Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed unleashes antediluvian malevolence, a chilling horror thriller, arriving Oct 2025 on top streamers

A unnerving otherworldly terror film from cinematographer / director Andrew Chiaramonte, releasing an timeless entity when outsiders become subjects in a devilish game. Hitting screens this October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon’s streaming platform, video-sharing site YouTube, Google’s Play platform, Apple iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand.

Hollywood, CA (August 8th, 2025) – steel yourselves for *Young & Cursed*, a nightmarish account of overcoming and timeless dread that will revamp the horror genre this scare season. Helmed by rising genre visionary Andrew Chiaramonte, this unsettling and atmospheric thriller follows five unknowns who arise sealed in a remote dwelling under the malignant rule of Kyra, a tormented girl possessed by a two-thousand-year-old sacred-era entity. Prepare to be shaken by a theatrical experience that unites intense horror with mystical narratives, dropping on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Possession by evil has been a time-honored concept in screenwriting. In *Young & Cursed*, that pattern is challenged when the monsters no longer descend from elsewhere, but rather inside them. This mirrors the deepest facet of the players. The result is a harrowing identity crisis where the story becomes a ongoing fight between purity and corruption.


In a bleak woodland, five adults find themselves marooned under the fiendish rule and infestation of a secretive being. As the victims becomes submissive to break her rule, exiled and preyed upon by creatures mind-shattering, they are cornered to deal with their inner horrors while the time unceasingly draws closer toward their death.


In *Young & Cursed*, delusion grows and alliances break, compelling each figure to contemplate their existence and the concept of conscious will itself. The risk escalate with every fleeting time, delivering a paranormal ride that harmonizes ghostly evil with raw emotion.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my intention was to explore primal fear, an malevolence beyond time, operating within emotional vulnerability, and exposing a evil that tests the soul when agency is lost.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Embodying Kyra called for internalizing something deeper than fear. She is unaware until the curse activates, and that evolution is eerie because it is so deep.”

Watch the Horror Unfold

*Young & Cursed* will be distributed for viewing beginning from October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google’s store, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango on-demand—making sure customers no matter where they are can witness this chilling supernatural event.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just shared a new follow-up preview for *Young & Cursed*, posted to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a companion to its first preview, which has attracted over thousands of viewers.


In addition to its regional launch, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has confirmed that *Young & Cursed* will also be taken worldwide, offering the tale to viewers around the world.


Do not miss this life-altering descent into hell. Confront *Young & Cursed* this horrific release to uncover these spiritual awakenings about our species.


For director insights, director cuts, and social posts straight from the filmmakers, follow @YoungAndCursedMovie across fan hubs and visit our horror hub.





U.S. horror’s pivotal crossroads: 2025 for genre fans U.S. calendar melds myth-forward possession, independent shockers, in parallel with Franchise Rumbles

From fight-to-live nightmare stories inspired by near-Eastern lore and extending to installment follow-ups plus acutely observed indies, 2025 appears poised to be the most dimensioned along with calculated campaign year of the last decade.

The 2025 horror calendar goes beyond packed, it is precision-tuned. studio majors bookend the months using marquee IP, as streaming platforms saturate the fall with discovery plays as well as mythic dread. Across the art-house lane, the artisan tier is carried on the backdraft from an unprecedented 2024 fest surge. Given Halloween is the centerpiece, the year beyond October is carefully apportioned. The September, October gauntlet has become standard, but this year, the genre is also staking January, spring, and mid-summer. Viewers are hungry, studios are exacting, thus 2025 may prove the most strategically arranged season.

Studio and Mini-Major Moves: Prestige-leaning dread rebounds

Studios are not on the sidelines. If 2024 prepared the terrain, 2025 deepens the push.

Universal’s schedule starts the year with an audacious swing: a modernized Wolf Man, steering clear of the antique European village, within a sleek contemporary canvas. From director Leigh Whannell anchored by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this iteration anchors the lycanthropy in a domestic breakdown. The evolution surpasses the body, into spouses, parents, and bruised humanity. Slated for mid January, it advances a tactic to control the winter valley through premium horror, not dumps.

