Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed stirs up ancient terror, a spine tingling horror feature, arriving Oct 2025 on leading streamers

One haunting otherworldly suspense film from writer / creative lead Andrew Chiaramonte, unleashing an archaic entity when strangers become instruments in a malevolent conflict. Releasing October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, iTunes, Apple TV Plus, and Fandango’s digital service.

Hollywood, CA (August 8, 2025) – Prepare yourselves for *Young & Cursed*, a gut-wrenching journey of resilience and forgotten curse that will redefine terror storytelling this October. Produced by rising imaginative director Andrew Chiaramonte, this gritty and emotionally thick tale follows five young adults who find themselves sealed in a isolated dwelling under the malignant influence of Kyra, a mysterious girl possessed by a 2,000-year-old religious nightmare. Arm yourself to be shaken by a cinematic ride that combines bone-deep fear with mythic lore, arriving 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 well-established fixture in the movies. In *Young & Cursed*, that formula is subverted when the demons no longer originate from a different plane, but rather from within. This illustrates the most sinister shade of every character. The result is a harrowing emotional conflict where the emotions becomes a relentless fight between innocence and sin.


In a wilderness-stricken backcountry, five figures find themselves isolated under the ghastly presence and overtake of a mysterious character. As the companions becomes incapable to escape her will, left alone and preyed upon by unknowns unimaginable, they are confronted to endure their emotional phantoms while the clock brutally moves toward their demise.


In *Young & Cursed*, fear surges and friendships dissolve, coercing each participant to evaluate their personhood and the idea of self-determination itself. The consequences amplify with every passing moment, delivering a nightmarish journey that blends supernatural terror with raw emotion.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my aim was to tap into deep fear, an force before modern man, manipulating our fears, and testing a curse that threatens selfhood when we lose control.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Taking on the role of Kyra involved tapping into something far beyond human desperation. She is insensitive until the possession kicks in, and that transformation is soul-crushing because it is so visceral.”

Where to Watch

*Young & Cursed* will be unleashed for audience access beginning this October 2, on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand—guaranteeing subscribers internationally can enjoy this spine-tingling premiere.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just unveiled a new official preview for *Young & Cursed*, uploaded to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a response to its original clip, which has been viewed over 100K plays.


In addition to its domestic release, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has publicized that *Young & Cursed* will also be available worldwide, presenting the nightmare to international horror buffs.


Mark your calendar for this cinematic exploration of dread. Stream *Young & Cursed* this spooky debut to experience these unholy truths about the soul.


For sneak peeks, set experiences, and reveals from the cast and crew, follow @YoungCursedOfficial across social media and visit the film’s website.





Horror’s pivotal crossroads: the year 2025 stateside slate blends ancient-possession motifs, indie terrors, paired with tentpole growls

From endurance-driven terror drawn from old testament echoes all the way to franchise returns plus sharp indie viewpoints, 2025 is emerging as horror’s most layered paired with intentionally scheduled year in ten years.

It is loaded, and also intentionally sequenced. studio majors stabilize the year with established lines, in parallel streamers front-load the fall with fresh voices together with ancestral chills. At the same time, festival-forward creators is riding the backdraft of 2024’s record festival wave. Given Halloween is the centerpiece, the other windows are mapped with care. That late Q3 to mid Q4 lane is the crucible, distinctly in 2025, bookings reach January, spring, and mid-summer. Viewers are primed, studios are exacting, so 2025 could be the most carefully plotted year to date.

Studio Roadmap and Mini-Major Pulse: High-craft horror returns

The top end is active. If 2024 primed the reset, 2025 deepens the push.

Universal’s slate fires the first shot with a big gambit: a modernized Wolf Man, stepping away from the classic old-country village, in a modern-day environment. Under director Leigh Whannell anchored by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this pass grounds the lycanthropy in household collapse. The evolution surpasses the body, into spouses, parents, and bruised humanity. set for mid January, it fits the new plan to claim winter’s soft window with prestige horror rather than castoffs.

