Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed revives primordial evil, a hair raising feature, rolling out October 2025 across premium platforms

An hair-raising ghostly fright fest from scriptwriter / auteur Andrew Chiaramonte, awakening an primeval fear when guests become puppets in a satanic contest. Streaming October 2, 2025, on Amazon’s Prime Video, the YouTube platform, Google Play Movies & TV, Apple’s iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand.

Los Angeles, CA (August 8, 2025) – stay alert for *Young & Cursed*, a frightful chronicle of perseverance and primeval wickedness that will redefine the horror genre this harvest season. Created by rising filmmaking talent Andrew Chiaramonte, this tense and gothic story follows five strangers who regain consciousness locked in a hidden house under the aggressive control of Kyra, a haunted figure possessed by a time-worn biblical demon. Be warned to be immersed by a big screen outing that intertwines intense horror with mystical narratives, streaming on Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Supernatural inhabitation has been a time-honored narrative in horror films. In *Young & Cursed*, that structure is radically shifted when the demons no longer descend beyond the self, but rather from their psyche. This suggests the most hidden part of every character. The result is a riveting mental war where the events becomes a unyielding contest between heaven and hell.


In a barren backcountry, five teens find themselves trapped under the malicious rule and inhabitation of a uncanny character. As the team becomes defenseless to escape her grasp, exiled and chased by spirits unimaginable, they are made to acknowledge their darkest emotions while the deathwatch relentlessly ticks onward toward their final moment.


In *Young & Cursed*, dread intensifies and links shatter, urging each individual to evaluate their existence and the idea of liberty itself. The tension surge with every beat, delivering a nerve-wracking journey that weaves together supernatural terror with human vulnerability.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my desire was to extract primal fear, an malevolence from prehistory, embedding itself in mental cracks, and confronting a darkness that redefines identity when agency is lost.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Playing Kyra involved tapping into something far beyond human desperation. She is insensitive until the invasion happens, and that transition is deeply unsettling because it is so internal.”

Distribution & Access

*Young & Cursed* will be distributed for audiences beginning October 2, 2025, on Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand—allowing users across the world can experience this demonic journey.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just broadcast a new extended look for *Young & Cursed*, available to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a second look to its first trailer, which has received over 100K plays.


In addition to its North American premiere, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has revealed that *Young & Cursed* will also be offered to international markets, offering the tale to scare fans abroad.


Join this soul-jarring fall into madness. Brace yourself for *Young & Cursed* this October 2 to confront these fearful discoveries about the psyche.


For teasers, set experiences, and social posts straight from the filmmakers, follow @YACFilm across media channels and visit the movie portal.





Current horror’s watershed moment: 2025 in focus U.S. release slate interlaces archetypal-possession themes, art-house nightmares, stacked beside series shake-ups

Moving from last-stand terror steeped in mythic scripture through to legacy revivals plus acutely observed indies, 2025 stands to become the most textured in tandem with strategic year for the modern era.

The 2025 horror calendar goes beyond packed, it is precision-tuned. the big studios bookend the months with franchise anchors, concurrently digital services pack the fall with discovery plays paired with old-world menace. On the festival side, the independent cohort is buoyed by the afterglow of a record-setting 2024 festival season. As Halloween stays the prime week, the remaining months are slotted with surgical care. The autumn corridor is the classic sprint, distinctly in 2025, rollouts stretch into January, spring, and mid-summer. Audiences are eager, studios are calculated, which means 2025 may be recorded as the genre’s most deliberate campaign.

Studio and Mini-Major Moves: Prestige fear returns

The majors are assertive. If 2024 framed the blueprint, 2025 scales the plan.

Universal’s pipeline kicks off the frame with a statement play: a contemporary Wolf Man, leaving behind the period European setting, inside today’s landscape. Guided by Leigh Whannell anchored by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this pass grounds the lycanthropy in household collapse. The transformation is not just physical, it is marital, parental, and painfully human. targeting mid January, it advances a tactic to control the winter valley through premium horror, not dumps.

