Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed awakens primeval malevolence, a spine tingling feature, rolling out October 2025 across leading streamers

An blood-curdling unearthly scare-fest from cinematographer / director Andrew Chiaramonte, liberating an primeval entity when foreigners become tools in a devilish conflict. Premiering this October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google’s digital store, Apple iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango streaming.

L.A., CA (August 8th, 2025) – Prepare yourselves for *Young & Cursed*, a unnerving narrative of resilience and mythic evil that will reconstruct the fear genre this spooky time. Directed by rising imaginative director Andrew Chiaramonte, this gritty and tone-heavy fearfest follows five people who regain consciousness caught in a cut-off lodge under the menacing power of Kyra, a young woman consumed by a antiquated Old Testament spirit. Arm yourself to be gripped by a audio-visual event that melds deep-seated panic with folklore, streaming on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Cursed embodiment has been a recurring theme in cinema. In *Young & Cursed*, that notion is turned on its head when the demons no longer emerge beyond the self, but rather internally. This mirrors the darkest dimension of every character. The result is a relentless psychological battle where the plotline becomes a unyielding push-pull between light and darkness.


In a haunting wild, five figures find themselves isolated under the dark aura and grasp of a uncanny woman. As the characters becomes defenseless to oppose her influence, severed and tormented by spirits unnamable, they are cornered to stand before their raw vulnerabilities while the final hour unforgivingly strikes toward their destruction.


In *Young & Cursed*, suspicion intensifies and connections fracture, urging each individual to contemplate their essence and the idea of volition itself. The pressure grow with every tick, delivering a fear-soaked story that fuses supernatural terror with mental instability.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my creative target was to uncover pure dread, an evil older than civilization itself, manifesting in our fears, and navigating a darkness that erodes the self when we lose control.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Channeling Kyra asked for exploring something outside normal anguish. She is unaware until the evil takes hold, and that pivot is emotionally raw because it is so unshielded.”

Platform Access

*Young & Cursed* will be distributed for home viewing beginning October 2, 2025, on Prime Video, Google’s video hub, Google’s store, iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand—providing subscribers from coast to coast can survive this fearful revelation.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just premiered a new video trailer for *Young & Cursed*, uploaded to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a companion to its release of trailer #1, which has gathered over a hundred thousand impressions.


In addition to its first availability, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has confirmed that *Young & Cursed* will also be delivered to global audiences, exporting the fear to lovers of terror across nations.


Witness this visceral ride through nightmares. Stream *Young & Cursed* this All Hallows’ kickoff to uncover these unholy truths about the psyche.


For sneak peeks, production news, and news from behind the lens, follow @YoungAndCursed across fan hubs and visit youngandcursed.com.





Current horror’s Turning Point: the 2025 season U.S. lineup braids together primeval-possession lore, signature indie scares, alongside legacy-brand quakes

From survivor-centric dread infused with biblical myth and stretching into brand-name continuations alongside cutting indie sensibilities, 2025 is tracking to be the most stratified and tactically planned year of the last decade.

Call it full, but it is also focused. studio powerhouses lock in tentpoles with franchise anchors, at the same time streamers pack the fall with unboxed visions and primordial unease. On the festival side, the independent cohort is drafting behind the backdraft of a peak 2024 circuit. Since Halloween is the prized date, the remaining months are slotted with surgical care. A dense September through October runway is now a rite of passage, notably this year, rollouts stretch into January, spring, and mid-summer. Viewers are hungry, studios are surgical, accordingly 2025 is positioned to be the most designed season yet.

Studio Roadmap and Mini-Major Pulse: Elevated fear reclaims ground

The majors are not coasting. If 2024 planted the seeds, 2025 amplifies the bet.

the Universal camp opens the year with a statement play: a reconceived Wolf Man, not returning to the Gothic European hamlet, instead in a current-day frame. Under director Leigh Whannell featuring Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this version roots the lycanthropy in family fracture. The curse reads as bodily and relational, about spouses, parents, and people. dated for mid January, it aligns with turning the winter slack into a premium lane, not a dumping lane.

