Age-old Terror Awakens in Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a nerve shredding horror thriller, rolling out October 2025 across top streamers

A frightening unearthly horror tale from creator / cinematic mind Andrew Chiaramonte, unleashing an primordial fear when unfamiliar people become proxies in a fiendish experiment. Premiering on October 2, 2025, on Prime Video, the YouTube platform, Google Play Movies & TV, iTunes Movies, Apple TV Plus, and Fandango’s digital service.

L.A., CA (August 8, 2025) – steel yourselves for *Young & Cursed*, a traumatizing depiction of survival and mythic evil that will resculpt scare flicks this October. Created by rising imaginative director Andrew Chiaramonte, this psychological and eerie thriller follows five strangers who find themselves isolated in a wilderness-bound shack under the sinister rule of Kyra, a central character consumed by a two-thousand-year-old Old Testament spirit. Be prepared to be immersed by a motion picture spectacle that harmonizes deep-seated panic with timeless legends, dropping on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on the second of October, 2025.


Malevolent takeover has been a iconic fixture in horror films. In *Young & Cursed*, that structure is subverted when the forces no longer emerge beyond the self, but rather inside them. This represents the haunting facet of the group. The result is a gripping moral showdown where the intensity becomes a unforgiving contest between innocence and sin.


In a remote natural abyss, five teens find themselves sealed under the fiendish rule and grasp of a elusive apparition. As the characters becomes incapable to withstand her power, severed and preyed upon by creatures mind-shattering, they are confronted to stand before their emotional phantoms while the doomsday meter harrowingly draws closer toward their fate.


In *Young & Cursed*, fear intensifies and teams dissolve, requiring each person to doubt their being and the notion of conscious will itself. The cost climb with every instant, delivering a fear-soaked story that integrates otherworldly suspense with soulful exposure.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my goal was to tap into pure dread, an evil from ancient eras, feeding on mental cracks, and confronting a presence that dismantles free will when agency is lost.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Living Kyra required summoning something more primal than sorrow. She is clueless until the curse activates, and that change is emotionally raw because it is so visceral.”

Where to Watch

*Young & Cursed* will be launched for audiences beginning October 2, 2025, on Amazon’s platform, Google’s video hub, Google’s store, Apple iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand—delivering subscribers anywhere can experience this spirit-driven thriller.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just rolled out a new second trailer for *Young & Cursed*, streaming to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a companion to its initial teaser, which has attracted over a huge fan reaction.


In addition to its regional launch, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has stated that *Young & Cursed* will also be taken worldwide, delivering the story to international horror buffs.


Be sure to catch this life-altering journey into fear. Enter *Young & Cursed* this day of reckoning to see these fearful discoveries about the soul.


For sneak peeks, on-set glimpses, and insider scoops straight from the filmmakers, follow @YoungAndCursedFilm across platforms and visit the official digital haunt.





Today’s horror major pivot: 2025 in focus domestic schedule braids together biblical-possession ideas, festival-born jolts, plus tentpole growls

Kicking off with fight-to-live nightmare stories suffused with legendary theology and stretching into legacy revivals as well as cutting indie sensibilities, 2025 is tracking to be horror’s most layered together with deliberate year for the modern era.

The 2025 horror calendar is not merely full, it is methodical. Major studios hold down the year via recognizable brands, as SVOD players crowd the fall with unboxed visions together with mythic dread. On the festival side, the artisan tier is carried on the carry from a high-water 2024 festival stretch. Given Halloween is the centerpiece, the surrounding weeks are charted with intent. That late Q3 to mid Q4 lane is the crucible, notably this year, players are marking January, spring, and mid-summer. Audiences are eager, studios are calculated, as a result 2025 is positioned to be the most designed season yet.

Major and Mini-Major Maneuvers: Elevated fear reclaims ground

Studios are not on the sidelines. If 2024 primed the reset, 2025 accelerates.

the Universal banner kicks off the frame with a bold swing: a reconceived Wolf Man, steering clear of the antique European village, in a clear present-tense world. Shepherded by Leigh Whannell and toplined by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this telling braids lycanthropy with a family meltdown. The arc is bodily and domestic, about marriage, caregiving, and fragile humanity. set for mid January, it advances a tactic to control the winter valley through premium horror, not dumps.

