Age-old Horror awakens: Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a nerve shredding feature, bowing Oct 2025 on top streaming platforms

A blood-curdling mystic fear-driven tale from scriptwriter / cinema craftsman Andrew Chiaramonte, awakening an ancient curse when unknowns become vehicles in a satanic ritual. Going live October 2, 2025, on Amazon’s Prime Video, video-sharing site YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand.

L.A., CA (August 8, 2025) – be warned for *Young & Cursed*, a disturbing saga of struggle and primordial malevolence that will remodel fear-driven cinema this harvest season. Produced by rising cinematic craftsman Andrew Chiaramonte, this unpredictable and claustrophobic motion picture follows five unknowns who arise isolated in a wooded dwelling under the oppressive manipulation of Kyra, a female presence claimed by a time-worn Old Testament spirit. Brace yourself to be immersed by a filmic ride that unites bodily fright with folklore, releasing on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Demonic control has been a legendary narrative in cinema. In *Young & Cursed*, that structure is reimagined when the monsters no longer manifest from an outside force, but rather inside their minds. This embodies the haunting shade of the group. The result is a psychologically brutal mental war where the plotline becomes a unyielding contest between virtue and vice.


In a remote landscape, five young people find themselves sealed under the fiendish force and spiritual invasion of a mysterious apparition. As the companions becomes powerless to resist her will, stranded and tormented by evils unfathomable, they are driven to deal with their soulful dreads while the hours brutally runs out toward their final moment.


In *Young & Cursed*, unease amplifies and partnerships break, demanding each participant to contemplate their values and the idea of conscious will itself. The consequences grow with every second, delivering a nightmarish journey that combines occult fear with human fear.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my vision was to tap into basic terror, an force that predates humanity, manifesting in human fragility, and examining a darkness that questions who we are when will is shattered.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Channeling Kyra meant channeling something deeper than fear. She is uninformed until the spirit seizes her, and that metamorphosis is shocking because it is so deep.”

Distribution & Access

*Young & Cursed* will be released for public screening beginning October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime, Google’s video hub, Google Play, iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango at Home—giving subscribers in all regions can enjoy this unholy film.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just published a new official preview for *Young & Cursed*, uploaded to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a follow-through to its first trailer, which has seen over six-figure audience.


In addition to its first availability, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has revealed that *Young & Cursed* will also be distributed abroad, extending the thrill to lovers of terror across nations.


Don’t miss this mind-warping path of possession. Confront *Young & Cursed* this October 2 to see these chilling revelations about human nature.


For bonus footage, on-set glimpses, and alerts from Chiaramonte Films, follow @YACFilm across Instagram and Twitter and visit the official movie site.





Horror’s watershed moment: 2025 for genre fans domestic schedule blends Mythic Possession, underground frights, plus series shake-ups

Kicking off with survival horror inspired by near-Eastern lore and stretching into IP renewals as well as surgical indie voices, 2025 is coalescing into horror’s most layered as well as intentionally scheduled year since the mid-2010s.

Call it full, but it is also focused. major banners set cornerstones with established lines, in tandem platform operators crowd the fall with unboxed visions plus mythic dread. In parallel, the independent cohort is drafting behind the uplift of a banner 2024 fest year. Since Halloween is the prized date, the other windows are mapped with care. The early fall corridor has become the proving ground, however this time, players are marking January, spring, and mid-summer. The audience is primed, studios are intentional, accordingly 2025 could register as the most purpose-built year yet.

Major Studio Plans with Mini-Major Flex: Prestige fear returns

The studios are not sitting idle. If 2024 laid the groundwork for a horror reinvention, 2025 accelerates.

Universal’s distribution arm kicks off the frame with a headline swing: a refreshed Wolf Man, leaving behind the period European setting, within a sleek contemporary canvas. Under director Leigh Whannell anchored by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this approach fixes the lycanthropy within intimate rupture. The arc is bodily and domestic, about marriage, caregiving, and fragile humanity. arriving mid January, it supports the push to convert the winter lull using prestige plays, not leftovers.

