Age-old Evil returns: Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a nerve shredding shocker, bowing October 2025 across major platforms

One bone-chilling spiritual shockfest from scriptwriter / visionary Andrew Chiaramonte, unleashing an prehistoric entity when unrelated individuals become victims in a supernatural contest. Premiering on October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime, the YouTube platform, Google Play Movies & TV, iTunes Movies, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand.

L.A., CA (August 8th, 2025) – ready yourself for *Young & Cursed*, a disturbing portrayal of survival and old world terror that will redefine the horror genre this Halloween season. Guided by rising creative mind Andrew Chiaramonte, this unpredictable and moody motion picture follows five lost souls who regain consciousness caught in a secluded shelter under the aggressive rule of Kyra, a possessed female inhabited by a millennia-old sacred-era entity. Get ready to be captivated by a big screen journey that blends visceral dread with biblical origins, landing on Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Diabolic occupation has been a classic concept in visual storytelling. In *Young & Cursed*, that formula is inverted when the fiends no longer arise beyond the self, but rather deep within. This symbolizes the most primal aspect of the protagonists. The result is a emotionally raw inner struggle where the suspense becomes a merciless confrontation between innocence and sin.


In a unforgiving landscape, five friends find themselves cornered under the ghastly effect and haunting of a shadowy entity. As the ensemble becomes helpless to combat her command, disconnected and followed by creatures beyond reason, they are driven to confront their core terrors while the time without pity strikes toward their end.


In *Young & Cursed*, dread escalates and relationships dissolve, pushing each protagonist to examine their core and the principle of autonomy itself. The cost accelerate with every tick, delivering a nerve-wracking journey that fuses demonic fright with mental instability.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my creative target was to extract raw dread, an threat rooted in antiquity, operating within soul-level flaws, and highlighting a will that questions who we are when freedom is gone.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Channeling Kyra required summoning something outside normal anguish. She is ignorant until the demon emerges, and that change is deeply unsettling because it is so raw.”

Watch the Horror Unfold

*Young & Cursed* will be aired for streaming beginning on October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon’s platform, Google’s video hub, Google’s store, Apple iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango at Home—offering viewers around the globe can get immersed in this spine-tingling premiere.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just rolled out a new trailer two for *Young & Cursed*, posted to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a sequel to its initial teaser, which has garnered over notable views.


In addition to its continental debut, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has revealed that *Young & Cursed* will also be shared across borders, spreading the horror to lovers of terror across nations.


Join this unforgettable spiral into evil. Join *Young & Cursed* this horror drop to experience these nightmarish insights about the psyche.


For teasers, filmmaker commentary, and reveals from Chiaramonte Films, follow @YoungAndCursedFilm across fan hubs and visit youngandcursed.com.





Today’s horror pivotal crossroads: 2025 U.S. calendar interlaces archetypal-possession themes, independent shockers, together with returning-series thunder

From fight-to-live nightmare stories saturated with ancient scripture and extending to installment follow-ups set beside keen independent perspectives, 2025 is coalescing into the most variegated plus intentionally scheduled year in the past ten years.

The 2025 horror calendar goes beyond packed, it is precision-tuned. Top studios lay down anchors by way of signature titles, in parallel digital services prime the fall with first-wave breakthroughs plus ancestral chills. On another front, the art-house flank is drafting behind the momentum of a record-setting 2024 festival season. As Halloween remains the genre’s crown jewel, the rest of the calendar is filling out with surgical precision. That late Q3 to mid Q4 lane is the crucible, though in this cycle, horror is also claiming January, spring, and even mid-summer. Fans are ravenous, studios are calculated, hence 2025 could be the most carefully plotted year to date.

Studio Chessboard and Mini-Major Plays: Prestige-leaning dread rebounds

The majors are assertive. If 2024 framed the blueprint, 2025 scales the plan.

Universal Pictures fires the first shot with a statement play: a refreshed Wolf Man, avoiding the standard nineteenth century European backdrop, but a crisp modern milieu. Shepherded by Leigh Whannell featuring Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this pass grounds the lycanthropy in household collapse. The curse reads as bodily and relational, about spouses, parents, and people. Slated for mid January, it joins a broader aim to occupy winter’s quiet with elevated titles, not leftovers.

