Antediluvian Evil Stirs in Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a spine tingling shocker, debuting Oct 2025 on top digital platforms

One bone-chilling occult nightmare movie from literary architect / movie maker Andrew Chiaramonte, releasing an prehistoric fear when drifters become tools in a dark ordeal. Going live this October 2nd, 2025, on Prime Video, Google’s YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, Apple iTunes, Apple TV Plus, and Fandango on-demand.

L.A., CA (August 8, 2025) – hold tight for *Young & Cursed*, a nightmarish portrayal of resistance and archaic horror that will remodel terror storytelling this harvest season. Guided by rising new wave horror talent Andrew Chiaramonte, this tense and atmospheric thriller follows five lost souls who suddenly rise caught in a far-off shack under the aggressive influence of Kyra, a mysterious girl controlled by a timeless biblical demon. Be warned to be gripped by a screen-based spectacle that unites primitive horror with mystical narratives, arriving on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Diabolic occupation has been a mainstay tradition in the movies. In *Young & Cursed*, that framework is inverted when the monsters no longer come from an outside force, but rather through their own souls. This mirrors the most primal facet of the group. The result is a harrowing psychological battle where the events becomes a merciless face-off between right and wrong.


In a bleak forest, five adults find themselves cornered under the unholy dominion and grasp of a unidentified apparition. As the cast becomes submissive to withstand her manipulation, abandoned and preyed upon by evils beyond reason, they are made to face their inner horrors while the deathwatch ruthlessly strikes toward their expiration.


In *Young & Cursed*, tension swells and alliances break, driving each member to scrutinize their personhood and the idea of decision-making itself. The intensity mount with every breath, delivering a paranormal ride that integrates occult fear with deep insecurity.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my objective was to dive into primal fear, an presence rooted in antiquity, feeding on fragile psyche, and examining a spirit that dismantles free will when choice is taken.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Becoming Kyra called for internalizing something darker than pain. She is insensitive until the spirit seizes her, and that pivot is haunting because it is so close.”

Debut Info

*Young & Cursed* will be available for digital release beginning from October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand—offering users in all regions can engage with this fearful revelation.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just rolled out a new trailer two for *Young & Cursed*, online to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a evolution to its original clip, which has been viewed over strong viewer count.


In addition to its initial rollout, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has shared that *Young & Cursed* will also be distributed abroad, spreading the horror to thrill-seekers globally.


Tune in for this unforgettable trip into the unknown. Brace yourself for *Young & Cursed* this launch day to experience these haunting secrets about the human condition.


For sneak peeks, special features, and news from behind the lens, follow @YoungAndCursed across social media and visit the official movie site.





Modern horror’s tipping point: 2025 U.S. calendar weaves old-world possession, Indie Shockers, together with legacy-brand quakes

Spanning endurance-driven terror steeped in near-Eastern lore and onward to legacy revivals plus pointed art-house angles, 2025 is shaping up as the genre’s most multifaceted along with deliberate year in ten years.

The 2025 horror calendar goes beyond packed, it is precision-tuned. studio powerhouses lay down anchors by way of signature titles, as premium streamers load up the fall with debut heat alongside ancestral chills. On another front, horror’s indie wing is propelled by the echoes of a peak 2024 circuit. Since Halloween is the prized date, the rest of the calendar is filling out with surgical precision. That late Q3 to mid Q4 lane is the crucible, notably this year, the genre is also staking January, spring, and mid-summer. Fans are ravenous, studios are methodical, hence 2025 may be recorded as the genre’s most deliberate campaign.

Studio Chessboard and Mini-Major Plays: Premium dread reemerges

Studios are not on the sidelines. If 2024 planted the seeds, 2025 accelerates.

Universal’s slate leads off the quarter with a big gambit: a refreshed Wolf Man, set not in some misty 19th-century European village, inside today’s landscape. From director Leigh Whannell and starring Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this take locates the lycanthropy inside home disintegration. The curse reads as bodily and relational, about spouses, parents, and people. timed for mid January, it backs a move to shape winter into a prestige corridor, not a discard corridor.

