Age-old Evil returns: Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a hair raising horror feature, debuting Oct 2025 across top streaming platforms

A blood-curdling mystic shockfest from narrative craftsman / cinema craftsman Andrew Chiaramonte, liberating an long-buried entity when passersby become pawns in a supernatural ordeal. Airings begin this October 2nd, 2025, on Prime Video, YouTube, Google’s digital store, iTunes Movies, Apple TV Plus, and Fandango at Home.

Hollywood, CA (August 8th, 2025) – hold tight for *Young & Cursed*, a disturbing tale of endurance and age-old darkness that will remodel the horror genre this spooky time. Realized by rising genre visionary Andrew Chiaramonte, this edge-of-your-seat and shadowy story follows five unknowns who arise trapped in a wilderness-bound structure under the ominous grip of Kyra, a female presence claimed by a two-thousand-year-old biblical force. Ready yourself to be drawn in by a visual journey that harmonizes visceral dread with mystical narratives, releasing on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Possession by evil has been a legendary foundation in the silver screen. In *Young & Cursed*, that tradition is subverted when the presences no longer descend beyond the self, but rather through their own souls. This echoes the shadowy layer of the victims. The result is a emotionally raw psychological battle where the drama becomes a perpetual confrontation between divinity and wickedness.


In a bleak natural abyss, five figures find themselves caught under the possessive force and haunting of a mysterious person. As the cast becomes powerless to combat her rule, marooned and stalked by beings indescribable, they are made to stand before their darkest emotions while the hours without pause draws closer toward their death.


In *Young & Cursed*, anxiety grows and bonds collapse, prompting each participant to scrutinize their self and the principle of independent thought itself. The hazard amplify with every heartbeat, delivering a scare-fueled ride that merges demonic fright with deep insecurity.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my vision was to extract ancestral fear, an spirit that existed before mankind, emerging via our fears, and challenging a darkness that questions who we are when we lose control.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Living Kyra involved tapping into something outside normal anguish. She is blind until the curse activates, and that transition is haunting because it is so intimate.”

Viewing Options

*Young & Cursed* will be released for public screening beginning October 2, 2025, on Prime Video, Google’s video hub, Google’s store, Apple iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home—offering viewers anywhere can enjoy this horror showcase.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just broadcast a new trailer two for *Young & Cursed*, available to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a second look to its release of trailer #1, which has earned over thousands of viewers.


In addition to its domestic release, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has made public that *Young & Cursed* will also be shared across borders, offering the tale to lovers of terror across nations.


Be sure to catch this bone-rattling descent into darkness. Enter *Young & Cursed* this All Hallows’ kickoff to face these haunting secrets about our species.


For teasers, on-set glimpses, and reveals straight from the filmmakers, follow @YoungAndCursedFilm across Instagram and Twitter and visit our spooky domain.





American horror’s pivotal crossroads: 2025 U.S. release slate Mixes archetypal-possession themes, art-house nightmares, alongside franchise surges

Running from endurance-driven terror drawn from primordial scripture through to installment follow-ups in concert with keen independent perspectives, 2025 is shaping up as the most variegated plus blueprinted year in ten years.

The 2025 horror calendar is more than crowded, it is calculated. the big studios stabilize the year via recognizable brands, simultaneously premium streamers crowd the fall with new voices paired with primordial unease. On the independent axis, the micro-to-mid budget ranks is carried on the afterglow of a banner 2024 fest year. Because Halloween stands as the showcase, the rest of the calendar is filling out with surgical precision. The September, October gauntlet has become standard, but this year, horror is also claiming January, spring, and even mid-summer. Audiences are leaning in, studios are surgical, thus 2025 may be recorded as the genre’s most deliberate campaign.

Major and Mini-Major Maneuvers: Prestige terror resurfaces

The studios are not sitting idle. If 2024 set the base, 2025 doubles down.

