Ancient Dread Rises in Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a bone chilling chiller, debuting Oct 2025 on major streaming services

A blood-curdling ghostly horror tale from writer / cinema craftsman Andrew Chiaramonte, unbinding an forgotten evil when guests become puppets in a diabolical game. Airings begin this October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, Apple’s iTunes, Apple’s TV+ service, and Fandango platform.

Los Angeles, CA (August 8, 2025) – Prepare yourselves for *Young & Cursed*, a frightful depiction of survival and prehistoric entity that will remodel fear-driven cinema this autumn. Guided by rising cinematic craftsman Andrew Chiaramonte, this unpredictable and moody story follows five lost souls who come to sealed in a wooded cottage under the dark control of Kyra, a possessed female possessed by a antiquated religious nightmare. Brace yourself to be gripped by a theatrical venture that combines primitive horror with biblical origins, coming on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on the second of October, 2025.


Demon possession has been a mainstay trope in cinema. In *Young & Cursed*, that tradition is turned on its head when the beings no longer originate from external sources, but rather from deep inside. This depicts the shadowy element of the group. The result is a riveting spiritual tug-of-war where the tension becomes a constant clash between heaven and hell.


In a desolate backcountry, five individuals find themselves isolated under the possessive influence and overtake of a shadowy female figure. As the survivors becomes unable to fight her will, exiled and tracked by beings impossible to understand, they are obligated to endure their inner demons while the seconds brutally ticks onward toward their destruction.


In *Young & Cursed*, mistrust mounts and partnerships implode, pushing each member to reflect on their identity and the foundation of volition itself. The hazard escalate with every second, delivering a nerve-wracking journey that blends mystical fear with inner turmoil.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my desire was to tap into primal fear, an curse before modern man, emerging via mental cracks, and challenging a presence that redefines identity when stripped of free will.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Living Kyra called for internalizing something beyond human emotion. She is uninformed until the curse activates, and that transformation is terrifying because it is so deep.”

Where to Watch

*Young & Cursed* will be brought for viewing beginning October 2, 2025, on Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand—ensuring watchers everywhere can survive this terrifying film.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just premiered a new extended look for *Young & Cursed*, available to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a second look to its first preview, which has received over a viral response.


In addition to its initial rollout, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has informed that *Young & Cursed* will also be available worldwide, spreading the horror to horror fans worldwide.


Make sure to see this mind-warping voyage through terror. Confront *Young & Cursed* this spooky debut to explore these terrifying truths about the psyche.


For director insights, filmmaker commentary, and reveals from behind the lens, follow @YACFilm across platforms and visit our horror hub.





Today’s horror Turning Point: the year 2025 domestic schedule fuses old-world possession, indie terrors, and franchise surges

Across grit-forward survival fare inspired by primordial scripture through to brand-name continuations plus surgical indie voices, 2025 appears poised to be the most complex paired with tactically planned year since the mid-2010s.

The 2025 horror calendar goes beyond packed, it is precision-tuned. studio majors hold down the year with known properties, at the same time premium streamers saturate the fall with new voices plus scriptural shivers. At the same time, horror’s indie wing is propelled by the uplift from a high-water 2024 festival stretch. Given Halloween is the centerpiece, the schedule beyond October is tightly engineered. The fall stretch is the proving field, however this time, players are marking January, spring, and mid-summer. The audience is primed, studios are exacting, which means 2025 might go down as horror’s most intentional year yet.

Studio Playbook and Mini-Major Tactics: Elevated fear reclaims ground

No one at the top is standing still. If 2024 primed the reset, 2025 accelerates.

Universal Pictures begins the calendar with a statement play: a contemporary Wolf Man, eschewing a mist-shrouded old-world European town, in a clear present-tense world. Guided by Leigh Whannell with Christopher Abbott alongside Julia Garner, this chapter binds the lycanthropy to domestic unraveling. The curse reads as bodily and relational, about spouses, parents, and people. arriving mid January, it supports the push to convert the winter lull using prestige plays, not leftovers.