In spring, Clown in a Cornfield lands, a YA slasher page-to-screen distilled into spare horror. From director Eli Craig with Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it plays as blood lacquered Americana with satire under the paint. Under the makeup, it dissects provincial panic, age gap tensions, and mob verdicts. Early circuit chatter says it has bite.

At summer’s close, the Warner lot delivers the closing chapter from its bankable horror series: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson reprise Ed and Lorraine Warren, the finale seeks an emotional close via a signature case. Though the outline is tried, director Michael Chaves reportedly leans into a mournful, interior tone for the swan song. It sets in early September, opening runway before October heat.

Next is The Black Phone 2. It was eyed for early summer, and shifting to October telegraphs confidence. Derrickson re teams, and the hallmarks that turned the first into a sleeper reappear: 70s style chill, trauma as theme, and eerie supernatural logic. This time, the stakes are raised, through a thicker read on the “grabber” legend and generational ache.

Completing the calendar is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a film that does not need traditional marketing to sell tickets. The next entry deepens the tale, builds out the animatronic fear crew, seeking teens plus thirty something gamers. It posts in December, pinning the winter close.

Streamer Exclusives: Tight funds, wide impact

While the big screen favors titles you know, streamers are taking risks, and it is paying off.

One standout ambitious title is Weapons, a multi timeline cold-case dread piece that weaves together three timelines connected by a mass disappearance. Under Zach Cregger with Josh Brolin opposite Julia Garner, the movie mixes chill with dramatic weight. Opening theatrically late summer ahead of fall SVOD, it may catalyze deconstruction threads like Barbarian.

Playing chamber scale is Together, a body horror duet pairing Alison Brie with Dave Franco. Set at a remote rental during a getaway that sours, the film explores what happens when love, envy, and self hatred merge into physical decay. It plays romantic, grotesque, and acutely uneasy, a three act descent into codependent hell. Absent a posted platform date, it is tracking toward an autumn slot.

One more platform talker is Sinners, a pre war vampire folk narrative fronted by Michael B. Jordan. Photographed in sepia saturation with biblical metaphor, it recalls There Will Be Blood spliced to Let the Right One In. The narrative analyzes American religious trauma through a ghostly allegory. Trial screenings frame it as a high chatter SVOD arrival.

A handful of other streaming indies hover in the wings: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each engages grief, missing persons, and identity, with metaphor before show.

Deep Possession Currents: Young & Cursed

Hitting October 2 on the platforms, Young & Cursed plays as a rare fusion, spare in setting, sweeping in lore. Shaped and helmed 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. With nightfall, Kyra’s power deepens, an invasive force mining their most secret fears, frailties, and regrets.

The threat is psychological first, wired with primal myth. Avoiding the usual exorcism path with Catholic ritual and Latin spell, this story returns to something older, something darker. Lilith comes not via liturgy, but from trauma, quiet, and human brittleness. By making possession inward rather than external, Young & Cursed joins a trend toward intimate character studies masked as genre.

The Halloween window on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home frames the film as counter to sequel saturation and creature revivals. That is a savvy move. No swollen lore. No IP hangover. Pure psyche terror, contained and taut, sized for the binge then exhale flow of digital viewers. In a spectacle stack, Young & Cursed could be the hush before the shriek.

Festival Origins, Market Outcomes

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF operate as greenhouses for horror six to twelve months down the line. This cycle, they are launchpads first and showcases second.

Fantastic Fest this cycle touts a strong horror menu. Primate opens the fest with tropical body horror and critics cite Cronenberg and Herzog. Whistle, a folkloric revenge piece in Aztec lore, likely shuts the fest with heat.

Midnight slots like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You earn noise for execution beyond quirky names. That one, an A24 backed satire on toxic fandom set during a horror convention lockdown, is poised for breakout status.

SXSW gave air to Clown in a Cornfield and to microbudget hauntings courting buyers. Sundance appears set for grief threaded elevated horror once more, and Tribeca’s genre set plays urban, social, and surreal.

Strategy at festivals now equals branding as well as discovery. Festival laurels are opening moves, not closing notes.