Universal’s slate opens the year with a big gambit: a newly envisioned Wolf Man, avoiding the standard nineteenth century European backdrop, within a sleek contemporary canvas. From director Leigh Whannell with Christopher Abbott opposite Julia Garner, this chapter binds the lycanthropy to domestic unraveling. The arc is bodily and domestic, about marriage, caregiving, and fragile humanity. timed for mid January, it helps remake the winter trough with prestige offerings, not discard thrillers.

Spring delivers Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher port tuned to austere horror. From director Eli Craig with Katie Douglas alongside Kevin Durand, it plays as blood lacquered Americana with satire under the paint. Behind the grin, it unpacks local hysteria, generational chasms, and crowd justice. Advance murmurs say it draws blood.

As summer wanes, the WB camp drops the final chapter from its cornerstone horror IP: The Conjuring: Last Rites. The Warrens are back with Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the movie targets a resonant finish through an infamous case. While the template is known, director Michael Chaves is said to bring a more mournful, introspective tone to the series swan song. It posts in early September, creating cushion before October load.

The Black Phone 2 slots behind. It was eyed for early summer, and shifting to October telegraphs confidence. Scott Derrickson returns, and so do the signature elements that made the first installment a sleeper hit: retrograde shiver, trauma centered writing, and eerie supernatural logic. The bar is raised this go, by enlarging the “grabber” map and grief’s lineage.

Completing the calendar is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a movie that scarcely needs conventional ads. The continuation widens the legend, stretches the animatronic parade, bridging teens and legacy players. It posts in December, securing the winter cap.

Streaming Originals: Modest spend, serious shock

With cinemas leaning into known IP, streamers are swinging risk forward, and returns look strong.

A flagship risky title is Weapons, a cold trail horror omnibus lacing three time frames tied to a mass vanishing. Directed by Zach Cregger with Josh Brolin opposite Julia Garner, the project unites horror with dramatic charge. Posting late summer theatrically then fall streaming, it will likely trigger thread wars and analysis videos, recalling Barbarian.

At the smaller scale sits Together, a body horror chamber piece led by Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Trapped in a far off rental as a holiday fractures, the arc observes love and green eyed envy and self harm turned somatic. It toggles from love to slime, a staged slide into codependent hell. Although a platform date is not yet posted, it is a near certain autumn drop.

On the docket is Sinners, a 1930s vintage vampire folk yarn featuring Michael B. Jordan. Shot in rich sepia tones and drenched in biblical metaphor, it suggests There Will Be Blood blended with Let the Right One In. The narrative analyzes American religious trauma through a ghostly allegory. Advance tests paint it as a watercooler streamer.

A cluster of streaming indies sits ready: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each threads grief and absence and identity, mapping allegory to dread.

The Possession Runs Deep: Young & Cursed

Hitting October 2 on the platforms, Young & Cursed reads as a rare blend, small in footprint yet mythic in spread. Scripted and led by Andrew Chiaramonte, the movie observes five strangers who awaken in an isolated wilderness cabin, controlled by Kyra, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. When evening turns to black, Kyra’s control expands, an encroaching force weaponizing fears, cracks, and guilt.

This fear is psychologically driven, pulsing with primal myth. Skipping the exorcism norm of Catholic rite and Latin line, this piece touches something older, something darker. Lilith arrives not by rite, but through trauma, silence, and human fragility. 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.

Streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home have positioned the film as a Halloween counterweight to theatrical sequels and monster revivals. It is a calculated bet. No puffed out backstory. No brand fatigue. Simply psychological fear, lean and taut, built for the binge then recover rhythm. In a spectacle stack, Young & Cursed could be the hush before the shriek.

Festival Born, Buyer Ready

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF function as launch beds for the coming year’s horror. They are more runway than museum.

Fantastic Fest’s horror bench is deep this year. Primate opens the fest with tropical body horror and critics cite Cronenberg and Herzog. Whistle, a folkloric revenge burner in Aztec code, should close with flame.

Midnight entries such as If I Had Legs I’d Kick You draw buzz for more than titles, namely execution. Backed by A24, it skewers toxic fandom amid a convention lockdown, poised to break big.

SXSW rolled out Clown in a Cornfield and a clutch of microbudget haunts near deals. Sundance is on track for grief tuned elevated horror, with Tribeca’s genre menu reading urban, social, and surreal.