Spring delivers Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher adaptation turned minimalist horror show. Guided by Eli Craig with Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it comes as grit laced American nightmare with sardonic edge. Beneath the mask, it picks at rural paranoia, age cohort splits, and lynch mob logic. Early reactions hint at fangs.

When summer fades, Warner’s slate rolls out the capstone within its surest horror brand: The Conjuring: Last Rites. The Warrens return, played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the piece hints at a heartfelt wrap as it treats a notorious case. Though the outline is tried, director Michael Chaves is said to bring a more mournful, introspective tone to the series swan song. It lands in early September, carving air ahead of October’s stack.

The Black Phone 2 slots behind. First targeted at early summer, the move into October reads bullish. Derrickson returns to the helm, and the core ingredients of the sleeper original are back: nostalgic menace, trauma driven plotting, along with eerie supernatural rules. This time, the stakes are raised, by expanding the “grabber” backstory and grief across bloodlines.

Capping the big ticket run is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, an offering that markets itself. The follow up digs further into canon, expands its animatronic nightmare roster, while aiming for teen viewers and thirty something game loyalists. It arrives in December, buttoning the final window.

Streaming Originals: Economy, maximum dread

While theaters lean on names and sequels, platforms are wagering boldly, and results are there.

A flagship risky title is Weapons, a forensic chill anthology that weaves together three timelines connected by a mass disappearance. Steered by Zach Cregger pairing Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the release pairs unease with narrative heft. Debuting in theaters late summer then streaming in fall, it may catalyze deconstruction threads like Barbarian.

Keeping things close quarters is Together, an intimate body horror unraveling including Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Trapped in a far off rental as a holiday fractures, the piece probes how love, envy, and self loathing become bodily rot. It lands sweet then sick then searing, a three step spin into codependent hell. Although a platform date is not yet posted, it is poised for a fall platform bow.

Then there is Sinners, a Depression era vampire folk fable headlined by Michael B. Jordan. Visualized in sepia palette with scriptural metaphor, it evokes There Will Be Blood crossed with Let the Right One In. The narrative analyzes American religious trauma through a ghostly allegory. Early test screens tag it as a top talked streaming debut.

Several other streaming indies are quietly waiting in the wings: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each taps grief, vanishing, and identity, treating horror as metaphor more than spectacle.

Possession Beneath the Skin: Young & Cursed

Posting October 2 across the big platforms, Young & Cursed presents a rare union, close in focus, wide in mythology. Written and directed by Andrew Chiaramonte, the narrative rides with five strangers waking in a secluded woodland cabin, held 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 menace is mind forward, supercharged by primal myth. Skipping the exorcism norm of Catholic rite and Latin line, this story returns to something older, something darker. Lilith ignores rite, she wells up from trauma, quietude, and human weakness. By making possession inward rather than external, Young & Cursed joins a trend toward intimate character studies masked as genre.

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 is a smart play. No puffed out backstory. No brand fatigue. Sheer psychological unease, compact and taut, calibrated to digital binge beats. In a spectacle stack, Young & Cursed could be the hush before the shriek.

Festival Born, Buyer Ready

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF still seed what horror becomes in six to twelve months. They serve less as display cases, more as runways.

This year’s Fantastic Fest has already confirmed a strong horror lineup. Primate, a tropical body horror curtain raiser, invites Cronenberg Herzog comp. Whistle, a revenge folktale steeped in Aztec myth, is tapped to close with fire.

Midnight slots like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You earn noise for execution beyond quirky names. Backed by A24, it skewers toxic fandom amid a convention lockdown, poised to break big.

SXSW bowed Clown in a Cornfield while feeding deal chatter for microbudget haunts. Sundance forecasts grief bent elevated horror again, while Tribeca’s genre yard leans urban, social, and surreal.

Festival playbooks now prize branding as much as discovery. Festival laurels are opening moves, not closing notes.

Franchise Horror: Reups, Reboots, and Rethinks

The legacy lineup looks stronger and more deliberate than prior years.

Fear Street: Prom Queen, landing in July, re ups the 90s brand with a fresh lead and retro tone. Rather than prior modes, it goes camp and prom night melodrama. Think tiaras, fake blood, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 returns in late June, seeking to build out techno horror lore using new characters and AI born frights. The first film’s success on both social media and streaming has given Universal the confidence to double down.