The spring frame introduces Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher translation rendered as pared-down fear. Steered by Eli Craig with Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it feels like crimson splashed Midwest menace with winked critique. Behind the greasepaint sits a critique of small town suspicion, generational fracture, and vigilante justice. Festival whispers say it is sharp.

As summer wanes, the Warner Bros. banner unveils the final movement from its cornerstone horror IP: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson again portray Ed and Lorraine Warren, the installment aims for closure as it frames a famed case. Although the framework is familiar, Michael Chaves is rumored to steer toward a somber, reflective register for the close. It sits in early September, securing daylight before October saturation.

After that, The Black Phone 2. Set early then moved to October, a confidence tell. Derrickson returns to the helm, and those signature textures resurface: period tinged dread, trauma explicitly handled, plus otherworld rules that chill. The stakes escalate here, through a fuller probe of the “grabber” lore and inherited grief.

Finishing the tentpole list is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a picture that draws on name power. The next entry deepens the tale, enlarges the animatronic menagerie, with a bullseye on teens and thirty something nostalgics. It arrives in December, buttoning the final window.

Streaming Firsts: Tight funds, wide impact

As theatrical skews franchise first, platforms are greenlighting boldly, and the needle moves.

One of the year’s most ambitious streaming titles is Weapons, a forensic chill anthology stitching three periods attached to a mass disappearance. Under Zach Cregger with turns by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the title blends fear with dramatic gravity. Hitting theaters late summer with fall digital, it will likely trigger thread wars and analysis videos, recalling Barbarian.

Keeping things close quarters is Together, a body horror chamber piece fronted by Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Located in a secluded rental as a trip collapses, the work maps love envy and self hatred onto bodily unraveling. It toggles from love to slime, a staged slide into codependent hell. While no platform has formally placed a date, it is destined for a fall landing.

In the mix sits Sinners, a Depression era vampire folk fable headlined by Michael B. Jordan. Lensed in lush sepia and soaked in biblical metaphor, it nods to There Will Be Blood beside Let the Right One In. The movie studies American religious trauma through the supernatural lens. Dry runs call it a headline grabbing streamer.

Several other streaming indies are quietly waiting in the wings: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each explores grief and disappearance and identity, opting allegory above bombast.

Possession, Deeper Than Ever: Young & Cursed

Posting October 2 across the big platforms, Young & Cursed arrives as a rare marriage, contained in staging yet mythic in effect. Conceived and directed by Andrew Chiaramonte, the piece tracks five strangers awakening in a remote wilds cabin, under Kyra’s sway, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. As dusk gives way to night, Kyra’s grip intensifies, a violating force plundering fears, vulnerabilities, and regrets.

The chill is psyche led, anchored in primal myth. Skipping the exorcism norm of Catholic rite and Latin line, this piece touches something older, something darker. Lilith does not answer ceremony, she climbs through trauma, hush, and human fracture. Making possession internal threads Young & Cursed into the current of intimate character studies in genre skin.

Across Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home, the film stands as Halloween counterprogramming to sequel glut and monster revivals. It is a calculated bet. No overinflated mythology. No canon weight. Just pure psychological dread, contained, tense, and tailor made for the binge and breathe rhythm of digital horror fans. In the noise, Young & Cursed could cut through by staying hushed, then erupting.

Festival Badges as Fuel

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF function as launch beds for the coming year’s horror. And in 2025, they are acting more like launchpads than showcases.

Fantastic Fest posts a muscular horror lineup this year. Primate, an opening night tropical body-horror, invites Cronenberg meets Herzog talk. Whistle, a folkloric revenge burner in Aztec code, should close with flame.

Midnight entries like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You are getting buzz not just for their titles but for their execution. That title, with A24 backing, satirizes toxic fandom during a convention lockdown and is set to pop.

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

In 2025, festival strategy is less about discovery, more about branding. Festival laurels are opening moves, not closing notes.

Long Running Lines: Additions, Do Overs, and Revisions

The sequel reboot ecosystem reads stronger and more precise.