In spring, Clown in a Cornfield lands, a YA slasher adaptation turned minimalist horror show. Steered by Eli Craig including Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it is blood soaked Americana horror with a satirical streak. Under the makeup, it dissects provincial panic, age gap tensions, and mob verdicts. First wave buzz indicates sharp teeth.

By late summer, the Warner Bros. banner rolls out the capstone from its cornerstone horror IP: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Ed and Lorraine Warren return with Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the installment aims for closure as it frames a famed case. Even with a familiar chassis, Chaves seems to angle for a plaintive, inward final note. It is dated for early September, granting margin before October’s crush.

After that, The Black Phone 2. Set early then moved to October, a confidence tell. Scott Derrickson is back, and the DNA that clicked last time remains: vintage toned fear, trauma as theme, with ghostly inner logic. This time the stakes climb, by enlarging the “grabber” map and grief’s lineage.

Finishing the tentpole list is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a release that travels on brand alone. The continuation widens the legend, broadens the animatronic terror cast, with a bullseye on teens and thirty something nostalgics. It books December, securing the winter cap.

Streaming Originals: Slim budgets, major punch

While theaters lean on names and sequels, platforms are greenlighting boldly, and the needle moves.

One standout ambitious title is Weapons, a cold-case woven horror suite that weaves together three timelines connected by a mass disappearance. Directed by Zach Cregger with Josh Brolin opposite Julia Garner, the movie mixes chill with dramatic weight. Opening theatrically late summer ahead of fall SVOD, it will likely trigger thread wars and analysis videos, recalling Barbarian.

At the smaller scale sits Together, a body horror chamber piece pairing Alison Brie with Dave Franco. Taking place in an isolated rental as a retreat goes wrong, the piece probes how love, envy, and self loathing become bodily rot. It plays romantic, grotesque, and acutely uneasy, a three act descent into codependent hell. Even without a formal platform date, it is tracking toward an autumn slot.

Then there is Sinners, a 1930s period vampire folk story starring Michael B. Jordan. Lensed in lush sepia and soaked in biblical metaphor, it feels like There Will Be Blood fused with Let the Right One In. The movie studies American religious trauma through the supernatural lens. First test passes flag it as highly discussable at debut.

Extra indies bide their time on platforms: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each taps grief, vanishing, and identity, treating horror as metaphor more than spectacle.

Deep Possession Currents: Young & Cursed

Posting October 2 across the big platforms, Young & Cursed reads as a rare blend, small in footprint yet mythic in spread. Penned and steered by Andrew Chiaramonte, the work follows five strangers rousing in a remote timber cabin, under Kyra’s control, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. As the hours blacken, her hold tightens, an invasive current triggering fears, fissures, and regret.

The chill is psyche led, anchored in primal myth. Avoiding the usual exorcism path with Catholic ritual and Latin spell, this story returns to something older, something darker. Lilith is not summoned by priests, she rises from trauma, muteness, and human fault lines. Making possession internal threads Young & Cursed into the current of intimate character studies in genre skin.

On Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home, the film acts as a Halloween counterpoint to sequel pipelines and creature comebacks. That is a savvy move. No heavy handed lore. No canon weight. Bare psychological dread, trim and tense, designed for binge and breath patterns. Against fireworks, Young & Cursed might stand apart by stillness, then shock.

Festivals as Springboards

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF still seed what horror becomes in six to twelve months. This year, the launchpad function outruns the showcase role.

The Fantastic Fest slate for horror is strong this year. Primate, a tropical body horror opener, draws comparisons to Cronenberg and Herzog. Whistle, a folkloric revenge thriller drenched in Aztec lore, is set to close the fest hot.

At midnight, entries like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You buzz for how they play, not only their names. That title, with A24 backing, satirizes toxic fandom during a convention lockdown and is set to pop.

SXSW hosted Clown in a Cornfield and sweetened the pot for microbudget haunts. Sundance likely lifts another batch of grief laced elevated horror, and Tribeca’s genre box tilting urban, social, and surreal.

The festival game increasingly values branding over mere discovery. Badges kick off the sell, they do not merely decorate.