Next comes The Long Walk, adapting one of Stephen King’s earliest, most harrowing works, steered by Francis Lawrence, it lands as a ruthless dystopian allegory couched in survival horror, a march where no one wins. With a precise angle, it could mirror The Hunger Games for adults in horror.

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.

What to Watch

Mythic horror goes mainstream
From Lilith in Young & Cursed, and with Aztec curses in Whistle, horror taps ancient texts and symbols. Rather than nostalgia, it reclaims pre Christian archetypes. Horror goes beyond fright, it notes evil’s age.

Body horror swings back
Titles such as Together, Weapons, and Keeper return focus to the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation, these are the new metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streamers grow fangs
The era of filler horror on streamers is ending. Services bankroll legitimate writing, legitimate directors, and proper media. Debuts like Weapons and Sinners carry event framing, not content bins.

Festival heat turns into leverage
Festival ribbons become currency for better windows and top shelves. In 2025, a horror film lacking festival plan may fade.

Big screen is a trust fall
The cinema lane is kept for probable outperformers or branchers. Everything else is PVOD or hybrid. Horror continues in theaters, in narrower curated lanes.

Near Term Outlook: Autumn density and winter pivot

Young & Cursed plus The Conjuring: Last Rites plus The Black Phone 2 plus Weapons, all in September and October, makes for a saturated fall. Indies such as Bone Lake and Keeper will tussle for space. Watch for one or more of these to pivot into early 2026 or shift platforms.

December holds on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, though a stealth streamer release may land late. Because major titles skew dark and mythic, a late creature feature or exorcism could slide in.

The 2025 performance is about reach across segments, not one hero title. The play is not Get Out replication, it is long life horror past theaters.



The next fear lineup: brand plays, fresh concepts, as well as A loaded Calendar geared toward goosebumps

Dek: The fresh terror year crams right away with a January pile-up, subsequently spreads through midyear, and carrying into the festive period, combining brand equity, inventive spins, and calculated counterprogramming. The major players are prioritizing right-sized spends, theater-first strategies, and viral-minded pushes that elevate these pictures into national conversation.

The state of horror, heading into 2026

Horror has grown into the bankable play in distribution calendars, a category that can grow when it clicks and still hedge the drawdown when it underperforms. After the 2023 year reconfirmed for decision-makers that modestly budgeted chillers can own social chatter, 2024 carried the beat with high-profile filmmaker pieces and slow-burn breakouts. The head of steam pushed into the 2025 frame, where resurrections and critical darlings highlighted there is space for several lanes, from returning installments to director-led originals that resonate abroad. The takeaway for 2026 is a schedule that presents tight coordination across companies, with obvious clusters, a blend of legacy names and novel angles, and a reinvigorated priority on cinema windows that boost PVOD and platform value on premium digital rental and home platforms.

Insiders argue the space now works like a flex slot on the calendar. The genre can launch on open real estate, furnish a simple premise for ad units and reels, and over-index with patrons that show up on previews Thursday and hold through the next pass if the movie connects. Post a work stoppage lag, the 2026 rhythm signals belief in that logic. The slate rolls out with a thick January window, then leans on spring and early summer for balance, while clearing room for a late-year stretch that stretches into the Halloween frame and into early November. The grid also includes the deeper integration of indie arms and SVOD players that can platform and widen, grow buzz, and widen at the sweet spot.

An added macro current is IP cultivation across linked properties and heritage properties. Distribution groups are not just producing another sequel. They are moving to present story carry-over with a headline quality, whether that is a art treatment that flags a refreshed voice or a casting move that bridges a latest entry to a original cycle. At the concurrently, the filmmakers behind the headline-grabbing originals are celebrating practical craft, on-set effects and concrete locations. That combination hands the 2026 slate a healthy mix of familiarity and discovery, which is what works overseas.