As spring rolls in, Clown in a Cornfield bows, a YA slasher page-to-screen distilled into spare horror. Steered by Eli Craig and featuring Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it moves like barn born dread with razor satire. Beneath the facade, it probes hometown suspicion, boomer to zoomer divides, and mob retribution. Early reactions hint at fangs.

When summer tapers, the WB camp bows the concluding entry inside its trusty horror universe: The Conjuring: Last Rites. With Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson returning as Ed and Lorraine Warren, the finale seeks an emotional close via a signature case. Though the formula is familiar, Chaves seems to angle for a plaintive, inward final note. It lands in early September, carving air ahead of October’s stack.

Following that is The Black Phone 2. Initially pegged for early summer, an October berth implies conviction. Derrickson re engages, and the DNA that clicked last time remains: throwback unease, trauma as theme, plus uncanny supernatural grammar. The bar is raised this go, through a thicker read on the “grabber” legend and generational ache.

Rounding the tentpole corner is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a franchise that brings its own crowd. The return delves further into myth, thickens the animatronic pantheon, seeking teens plus thirty something gamers. It books December, locking down the winter tail.

Platform Plays: Slim budgets, major punch

With cinemas leaning into known IP, SVOD players are testing edges, and gains show.

One standout ambitious title is Weapons, a multi timeline cold-case dread piece lacing three time frames tied to a mass vanishing. With Zach Cregger directing with turns by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the project unites horror with dramatic charge. Rolling out in theaters late summer before fall platform release, it should ignite online discourse and post viewing breakdowns, much like Barbarian.

On the quieter side is Together, a tight space body horror vignette anchored by Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Fixed in a remote let as a weekend curdles, the arc observes love and green eyed envy and self harm turned somatic. It is romantic, grotesque, and deeply uncomfortable, a three act spiral into codependent hell. Before a platform date is locked, it looks like a certain fall stream.

Another headline entry is Sinners, a Depression era vampire folk fable anchored by Michael B. Jordan. Captured with warm sepia and heavy biblical metaphor, it nods to There Will Be Blood beside Let the Right One In. The story probes American religious trauma by way of supernatural allegory. Advance tests paint it as a watercooler streamer.

Extra indies bide their time on platforms: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper all work grief and disappearance and identity, choosing meaning over noise.

Possession Runs Deep: Young & Cursed

Posting October 2 across the big platforms, Young & Cursed plays as a rare fusion, spare in setting, sweeping in lore. Written and helmed by Andrew Chiaramonte, the story trails five strangers who come to in a far off forest cabin, ruled by Kyra, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. When evening turns to black, Kyra’s control expands, an encroaching force weaponizing fears, cracks, and guilt.

The threat is psychological first, wired with primal myth. Avoiding the usual exorcism path with Catholic ritual and Latin spell, this one bores into something older, something darker. Lilith is not summoned by priests, she rises from trauma, muteness, and human fault lines. By making possession inward rather than external, Young & Cursed joins a trend toward intimate character studies masked as genre.

Platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home position the film as a Halloween counter to sequel heavy theatricals and monster revivals. It reads as sharp positioning. No heavy handed lore. No series drag. Just pure psychological dread, contained, tense, and tailor made for the binge and breathe rhythm of digital horror fans. With a spectacle heavy year, Young & Cursed may pop by going quiet, then screaming.

Festival Heat to Market Leverage

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF continue to incubate the next six to twelve months of horror. This cycle, they are launchpads first and showcases second.

Fantastic Fest fields a robust horror set this year. Primate bows as a tropical body horror opener with Cronenberg and Herzog echoes. Whistle, a revenge folktale steeped in Aztec myth, is tapped to close with fire.

The midnight bench, including If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, hums from execution, not mere titling. A24 support plus satire of toxic fandom in a convention lockdown puts it on breakout watch.

SXSW staged Clown in a Cornfield and lined up microbudget haunts for talks. Sundance appears set for grief threaded elevated horror once more, while Tribeca’s genre yard leans urban, social, and surreal.

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

Long Running Lines: Additions, Do Overs, and Revisions

This year’s legacy entries carry strength and deliberation.

