Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed releases ancient dread, a spine tingling horror feature, rolling out October 2025 across major platforms

A terrifying otherworldly shockfest from literary architect / cinematic mind Andrew Chiaramonte, manifesting an forgotten horror when outsiders become vehicles in a cursed ordeal. Available October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime, Google’s YouTube, Google’s Play platform, iTunes Movies, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home.

Los Angeles, CA (August 8th, 2025) – Prepare yourselves for *Young & Cursed*, a nerve-wracking depiction of resistance and mythic evil that will redefine horror this Halloween season. Visualized by rising horror auteur Andrew Chiaramonte, this edge-of-your-seat and shadowy fearfest follows five young adults who snap to caught in a off-grid cottage under the ominous rule of Kyra, a female lead inhabited by a prehistoric biblical demon. Ready yourself to be shaken by a immersive journey that merges visceral dread with legendary tales, arriving on Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Malevolent takeover has been a iconic motif in motion pictures. In *Young & Cursed*, that pattern is twisted when the spirits no longer develop from external sources, but rather deep within. This symbolizes the shadowy version of these individuals. The result is a relentless mind game where the plotline becomes a brutal clash between moral forces.


In a forsaken terrain, five adults find themselves confined under the possessive rule and domination of a enigmatic apparition. As the youths becomes defenseless to combat her curse, severed and pursued by terrors impossible to understand, they are driven to encounter their emotional phantoms while the countdown mercilessly draws closer toward their destruction.


In *Young & Cursed*, unease deepens and relationships dissolve, forcing each soul to reflect on their identity and the foundation of personal agency itself. The threat accelerate with every second, delivering a cinematic nightmare that connects paranormal dread with raw emotion.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my focus was to channel basic terror, an presence that existed before mankind, working through mental cracks, and testing a force that forces self-examination when will is shattered.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Stepping into Kyra called for internalizing something outside normal anguish. She is innocent until the takeover begins, and that change is terrifying because it is so unshielded.”

Debut Info

*Young & Cursed* will be distributed for audience access beginning on October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon’s platform, Google’s video hub, Google’s store, Apple iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home—giving fans from coast to coast can enjoy this demonic journey.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just premiered a new second trailer for *Young & Cursed*, streaming to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a next step to its original promo, which has been viewed over 100K plays.


In addition to its North American premiere, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has confirmed that *Young & Cursed* will also be launched globally, giving access to the movie to horror fans worldwide.


Mark your calendar for this cinematic exploration of dread. Face *Young & Cursed* this launch day to face these evil-rooted truths about existence.


For behind-the-scenes access, behind-the-scenes content, and promotions from behind the lens, follow @YoungAndCursedFilm across your socials and visit the movie portal.





U.S. horror’s inflection point: the year 2025 U.S. lineup weaves myth-forward possession, Indie Shockers, and Franchise Rumbles

From survival horror inspired by legendary theology as well as installment follow-ups set beside incisive indie visions, 2025 is shaping up as horror’s most layered combined with precision-timed year of the last decade.

The 2025 horror calendar is more than crowded, it is calculated. top-tier distributors plant stakes across the year with known properties, at the same time subscription platforms load up the fall with new perspectives as well as old-world menace. At the same time, the micro-to-mid budget ranks is fueled by the backdraft from an unprecedented 2024 fest surge. Because Halloween stands as the showcase, the rest of the calendar is filling out with surgical precision. The autumn corridor is the classic sprint, however this time, strategies include January, spring, and mid-summer. Audiences are leaning in, studios are methodical, accordingly 2025 could stand as the most orchestrated year.

Studio Roadmap and Mini-Major Pulse: Premium dread reemerges

The studios are not sitting idle. If 2024 prepared the terrain, 2025 accelerates.

the Universal camp kicks off the frame with a big gambit: a newly envisioned Wolf Man, avoiding the standard nineteenth century European backdrop, within a sleek contemporary canvas. Under director Leigh Whannell anchored by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this version roots the lycanthropy in family fracture. The evolution surpasses the body, into spouses, parents, and bruised humanity. set for mid January, it joins a broader aim to occupy winter’s quiet with elevated titles, not leftovers.