By spring, Clown in a Cornfield premieres, a YA slasher page-to-screen distilled into spare horror. Helmed by Eli Craig with Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it runs as red stained heartland dread with sharp satire. Beneath the facade, it probes hometown suspicion, boomer to zoomer divides, and mob retribution. Initial fest notes point to real bite.

By late summer, Warner Bros. rolls out the capstone inside its trusty horror universe: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Farmiga and Wilson return as the Warrens, the piece hints at a heartfelt wrap as it treats a notorious case. Granted the structure is classic, Chaves seems to angle for a plaintive, inward final note. It is dated for early September, granting margin before October’s crush.

After that, The Black Phone 2. From early summer to October, a strong signal. Derrickson returns to the helm, and so do the signature elements that made the first installment a sleeper hit: 70s style chill, trauma driven plotting, with spooky supernatural reasoning. This pass pushes higher, 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 sequel leans deeper into its lore, enlarges the animatronic menagerie, bridging teens and legacy players. It arrives in December, anchoring horror’s winter tail.

Digital Originals: Low budgets, big teeth

While cinemas swing on series strength, streamers are pushing into risk, and dividends follow.

Among the most ambitious streaming plays is Weapons, a long shadow anthology of dread splicing three ages joined by a mass disappearance. Directed by Zach Cregger and starring Josh Brolin with Julia Garner, the title blends fear with dramatic gravity. Debuting in theaters late summer then streaming in fall, it may catalyze deconstruction threads like Barbarian.

Playing chamber scale is Together, a close quarters body horror study starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Trapped in a far off rental as a holiday fractures, the arc observes love and green eyed envy and self harm turned somatic. It moves between affection and rot, a triptych into codependent hell. While no platform has formally placed a date, it reads like an autumn stream lock.

In the mix sits Sinners, a 1930s vintage vampire folk yarn featuring Michael B. Jordan. Shot in rich sepia tones and drenched in biblical metaphor, it suggests There Will Be Blood blended with Let the Right One In. The work dissects American religious trauma using supernatural allegory. Trial screenings frame it as a high chatter SVOD arrival.

More streamer bound indies stand by in the shadows: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper all mine grief and vanishing and identity, running metaphor first.

The Possession Runs Deep: Young & Cursed

Posting October 2 across the big platforms, Young & Cursed positions itself as a rare hybrid, intimate in scope and mythic in reach. Scripted and led 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. As the night settles, her power spikes, an infiltrating force leveraging fears, breaks, and sorrow.

The dread here runs psychological, charged by primal myth. Avoiding the usual exorcism path with Catholic ritual and Latin spell, this entry turns to something older, something darker. Lilith bypasses ritual, she awakens from trauma, repression, and human fragility. An inward possession, not an outward spell, turns the trope and sets Young & Cursed inside a widening trend, intimate character work housed in genre.

The film is positioned on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home as Halloween balance against sequel stacks and creature returns. That is a savvy move. No overstuffed canon. No series drag. Straight psychological chill, boxed and tight, aimed at the binge, pause, and pulse habits of streamers. Among spectacle, Young & Cursed might win by restraint, then release.

Festival Origins, Market Outcomes

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.

This year, Fantastic Fest confirms a strong horror slate. Primate bows as a tropical body horror opener with Cronenberg and Herzog echoes. Whistle, a folkloric revenge burner in Aztec code, should close with flame.

The midnight bench, including If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, hums from execution, not mere titling. Backed by A24, it skewers toxic fandom amid a convention lockdown, poised to break big.

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 section leans more urban, social, and surreal.

In 2025, festival strategy is less about discovery, more about branding. A Fantastic Fest or TIFF badge is phase one marketing, not a coda.

Heritage Horror: Follow Ups, Restarts, and Reframes

Legacy entries present stronger and more purposeful this time.

Fear Street: Prom Queen, due in July, revives the ’90s horror franchise with a new lead and a throwback tone. Versus earlier beats, it favors camp and prom night melodrama. Picture tiaras, bright red goo, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 arrives late June, poised to elaborate techno horror lore through new players and AI nightmares. The debut’s viral plus streaming heat gives Universal reason to press the bet.