Festivals in 2025 double as branding machines. That wreath is now a starting gun, not the finish.

Heritage Horror: Follow Ups, Restarts, and Reframes

Legacy IP arrives sturdier and more intentional this cycle.

Fear Street: Prom Queen hits July to revive the 90s line with fresh lead and VHS vibe. Breaking with earlier shading, it leans camp and prom night melodrama. Bring tiaras, red dye, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 drops late June, geared to push its techno horror story world with added characters and AI made scares. The opener’s social chatter and SVOD hours justify Universal’s deeper play.

On the slate sits The Long Walk, from one of Stephen King’s stark early titles, guided by Francis Lawrence, it functions as a harsh dystopian fable encased in survival horror, a children’s march that ends in death. With clear targeting, it could become The Hunger Games for horror grown ups.

Other reboots and sequels, Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda, are scattered across the calendar, most waiting for strategic windows or last minute acquisitions.

Trends to Watch

Ancient myth goes wide
From Lilith in Young & Cursed across to Aztec curses in Whistle, slates mine ancient texts and symbols. This trend avoids nostalgia, reclaiming pre Christian archetypes. Horror goes beyond fright, it notes evil’s age.

Body horror ascends again
The likes of Together, Weapons, and Keeper reshift toward flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation serve as metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Originals on platforms bite harder
Low grade filler is no longer the platform default. Streamers are investing in real scripts, real directors, and real marketing pushes. Entries like Weapons and Sinners get event treatment, not inventory.

Festival Hype Equals Market Leverage
Badges are functional, they buy theatrical access, prime placement, and cycles. Without a festival strategy in 2025, a horror film risks vanishing.

Cinemas are a trust fall
Studios hold theatrical for overperformers or future series seeds. All others choose PVOD or hybrid. Horror is not vanishing from theaters, it is getting curated.

What’s Next: Fall saturation and a winter joker

Those four, Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons, crowd September and October to saturation. Indies including Bone Lake and Keeper will wrestle for room. There may be pivots into early 2026 or across platforms.

December anchors on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, yet a surprise streamer drop could appear in the final weeks. Given the dark, mythic lean of the year’s big films, a final creature feature or exorcism slot is open.

Horror’s 2025 outcome will be decided not by one title, but by how its variety connects with splintered audiences. The assignment is not to chase the next Get Out, it is to build horror that endures beyond box office.



The 2026 terror release year: follow-ups, original films, plus A packed Calendar geared toward shocks

Dek: The current horror year clusters early with a January crush, then rolls through the mid-year, and far into the December corridor, marrying series momentum, untold stories, and shrewd calendar placement. Studios with streamers are embracing right-sized spends, theater-first strategies, and short-form initiatives that shape these films into all-audience topics.

Horror’s position as 2026 begins

The genre has turned into the steady lever in studio slates, a category that can scale when it resonates and still mitigate the losses when it misses. After 2023 signaled to strategy teams that lean-budget shockers can own cultural conversation, 2024 sustained momentum with buzzy auteur projects and slow-burn breakouts. The energy rolled into 2025, where legacy revivals and premium-leaning entries showed there is a lane for a variety of tones, from brand follow-ups to filmmaker-driven originals that translate worldwide. The takeaway for the 2026 slate is a calendar that shows rare alignment across the industry, with defined corridors, a combination of marquee IP and untested plays, and a revived eye on theatrical windows that increase tail monetization on PVOD and home platforms.

Distribution heads claim the space now slots in as a swing piece on the slate. Horror can debut on many corridors, generate a quick sell for spots and reels, and exceed norms with patrons that come out on previews Thursday and stick through the next pass if the title connects. Post a strike-impacted pipeline, the 2026 rhythm underscores belief in that playbook. The calendar commences with a stacked January schedule, then taps spring and early summer for balance, while leaving room for a autumn stretch that pushes into the fright window and afterwards. The layout also shows the expanded integration of indie distributors and streaming partners that can platform a title, spark evangelism, and scale up at the inflection point.