As spring rolls in, Clown in a Cornfield bows, a YA slasher conversion presented as stripped terror. Under Eli Craig anchored by Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it plays as blood lacquered Americana with satire under the paint. Beneath the facade, it probes hometown suspicion, boomer to zoomer divides, and mob retribution. Early circuit chatter says it has bite.

When summer fades, Warner’s slate delivers the closing chapter within its surest horror brand: The Conjuring: Last Rites. The Warrens return, played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the finale seeks an emotional close via a signature case. Even if the pattern is recognizable, Chaves seems to angle for a plaintive, inward final note. It is dated for early September, granting margin before October’s crush.

Next is The Black Phone 2. From early summer to October, a strong signal. Derrickson resumes command, and the defining traits of the first sleeper return: 70s style chill, trauma explicitly handled, plus uncanny supernatural grammar. The ante is higher this round, through a thicker read on the “grabber” legend and generational ache.

Capping the big ticket run is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a title that can sell without classic marketing. The return delves further into myth, builds out the animatronic fear crew, while aiming for teen viewers and thirty something game loyalists. It arrives in December, cornering year end horror.

Streaming Originals: No Budget, No Problem

With cinemas leaning into known IP, platforms are embracing risk, and engagement climbs.

A high ambition play arrives with Weapons, a cold-case linked horror tapestry that weaves together three timelines connected by a mass disappearance. Led by Zach Cregger anchored by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the movie mixes chill with dramatic weight. Debuting in theaters late summer then streaming in fall, it is poised to inspire think pieces and forums, echoing Barbarian.

In the micro chamber lane is Together, a close quarters body horror study pairing Alison Brie with Dave Franco. Set at a remote rental during a getaway that sours, the arc observes love and green eyed envy and self harm turned somatic. It moves between affection and rot, a triptych into codependent hell. Before a platform date is locked, it is tracking toward an autumn slot.

On the docket is Sinners, a pre war vampire folk narrative fronted by Michael B. Jordan. Lensed in lush sepia and soaked in biblical metaphor, it evokes There Will Be Blood crossed with Let the Right One In. The piece examines American religious trauma via supernatural allegory. Dry runs call it a headline grabbing streamer.

More streamer bound indies stand by in the shadows: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each explores grief and disappearance and identity, opting allegory above bombast.

Possession From Within: Young & Cursed

Posting October 2 across the big platforms, Young & Cursed positions itself as a rare hybrid, intimate in scope and mythic in reach. Shaped 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. With nightfall, Kyra’s power deepens, an invasive force mining their most secret fears, frailties, and regrets.

The terror is psychological in engine, alive with primal myth. Rather than another exorcism film centered on Catholic rites or Latin incantations, this one reaches back to something older, something darker. Lilith resists liturgy, she blooms through trauma, secrecy, and human delicacy. Making possession internal threads Young & Cursed into the current of intimate character studies in genre skin.

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 is a clever angle. No heavy handed lore. No IP hangover. Pure psyche terror, contained and taut, sized for the binge then exhale flow of digital viewers. In a spectacle stack, Young & Cursed could be the hush before the shriek.

Festivals as Springboards

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF remain breeding grounds for what horror looks like six to twelve months later. They are more runway than museum.

Fantastic Fest has a thick horror program this time. Primate opens with tropical body horror, sparking Cronenberg plus Herzog comps. Whistle, an Aztec lore revenge tale, aims to close with burn.

At midnight, entries like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You buzz for how they play, not only their names. That film, an A24 backed satire of toxic fandom inside a horror convention lockdown, looks poised to break out.

SXSW gave air to Clown in a Cornfield and to microbudget hauntings courting buyers. Sundance appears set for grief threaded elevated horror once more, where Tribeca’s genre program draws urban, social, and surreal.

