Age-old Evil Reawakens within Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a nightmare fueled horror feature, launching October 2025 across global platforms

A blood-curdling paranormal thriller from creator / cinema craftsman Andrew Chiaramonte, liberating an forgotten force when unfamiliar people become subjects in a diabolical maze. Premiering on October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, Apple’s iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango’s digital service.

L.A., CA (August 8, 2025) – steel yourselves for *Young & Cursed*, a gut-wrenching story of resilience and mythic evil that will revamp horror this October. Realized by rising new wave horror talent Andrew Chiaramonte, this tense and claustrophobic screenplay follows five strangers who emerge caught in a off-grid house under the sinister will of Kyra, a young woman occupied by a biblical-era holy text monster. Ready yourself to be absorbed by a motion picture venture that melds raw fear with arcane tradition, releasing on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on the second of October, 2025.


Supernatural inhabitation has been a enduring foundation in cinema. In *Young & Cursed*, that structure is turned on its head when the spirits no longer form from an outside force, but rather deep within. This embodies the most hidden layer of the protagonists. The result is a intense mental war where the suspense becomes a relentless fight between divinity and wickedness.


In a abandoned no-man's-land, five young people find themselves confined under the unholy presence and haunting of a obscure character. As the victims becomes unable to escape her grasp, exiled and stalked by entities indescribable, they are confronted to battle their raw vulnerabilities while the time without pity strikes toward their final moment.


In *Young & Cursed*, distrust rises and connections erode, driving each participant to question their being and the philosophy of independent thought itself. The threat accelerate with every second, delivering a chilling narrative that marries unearthly horror with inner turmoil.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my creative target was to evoke basic terror, an entity born of forgotten ages, manipulating inner turmoil, and dealing with a entity that redefines identity when autonomy is removed.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Channeling Kyra asked for exploring something deeper than fear. She is insensitive until the control shifts, and that evolution is soul-crushing because it is so private.”

Where to Watch

*Young & Cursed* will be accessible for home viewing beginning on October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon’s platform, YouTube, Google’s store, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango on-demand—giving fans everywhere can enjoy this terrifying film.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just released a new sneak peek #2 for *Young & Cursed*, currently showing to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a follow up to its original promo, which has received over 100K plays.


In addition to its North American premiere, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has revealed that *Young & Cursed* will also be shown overseas, bringing the film to horror fans worldwide.


Avoid skipping this visceral fall into madness. Experience *Young & Cursed* this spooky debut to explore these terrifying truths about inner darkness.


For film updates, behind-the-scenes content, and insider scoops from behind the lens, follow @YoungAndCursed across entertainment pages and visit the movie’s homepage.





Horror’s major pivot: the 2025 cycle U.S. release slate weaves old-world possession, microbudget gut-punches, and legacy-brand quakes

Ranging from pressure-cooker survival tales grounded in old testament echoes and stretching into IP renewals plus surgical indie voices, 2025 is emerging as the most stratified paired with precision-timed year in years.

The 2025 horror calendar is not merely full, it is methodical. Major studios hold down the year using marquee IP, as OTT services front-load the fall with new perspectives set against mythic dread. In the indie lane, festival-forward creators is catching the echoes of 2024’s record festival wave. With Halloween holding the peak, the non-October slots are tuned with exactness. That late Q3 to mid Q4 lane is the crucible, however this time, teams are capturing January, spring, and mid-summer. Fans are ravenous, studios are intentional, accordingly 2025 may be recorded as the genre’s most deliberate campaign.

Studio and Mini-Major Moves: Prestige fear returns

The top end is active. If 2024 framed the blueprint, 2025 scales the plan.

Universal’s distribution arm lights the fuse with a statement play: a contemporary Wolf Man, leaving behind the period European setting, instead in a current-day frame. Led by Leigh Whannell with Christopher Abbott opposite Julia Garner, this approach fixes the lycanthropy within intimate rupture. The evolution surpasses the body, into spouses, parents, and bruised humanity. Slated for mid January, it fits the new plan to claim winter’s soft window with prestige horror rather than castoffs.

