. It is absolutely ridiculous in the best way possible.
The two leads are Georgina Campbell as Naomi and Joe Keery as Travis, nicknamed “Tea Cake.” Campbell is quickly becoming a certified scream queen.
Most people will recognize her from Barbarian, where she crushed it as the lead. She also appeared in Influencers and is set to star in Psycho Killer, which drops the following week.
We saw the trailer for that one, and it looked dark, gritty, and very David Fincher, but extra messed up. As Arthur said, “It looks like what Long Legs should’ve been.” Meaghan also couldn’t help but notice how good Campbell looked on screen: “Georgina Campbell’s so pretty,” she said, which, honestly, same.
Joe Keery, of course, is best known as Steve “The Hair” Harrington from Stranger Things, but his signature look is nowhere to be found here. “He looks like a dork in this film,” Meaghan noted, and Arthur agreed, pointing out that his hair appeared bleached with dark roots growing in.
“It looked really bad,” Meaghan said. Leave the man alone, maybe, but also, it did look rough.
Then you’ve got Liam Neeson as Robert Quinn, the former Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) operative who originally dealt with the fungus years ago. In the original novel, the character is Roberto Diaz, but they obviously adjusted that. As Meaghan joked, “It would have been hard to get away with the man with the Irish accent” playing a character named Roberto Diaz.
Leslie Manville plays Trini Romano, Robert’s former partner, and their dynamic together is one of the highlights of the whole film. Sosie Bacon, Kevin Bacon’s daughter and the lead of the first Smile film, has a small role in the opening.
Richard Brake, well known for his work with Rob Zombie and his role in Barbarian, shows up as Jarabeck, one of the Department of Defense heads. And then there’s Vanessa Redgrave, who at 89 years old brings an Oscar, a Tony, multiple Emmys, and an Olivier Award to the table.
She’s also Liam Neeson’s mother-in-law, as she’s the mother of Neeson’s late wife, Natasha Richardson. “He’s working with his mother-in-law,” Arthur pointed out, which adds a sweet personal layer to the production.
The funny thing is, almost the entire cast is British actors playing Americans. Other than Joe Keery and Sosie Bacon, it’s wall-to-wall UK talent doing American accents. We found that pretty amusing.
The Good Stuff: Explosions, Banter, and a Perfect Runtime
Coming out of the theater, we both landed in a very similar place with our feelings. This is a fun, easy, entertaining watch. It’s not groundbreaking. It’s predictable in spots. But it moves well, it’s got great energy, and it never once made us look at our watches.
That last part is key because, as Meaghan put it, “Whenever I find myself looking at my watch, I’m like, that’s not a good sign because it means that I’m bored.” At 99 minutes, the runtime is perfect for what the movie is trying to be. We both agreed before going in that a premise like this doesn’t need to run over 90 minutes, and the filmmakers clearly understood that too.
One of the standout elements for both of us was the infected characters and the kills. The explosion scenes are wild. People who get infected either try to spread the fungus to others or they straight-up projectile vomit and blow up.
It sounds absurd, and it is, but it’s also really well executed. “Those scenes were probably my number one thing,” Arthur said. The visual effects looked great, likely enhanced with CGI, but not in a way that pulled you out of the moment.
And we loved that each infected character looked and behaved differently. There was real variety in the creature design, which kept things interesting.
The chemistry between the two leads was another big win. Travis and Naomi’s relationship builds naturally. They’ve literally just met at work, so there’s an appropriate distance between them at first, but the insane circumstances force a quick bond.
It felt genuine, not forced. Arthur particularly liked the early banter, that awkward “we’re coworkers, but this job is weird, and we’re alone at a self-storage facility overnight” energy. And Naomi’s character was a highlight for Meaghan, who related to her curiosity and nosiness. “She reminds me of me because she’s like very nosy about what’s making the noise,” Meaghan admitted.
We also both loved the dynamic between Liam Neeson’s Robert and Leslie Manville’s Trini. Meaghan compared them to “an older Mulder and Scully,” which is pretty spot-on. They’re sarcastic with each other, clearly comfortable from years of working together, and just fun to watch.
“I almost wish they had a little bit more screen time,” Arthur said, because their chemistry was that good.
Where It Falls Short and Final Verdict
For all the fun, there were a few hiccups. Vanessa Redgrave’s character, Mrs. Rooney, felt unnecessary. She has this sad subplot about a potential suicide attempt on her wedding anniversary after losing her husband, and while it’s emotionally effective in the moment, it doesn’t really connect to anything else.
“It almost felt out of place,” Meaghan said. She serves a small plot function at one point, but it felt like a detour in a movie that otherwise keeps things tight.
We also would have liked a bit more of the infected and zombie-like elements. The movie is contained by design, and we get that. It’s not trying to be a full-on zombie film. But a few more encounters with infected characters could have raised the stakes even higher.
That said, it didn’t take away from the overall experience. The additional characters who do show up, like Griffin, the shady boss who wants Travis to help him steal flat-screen TVs from the storage units, serve the story well. They give the fungus more bodies to work with and create the tension and horror beats the movie needs.
We both gave it about a 6 out of 10, which lines up pretty well with the broader conversation. It’s sitting at a 6.3 on IMDb and 81% on Rotten Tomatoes, and Letterboxd has it at nearly a 3 out of 5.
It’s solidly in that middle-of-the-road zone where it’s not bad at all, it’s just not something that’s going to blow your mind. As Arthur summed it up, the movie is “delightful and disgusting,” which is honestly a perfect way to describe it.
The setting itself, a self-storage facility with hidden military sub-basements, was a really cool and somewhat fresh backdrop for a horror film. You don’t see that very often, and it gave the whole thing a unique feel.
The music was also a pleasant surprise, with some solid rock tracks kicking in during the action sequences that kept the energy up.
What’s Next on Our Radar
We’re looking ahead to a busy stretch. Psycho Killer with Georgina Campbell drops next week, and we’re hoping it delivers on that dark, intense promise.
There’s also an exciting wave of zombie movies hitting early 2026, including We Bury the Dead, Bone Temple, and This Is Not a Test, the latter of which is another book adaptation that Meaghan has actually read.
We’re hoping to catch a screening so we can compare the adaptation to the source material.
On the fun celebrity-news side, we also mentioned that Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick are directing and starring in an upcoming horror-comedy called Family Movie, with both of their kids, Sosie and Travis Bacon.
It follows a filmmaking family whose low-budget slasher project goes sideways when a real body shows up on set. “That sounds so fun,” Meaghan said, “and it’s like a whole family project.” We love the Bacon-Sedgwick family. Follow them on Instagram. They’re adorable.
But bottom line on Cold Storage? Go see it. Whether it’s Valentine’s Day, the weekend after, or whenever you’re reading this, it’s a great time. Fun, easy, gross in the best way, and over before you even realize it. You won’t regret it.