Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed confronts primordial evil, a nerve shredding shocker, premiering Oct 2025 on major streaming services

One hair-raising mystic scare-fest from creator / auteur Andrew Chiaramonte, liberating an timeless horror when passersby become tools in a hellish struggle. Hitting screens on October 2, 2025, on Amazon’s Prime Video, the YouTube platform, Google Play, iTunes Movies, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home.

Hollywood, CA (August 8th, 2025) – ready yourself for *Young & Cursed*, a disturbing chronicle of perseverance and forgotten curse that will reshape genre cinema this spooky time. Realized by rising creative mind Andrew Chiaramonte, this harrowing and emotionally thick cinema piece follows five figures who arise stuck in a isolated lodge under the ominous manipulation of Kyra, a young woman occupied by a biblical-era biblical demon. Be prepared to be immersed by a filmic event that merges visceral dread with timeless legends, coming on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Malevolent takeover has been a classic foundation in horror films. In *Young & Cursed*, that norm is twisted when the forces no longer arise beyond the self, but rather deep within. This portrays the deepest element of the cast. The result is a bone-chilling identity crisis where the events becomes a ongoing contest between right and wrong.


In a wilderness-stricken wild, five figures find themselves sealed under the ghastly presence and overtake of a shadowy person. As the characters becomes incapacitated to reject her dominion, disconnected and attacked by unknowns beyond reason, they are compelled to stand before their darkest emotions while the clock relentlessly ticks toward their demise.


In *Young & Cursed*, tension intensifies and partnerships dissolve, prompting each person to contemplate their personhood and the structure of independent thought itself. The stakes surge with every tick, delivering a paranormal ride that connects supernatural terror with psychological weakness.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my aim was to explore raw dread, an evil before modern man, filtering through our weaknesses, and questioning a will that threatens selfhood when we lose control.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Channeling Kyra meant channeling something beneath mortal despair. She is uninformed until the haunting manifests, and that metamorphosis is soul-crushing because it is so personal.”

Streaming Info

*Young & Cursed* will be accessible for digital release beginning on October 2nd, 2025, on Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand—giving audiences worldwide can dive into this demonic journey.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just rolled out a new official trailer #2 for *Young & Cursed*, available to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a follow up to its intro video, which has pulled in over 100,000 views.


In addition to its continental debut, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has announced that *Young & Cursed* will also be shown overseas, bringing the film to viewers around the world.


Be sure to catch this life-altering journey into fear. Confront *Young & Cursed* this launch day to experience these evil-rooted truths about our species.


For previews, production insights, and insider scoops directly from production, follow @YoungAndCursedMovie across entertainment pages and visit the movie portal.





U.S. horror’s pivotal crossroads: the year 2025 domestic schedule Mixes biblical-possession ideas, art-house nightmares, together with brand-name tremors

From survival horror inspired by legendary theology to brand-name continuations and focused festival visions, 2025 looks like horror’s most layered together with deliberate year in recent memory.

The 2025 horror calendar is more than crowded, it is calculated. major banners lay down anchors with familiar IP, even as platform operators saturate the fall with fresh voices and ancient terrors. In parallel, indie storytellers is fueled by the tailwinds of a banner 2024 fest year. Because Halloween stands as the showcase, the year beyond October is carefully apportioned. A dense September through October runway is now a rite of passage, distinctly in 2025, horror is also claiming January, spring, and even mid-summer. Viewers are primed, studios are precise, as a result 2025 may end up the most intentional cycle yet.

Major and Mini-Major Maneuvers: Premium genre swings back

The majors are not coasting. If 2024 set the base, 2025 accelerates.

Universal starts the year with an audacious swing: a refreshed Wolf Man, stepping away from the classic old-country village, in a modern-day environment. Led by Leigh Whannell featuring Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this telling braids lycanthropy with a family meltdown. The metamorphosis extends past flesh, into marriage, parenthood, and human hurt. timed for mid January, it advances a tactic to control the winter valley through premium horror, not dumps.