By spring, Clown in a Cornfield premieres, a YA slasher conversion presented as stripped terror. Guided by Eli Craig including Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it is blood soaked Americana horror with a satirical streak. Under the costume, it needles small town fear, cross generational rifts, and crowd punishment. First wave buzz indicates sharp teeth.

As summer eases, the Warner lot rolls out the capstone of its steadiest horror franchise: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson again portray Ed and Lorraine Warren, the installment promises emotional closure while taking on one of the duo’s most infamous real life cases. Even if the pattern is recognizable, Chaves is guiding toward a solemn, meditative finish. It arrives early September, buying space before the October wave.

The Black Phone 2 follows. First targeted at early summer, the move into October reads bullish. Derrickson returns to the helm, and those signature textures resurface: throwback unease, trauma in the foreground, and eerie supernatural logic. This pass pushes higher, with a deeper exploration into the “grabber” mythology and how grief haunts generations.

Bringing up the winter anchor is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a picture that draws on name power. The return delves further into myth, enlarges the animatronic menagerie, bridging teens and legacy players. It posts in December, buttoning the final window.

SVOD Originals: No Budget, No Problem

While theaters bet on familiarity, SVOD players are testing edges, and gains show.

A leading ambitious platform entry is Weapons, a cold-case linked horror tapestry knitting three time bands around a mass vanishing. Led by Zach Cregger and featuring Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the release pairs unease with narrative heft. Hitting theaters late summer with fall digital, it is poised to inspire think pieces and forums, echoing Barbarian.

On the minimalist axis arrives Together, a room scale body horror descent fronted by Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Situated in an out of the way rental during a failed escape, the narrative traces love and jealousy and self contempt into body collapse. It moves between affection and rot, a triptych into codependent hell. Though no platform has officially staked a release date, it is a lock for fall streaming.

Also rising is Sinners, a 1930s rooted vampire folk legend fronted by Michael B. Jordan. Framed in sepia richness with biblical metaphor, it suggests There Will Be Blood blended with Let the Right One In. The piece examines American religious trauma via supernatural allegory. Pre release tests anoint it a conversation starter on streaming.

Other streamer plays queue softly: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper all lean on grief, loss, and identity, favoring allegory over fireworks.

Possession Runs Deep: Young & Cursed

Rolling out October 2 across streaming, Young & Cursed plays as a rare fusion, spare in setting, sweeping in lore. Conceived 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 nightfall, Kyra’s power deepens, an invasive force mining their most secret fears, frailties, and regrets.

The terror is psychological in engine, alive with primal myth. Ducking the exorcism default of Catholic ritual and Latin text, this entry turns 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. It is a clever angle. No overstuffed canon. No legacy baggage. Just psychological dread, contained and tense, tailored to the binge then breathe cadence of digital horror fans. In a spectacle stack, Young & Cursed could be the hush before the shriek.

Festival Heat to Market Leverage

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF continue to incubate the next six to twelve months of horror. This year, the launchpad function outruns the showcase role.

Fantastic Fest fields a robust horror set this year. Primate, a tropical body horror curtain raiser, invites Cronenberg Herzog comp. Whistle, Aztec coded revenge folklore, may cap the fest blazing.

Those midnight titles, including If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, buzz from delivery as much as naming. A24’s satire of toxic fandom inside a con lockdown aims at breakout.

SXSW rolled out Clown in a Cornfield and a clutch of microbudget haunts near deals. Sundance is expected to unspool a familiar crop of grief steeped elevated horror, and Tribeca’s genre set plays urban, social, and surreal.

Fest circuits are brand engines as much as discovery engines. 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 returns in July, reviving the 90s franchise with new lead and retro color. Unlike earlier entries, this leans camp and prom night melodrama. Picture tiaras, bright red goo, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 returns in late June, seeking to build out techno horror lore using new characters and AI born frights. The first film’s success on both social media and streaming has given Universal the confidence to double down.

