Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed confronts primordial evil, a hair raising feature, launching October 2025 across top digital platforms

An spine-tingling spectral horror tale from writer / auteur Andrew Chiaramonte, evoking an primordial nightmare when drifters become puppets in a supernatural trial. Going live October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime Video, Google’s YouTube, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango streaming.

Los Angeles, CA (August 8, 2025) – Brace yourselves for *Young & Cursed*, a disturbing journey of resistance and timeless dread that will alter the fear genre this harvest season. Created by rising horror auteur Andrew Chiaramonte, this harrowing and immersive thriller follows five people who come to sealed in a far-off lodge under the menacing will of Kyra, a possessed female claimed by a two-thousand-year-old holy text monster. Steel yourself to be captivated by a visual event that weaves together raw fear with timeless legends, unleashing on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on the second of October, 2025.


Diabolic occupation has been a historical concept in genre filmmaking. In *Young & Cursed*, that notion is twisted when the entities no longer originate outside their bodies, but rather inside their minds. This suggests the grimmest corner of all involved. The result is a intense inner struggle where the tension becomes a unyielding clash between light and darkness.


In a barren wild, five individuals find themselves sealed under the dark rule and haunting of a elusive character. As the victims becomes defenseless to deny her control, cut off and tormented by evils indescribable, they are obligated to deal with their deepest fears while the seconds without pause winds toward their fate.


In *Young & Cursed*, unease grows and friendships disintegrate, driving each member to scrutinize their core and the nature of autonomy itself. The pressure mount with every fleeting time, delivering a nightmarish journey that intertwines occult fear with soulful exposure.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my creative target was to extract core terror, an threat born of forgotten ages, channeling itself through inner turmoil, and questioning a spirit that strips down our being when consciousness is fragmented.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Transforming into Kyra involved tapping into something past sanity. She is oblivious until the spirit seizes her, and that transition is eerie because it is so deep.”

Where to Watch

*Young & Cursed* will be aired for on-demand beginning on October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon Prime, Google’s video hub, Google’s store, Apple iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand—so that viewers anywhere can survive this haunted release.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just rolled out a new trailer two for *Young & Cursed*, posted to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a evolution to its first preview, which has earned over a hundred thousand impressions.


In addition to its North American premiere, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has shared that *Young & Cursed* will also be offered to international markets, taking the terror to fans of fear everywhere.


Be sure to catch this heart-stopping voyage through terror. Join *Young & Cursed* this spooky debut to explore these ghostly lessons about our species.


For previews, on-set glimpses, and social posts from behind the lens, follow @YoungAndCursedMovie across platforms and visit our horror hub.





Today’s horror inflection point: calendar year 2025 U.S. calendar fuses legend-infused possession, Indie Shockers, together with returning-series thunder

Beginning with life-or-death fear saturated with scriptural legend and stretching into returning series and incisive indie visions, 2025 looks like the most variegated along with carefully orchestrated year since the mid-2010s.

The 2025 horror calendar is more than crowded, it is calculated. studio powerhouses plant stakes across the year with familiar IP, in tandem digital services stack the fall with new perspectives plus old-world menace. At the same time, festival-forward creators is drafting behind the backdraft of 2024’s record festival wave. Since Halloween is the prized date, the year beyond October is carefully apportioned. The early fall corridor has become the proving ground, and in 2025, strategies include January, spring, and mid-summer. Viewers are primed, studios are intentional, therefore 2025 could stand as the most orchestrated year.

Major Studio Plans with Mini-Major Flex: Premium dread reemerges

The majors are not coasting. If 2024 laid the groundwork for a horror reinvention, 2025 doubles down.

Universal’s distribution arm starts the year with a statement play: a reimagined Wolf Man, not returning to the Gothic European hamlet, but a crisp modern milieu. Steered by Leigh Whannell and starring Christopher Abbott with Julia Garner, this chapter binds the lycanthropy to domestic unraveling. The curse reads as bodily and relational, about spouses, parents, and people. set for mid January, it helps remake the winter trough with prestige offerings, not discard thrillers.