Spring delivers Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher translation rendered as pared-down fear. Led by Eli Craig and featuring Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it functions as blood smeared American gothic with snark. Under the makeup, it dissects provincial panic, age gap tensions, and mob verdicts. Festival whispers say it is sharp.

By late summer, the Warner Bros. banner drops the final chapter of its most reliable horror franchise: The Conjuring: Last Rites. With Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson back as Ed and Lorraine Warren, the movie targets a resonant finish through an infamous case. Although the framework is familiar, Chaves is guiding toward a solemn, meditative finish. It lands in early September, carving air ahead of October’s stack.

Then comes The Black Phone 2. Originally slated for early summer, its move to an October release suggests confidence. Derrickson re boards, and the defining traits of the first sleeper return: 70s style chill, trauma as text, plus uncanny supernatural grammar. This pass pushes higher, by digging further into the “grabber” mythos and grief’s generational echo.

Finishing the tentpole list is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, an offering that markets itself. The sequel leans deeper into its lore, broadens the animatronic terror cast, and targets both teens and thirtysomething fans of the original game. It hits in December, stabilizing the winter back end.

Streamer Exclusives: Small budgets, sharp fangs

As theatricals lean on brands and continuations, streamers are taking risks, and it is paying off.

Among the most ambitious streaming plays is Weapons, a cold case horror anthology interlacing three eras linked by a mass vanishing. Guided by Zach Cregger including Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the title blends fear with dramatic gravity. With a late summer theatrical bow and fall streaming drop, it will likely trigger thread wars and analysis videos, recalling Barbarian.

On the minimalist axis arrives Together, an intimate body horror unraveling starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Trapped in a far off rental as a holiday fractures, the story examines love plus envy plus self disgust as flesh ruin. It reads tender, repulsive, and intensely uneasy, a three act churn into codependent hell. Despite no official platform date, it is a near certain autumn drop.

In the mix sits Sinners, a pre war vampire folk narrative anchored by Michael B. Jordan. Rendered in sepia depth and layered biblical metaphor, it plays like There Will Be Blood meets Let the Right One In. The title explores American religious trauma through supernatural symbol. Initial test audience notes point to a buzzy streaming debut.

Further platform indies wait for their cue: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper all work grief and disappearance and identity, choosing meaning over noise.

Possession Underneath: Young & Cursed

Rolling out October 2 across streaming, Young & Cursed emerges as a rare mix, tight in frame and epic in resonance. Authored and directed by Andrew Chiaramonte, the story trails five strangers who come to in a far off forest cabin, ruled by Kyra, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. With the dark, her reach grows, a parasitic force exploiting fears, flaws, and shame.

This fear is psychologically driven, pulsing with primal myth. Avoiding the usual exorcism path with Catholic ritual and Latin spell, this film taps something older, something darker. Lilith is not summoned by priests, she rises from trauma, muteness, and human fault lines. Turning possession inward syncs Young & Cursed to the trend of character led dramas draped in genre.

The platforms, including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home, angle the film as Halloween counterprogramming to sequel load and monster re ups. It is a clever angle. No puffed out backstory. No canon weight. Bare psychological dread, trim and tense, designed for binge and breath patterns. Inside spectacle, Young & Cursed may separate by silence, then rupture.

Festival Heat to Market Leverage

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF serve as nurseries for near future horror. They are increasingly launchpads rather than showcases.

Fantastic Fest has a thick horror program this time. Primate kicks off with tropical body horror and gets Cronenberg Herzog cross talk. Whistle, a folkloric revenge thriller steeped in Aztec lore, is expected to close the fest with fire.

Midnight entries such as If I Had Legs I’d Kick You draw buzz for more than titles, namely execution. With A24 behind it, the satire of toxic fandom under a convention lockdown seems breakout bound.

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

Fest circuits are brand engines as much as discovery engines. The laurel is campaign ignition, not epilogue.

Franchise Horror: Sequels, Reboots, Reinventions

This year’s legacy entries carry strength and deliberation.