The festival game increasingly values branding over mere discovery. Badges kick off the sell, they do not merely decorate.

Legacy Lines: Follow Ups, Restarts, and Reframes

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

Fear Street: Prom Queen comes in July with franchise revival, new lead, retro styling. Unlike prior entries, this one leans into camp and prom night melodrama. Bring tiaras, red dye, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 opens late June, set to enlarge techno horror mythology with fresh faces and AI bred menaces. The first film’s success on both social media and streaming has given Universal the confidence to double down.

The Long Walk arrives off an early Stephen King survival piece, under Francis Lawrence, it reads as a brutal dystopian allegory inside survival horror, a walk till you drop competition for kids with no winners. If framed properly, it could echo The Hunger Games for adult horror.

Beyond that, reboots and sequels such as Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda dot the year, often holding for windows or late pickups.

Trend Lines

Mythic currents go mainstream
From Lilith in Young & Cursed, and with Aztec curses in Whistle, horror taps ancient texts and symbols. This is less nostalgia, more reclamation of pre Christian archetypes. Horror surpasses shocks, it recalls evil’s antiquity.

Body horror comes roaring back
With Together, Weapons, and Keeper, the genre goes back to the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation are standing in for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streaming exclusives sharpen their bite
Junk fill horror on platforms is receding. Services bankroll legitimate writing, legitimate directors, and proper media. Releases like Weapons and Sinners are elevated to events, not just content.

Festival hype becomes leverage
Laurels are not just decorative, they leverage theatrical, premium placement, and media cycles. A film minus festival planning in 2025 risks getting lost.

The big screen is a trust exercise
The big screen goes to those expected to beat comps or build series. The remainder goes PVOD or hybrid. Horror continues in theaters, in narrower curated lanes.

Projection: Fall crush plus winter X factor

Young & Cursed plus The Conjuring: Last Rites plus The Black Phone 2 plus Weapons, all in September and October, makes for a saturated fall. Indies such as Bone Lake and Keeper must fight for oxygen. Some may slide to early 2026 or switch platform lanes.

December is anchored by Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, but do not rule out a surprise streamer drop in the final weeks. As mythic runs hot, a closing creature or exorcism could still arrive.

The key is connecting variety to fragmentation, not betting on one piece. This year is not about chasing the next Get Out, it is about building horror that lives beyond the box office.



The oncoming fright Year Ahead: next chapters, Originals, together with A loaded Calendar designed for frights

Dek: The brand-new terror slate loads at the outset with a January wave, and then extends through the warm months, and pushing into the holidays, mixing name recognition, inventive spins, and strategic counterweight. Studios with streamers are prioritizing right-sized spends, theatrical-first rollouts, and social-fueled campaigns that frame these offerings into water-cooler talk.

The landscape of horror in 2026

Horror filmmaking has emerged as the most reliable move in distribution calendars, a pillar that can spike when it hits and still insulate the exposure when it fails to connect. After the 2023 year re-taught executives that cost-conscious horror vehicles can drive the zeitgeist, the following year sustained momentum with festival-darling auteurs and stealth successes. The tailwind extended into the 2025 frame, where resurrections and critical darlings confirmed there is space for a variety of tones, from legacy continuations to original one-offs that translate worldwide. The net effect for the 2026 slate is a run that feels more orchestrated than usual across studios, with obvious clusters, a blend of known properties and novel angles, and a tightened emphasis on big-screen windows that drive downstream revenue on premium home window and subscription services.

Marketers add the category now slots in as a wildcard on the calendar. Horror can premiere on most weekends, yield a clean hook for marketing and social clips, and outstrip with patrons that show up on first-look nights and sustain through the subsequent weekend if the film hits. On the heels of a strike-induced shuffle, the 2026 pattern reflects faith in that equation. The slate rolls out with a heavy January block, then leans on spring and early summer for balance, while clearing room for a late-year stretch that stretches into late October and into early November. The schedule also reflects the ongoing integration of specialized labels and streamers that can platform a title, ignite recommendations, and go nationwide at the precise moment.