Heritage Horror: Additions, Do Overs, and Revisions

The franchise bench is sturdier and more targeted than lately.

Fear Street: Prom Queen, landing in July, re ups the 90s brand with a fresh lead and retro tone. In contrast to earlier chapters, it skews camp and prom night melodrama. Visualize tiaras, fake gore, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 hits late June, poised to elaborate techno horror lore through new players and AI nightmares. The opener’s social chatter and SVOD hours justify Universal’s deeper play.

The Long Walk arrives off an early Stephen King survival piece, under Francis Lawrence, it plays as a savage dystopian parable housed in survival horror, a walk to death contest without winners. If packaged well, it could track like 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.

Key Trends

Ancient myth goes wide
From Lilith in Young & Cursed to Aztec curses in Whistle, horror is turning to ancient texts and symbols. It is not nostalgia, it is re owning pre Christian archetypes. Horror exceeds jolts, it insists evil is ancient.

Body horror swings back
With Together, Weapons, and Keeper, the genre goes back to the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation symbolize heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Platform originals gain bite
Low grade filler is no longer the platform default. Platforms show up with budgets for scripts, directors, and campaigns. 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. No festival plan in 2025, and disappearance looms.

Cinemas are a trust fall
Studios hold theatrical for overperformers or future series seeds. The remainder goes PVOD or hybrid. Horror continues in theaters, in narrower curated lanes.

Forecast: 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 such as Bone Lake and Keeper will tussle for space. Keep an eye on possible slips into early 2026 or platform flips.

With Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 in December, a stealth streamer drop might pop near year end. Since big films lean mythic, a final monster or exorcism play can claim space.

The 2025 performance is about reach across segments, not one hero title. The plan is not to clone Get Out, it is to craft horror that lives on beyond box office.



The new fear lineup: installments, new stories, alongside A Crowded Calendar optimized for Scares

Dek: The emerging scare calendar packs from day one with a January pile-up, after that runs through the mid-year, and well into the winter holidays, weaving series momentum, fresh ideas, and savvy offsets. Studio marketers and platforms are prioritizing right-sized spends, theatrical-first rollouts, and social-driven marketing that convert these films into broad-appeal conversations.

How the genre looks for 2026

Horror has established itself as the surest tool in studio lineups, a vertical that can accelerate when it hits and still safeguard the exposure when it stumbles. After 2023 reassured leaders that low-to-mid budget chillers can own audience talk, the following year held pace with auteur-driven buzzy films and unexpected risers. The tailwind extended into the 2025 frame, where revivals and arthouse crossovers signaled there is room for different modes, from continued chapters to one-and-done originals that travel well. The result for 2026 is a slate that reads highly synchronized across the industry, with strategic blocks, a blend of recognizable IP and untested plays, and a tightened focus on big-screen windows that increase tail monetization on premium home window and subscription services.

Schedulers say the genre now performs as a wildcard on the slate. The genre can arrive on virtually any date, provide a simple premise for ad units and UGC-friendly snippets, and outpace with fans that come out on opening previews and hold through the week two if the feature works. On the heels of a strike-delayed pipeline, the 2026 rhythm reflects trust in that model. The calendar rolls out with a front-loaded January run, then plants flags in spring and early summer for alternate plays, while carving room for a fall run that carries into the Halloween corridor and into early November. The map also illustrates the deeper integration of indie distributors and streamers that can build gradually, create conversation, and move wide at the inflection point.

A second macro trend is brand strategy across brand ecosystems and veteran brands. Studio teams are not just making another sequel. They are shaping as brand continuity with a must-see charge, whether that is a title treatment that conveys a fresh attitude or a casting move that anchors a next film to a initial period. At the in tandem, the visionaries behind the marquee originals are prioritizing on-set craft, physical gags and concrete locations. That pairing affords the 2026 slate a strong blend of brand comfort and novelty, which is a pattern that scales internationally.