Spring delivers Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher page-to-screen distilled into spare horror. Eli Craig directs with Katie Douglas alongside Kevin Durand, it runs as red stained heartland dread with sharp satire. Under the costume, it needles small town fear, cross generational rifts, and crowd punishment. Festival whispers say it is sharp.

By late summer, the Warner lot sets loose the finale inside its trusty horror universe: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Ed and Lorraine Warren return with Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the movie targets a resonant finish through an infamous case. Even with a familiar chassis, Chaves seems to angle for a plaintive, inward final note. It goes early September, easing the path before October flood.

Arriving later is The Black Phone 2. It was eyed for early summer, and shifting to October telegraphs confidence. Scott Derrickson again directs, and the DNA that clicked last time remains: nostalgic menace, trauma as text, plus uncanny supernatural grammar. This time the stakes climb, with added layers to the “grabber” frame and long memory of loss.

Bringing up the winter anchor is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a property whose brand does the lifting. The follow up digs further into canon, stretches the animatronic parade, with a bullseye on teens and thirty something nostalgics. It drops in December, securing the winter cap.

Streamer Exclusives: Tight funds, wide impact

While cinemas swing on series strength, streamers are taking risks, and it is paying off.

Among the most ambitious streaming plays is Weapons, a forensic chill anthology braiding three timelines tied to a mass vanishing. Steered by Zach Cregger including Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the project unites horror with dramatic charge. Debuting in theaters late summer then streaming in fall, it is poised to inspire think pieces and forums, echoing Barbarian.

On the minimalist axis arrives Together, a body horror duet pairing Alison Brie with Dave Franco. Set in a remote rental home during a getaway gone wrong, the movie follows love and envy and self denial into corporeal breakdown. It plays romantic, grotesque, and acutely uneasy, a three act descent into codependent hell. Though no platform has officially staked a release date, it is tracking toward an autumn slot.

In the mix sits Sinners, a thirties era vampire folk parable starring Michael B. Jordan. Imaged in sepia bloom and biblical metaphor, it channels There Will Be Blood against Let the Right One In. The narrative analyzes American religious trauma through a ghostly allegory. Pre release tests anoint it a conversation starter on streaming.

Extra indies bide their time on platforms: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each engages grief, missing persons, and identity, with metaphor before show.

Possession With Depth: Young & Cursed

Arriving October 2 across major platforms, Young & Cursed emerges as a rare mix, tight in frame and epic in resonance. Penned and steered by Andrew Chiaramonte, the story trails five strangers who come to in a far off forest cabin, ruled 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 dread here runs psychological, charged by primal myth. Ducking the exorcism default of Catholic ritual and Latin text, this one digs into something older, something darker. Lilith is not summoned by priests, she rises from trauma, muteness, and human fault lines. Turning possession inward syncs Young & Cursed to the trend of character led dramas draped in genre.

Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home set the film as Halloween counterprogramming versus sequel waves and monster returns. That is a savvy move. No overstuffed canon. No IP hangover. Straight psychological chill, boxed and tight, aimed at the binge, pause, and pulse habits of streamers. With a spectacle heavy year, Young & Cursed may pop by going quiet, then screaming.

Festival Launchpads, Market Engines

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF function as launch beds for the coming year’s horror. They are more runway than museum.

Fantastic Fest this cycle touts a strong horror menu. Primate, an opening night tropical body-horror, invites Cronenberg meets Herzog talk. Whistle, a revenge folktale steeped in Aztec myth, is tapped to close with fire.

Midnight slots like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You earn noise for execution beyond quirky names. The A24 fueled satire of toxic fandom in a con lockdown has breakout energy.

SXSW bowed Clown in a Cornfield while feeding deal chatter for microbudget haunts. Sundance is expected to unspool its usual crop of grief soaked elevated horror, with Tribeca’s genre menu reading urban, social, and surreal.

Festival strategy in 2025 is not just about discovery, it is about branding. Those badges act as campaign openers, not end caps.

Legacy Horror: Additions, Do Overs, and Revisions

The returning series menu is stronger and more calculated than before.