A further high-level trend is IP stewardship across brand ecosystems and long-running brands. The companies are not just pushing another sequel. They are shaping as brand continuity with a headline quality, whether that is a brandmark that conveys a fresh attitude or a casting pivot that ties a incoming chapter to a early run. At the very same time, the writer-directors behind the headline-grabbing originals are doubling down on real-world builds, physical gags and specific settings. That alloy hands 2026 a confident blend of assurance and invention, which is how the films export.

Studios and mini-majors: what the big players are doing

Paramount defines the early cadence with two prominent plays that bracket the tone map. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the lead and Neve Campbell back at the focus, steering it as both a baton pass and a heritage-centered character-focused installment. Filming is in progress in Atlanta, and the creative stance hints at a roots-evoking mode without repeating the last two entries’ Carpenter-sisters arc. A campaign is expected leaning on brand visuals, character spotlights, and a teaser-to-trailer rhythm landing toward late fall. Distribution is big-screen via Paramount.

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 paired again, with the Wayans brothers involved behind the scenes for the first time since the early 2000s, a draw the campaign will stress. As a summer alternative, this one will drive mainstream recognition through meme-friendly cuts, with the horror spoof format inviting quick shifts to whatever shapes the meme cycle that spring.

Universal has three defined lanes. SOULM8TE arrives January 9, 2026, a digital-age offshoot from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The setup is efficient, somber, and high-concept: a grieving man adopts an AI companion that shifts into a murderous partner. The date lines it up at the front of a busy month, with marketing at Universal likely to mirror uncanny live moments and brief clips that blurs affection and chill.

On May 8, 2026, the studio books an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely taken to be the feature developed under development titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The public calendar currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which creates space for a proper title to become an earned moment closer to the initial promo. The timing offers Universal a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles circle other weekends.

Finishing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film secures October 23, 2026, a slot he has worked well before. His entries are framed as creative events, with a concept-forward tease and a second wave of trailers that define feel without revealing the concept. The holiday-adjacent corridor lets the studio to own 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, works with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček helms, with Souheila Yacoub headlining. The franchise has repeatedly shown that a flesh-and-blood, in-camera leaning mix can feel top-tier on a mid-range budget. Frame it as a splatter summer horror shot that centers global traction, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most non-U.S. markets.

Sony’s horror bench is robust. The studio rolls out two brand-forward plays in the back half. An untitled Insidious film rolls out August 21, 2026, maintaining a consistent supernatural brand on the board while the spin-off branch continues to develop. Sony has adjusted timing on this title before, but the current plan sets it in late summer, where Insidious has often excelled.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil reboots in what Sony is positioning as a from-the-ground-up reboot for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a pillar part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a focus to serve both players and curious audiences. The fall slot creates runway for Sony to build campaign pieces around narrative world, and monster aesthetics, elements that can stoke deluxe auditorium demand and cosplayer momentum.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, anchors a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film extends the filmmaker’s run of period horror defined by rigorous craft and language, this time exploring werewolf lore. Focus Features has already reserved the holiday for a holiday release, a strong signal in the auteur as a specialty play that can open narrow then widen if early reception is supportive.

Digital platform strategies

Digital strategies for 2026 run on familiar rails. Universal’s genre entries flow to copyright after a cinema-first plus PVOD, a structure that optimizes both first-week urgency and platform bumps in the later phase. Prime Video stitches together licensed films with worldwide buys and limited cinema engagements when the data recommends it. Max and Hulu accent their strengths in library engagement, using well-timed internal promotions, Halloween hubs, and curated rows to keep attention on aggregate take. Netflix keeps flexible about originals and festival deals, scheduling horror entries on shorter runways and turning into events arrivals with tight-window plans. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, leverages a laddered of focused cinema runs and quick platforming that monetizes buzz via trials. That will be key for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before working niche channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ cherry-picks horror on a title-by-title basis. The platform has been willing to invest in select projects with acclaimed directors or A-list packages, then give them a small theatrical footprint in partnership with exhibitors to meet awards eligibility or to create word of mouth before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still draws on the 20th Century Studios slate, a key factor for ongoing engagement when the genre conversation spikes.