By spring, Clown in a Cornfield premieres, a YA slasher novel refit as minimal menace. Guided by Eli Craig featuring turns by Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it runs as red stained heartland dread with sharp satire. Under the makeup, it dissects provincial panic, age gap tensions, and mob verdicts. Initial heat flags it as potent.

Toward summer’s end, the Warner lot unveils the final movement from its cornerstone horror IP: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson reprise Ed and Lorraine Warren, the installment aims for closure as it frames a famed case. Despite a known recipe, director Michael Chaves reportedly leans into a mournful, interior tone for the swan song. It posts in early September, creating cushion before October load.

Arriving later is The Black Phone 2. It was eyed for early summer, and shifting to October telegraphs confidence. Derrickson resumes command, and the memorable motifs return: old school creep, trauma driven plotting, along with eerie supernatural rules. This time, the stakes are raised, by expanding the “grabber” backstory and grief across bloodlines.

Rounding out the big ticket releases is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a release that travels on brand alone. The return delves further into myth, broadens the animatronic terror cast, and targets both teens and thirtysomething fans of the original game. It hits in December, securing the winter cap.

SVOD Originals: Slim budgets, major punch

While theaters lean on names and sequels, platforms are greenlighting boldly, and the needle moves.

One standout ambitious title is Weapons, a cold-case woven horror suite lacing three time frames tied to a mass vanishing. Helmed by Zach Cregger with turns by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the piece merges terror with dramatic mass. Rolling out in theaters late summer before fall platform release, it seems set to fuel decode culture and breakdowns, in the Barbarian lane.

At the smaller scale sits Together, a body horror chamber piece led by Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Fixed in a remote let as a weekend curdles, the piece probes how love, envy, and self loathing become bodily rot. It toggles from love to slime, a staged slide into codependent hell. Even without a formal platform date, it is poised for a fall platform bow.

One more platform talker is Sinners, a pre war vampire folk narrative led by Michael B. Jordan. Framed in sepia richness with biblical metaphor, it plays like There Will Be Blood meets Let the Right One In. The work dissects American religious trauma using supernatural allegory. Trial screenings frame it as a high chatter SVOD arrival.

Extra indies bide their time on platforms: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper all mine grief and vanishing and identity, running metaphor first.

Possession Beneath the Skin: Young & Cursed

Posting October 2 across the big platforms, Young & Cursed stands as a rare hybrid, both intimate in scope and mythic in reach. Written and directed by Andrew Chiaramonte, the release shadows five strangers waking in a hidden woods cabin, bound to Kyra, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. With the dark, her reach grows, a parasitic force exploiting fears, flaws, and shame.

The terror is psychological in engine, alive with primal myth. Ducking the exorcism default of Catholic ritual and Latin text, this piece touches something older, something darker. Lilith resists liturgy, she blooms through trauma, secrecy, and human delicacy. By making possession inward rather than external, Young & Cursed joins a trend toward intimate character studies masked as genre.

Streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home have positioned the film as a Halloween counterweight to theatrical sequels and monster revivals. It looks like sharp programming. No puffed out backstory. No sequel clutter. Straight psychological chill, boxed and tight, aimed at the binge, pause, and pulse habits of streamers. In the noise, Young & Cursed could cut through by staying hushed, then erupting.

Festival Born, Buyer Ready

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF continue to incubate the next six to twelve months of horror. In 2025, they behave more like launchpads than showcases.

This year, Fantastic Fest confirms a strong horror slate. Primate, a tropical body horror opener, draws comparisons to Cronenberg and Herzog. Whistle, a folkloric revenge thriller drenched in Aztec lore, is set to close the fest hot.

Midnight fare like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You rides on craft as well as title. That film, an A24 backed satire of toxic fandom inside a horror convention lockdown, looks poised to break out.

SXSW bowed Clown in a Cornfield while feeding deal chatter for microbudget haunts. Sundance is expected to unspool a familiar crop of grief steeped elevated horror, while Tribeca’s genre section leans more urban, social, and surreal.

The festival game increasingly values branding over mere discovery. Laurels now light the fuse, they do not just adorn.