Fear Street: Prom Queen, landing in July, re ups the 90s brand with a fresh lead and retro tone. Unlike prior entries, this one leans into camp and prom night melodrama. Cue tiaras, phony blood, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 slots late June, seeking to build out techno horror lore using new characters and AI born frights. The first film’s success on both social media and streaming has given Universal the confidence to double down.

Then there is The Long Walk, an adaptation of one of Stephen King’s earliest and most harrowing works, from Francis Lawrence, it reads as a brutal dystopian allegory inside survival horror, a walk till you drop competition for kids with no winners. With clear targeting, it could become The Hunger Games for horror grown ups.

Also present, reboots and sequels including Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda, spread through the year, most watching for smart slots or quick buys.

Emerging Currents

Mythic dread mainstreams
From Lilith in Young & Cursed across to Aztec curses in Whistle, slates mine ancient texts and symbols. It is not nostalgia, it is re owning pre Christian archetypes. Horror goes beyond fright, it notes evil’s age.

Body horror reemerges
The likes of Together, Weapons, and Keeper reshift toward flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation symbolize heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Originals on platforms bite harder
The filler era wanes for platform horror. Platforms invest in real scripts, real directors, and real campaigns. Works such as Weapons and Sinners are positioned as events, not filler.

Festival hype becomes leverage
Festival laurels are no longer ornamental, they are leverage for theatrical release, premium placement, and media cycles. Skip festival strategy in 2025 and the film risks invisibility.

Theatrical lanes are trust falls
Studios hold theatrical for overperformers or future series seeds. Most others angle PVOD or hybrid. Horror is not vanishing from theaters, it is getting curated.

What’s Next: Fall saturation and a winter joker

Put Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons into September and October and you get saturation. Indies such as Bone Lake and Keeper will tussle for space. Anticipate possible date slides into early 2026 or platform moves.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 steadies December, yet a last minute streamer surprise is in play. With some of the year’s biggest films leaning dark and mythic, the space for one final creature feature or exorcism flick is wide open.

The hinge is broad reach to atomized viewers, not single tentpoles. The play is not Get Out replication, it is long life horror past theaters.



The next genre season: next chapters, new stories, in tandem with A busy Calendar Built For chills

Dek The upcoming scare slate packs immediately with a January traffic jam, from there unfolds through peak season, and deep into the festive period, combining brand equity, novel approaches, and tactical counterprogramming. The major players are prioritizing efficient budgets, theater-first strategies, and platform-native promos that pivot these offerings into culture-wide discussion.

How the genre looks for 2026

This space has turned into the most reliable release in release strategies, a corner that can spike when it lands and still protect the drag when it underperforms. After 2023 reconfirmed for greenlighters that low-to-mid budget entries can shape the zeitgeist, the following year maintained heat with buzzy auteur projects and under-the-radar smashes. The head of steam pushed into the 2025 frame, where reboots and prestige plays underscored there is an opening for different modes, from legacy continuations to director-led originals that scale internationally. The combined impact for 2026 is a schedule that appears tightly organized across the major shops, with clear date clusters, a equilibrium of known properties and first-time concepts, and a refocused strategy on cinema windows that boost PVOD and platform value on premium digital and streaming.

Insiders argue the category now serves as a flex slot on the release plan. Horror can premiere on virtually any date, create a sharp concept for promo reels and reels, and outperform with ticket buyers that arrive on opening previews and keep coming through the next weekend if the entry pays off. Coming out of a strike-driven backlog, the 2026 configuration underscores comfort in that approach. The slate rolls out with a thick January schedule, then primes spring and early summer for balance, while reserving space for a fall cadence that extends to Halloween and past Halloween. The grid also underscores the stronger partnership of indie distributors and digital platforms that can launch in limited release, stoke social talk, and expand at the precise moment.

A second macro trend is brand curation across interlocking continuities and classic IP. Studios are not just rolling another installment. They are setting up brand continuity with a sense of event, whether that is a art treatment that signals a refreshed voice or a casting move that bridges a incoming chapter to a foundational era. At the alongside this, the visionaries behind the top original plays are championing tactile craft, makeup and prosthetics and grounded locations. That convergence provides the 2026 slate a confident blend of trust and surprise, which is the formula for international play.

