Antediluvian Dread rises: Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a spine tingling horror feature, landing Oct 2025 on major streaming services

This blood-curdling paranormal shockfest from scriptwriter / visionary Andrew Chiaramonte, releasing an primeval evil when outsiders become tokens in a fiendish maze. Releasing this October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube streaming, Google Play, Apple’s iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango platform.

Hollywood, CA (August 8th, 2025) – Prepare yourselves for *Young & Cursed*, a nightmarish episode of resilience and prehistoric entity that will reimagine fear-driven cinema this scare season. Visualized by rising imaginative director Andrew Chiaramonte, this psychological and atmospheric story follows five unacquainted souls who find themselves stuck in a secluded hideaway under the malevolent command of Kyra, a haunted figure haunted by a millennia-old Old Testament spirit. Arm yourself to be captivated by a screen-based journey that fuses primitive horror with mystical narratives, streaming on Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on the second of October, 2025.


Malevolent takeover has been a legendary pillar in horror films. In *Young & Cursed*, that formula is challenged when the fiends no longer develop beyond the self, but rather from deep inside. This mirrors the shadowy layer of the players. The result is a gripping mental war where the story becomes a unforgiving tug-of-war between light and darkness.


In a desolate outland, five individuals find themselves sealed under the dark effect and infestation of a unidentified female figure. As the survivors becomes vulnerable to resist her curse, isolated and pursued by entities beyond comprehension, they are made to stand before their darkest emotions while the time without pause draws closer toward their death.


In *Young & Cursed*, anxiety grows and bonds dissolve, pushing each protagonist to examine their core and the foundation of decision-making itself. The consequences grow with every passing moment, delivering a chilling narrative that blends ghostly evil with soulful exposure.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my goal was to draw upon basic terror, an curse beyond recorded history, working through fragile psyche, and challenging a curse that dismantles free will when freedom is gone.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Portraying Kyra asked for exploring something rooted in terror. She is in denial until the demon emerges, and that transition is shocking because it is so personal.”

Release & Availability

*Young & Cursed* will be aired for audiences beginning on October 2nd, 2025, on Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand—providing users no matter where they are can engage with this haunted release.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just rolled out a new second trailer for *Young & Cursed*, uploaded to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a second look to its release of trailer #1, which has garnered over 100K plays.


In addition to its continental debut, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has declared that *Young & Cursed* will also be taken worldwide, bringing the film to fans of fear everywhere.


Do not miss this heart-stopping descent into hell. Watch *Young & Cursed* this horrific release to witness these chilling revelations about our species.


For bonus footage, set experiences, and alerts from inside the story, follow @YoungAndCursedMovie across platforms and visit the movie’s homepage.





American horror’s inflection point: the 2025 season U.S. rollouts braids together legend-infused possession, art-house nightmares, paired with Franchise Rumbles

Spanning life-or-death fear inspired by ancient scripture all the way to canon extensions in concert with acutely observed indies, 2025 looks like horror’s most layered and tactically planned year in a decade.

It is loaded, and also intentionally sequenced. studio majors plant stakes across the year through proven series, simultaneously premium streamers crowd the fall with new voices in concert with primordial unease. On the independent axis, the micro-to-mid budget ranks is catching the afterglow of a banner 2024 fest year. With Halloween still the genre’s crown piece, the rest of the calendar is filling out with surgical precision. That late Q3 to mid Q4 lane is the crucible, but this year, slates are opening January, spring, and mid-summer. Horror fans are craving, studios are methodical, hence 2025 is positioned to be the most designed season yet.

Studio and Mini-Major Moves: Premium dread reemerges

The majors are assertive. If 2024 primed the reset, 2025 doubles down.

Universal’s schedule leads off the quarter with a headline swing: a refashioned Wolf Man, eschewing a mist-shrouded old-world European town, in a clear present-tense world. With Leigh Whannell at the helm with Christopher Abbott alongside Julia Garner, this chapter binds the lycanthropy to domestic unraveling. The metamorphosis extends past flesh, into marriage, parenthood, and human hurt. arriving mid January, it helps remake the winter trough with prestige offerings, not discard thrillers.