By spring, Clown in a Cornfield premieres, a YA slasher conversion presented as stripped terror. Steered by Eli Craig anchored by Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it reads as gore kissed small town horror with wry bite. Behind the greasepaint sits a critique of small town suspicion, generational fracture, and vigilante justice. Early festival buzz suggests it has teeth.

By late summer, Warner’s slate drops the final chapter inside its trusty horror universe: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Ed and Lorraine Warren return with Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the chapter points to emotional capstone while addressing a headline case. Despite a known recipe, Chaves reportedly keys a sorrowing, contemplative note in the capstone. It lands in early September, carving air ahead of October’s stack.

Following that is The Black Phone 2. Planned for early summer, the October reposition reads assertive. Scott Derrickson again directs, and those signature textures resurface: period tinged dread, trauma explicitly handled, with spooky supernatural reasoning. This time, the stakes are raised, through a fuller probe of the “grabber” lore and inherited grief.

Rounding out the big ticket releases is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a property whose brand does the lifting. The second outing goes deeper into backstory, thickens the animatronic pantheon, bridging teens and legacy players. It posts in December, cornering year end horror.

Streaming Firsts: Economy, maximum dread

As theatrical skews franchise first, streamers are taking risks, and it is paying off.

One standout ambitious title is Weapons, a cold file multi story chiller interlacing three eras linked by a mass vanishing. Directed by Zach Cregger anchored by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the film fuses dread with dramatic heft. Premiering theatrically in late summer before a fall streaming drop, it is expected to spark online debate and post viewing breakdowns, much like Barbarian before it.

Keeping things close quarters is Together, a two hander body horror spiral including Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Set in a remote rental home during a getaway gone wrong, the narrative traces love and jealousy and self contempt into body collapse. It comes off amorous, macabre, and bracingly uneasy, a three act loop into codependent hell. Even without a formal platform date, it is poised for a fall platform bow.

On the docket is Sinners, a 1930s set vampire folk tale fronted by Michael B. Jordan. Framed in sepia richness with biblical metaphor, it feels like There Will Be Blood fused with Let the Right One In. The film interrogates American religious trauma through supernatural allegory. Initial test audience notes point to a buzzy streaming debut.

Several other streaming indies are quietly waiting in the wings: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper all tap into themes of grief, disappearance, and identity, often using horror as metaphor instead of spectacle.

Possession, Deeper Than Ever: Young & Cursed

Posting October 2 across the big platforms, Young & Cursed operates as a rare duality, minimal in staging, maximal in myth. Written and helmed by Andrew Chiaramonte, the movie observes five strangers who awaken in an isolated wilderness cabin, controlled by Kyra, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. As the night settles, her power spikes, an infiltrating force leveraging fears, breaks, and sorrow.

The chill is psyche led, anchored in primal myth. Resisting the exorcism template of Catholic ceremony and Latin chant, this one bores into something older, something darker. Lilith comes not via liturgy, but from trauma, quiet, and human brittleness. Making possession internal threads Young & Cursed into the current of intimate character studies in genre skin.

The Halloween window on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home frames the film as counter to sequel saturation and creature revivals. It is a calculated bet. No overinflated mythology. No continuity burden. Sheer psychological unease, compact and taut, calibrated to digital binge beats. In a spectacle stack, Young & Cursed could be the hush before the shriek.

Festival Born and Buyer Ready

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF remain breeding grounds for what horror looks like six to twelve months later. This year, the launchpad function outruns the showcase role.

Fantastic Fest has a thick horror program this time. Primate, a tropical body horror opener, draws comparisons to Cronenberg and Herzog. Whistle, revenge folklore with Aztec roots, is poised to close with blaze.

Midnight fare like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You rides on craft as well as title. That title, with A24 backing, satirizes toxic fandom during a convention lockdown and is set to pop.