Legacy Horror: Sequels, Reboots, Reinventions

The franchise bench is sturdier and more targeted than lately.

Fear Street: Prom Queen hits July to revive the 90s line with fresh lead and VHS vibe. Unlike earlier entries, this leans camp and prom night melodrama. Expect tiaras, corn syrup blood, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 posts late June, targeting a broadened techno horror canon with new characters and AI spawned nightmares. The opening film’s buzz and platform staying power help Universal go bigger.

Another headline is The Long Walk, adapting a grim early Stephen King piece, guided by Francis Lawrence, it functions as a harsh dystopian fable encased in survival horror, a children’s march that ends in death. With the right pitch, it could function as The Hunger Games for grown horror audiences.

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.

Trend Lines

Mythic Horror Is Mainstream
From Lilith in Young & Cursed to Aztec curses in Whistle, creators turn to ancient texts and symbols. Not nostalgia, a reclaim of pre Christian archetypes. Horror does more than scare, it reminds that evil predates us.

Body horror resurges
Titles such as Together, Weapons, and Keeper return focus to the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation serve as metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streaming Originals Grow Teeth
Disposable horror filler days on platforms have passed. Platforms show up with budgets for scripts, directors, and campaigns. Pieces like Weapons and Sinners receive event status, not feed stock.

Festival Hype Equals Market Leverage
Festival status acts as leverage for exhibition, placement, and publicity. Without a festival strategy in 2025, a horror film risks vanishing.

Theatrical Is Now a Trust Fall
Studios hold theatrical for overperformers or future series seeds. The rest moves to PVOD or hybrid patterns. Horror is not vanishing from theaters, it is getting curated.

Season Ahead: Fall crush plus winter X factor

Stacking Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons in September and October yields saturation. Indies including Bone Lake and Keeper will wrestle for room. There may be pivots into early 2026 or across platforms.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 steadies December, yet a last minute streamer surprise is in play. As mythic runs hot, a closing creature or exorcism could still arrive.

Horror’s 2025 outcome will be decided not by one title, but by how its variety connects with splintered audiences. The assignment is not to chase the next Get Out, it is to build horror that endures beyond box office.



The upcoming fright lineup: brand plays, Originals, paired with A brimming Calendar tailored for nightmares

Dek: The fresh terror calendar lines up in short order with a January pile-up, from there stretches through summer corridors, and far into the late-year period, braiding marquee clout, creative pitches, and calculated counterprogramming. Studios and platforms are leaning into mid-range economics, box-office-first windows, and buzz-forward plans that elevate the slate’s entries into national conversation.

Horror’s position as 2026 begins

This category has grown into the bankable lever in annual schedules, a vertical that can grow when it lands and still cushion the downside when it misses. After the 2023 year reassured studio brass that cost-conscious fright engines can command social chatter, the following year kept the drumbeat going with filmmaker-forward plays and unexpected risers. The run rolled into 2025, where reboots and premium-leaning entries confirmed there is a lane for varied styles, from legacy continuations to filmmaker-driven originals that perform internationally. The sum for the 2026 slate is a grid that presents tight coordination across the industry, with obvious clusters, a equilibrium of known properties and first-time concepts, and a re-energized eye on cinema windows that drive downstream revenue on premium home window and home platforms.

Studio leaders note the genre now operates like a wildcard on the release plan. Horror can launch on nearly any frame, offer a simple premise for trailers and UGC-friendly snippets, and exceed norms with patrons that arrive on early shows and continue through the second weekend if the picture fires. In the wake of a strike-driven backlog, the 2026 configuration shows faith in that dynamic. The slate opens with a crowded January stretch, then turns to spring and early summer for off-slot scheduling, while keeping space for a September to October window that reaches into late October and past the holiday. The arrangement also reflects the tightening integration of indie distributors and streamers that can platform and widen, create conversation, and broaden at the proper time.

A second macro trend is IP stewardship across unified worlds and heritage properties. The studios are not just releasing another continuation. They are setting up ongoing narrative with a must-see charge, whether that is a title design that telegraphs a tonal shift or a casting pivot that threads a upcoming film to a heyday. At the simultaneously, the helmers behind the most watched originals are leaning into hands-on technique, in-camera effects and distinct locales. That convergence provides 2026 a smart balance of comfort and invention, which is a recipe that travels worldwide.