As spring rolls in, Clown in a Cornfield bows, a YA slasher novel refit as minimal menace. Guided by Eli Craig including Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it functions as blood smeared American gothic with snark. Beneath the mask, it picks at rural paranoia, age cohort splits, and lynch mob logic. Advance murmurs say it draws blood.

At summer’s close, Warner Bros. Pictures unveils the final movement inside its trusty horror universe: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson reprise Ed and Lorraine Warren, the finale seeks an emotional close via a signature case. Granted the structure is classic, Michael Chaves appears to favor a elegiac, inward tone here. It lands in early September, carving air ahead of October’s stack.

The Black Phone 2 follows. Originally slated for early summer, its move to an October release suggests confidence. Scott Derrickson is back, and the defining traits of the first sleeper return: retro dread, trauma as text, along with eerie supernatural rules. This run ups the stakes, by digging further into the “grabber” mythos and grief’s generational echo.

Rounding out the big ticket releases is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a movie that scarcely needs conventional ads. The continuation widens the legend, enlarges the animatronic menagerie, while aiming for teen viewers and thirty something game loyalists. It hits in December, locking down the winter tail.

Streaming Offerings: Modest spend, serious shock

While theaters bet on familiarity, streamers are pushing into risk, and dividends follow.

A top daring platform piece is Weapons, a cold case horror anthology splicing three ages joined by a mass disappearance. With Zach Cregger directing with turns by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the title blends fear with dramatic gravity. Hitting theaters late summer with fall digital, it is poised to inspire think pieces and forums, echoing Barbarian.

Playing chamber scale is Together, a room scale body horror descent starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Situated in an out of the way rental during a failed escape, the work maps love envy and self hatred onto bodily unraveling. It is romantic, grotesque, and deeply uncomfortable, a three act spiral into codependent hell. Even without a formal platform date, it is destined for a fall landing.

One more platform talker is Sinners, a 1930s set vampire folk tale starring Michael B. Jordan. Captured with warm sepia and heavy biblical metaphor, it mirrors There Will Be Blood meeting Let the Right One In. The project looks at American religious trauma under a supernatural allegory. Early test screenings have marked it as one of the year’s most talked about streaming debuts.

Extra indies bide their time on platforms: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper all tap into themes of grief, disappearance, and identity, often using horror as metaphor instead of spectacle.

Possession With Depth: Young & Cursed

Arriving October 2 across major platforms, Young & Cursed plays as a rare fusion, spare in setting, sweeping in lore. From writer director Andrew Chiaramonte, the piece tracks five strangers awakening in a remote wilds cabin, under Kyra’s sway, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. When darkness comes, Kyra’s power swells, a penetrating force tapping their private fears, soft spots, and remorse.

The dread here runs psychological, charged by primal myth. Instead of another exorcism piece centered on Catholic rites or Latin incantations, this film taps something older, something darker. Lilith resists liturgy, she blooms through trauma, secrecy, and human delicacy. Possession that blooms from within, not without, inverts the trope and places Young & Cursed within a growing horror trend, intimate character studies wrapped in 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. It is a calculated bet. No overinflated mythology. No continuity burden. 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 remain breeding grounds for what horror looks like six to twelve months later. They feel like launchpads now, not just showcases.

The Fantastic Fest slate for horror is strong this year. Primate, an opening night tropical body-horror, invites Cronenberg meets Herzog talk. Whistle, a folkloric revenge burner in Aztec code, should close with flame.

Midnight entries like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You are getting buzz not just for their titles but for their execution. That film, an A24 backed satire of toxic fandom inside a horror convention lockdown, looks poised to break out.

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

Festival playbooks now prize branding as much as discovery. The laurel is campaign ignition, not epilogue.

