Sci-fi Horror Comedy Cold Storage (2026) is Lukewarm but Enjoyable
Title: Cold Storage
First Non-Festival Release: January 29, 2026 (Theatrical Release)
Director: Jonny Campbell
Writer: David Koepp
Runtime: 99 Minutes
Starring: Georgina Campbell, Joe Keery, Liam Neeson, Sosie Bacon, Lesley Manville
Where to Watch: Check out where to find it here
Years ago, the U.S government stored a terrible secret down a dark shaft in an isolated storage facility. After the facility is shut down, it is reconverted multiples times until the modern day where it exists as a simple storage facility for ordinary people. Between the exchanging of hands, the dangerous weapon hidden down a secret underground shaft finds a way out. Present day employees Teacake (Joe Keery) and Naomi (Georgina Campbell) stumble upon something strange when bored during their shift. A mysterious beeping leads them from one clue to another until they scale down hundreds of feet into the earth to discover that the rapidly mutating alien fungus that the government hid away is rebounding with a vengeance. Now it’s up to them and the retired scientists (Liam Neeson, Lesley Manville) that warned of this exact scenario happening to kill the fungus and save the world.
Inoffensive but lacking, Cold Storage is a capable sci-fi horror comedy that charms more than it scares.
Absolutely a product of a different time, Cold Storage evokes the nostalgia of big budget sci-fi horror comedies of the late 90s and early 2000s. Sprawling sets, bombastic death sequences, and a penchant for goofy humor define the film. The lethality of the fungus, and its rapid incubation period, clarify its threat early while establishing the rules for its path-of-infection. Cold Storage plays loose with these rules to get from point A to point B quite often but doesn’t stray too far from its established reality. With climate change being the driver for its breach from containment, Cold Storage uses its monster as an allegory for the consequences of ecological apathy.
Good-natured protagonists are used as stand-ins for the audience, imploring them to do what’s right despite the risks for their own salvation. Once the true nature of the fungus is revealed and the lengths they must go to in order to win, the naive young people do what’s asked of them. Much like an average citizen, they trust that the government is going to do what is right in an insanely high-risk, high-stress scenario. Instead, their willingness to comply puts them in constant danger of sickness. Sound familiar? Now, not everything is related to COVID, especially considering writer David Koepp based the screenplay off his 2019 novel of the same name, but the similarities are striking right up to the government employees going above and beyond to right the wrong of hilarious oversight on their employer.
Its affable cast keep the action moving and the humor flowing as Cold Storage veers towards a chaotic and goopy final fight. Anchoring the film, Joe Keery and Georgina Campbell have delightful chemistry as the two quirky storage facility employees. Both flirt and fight in ways that bring out plenty of charming moments that make their characters’ awkward blooming romance feel genuine. Liam Neeson and Lesley Manville add to the comedy while supporting the B-plot. Their inclusion, while necessary to the overall story, doesn’t quite fit in the end. Regardless, the performances are good enough that it doesn’t end up mattering. The rest of the cast keeps the energy moving while providing plenty of bodies to add to the film’s final count.
Seeping with gooey body horror, Cold Storage doesn’t skimp on its horror elements even if they aren’t particularly scary. Operating more on a gross-out level of horror than true terror, Cold Storage allows its fungus-controlled zombies to have plenty of fun during the film. Exploding animals, dripping fluids, and a specific brand of primordial hypnosis characterize the lethality of the fungus while making it pretty easy to avoid. Teacake and Naomi slip in and out of situations pretty easily but the few moments of tension that Cold Storage builds are effective in a vacuum. The standout sequence comes in its subversion of the ticking time bomb trope, allowing Cold Storage to put a fresh spin on a tired concept and save its best suspense for its final scenes.
Cold Storage is a fun, breezy film that indulges in the beats of big budget comfort horror from the turn of the century. While it never quite reaches the heights of its apocalyptic story, Cold Storage is an easy watch with a great cast and energy. Of course, not without problems, its hit-or-miss humor and convenient plot devices prevent it from truly nailing the tonal tightrope it walks. Spread the good news that Cold Storage is good time for the average horror fan and cinema goer alike.
Overall Score? 6/10