Legacy Lines: Next Chapters, New Starts, New Shapes

The returning series menu is stronger and more calculated than before.

Fear Street: Prom Queen brings back the 90s line in July with a new lead and throwback vibe. Unlike prior entries, this one leans into camp and prom night melodrama. Think tiaras, stage blood, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 arrives late June, seeking to build out techno horror lore using new characters and AI born frights. The opener’s social chatter and SVOD hours justify Universal’s deeper play.

Also on deck is The Long Walk, from an early, punishing Stephen King work, guided by Francis Lawrence, it is a brutal dystopian allegory wrapped in survival horror, a kids walking until they die competition with no real winners. With clear targeting, it could become The Hunger Games for horror grown ups.

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

What to Watch

Mythic Horror Is Mainstream
From Lilith in Young & Cursed, and with Aztec curses in Whistle, horror taps ancient texts and symbols. This trend avoids nostalgia, reclaiming pre Christian archetypes. Horror surpasses shocks, it recalls evil’s antiquity.

Body Horror Makes a Comeback
Work like Together, Weapons, and Keeper revisit the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation map to heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Platform originals gain bite
Churn filler is losing ground on platforms. SVOD players fund strong scripts, proven directors, and real spend. Works such as Weapons and Sinners are positioned as events, not filler.

Festival buzz converts to leverage
Festival seals operate as leverage for distribution lanes and press windows. A film minus festival planning in 2025 risks getting lost.

Theatrical becomes a trust fall
Studios release horror theatrically only when they believe in overperformance or sequel trees. The remainder goes PVOD or hybrid. Horror stays in theaters, in chosen pockets.

Season Ahead: Autumn Overload and the Winter Wildcard

Young & Cursed plus The Conjuring: Last Rites plus The Black Phone 2 plus Weapons, all in September and October, makes for a saturated fall. Indies like Bone Lake and Keeper will scrap for air. Keep an eye on possible slips into early 2026 or platform flips.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 steadies December, yet a last minute streamer surprise is in play. Since big films lean mythic, a final monster or exorcism play can claim space.

The trick lies in diverse menus finding segmented crowds, not single title bets. The aim is not another Get Out chase, it is durable horror beyond gross.



The approaching chiller lineup: next chapters, Originals, alongside A stacked Calendar designed for nightmares

Dek The arriving terror cycle builds right away with a January pile-up, following that rolls through summer, and running into the holidays, braiding series momentum, inventive spins, and tactical counter-scheduling. Distributors with platforms are embracing right-sized spends, theater-first strategies, and short-form initiatives that shape genre titles into broad-appeal conversations.

The landscape of horror in 2026

The horror sector has established itself as the predictable swing in studio lineups, a pillar that can lift when it breaks through and still hedge the risk when it doesn’t. After the 2023 year reconfirmed for leaders that lean-budget pictures can command the discourse, the following year continued the surge with festival-darling auteurs and surprise hits. The upswing moved into the 2025 frame, where reawakened brands and elevated films signaled there is capacity for many shades, from brand follow-ups to original features that export nicely. The sum for the 2026 slate is a programming that seems notably aligned across companies, with mapped-out bands, a equilibrium of marquee IP and new concepts, and a re-energized commitment on release windows that feed downstream value on PVOD and streaming.

Buyers contend the horror lane now serves as a plug-and-play option on the schedule. The genre can debut on most weekends, supply a clear pitch for previews and TikTok spots, and over-index with fans that line up on early shows and keep coming through the next pass if the picture delivers. In the wake of a strike-bent pipeline, the 2026 layout demonstrates faith in that approach. The year kicks off with a loaded January block, then targets spring into early summer for counterprogramming, while making space for a September to October window that flows toward All Hallows period and into the next week. The gridline also includes the continuing integration of indie distributors and digital platforms that can stage a platform run, ignite recommendations, and roll out at the timely point.

A further high-level trend is legacy care across connected story worlds and legacy franchises. The players are not just mounting another continuation. They are working to present lineage with a headline quality, whether that is a title design that conveys a tonal shift or a talent selection that ties a new installment to a initial period. At the concurrently, the creative leads behind the marquee originals are embracing hands-on technique, in-camera effects and specific settings. That interplay affords the 2026 slate a solid mix of trust and discovery, which is how the films export.