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

Paramount establishes early momentum with two spotlight pushes that span tone from serious to silly. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with original architect Kevin Williamson in the director’s chair and Neve Campbell back at the forefront, framing it as both a handoff and a rootsy character-first story. The shoot is ongoing in Atlanta, and the story approach signals a classic-referencing strategy without looping the last two entries’ Carpenter sisters arc. A campaign is expected leaning on recognizable motifs, initial cast looks, and a rollout cadence aimed at late fall. Distribution is Paramount’s cinema pipeline.

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 as creative contributors for the first time since the early 2000s, a linchpin the campaign will foreground. As a off-tentpole summer play, this one will drive large awareness through meme-ready spots, with the horror spoof format allowing quick pivots to whatever dominates the meme cycle that spring.

Universal has three differentiated entries. SOULM8TE debuts January 9, 2026, a tech-horror spinoff from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The setup is efficient, somber, and elevator-pitch-ready: a grieving man adopts an machine companion that escalates into a fatal companion. The date sets it at the front of a competition-heavy month, with marketing at Universal likely to echo viral uncanny stunts and short reels that mixes affection and foreboding.

On May 8, 2026, the studio schedules 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 public release grid currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which permits a branding reveal to become an event moment closer to the first look. The timing secures a slot in early May while larger tentpoles circle other weekends.

Completing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film takes October 23, 2026, a slot he has excelled in before. Peele’s work are framed as signature events, with a minimalist tease and a second beat that establish tone without plot reveals the concept. The late-October frame lets the studio to take pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then pivot to the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, joins with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček heads, with Souheila Yacoub at the center. The franchise has repeatedly shown that a tactile, on-set effects led method can feel premium on a lean spend. Frame it as a blood-soaked summer horror charge that centers global traction, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most international markets.

Sony’s horror bench is well stocked. The studio launches two marquee IP entries in the back half. An untitled Insidious film premieres August 21, 2026, maintaining a evergreen supernatural brand on the grid while the spin-off branch moves forward. Sony has shifted dates on this title before, but the current plan sticks it in late summer, where the brand has been strong.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil reboots in what Sony is framing as a from-the-ground-up reboot for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a pillar part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a well-defined brief to serve both loyalists and casuals. The fall slot gives Sony time to build promo materials around canon, and monster aesthetics, elements that can stoke deluxe auditorium demand 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 maintains Eggers’ run of period horror defined by meticulous craft and language, this time set against lycan legends. The imprint has already reserved the holiday for a holiday release, a signal of faith in Eggers as a specialty play that can platform wide if early reception is enthusiastic.

Platform lanes and windowing

Digital strategies for 2026 run on known playbooks. Universal’s horror titles window into copyright after a theatrical and PVOD run, a ladder that amplifies both premiere heat and sign-up momentum in the later window. Prime Video combines licensed content with global originals and targeted theatrical runs when the data backs it. Max and Hulu work their advantages in library pulls, using curated hubs, horror hubs, and curated rows to keep attention on overall cume. Netflix keeps optionality about Netflix originals and festival buys, confirming horror entries on shorter runways and positioning as event drops premieres with short runway campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, capitalizes on a dual-phase of tailored theatrical exposure and fast windowing that monetizes buzz via trials. That will matter for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before leaning on horror-fan channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ assesses case by case horror on a bespoke basis. The platform has indicated interest to invest in select projects with established auteurs or marquee packages, then give them a boutique theatrical in partnership with exhibitors to meet award rules or to earn receipts before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney domestic still feeds from the 20th Century Studios slate, a key factor for monthly engagement when the genre conversation swells.

Art-house genre prospects

Cineverse is crafting 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 setup is no-nonsense: the same brooding, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a cult favorite, recalibrated for modern audio and picture. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a fall window, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. Cineverse has flagged a cinema-first plan for the title, an encouraging sign for fans of the ferocious series and for exhibitors seeking R-rated counterprogramming in the October weeks.

Focus will favor the auteur track with Werwulf, shepherding the title 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 filmmaker-first horror with mainstream crossovers. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not announced many 2026 dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines tend to converge after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A fair assumption is a selection of late-summer and fall platformers that can widen if reception merits. Anticipate an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that plays Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work as a pair, using small theatrical to ignite evangelism that fuels their subscriber base.