SXSW premiered Clown in a Cornfield and surfaced several microbudget hauntings that circle deals. Sundance appears set for grief threaded elevated horror once more, while Tribeca’s genre section leans more urban, social, and surreal.

Festival playbooks now prize branding as much as discovery. Badges kick off the sell, they do not merely decorate.

Legacy Lines: Additions, Do Overs, and Revisions

The legacy slate is stronger, and more deliberate, than in recent years.

Fear Street: Prom Queen returns in July, reviving the 90s franchise with new lead and retro color. Breaking with earlier shading, it leans camp and prom night melodrama. Expect tiaras, corn syrup blood, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 hits late June, with a plan to deepen its techno horror mythos via new characters and AI terrors. The opener’s social chatter and SVOD hours justify Universal’s deeper play.

On the slate sits The Long Walk, from one of Stephen King’s stark early titles, under Francis Lawrence, it lands as a ruthless dystopian allegory couched in survival horror, a march where no one wins. With sharp marketing, it could translate to The Hunger Games for horror adults.

Meanwhile, reboots and sequels like Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda appear through the year, many poised for targeted windows or last minute deals.

What to Watch

Mythic horror goes mainstream
Lilith in Young & Cursed and Aztec curses in Whistle point to ancient texts and symbols. It is not nostalgia, it is re owning pre Christian archetypes. Horror reaches past fear, it states evil is old.

Body horror ascends again
With films like Together, Weapons, and Keeper, horror is going back to the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation now read as metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streamer originals stiffen their spine
The filler era wanes for platform horror. Streamers back real writing, real filmmakers, and genuine marketing. Debuts like Weapons and Sinners carry event framing, not content bins.

Festival Hype Equals Market Leverage
Festival ribbons become currency for better windows and top shelves. A horror film without a festival strategy in 2025 risks disappearing.

Theatrical release is a trust fall
Studios hold theatrical for overperformers or future series seeds. Most others angle PVOD or hybrid. Horror persists theatrically, in curated lanes.

Outlook: Autumn density and winter pivot

Put Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons into September and October and you get saturation. Indies like Bone Lake and Keeper will scrap for air. Look for a pivot by one or more into early 2026 or to new platforms.

December anchors on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, yet a surprise streamer drop could appear in the final weeks. With mythic energy high, a late creature or exorcism entry could pop.

The 2025 performance is about reach across segments, not one hero title. The assignment is not to chase the next Get Out, it is to build horror that endures beyond box office.



The coming 2026 spook cycle: installments, new stories, in tandem with A stacked Calendar aimed at nightmares

Dek The emerging scare slate packs immediately with a January traffic jam, then runs through summer, and straight through the December corridor, blending name recognition, novel approaches, and calculated counterprogramming. The big buyers and platforms are relying on responsible budgets, theatrical exclusivity first, and viral-minded pushes that elevate these pictures into national conversation.

The state of horror, heading into 2026

Horror has emerged as the dependable option in annual schedules, a space that can accelerate when it breaks through and still hedge the risk when it does not. After the 2023 year re-taught greenlighters that responsibly budgeted horror vehicles can steer audience talk, 2024 extended the rally with signature-voice projects and word-of-mouth wins. The tailwind translated to the 2025 frame, where reboots and prestige plays made clear there is room for many shades, from series extensions to original features that travel well. The takeaway for 2026 is a run that seems notably aligned across the major shops, with defined corridors, a harmony of recognizable IP and first-time concepts, and a renewed emphasis on cinema windows that power the aftermarket on premium digital and streaming.

Studio leaders note the space now performs as a fill-in ace on the programming map. The genre can arrive on a wide range of weekends, deliver a simple premise for trailers and TikTok spots, and outstrip with patrons that turn out on Thursday nights and stay strong through the next weekend if the movie satisfies. Following a strike-delayed pipeline, the 2026 plan signals comfort in that model. The calendar rolls out with a front-loaded January stretch, then primes spring and early summer for contrast, while keeping space for a autumn stretch that flows toward Halloween and into early November. The gridline also underscores the continuing integration of arthouse labels and OTT outlets that can develop over weeks, ignite recommendations, and widen at the right moment.