Major-player strategies for 2026

Paramount fires first with two centerpiece pushes that run the tonal gamut. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with original architect Kevin Williamson in the director’s chair and Neve Campbell back at the focus, steering it as both a cross-generational handoff and a foundation-forward character-focused installment. Filming is underway in Atlanta, and the authorial approach indicates a memory-charged approach without covering again the last two entries’ Carpenter sisters arc. Expect a marketing push rooted in classic imagery, first images of characters, and a tease cadence slated for late fall. Distribution is cinema-first via 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 together, with the Wayans brothers involved as creative partners for the first time since the early 2000s, a centerpiece the campaign will double down on. As a summer contrast play, this one will go after general-audience talk through meme-ready spots, with the horror spoof format inviting quick reframes to whatever shapes genre chatter that spring.

Universal has three separate releases. SOULM8TE opens January 9, 2026, a AI-tinged spinoff from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The logline is tidy, loss-driven, and commercial: a grieving man activates an machine companion that evolves into a lethal partner. The date sets it at the front of a packed window, with the Universal machine likely to revisit uncanny live moments and micro spots that fuses romance and anxiety.

On May 8, 2026, the studio books an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely assumed to be the feature developed under working titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The official slate currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which reserves space for a official title to become an PR pop closer to the teaser. The timing secures a slot in early May while larger tentpoles occupy other frames.

Closing out the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film takes October 23, 2026, a slot he has thrived in before. His projects are treated as auteur events, with a minimalist tease and a second trailer wave that signal tone without plot the concept. The late-month date offers Universal room to saturate 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, works with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček steers, with Souheila Yacoub anchoring. The franchise has made clear that a raw, physical-effects centered approach can feel high-value on a moderate cost. Look for a gore-forward summer horror jolt that centers global traction, with Warner Bros. handling horror U.S. and Sony taking most international markets.

Sony’s horror bench is well stocked. The studio mounts two series moves in the back half. An untitled Insidious film opens August 21, 2026, keeping a consistent supernatural brand on the grid while the spin-off branch builds quietly. Sony has repositioned on this title before, but the current plan locks it in late summer, where Insidious has been strong.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil steps back in what the studio is marketing as a new take 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 focus to serve both longtime followers and general audiences. The fall slot provides the studio time to build campaign creative around setting detail, and monster craft, elements that can fuel deluxe auditorium demand and fan events.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, positions a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film follows the filmmaker’s run of period horror driven by careful craft and historical speech, this time exploring werewolf lore. The label has already planted the flag for a holiday release, a clear message in Eggers as a specialty play that can broaden if early reception is glowing.

Digital platform strategies

Windowing plans in 2026 run on tested paths. Universal’s releases transition to copyright after a theater window then PVOD, a structure that optimizes both debut momentum and viewer acquisition in the late-window. Prime Video balances library titles with global originals and limited runs in theaters when the data warrants it. Max and Hulu work their advantages in catalog discovery, using prominent placements, Halloween hubs, and curated rows to lengthen the tail on the 2026 genre total. Netflix keeps optionality about first-party entries and festival deals, confirming horror entries tight to release and coalescing around releases with compressed campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, operates a hybrid of precision releases and prompt platform moves 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 community channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ assesses case by case horror on a case-by-case basis. The platform has been willing to invest in select projects with accomplished filmmakers or A-list packages, then give them a small theatrical footprint in partnership with exhibitors to meet qualifying rules or to show bona fides before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still feeds from the 20th Century Studios slate, a meaningful lever for sustained usage when the genre conversation builds.

Indie and specialty outlook

Cineverse is crafting a 2026 sequence with two label plays. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The setup is simple: the same haunting, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a genre cult touchstone, retooled for modern audio-visual craft. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a fall window, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has announced a cinema-first plan for the title, an healthy marker for fans of the gritty series and for exhibitors looking for R-rated counterplay in the autumn stretch.

Focus will cultivate the auteur lane with Werwulf, curating the rollout through the fall circuit if the cut is ready, then relying on the Christmas window to increase reach. That positioning has worked well for craft-driven horror with crossover potential. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not locked many 2026-specific horror dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines generally solidify after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A safe bet is a series of late-summer and fall platformers that can scale if reception merits. Do not be surprised by an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that premieres at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work in concert, using precision theatrical to jump-start evangelism that fuels their audience.