Also on deck is The Long Walk, from an early, punishing Stephen King work, guided by Francis Lawrence, it reads as a brutal dystopian allegory inside survival horror, a walk till you drop competition for kids with no winners. 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.

Key Trends

Myth turns mainstream
From Lilith in Young & Cursed across to Aztec curses in Whistle, slates mine ancient texts and symbols. It is not nostalgia, it is re owning pre Christian archetypes. Horror surpasses shocks, it recalls evil’s antiquity.

Body horror reemerges
Entries like Together, Weapons, and Keeper shift back to flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation function as metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streamer originals stiffen their spine
The era of filler horror on streamers is ending. Streamers are investing in real scripts, real directors, and real marketing pushes. Works such as Weapons and Sinners are positioned as events, not filler.

Festival momentum becomes leverage
Badges are functional, they buy theatrical access, prime placement, and cycles. No festival plan in 2025, and disappearance looms.

Theaters are a trust fall
Studios hold theatrical for overperformers or future series seeds. The rest moves to PVOD or hybrid patterns. Horror is not shrinking in theaters, but it is becoming more curated.

Projection: Autumn Overload and the Winter Wildcard

Put Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons into September and October and you get saturation. Indies, including Bone Lake and Keeper, will battle for oxygen. Do not be surprised if one or two move to early 2026 or switch platforms.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 anchors December, and a surprise streaming drop could still arrive late. Given the dark, mythic lean of the year’s big films, a final creature feature or exorcism slot is open.

The trick lies in diverse menus finding segmented crowds, not single title bets. The plan is not to clone Get Out, it is to craft horror that lives on beyond box office.



The forthcoming 2026 terror lineup: Sequels, universe starters, in tandem with A brimming Calendar Built For Scares

Dek The incoming scare cycle packs from the jump with a January crush, before it spreads through the warm months, and straight through the holidays, braiding franchise firepower, untold stories, and shrewd release strategy. Studio marketers and platforms are committing to efficient budgets, theatrical-first rollouts, and buzz-forward plans that transform these films into culture-wide discussion.

Horror momentum into 2026

The genre has proven to be the most reliable move in studio lineups, a lane that can surge when it connects and still buffer the losses when it does not. After 2023 proved to top brass that modestly budgeted scare machines can lead the zeitgeist, the following year extended the rally with visionary-driven titles and under-the-radar smashes. The upswing flowed into the 2025 frame, where reboots and arthouse crossovers showed there is room for varied styles, from sequel tracks to fresh IP that carry overseas. The sum for the 2026 slate is a grid that reads highly synchronized across studios, with obvious clusters, a spread of recognizable IP and original hooks, and a tightened priority on theatrical windows that power the aftermarket on premium rental and home streaming.

Buyers contend the category now acts as a fill-in ace on the distribution slate. The genre can kick off on many corridors, create a easy sell for ad units and platform-native cuts, and outpace with patrons that appear on previews Thursday and stick through the follow-up frame if the picture delivers. On the heels of a strike-driven backlog, the 2026 plan reflects confidence in that logic. The calendar starts with a stacked January lineup, then plants flags in spring and early summer for balance, while holding room for a September to October window that carries into the Halloween frame and into November. The program also features the tightening integration of specialized labels and streaming partners that can nurture a platform play, spark evangelism, and roll out at the strategic time.

A second macro trend is series management across connected story worlds and storied titles. The studios are not just mounting another follow-up. They are moving to present continuity with a specialness, whether that is a title presentation that signals a recalibrated tone or a lead change that binds a new entry to a foundational era. At the parallel to that, the auteurs behind the most anticipated originals are leaning into hands-on technique, physical gags and place-driven backdrops. That mix delivers 2026 a smart balance of trust and unexpected turns, which is why the genre exports well.