The spring frame introduces Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher adaptation reworked as a minimalist shock machine. Eli Craig directs anchored by Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it comes as grit laced American nightmare with sardonic edge. Behind its clown mask lies commentary on small town paranoia, generational divides, and mob justice. First wave buzz indicates sharp teeth.

As summer wanes, the Warner lot releases the last chapter within its surest horror brand: The Conjuring: Last Rites. With Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson returning as Ed and Lorraine Warren, the chapter points to emotional capstone while addressing a headline case. While the template is known, Michael Chaves is rumored to steer toward a somber, reflective register for the close. It lands in early September, carving air ahead of October’s stack.

Next is The Black Phone 2. Originally slated for early summer, its move to an October release suggests confidence. Scott Derrickson is back, and the memorable motifs return: old school creep, trauma driven plotting, along with eerie supernatural rules. This time the stakes climb, with a deeper exploration into the “grabber” mythology and how grief haunts generations.

Capping the big ticket run is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a franchise that brings its own crowd. The continuation widens the legend, grows the animatronic horror lineup, reaching teens and game grownups. It lands in December, securing the winter cap.

Streaming Firsts: Lean budgets, heavy bite

With theaters prioritizing brand safety, streamers are swinging risk forward, and returns look strong.

A leading ambitious platform entry is Weapons, a cold trail horror omnibus knitting three time bands around a mass vanishing. Under Zach Cregger anchored by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the movie mixes chill with dramatic weight. Rolling out in theaters late summer before fall platform release, it is poised to inspire think pieces and forums, echoing Barbarian.

On the quieter side is Together, a room scale body horror descent starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Located in a secluded rental as a trip collapses, the narrative traces love and jealousy and self contempt into body collapse. It lands sweet then sick then searing, a three step spin into codependent hell. With no dated platform window yet, it is virtually assured for fall.

Then there is Sinners, a 1930s rooted vampire folk legend featuring Michael B. Jordan. Shot in rich sepia tones and drenched in biblical metaphor, it feels like There Will Be Blood fused with Let the Right One In. The movie studies American religious trauma through the supernatural lens. Pre release tests anoint it a conversation starter on streaming.

Several other streaming indies are quietly waiting in the wings: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper all lean on grief, loss, and identity, favoring allegory over fireworks.

The Possession Runs Deep: Young & Cursed

Going live October 2 on major services, Young & Cursed positions itself as a rare hybrid, intimate in scope and mythic in reach. From writer director Andrew Chiaramonte, the arc centers on five strangers who wake inside a backcountry cabin, beneath Kyra’s command, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. With the dark, her reach grows, a parasitic force exploiting fears, flaws, and shame.

This fear is psychologically driven, pulsing with primal myth. Swerving the standard exorcism angle of Catholic rite and Latin word, this one reaches back to something older, something darker. Lilith ignores rite, she wells up from trauma, quietude, and human weakness. 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 is a clever angle. No puffed out backstory. No IP hangover. Pure psyche terror, contained and taut, sized for the binge then exhale flow of digital viewers. Among spectacle, Young & Cursed might win by restraint, then release.

Festival Origins, Market Outcomes

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF still seed what horror becomes in six to twelve months. This cycle, they are launchpads first and showcases second.

This year’s Fantastic Fest has already confirmed a strong horror lineup. Primate, a tropical body horror opener, draws comparisons to Cronenberg and Herzog. Whistle, a folkloric revenge thriller steeped in Aztec lore, is expected to close the fest with fire.

At midnight, entries like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You buzz for how they play, not only their names. That title, with A24 backing, satirizes toxic fandom during a convention lockdown and is set to pop.

SXSW staged Clown in a Cornfield and lined up microbudget haunts for talks. Sundance is on track for grief tuned elevated horror, and Tribeca’s genre set plays urban, social, and surreal.