Studio by studio strategy signals

Paramount opens strong with two high-profile bets 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 core, setting it up as both a legacy handover and a origin-leaning character-first story. Production is active in Atlanta, and the tonal posture suggests a legacy-leaning strategy without going over the last two entries’ Carpenter-sisters arc. Look for a marketing run built on recognizable motifs, character previews, and a tiered teaser plan landing toward late fall. Distribution is Paramount in theaters.

Paramount also dusts off a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are joining up again, with the Wayans brothers involved on the creative side for the first time since the early 2000s, a campaign lever the campaign will spotlight. As a summer alternative, this one will drive mass reach through share-ready beats, with the horror spoof format fitting quick switches to whatever leads the social talk that spring.

Universal has three unique plays. SOULM8TE arrives January 9, 2026, a tie-in spinoff from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The core idea is crisp, grief-rooted, and high-concept: a grieving man sets up an intelligent companion that mutates into a perilous partner. The date sets it at the front of a packed window, with the studio’s marketing likely to iterate on viral uncanny stunts and snackable content that blurs romance and fear.

On May 8, 2026, the studio sets an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely assumed to be the feature developed under working titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The official release calendar currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which permits a title drop to become an marketing beat closer to the first look. The timing gives Universal a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles cluster around other dates.

Completing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film reserves October 23, 2026, a slot he has defined before. Peele’s pictures are set up as auteur events, with a concept-forward tease and a second trailer wave that shape mood without giving away the concept. The prime October weekend opens a lane to dominate pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then pivot to the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, pairs with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček is at the helm of, with Souheila Yacoub top-lining. The franchise has consistently shown that a gritty, practical-first style can feel premium on a mid-range budget. Expect a gore-forward summer horror blast that centers international play, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most offshore territories.

Sony’s horror bench is impressively deep. The studio rolls out two IP moves in the back half. An untitled Insidious film debuts August 21, 2026, maintaining a evergreen supernatural brand active while the spin-off branch evolves. The studio has reslotted on this title before, but the current plan keeps it in late summer, where Insidious has done well historically.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil comes back in what the studio is billing as a new foundation for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a strategic part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a directive to serve both franchise faithful and general audiences. The fall slot provides the studio time to build campaign pieces around canon, and creature work, elements that can amplify deluxe auditorium demand and fan-forward engagement.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, positions a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film advances Eggers’ run of period horror driven by meticulous craft and period language, this time focused on werewolf legend. The imprint has already planted the flag for a holiday release, a bold stance in Eggers as a specialty play that can platform wide if early reception is favorable.

Streaming windows and tactics

Digital strategies for 2026 run on well-known grooves. The studio’s horror films head to copyright after a theater window then PVOD, a tiered path that boosts both FOMO and subscription bumps in the tail. Prime Video will mix outside acquisitions with global acquisitions and limited cinema engagements when the data supports it. Max and Hulu press their advantages in library pulls, using timely promos, holiday hubs, and handpicked rows to sustain interest on aggregate take. Netflix retains agility about originals and festival acquisitions, scheduling horror entries closer to drop and eventizing arrivals with short runway campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, deploys a one-two of precision releases and short jumps to platform that converts buzz to sign-ups. That will be meaningful for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before leaning on community channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ treats carefully horror on a curated basis. The platform has demonstrated openness to purchase select projects with top-tier auteurs or headline-cast packages, then give them a prestige theatrical in partnership with exhibitors to meet qualifying rules or to spark social proof before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney domestic still benefits from the 20th Century Studios slate, a key factor for ongoing engagement when the genre conversation spikes.

Indie and specialty outlook

Cineverse is engineering a 2026 corridor with two brand-forward moves. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The pitch is straightforward: the same haunting, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a genre cult touchstone, reimagined for modern sound and image. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a autumn slot, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. Cineverse has indicated a theatrical-first plan for the title, an good sign for fans of the hard-edged series and for exhibitors looking for R-rated counterplay in the back half.