Fear Street: Prom Queen hits July to revive the 90s line with fresh lead and VHS vibe. Compared to earlier parts, it tilts camp and prom night melodrama. Expect tiaras, corn syrup blood, 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 first film’s success on both social media and streaming has given Universal the confidence to double down.

The Long Walk arrives off an early Stephen King survival piece, led by Francis Lawrence, it reads as a brutal dystopian allegory inside survival horror, a walk till you drop competition for kids with no winners. With sharp marketing, it could translate to The Hunger Games for horror adults.

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

Trend Lines

Old myth goes broad
Lilith in Young & Cursed and Aztec curses in Whistle point to ancient texts and symbols. Not nostalgia, a reclaim of pre Christian archetypes. Horror surpasses shocks, it recalls evil’s antiquity.

Body horror retakes ground
With films like Together, Weapons, and Keeper, horror is going back to the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation function as metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streaming originals get teeth
Throwaway platform horror is on the way out. Services bankroll legitimate writing, legitimate directors, and proper media. Pieces like Weapons and Sinners receive event status, not feed stock.

Festival hype becomes leverage
Laurels are not just decorative, they leverage theatrical, premium placement, and media cycles. In 2025, a horror film lacking festival plan may fade.

Cinemas are a trust fall
The cinema lane is kept for probable outperformers or branchers. Most others angle PVOD or hybrid. Horror continues in theaters, in narrower curated lanes.

Projection: Fall stack and winter swing card

Those four, Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons, crowd September and October to saturation. Indies, including Bone Lake and Keeper, will battle 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. As several big titles lean dark and mythic, there is room for one last creature feature or exorcism flick.

The key is connecting variety to fragmentation, not betting on one piece. The plan is not to clone Get Out, it is to craft horror that lives on beyond box office.



The approaching spook release year: brand plays, new stories, plus A packed Calendar optimized for nightmares

Dek: The new terror season clusters at the outset with a January bottleneck, thereafter rolls through summer corridors, and pushing into the late-year period, fusing series momentum, untold stories, and shrewd counterprogramming. The big buyers and platforms are doubling down on tight budgets, theatrical leads, and influencer-ready assets that transform horror entries into water-cooler talk.

The landscape of horror in 2026

This space has become the bankable release in release plans, a vertical that can surge when it hits and still insulate the risk when it falls short. After 2023 reconfirmed for top brass that disciplined-budget entries can command pop culture, 2024 kept the drumbeat going with buzzy auteur projects and under-the-radar smashes. The carry moved into the 2025 frame, where reawakened brands and critical darlings signaled there is appetite for multiple flavors, from legacy continuations to filmmaker-driven originals that play globally. The aggregate for the 2026 slate is a programming that seems notably aligned across the field, with clear date clusters, a pairing of household franchises and new pitches, and a recommitted commitment on exclusive windows that increase tail monetization on premium on-demand and platforms.

Insiders argue the genre now serves as a schedule utility on the release plan. The genre can premiere on virtually any date, supply a grabby hook for ad units and short-form placements, and overperform with ticket buyers that respond on Thursday previews and stay strong through the sophomore frame if the feature fires. Post a strike-induced shuffle, the 2026 plan underscores trust in that logic. The slate gets underway with a front-loaded January corridor, then targets spring into early summer for balance, while holding room for a fall corridor that connects to the fright window and past the holiday. The schedule also underscores the greater integration of specialty distributors and streamers that can stage a platform run, stoke social talk, and grow at the right moment.

A reinforcing pattern is legacy care across ongoing universes and storied titles. Studio teams are not just mounting another entry. They are seeking to position brand continuity with a marquee sheen, whether that is a typeface approach that announces a new tone or a casting choice that bridges a next film to a vintage era. At the concurrently, the creative leads behind the eagerly awaited originals are prioritizing practical craft, real effects and place-driven backdrops. That interplay offers 2026 a vital pairing of familiarity and unexpected turns, which is what works overseas.