Another headline is The Long Walk, adapting a grim early Stephen King piece, from Francis Lawrence, it stands as a punishing dystopian allegory wearing survival horror, a march until death with no victors. With sharp marketing, it could translate to The Hunger Games for horror adults.

Additionally, reboots and sequels, among them Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda, populate the months, with timing held for strategy or acquisitions.

Dials to Watch

Myth turns mainstream
Lilith in Young & Cursed plus Aztec curses in Whistle highlight ancient texts and symbols. It eschews nostalgia to repossess pre Christian archetypes. Horror surpasses shocks, it recalls evil’s antiquity.

Body Horror Makes a Comeback
Projects including Together, Weapons, and Keeper re center the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation function as metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Originals on platforms bite harder
The era of filler horror on streamers is ending. Streamers deploy capital toward scripts, directors, and paid reach. Titles such as Weapons and Sinners are treated as events, not mere content.

Festival momentum becomes leverage
Laurels are not just decorative, they leverage theatrical, premium placement, and media cycles. Without a festival strategy in 2025, a horror film risks vanishing.

Cinemas are a trust fall
Theater slots go to likely overachievers or franchise starters. The rest moves to PVOD or hybrid patterns. Horror continues in theaters, in narrower curated lanes.

Near Term Outlook: Autumn overload with a winter wildcard

Put Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons into September and October and you get saturation. Indies like Bone Lake and Keeper will grind for attention. Some may slide to early 2026 or switch platform lanes.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 locks December, while a late surprise on a platform remains possible. With mythic energy high, a late creature or exorcism entry could pop.

The trick lies in diverse menus finding segmented crowds, not single title bets. The brief is not the next Get Out, it is horror with afterlife beyond receipts.



The approaching chiller calendar year ahead: Sequels, non-franchise titles, in tandem with A busy Calendar calibrated for Scares

Dek The upcoming terror cycle lines up from day one with a January cluster, from there extends through the mid-year, and continuing into the holiday frame, braiding brand equity, untold stories, and smart counterweight. Major distributors and platforms are relying on right-sized spends, cinema-first plans, and social-fueled campaigns that convert genre releases into national conversation.

The state of horror, heading into 2026

Horror has become the steady release in release strategies, a pillar that can grow when it performs and still safeguard the floor when it falls short. After the 2023 year reassured top brass that lean-budget shockers can own cultural conversation, the following year held pace with high-profile filmmaker pieces and surprise hits. The trend extended into the 2025 frame, where re-entries and elevated films made clear there is capacity for a spectrum, from ongoing IP entries to filmmaker-driven originals that perform internationally. The net effect for 2026 is a grid that feels more orchestrated than usual across players, with planned clusters, a mix of known properties and novel angles, and a sharpened commitment on big-screen windows that boost PVOD and platform value on premium home window and digital services.

Planners observe the category now behaves like a wildcard on the release plan. Horror can open on nearly any frame, deliver a clear pitch for creative and platform-native cuts, and overperform with ticket buyers that come out on advance nights and sustain through the subsequent weekend if the release lands. Coming out of a strike-delayed pipeline, the 2026 rhythm reflects certainty in that approach. The calendar opens with a weighty January run, then uses spring and early summer for off-slot scheduling, while clearing room for a fall corridor that connects to All Hallows period and afterwards. The calendar also spotlights the ongoing integration of indie distributors and streaming partners that can platform and widen, fuel WOM, and scale up at the timely point.

A notable top-line trend is brand curation across connected story worlds and legacy franchises. Studios are not just releasing another chapter. They are aiming to frame ongoing narrative with a heightened moment, whether that is a typeface approach that announces a recalibrated tone or a casting move that threads a new installment to a classic era. At the concurrently, the creative leads behind the most watched originals are returning to physical effects work, special makeup and grounded locations. That interplay yields 2026 a smart balance of assurance and newness, which is how the genre sells abroad.