Fear Street: Prom Queen, dated July, revives the 90s franchise with a new lead and throwback tone. Breaking with earlier shading, it leans camp and prom night melodrama. Cue tiaras, phony blood, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 opens late June, aiming to expand its techno horror mythology with new characters and new AI generated terrors. That first run’s social and SVOD traction lets Universal push further.

Another headline is The Long Walk, adapting a grim early Stephen King piece, steered by Francis Lawrence, it operates as a bleak dystopian tale masked as survival horror, a walk off to death for kids. If sold right, it could sit as The Hunger Games for adult horror fans.

Beyond that, reboots and sequels such as Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda dot the year, often holding for windows or late pickups.

Trend Lines

Mythic currents go mainstream
From Lilith in Young & Cursed across to Aztec curses in Whistle, slates mine ancient texts and symbols. This is not nostalgia, it is a reclamation of pre Christian archetypes. Horror pushes past jump scares, it points to ancient evil.

Body horror ascends again
With films like Together, Weapons, and Keeper, horror is going back to the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation map to heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streaming exclusives sharpen their bite
Low grade filler is no longer the platform default. Streamers deploy capital toward scripts, directors, and paid reach. Drops such as Weapons and Sinners arrive as events, not as catalog.

Festival buzz converts to leverage
Badges are functional, they buy theatrical access, prime placement, and cycles. Forgo a festival map in 2025 and obscurity beckons.

The big screen is a trust exercise
The big screen goes to those expected to beat comps or build series. The balance slides PVOD or hybrid. Horror continues in theaters, in narrower curated lanes.

Season Ahead: Fall pileup, winter curveball

The combination of Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons across September and October saturates fall. Indies like Bone Lake and Keeper must claw for air. Anticipate possible date slides into early 2026 or platform moves.

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 hinge is broad reach to atomized viewers, not single tentpoles. The mission is not a new Get Out, it is sustained horror beyond tickets.



The next fright cycle: Sequels, original films, And A jammed Calendar optimized for frights

Dek The emerging genre cycle packs right away with a January cluster, and then carries through midyear, and deep into the December corridor, fusing brand equity, untold stories, and tactical counterprogramming. Studio marketers and platforms are committing to efficient budgets, big-screen-first runs, and social-driven marketing that convert these films into mainstream chatter.

The landscape of horror in 2026

The horror marketplace has grown into the steady lever in distribution calendars, a category that can expand when it resonates and still buffer the drawdown when it underperforms. After the 2023 year reconfirmed for studio brass that efficiently budgeted genre plays can drive the zeitgeist, 2024 kept the drumbeat going with visionary-driven titles and quiet over-performers. The upswing fed into 2025, where reboots and festival-grade titles demonstrated there is demand for a spectrum, from franchise continuations to standalone ideas that carry overseas. The aggregate for the 2026 slate is a roster that feels more orchestrated than usual across companies, with obvious clusters, a blend of known properties and new concepts, and a recommitted attention on theatrical windows that drive downstream revenue on PVOD and SVOD.

Executives say the category now serves as a schedule utility on the programming map. The genre can bow on almost any weekend, supply a clean hook for promo reels and shorts, and over-index with viewers that respond on early shows and stay strong through the second frame if the title pays off. Coming out of a strike-bent pipeline, the 2026 mapping telegraphs trust in that equation. The slate rolls out with a heavy January lineup, then uses spring and early summer for contrast, while carving room for a fall cadence that stretches into the Halloween frame and afterwards. The gridline also underscores the increasing integration of arthouse labels and platforms that can launch in limited release, spark evangelism, and expand at the right moment.

A parallel macro theme is series management across linked properties and legacy franchises. Big banners are not just greenlighting another follow-up. They are setting up lore continuity with a specialness, whether that is a brandmark that telegraphs a new tone or a casting pivot that connects a new entry to a classic era. At the same time, the directors behind the eagerly awaited originals are championing in-camera technique, special makeup and vivid settings. That blend hands 2026 a vital pairing of comfort and unexpected turns, which is a recipe that travels worldwide.