A reinforcing pattern is brand strategy across brand ecosystems and legacy franchises. Big banners are not just greenlighting another sequel. They are trying to present lore continuity with a marquee sheen, whether that is a graphic identity that signals a reframed mood or a lead change that bridges a incoming chapter to a early run. At the in tandem, the directors behind the eagerly awaited originals are returning to hands-on technique, practical effects and site-specific worlds. That mix offers 2026 a robust balance of assurance and newness, which is a recipe that travels worldwide.

The studios and mini-majors, and how they are playing the year

Paramount fires first with two big-ticket pushes that straddle tones widely. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with original architect Kevin Williamson in the helm and Neve Campbell back at the center, angling it as both a relay and a heritage-centered character-driven entry. Production is underway in Atlanta, and the story approach indicates a heritage-honoring bent without looping the last two entries’ Carpenter-sisters arc. Count on a promo wave centered on brand visuals, character spotlights, and a two-beat trailer plan targeting late fall. Distribution is Paramount theatrical.

Paramount also reignites a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are reforming, with the Wayans brothers involved creatively for the first time since the early 2000s, a angle the campaign will spotlight. As a summer counter-slot, this one will go after wide buzz through gif-able moments, with the horror spoof format lending itself to quick redirects to whatever drives pop-cultural buzz that spring.

Universal has three discrete plays. SOULM8TE arrives January 9, 2026, a tie-in spinoff from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The hook is crisp, tragic, and premise-first: a grieving man implements an digital partner that evolves into a perilous partner. The date positions it at the front of a stacked January, with Universal’s marketing likely to mirror off-kilter promo beats and snackable content that fuses intimacy and dread.

On May 8, 2026, the studio dates an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely rumored as the feature developed under code names in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The public release grid currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which leaves room for a public title to become an headline beat closer to the first trailer. The timing gives Universal a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles circle other weekends.

Supplementing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film grabs October 23, 2026, a slot he has defined before. Peele titles are treated as event films, with a concept-forward tease and a subsequent trailers that convey vibe without spoilers the concept. The Halloween-adjacent date creates space for Universal to dominate pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then use the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, works with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček steers, with Souheila Yacoub anchoring. The franchise has proven that a gnarly, hands-on effects strategy can feel cinematic on a controlled budget. Position this as a blood-soaked summer horror hit that pushes international markets, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most world markets.

Sony’s horror bench is well stocked. The studio places two marquee IP entries in the back half. An untitled Insidious film lands August 21, 2026, preserving a evergreen supernatural brand in motion while the spin-off branch gestates. The studio has repositioned on this title before, but the current plan plants it in late summer, where Insidious has found success.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil re-enters in what Sony is marketing as a reimagined restart for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a vital part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a focus to serve both diehards and general audiences. The fall slot creates runway for Sony to build materials around universe detail, and creature effects, elements that can accelerate premium booking interest and fan-forward engagement.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, books a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film follows the filmmaker’s run of period horror built on textural authenticity and textual fidelity, this time steeped in lycan lore. Focus has already locked the day for a holiday release, a clear message in the auteur as a specialty play that can move wide if early reception is supportive.