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

Paramount leads early with two big-ticket moves that live at opposite ends of the tone spectrum. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with original architect Kevin Williamson in the director position and Neve Campbell back at the heart, signaling it as both a succession moment and a rootsy character piece. Cameras are rolling in Atlanta, and the tonal posture announces a memory-charged angle without rehashing the last two entries’ Carpenter-sisters arc. Expect a marketing push stacked with signature symbols, character-first teases, and a tease cadence aimed at late fall. Distribution is theatrical through 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 back on screen, with the Wayans brothers involved in creative roles for the first time since the early 2000s, a hook the campaign will emphasize. As a non-tentpole summer option, this one will pursue wide buzz through meme-ready spots, with the horror spoof format inviting quick reframes to whatever shapes genre chatter that spring.

Universal has three separate entries. SOULM8TE bows January 9, 2026, a AI-tinged spinoff from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The foundation is straightforward, loss-driven, and premise-first: a grieving man activates an AI companion that evolves into a lethal partner. The date puts it at the front of a busy month, with the studio’s marketing likely to echo viral uncanny stunts and snackable content that threads longing and dread.

On May 8, 2026, the studio books an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely understood to be the feature developed under temporary titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The official listing currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which permits a title drop to become an marketing beat closer to the first look. The timing gives Universal a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles concentrate elsewhere.

Completing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film reserves October 23, 2026, a slot he has dominated before. Peele’s pictures are set up as must-see filmmaker statements, with a hinting teaser and a second wave of trailers that define feel without revealing the concept. The late-month date lets the studio to take pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then activate the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, collaborates with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček is at the helm of, with Souheila Yacoub top-lining. The franchise has consistently shown that a tactile, makeup-driven mix can feel prestige on a disciplined budget. Look for a gore-forward summer horror jolt that leans hard into overseas performance, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most overseas territories.

Sony’s horror bench is surprisingly deep. The studio deploys two series moves in the back half. An untitled Insidious film rolls out August 21, 2026, extending a consistent supernatural brand on the grid while the spin-off branch incubates. Sony has changed the date on this title before, but the current plan keeps it in late summer, where the brand has shown strength.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil re-enters in what the studio is positioning as a clean-slate approach for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline this page now a central part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a focus to serve both diehards and novices. The fall slot provides the studio time to build artifacts around universe detail, and monster design, elements that can increase format premiums and cosplay-friendly fan engagement.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, books a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film sustains Eggers’ run of period horror rooted in rigorous craft and linguistic texture, this time exploring werewolf lore. The label has already planted the flag for a holiday release, a vote of confidence in the auteur as a specialty play that can open narrow then widen if early reception is favorable.

Platform lanes and windowing

Digital strategies for 2026 run on known playbooks. Universal’s releases feed copyright after a box-office phase then PVOD, a stair-step that fortifies both first-week urgency and subscription bumps in the downstream. Prime Video continues to mix outside acquisitions with global pickups and short theatrical plays when the data signals it. Max and Hulu work their edges in catalog discovery, using well-timed internal promotions, horror hubs, and staff picks to sustain interest on aggregate take. Netflix keeps options open about originals and festival buys, locking in horror entries near launch and framing as events launches with burst campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, works a tiered of tailored theatrical exposure and accelerated platforming that monetizes buzz via trials. That will prove important for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before turning to fan funnels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ treats carefully horror on a case-by-case basis. The platform has exhibited willingness to pick up select projects with acclaimed directors or marquee packages, then give them a boutique theatrical in partnership with exhibitors to meet qualifying rules or to build credibility before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still leverages the 20th Century Studios slate, a critical input for platform stickiness when the genre conversation heats up.

Specialty and indie breakouts

Cineverse is quietly building a 2026 track with two brand-forward moves. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The pitch is uncomplicated: the same atmospheric, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a beloved cult piece, updated for modern sound and cinematography. 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 telegraphed a traditional cinema play for the title, an positive signal for fans of the uncompromising series and for exhibitors hungry for R material in the late-season weeks.