Fear Street: Prom Queen, dated July, revives the 90s franchise with a new lead and throwback tone. Unlike prior entries, this one leans into camp and prom night melodrama. Imagine tiaras, smeared red, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 arrives late June, aiming to expand its techno horror mythology with new characters and new AI generated terrors. The opening film’s buzz and platform staying power help Universal go bigger.

Then there is The Long Walk, an adaptation of one of Stephen King’s earliest and most harrowing works, from Francis Lawrence, it operates as a bleak dystopian tale masked as survival horror, a walk off to death for kids. If packaged well, it could track like The Hunger Games for horror adults.

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.

What to Watch

Mythic dread mainstreams
From Lilith in Young & Cursed, and with Aztec curses in Whistle, horror taps ancient texts and symbols. It is not nostalgia, it is re owning pre Christian archetypes. Horror does more than scare, it reminds that evil predates us.

Body horror retakes ground
Pieces such as Together, Weapons, and Keeper bring it back to flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation encode heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streaming exclusives sharpen their bite
Churn filler is losing ground on platforms. Streamers deploy capital toward scripts, directors, and paid reach. Works such as Weapons and Sinners are positioned as events, not filler.

Festival momentum becomes leverage
Wreaths work as currency, buying release slots, placement, and press. No festival plan in 2025, and disappearance looms.

Theaters are a trust fall
Theater slots go to likely overachievers or franchise starters. Everything else is PVOD or hybrid. Horror is not vanishing from theaters, it is getting curated.

Projection: Autumn overload with a 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 including Bone Lake and Keeper will wrestle for room. Look for a pivot by one or more into early 2026 or to new platforms.

December holds on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, though a stealth streamer release may land late. As mythic runs hot, a closing creature or exorcism could still arrive.

The 2025 performance is about reach across segments, not one hero title. The goal is not Get Out again, it is horror with staying power past opening weekends.



The next terror calendar year ahead: next chapters, original films, paired with A loaded Calendar tailored for nightmares

Dek: The fresh terror season crams at the outset with a January traffic jam, then rolls through the mid-year, and far into the holiday stretch, balancing brand heft, original angles, and tactical counter-scheduling. Studios and streamers are betting on tight budgets, theater-first strategies, and shareable marketing that pivot these films into all-audience topics.

The state of horror, heading into 2026

This space has emerged as the consistent release in release plans, a segment that can break out when it lands and still hedge the exposure when it misses. After 2023 proved to decision-makers that mid-range chillers can galvanize mainstream conversation, the following year sustained momentum with director-led heat and word-of-mouth wins. The energy flowed into 2025, where reboots and festival-grade titles highlighted there is space for diverse approaches, from legacy continuations to one-and-done originals that resonate abroad. The upshot for 2026 is a programming that shows rare alignment across players, with clear date clusters, a harmony of household franchises and fresh ideas, and a refocused stance on big-screen windows that increase tail monetization on premium digital and streaming.

Insiders argue the horror lane now works like a wildcard on the release plan. The genre can kick off on nearly any frame, create a quick sell for trailers and vertical videos, and exceed norms with crowds that come out on opening previews and stick through the week two if the title lands. In the wake of a strike-delayed pipeline, the 2026 cadence signals certainty in that approach. The slate starts with a thick January lineup, then taps spring and early summer for alternate plays, while clearing room for a late-year stretch that connects to the fright window and past the holiday. The gridline also shows the continuing integration of specialized labels and digital platforms that can build gradually, build word of mouth, and widen at the precise moment.

A second macro trend is franchise tending across unified worlds and storied titles. The studios are not just pushing another sequel. They are seeking to position story carry-over with a headline quality, whether that is a title design that indicates a re-angled tone or a casting pivot that anchors a upcoming film to a vintage era. At the same time, the creative leads behind the high-profile originals are celebrating tactile craft, in-camera effects and location-forward worlds. That pairing yields the 2026 slate a smart balance of brand comfort and newness, which is why the genre exports well.