Studio by studio strategy signals

Paramount establishes early momentum with two big-ticket entries that cover both tonal poles. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with original architect Kevin Williamson in the director’s chair and Neve Campbell back at the front, positioning the film as both a relay and a heritage-centered character-forward chapter. The shoot is ongoing in Atlanta, and the creative posture indicates a classic-referencing treatment without replaying the last two entries’ Carpenter sisters arc. Anticipate a campaign built on recognizable motifs, first images of characters, and a staggered trailer plan targeting late fall. Distribution is theatrical through Paramount.

Paramount also reboots a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are re-teaming, with the Wayans brothers involved behind the scenes for the first time since the early 2000s, a headline the campaign will spotlight. As a off-tentpole summer play, this one will chase four-quadrant chatter through meme-ready spots, with the horror spoof format inviting quick shifts to whatever defines the discourse that spring.

Universal has three unique strategies. SOULM8TE hits January 9, 2026, a technology-driven offshoot from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The story engine is efficient, tragic, and easily pitched: a grieving man sets up an algorithmic mate that unfolds into a harmful mate. The date lines it up at the front of a front-loaded month, with marketing at Universal likely to iterate on strange in-person beats and snackable content that threads longing and creep.

On May 8, 2026, the studio slots an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely considered the feature developed under temporary titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The listed schedule currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which sets up a branding reveal to become an marketing beat closer to the first trailer. The timing secures a slot in early May while larger tentpoles own different weekends.

Capping the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film grabs October 23, 2026, a slot he has defined before. His projects are treated as marquee events, with a concept-forward tease and a later creative that set the tone without spoiling the concept. The Halloween runway creates space for Universal to saturate pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then press the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, collaborates with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček is at the helm of, with Souheila Yacoub headlining. The franchise has long shown that a flesh-and-blood, hands-on effects style can feel big on a moderate cost. Position this as a blood-and-grime summer horror jolt that leans into international play, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most foreign territories.

Sony’s horror bench is loaded. The studio books two marquee IP entries in the back half. An untitled Insidious film premieres August 21, 2026, holding a consistent supernatural brand in the market while the spin-off branch continues to develop. Sony has shifted dates on this title before, but the current plan sticks it in late summer, where the brand has often excelled.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil re-enters in what the studio is positioning as a fresh 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 explicit mandate to serve both franchise faithful and new audiences. The fall slot creates runway for Sony to build assets around setting detail, and practical creature work, elements that can boost premium booking interest and cosplay-friendly fan engagement.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, places a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film extends Eggers’ run of period horror grounded in textural authenticity and historical speech, this time orbiting lycan myth. The company has already booked the frame for a holiday release, a clear message in Eggers as a specialty play that can open narrow then widen if early reception is favorable.

Platform lanes and windowing

Platform tactics for 2026 run on proven patterns. The Universal horror run land on copyright after a cinema and premium rental phase, a sequence that elevates both launch urgency and subscription bumps in the tail. Prime Video pairs licensed films with global originals and limited cinema engagements when the data signals it. Max and Hulu press their advantages in back-catalog play, using editorial spots, Halloween hubs, and staff picks to maximize the tail on the 2026 genre total. Netflix plays opportunist about first-party entries and festival wins, locking in horror entries on shorter runways and staging as events releases with fast-turn plans. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, exploits a staged of targeted cinema placements and fast windowing that turns word of mouth into paid trials. That will prove important for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before working horror-fan channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ adopts case-by-case posture for horror on a discrete basis. The platform has signaled readiness to pick up select projects with established auteurs or star-led packages, then give them a art-house footprint in partnership with exhibitors to meet award rules or to build credibility before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still draws on the 20th Century Studios slate, a key factor for retention when the genre conversation heats up.

Art-house genre prospects

Cineverse is putting together a 2026 arc with two IP plays. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The offer is uncomplicated: the same somber, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a diehard favorite, modernized for modern mix and grade. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a autumn slot, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has positioned a traditional cinema play for the title, an encouraging sign for fans of the gritty series and for exhibitors in need of adult counterprogramming in the autumn weeks.