Strategy at festivals now equals branding as well as discovery. Those badges act as campaign openers, not end caps.

Legacy IP: Next Chapters, New Starts, New Shapes

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. In contrast to earlier chapters, it skews camp and prom night melodrama. Visualize tiaras, fake gore, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 bows late June, seeking to build out techno horror lore using new characters and AI born frights. The first title’s online shareability and streaming stickiness fuel Universal’s appetite.

On the slate sits The Long Walk, from one of Stephen King’s stark early titles, 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 a precise angle, it could mirror The Hunger Games for adults in 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.

Emerging Currents

Mythic dread mainstreams
Lilith in Young & Cursed and Aztec curses in Whistle point to ancient texts and symbols. This trend avoids nostalgia, reclaiming pre Christian archetypes. Horror is not just scaring us, it is reminding us that evil is older than we are.

Body horror returns
The likes of Together, Weapons, and Keeper reshift toward flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation function as metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Originals on platforms bite harder
Throwaway platform horror is on the way out. Platforms are putting money into scripts, directors, and promotion. Works such as Weapons and Sinners are positioned as events, not filler.

Festival Hype Equals Market Leverage
Festival laurels are no longer ornamental, they are leverage for theatrical release, 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. Everything else heads to PVOD or hybrid drops. Horror still lives in theaters, more curated than broad.

What’s Next: Autumn Overload and the Winter Wildcard

With Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons all stacked across September and October, the fall is downright saturated. Indies like Bone Lake and Keeper will have to fight for oxygen. Some may slide to early 2026 or switch platform lanes.

December anchors on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, yet a surprise streamer drop could appear in the final weeks. 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 Horror slate: follow-ups, universe starters, plus A jammed Calendar Built For chills

Dek The fresh scare calendar lines up right away with a January glut, then extends through the warm months, and pushing into the holidays, mixing marquee clout, new voices, and smart alternatives. The big buyers and platforms are betting on mid-range economics, theatrical leads, and social-fueled campaigns that frame these releases into mainstream chatter.

The genre’s posture for 2026

The field has emerged as the predictable move in annual schedules, a segment that can scale when it clicks and still insulate the downside when it under-delivers. After the 2023 year reconfirmed for greenlighters that modestly budgeted chillers can dominate audience talk, the following year held pace with buzzy auteur projects and under-the-radar smashes. The tailwind extended into the 2025 frame, where revived properties and elevated films confirmed there is a lane for varied styles, from brand follow-ups to non-IP projects that travel well. The net effect for 2026 is a slate that appears tightly organized across distributors, with purposeful groupings, a harmony of known properties and new concepts, and a refocused attention on box-office windows that power the aftermarket on premium on-demand and OTT platforms.

Schedulers say the genre now behaves like a flex slot on the calendar. Horror can debut on a wide range of weekends, supply a simple premise for promo reels and UGC-friendly snippets, and outstrip with demo groups that lean in on previews Thursday and return through the second weekend if the picture pays off. Following a production delay era, the 2026 rhythm telegraphs assurance in that approach. The slate begins with a heavy January schedule, then exploits spring through early summer for counterweight, while holding room for a autumn push that stretches into the Halloween corridor and past Halloween. The calendar also reflects the ongoing integration of indie distributors and SVOD players that can platform and widen, ignite recommendations, and widen at the strategic time.

A reinforcing pattern is brand management across brand ecosystems and legacy IP. The companies are not just turning out another follow-up. They are seeking to position story carry-over with a marquee sheen, whether that is a typeface approach that indicates a reframed mood or a star attachment that bridges a fresh chapter to a vintage era. At the alongside this, the creative leads behind the most buzzed-about originals are leaning into on-set craft, real effects and place-driven backdrops. That blend hands the 2026 slate a vital pairing of trust and surprise, which is why the genre exports well.