How the majors and mini-majors are programming

Paramount sets the tone early with two centerpiece projects that cover both tonal poles. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with original architect Kevin Williamson in the lead and Neve Campbell back at the focus, signaling it as both a lineage transfer and a rootsy character-driven entry. Production is active in Atlanta, and the artistic posture suggests a heritage-honoring treatment without replaying the last two entries’ sisters thread. The studio is likely to mount a drive driven by heritage visuals, initial cast looks, and a teaser-to-trailer rhythm timed to late fall. Distribution is theatrical through Paramount.

Paramount also reboots a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are back together, with the Wayans brothers involved on the creative side for the first time since the early 2000s, a draw the campaign will feature. As a summer counterprogrammer, this one will build mass reach through joke-first clips, with the horror spoof format making room for quick adjustments to whatever drives the meme cycle that spring.

Universal has three defined releases. SOULM8TE bows January 9, 2026, a digital-age offshoot from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The premise is elegant, soulful, and logline-clear: a grieving man implements an digital partner that becomes a killer companion. The date slots it at the front of a heavy month, with the Universal machine likely to renew odd public stunts and short reels that interlaces companionship and foreboding.

On May 8, 2026, the studio dates an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely rumored as the feature developed under working names in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The public calendar currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which leaves room for a public title to become an PR pop closer to the initial tease. The timing secures a slot in early May while larger tentpoles circle other weekends.

Supplementing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film claims October 23, 2026, a slot he has dominated before. Peele titles are set up as director events, with a minimalist tease and a subsequent trailers that convey vibe without spoilers the concept. The pre-Halloween slot offers Universal room to command pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then press the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, pairs with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček guides, with Souheila Yacoub headlining. The franchise has consistently shown that a in-your-face, makeup-driven mix can feel high-value on a middle budget. Frame it as a grime-caked summer horror jolt that maximizes global rollout, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most overseas territories.

Sony’s horror bench is well stocked. The studio sets two brand plays in the back half. An untitled Insidious film debuts August 21, 2026, preserving a steady supernatural this contact form brand on the board while the spin-off branch advances. The studio has reslotted on this title before, but the current plan anchors it in late summer, where Insidious has found success.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil re-emerges in what Sony is presenting as a clean-slate approach for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a vital part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a explicit mandate to serve both players and new audiences. The fall slot creates runway for Sony to build assets around setting detail, and monster aesthetics, elements that can increase format premiums and community activity.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, anchors a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film extends Eggers’ run of period horror characterized by obsessive craft and language, this time focused on werewolf legend. Focus’s team has already planted the flag for a holiday release, a signal of faith in Eggers as a specialty play that can platform wide if early reception is positive.

SVOD and PVOD rhythms

Digital strategies for 2026 run on familiar rails. Universal’s releases transition to copyright after a big-screen and PVOD window, a cadence that amplifies both FOMO and viewer acquisition in the downstream. Prime Video balances licensed films with global originals and short theatrical plays when the data supports it. Max and Hulu accent their strengths in archive usage, using timely promos, holiday hubs, and curated strips to prolong the run on the horror cume. Netflix stays opportunistic about Netflix films and festival snaps, securing horror entries with shorter lead times and coalescing around debuts with tight-window plans. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, leverages a paired of limited theatrical footprints and accelerated platforming that converts buzz to sign-ups. That will count for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before working fan funnels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ assesses case by case horror on a curated basis. The platform has shown appetite to board select projects with established auteurs or name-led packages, then give them a select cinema run in partnership with exhibitors to meet eligibility thresholds or to gain imprimatur before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still pulls from the 20th Century Studios slate, a important element for ongoing engagement when the genre conversation surges.

Specialized lanes

Cineverse is putting together 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 uncomplicated: the same brooding, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a cult item, modernized for modern sonics and picture. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a autumn corridor, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has indicated a cinema-first plan for Legacy, an optimistic indicator for fans of the hard-edged series and for exhibitors in need of adult counterprogramming in the September weeks.

Focus will favor the auteur track with Werwulf, escorting the title through autumn festivals if the cut is ready, then working the year-end corridor to widen. That positioning has served the company well for elevated genre with award possibilities. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not publicly set many dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines often crystallize after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A sound expectation is a set of late-summer and fall platformers that can break out if reception supports. Keep an eye on 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 parallel, using mini theatrical to kindle evangelism that fuels their audience.