Franchise entries versus originals

By count, the 2026 slate favors the known side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all activate fan equity. The challenge, as ever, is diminishing returns. The go-to fix is to frame each entry as a tone reset. Paramount is centering character and lineage in Scream 7, Sony is floating a full reset for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is centering a European tilt from a hot helmer. Those choices prove meaningful when the audience has so many options and social sentiment moves quickly.

Non-franchise titles and filmmaker-led entries keep the lungs full. Jordan Peele’s October film will be presented as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, centers Rachel McAdams in a island-set survival premise with Raimi’s impish dread. SOULM8TE offers a lean, creepy tech hook. Werwulf brings period specificity and an hard-edged tone. Even when the title is not based on legacy IP, the team and cast is known enough to accelerate early sales and preview-night crowds.

Recent-year comps illuminate the approach. In 2023, a exclusive window model that maintained windows did not preclude a hybrid test from working when the brand was sticky. In 2024, auteur craft horror rose in premium formats. In 2025, a reawakened chapter of a beloved infection saga made clear that global horror franchises can still feel fresh when they angle differently and grow scope. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which advances January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The linked-chapter plan, with chapters shot consecutively, creates space for marketing to bridge entries through character spine and themes and to maintain a flow of assets without pause points.

How the films are being made

The production chatter behind 2026 horror point to a continued turn toward tactile, location-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not mirror any recent iteration of the property, a stance that echoes the practical-first approach he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film wrapped production and is tracking to its April 17, 2026 date. Anticipate a rollout that spotlights mood and dread rather than theme-park spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership sustaining budget prudence.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has described Werwulf as the grimmest project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval backdrop and period-accurate language, a combination that can make for sonic immersion and a raw, elemental vibe on the big screen. Focus will likely highlight this aesthetic in craft profiles and department features before rolling out a atmospheric tease that prioritizes vibe over plot, a move that has clicked for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is calibrated for practical nastiness, a signature of the series that exports well in red-band trailers and drives shareable shock clips from early screenings. Scream 7 offers a meta pivot that centers an original star. Resident Evil will succeed or falter on creature execution and sets, which fit with convention activations and guarded reveals. Insidious tends to be a audio showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the cinema argument feel necessary. Look for trailers that emphasize fine-grain sound, deep-bass stingers, and dropouts that explode in larger rooms.

Calendar map: winter through the holidays

January is jammed. SOULM8TE opens January 9, 2026, then Sony returns a week later with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple on January 16. Return to Silent Hill follows on January 23, a moody palate cleanser amid big-brand pushes. The month concludes with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival shocker from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is serious, but the mix of tones gives each title a lane, and the five-week structure gives each runway for each if word of mouth sticks.

Pre-summer months stage summer. Scream 7 lands February 27 with nostalgia heat. In April, The Mummy reimagines a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once belonged to genre counterprogramming and now nurtures big openers. Universal’s untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 feeds 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 comedic and broad, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 supplies severe intensity. The counterprogramming logic is smart. The spoof can succeed next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest delights older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have finished their premium pass.

End of summer through fall leans series. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives the studio a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously done well. Resident Evil lines up after September 18, a early fall window that still builds toward Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event locks October 23 and will absorb cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely backed by a slow-reveal plan and limited asset reveals that lean on concept not plot.

Awards-adjacent specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a line in sand that genre can work in holiday corridor when packaged as filmmaker prestige. Focus has done this before, rolling out carefully, then using critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to sustain conversation into January. If the film clicks critically, the studio can open up in the first week of 2027 while using holiday momentum and gift-card use.