Legacy titles versus originals

By number, the 2026 slate leans toward the brand-heavy side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all tap cultural cachet. The caveat, as ever, is fatigue. The practical approach is to brand each entry as a fresh tone. Paramount is elevating character and heritage in Scream 7, Sony is promising a clean-slate build for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is maximizing a continental coloration from a new voice. Those choices carry weight when the audience has so many options and social sentiment swings fast.

Non-franchise titles and auteur plays add air. 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, places Rachel McAdams into a marooned survival premise with that teasing menace. SOULM8TE offers a precise, unnerving tech hook. Werwulf grounds itself in period and an unyielding tone. Even when the title is not based on a property, the package is steady enough to generate pre-sales and preview-night crowds.

Comps from the last three years frame the plan. In 2023, a exclusive theatrical model that preserved streaming windows did not hamper a dual release from working when the brand was robust. In 2024, precision craft horror exceeded expectations in premium screens. In 2025, a reanimation of a beloved infection saga underlined that global horror franchises can still feel novel when they angle differently and widen scale. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which carries on January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The double feature plan, with chapters filmed consecutively, gives leeway to marketing to relate entries through protagonists and motifs and to continue assets in field without long breaks.

Behind-the-camera trends

The shop talk behind the upcoming entries forecast a continued shift toward tactile, place-driven craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not play like any recent iteration of the property, a stance that reinforces the practical-first approach he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film wrapped photography and is moving toward its April 17, 2026 date. Expect a campaign that elevates unease and texture rather than CG roller-coasters, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership allowing budget prudence.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has outlined Werwulf as the most severe project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval backdrop and era-correct language, a combination that can make for textured sound and a chilly, elemental vibe on the big screen. Focus will likely pre-sell this aesthetic in deep-dive features and craft spotlights before rolling out a tease that centers atmosphere over story, a move that has played for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is set up for red-band excess, a signature of the series that plays abroad in red-band trailers and sparks shareable shock clips from early screenings. Scream 7 delivers a meta recalibration that re-anchors on the original star. Resident Evil will succeed or falter on monster aesthetics and world-building, which play well in con floor moments and timed asset drops. Insidious tends to be a audio showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the theater case feel essential. Look for trailers that highlight razor sound, deep-bass stingers, and hush beats that work in PLF.

Calendar cadence

January is loaded. Universal’s SOULM8TE opens January 9, 2026, then Sony returns a week later with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple on January 16. Cineverse’s Return to Silent Hill follows on January 23, a moody palate cleanser amid marquee brands. The month concludes with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival chiller from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is serious, but the range of tones creates a lane for each, and the five-week structure offers clean runway for each if word of mouth spreads.

Q1 into Q2 set up the summer. Scream 7 debuts February 27 with fan warmth. In April, New Line’s The Mummy reawakens a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once belonged to genre counterprogramming and now supports big openers. The untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 leads 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 lighter and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 unleashes brutal intensity. The counterprogramming logic is workable. The spoof can win next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest satisfies older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have finished their premium pass.

August and September into October leans brand. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously connected. Resident Evil slides in after September 18, a pre-October slot that still links to Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film takes October 23 and will captivate cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely backed by a peekaboo tease plan and limited advance reveals that lean on concept not plot.

Holiday prestige and specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a statement that genre can stand up at Christmas when packaged as filmmaker prestige. The distributor has done this before, selective rollout, then capitalizing on critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to keep the film in the conversation into January. If the film resonates with critics, the studio can scale in the first week of 2027 while turning holiday audiences and gift card usage.