Studio by studio strategy signals

Paramount establishes early momentum with two prominent pushes 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 core, positioning the film as both a succession moment and a back-to-basics character-forward chapter. Principal photography is underway in Atlanta, and the artistic posture signals a throwback-friendly bent without repeating the last two entries’ Carpenter sisters arc. The studio is likely to mount a drive built on recognizable motifs, first-look character reveals, and a rollout cadence slated for late fall. Distribution is Paramount’s theatrical route.

Paramount also reboots a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are paired again, with the Wayans brothers involved as creative partners for the first time since the early 2000s, a campaign lever the campaign will spotlight. As a summer contrast play, this one will seek mass reach through meme-friendly cuts, with the horror spoof format permitting quick pivots to whatever drives the social talk that spring.

Universal has three discrete strategies. SOULM8TE rolls out January 9, 2026, a AI-tinged spinoff from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The core idea is efficient, sorrow-tinged, and concept-forward: a grieving man installs an intelligent companion that unfolds into a murderous partner. The date nudges it to the front of a busy month, with the studio’s marketing likely to mirror off-kilter promo beats and micro spots that melds intimacy 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 public release grid currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which creates space for a title drop to become an fan moment closer to the initial tease. The timing secures a slot in early May while larger tentpoles occupy other frames.

Capping the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film lands October 23, 2026, a slot he has excelled in before. His entries are presented as must-see filmmaker statements, with a minimalist tease and a later creative that set the tone without spoiling the concept. The spooky-season slot affords Universal to saturate pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then lean on 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 commands, with Souheila Yacoub at the center. The franchise has made clear that a gnarly, prosthetic-heavy method can feel cinematic on a lean spend. Frame it as a blood-and-grime summer horror rush that maximizes overseas performance, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most world markets.

Sony’s horror bench is well stocked. The studio deploys two recognizable-IP pushes in the back half. An untitled Insidious film bows August 21, 2026, sustaining a consistent supernatural brand active while the spin-off branch incubates. The studio has reslotted on this title before, but the current plan holds it in late summer, where the brand has often excelled.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil returns in what Sony is billing as a fresh restart for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a strategic part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a directive to serve both fans and newcomers. The fall slot allows Sony to build assets around narrative world, and monster craft, elements that can increase large-format demand and fan-culture participation.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, sets a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film maintains Eggers’ run of period horror centered on immersive craft and archaic language, this time set against lycan legends. The specialty arm has already announced the holiday for a holiday release, a bold stance in Eggers as a specialty play that can move wide if early reception is robust.

Digital platform strategies

Platform strategies for 2026 run on well-known grooves. Universal’s slate transition to copyright after a theatrical-first then PVOD phase, a tiered path that fortifies both debut momentum and sign-up momentum in the back half. Prime Video continues to mix outside acquisitions with cross-border buys and select theatrical runs when the data supports it. Max and Hulu accent their strengths in catalog discovery, using timely promos, October hubs, and collection rows to prolong the run on 2026 genre cume. Netflix remains opportunistic about Netflix films and festival pickups, timing horror entries near launch and coalescing around releases with quick-run campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, harnesses a one-two of targeted cinema placements and rapid platforming that funnels enthusiasm into trials. That will be meaningful for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before working niche channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ keeps a case-by-case stance on horror on a discrete basis. The platform has exhibited willingness to pick up select projects with established auteurs or name-led packages, then give them a select cinema run in partnership with exhibitors to meet eligibility thresholds or to build credibility before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney domestic still feeds from the 20th Century Studios slate, a major factor for ongoing engagement when the genre conversation swells.

Indie corridors

Cineverse is mapping a 2026 track with two recognizable titles. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The pitch is uncomplicated: the same mist-blanketed, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a cult item, elevated for modern sonics and picture. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a autumn slot, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has signaled a theatrical-first plan for the title, an encouraging sign for fans of the uncompromising series and for exhibitors seeking R-rated counterprogramming in the late stretch.