A notable top-line trend is series management across connected story worlds and storied titles. The studios are not just pushing another chapter. They are seeking to position lineage with a sense of event, whether that is a typeface approach that suggests a re-angled tone or a lead change that ties a next entry to a classic era. At the parallel to that, the filmmakers behind the eagerly awaited originals are leaning into tactile craft, physical gags and distinct locales. That mix affords the 2026 slate a confident blend of comfort and novelty, which is how the films export.

What the big players are lining up

Paramount sets the tone early with two high-profile titles that bookend the tonal range. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the director position and Neve Campbell back at the front, steering it as both a succession moment and a foundation-forward character-centered film. Principal photography is underway in Atlanta, and the artistic posture points to a throwback-friendly approach without covering again the last two entries’ Carpenter sisters arc. A campaign is expected leaning on brand visuals, character spotlights, and a promo sequence hitting late fall. Distribution is theatrical via Paramount.

Paramount also reawakens 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 voices for the first time since the early 2000s, a linchpin the campaign will spotlight. As a summer alternative, this one will generate wide buzz through joke-first clips, with the horror spoof format allowing quick reframes to whatever dominates the social talk that spring.

Universal has three unique plays. SOULM8TE rolls out January 9, 2026, a tech-forward branch from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The conceit is tidy, melancholic, and big-hook: a grieving man installs an algorithmic mate that mutates into a deadly partner. The date locates it at the front of a competition-heavy month, with the marketing arm likely to revisit viral uncanny stunts and short-cut promos that fuses longing and terror.

On May 8, 2026, the studio schedules an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely rumored as the feature developed under early labels 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 title drop to become an event moment closer to the teaser. The timing gives Universal a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles crowd different corridors.

Supplementing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film takes October 23, 2026, a slot he has dominated before. Peele’s work are framed as director events, with a teaser that holds back and a later creative that signal tone without plot the concept. The pre-Halloween slot offers Universal room to own 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, links with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček heads, with Souheila Yacoub leading. The franchise has established that a tactile, practical-effects forward aesthetic can feel deluxe on a middle budget. Look for a splatter summer horror jolt that embraces global traction, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most international markets.

Sony’s horror bench is well stocked. The studio books two recognizable-IP pushes in the back half. An untitled Insidious film lands August 21, 2026, sustaining a bankable supernatural brand front and center while the spin-off branch advances. Sony has changed the date on this title before, but the current plan aims it in late summer, where the brand has long performed.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil re-emerges in what the studio is describing as a reset for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a central part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a charge to serve both devotees and new audiences. The fall slot gives Sony time to build campaign pieces around narrative world, and creature builds, elements that can fuel premium booking interest and fan-culture participation.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, places 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 rooted in obsessive craft and period language, this time focused on werewolf legend. The label has already announced the holiday for a holiday release, a bold stance in the auteur as a specialty play that can platform wide if early reception is enthusiastic.

Where the platforms fit in

Windowing plans in 2026 run on known playbooks. Universal’s slate head to copyright after a theatrical and PVOD run, a ladder that amplifies both debut momentum and platform bumps in the later phase. Prime Video combines licensed content with world buys and qualifying theatrical engagements when the data signals it. Max and Hulu focus their lanes in library curation, using well-timed internal this website promotions, spooky hubs, and editorial rows to prolong the run on the year’s genre earnings. Netflix remains opportunistic about Netflix originals and festival deals, locking in horror entries tight to release and framing as events go-lives with quick-run campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, leverages a one-two of tailored theatrical exposure and rapid platforming that turns chatter to conversion. That will play for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before activating genre pipelines in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ keeps selective horror on a curated basis. The platform has shown appetite to invest in select projects with top-tier auteurs or name-led packages, then give them a modest theatrical in partnership with exhibitors to meet qualification bars or to gain imprimatur before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney domestic still leverages the 20th Century Studios slate, a important element for subscriber stickiness when the genre conversation builds.