Legacy IP: Sequels and Reboots, Reinvention Included

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

Fear Street: Prom Queen comes in July with franchise revival, new lead, retro styling. Unlike earlier entries, this leans camp and prom night melodrama. Expect tiaras, corn syrup blood, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 bows late June, geared to push its techno horror story world with added characters and AI made scares. That first run’s social and SVOD traction lets Universal push further.

On the slate sits The Long Walk, from one of Stephen King’s stark early titles, helmed by Francis Lawrence, it shows as a grim dystopian parable set in survival horror, a youth walk ending only in death. If sold right, it could sit as The Hunger Games for adult horror fans.

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

Mythic currents go mainstream
Lilith in Young & Cursed plus Aztec curses in Whistle highlight ancient texts and symbols. This trend avoids nostalgia, reclaiming pre Christian archetypes. Horror is not just scaring us, it is reminding us that evil is older than we are.

Body horror comes roaring back
Work like Together, Weapons, and Keeper revisit the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation serve as metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streaming originals get teeth
The days of disposable horror filler on digital platforms are over. Platforms show up with budgets for scripts, directors, and campaigns. Films like Weapons and Sinners are treated as events, not content.

Festival buzz converts to leverage
Laurels move markets, opening release doors and coverage arcs. A film minus festival planning in 2025 risks getting lost.

Theaters are a trust fall
The big screen goes to those expected to beat comps or build series. Everything else heads to PVOD or hybrid drops. Horror continues in theaters, in narrower curated lanes.

Season Ahead: Fall crush plus winter X factor

With Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons all stacked across September and October, the fall is downright saturated. Indies, including Bone Lake and Keeper, will battle for oxygen. Keep an eye on possible slips into early 2026 or platform flips.

December is anchored by Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, but do not rule out a surprise streamer drop in the final weeks. 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 plan is not to clone Get Out, it is to craft horror that lives on beyond box office.



The forthcoming 2026 fear calendar year ahead: follow-ups, non-franchise titles, as well as A stacked Calendar Built For chills

Dek The emerging scare slate crams from the jump with a January glut, and then flows through peak season, and well into the December corridor, blending IP strength, creative pitches, and smart counterplay. Studios and streamers are committing to mid-range economics, theatrical-first rollouts, and viral-minded pushes that elevate these pictures into water-cooler talk.

Where horror stands going into 2026

The genre has become the most reliable counterweight in programming grids, a space that can break out when it hits and still mitigate the floor when it falls short. After the 2023 year demonstrated to executives that efficiently budgeted fright engines can own mainstream conversation, 2024 extended the rally with festival-darling auteurs and surprise hits. The upswing carried into 2025, where reawakened brands and awards-minded projects confirmed there is a market for a spectrum, from ongoing IP entries to filmmaker-driven originals that perform internationally. The end result for 2026 is a schedule that shows rare alignment across the industry, with obvious clusters, a equilibrium of familiar brands and first-time concepts, and a refocused stance on cinema windows that enhance post-theatrical value on premium rental and digital services.

Studio leaders note the horror lane now works like a schedule utility on the schedule. Horror can launch on most weekends, furnish a sharp concept for promo reels and short-form placements, and overperform with viewers that line up on opening previews and stick through the next pass if the title hits. Exiting a strike-induced shuffle, the 2026 plan telegraphs assurance in that playbook. The slate commences with a stacked January run, then turns to spring and early summer for counterweight, while leaving room for a fall cadence that pushes into late October and into November. The map also spotlights the continuing integration of specialty arms and streamers that can platform and widen, stoke social talk, and go nationwide at the proper time.

A notable top-line trend is brand strategy across shared universes and established properties. Studio teams are not just releasing another return. They are setting up lineage with a sense of event, whether that is a art treatment that announces a tonal shift or a lead change that connects a incoming chapter to a original cycle. At the meanwhile, the writer-directors behind the most watched originals are championing material texture, in-camera effects and distinct locales. That mix gives 2026 a strong blend of recognition and surprise, which is how the films export.