Series vs standalone

By weight, 2026 bends toward the franchise column. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all draw on cultural cachet. The caveat, as ever, is brand erosion. The go-to fix is to sell each entry as a new angle. Paramount is centering character and continuity in Scream 7, Sony is positioning a restart at zero for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is leaning into a French-tinted vision from a fresh helmer. Those choices make a difference when the audience has so many options and social sentiment spins fast.

Non-franchise titles and filmmaker-centric entries deliver oxygen. Jordan Peele’s October film will be pitched as a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, sets Rachel McAdams in a marooned survival premise with Raimi’s impish dread. SOULM8TE offers a lean, creepy tech hook. Werwulf brings period specificity and an uncompromising tone. Even when the title is not based on known IP, the assembly is familiar enough to convert curiosity into pre-sales and early previews.

The last three-year set outline the model. In 2023, a cinema-first model that maintained windows did not prevent a hybrid test from performing when the brand was robust. In 2024, filmmaker-craft-led horror hit big in premium formats. In 2025, a reanimation of a beloved infection saga made clear that global horror franchises can still feel revitalized when they rotate perspective and widen scale. That last horror 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 twin-shoot approach, with chapters lensed back-to-back, creates space for marketing to relate entries through relationships and themes and to hold creative in the market without hiatuses.

How the look and feel evolve

The craft rooms behind these films hint at a continued tilt toward practical, location-rooted craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not echo any recent iteration of the property, a stance that aligns with the in-camera lean he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film finished principal and is set for its April 17, 2026 date. The push will likely that elevates grain and menace rather than bombast, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership bolstering budget rigor.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has characterized Werwulf as the bleakest project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval setting and authentic period speech, a combination that can make for wraparound sound and a raw, elemental vibe on the big screen. Focus will likely highlight this aesthetic in deep-dive features and craft coverage before rolling out a atmospheric tease that keeps plot minimal, a move that has performed for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is geared for gross-out texture, a signature of the series that travels well in red-band trailers and produces shareable jump-cut reactions from early screenings. Scream 7 sets up a meta-horror reset that centers its original star. Resident Evil will win or lose on creature craft and set design, which favor convention floor stunts and controlled asset drops. Insidious tends to be a sonic showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the auditorium case feel definitive. Look for trailers that spotlight pin-drop sound, deep-bass stingers, and mute beats that explode in larger rooms.

The schedule at a glance

January is heavy. SOULM8TE opens January 9, 2026, then Sony returns a week later with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple on January 16. Return to Silent Hill follows on January 23, a moody palate cleanser amid heftier brand moves. The month caps 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 meaningful, but the tone spread opens lanes for all, and the five-week structure hands each a runway for each if word of mouth endures.

Pre-summer months load in summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 lands February 27 with fan warmth. In April, The Mummy revives a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once played to genre counterprogramming and now supports 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 sharpens the contrast. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is comedic and broad, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 serves red-band intensity. The counterprogramming logic is tight. The spoof can pop next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest caters to older teenagers and useful reference genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have moved through premium slots.

Late-season stretch leans recognizable. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously performed. Resident Evil slides in after September 18, a shoulder season window that still bridges into Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event grabs October 23 and will captivate cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely driven by a slow-reveal plan and limited plot reveals that stress concept over spoilers.

Holiday prestige and specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a marker that genre can stand up at Christmas when packaged as prestige-leaning horror. The distributor has done this before, selective rollout, then pressing critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to stay top of mind into January. If the film earns with critics, the studio can broaden in the first week of 2027 while building on holiday impulse and gift card usage.

Film-by-film briefs

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting to be detailed as production pushes forward. Logline: Sidney returns to challenge a new Ghostface while the narrative reorients around the original film’s DNA. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: return-to-core with a fresh edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A bereaved man’s synthetic partner shifts into something lethally affectionate. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed principal photography for an early-year bow. Positioning: techno-horror with feeling.