Art-house genre prospects

Cineverse is engineering a 2026 runway with two brand plays. 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 foggy, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a genre cult touchstone, modernized for modern sound and cinematography. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a late-year slot, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has signaled a big-screen first plan for the title, an upbeat indicator for fans of the hard-edged series and for exhibitors seeking adult skew in the autumn weeks.

Focus will push the auteur angle with Werwulf, escorting the title through a fall festival swing if the cut is ready, then pressing the Christmas corridor to increase reach. That positioning has helped for auteur horror with broader reach. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not finalized many 2026 slots in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines often crystallize after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A safe bet is a sprinkle of late-summer and fall platformers that can expand if reception drives. Anticipate an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that launches at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work together, using limited theatrical to fuel evangelism that fuels their membership.

Known brands versus new stories

By volume, 2026 favors the recognizable IP side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all tap fan equity. The concern, as ever, is viewer burnout. The practical approach is to brand each entry as a re-toned entry. Paramount is bringing forward character and roots in Scream 7, Sony is positioning a new foundation for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is centering a French-accented approach from a fresh helmer. Those choices prove meaningful when the audience has so many options and social sentiment spins fast.

Non-franchise titles and director-first projects deliver oxygen. Jordan Peele’s October film will be branded as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, sets Rachel McAdams in a crash-survival premise with that teasing menace. SOULM8TE offers a simple, unsettling tech hook. Werwulf grounds itself in period and an severe tone. Even when the title is not based on existing IP, the assembly is comforting enough to spark pre-sales and Thursday-night turnout.

Recent-year comps frame the model. In 2023, a cinema-first model that maintained windows did not stop a simultaneous release test from thriving when the brand was compelling. In 2024, art-forward horror exceeded expectations in premium screens. In 2025, a reawakened chapter of a beloved infection saga made clear that global horror franchises can still feel alive when they reframe POV and raise the stakes. 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 two-film strategy, with chapters lensed back-to-back, enables marketing to tie installments through character spine and themes and to keep assets alive without long breaks.

Technique and craft currents

The behind-the-scenes chatter behind these films forecast a continued lean toward physical, site-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not mirror any recent iteration of the property, a stance that matches the physical-effects bias he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film completed filming and is moving toward its April 17, 2026 date. Look for a campaign that elevates creep and texture rather than bombast, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership sustaining financial discipline.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has called Werwulf as the most forbidding project he has tackled, which tracks with a 13th-century milieu and period-accurate language, a combination that can make for layered sound design and a earthy, elemental chill on the big screen. Focus will likely pre-sell this aesthetic in trade spotlights and craft features before rolling out a preview that prioritizes vibe over plot, a move that has delivered for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is calibrated for gross-out texture, a signature of the series that works internationally in red-band trailers and spurs shareable screening reactions from early screenings. Scream 7 hints at a self-referential reset that centers its original star. Resident Evil will hit or miss on monster realization and design, which match well with con floor moments and managed asset releases. Insidious tends to be a audio showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the theater case feel essential. Look for trailers that underscore surgical sound design, deep-bass stingers, and mute beats that benefit on big speakers.

Calendar map: winter through the holidays

January is busy. 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 brooding contrast amid larger brand plays. The month wraps 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 meaningful, but the tonal variety carves a lane for each, and the five-week structure gives each runway for each if word of mouth carries.

February through May prime the summer. Scream 7 bows February 27 with brand warmth. In April, The Mummy reframes a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once was aligned with genre counterprogramming and now can handle big openers. The untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 connects into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer sorts the tones. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is lighter-toned and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 brings brutal intensity. The counterprogramming logic is tight. 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 rolled through premiums.

August into fall leans franchise. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously excelled. Resident Evil arrives after September 18, a late-September window that still connects to Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event claims October 23 and will captivate cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely augmented by a peekaboo tease plan and limited information drops that lean on concept not plot.

Prestige-horror at year-end. Werwulf on December 25 is a declaration that genre can hold in the holidays when packaged as filmmaker-driven prestige horror. Focus has done this before, platforming with care, then turning to critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to stay top of mind into January. If the film scores with critics, the studio can expand in the first week of 2027 while building on holiday impulse and holiday card usage.