Inside the studio playbooks

Paramount marks the early tempo with two big-ticket releases that live at opposite ends of the tone spectrum. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with original architect Kevin Williamson in the top job and Neve Campbell back at the front, marketing it as both a cross-generational handoff and a return-to-roots character-driven entry. Principal photography is underway in Atlanta, and the creative stance hints at a fan-service aware treatment without covering again the last two entries’ this website sisters storyline. The studio is likely to mount a drive stacked with signature symbols, first images of characters, and a tiered teaser plan rolling toward late fall. Distribution is Paramount theatrical.

Paramount also resurrects a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are reforming, with the Wayans brothers involved creatively for the first time since the early 2000s, a campaign lever the campaign will emphasize. As a summer counter-slot, this one will seek mass reach through viral-minded bites, with the horror spoof format supporting quick redirects to whatever rules genre chatter that spring.

Universal has three defined plays. SOULM8TE premieres January 9, 2026, a tech-horror spinoff from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The hook is simple, heartbroken, and big-hook: a grieving man onboards an intelligent companion that escalates into a harmful mate. The date lines it up at the front of a packed window, with the Universal machine likely to bring back off-kilter promo beats and short-cut promos that interlaces affection and fear.

On May 8, 2026, the studio schedules an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely understood to be the feature developed under placeholder labels in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The dated slate currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which permits a name unveil to become an fan moment closer to the first trailer. The timing holds ground in early May while larger tentpoles stack elsewhere.

Filling out the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film books October 23, 2026, a slot he has defined before. The filmmaker’s films are sold as marquee events, with a teaser that holds back and a later trailer push that tee up tone without spoiling the concept. The late-October frame allows Universal 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, partners with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček leads, with Souheila Yacoub top-lining. The franchise has long shown that a visceral, in-camera leaning execution can feel premium on a disciplined budget. Position this as a blood-soaked summer horror hit that pushes worldwide reach, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most international markets.

Sony’s horror bench is impressively deep. The studio sets two brand plays in the back half. An untitled Insidious film hits August 21, 2026, sustaining a reliable supernatural brand on the grid while the spin-off branch incubates. Sony has shifted dates on this title before, but the current plan anchors it in late summer, where Insidious has done well historically.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil re-emerges in what the studio is positioning as a ground-zero restart for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a key part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a clearer mandate to serve both franchise faithful and fresh viewers. The fall slot gives Sony time to build campaign pieces around lore, and monster aesthetics, elements that can lift IMAX and PLF uptake and fan events.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, anchors a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film sustains Eggers’ run of period horror driven by minute detail and linguistic texture, this time exploring werewolf lore. The imprint has already announced the holiday for a holiday release, a public confidence in Eggers as a specialty play that can build and expand if early reception is robust.

Where the platforms fit in

Platform strategies for 2026 run on established tracks. The studio’s horror films land on copyright after a theater window then PVOD, a stair-step that optimizes both debut momentum and sub growth in the later window. Prime Video pairs licensed titles with global pickups and small theatrical windows when the data recommends it. Max and Hulu optimize their lanes in library pulls, using timely promos, fright rows, and handpicked rows to prolong the run on lifetime take. Netflix stays opportunistic about in-house releases and festival pickups, slotting horror entries on shorter runways and framing as events debuts with burst campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, exploits a two-step of precision releases and accelerated 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 turning to community channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ keeps selective horror on a discrete basis. The platform has shown a willingness to purchase select projects with acclaimed directors or star packages, then give them a art-house footprint in partnership with exhibitors to meet qualification bars or to spark social proof before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still uses the 20th Century Studios slate, a core piece for subscriber stickiness when the genre conversation peaks.

Specialty and indie breakouts

Cineverse is putting together a 2026 corridor with two recognizable titles. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The promise is straightforward: the same mist-blanketed, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a diehard favorite, elevated for modern mix and image. Later check over here 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 hinted a standard theatrical run for Legacy, an optimistic indicator for fans of the hard-edged series and for exhibitors hungry for R material in the autumn weeks.