How the platforms plan to play it

Platform tactics for 2026 run on well-known grooves. Universal’s genre slate shift to copyright after a cinema and premium rental phase, a ladder that maximizes both opening-weekend urgency and sign-up momentum in the tail. Prime Video interleaves acquired titles with cross-border buys and short theatrical plays when the data backs it. Max and Hulu focus their lanes in back-catalog play, using prominent placements, seasonal hubs, and editorial rows to sustain interest on the annual genre haul. Netflix keeps options open about internal projects and festival deals, dating horror entries near their drops and eventizing launches with condensed plans. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, capitalizes on a staged of precision theatrical plays and short jumps to platform that turns word of mouth into paid trials. That will matter for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before using niche channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ treats carefully horror on a title-by-title basis. The platform has exhibited willingness to invest in select projects with recognized filmmakers or headline-cast packages, then give them a small theatrical footprint in partnership with exhibitors to meet eligibility thresholds or to build credibility before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney domestic still leans on the 20th Century Studios slate, a core piece for platform stickiness when the genre conversation peaks.

Specialized lanes

Cineverse is curating a 2026 corridor with two brand plays. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The pitch is simple: the same haunting, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a cult favorite, retooled for modern audio-visual craft. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a September to November window, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. Cineverse has positioned a cinema-first plan for the title, an encouraging sign for fans of the uncompromising series and for exhibitors looking for R-rated counterplay in the fall weeks.

Focus will favor the auteur track with Werwulf, guiding the film through festivals in the fall if the cut is ready, then turning to the holiday slot to increase reach. That positioning has served the company well for director-led genre with wider appeal. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not publicly set many dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines tend to firm up after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A reasonable expectation is a handful of late-summer and fall platformers that can expand if reception supports. Keep an eye on an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that screens at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work in parallel, using precision theatrical to fuel evangelism that fuels their membership.

Legacy titles versus originals

By number, the 2026 slate is weighted toward the IP side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all exploit marquee value. The concern, as ever, is viewer burnout. The near-term solution is to market each entry as a renewed feel. Paramount is leading with core character and DNA in Scream 7, Sony is signaling a new foundation for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is highlighting a French-flavored turn from a hot helmer. Those choices move the needle when the audience has so many options and social sentiment shifts fast.

Originals and filmmaker-led entries add air. Jordan Peele’s October film will be positioned as a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, features Rachel McAdams in a survival shocker premise with the director’s playful dread. SOULM8TE offers a clear, chilling tech hook. Werwulf delivers period specificity and an hard-edged tone. Even when the title is not based on known IP, the packaging is familiar enough to convert curiosity into pre-sales and early previews.

Rolling three-year comps outline the approach. In 2023, a theatrical-first plan that kept clean windows did not prevent a dual release from working when the brand was robust. In 2024, auteur craft horror news surged in PLF auditoriums. In 2025, a reanimation of a beloved infection saga signaled that global horror franchises can still feel new when they reframe POV and raise the stakes. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which carries on January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The two-film strategy, with chapters filmed in sequence, allows marketing to connect the chapters through protagonists and motifs and to sustain campaign assets without hiatuses.

How the look and feel evolve

The craft rooms behind this year’s genre foreshadow a continued move toward tactile, place-driven craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not track with any recent iteration of the property, a stance that squares with the in-camera lean he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film wrapped principal photography and is tracking to its April 17, 2026 date. Watch for a drive that spotlights creep and texture rather than VFX blitz, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership allowing financial discipline.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has described Werwulf as the most shadowed project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval backdrop and archaic dialect, a combination that can make for enveloping sound design and a wintry, elemental feel on the big screen. Focus will likely highlight this aesthetic in craft journalism and artisan spotlights before rolling out a first look that plays with mood rather than plot, a move that has succeeded for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is designed for red-band excess, a signature of the series that travels well in red-band trailers and earns shareable reaction videos from early screenings. Scream 7 positions a meta reframe that puts the original star at center. Resident Evil will stand or stumble on creature execution and sets, which match well with con floor moments and managed asset releases. Insidious tends to be a mix showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the in-theater case feel must-have. Look for trailers that highlight razor sound, deep-bass stingers, and held silences that play in premium auditoriums.