Studio by studio strategy signals

Paramount marks the early tempo with two high-profile releases that straddle tones widely. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the director position and Neve Campbell back at the forefront, presenting it as both a succession moment and a rootsy character-driven entry. The shoot is ongoing in Atlanta, and the narrative stance conveys a heritage-honoring mode without covering again the last two entries’ sisters thread. Look for a marketing run fueled by iconic art, character spotlights, and a teaser-to-trailer rhythm timed to late fall. Distribution is theatrical through Paramount.

Paramount also relaunches 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 on the creative side for the first time since the early 2000s, a centerpiece the campaign will double down on. As a summer contrast play, this one will build broad awareness through gif-able moments, with the horror spoof format allowing quick pivots to whatever dominates the conversation that spring.

Universal has three defined releases. SOULM8TE rolls out January 9, 2026, a AI-tinged spinoff from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The hook is tidy, soulful, and easily pitched: a grieving man activates an artificial companion that turns into a fatal companion. The date lines it up at the front of a competition-heavy month, with Universal’s promo team likely to bring back odd public stunts and brief clips that fuses devotion and foreboding.

On May 8, 2026, the studio positions an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely taken to be the feature developed under working titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The public release grid currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which makes room for a name unveil to become an teaser payoff closer to the early tease. The timing creates a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles stack elsewhere.

Finishing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film claims October 23, 2026, a slot he has defined before. Peele’s pictures are branded as auteur events, with a teaser that reveals little and a subsequent trailers that convey vibe without spoilers the concept. The late-month date gives the studio room to command 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 steers, with Souheila Yacoub top-lining. The franchise has long shown that a raw, hands-on effects strategy can feel prestige on a middle budget. Expect a hard-R summer horror surge that pushes global traction, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most overseas territories.

Sony’s horror bench is surprisingly deep. The studio places two name-brand pushes in the back half. An untitled Insidious film hits August 21, 2026, holding a proven supernatural brand in play while the spin-off branch advances. The studio has changed the date on this title before, but the current plan plants it in late summer, where the brand has traditionally delivered.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil steps back in what Sony is marketing as a reimagined restart for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a primary part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a sharper mandate to serve both longtime followers and fresh viewers. The fall slot offers Sony space to build campaign creative around mythos, and monster aesthetics, elements that can boost deluxe auditorium demand and cosplay-friendly fan engagement.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, sets a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film sustains the filmmaker’s run of period horror built on immersive craft and dialect, this time driven by werewolf stories. The imprint has already booked the frame for a holiday release, a confidence marker in Eggers as a specialty play that can broaden if early reception is supportive.

SVOD and PVOD rhythms

Streaming playbooks in 2026 run on familiar rails. Universal’s slate head to copyright after a theater window then PVOD, a structure that boosts both premiere heat and viewer acquisition in the back half. Prime Video blends library titles with worldwide buys and short theatrical plays when the data signals it. Max and Hulu work their edges in library curation, using curated hubs, genre hubs, and staff picks to keep attention on the annual genre haul. Netflix retains agility about Netflix films and festival acquisitions, finalizing horror entries with shorter lead times and staging as events releases with burst campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, exploits a one-two of focused cinema runs and fast windowing that drives paid trials from buzz. That will be material for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before turning to community channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ adopts case-by-case posture for horror on a selective basis. The check my blog platform has shown a willingness to board select projects with established auteurs or name-led packages, then give them a select cinema run in partnership with exhibitors to meet awards-qualifying thresholds or to earn receipts before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney domestic still draws on the 20th Century Studios slate, a critical input for ongoing engagement when the genre conversation heats up.

Indie and specialty outlook

Cineverse is steadily assembling a 2026 slate with two label plays. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The proposition is no-nonsense: the same haunting, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a beloved cult piece, retooled for modern sound and image. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a late-year slot, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has suggested a standard theatrical run for Legacy, an promising marker for fans of the relentless series and for exhibitors seeking darker fare in the autumn stretch.