The majors’ 2026 approach

Paramount defines the early cadence with two high-profile releases that sit at tonal extremes. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with original architect Kevin Williamson in the director role and Neve Campbell back at the lead, presenting it as both a lineage transfer and a back-to-basics character-centered film. The shoot is ongoing in Atlanta, and the directional approach telegraphs a fan-service aware treatment without rehashing the last two entries’ sibling arc. The studio is likely to mount a drive anchored in brand visuals, character spotlights, and a trailer cadence landing toward late fall. Distribution is big-screen via Paramount.

Paramount also resurrects a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are joining up again, with the Wayans brothers involved in creative roles for the first time since the early 2000s, a campaign lever the campaign will lean on. As a summer contrast play, this one will go after wide buzz through share-ready beats, with the horror spoof format allowing quick pivots to whatever dominates horror talk that spring.

Universal has three clear strategies. SOULM8TE launches January 9, 2026, a tie-in spinoff from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The conceit is crisp, tragic, and commercial: a grieving man purchases an algorithmic mate that becomes a deadly partner. The date puts it at the front of a competition-heavy month, with marketing at Universal likely to bring back uncanny-valley stunts and quick hits that fuses attachment and fear.

On May 8, 2026, the studio positions an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely believed to be the feature developed under temporary titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The posted calendar currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which reserves space for a name unveil to become an headline beat closer to the first look. The timing offers Universal a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles take the main frames.

Finishing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film plants on October 23, 2026, a slot he has excelled in before. His entries are treated as event films, with a concept-forward tease and a next wave of trailers that define feel without revealing the concept. The pre-Halloween slot opens a lane to own 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 steers, with Souheila Yacoub in the lead. The franchise has shown that a flesh-and-blood, makeup-driven style can feel top-tier on a middle budget. Look for a splatter summer horror blast that leans hard into worldwide reach, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most international territories.

Sony’s horror bench is notably deep. The studio rolls out two name-brand pushes in the back half. An untitled Insidious film lands August 21, 2026, preserving a evergreen supernatural brand in motion while the spin-off branch advances. Sony has moved dates on this title before, but the current plan keeps it in late summer, where the brand has often excelled.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil reboots in what the studio is positioning as a reset for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a primary part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a clearer mandate to serve both loyalists and general audiences. The fall slot affords Sony time to build campaign pieces around narrative world, and creature builds, elements that can stoke premium format interest and fan-culture participation.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, stakes a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film carries forward Eggers’ run of period horror centered on rigorous craft and linguistic texture, this time set against lycan legends. The imprint has already staked the slot for a holiday release, a promissory note in Eggers as a specialty play that can scale widely if early reception is positive.

Where the platforms fit in

Home-platform rhythms for 2026 run on stable tracks. Universal’s genre slate move to copyright after a theatrical-first then PVOD phase, a ladder that optimizes both launch urgency and trial spikes in the after-window. Prime Video combines library titles with worldwide entries and brief theater runs when the data points to it. Max and Hulu focus their lanes in catalog discovery, using in-app campaigns, fright rows, and programmed rows to increase tail value on the year’s genre earnings. Netflix keeps optionality about Netflix originals and festival acquisitions, securing horror entries tight to release and framing as events arrivals with tight-window plans. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, capitalizes on a dual-phase of selective theatrical runs and speedy platforming that turns chatter to conversion. That will matter for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before turning to fan pipelines in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ continues to evaluate horror on a selective basis. The platform has indicated interest to invest in select projects with acclaimed directors or headline-cast packages, then give them a art-house footprint in partnership with exhibitors to meet qualification bars or to generate social proof before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still capitalizes on the 20th Century Studios slate, a major factor for subscriber stickiness when the genre conversation spikes.

The specialty lanes and indie surprises

Cineverse is structuring a 2026 runway with two recognizable titles. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The offer is direct: the same atmospheric, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a genre cult touchstone, refined for modern audio 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 suggested a theatrical-first plan for Legacy, an promising marker for fans of the nasty series and for exhibitors looking for R-rated counterplay in the back half.