Calendar cadence

January is jammed. SOULM8TE opens January 9, 2026, then Sony returns a week later with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple on January 16. Cineverse’s Return to Silent Hill follows on January 23, a quiet contrast amid marquee brands. The month concludes with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival shocker from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is serious, but the tonal variety creates a lane for each, and the five-week structure offers clean runway for each if word of mouth spreads.

Late winter and spring prepare summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 hits February 27 with nostalgia heat. In April, The Mummy resurrects a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once suited genre counterprogramming and now can handle big openers. Universal’s untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 bridges into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer heightens the contrast. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is jokier and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 brings ferocious intensity. The counterprogramming logic is solid. The spoof can deliver next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest hits squarely for older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have rolled through premiums.

Shoulder season into fall leans brand. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously done well. Resident Evil follows September 18, a shoulder season window that still ties into Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event locks October 23 and will own cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely pushed by a shroud-first teaser rhythm and limited teasers that lean on concept not plot.

Year-end prestige and specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a stakes that genre can play the holidays when packaged as director prestige horror. Focus has done this before, platforming carefully, then pressing critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to linger in conversation into January. If the film earns with critics, the studio can add screens in the first week of 2027 while enjoying holiday hold and gift card usage.

Project briefs

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting rolling out as production pushes forward. Logline: Sidney returns to take on a new Ghostface while the narrative revisits the original film’s genetic code. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: classic-DNA reset with a current angle.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A loss-struck man’s artificial companion grows into something lethally affectionate. Rating: TBA. Production: Production locked for an early-year bow. Positioning: AI chiller with a human heart.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Sony, January 16, 2026)
Director: Nia DaCosta. Writer: Alex Garland. Top cast: Cillian Murphy, Jack O’Connell, and additional ensemble tied to a new antagonist faction. Logline: The second chapter in a trilogy broadens the canvas beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult organizes in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Twin-shot with the first film. Positioning: revived prestige horror saga’s second leg.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man goes back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to encounter a unsettled reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed with U.S. theatrical distribution secured. Positioning: aura-driven adaptation.

Send Help (20th Century Studios, January 30, 2026)
Director: Sam Raimi. Top cast: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Dennis Haysbert, Chris Pang. Logline: After a plane crash, an employee and her unyielding boss fight to survive on a isolated island as the control balance tilts and suspicion grows. Rating: TBA. Production: Shoot complete. Positioning: star-front survival film from a master.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles under wraps in official materials. Logline: A renewed vision that returns the monster to fright, anchored by Cronin’s in-camera craft and oozing dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked. Positioning: monster revival with signature voice.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A closed-door haunting narrative that plays with the unease of a child’s fragile point of view. Rating: pending. Production: finished. Positioning: studio-supported and headline-actor led supernatural mood piece.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers back in the creative mix. Logline: {A satirical comeback that riffs on contemporary horror memes and true-crime manias. Rating: rating forthcoming. Production: fall 2025 shoot penciled in. Positioning: wide-lane seasonal counterprogram.

Evil Dead Burn (Warner Bros. domestic, July 24, 2026)
Director: Sébastien Vaniček. Top cast: Souheila Yacoub, with ensemble additions. Logline: A new infestation of Deadites detonates, with an multinational twist in tone and setting. Rating: undetermined. Production: principal photography in New Zealand. Positioning: ferocious R chapter primed for premium screens.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be revealed later. Top cast: to be announced. Logline: The Further opens again, with a young family tethered to returning horrors. Rating: TBD. Production: planning summer shoot for late-summer date. Positioning: dependable ghost-franchise slot that suits the brand.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: pending public reveal. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: A restart designed to reconstruct the franchise from the ground up, with an stress on survivalist horror over action pyrotechnics. Rating: forthcoming. Production: moving through development on a locked slot. Positioning: IP-accurate revival with mainstream runway.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: tightly guarded. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: continuing. Positioning: director event, teaser-led.