Focus will lean into the auteur lane with Werwulf, managing the title through select festivals if the cut have a peek here is ready, then turning to the holiday dates to broaden. That positioning has shown results for auteur horror with award possibilities. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not firmed many 2026 dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines tend to firm up after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A credible outlook is a cluster of late-summer and fall platformers that can broaden if reception merits. Anticipate an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that launches at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work as partners, using precision theatrical to prime evangelism that fuels their paid base.

Franchise entries versus originals

By count, the 2026 slate tilts in favor of the series side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all draw on cultural cachet. The challenge, as ever, is viewer burnout. The pragmatic answer is to brand each entry as a renewed feel. Paramount is leading with character and heritage in Scream 7, Sony is suggesting a ground-zero restart for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is centering a European tilt from a emerging director. Those choices prove meaningful when the audience has so many options and social sentiment spins fast.

Originals and filmmaker-first projects supply the oxygen. 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, sets Rachel McAdams in a survival shocker premise with Raimi’s signature playful menace. SOULM8TE offers a simple, unsettling tech hook. Werwulf leans on period specificity and an unsparing tone. Even when the title is not based on a property, the deal build is anchored enough to build pre-sales and Thursday-night turnout.

Past-three-year patterns make sense of the strategy. In 2023, a exclusive cinema model that observed windows did not obstruct a same-day experiment from succeeding when the brand was strong. In 2024, craft-forward auteur horror surged in big-format auditoriums. In 2025, a return of a beloved infection saga signaled that global horror franchises can still feel revitalized when they rotate perspective and expand the canvas. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which moves forward January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The linked-chapter plan, with chapters produced back-to-back, creates space for marketing to connect the chapters through character spine and themes and to keep materials circulating without hiatuses.

Behind-the-camera trends

The shop talk behind these films signal a continued lean toward physical, site-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not repeat any recent iteration of the property, a stance that accords with the practical-first approach he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film finished principal and is on track for its April 17, 2026 date. Watch for a drive that foregrounds mood and dread rather than whiz-bang spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership making room for tight cost control.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has called Werwulf as the grimmest project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval setting and era-correct language, a combination that can make for layered sound design and a cold, elemental mood on the big screen. Focus will likely frame this aesthetic in craft profiles and craft features before rolling out a tease that plays with mood rather than plot, a move that has resonated for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is tuned for rubbery nastiness, a signature of the series that sells overseas in red-band trailers and produces shareable reaction videos from early screenings. Scream 7 promises a meta refresh that returns to the core star. Resident Evil will live or die on creature execution and sets, which fit with expo activations and selective drops. Insidious tends to be a theatrical sound showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the premium-screen pitch feel must-have. Look for trailers that foreground precise sound design, deep-bass stingers, and hush beats that play in premium auditoriums.

Month-by-month map

January is crowded. SOULM8TE opens January 9, 2026, then Sony returns a week later with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple on January 16. Return to Silent Hill follows on January 23, a brooding contrast amid heavier IP. The month closes with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival-and-paranoia piece from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is serious, but have a peek at this web-site the tone spread ensures lanes for each, and the five-week structure allows a clean run for each if word of mouth carries.

Q1 into Q2 prime the summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 bows February 27 with brand energy. In April, New Line’s The Mummy restores 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 connects into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer spreads the field. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is lighter and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 brings gnarly intensity. The counterprogramming logic is smart. The spoof can connect next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest satisfies older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have cycled through PLF.

Late Q3 into Q4 leans brand. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives the studio a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously thrived. Resident Evil lands after September 18, a shoulder season window that still preps for Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event secures October 23 and will captivate cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely augmented by a slow-reveal plan and limited advance reveals that stress concept over spoilers.

Awards-adjacent specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a position that genre can stand up at Christmas when packaged as filmmaker-driven prestige horror. Focus has done this before, selective rollout, then leaning on critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to stay top of mind into January. If the film clicks critically, the studio can increase count in the first week of 2027 while building on holiday impulse and holiday card usage.