Focus will work the director lane with Werwulf, escorting the title through select festivals if the cut is ready, then turning to the holiday frame to scale. That positioning has served the company well for prestige horror with crossover ambitions. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not firmed many 2026 dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines often crystallize after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A solid projection is a sprinkle of late-summer and fall platformers that can surge if reception encourages. Keep an eye on an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that premieres at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work in parallel, using limited theatrical to kindle evangelism that fuels their subscriber growth.

Balance of brands and originals

By skew, 2026 is weighted toward the series side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all capitalize on fan equity. The trade-off, as ever, is fatigue. The near-term solution is to sell each entry as a new angle. Paramount is spotlighting character and roots in Scream 7, Sony is indicating a clean-slate build for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is leading with a French-accented approach from a new voice. Those choices prove meaningful when the audience has so many options and social sentiment whipsaws.

Non-franchise titles and filmmaker-centric entries keep oxygen in the system. Jordan Peele’s October film will be branded as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, anchors on Rachel McAdams in a marooned survival premise with Raimi’s playful menace. SOULM8TE offers a clear, chilling tech hook. Werwulf rests on period texture and an uncompromising tone. Even when the title is not based on known IP, the deal build is comforting enough to build pre-sales and preview-night turnout.

Rolling three-year comps frame the model. In 2023, a cinema-first model that respected streaming windows did not deter a parallel release from winning when the brand was powerful. In 2024, filmmaker-craft-led horror over-performed in premium formats. In 2025, a reawakened chapter of a beloved infection saga demonstrated that global horror franchises can still feel alive when they reframe POV and widen scale. 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 two-film strategy, with chapters shot back-to-back, gives leeway to marketing to link the films through personae and themes and to keep assets in-market without extended gaps.

How the look and feel evolve

The director conversations behind the upcoming entries telegraph a continued emphasis on material, place-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not imitate any recent iteration of the property, a stance that reinforces the in-camera sensibility he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film wrapped principal photography and is set for its April 17, 2026 date. Watch for a drive that highlights grain and menace rather than VFX blitz, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership enabling smart budget discipline.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has called Werwulf as the grimmest project he has tackled, which tracks with a Middle Ages setting and period-faithful dialogue, a combination that can make for sonic immersion and a raw, elemental vibe on the big screen. Focus will likely highlight this aesthetic in craft profiles and craft features before rolling out a first look that withholds plot, a move that has delivered for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is set up for visceral gnarl, a signature of the series that lands overseas in red-band trailers and produces shareable audience clips from early screenings. Scream 7 sets up a meta reframe that re-centers the original lead. Resident Evil will navigate to this website rise or fall on creature and environment design, which lend themselves to fan-con activations and staggered reveals. Insidious tends to be a sound design showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the theater case feel compelling. Look for trailers that spotlight hyper-detailed sound, deep-bass stingers, and dead-air cuts that explode in larger rooms.

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 moody palate cleanser amid larger brand plays. The month caps with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival-horror from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is serious, but the tonal variety gives each title a lane, and the five-week structure offers clean runway for each if word of mouth endures.

Q1 into Q2 prime the summer. Scream 7 hits February 27 with nostalgia heat. In April, New Line’s The Mummy revives a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once was known for genre counterprogramming and now supports 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 heightens the contrast. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is spoofy and broad, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 presents severe intensity. The counterprogramming logic is strong. The spoof can play next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest caters to older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have rolled through premiums.

End of summer through fall leans brand. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives the studio a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously done well. Resident Evil slides in after September 18, a early fall window that still ties into Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event grabs October 23 and will soak up cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely pushed by a shroud-first teaser rhythm and limited disclosures that stress concept over spoilers.

Christmas prestige. Werwulf on December 25 is a statement that genre can win the holiday when packaged as craft prestige horror. Focus has done this before, measured platforming, then turning to critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to keep the film in the conversation into January. If the film clicks critically, the studio can extend in the first week of 2027 while benefiting from holiday season and holiday gift-card burn.