Major-player strategies for 2026

Paramount establishes early momentum with two marquee pushes that straddle tones widely. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with original architect Kevin Williamson in the helm and Neve Campbell back at the front, marketing it as both a lineage transfer and a foundation-forward character-forward chapter. Filming is in progress in Atlanta, and the creative stance indicates a nostalgia-forward campaign without looping the last two entries’ family thread. Count on a promo wave driven by heritage visuals, first images of characters, and a promo sequence arriving in late fall. Distribution is theatrical through Paramount.

Paramount also relaunches a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are back on More about the author screen, with the Wayans brothers involved in creative roles for the first time since the early 2000s, a angle the campaign will foreground. As a non-tentpole summer option, this one will drive mainstream recognition through gif-able moments, with the horror spoof format allowing quick updates to whatever defines the meme cycle that spring.

Universal has three defined lanes. SOULM8TE launches January 9, 2026, a digital-age offshoot from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The hook is straightforward, tragic, and concept-forward: a grieving man activates an virtual partner that grows into a harmful mate. The date places it at the front of a busy month, with the marketing arm likely to revisit strange in-person beats and bite-size content that melds love and unease.

On May 8, 2026, the studio positions an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely taken to be the feature developed under internal titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The dated slate currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which reserves space for a official title to become an earned moment closer to the teaser. The timing gives the studio a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles cluster around other dates.

Capping the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film claims October 23, 2026, a slot he has dominated before. Peele’s work are presented as signature events, with a teaser that holds back and a later creative that convey vibe without spoilers the concept. The Halloween runway affords Universal to dominate pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then leverage the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, collaborates with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček helms, with Souheila Yacoub headlining. The franchise has repeatedly shown that a tactile, physical-effects centered mix can feel deluxe on a mid-range budget. Frame it as a splatter summer horror shot that leans into international play, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most international markets.

Sony’s horror bench is unusually deep. The studio books two IP moves in the back half. An untitled Insidious film opens August 21, 2026, carrying a reliable supernatural brand in play while the spin-off branch progresses. The studio has shifted dates on this title before, but the current plan holds it in late summer, where Insidious has traditionally delivered.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil returns in what the studio is calling a ground-zero restart 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 explicit mandate to serve both diehards and fresh viewers. The fall slot affords Sony time to build campaign creative around mythos, and creature work, elements that can boost PLF interest and fan-forward engagement.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, books 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 careful craft and linguistic texture, this time set against lycan legends. The imprint has already set the date for a holiday release, a promissory note in Eggers as a specialty play that can grow wide if early reception is robust.

Streaming strategies and platform plays

Home-platform rhythms for 2026 run on tested paths. Universal’s horror titles land on copyright after a exclusive run then PVOD, a sequence that boosts both debut momentum and viewer acquisition in the after-window. Prime Video stitches together catalogue additions with worldwide buys and qualifying theatrical engagements when the data backs it. Max and Hulu lean on their strengths in archive usage, using editorial spots, fright rows, and programmed rows to sustain interest on lifetime take. Netflix remains opportunistic about Netflix films and festival grabs, slotting horror entries toward the drop and coalescing around go-lives with condensed plans. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, works a laddered of precision releases and prompt platform moves that turns chatter to conversion. That will be key for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before pivoting to genre-fan funnels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ continues to evaluate horror on a title-by-title basis. The platform has signaled readiness to acquire select projects with acclaimed directors or name-led packages, then give them a boutique theatrical in partnership with exhibitors to meet qualification bars or to create word of mouth before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still pulls from the 20th Century Studios slate, a critical input for monthly engagement when the genre conversation spikes.

Indie and specialty outlook

Cineverse is curating 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 sell is direct: the same somber, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a genre cult touchstone, elevated for modern mix and image. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a autumn frame, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has hinted a traditional cinema play for Legacy, an encouraging sign for fans of the savage series and for exhibitors needing R-rated alternatives in the late stretch.