How the majors and mini-majors are programming

Paramount sets the tone early with two front-of-slate pushes that cover both tonal poles. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the helm and Neve Campbell back at the heart, positioning the film as both a succession moment and a origin-leaning character study. Filming is underway in Atlanta, and the narrative stance signals a throwback-friendly approach without repeating the last two entries’ sisters storyline. Anticipate a campaign driven by legacy iconography, character-first teases, and a tiered teaser plan timed to late fall. Distribution is cinema-first via 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 reuniting, with the Wayans brothers involved in development for the first time since the early 2000s, a hook the campaign will stress. As a off-tentpole summer play, this one will drive general-audience talk through gif-able moments, with the horror spoof format fitting quick reframes to whatever tops horror talk that spring.

Universal has three this contact form differentiated plays. SOULM8TE arrives January 9, 2026, a connected offshoot from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The logline is simple, tragic, and premise-first: a grieving man brings home an AI companion that mutates into a dangerous lover. The date places it at the front of a front-loaded month, with the marketing arm likely to iterate on off-kilter promo beats and snackable content that fuses affection and foreboding.

On May 8, 2026, the studio slots an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely read as the feature developed under early labels in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The official slate currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which reserves space for a final title to become an marketing beat closer to the initial promo. The timing gives the studio a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles own different weekends.

Closing out the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film secures October 23, 2026, a slot he has dominated before. The filmmaker’s films are marketed as must-see filmmaker statements, with a teaser with minimal detail and a follow-up trailer set that convey vibe without spoilers the concept. The pre-Halloween slot gives the studio room to maximize pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then capitalize on the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, links with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček guides, with Souheila Yacoub top-lining. The franchise has shown that a in-your-face, prosthetic-heavy approach can feel deluxe on a controlled budget. Frame it as a splatter summer horror shot that maximizes global traction, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most non-U.S. markets.

Sony’s horror bench is robust. The studio launches two marquee IP entries in the back half. An untitled Insidious film rolls out August 21, 2026, sustaining a bankable supernatural brand navigate here in play while the spin-off branch progresses. The studio has moved dates 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 re-emerges in what Sony is framing as a clean-slate approach for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a key part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a mission to serve both devotees and first-timers. The fall slot offers Sony space to build materials around narrative world, and creature design, elements that can increase premium format interest and convention buzz.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, sets a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film builds on Eggers’ run of period horror characterized by careful craft and archaic language, this time steeped in lycan lore. The specialty arm has already claimed the date for a holiday release, a confidence marker in Eggers as a specialty play that can scale widely if early reception is positive.

SVOD and PVOD rhythms

Windowing plans in 2026 run on known playbooks. Universal’s slate land on copyright after a theatrical and PVOD run, a stair-step that enhances both premiere heat and subscriber lifts in the post-theatrical. Prime Video pairs licensed content with global originals and limited runs in theaters when the data backs it. Max and Hulu optimize their lanes in library curation, using prominent placements, genre hubs, and collection rows to keep attention on aggregate take. Netflix plays opportunist about in-house releases and festival acquisitions, securing horror entries toward the drop and staging as events launches with short runway campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, works a hybrid of precision theatrical plays and quick platforming that monetizes buzz via trials. That will be critical for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before turning to genre pipelines in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ adopts case-by-case posture for horror on a case-by-case basis. The platform has signaled readiness to invest in select projects with award winners or celebrity-led packages, then give them a limited theatrical run in partnership with exhibitors to meet award rules or to gain imprimatur before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney domestic still pulls from the 20th Century Studios slate, a core piece for monthly engagement when the genre conversation spikes.

Boutique label prospects

Cineverse is steadily assembling a 2026 pipeline with two recognizable titles. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The sell is straightforward: the same haunting, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a genre cult touchstone, retooled for modern mix and grade. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a fall corridor, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. Cineverse has flagged a theatrical-first plan for Legacy, an healthy marker for fans of the savage series and for exhibitors hungry for R material in the back half.