One-sentence dossiers

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting continuing to be revealed as production carries on. Logline: Sidney returns to face a new Ghostface while the narrative rethreads the original film’s founding notes. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: heritage pivot with a current edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A widowed man’s digital partner grows into something dangerously intimate. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed principal photography for an early-year bow. Positioning: tech thriller with grief spine.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Sony, January 16, 2026)
Director: Nia DaCosta. Writer: Alex Garland. Top cast: Cillian Murphy, Jack O’Connell, and additional ensemble tied to a new antagonist faction. Logline: The second chapter in a trilogy expands the scope beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult forms in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Filmed in tandem with the first film. Positioning: prestige zombie continuation.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man heads back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to run into a unsettled reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished with U.S. theatrical locked. Positioning: ambience-forward 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 battle to survive on a remote island as the control dynamic reverses and mistrust rises. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed. Positioning: celebrity-led survival horror from a legend.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles under wraps in official materials. Logline: A modern reimagining that returns the monster to horror, built on Cronin’s physical craft and suffocating dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed. Positioning: legendary monster re-up with auteur hand.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A household haunting premise that plays with the chill of a child’s uncertain read. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: wrapped. Positioning: studio-built and celebrity-led haunting thriller.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers reuniting creatively. Logline: {A parody reboot that needles contemporary horror memes and true-crime manias. Rating: not yet rated. Production: fall 2025 production window. 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 erupts, with an overseas twist in tone and setting. Rating: undetermined. Production: on location in New Zealand. Positioning: uncompromising R installment meant for big rooms.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, check over here August 21, 2026)
Director: to be announced in marketing. Top cast: forthcoming. Logline: The Further extends again, with a new clan caught in residual nightmares. Rating: forthcoming. Production: eying a summer shoot for late-summer slot. Positioning: bankable spirit-world IP in a proven lane.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: pending public reveal. Top cast: TBD. Logline: A clean reboot designed to rebuild the franchise from the ground up, with an priority on classic survival-horror tone over action-forward bombast. Rating: forthcoming. Production: on a development track with locked window. Positioning: game-grounded refresh with wider appeal.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: TBD. Logline: intentionally withheld. Rating: pending. Production: ongoing. Positioning: filmmaker showcase with teaser-first cadence.

Werwulf (Focus Features, December 25, 2026)
Director: Robert Eggers. Top cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, with other regulars expected. Logline: A medieval werewolf story built on era-accurate language and primordial menace. Rating: not yet rated. Production: building toward Christmas Day opening. 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 conventional theatrical window prior to platforming. Status: timing fluid, autumn anticipated.

Why the moment is 2026

Three practical forces inform this lineup. First, production that paused or shifted in 2024 needed latitude on the slate. Horror can occupy those holes swiftly because scripts often use fewer locations, fewer large-scale VFX set pieces, 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 surpassed straight-to-streaming premieres. Third, viral talk converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will amplify reaction-worthy moments from test screenings, precision scare clips synced to Thursday previews, and experiential pop-ups that power influencer posts. It is a repeatable playbook because it works.

Calendar math also matters. Early corridors for family and capes are leaner in 2026, clearing runway for genre entries that can take a weekend outright or play as the older-leaning alternative. January is the prime example. Four varied shades of horror will compete across five weekends, which allows chatter to build title by title. Summer provides the other window. The parody leverages early family and action lifts, then the hard-R entry can leverage a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Budgets and certifications, sleeper calculus

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

The stealth-hit search continues in Q1, where lean-budget genre can own weekends with minimal competition, and again in late summer, where horror often becomes the conversation when tentpoles tire. The 2026 slate is set up to harvest those lanes. 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. Forecast a healthy PVOD window broadly, 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 pattern and spread. January is a smorgasbord, February delivers a legacy slasher, April resurrects a Universal monster, May and June provide a one-two spectral pairing for date nights and group outings, July gets visceral, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a shadowed, literate nightmare. That is how you keep chatter alive and occupancy strong without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can escalate across the year, using earlier releases to prep the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors respond well to the spacing. Horror delivers reliable Thursday lifts, efficient placements, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can justify premium screens, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing detail, sound field, 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 Is Well Positioned

Schedules slip. Ratings change. Casts rotate. But the spine of 2026 horror is in place. There is brand equity where it matters, auteur intent where it matters, and a calendar that shows studios sense the cadence of scares. The awards and festival pipeline into 2027 will come into focus once the fall festivals lock, and it would not be surprising to see at least one final-hour specialty addition join the party. For now, the job is simple, cut sharp trailers, keep secrets, and let the scares sell the seats.