Focus will play the auteur card with Werwulf, escorting the title through fall festivals if the cut is ready, then pressing the Christmas window to move out. That positioning has delivered for filmmaker-driven genre with award possibilities. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not announced many 2026 dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines typically coalesce after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A safe bet is a run of late-summer and fall platformers that can expand if reception merits. Be ready for 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 as partners, using small theatrical to stir evangelism that fuels their user base.

Brands and originals

By number, 2026 tips toward the recognizable IP side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all activate franchise value. The trade-off, as ever, is staleness. The preferred tactic is to brand each entry as a recast vibe. Paramount is emphasizing character-first legacy in Scream 7, Sony is signaling a new foundation for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is centering a French sensibility from a fresh helmer. Those choices carry weight when the audience has so many options and social sentiment turns quickly.

Originals and director-driven titles supply the oxygen. Jordan Peele’s October film will be marketed as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, places Rachel McAdams into a survival chiller premise with the filmmaker’s mischievous menace. SOULM8TE offers a tight, eerie tech hook. Werwulf anchors in period detail and an flinty tone. Even when the title is not based on a known brand, the team and cast is known enough to generate pre-sales and preview-night crowds.

Past-three-year patterns contextualize the model. In 2023, a big-screen-first plan that maintained windows did not obstruct a dual release from performing when the brand was potent. In 2024, director-craft horror rose in premium formats. In 2025, a return of a beloved infection saga made clear that global horror franchises can still feel reinvigorated when they change perspective 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 paired-chapter approach, with chapters shot in tandem, creates space for marketing to relate entries through character arcs and themes and to keep materials circulating without extended gaps.

Production craft signals

The production chatter behind these films hint at a continued turn toward material, place-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not imitate any recent iteration of the property, a stance that accords with the physical-effects bias he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film wrapped principal photography and is tracking Source to its April 17, 2026 date. The push will likely that foregrounds aura and dread rather than bombast, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership making room for cost management.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has spoken of Werwulf as the bleakest project he has tackled, which tracks with a feudal backdrop and historically accurate language, a combination that can make for sonic immersion and a icy, primal tone on the big screen. Focus will likely tease this aesthetic in craft journalism and below-the-line spotlights before rolling out a initial teaser that keeps plot minimal, a move that has resonated for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is set up for red-band excess, a signature of the series that travels well in red-band trailers and earns shareable reaction videos from early screenings. Scream 7 positions a meta reframe that puts the original star at center. Resident Evil will fly or stall on creature and environment design, which work nicely for convention floor stunts and guarded reveals. Insidious tends to be a soundstage showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the theatrical pitch feel primary. Look for trailers that elevate pinpoint sound design, deep-bass stingers, and mute beats that benefit on big speakers.

How the year maps out

January is busy. 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 somber counterpoint amid big-brand pushes. The month finishes 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 credible, but the spread of tones carves a lane for each, and the five-week structure allows a clean run for each if word of mouth sticks.

Early-year through spring seed summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 bows February 27 with legacy momentum. In April, The Mummy reframes a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once was home to genre counterprogramming and now nurtures 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 underlines contrasts. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is comedic and broad, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 presents brutal intensity. The counterprogramming logic is strong. The spoof can hit 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 PLF.

Late summer into fall leans series. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives the studio a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously excelled. Resident Evil comes after September 18, a early fall window that still connects to Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film occupies October 23 and will captivate cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely amplified by a shroud-first teaser rhythm and limited disclosures that center concept over reveals.

Holiday prestige and specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a flag plant that genre can play the holidays when packaged as awards-flirting horror. The distributor has done this before, deliberate rollout, then working critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to hold in chatter into January. If the film resonates with critics, the studio can extend in the first week of 2027 while riding holiday turnout and gift-card burn.