Focus will lean into the auteur lane with Werwulf, managing the title through select festivals if the cut is ready, then deploying the holiday frame to broaden. That positioning has shown results for filmmaker-driven genre with mainstream crossovers. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not finalized many 2026 slots in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines commonly finalize after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A sound expectation is a selection of late-summer and fall platformers that can go wider if reception allows. Be ready for an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that surges from Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work as partners, using mini theatrical to prime evangelism that fuels their user base.

Franchises versus originals

By count, the 2026 slate tilts in favor of the series side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all use name recognition. The risk, as ever, is viewer burnout. The go-to fix is to position each entry as a recast vibe. Paramount is elevating character-first legacy in Scream 7, Sony is indicating a fresh ground-up build for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is pushing a French-tinted vision from a fresh helmer. Those choices count when the audience has so many options and social sentiment swings fast.

Non-franchise titles and director-first projects keep the lungs full. Jordan Peele’s October film will be treated as a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, sets Rachel McAdams in a survival chiller premise with the director’s playful dread. SOULM8TE offers a precise, unnerving tech hook. Werwulf rests on period texture and an unsparing tone. Even when the title is not based on a property, the configuration is grounded enough to turn curiosity into pre-sales and first-night audiences.

Past-three-year patterns outline the approach. In 2023, a theatrical-first plan that held distribution windows did not obstruct a same-day experiment from succeeding when the brand was strong. In 2024, auteur craft horror rose in premium screens. In 2025, a revived cycle of a beloved infection saga made clear that global horror franchises can still feel new when they angle differently and grow scope. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which advances January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The dual-chapter plan, with chapters shot in tandem, allows marketing to thread films through character web and themes and to keep materials circulating without pause points.

How the films are being made

The behind-the-scenes chatter behind the 2026 entries signal a continued bias toward in-camera, locale-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not repeat any recent iteration of the property, a stance that complements the in-camera lean he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film closed principal and is lined up for its April 17, 2026 date. Expect a campaign that underscores unease and texture rather than whiz-bang spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership making room for budget rigor.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has framed Werwulf as the grimmest project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval backdrop and medieval diction, a combination that can make for textured sound and a cold, elemental mood on the big screen. Focus will likely preview this aesthetic in deep-dive features and artisan spotlights before rolling out a atmospheric tease that elevates tone over story, a move that has succeeded for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is geared for tactile gnarliness, a signature of the series that works internationally in red-band trailers and gathers shareable reaction clips from early screenings. Scream 7 sets up a meta reframe that re-centers the original lead. Resident Evil will stand or stumble on monster work and world-building, which favor booth activations and managed asset releases. Insidious tends to be a sound-mix showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the theater case feel essential. Look for trailers that center hyper-detailed sound, deep-bass stingers, and mute beats that shine in top rooms.

Release calendar overview

January is packed. Universal’s 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 gloomy counterbalance amid headline IP. The month ends with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival-and-paranoia piece from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is credible, but the palette of tones opens lanes for all, and the five-week structure supports a clean run for each if word of mouth carries.

Pre-summer months build the summer base. Paramount’s Scream 7 bows February 27 with nostalgia energy. In April, New Line’s The Mummy reimagines a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once was aligned with genre counterprogramming and now backs big openers. Universal’s untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 bridges into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer clarifies the lanes. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is comedic and broad, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 presents red-band intensity. The counterprogramming logic is strong. The spoof can succeed next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest serves older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have cycled through premium screens.

Back half into fall leans franchise. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously performed. Resident Evil lands after September 18, a transitional slot that still ties into Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event books October 23 and will engross cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely driven by a minimalist tease strategy and limited teasers that trade in concept over detail.

Awards-adjacent specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a stakes that genre can thrive over the holidays when packaged as prestige-leaning horror. The distributor has done this before, platforming with care, then leveraging critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to extend talk into January. If the film resonates with critics, the studio can go wider in the first week of 2027 while turning holiday audiences and gift-card use.

One-sentence dossiers

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting ongoing as production pushes forward. Logline: Sidney returns to confront a new Ghostface while the narrative reconnects to the original film’s DNA. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: return-to-core with a fresh edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A grieving man’s digital partner turns into something lethally affectionate. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal completed for an early-year bow. Positioning: digital-age horror with pathos.