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: prestige zombie continuation.

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 confront a shifting reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed production with U.S. distribution. 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 abrasive boss claw to survive on a desolate island as the power balance turns and paranoia builds. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal done. 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 confidential in official materials. Logline: A from-today rework that returns the monster to nightmare, founded on Cronin’s practical craft and encroaching dread. Rating: TBA. Production: In the can. 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 story that routes the horror through a minor’s volatile subjective lens. Rating: not yet rated. Production: locked. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven spectral suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers participating creatively. Logline: {A send-up revival that targets in-vogue horror tropes and true crime fervors. Rating: to be announced. Production: lensing scheduled for fall 2025. Positioning: four-quadrant summer counterplay.

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 bursts, with an global twist in tone and setting. Rating: to be announced. Production: shooting 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: pending. Logline: The Further ripples again, with a new clan tethered to ancient dread. Rating: not yet rated. Production: gearing up for summer filming with late-summer bow. Positioning: dependable ghost-franchise slot that suits the brand.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: to be announced publicly. Top cast: TBD. Logline: A reboot designed to rebuild the franchise from the ground up, with an emphasis on survival-driven horror over action fireworks. Rating: forthcoming. Production: advancing in development with date locked. Positioning: source-faithful reboot with four-quadrant path.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: TBD. Logline: tightly guarded. Rating: pending. Production: active. 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 era-faithful speech and raw menace. Rating: to be announced. Production: preproduction aligned to holiday 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 standard theatrical approach before platforming. Status: date shifting, fall likely.

Why this year, why now

Three hands-on forces structure this lineup. First, production that hiccuped or recalendared in 2024 needed spacing on the calendar. Horror can patch those gaps promptly because scripts often need fewer locations, fewer large-scale effects sequences, and shorter timelines. Second, studios have become more rigorous about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently generated more than straight-to-streaming landings. Third, platform buzz converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will amplify reaction-worthy moments from test screenings, select scare clips launched on Thursday previews, and experiential pop-ups that feed creator content. It is a repeatable playbook because it works.

Factor four is the scheduling calculus. Family and cape-heavy lanes thin out in early 2026, making room for genre entries that can lead a weekend or act as the older-tilt option. January is the prime example. Four different flavors of horror will stack across five weekends, which allows chatter to build title by title. Summer provides the other window. The parody aligns with early family and action waves, then the hard-R entry can benefit from a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Budget discipline, rating paths, sleeper math

Budgets remain in the efficient band. Most of the films above will budget under the $40–$50 million tier, with many far below. That allows for expanded PLF presence 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 value-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 leverage those opportunities. January could easily deliver the first sleeper overperformer of the year, and August into September gives Sony an avenue to hold screens with back-to-back supernatural IP while still leaving room for an indie breakout.

Internationally, brand recognition helps Resident Evil, Evil Dead, and Scream travel, while 28 Years Later benefits from a British setting and returning talent. Werwulf and The Mummy will lean on auteur and classic-monster awareness abroad. Streamers will amplify the tail, with copyright pickups boosting Universal’s slate and Shudder driving evangelism for Cineverse titles. Look for a strong PVOD phase overall, since horror fans have shown a willingness to pay for convenience after an opening weekend, especially when word of mouth is strong.

What the calendar feels like for audiences

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers cadence and diversity. January is a smorgasbord, February delivers a legacy slasher, April returns a Universal monster, May and June provide a ghostly double-hit 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 bleak, 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 sequence upward, using earlier releases to trailhead the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors favor the spacing. Horror delivers steady Thursday pops, right-sized allotments, 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 visual texture, sound field, 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.

2026 Shapes Up Strong

Schedules slip. Ratings change. Casts shuffle. But the spine of 2026 horror is set. There is IP strength where it matters, inventive vision where it helps, and a calendar that shows studios read audience appetite for scares. The awards and festival pipeline into 2027 will come into focus once the fall festivals lock, and it would not be surprising to see at least one late-arriving specialty entry join the party. For now, the job is simple, cut crisp trailers, preserve the surprise, and let the shudders sell the seats.