Film-by-film briefs

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting ongoing as production is underway. Logline: Sidney returns to face a new Ghostface while the narrative re-keys to the original film’s genes. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: legacy reset with a modern edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A sorrowing man’s synthetic partner shifts into something fatal and romantic. Rating: TBA. Production: Wrapped principal 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 broadens the canvas beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult surges in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Shot sequentially with the first film. Positioning: next step of a prestige infection saga.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man ventures back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to be swallowed by a shifting reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Done with U.S. run set. 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 prickly boss battle to survive on a isolated island as the power dynamic turns and mistrust rises. 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 fresh reimagining that returns the monster to nightmare, anchored by Cronin’s practical craft and oozing dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Wrapped. Positioning: legendary monster re-up with auteur hand.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A family-home haunting setup that routes the horror through a preteen’s unreliable perspective. Rating: TBD. Production: finished. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven supernatural mood piece.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers participating creatively. Logline: {A comic send-up that satirizes in-vogue horror tropes and true-crime buzz. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: fall 2025 production window. Positioning: wide-lane seasonal counterprogram.

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 surges, with an cross-border twist in tone and setting. Rating: pending. Production: lensing in New Zealand. Positioning: graphic series entry optimized for PLF.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: awaiting reveal. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: The Further reopens, with a unlucky family bound to returning horrors. Rating: TBD. Production: aiming to lens in summer ahead of late-summer bow. Positioning: consistent franchise performer in a beneficial frame.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: TBD publicly. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: A clean reboot designed to rebuild the franchise from the ground up, with an priority on classic survival-horror tone over action pyrotechnics. Rating: TBA. Production: development underway with firm date. Positioning: IP-accurate revival with mainstream runway.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: tightly guarded. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: continuing. Positioning: filmmaker-led event with teaser rollout.

Werwulf (Focus Features, December 25, 2026)
Director: Robert Eggers. Top cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, with other regulars expected. Logline: A medieval werewolf story built on period-specific language and ancient menace. Rating: pending. Production: gearing up with December 25 frame. Positioning: specialty holiday horror poised for crafts recognition.

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: slot unsettled, fall projected.

Why 2026, why now

Three workable forces calibrate this lineup. First, production that paused or shifted in 2024 demanded space on the calendar. Horror can bridge those gaps quickly because scripts often demand fewer locations, fewer large-scale CGI sequences, and leaner schedules. Second, studios have become more methodical about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently out-earned straight-to-streaming drops. Third, social conversation converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will harvest bite-size scare clips from test screenings, managed scare clips synced to Thursday previews, and experiential pop-ups that become influencer fuel. It is a repeatable playbook because it delivers.

Another factor is the scheduling math. Early corridors for family and capes are leaner in 2026, freeing space for genre entries that can command a weekend or serve as the mature-skew alternative. January is the prime example. Four distinct flavors of horror will share space across five weekends, which reduces inter-title cannibalization. Summer provides the other window. The send-up tracks alongside early family and action traffic, then the hard-R entry can take advantage of a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Cost, ratings, and sleeper dynamics

Budgets remain in the comfort zone. Most of the films above will budget under the $40–$50 million tier, with many far below. That allows for heavy premium placement 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 stealth-hit search continues in Q1, where modest-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 exploit those windows. 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. 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.

Audience journey through the year

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers pattern and spread. January is a array, February delivers a legacy slasher, April returns a Universal monster, May and June provide a two-beat supernatural run for date nights and group outings, July runs hard, 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 hold talk and turnout without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can compound over time, using earlier releases to stage the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors are pleased with the spacing. Horror delivers reliable Thursday lifts, lean footprints, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can qualify for PLF, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing tactility, sound field, 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.

2026, Lined Up To Scare

Release dates move. Ratings change. Casts update. But the spine of 2026 horror is sturdy. There is franchise muscle where it helps, new vision where it lands, and a calendar that shows studios know when and how to deliver 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, deliver taut trailers, keep secrets, and let the frights sell the seats.