Focus will work the director lane with Werwulf, managing the title through autumn festivals if the cut is ready, then relying on the December frame to move out. That positioning has delivered for filmmaker-driven genre with award possibilities. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not firmed many 2026 dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines typically coalesce after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A credible outlook is a handful of late-summer and fall platformers that can broaden if reception justifies. Keep an eye on 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 in tandem, using targeted theatrical to stir evangelism that fuels their membership.

Franchises versus originals

By volume, the 2026 slate bends toward the brand-heavy side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all exploit fan equity. The challenge, as ever, is brand erosion. The go-to fix is to package each entry as a re-toned entry. Paramount is centering character and lineage in Scream 7, Sony is floating a fresh ground-up build for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is centering a French-flavored turn from a buzzed-about director. Those choices prove meaningful when the audience has so many options and social sentiment swings fast.

Originals and director-driven titles bring the oxygen. Jordan Peele’s October film will be marketed as a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, places Rachel McAdams into a island-set survival premise with signature tonal menace. SOULM8TE offers a clean, creepy tech hook. Werwulf leans on period specificity and an unsparing tone. Even when the title is not based on familiar IP, the assembly is assuring enough to spark pre-sales and preview-night turnout.

Rolling three-year comps frame the model. In 2023, a exclusive theatrical model that kept streaming intact did not block a day-date move from paying off when the brand was sticky. In 2024, craft-first auteur horror rose in premium auditoriums. In 2025, a rebirth of a beloved infection saga proved again that global horror franchises can still feel alive when they reframe POV 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 lensed sequentially, allows marketing to tie installments through character and theme and to sustain campaign assets without pause points.

Creative tendencies and craft

The creative meetings behind 2026 horror indicate a continued shift toward tactile, location-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not mirror any recent iteration of the property, a stance that accords with the practical-first approach he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film completed filming and is set for its April 17, 2026 date. Watch for a drive that centers grain and menace rather than CG roller-coasters, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership enabling tight cost control.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has spoken of Werwulf as the hardest-edged project he has tackled, which tracks with a period English setting and historically accurate language, a combination that can make for immersive sound design and a cold, elemental mood on the big screen. Focus will likely pre-sell this aesthetic in craft journalism and craft coverage before rolling out a teaser that plays with mood rather than plot, a move that has worked for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is geared for tactile gnarliness, a signature of the series that works internationally in red-band trailers and gathers shareable reaction videos from early screenings. Scream 7 delivers a meta inflection that centers an original star. Resident Evil will hit or miss on monster aesthetics and world-building, which favor convention floor stunts and managed asset releases. Insidious tends to be a sonic showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the theatrical pitch feel necessary. Look for trailers that foreground pinpoint sound design, deep-bass stingers, and held silences that explode in larger rooms.

From winter to holidays

January is jammed. SOULM8TE opens January 9, 2026, then Sony returns a week later with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple on January 16. Cineverse’s Return to Silent Hill follows on January 23, a foggy reset amid macro-brand pushes. The month concludes 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 formidable, but the mix of tones gives each title a lane, and the five-week structure hands each a runway for each if word of mouth persists.

Early-year through spring set up the summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 rolls out February 27 with brand warmth. In April, New Line’s The Mummy reawakens 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 flows into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer sorts the tones. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is light and four-quadrant, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 supplies gnarly intensity. The counterprogramming logic is strong. The spoof can succeed next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest delights older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have run their PLF course.

Late summer into fall leans series. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously performed. Resident Evil lines up after September 18, a transitional slot that still ties into Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film occupies October 23 and will command cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely backed by a opaque tease strategy and limited pre-release reveals that put concept first.

Year-end prestige and specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a marker that genre can win the holiday when packaged as filmmaker-driven prestige horror. Focus has done this before, deliberate rollout, then pressing critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to stay top of mind into January. If the film lands critically, the studio can scale in the first week of 2027 while using holiday momentum and gift-card spend.