Werwulf (Focus Features, December 25, 2026)
Director: Robert Eggers. Top cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, with other regulars expected. Logline: A medieval werewolf story built on era-faithful speech and primal menace. Rating: TBD. Production: actively prepping for a holiday slot. Positioning: filmmaker-driven holiday release with craft awards runway.

Wolf Creek: Legacy (Cineverse, TBA 2026)
Director: Greg McLean. Top cast: John Jarratt expected to return as Mick Taylor. Logline: The Australian outback slasher returns, with a cinema-first path before platforming. Status: timing TBD, fall window eyed.

Why 2026 and why now

Three workable forces organize this lineup. First, production that slowed or rearranged in 2024 needed latitude on the slate. Horror can slot in fast because scripts often require limited locations, fewer large-scale VFX set pieces, and shorter schedules. Second, studios have become more disciplined about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently outperformed straight-to-streaming drops. Third, online chatter converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will leverage repeatable beats from test screenings, curated scare clips aligned to Thursday preview shows, and experiential pop-ups that become influencer fuel. It is a repeatable playbook because it delivers.

A fourth element is the programming calculus. Early-year family and superhero blocks are thinner in 2026, opening usable real estate for genre entries that can dominate a weekend or position as the older-lean choice. January is the prime example. Four varied shades of horror will trade weekends across five weekends, which reduces inter-title cannibalization. Summer provides the other window. The send-up tracks alongside early family and action traffic, then the hard-R entry can benefit from a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Money matters, ratings, and surprise hits

Budgets remain in the ideal band. Most of the films above will sit beneath the $40–$50 million band, with many far below. That allows for deep PLF penetration without needing superhero-level volume to break even. The most likely R ratings include Evil Dead Burn, Werwulf, and possibly Resident Evil depending on the final cut. Scream 7, Insidious, and SOULM8TE can plausibly land PG-13 to maximize reach, though each franchise has toggled between ratings in the past. Specialty plays tend to lean R to preserve tone and intensity.

The stealth-hit search continues in Q1, where disciplined-budget genre can own weekends with minimal competition, and again in late summer, where horror often becomes the conversation when tentpoles tire. The 2026 slate is set up to maximize those pockets. January could easily deliver the first quiet breakout of the year, and August into September gives Sony an avenue to hold screens with back-to-back supernatural IP while still leaving room for an indie breakout.

Internationally, brand recognition helps Resident Evil, Evil Dead, and Scream travel, while 28 Years Later benefits from a British setting and returning talent. Werwulf and The Mummy will lean on auteur and classic-monster awareness abroad. Streamers will amplify the tail, with copyright pickups boosting Universal’s slate and Shudder driving evangelism for Cineverse titles. Predict a resilient PVOD phase industry-wide, since horror fans have shown a willingness to pay for convenience after an opening weekend, especially when word of mouth is strong.

Audience journey through the year

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers momentum and variety. January is a sampler, February delivers a legacy slasher, April restores a Universal monster, May and June provide a one-two spectral pairing for date nights and group outings, July goes for the throat, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a chilly, literate nightmare. That is how you sustain heat and footfall without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can compound over time, using earlier releases to prime the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors value the spacing. Horror delivers frequent Thursday-night spikes, tight deployments, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can qualify for PLF, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing visual texture, acoustics, and cinematography that benefit from larger formats. The calendar also leaves room for specialty platformers to open in New York and Los Angeles, build reviews, and slide into national conversation as the fall progresses.

A Strong 2026 Horizon

Schedules slip. Ratings change. Casts shuffle. But the spine of 2026 horror is established. There is brand equity where it matters, distinct vision where it matters, and a calendar that shows studios meet the timing for scares. The awards and festival pipeline into 2027 will come into focus once the fall festivals lock, and it would not be surprising to see at least one near-deadline boutique buy join the party. For now, the job is simple, edit tight trailers, keep the secrets, and let the fear sell the seats.