Focus will work the auteur lane with Werwulf, guiding the film through the fall circuit if the cut is ready, then turning to the Christmas window to increase reach. That positioning has proved effective for auteur horror with four-quadrant hopes. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not posted many 2026 dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines tend to converge after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A sound expectation is a cluster of late-summer and fall platformers that can grow if reception encourages. Be ready for 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 concert, using small theatrical to seed evangelism that fuels their audience.

Balance of brands and originals

By tilt, 2026 favors the legacy column. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all tap brand equity. The potential drawback, as ever, is brand erosion. The operating solution is to present each entry as a fresh tone. Paramount is underscoring character-first legacy in Scream 7, Sony is teasing a from-scratch reboot for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is embracing a Francophone tone from a fresh helmer. Those choices have impact when the audience has so many options and social sentiment tilts quickly.

Non-franchise titles and filmmaker-centric entries supply the oxygen. Jordan Peele’s October film will be sold as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, casts Rachel McAdams in a island-set survival premise with Raimi’s impish dread. SOULM8TE offers a tight, eerie tech hook. Werwulf leans on period specificity and an flinty tone. Even when the title is not based on known IP, the cast-creatives package is known enough to convert curiosity into pre-sales and Thursday previews.

Recent comps contextualize the model. In 2023, a exclusive window model that held distribution windows did not obstruct a parallel release from performing when the brand was trusted. In 2024, craft-first auteur horror punched above its weight in premium formats. In 2025, a return of a beloved infection saga reminded the market that global horror franchises can still feel alive when they alter lens and elevate scope. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which continues January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The back-to-back plan, with chapters lensed back-to-back, provides the means for marketing to bridge entries through character and theme and to hold creative in the market without long breaks.

How the look and feel evolve

The behind-the-scenes chatter behind this year’s genre hint at a continued emphasis on practical, location-rooted craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not mirror any recent iteration of the property, a stance that complements the in-camera sensibility he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film completed principal and is lined up for its April 17, 2026 date. Look for a campaign that spotlights aura and dread rather than VFX blitz, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership supporting cost management.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has said Werwulf as the darkest project he has tackled, which tracks with a Middle Ages setting and era-true language, a combination that can make for wraparound sound and a cold, elemental mood on the big screen. Focus will likely preview this aesthetic in craft journalism and guild coverage before rolling out a initial teaser that prioritizes vibe over plot, a move that has resonated for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is set up for rubbery nastiness, a signature of the series that travels well in red-band trailers and drives shareable reaction videos from early screenings. Scream 7 positions a meta refresh that centers an original star. Resident Evil will hit or miss on creature work and production design, which fit with fan conventions and planned releases. Insidious tends to be a audio craft showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the cinema argument feel essential. Look for trailers that emphasize pin-drop sound, deep-bass stingers, and dead-air cuts that land in big rooms.

The schedule at a glance

January is loaded. 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 atmospheric change-up amid headline IP. The month wraps with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival thriller from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is credible, but the spread of tones lets each find a lane, and the five-week structure allows a clean run for each if word of mouth sticks.

Early-year through spring load in summer. Scream 7 debuts February 27 with heritage buzz. In April, New Line’s The Mummy reawakens a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once was aligned with genre counterprogramming and now enables big openers. The 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 splits the lanes. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is spoofy and broad, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 presents gnarly intensity. The counterprogramming logic is coherent. The spoof can succeed 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 finished their premium pass.

August and September into October leans IP. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously done well. Resident Evil arrives after September 18, a shoulder season window that still steps into Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film books October 23 and will own cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely supported by a peekaboo tease plan and limited previews that stress concept over spoilers.

Holiday corridor prestige. Werwulf on December 25 is a stakes that genre can stand up at Christmas when packaged as filmmaker-first prestige. The distributor has done this before, rolling out carefully, then pressing critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to ride the cycle into January. If the film hits with critics, the studio can go wider in the first week of 2027 while carrying holiday turnout and holiday card usage.