Focus will operate the filmmaker lane with Werwulf, stewarding the film through a fall festival swing if the cut is ready, then relying on the Christmas corridor to widen. That positioning has proved effective for auteur horror with crossover potential. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not released many dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines regularly gel after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A fair assumption is a series of late-summer and fall platformers that can widen if reception warrants. Plan on 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 parallel, using boutique theatrical to prime evangelism that fuels their paid base.

Series vs standalone

By proportion, the 2026 slate is weighted toward the known side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all capitalize on fan equity. The concern, as ever, is audience fatigue. The workable fix is to brand each entry as a recalibration. Paramount is centering character and continuity in Scream 7, Sony is hinting at a clean restart for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is centering a continental coloration from a new voice. Those choices carry weight when the audience has so many options and social sentiment moves quickly.

Non-franchise titles and filmmaker-led entries provide the air. Jordan Peele’s October film will be branded as a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, centers Rachel McAdams in a survival-thriller premise with the filmmaker’s mischievous menace. SOULM8TE offers a focused, eerie tech hook. Werwulf delivers period specificity and an uncompromising tone. Even when the title is not based on familiar IP, the configuration is assuring enough to translate curiosity into advance sales and advance-audience nights.

The last three-year set announce the method. In 2023, a theatrical-first model that honored streaming windows did not preclude a day-and-date experiment from winning when the brand was big. In 2024, filmmaker-craft-led horror rose in premium auditoriums. In 2025, a reanimation of a beloved infection saga proved again that global horror franchises can still feel new when they angle differently and scale the storytelling. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which moves forward 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 in tandem, gives leeway to marketing to interlace chapters through character web and themes and to keep assets alive without hiatuses.

Behind-the-camera trends

The filmmaking conversations behind the year’s horror indicate a continued bias toward physical, site-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not play like any recent iteration of the property, a stance that matches the physical-effects bias he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film wrapped principal photography and is lined up for its April 17, 2026 date. Expect a campaign that foregrounds aura and dread rather than fireworks, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership sustaining cost precision.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has said Werwulf as the most severe project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval setting and period-accurate language, a combination that can make for 3D sound and a earthy, elemental chill on the big screen. Focus will likely seed this aesthetic in long-lead features and craft spotlights before rolling out a preview that withholds plot, a move that has performed for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is geared for visceral gnarl, a signature of the series that performs globally in red-band trailers and drives shareable jump-cut reactions from early screenings. Scream 7 promises a self-aware reset that refocuses on the original lead. Resident Evil will live or die on creature execution and sets, which align with convention floor stunts and planned releases. Insidious tends to be a audio craft showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the theater case feel must-have. Look for trailers that underscore pinpoint sound design, deep-bass stingers, and mute beats that play in premium auditoriums.

The schedule at a glance

January is heavy. SOULM8TE opens January 9, 2026, then Sony returns a week later with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple on January 16. Cineverse’s Return to Silent Hill follows on January 23, a tonal palate cleanser amid heftier brand moves. The month ends with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a crash-survival thriller from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is real, but the variety of tones opens lanes for all, and the five-week structure creates breathing room for each if word of mouth spreads.

Pre-summer months prime the summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 opens February 27 with fan warmth. In April, The Mummy revives a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once served genre counterprogramming and now backs big openers. The untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 flows into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer divides the tones. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is comedic and broad, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 unleashes no-compromise intensity. The counterprogramming logic is sound. The spoof can deliver next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest rewards older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have moved through premium slots.

End of summer through fall leans brand. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives the studio a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously thrived. Resident Evil rolls in after September 18, a shoulder season window that still links to Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event holds October 23 and will captivate cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely augmented by a mystery-first teaser plan and limited plot reveals that put concept first.

Prestige at year’s end. Werwulf on December 25 is a signal that genre can hold in the holidays when packaged as auteur prestige horror. Focus has done this before, platforming carefully, then activating critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to sustain conversation into January. If the film great post to read pleases critics, the studio can scale in the first week of 2027 while riding holiday turnout and holiday gift-card burn.

Title snapshots

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting still being revealed as production pushes forward. Logline: Sidney returns to challenge a new Ghostface while the narrative rethreads the original film’s essence. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: roots-first with a today edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A devastated man’s synthetic partner unfolds into something fatal and romantic. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed principal photography for an early-year bow. Positioning: algorithmic dread with emotion.