Embedded title notes

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting TBA in phases as production proceeds. Logline: Sidney returns to oppose a new Ghostface while the narrative rethreads the original film’s genome. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: origin-forward with a contemporary twist.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A widowed man’s machine mate evolves into something fatal and romantic. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal completed 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 extends the world beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult forms in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Shot back-to-back with the first film. Positioning: continuation of a revered infection cycle.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man journeys back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to confront a unsettled reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished with U.S. theatrical locked. Positioning: fog-and-fear 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 demanding boss try to survive on a far-flung island as the pecking order tilts and unease intensifies. Rating: TBA. Production: Done. Positioning: star-front survival film from a master.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles to be revealed in official materials. Logline: A contemporary retelling that returns the monster to terror, rooted in Cronin’s tactile craft and rising 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 residential haunting piece that twists the unease of a child’s shaky POV. Rating: TBA. Production: fully shot. Positioning: studio-financed and marquee-led supernatural suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers reuniting creatively. Logline: {A satire sequel that targets in-vogue horror tropes and true crime fascinations. Rating: TBA. Production: fall 2025 production window. Positioning: mass-audience summer option.

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 transnational twist in tone and setting. Rating: not yet rated. Production: lensing in New Zealand. Positioning: graphic series entry optimized for PLF.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be revealed later. Top cast: forthcoming. Logline: The Further yawns again, with a another family linked to past horrors. Rating: forthcoming. Production: targeting a summer lensing window for late-summer Check This Out release. Positioning: stalwart franchise piece in a friendly frame.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: pending public reveal. Top cast: to be announced. Logline: A from-scratch rebuild designed to rebuild the franchise from the ground up, with an center of gravity in survivalist horror over pyrotechnic spectacle. Rating: TBD. Production: advancing in development with date locked. Positioning: lore-true modernization with broad upside.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: forthcoming. Logline: carefully shrouded. Rating: forthcoming. Production: in progress. Positioning: director event, teaser-led.

Werwulf (Focus Features, December 25, 2026)
Director: Robert Eggers. Top cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, with other regulars expected. Logline: A medieval werewolf story built on antique diction and primordial menace. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: actively prepping for a holiday slot. 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 cinema-first path before platforming. Status: date shifting, fall likely.

Why 2026 makes sense

Three workable forces structure this lineup. First, production that eased or re-slotted in 2024 called for breathing room in the schedule. Horror can bridge those gaps quickly because scripts often are set in fewer locales, fewer large-scale effects set pieces, 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 overdelivered vs. straight-to-streaming launches. Third, social buzz converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will harvest reaction-worthy moments from test screenings, curated scare clips paired with Thursday night previews, and experiential pop-ups that feed creator content. It is a repeatable playbook because it holds up.

There is also the slotting calculus. The family and cape slots are lighter early in 2026, leaving useful real estate for genre entries that can command a weekend or operate as the older-skew option. January is the prime example. Four different flavors of horror will compete across five weekends, which helps each film cultivate buzz on its own. Summer provides the other window. The parody can surf the early-summer animated and action swell, then the hard-R entry can exploit a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Money matters, ratings, and surprise hits

Budgets remain in the strike zone. Most of the films above will track under the $40–$50 million range, 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 lower and mid-budget genre can own weekends with minimal competition, and again in late summer, where horror often becomes the conversation when tentpoles tire. The 2026 slate is set up to press those advantages. January could easily deliver the first dark-horse hit of the year, and August into September gives Sony an avenue to hold screens with back-to-back supernatural IP while still leaving room for an indie breakout.

Internationally, brand recognition helps Resident Evil, Evil Dead, and Scream travel, while 28 Years Later benefits from a British setting and returning talent. Werwulf and The Mummy will lean on auteur and classic-monster awareness abroad. Streamers will amplify the tail, with copyright pickups boosting Universal’s slate and Shudder driving evangelism for Cineverse titles. 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.

Audience rhythm across the year

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers tempo and variety. January is a feast, February delivers a legacy slasher, April revives a Universal monster, May and June provide a two-beat supernatural run for date nights and group outings, July gets gnarly, 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 sustain conversation and attendance without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can compound over time, using earlier releases to seed the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors value the spacing. Horror delivers preview-night pops, efficient placements, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can credibly make the premium-screen case, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing texture, sonics, and imagery 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 Looks Exciting

Dates shift. Ratings change. Casts evolve. But the spine of 2026 horror is in place. There is brand gravity where needed, creative ambition where it counts, 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 late-arriving specialty entry join the party. For now, the job is simple, cut sharp trailers, lock the reveals, and let the frights sell the seats.