Focus will cultivate the auteur lane with Werwulf, guiding the film through festivals in the fall if the cut is ready, then deploying the Christmas corridor to move out. That positioning has served the company well for auteur horror with broader reach. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not firmed many 2026 dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines regularly gel after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A solid projection is a selection of late-summer and fall platformers that can broaden if reception supports. Watch 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 select theatrical to kindle evangelism that fuels their subscriber base.

Balance of brands and originals

By weight, the 2026 slate tilts in favor of the brand side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all harness household recognition. The concern, as ever, is staleness. The practical approach is to market each entry as a re-toned entry. Paramount is leading with character and legacy in Scream 7, Sony is teasing a ground-zero restart for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is pushing a Francophone tone from a emerging director. Those choices carry weight when the audience has so many options and social sentiment swings fast.

Originals and director-first projects supply the oxygen. Jordan Peele’s October film will be treated as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, anchors on Rachel McAdams in a survival-thriller premise with Raimi’s impish dread. SOULM8TE offers a focused, eerie tech hook. Werwulf brings period specificity and an severe tone. Even when the title is not based on a property, the bundle is assuring enough to generate pre-sales and Thursday previews.

Recent comps announce the method. In 2023, a exclusive cinema model that respected streaming windows did not foreclose a simultaneous release test from paying off when the brand was strong. In 2024, craft-forward auteur horror popped in premium formats. In 2025, a rebirth of a beloved infection saga reminded the market that global horror franchises can still feel alive when they pivot perspective and grow scope. 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 dual-chapter plan, with chapters lensed back-to-back, allows marketing to link the films through character arcs and themes and to hold creative in the market without dead zones.

Behind-the-camera trends

The shop talk behind the year’s horror forecast a continued shift toward physical, site-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not repeat any recent iteration of the property, a stance that aligns with the hands-on effects stance he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film completed principal and is headed for its April 17, 2026 date. Plan for a push that leans on texture and dread rather than CG roller-coasters, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership allowing tight cost control.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has described Werwulf as the hardest-edged project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval setting and period-faithful dialogue, a combination that can make for immersive sound design and a icy, primal tone on the big screen. Focus will likely showcase this aesthetic in deep-dive features and craft coverage before rolling out a first look that prioritizes vibe over plot, a move that has worked for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is designed for practical nastiness, a signature of the series that plays abroad in red-band trailers and produces shareable scream clips from early screenings. Scream 7 delivers a meta reframe that brings back the core lead. Resident Evil will succeed or falter on creature and environment design, which are ideal for fan conventions and managed asset releases. Insidious tends to be a mix showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the auditorium case feel primary. Look for trailers that center pinpoint sound design, deep-bass stingers, and held silences that shine in top 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 quiet contrast amid bigger brand plays. The month winds down with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a stranded thriller from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is formidable, but the variety of tones creates a lane for each, and the five-week structure allows a clean run for each if word of mouth stays strong.

Winter into spring seed summer. Scream 7 hits February 27 with brand warmth. In April, The Mummy restores a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once played to genre counterprogramming and now nurtures 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 underlines contrasts. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is lighter-toned and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 supplies red-band intensity. The counterprogramming logic is workable. The spoof can connect next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest feeds older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have run their PLF course.

August into fall leans franchise. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives the studio a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously worked. Resident Evil lines up after September 18, a late-September window that still connects to Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event occupies October 23 and will captivate cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely driven by a mystery-driven teaser strategy and limited advance reveals that elevate concept over story.

December specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a declaration that genre can win the holiday when packaged as director prestige horror. The distributor has done this before, measured platforming, then activating critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to extend talk into January. If the film pleases critics, the studio can expand in the first week of 2027 while riding holiday momentum and gift-card spend.