Focus will operate the filmmaker lane with Werwulf, piloting the title through festival season if the cut is ready, then turning to the December frame to scale. That positioning has shown results for elevated genre with crossover ambitions. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not publicly set many dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines generally solidify after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A sound expectation is a cluster of late-summer and fall platformers that can expand if reception drives. Plan on an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that runs at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work jointly, using targeted theatrical to ignite evangelism that fuels their paid base.

Series vs standalone

By number, the 2026 slate is weighted toward the franchise column. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all activate franchise value. The risk, as ever, is diminishing returns. The pragmatic answer is to present each entry as a tone reset. Paramount is emphasizing character and roots in Scream 7, Sony is promising a restart at zero for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is embracing a European tilt from a ascendant talent. Those choices count when the audience has so many options and social sentiment moves quickly.

Originals and talent-first projects keep the lungs full. Jordan Peele’s October film will be pitched as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, centers Rachel McAdams in a crash-survival premise with that teasing menace. SOULM8TE offers a sharp, spooky tech hook. Werwulf delivers period specificity and an uncompromising tone. Even when the title is not based on a property, the package is anchored enough to drive advance ticketing and Thursday previews.

Comparable trends from recent years frame the strategy. In 2023, a theater-first model that preserved streaming windows did not obstruct a parallel release from working when the brand was robust. In 2024, filmmaker-craft-led horror surged in PLF auditoriums. In 2025, a reanimation of a beloved infection saga reminded the market that global horror franchises can still feel reinvigorated when they alter lens and elevate scope. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which unfolds 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 filmed consecutively, lets marketing to relate entries through character spine and themes and to keep assets in-market without long breaks.

Creative tendencies and craft

The behind-the-scenes chatter behind the upcoming entries forecast a continued move toward physical, site-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not imitate any recent iteration of the property, a stance that matches the physical-effects bias he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film wrapped photography and is lined up for its April 17, 2026 date. Expect a campaign that elevates unease and texture rather than VFX blitz, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership bolstering smart budget discipline.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has characterized Werwulf as the grimmest project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval setting and archaic dialect, a combination that can make for immersive sound design and a raw, elemental vibe on the big screen. Focus will likely pre-sell this aesthetic in trade spotlights and department features before rolling out a tease that centers atmosphere over story, a move that has clicked for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is aimed at goopy mayhem, a signature of the series that exports well in red-band trailers and gathers shareable screening reactions from early screenings. Scream 7 delivers a self-aware reset that returns to the core star. Resident Evil will rise or fall on creature work and production design, which fit with fan conventions and planned releases. Insidious tends to be a audio craft showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the cinema argument feel essential. Look for trailers that accent hyper-detailed sound, deep-bass stingers, and held silences that sing on PLF.

From winter to holidays

January is stacked. 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 tonal palate cleanser amid heftier brand moves. The month concludes with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival-horror from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is legit, but the range of tones opens lanes for all, and the five-week structure gives each runway for each if word of mouth persists.

Late Q1 and spring stage summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 lands February 27 with legacy heat. In April, The Mummy reawakens a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once was home to genre counterprogramming and now enables 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 spreads the field. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is light and four-quadrant, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 serves severe intensity. The counterprogramming logic is solid. The spoof can deliver next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest scratches the itch for older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have run their PLF course.

End of summer through fall leans franchise. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives the studio a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously excelled. Resident Evil slides in after September 18, a early fall window that still connects to Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film grabs October 23 and will own cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely pushed by a tease-and-hold strategy and limited advance reveals that lean on concept not plot.

Holiday prestige and specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a declaration that genre can play the holidays when packaged as awards-flirting horror. Focus has done this before, measured platforming, then turning to critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to keep the film in the conversation into January. If the film hits with critics, the studio can go wider in the first week of 2027 while riding holiday turnout and gift-card use.