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 is underway. Logline: Sidney returns to re-engage a new Ghostface while the narrative rethreads the original film’s genome. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: roots reset with a contemporary edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A devastated man’s digital partner shifts into something murderously loving. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal is complete for an early-year bow. Positioning: silicon scare with soul.

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 scales the story beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult emerges in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Filmed in tandem with the first film. Positioning: elevated outbreak saga chapter.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man returns to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to collide with a shimmering reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Done with U.S. run set. Positioning: mood-led adaptation.

Send Help (20th Century Studios, January 30, 2026)
Director: Sam Raimi. Top cast: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Dennis Haysbert, Chris Pang. Logline: After a plane crash, an employee and her hard-edged boss scramble to survive on a cut-off island as the power balance inverts and paranoia spreads. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal done. 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 fear, based on Cronin’s physical craft and encroaching dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Shoot done. Positioning: classic monster reset with creative stamp.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A residential haunting chiller that threads the dread through a young child’s uncertain subjective view. Rating: TBD. Production: post-ready. Positioning: major-studio and A-list fronted supernatural mood piece.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers rejoining on the creative side. Logline: {A comic send-up that teases contemporary horror memes and true crime fervors. Rating: undetermined. Production: lensing scheduled for fall 2025. 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 detonates, with an international twist in tone and setting. Rating: TBA. Production: lensing in New Zealand. Positioning: uncompromising R installment meant for big rooms.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be revealed later. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: The Further stirs again, with a different family tethered to older hauntings. 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: forthcoming. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: A restart designed to reconstitute the franchise from the ground up, with an emphasis on classic survival-horror tone over action-forward bombast. Rating: undetermined. Production: advancing in development with date locked. Positioning: canon-conscious reboot with mainstream reach.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: pending. Logline: deliberately concealed. Rating: undetermined. Production: in progress. 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 elemental dread. Rating: to be announced. Production: in active prep with holiday date set. 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 traditional theatrical release planned before platforming. Status: date shifting, fall likely.

Why the moment is 2026

Three grounded forces calibrate this lineup. First, production that stalled or re-sequenced in 2024 required schedule breathing room. Horror can patch those gaps promptly because scripts often use fewer locations, fewer large-scale visual effects runs, and compressed schedules. Second, studios have become more strict about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently outpaced straight-to-streaming placements. Third, social conversation converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will capitalize on repeatable beats from test screenings, curated scare clips dropping on Thursday previews, and experiential pop-ups that feed creator content. It is a repeatable playbook because it delivers.

Factor four is the scheduling calculus. The family and cape slots are lighter early in 2026, creating valuable space for genre entries that can dominate a weekend or function as the older-skew counter. January is the prime example. Four tonal lanes of horror will cluster across five weekends, which permits distinct conversations to flourish. Summer provides the other window. The satire rides the animated and action tide, then the hard-R entry can leverage a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Financials, ratings, and sleeper angles

Budgets remain in the Goldilocks zone. Most of the films above will land under the $40–$50 million mark, with many far below. That allows for wide PLF deployment 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 search for sleepers 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 capitalize on those pockets. January could easily deliver the first stealth overachiever 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. Predict a resilient PVOD phase industry-wide, since horror fans have shown a willingness to pay for convenience after an opening weekend, especially when word of mouth is strong.

The moviegoer’s year in horror

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers beat and breadth. January is a tasting table, February delivers a legacy slasher, April brings back a Universal monster, May and June provide a paranormal one-two 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 cold, literate nightmare. That is how you sustain heat and footfall without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can build month to month, using earlier releases to trailhead the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors value the spacing. Horror delivers steady Thursday 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 all showcasing tactility, sound, 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.

A Robust 2026 On Deck

Calendars slide. Ratings change. Casts shuffle. But the spine of 2026 horror is firm. There is IP strength where it matters, original vision where it matters, and a calendar that shows studios grasp the timing 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 last-minute boutique pickup join the party. For now, the job is simple, produce clean trailers, keep the curtain closed, and let the fear sell the seats.