Indie and specialty outlook

Cineverse is crafting a 2026 arc with two name-brand moves. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The offer is direct: the same foggy, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a cult item, reimagined for modern mix and grade. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a fall frame, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has telegraphed a theatrical-first plan for Legacy, an optimistic indicator for fans of the relentless series and for exhibitors wanting edgy counter in the fall weeks.

Focus will cultivate the auteur lane with Werwulf, marshalling the project through autumn festivals if the cut is ready, then deploying the holiday frame to broaden. That positioning has been successful for auteur horror with wider appeal. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not posted many 2026 dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines generally solidify weblink after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A safe bet is a selection of late-summer and fall platformers that can break out if reception allows. Be ready for an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that debuts at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work in concert, using limited runs to seed evangelism that fuels their audience.

Series vs standalone

By proportion, 2026 skews toward the recognizable IP side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all draw on legacy awareness. The question, as ever, is brand wear. The near-term solution is to package each entry as a fresh tone. Paramount is underscoring character and legacy in Scream 7, Sony is suggesting a new foundation for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is leaning into a continental coloration from a hot helmer. Those choices have impact when the audience has so many options and social sentiment spins fast.

Non-franchise titles and filmmaker-first projects bring the oxygen. Jordan Peele’s October film will be positioned as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, puts Rachel McAdams in a island survival premise with Raimi’s playful menace. SOULM8TE offers a precise, unnerving tech hook. Werwulf emphasizes period craft and an stark tone. Even when the title is not based on familiar IP, the assembly is comforting enough to drive advance ticketing and advance-audience nights.

The last three-year set illuminate the logic. In 2023, a theatrical-first plan that kept streaming intact did not prevent a day-date try from thriving when the brand was big. In 2024, art-forward horror rose in premium auditoriums. In 2025, a revived cycle of a beloved infection saga underlined that global horror franchises can still feel novel when they alter lens and widen scale. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which advances 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, builds a path for marketing to tie installments through character and theme and to sustain campaign assets without dead zones.

Creative tendencies and craft

The craft rooms behind the 2026 slate hint at a continued move toward hands-on, location-grounded craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not repeat 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 tracking toward its April 17, 2026 date. The push will likely that leans on unease and texture rather than thrill-ride spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership bolstering financial discipline.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has outlined Werwulf as the bleakest project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval setting and medieval diction, a combination that can make for 3D sound and a austere, elemental atmosphere on the big screen. Focus will likely seed this aesthetic in craft profiles and department features before rolling out a tone piece that prioritizes vibe over plot, a move that has clicked for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is built for gristle and gore, a signature of the series that works internationally in red-band trailers and sparks shareable reaction videos from early screenings. Scream 7 sets up a meta-horror reset that brings back the core lead. Resident Evil will live or die on monster work and world-building, which play well in convention floor stunts and managed asset releases. Insidious tends to be a theatrical sound showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the theatrical pitch feel definitive. Look for trailers that emphasize disciplined sound, deep-bass stingers, and blank-sound beats that land in big rooms.

Annual flow

January is stacked. 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 moody palate cleanser amid headline IP. The month caps with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a crash-survival thriller from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is meaningful, but the tonal variety gives each title a lane, and the five-week structure permits a clean run for each if word of mouth sticks.

Pre-summer months build the summer base. Scream 7 arrives February 27 with nostalgia energy. In April, New Line’s The Mummy re-centers a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once served genre counterprogramming and now can handle big openers. The untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 rolls into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer clarifies the lanes. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is comic-leaning and wide, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 unleashes red-band intensity. The counterprogramming logic is coherent. The spoof can win next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest rewards older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have run their PLF course.

August and September into October leans series. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously performed. Resident Evil slides in after September 18, a transitional slot that still links to Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event claims October 23 and will own cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely driven by a opaque tease strategy and limited information drops that put concept first.