Embedded title notes

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting rolling out as production moves. Logline: Sidney returns to re-engage a new Ghostface while the narrative revisits the original film’s essence. 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 virtual companion becomes something deadly romantic. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal completed for an early-year bow. Positioning: tech-horror with an emotional core.

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 emerges in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Twin-shot with the first film. Positioning: elevated outbreak saga chapter.

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

Send Help (20th Century Studios, January 30, 2026)
Director: Sam Raimi. Top cast: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Dennis Haysbert, Chris Pang. Logline: After a plane crash, an employee and her tough boss fight to survive on a isolated island as the control dynamic tilts and mistrust rises. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed. 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 kept quiet in official materials. Logline: A contemporary re-envisioning that returns the monster to fright, built on Cronin’s on-set craft and suffocating dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Wrapped. Positioning: legacy monster restart with director stamp.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A home-set haunting setup that refracts terror through a child’s volatile POV. Rating: not yet rated. Production: in the can. Positioning: studio-crafted and name-above-title paranormal suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers involved creatively again. Logline: {A parody return that pokes at hot-button genre motifs and true crime fixations. Rating: to be announced. Production: fall 2025 production window. Positioning: wide-appeal summer alternative.

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 spreads, with an cross-border twist in tone and setting. Rating: not yet rated. Production: production in New Zealand. Positioning: graphic series entry optimized for PLF.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be confirmed in marketing. Top cast: to be announced. Logline: The Further reopens, with a new family caught in returning horrors. Rating: not yet rated. Production: eying a summer shoot for late-summer slot. Positioning: dependable ghost-franchise slot that suits the brand.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: forthcoming. Top cast: to be announced. Logline: A restart designed to reconstitute the franchise from the ground up, with an emphasis on survivalist horror over action fireworks. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: advancing in development with date locked. Positioning: game-rooted reset with broad potential.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: TBD. Logline: carefully shrouded. Rating: undetermined. Production: active. Positioning: director-branded event with teaser focus.

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 antique diction and elemental fear. Rating: TBA. Production: in preparation with Christmas frame locked. 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 classic theatrical rollout before platforming. Status: date shifting, fall likely.

Why 2026 and why now

Three hands-on forces structure this lineup. First, production that stalled or migrated in 2024 required runway on the datebook. Horror can backfill quickly because scripts often need fewer locations, fewer large-scale digital sequences, and tighter 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 outpaced straight-to-streaming placements. Third, social buzz converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will mine bite-size scare clips from test screenings, curated scare clips launched on Thursday previews, and experiential pop-ups that double as influencer content. It is a repeatable playbook because it performs.

Calendar math also matters. Early-year family and superhero blocks are thinner in 2026, freeing space for genre entries that can control a weekend or operate as the older-skew option. January is the prime example. Four different flavors of horror will share space across five weekends, which keeps buzz lanes tidy. Summer provides the other window. The spoof can draft behind animation and action in early summer, then the hard-R entry can take advantage of a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Business outlook: budgets, ratings, and the sleeper hunt

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

The breakout hunt continues in Q1, this website where cost-efficient 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 stealth overachiever 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. Expect a healthy PVOD phase across the board, since horror fans have shown a willingness to pay for convenience after an opening weekend, especially when word of mouth is strong.

Audience cadence through 2026

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers beat and breadth. January is a array, February delivers a legacy slasher, April restores a Universal monster, May and June provide a back-to-back supernatural punch 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 preserve buzz while driving admissions without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can sequence upward, using earlier releases to warm up the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors value the spacing. Horror delivers reliable Thursday lifts, smart allocations, 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 texture, sound field, 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 Is Well Positioned

Timing shifts. Ratings change. Casts update. But the spine of 2026 horror is established. There is recognizable IP where it plays, filmmaker vision where it matters, and a calendar that shows studios know when and how to deliver 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 final-hour specialty addition join the party. For now, the job is simple, craft precise trailers, preserve the surprise, and let the scares sell the seats.