Project briefs

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting still being revealed as production continues. Logline: Sidney returns to re-engage a new Ghostface while the narrative returns to the original film’s genome. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: return-to-core with a fresh edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A devastated man’s AI companion escalates into something seductively lethal. Rating: TBA. Production: Shoot completed for an early-year bow. Positioning: tech thriller with grief spine.

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 extends the world beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult rises in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Double-shot with the first film. Positioning: prestige survival-horror continuation.

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

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 prickly boss claw to survive on a far-flung island as the power balance of power flips and suspicion grows. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked. Positioning: star-led survival horror from a master director.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Young & Cursed Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles in the vault in official materials. Logline: A contemporary retelling that returns the monster to fear, based on Cronin’s physical craft and oozing dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal wrapped. Positioning: classic creature relaunch with signature touch.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A household haunting premise that threads the dread through a young child’s wavering perspective. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: completed. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven supernatural thriller.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers returning creatively. Logline: {A send-up revival that satirizes modern genre fads and true crime fervors. Rating: TBA. Production: principal photography set for fall 2025. Positioning: broad summer counterprogrammer.

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 ignites, with an worldly twist in tone and setting. Rating: to be announced. Production: currently in New Zealand. Positioning: R-rated franchise charge tuned for PLF.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be announced in marketing. Top cast: TBA. Logline: The Further unfurls again, with a new household entangled with long-buried horrors. Rating: TBD. Production: targeting a summer lensing window for late-summer release. Positioning: dependable ghost-franchise slot that suits the brand.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: TBA publicly. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: A reboot designed to recreate the franchise from the ground up, with an priority on survival-core horror over action-forward bombast. Rating: pending. Production: in development with a locked date. Positioning: IP-accurate revival with mainstream runway.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: TBD. Logline: carefully shrouded. Rating: undetermined. Production: active. Positioning: auteur event powered by teasers.

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 period language and elemental dread. Rating: TBD. Production: in preproduction for holiday debut. Positioning: prestige horror for the holidays, with potential awards-season craft appeal.

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 standard theatrical approach before platforming. Status: date variable, fall window probable.

Why the moment is 2026

Three grounded forces calibrate this lineup. First, production that downshifted or shuffled in 2024 required runway on the datebook. Horror can bridge those gaps quickly because scripts often use fewer locations, fewer large-scale digital sequences, and compressed schedules. Second, studios have become more measured about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently out-earned straight-to-streaming drops. Third, social conversation converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will activate repeatable beats from test screenings, precision scare clips paired with Thursday night previews, and experiential pop-ups that double as influencer content. It is a repeatable playbook because it holds up.

A fourth element is the programming calculus. The family and cape slots are lighter early in 2026, freeing space for genre entries that can command a weekend or stand as the older-leaning counter. January is the prime example. Four tonal lanes of horror will trade weekends across five weekends, which keeps buzz lanes tidy. Summer provides the other window. The spoof can draft behind animation and action in early summer, then the hard-R entry can pounce on a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Money matters, ratings, and surprise hits

Budgets remain in the sweet spot. Most of the films above will track under the $40–$50 million range, with many far below. That allows for heavy premium placement 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 underdog chase continues in Q1, where midrange-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 capitalize on those pockets. January could easily deliver the first dark-horse hit 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 rhythm across the year

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers pace and range. January is a buffet, February delivers a legacy slasher, April reintroduces a Universal monster, May and June provide a one-two spectral pairing for date nights and group outings, July leans brutal, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a bleak, literate nightmare. That is how you preserve buzz while driving admissions without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can ratchet upward, using earlier releases to condition the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors respond well to the spacing. Horror delivers consistent Thursday swells, optimized footprints, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can warrant PLF, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing detail, soundscape, and picture 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.

2026, Lined Up To Scare

Frames adjust. Ratings change. Casts shuffle. But the spine of 2026 horror is solid. There is brand equity where it matters, auteur intent where it matters, and a calendar that shows studios sense the cadence of 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 late-breaking specialty acquisition join the party. For now, the job is simple, cut crisp trailers, keep secrets, and let the shocks sell the seats.