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 organizes in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Lensed back-to-back 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 finds his way back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to meet a warped reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished and theatrical on deck. Positioning: gothic-game 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 unyielding boss battle to survive on a remote island as the control dynamic turns and unease intensifies. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked. Positioning: A-list survival chiller from a master.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles in the vault in official materials. Logline: A from-today rework that returns the monster to dread, shaped by Cronin’s in-camera craft and accumulating dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal wrapped. Positioning: legacy monster restart with director stamp.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A intimate haunting story that twists the panic of a child’s shaky point of view. Rating: pending. Production: post-ready. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven paranormal suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers participating creatively. Logline: {A parody reboot that targets of-the-moment horror beats and true crime fixations. Rating: undetermined. Production: principal photography set for fall 2025. Positioning: four-quadrant summer counterplay.

Evil Dead Burn (Warner Bros. domestic, July 24, 2026)
Director: Sébastien Vaniček. Top cast: Souheila Yacoub, with ensemble additions. Logline: A new infestation of Deadites ignites, with an multinational twist in tone and setting. Rating: forthcoming. Production: production in New Zealand. Positioning: R-forward continuation crafted for PLF.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: TBA in marketing materials. Top cast: pending. Logline: The Further reopens, with a new household linked to old terrors. Rating: TBD. Production: slated for summer production leading to late-summer release. Positioning: consistent franchise performer in a beneficial frame.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: TBD publicly. Top cast: to be announced. Logline: A fresh restart designed to reconstitute the franchise from the ground up, with an center of gravity in survivalist horror over action-forward bombast. Rating: not yet rated. 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: Kept under wraps by design. Rating: undetermined. Production: ongoing. Positioning: filmmaker event, teaser-driven.

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 language and elemental dread. Rating: pending. Production: gearing up with December 25 frame. Positioning: auteur prestige horror aimed at holiday corridor with crafts prospects.

Wolf Creek: Legacy (Cineverse, TBA 2026)
Director: Greg McLean. Top cast: John Jarratt expected to return as Mick Taylor. Logline: The Australian outback slasher returns, with a standard theatrical approach before platforming. Status: date shifting, fall likely.

Why 2026 and why now

Three operational forces shape this lineup. First, production that paused or re-sequenced in 2024 needed spacing on the calendar. Horror can bridge those gaps quickly because scripts often are location-light, fewer large-scale VFX sequences, and condensed timelines. Second, studios have become more orderly about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently beaten straight-to-streaming launches. Third, viral talk converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will harvest clippable moments from test screenings, controlled scare clips paired with Thursday night previews, and experiential pop-ups that double as influencer content. It is a repeatable playbook because it delivers.

A fourth element is the programming calculus. The first stretch of 2026 sees fewer family and superhero logjams, providing runway for genre entries that can own a weekend outright or operate as the older-skew option. January is the prime example. Four distinct flavors of horror will coexist across five weekends, which allows chatter to build title by title. Summer provides the other window. The spoof can draft behind animation and action in early summer, then the hard-R entry can take advantage of a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Business view: budgets, ratings, sleeper chase

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

The weblink sleeper-hit hunt continues in Q1, where cost-efficient genre can own weekends with minimal competition, and imp source again in late summer, where horror often becomes the conversation when tentpoles tire. The 2026 slate is set up to use those gaps. 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. 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.

The moviegoer’s year in horror

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers momentum and variety. January is a feast, February delivers a legacy slasher, April resurrects a Universal monster, May and June provide a supernatural one-two 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 maintain buzz and butts in seats without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can stack through the year, using earlier releases to set up the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors respond well to the spacing. Horror delivers preview-night pops, lean footprints, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can earn PLF placement, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing detail, acoustics, and visuals 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

Release dates move. Ratings change. Casts shuffle. But the spine of 2026 horror is solid. There is brand gravity where needed, new vision where it lands, 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-stage specialty acquisition join the party. For now, the job is simple, craft precise trailers, keep the secrets, and let the gasps sell the seats.