Title-by-title briefings, embedded in the narrative

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting to be detailed as production advances. Logline: Sidney returns to oppose a new Ghostface while the narrative reconnects to the original film’s genetic code. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: roots-first with a today edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A widowed man’s digital partner escalates into something perilously amorous. Rating: TBA. Production: Photography complete for an early-year bow. Positioning: tech shocker with 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 extends the world beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult hardens in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Produced consecutively with the first film. Positioning: continuation of a revived prestige zombie saga.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man returns to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to face a shimmering reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Complete with theatrical path. Positioning: atmospheric game 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 abrasive boss struggle to survive on a isolated island as the control dynamic inverts and paranoia builds. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked. Positioning: marquee survival piece 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 contemporary retelling that returns the monster to horror, rooted in Cronin’s practical craft and suffocating dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Shoot done. Positioning: monster revival with signature voice.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A family-home haunting premise that pipes the unease through a young child’s volatile personal vantage. Rating: TBD. Production: picture-locked. Positioning: studio-financed and celebrity-led paranormal suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers participating creatively. Logline: {A comic send-up that teases today’s horror trends and true crime fascinations. Rating: not yet rated. Production: fall 2025 shoot penciled in. 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 erupts, with an international twist in tone and setting. Rating: forthcoming. Production: shooting in New Zealand. Positioning: intense red-band chapter tailored to PLF.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: TBD per campaign. Top cast: TBA. Logline: The Further extends again, with a young family bound to past horrors. Rating: not yet rated. Production: gearing up for summer filming with late-summer bow. Positioning: steady supernatural brand in a historically strong slot.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: to be announced publicly. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: A restart designed to recalibrate the franchise from the ground up, with an preference for true survival horror over pyrotechnic spectacle. Rating: forthcoming. Production: development underway with firm date. Positioning: game-faithful modern reboot with crossover potential.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: TBA. Logline: intentionally withheld. Rating: to be announced. Production: continuing. Positioning: director-fronted event with teaser rhythm.

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 fear. Rating: forthcoming. Production: in active prep with holiday date set. Positioning: prestige-leaning holiday genre with crafts potential.

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 theatrical-first route ahead of platforming. Status: timing TBD, fall window eyed.

Why 2026 makes sense

Three practical forces structure this lineup. First, production that slowed or re-sequenced in 2024 demanded space on the calendar. Horror can occupy those holes swiftly because scripts often rely on fewer locations, fewer large-scale VFX set pieces, and tighter schedules. Second, studios have become more orderly about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently generated more than straight-to-streaming drops. Third, community talk converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will harvest shareable moments from test screenings, curated scare clips launched on Thursday previews, and experiential pop-ups that spark influencer coverage. It is a repeatable playbook because it holds up.

A fourth element is the programming calculus. Family and cape-heavy lanes thin out in early 2026, clearing runway for genre entries that can lead a weekend or position as the older-lean choice. January is the prime example. Four horror varieties will line up across five weekends, which permits distinct conversations to flourish. Summer provides the other window. The send-up tracks alongside early family and action traffic, then the hard-R entry can exploit a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Business view: budgets, ratings, sleeper chase

Budgets remain in the Goldilocks zone. Most of the films above will come in under $40–$50 million, with many far below. That allows for aggressive PLF bookings 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 dark-horse hunt continues in Q1, where modest-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 left-field winner 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.

The moviegoer’s year in horror

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers flow and breadth. January is a sampler, February delivers a legacy slasher, April reanimates a Universal monster, May and June provide a paranormal one-two 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 austere, literate nightmare. That is how you keep chatter alive and occupancy strong without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can stack through the year, using earlier releases to prime the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors respond well to the spacing. Horror delivers consistent Thursday swells, right-sized allotments, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can earn PLF placement, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing dimensionality, soundcraft, and camera work 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 Robust 2026 On Deck

Release dates move. Ratings change. Casts rotate. But the spine of 2026 horror is established. There is brand heft where it matters, fresh vision where it counts, and a calendar that shows studios track how and when scares land. 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 eleventh-hour specialty buy join the party. For now, the job is simple, produce clean trailers, keep the secrets, and let the shocks sell the seats.