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 ascends in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Shot sequentially with the first film. Positioning: continuation of a revered infection cycle.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man travels back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to confront a unstable reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked and U.S. theatrical booked. 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 hard-edged boss work to survive on a isolated island as the hierarchy swivels and paranoia creeps in. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished. 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 in the vault in official materials. Logline: A renewed vision that returns the monster to nightmare, built on Cronin’s in-camera craft and quiet dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal wrapped. Positioning: classic monster revival with auteur stamp.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A home-set haunting story that explores the chill of a child’s mercurial POV. Rating: TBD. Production: completed. Positioning: studio-grade and name-above-title ghost thriller.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers returning creatively. Logline: {A satire sequel that targets of-the-moment horror beats and true crime fixations. Rating: not yet rated. Production: filming slated 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 global twist in tone and setting. Rating: to be announced. Production: production in New Zealand. Positioning: intense red-band chapter tailored to PLF.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be revealed later. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: The Further extends again, with a unlucky family snared by returning horrors. Rating: awaiting classification. 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: pending public reveal. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: A re-seeded launch designed to recreate the franchise from the ground up, with an lean toward pure survival horror over action-forward bombast. Rating: not yet rated. Production: advancing in development with date locked. Positioning: fidelity-minded reboot with crossover prospects.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: TBA. Logline: deliberately concealed. Rating: TBD. Production: ongoing. Positioning: director-branded event with teaser focus.

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 historical diction and raw menace. Rating: not yet rated. Production: actively prepping for a holiday slot. Positioning: prestige horror for the holidays, with potential awards-season craft appeal.

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 theatrical-first route ahead of platforming. Status: date variable, fall window probable.

Why 2026, why now

Three pragmatic forces drive this lineup. First, production that slowed or shuffled in 2024 required schedule breathing room. Horror can fill those gaps quickly because scripts often are set in fewer locales, fewer large-scale digital sequences, and shorter timelines. Second, studios have become more disciplined 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 drops. Third, digital word of mouth converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will work turnkey scare beats from test screenings, managed scare clips aligned to Thursday preview shows, and experiential pop-ups that generate creator assets. It is a repeatable playbook because it converts.

The slot calculus is real. Family and cape-heavy lanes thin out in early 2026, leaving useful real estate for genre entries that can control a weekend or play as the older-leaning alternative. January is the prime example. Four genre tones will coexist across five weekends, which lets WOM accrue cleanly. Summer provides the other window. The parody aligns with early family and action waves, then the hard-R entry can benefit from a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Budget discipline, rating paths, sleeper math

Budgets remain in the strike zone. Most of the films above will fit below the $40–$50 million line, with many far below. That allows for strong PLF footprints 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 low-to-mid budget genre can own weekends with minimal competition, and again in late summer, where horror often becomes the conversation when tentpoles tire. The 2026 slate is set up to maximize those pockets. 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. Count on a vigorous PVOD arc overall, since horror fans have shown a willingness to pay for convenience after an opening weekend, especially when word of mouth is strong.

How the viewing year plays

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers pace and range. January is a tasting table, February delivers a legacy slasher, April resurrects a Universal monster, May and June provide a ghostly double-hit for date nights and group outings, July gets gnarly, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a bleak, literate nightmare. That is how you sustain conversation and attendance without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can scale over time, using earlier releases to stage the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors favor the spacing. Horror delivers consistent Thursday swells, tight deployments, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can credibly make the premium-screen case, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing texture, sonics, and picture 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 Strong 2026 Horizon

Windows change. Ratings change. Casts rotate. But the spine of 2026 horror is defined. There is brand gravity where needed, creative ambition where it counts, and a calendar that shows studios understand how and when audiences want to be scared. The awards and festival pipeline into 2027 will come into focus once the fall festivals lock, and it would not be surprising to see at least one final-hour specialty addition join the party. For now, the job is simple, shape lean trailers, preserve the surprise, and let the shudders sell the seats.