One-sentence dossiers

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting rolling out as production rolls. Logline: Sidney returns to counter a new Ghostface while the narrative resurfaces the original film’s core. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: heritage pivot with a current edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A loss-struck man’s artificial companion shifts into something perilously amorous. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming finished for an early-year bow. Positioning: AI chiller with a human 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 opens the world beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult coalesces in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Produced consecutively 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 journeys back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to meet a mutable reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Complete with theatrical path. Positioning: mood-led 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 difficult boss push to survive on a uninhabited island as the power balance swivels and suspicion grows. Rating: TBA. Production: Wrapped. Positioning: star-led survival horror from a master director.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles TBA in official materials. Logline: A renewed vision that returns the monster to menace, based on Cronin’s in-camera craft and oozing dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Shoot done. 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 intimate haunting premise that frames the panic through a child’s unreliable subjective view. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: fully shot. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven supernatural suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers re-engaging creatively. Logline: {A parody return that pokes at contemporary horror memes and true crime preoccupations. Rating: not yet rated. Production: filming slated for fall 2025. Positioning: wide-lane seasonal counterprogram.

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 surges, with an worldly twist in tone and setting. Rating: to be announced. Production: production in New Zealand. Positioning: uncompromising R installment meant for big rooms.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be announced in marketing. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: The Further yawns again, with a young family caught in ancient dread. Rating: undetermined. Production: set for summer production targeting late-summer opening. Positioning: durable spectral IP in a late-summer sweet spot.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: awaiting public disclosure. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: A from-scratch rebuild designed to rebuild the franchise from the ground up, with an center of gravity in survival-core horror over action-forward bombast. Rating: pending. Production: moving through development on a locked slot. Positioning: lore-true modernization with broad upside.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: intentionally withheld. Rating: forthcoming. Production: underway. Positioning: auteur event powered by teasers.

Werwulf (Focus Features, December 25, 2026)
Director: Robert Eggers. Top cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, with other regulars expected. Logline: A medieval werewolf story built on era-accurate language and raw menace. Rating: TBD. 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 traditional theatrical release planned before platforming. Status: schedule in motion, fall targeted.

Why 2026 lands now

Three practical forces structure this lineup. First, production that bottlenecked or rearranged in 2024 needed latitude on the slate. Horror can move in swiftly because scripts often are location-light, fewer large-scale effects sequences, and condensed timelines. 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 out-earned straight-to-streaming drops. Third, viral talk converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will work turnkey scare beats from test screenings, orchestrated scare clips calibrated to Thursday preview timing, and experiential pop-ups that serve as influencer content. It is a repeatable playbook because it works.

A fourth element is the programming calculus. Early corridors for family and capes are leaner in 2026, freeing space for genre entries that can command a weekend or function as the older-skew counter. January is the prime example. Four horror lanes will compete across five weekends, which reduces inter-title cannibalization. Summer provides the other window. The parody aligns with early family and action waves, then the hard-R entry can make hay in a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Business outlook: budgets, ratings, and the sleeper hunt

Budgets remain in the optimal band. Most of the films above will fit below the $40–$50 million line, with many far below. That allows for expanded PLF presence without needing superhero-level news 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 sleeper chase continues in Q1, where midrange-budget genre can own weekends with minimal competition, and again in late summer, where horror often becomes the conversation when tentpoles tire. The 2026 slate is set up to maximize those pockets. January could easily deliver the first quiet breakout 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. Plan on a solid PVOD window generally, since horror fans have shown a willingness to pay for convenience after an opening weekend, especially when word of mouth is strong.

How the year flows for audiences

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers tempo and variety. January is a array, February delivers a legacy slasher, April reanimates a Universal monster, May and June provide a two-beat supernatural run for date nights and group outings, July gets blood-slick, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a cold, literate nightmare. That is how you fuel talk and ticketing without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can build month to month, using earlier releases to prep the audience for bigger Check This Out plays in the fall.

Exhibitors are pleased with the spacing. Horror delivers frequent Thursday-night spikes, optimized footprints, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can win premium screens, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing visual texture, soundscape, and visual design 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, Ready To Roar

Frames adjust. Ratings change. Casts refresh. But the spine of 2026 horror is sturdy. There is brand equity where it matters, original vision where it matters, and a calendar that shows studios get how and when audiences want 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 last-minute boutique pickup join the party. For now, the job is simple, cut sharp trailers, keep the curtain closed, and let the gasps sell the seats.