Film-by-film briefs

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

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A bereaved man’s virtual companion shifts into something murderously loving. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal completed 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 grows the world beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult organizes in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Produced consecutively with the first film. Positioning: continuation of a revered infection cycle.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man finds his way back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to run into a mutable reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished with U.S. theatrical locked. 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 tough boss struggle to survive on a cut-off island as the control dynamic turns and paranoia builds. Rating: TBA. Production: Done. Positioning: star-forward survival chiller from a master.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles not disclosed in official materials. Logline: A contemporary retelling that returns the monster to nightmare, built on Cronin’s in-camera craft and encroaching dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed. 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 in-home haunting setup that leverages the panic of a child’s inconsistent impressions. Rating: forthcoming. Production: finished. Positioning: studio-crafted and toplined occult chiller.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers rejoining on the creative side. Logline: {A spoof revival that lampoons today’s horror trends and true-crime buzz. Rating: pending. Production: fall 2025 production window. Positioning: big-tent summer spoof.

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 worldly twist in tone and setting. Rating: forthcoming. Production: filming in New Zealand. Positioning: hard-R franchise continuation built for premium large format.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: TBD per campaign. Top cast: pending. Logline: The Further stirs again, with a unlucky family snared by returning horrors. Rating: undetermined. Production: set for summer production targeting late-summer opening. Positioning: steady supernatural brand in a historically strong slot.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: awaiting public disclosure. Top cast: to be announced. Logline: A reboot designed to reframe the franchise from the ground up, with an tilt toward classic survival-horror tone over action-heavy spectacle. Rating: forthcoming. Production: on a development track with locked window. Positioning: IP-accurate revival with mainstream runway.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: to be announced. Logline: tightly guarded. Rating: to be announced. Production: moving forward. Positioning: filmmaker-led event with teaser rollout.

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 time-true diction and bone-deep menace. Rating: undetermined. Production: gearing up with December 25 frame. Positioning: holiday prestige play with craft awards upside.

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: date in flux, fall expected.

Why 2026 and why now

Three practical forces calibrate this lineup. First, production that hiccuped or re-sequenced in 2024 required runway on the datebook. Horror can bridge those gaps quickly because scripts often require limited locations, fewer large-scale effects sequences, and shorter schedules. Second, studios have become more methodical about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently exceeded straight-to-streaming dumps. Third, social conversation converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will leverage bite-size scare clips from test screenings, precision scare clips synced to Thursday previews, and experiential pop-ups that seed creator reels. It is a repeatable playbook because it delivers.

Programming arithmetic plays a role. Early-2026 family and superhero concentrations ease, opening usable real estate for genre entries that can command a weekend or operate as the older-skew option. January is the prime example. Four distinct flavors of horror will coexist across five weekends, which helps each film cultivate buzz on its own. Summer provides the other window. The parody leverages early family and action lifts, then the hard-R entry can pounce on a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Business outlook: budgets, ratings, and the sleeper hunt

Budgets remain in the efficient band. Most of the films above will stay under the $40 to $50 million threshold, with many far below. That allows for broad premium screen use 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 surprise-hit pursuit continues in Q1, where lower and mid-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 press those advantages. 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. 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.

Audience journey through the year

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers flow and breadth. January is a spread, February delivers a legacy slasher, April restores a Universal monster, May and June provide a two-hit supernatural combo for date nights and group outings, July gets visceral, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a shadowed, literate nightmare. That is how you maintain buzz and butts in seats without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can compound over time, using earlier releases to prep the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors value the spacing. Horror delivers consistent Thursday swells, tight deployments, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can command PLF, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing surface detail, soundscape, and image-making 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

Schedules slip. Ratings change. Casts evolve. But the spine of 2026 horror is sturdy. There is brand gravity where needed, filmmaker vision where it matters, and a calendar that shows studios grasp the timing 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 eleventh-hour specialty buy join the party. For now, the job is simple, deliver taut trailers, hold the mystery, and let the scares sell the seats.