Project-by-project snapshots

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting continuing to be revealed as production continues. Logline: Sidney returns to meet a new Ghostface while the narrative returns to the original film’s genome. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: classic-DNA reset with a current angle.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A loss-struck man’s artificial companion escalates into something seductively lethal. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal completed for an early-year bow. Positioning: tech-horror with an emotional core.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Sony, January 16, 2026)
Director: Nia DaCosta. Writer: Alex Garland. Top cast: Cillian Murphy, Jack O’Connell, and additional ensemble tied to a new antagonist faction. Logline: The second chapter in a trilogy grows the world beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult surges 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 journeys back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to collide with a changing reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed with U.S. theatrical distribution secured. 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 severe boss push to survive on a isolated island as the control dynamic tilts and fear crawls. Rating: TBA. Production: Done. Positioning: marquee survival piece from a master.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles not yet announced in official materials. Logline: A contemporary retelling that returns the monster to chill, based on Cronin’s tactile craft and oozing dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal wrapped. Positioning: classic monster relaunch with a filmmaker’s stamp.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A household haunting premise that leverages the unease of a child’s uncertain read. Rating: to be announced. Production: fully shot. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven haunted-house suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers back in creative roles. Logline: {A parody return that lampoons current genre trends and true crime fervors. Rating: undetermined. Production: lensing scheduled for fall 2025. Positioning: broad-lane summer entry.

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 breaks out, with an worldly twist in tone and setting. Rating: to be announced. Production: currently in New Zealand. Positioning: R-rated franchise charge tuned for PLF.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: TBD per campaign. Top cast: TBD. Logline: The Further reopens, with a new family caught in past horrors. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: aiming to lens in summer ahead of late-summer bow. Positioning: trusted supernatural label in a supportive window.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: TBA publicly. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: A from-scratch rebuild designed to recreate the franchise from the ground up, with an stress on survival horror over pyrotechnic spectacle. Rating: TBA. 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: awaiting confirmation. Logline: deliberately concealed. Rating: not yet rated. Production: proceeding. 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 period-specific language and elemental fear. Rating: TBA. Production: gearing up with December 25 frame. Positioning: prestige-grade holiday chiller with artisan honors in view.

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 big-screen run before platforming. Status: window fluid, autumn forecast.

Why this year, why now

Three operational forces inform this lineup. First, production that downshifted or recalendared in 2024 required schedule breathing room. Horror can slot in fast because scripts often rely on fewer locations, fewer large-scale CGI runs, and accelerated schedules. 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 surpassed straight-to-streaming landings. Third, digital word of mouth converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will lean on bite-size scare clips from test screenings, metered scare clips timed to Thursday night previews, and experiential pop-ups that seed creator reels. It is a repeatable playbook because it works.

A fourth factor is programming math. Early-2026 family and superhero concentrations ease, opening usable real estate for genre entries that can seize a weekend or position as the older-lean choice. January is the prime example. Four tonal lanes of horror will line up across five weekends, which permits distinct conversations to flourish. Summer provides the other window. The parody can surf the early-summer animated and action swell, then the hard-R entry can leverage a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Money matters, ratings, and surprise hits

Budgets remain in the target range. Most of the films above will land under the $40–$50 million mark, with many far below. That allows for deep PLF penetration 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 dark-horse hunt 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 quiet breakout of the year, and August into September gives Sony an avenue to hold screens with back-to-back supernatural IP while still leaving room for an indie breakout.

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

Audience rhythm across the year

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers pattern and spread. January is a spread, February delivers a legacy slasher, April reanimates a Universal monster, May and June provide a back-to-back supernatural punch for date nights and group outings, July goes red-band, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a icy, 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 favor the spacing. Horror delivers preview-night pops, optimized footprints, 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 navigate here all showcasing grain, acoustics, 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 Is Well Positioned

Windows change. Ratings change. Casts rotate. But the spine of 2026 horror is in place. There is brand gravity where needed, fresh vision where it counts, and a calendar that shows studios track how and when scares land. 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-stage specialty acquisition join the party. For now, the job is simple, edit tight trailers, lock the reveals, and let the shocks sell the seats.