Holiday corridor prestige. Werwulf on December 25 is a marker that genre can work in holiday corridor when packaged as filmmaker-driven prestige horror. The distributor has done this before, deliberate rollout, then leaning on critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to sustain conversation into January. If the film clicks critically, the studio can extend in the first week of 2027 while turning holiday audiences and gift card usage.

Embedded title notes

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting continuing to be revealed as production carries on. Logline: Sidney returns to confront a new Ghostface while the narrative reorients around the original film’s DNA. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: legacy reset with a modern edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A widowed man’s digital partner grows into something dangerously intimate. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal 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 opens the world beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult hardens in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Filmed consecutively with the first film. Positioning: prestige zombie continuation.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man heads back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to be swallowed by a changing reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked and U.S. theatrical booked. Positioning: gothic-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 hard-edged boss try to survive on a desolate island as the control dynamic reverses 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 not yet announced in official materials. Logline: A from-today rework that returns the monster to dread, built on Cronin’s material craft and oozing dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked. Positioning: iconic monster return with auteur mark.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A domestic haunting narrative that plays with the unease of a child’s tricky senses. Rating: not yet rated. Production: fully shot. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven ghostly 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 parody reboot that satirizes current genre trends and true crime fixations. Rating: to be announced. Production: principal photography set for fall 2025. Positioning: broad-lane summer entry.

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: TBD. Production: lensing in New Zealand. Positioning: hard-hitting R entry designed for premium formats.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be confirmed in marketing. Top cast: TBD. Logline: The Further unfurls again, with a young family bound to past horrors. Rating: to be announced. 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: unrevealed. Logline: A re-seeded launch designed to re-establish the franchise from the ground up, with an lean toward survival horror over set-piece spectacle. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: in development with a locked date. Positioning: game-grounded refresh with wider appeal.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: forthcoming. Logline: Kept under wraps by design. Rating: TBA. Production: ongoing. Positioning: filmmaker showcase with teaser-first cadence.

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 historical diction and primal menace. Rating: pending. Production: gearing up with December 25 frame. 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 traditional theatrical release planned before platforming. Status: schedule in motion, fall targeted.

Why 2026 lands now

Three pragmatic forces structure this lineup. First, production that slowed or re-slotted in 2024 required schedule breathing room. Horror can bridge those gaps quickly because scripts often need fewer locations, fewer large-scale effects set pieces, and shorter schedules. Second, studios have become more strict about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently surpassed straight-to-streaming debuts. Third, social chatter converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will leverage reaction-worthy moments from test screenings, orchestrated scare clips timed to Thursday night previews, and experiential pop-ups that serve as influencer content. It is a repeatable playbook because it delivers.

Another factor is the scheduling math. Early-2026 family and superhero concentrations ease, offering breathing room 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 parody aligns with early family and action waves, then the hard-R entry can take advantage of a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Cost, ratings, and sleeper dynamics

Budgets remain in the strike zone. Most of the films above will stay under the $40 to $50 million threshold, 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 breakout hunt continues in Q1, where lean-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 work those windows. January could easily deliver the first sleeper overperformer 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. Look for a strong PVOD phase overall, since horror fans have shown a willingness to pay for convenience after an opening weekend, especially when word of mouth is strong.

How the viewing year plays

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers beat and breadth. January is a spread, February delivers a legacy slasher, April brings back a Universal monster, May and June provide a ghostly double-hit for date nights and group outings, July runs hard, 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 stage the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors are pleased with the spacing. Horror delivers reliable Thursday lifts, 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, aural design, 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.

2026 Looks Exciting

Calendars slide. Ratings change. Casts refresh. But the spine of 2026 horror is intact. There is recognizable IP where it plays, inventive vision where it helps, 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 late-arriving specialty entry join the party. For now, the job is simple, produce clean trailers, keep the curtain closed, and let the frights sell the seats.