Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed releases primeval malevolence, a spine tingling thriller, bowing October 2025 on global platforms

A hair-raising supernatural scare-fest from author / helmer Andrew Chiaramonte, summoning an age-old force when outsiders become instruments in a satanic experiment. Premiering this October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, Apple iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango’s digital service.

Los Angeles, CA (August 8, 2025) – gear up for *Young & Cursed*, a harrowing story of staying alive and archaic horror that will alter horror this harvest season. Brought to life by rising horror auteur Andrew Chiaramonte, this pressure-packed and eerie suspense flick follows five lost souls who emerge ensnared in a isolated dwelling under the malignant dominion of Kyra, a possessed female claimed by a two-thousand-year-old ancient fiend. Prepare to be absorbed by a theatrical spectacle that intertwines bone-deep fear with spiritual backstory, landing on Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Demon possession has been a classic narrative in genre filmmaking. In *Young & Cursed*, that norm is radically shifted when the dark entities no longer descend beyond the self, but rather through their own souls. This suggests the malevolent version of the victims. The result is a relentless moral showdown where the intensity becomes a unforgiving struggle between heaven and hell.


In a wilderness-stricken no-man's-land, five campers find themselves stuck under the sinister force and domination of a secretive female presence. As the ensemble becomes unresisting to withstand her manipulation, cut off and followed by evils mind-shattering, they are confronted to wrestle with their deepest fears while the moments relentlessly draws closer toward their final moment.


In *Young & Cursed*, mistrust swells and alliances break, requiring each participant to question their self and the idea of independent thought itself. The pressure rise with every short lapse, delivering a scare-fueled ride that connects otherworldly panic with psychological weakness.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my goal was to evoke basic terror, an power from prehistory, working through mental cracks, and testing a entity that dismantles free will when freedom is gone.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Taking on the role of Kyra involved tapping into something beneath mortal despair. She is uninformed until the haunting manifests, and that shift is bone-chilling because it is so visceral.”

Release & Availability

*Young & Cursed* will be distributed for home viewing beginning from October 2, 2025, on Amazon’s platform, YouTube, Google’s store, iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand—providing fans from coast to coast can get immersed in this spine-tingling premiere.


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


In addition to its initial rollout, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has stated that *Young & Cursed* will also be shared across borders, exporting the fear to lovers of terror across nations.


Tune in for this heart-stopping descent into darkness. Enter *Young & Cursed* this All Hallows’ kickoff to explore these ghostly lessons about inner darkness.


For behind-the-scenes access, set experiences, and reveals straight from the filmmakers, follow @YACFilm across fan hubs and visit our film’s homepage.





Modern horror’s tipping point: 2025 for genre fans U.S. release slate weaves myth-forward possession, signature indie scares, set against brand-name tremors

Beginning with life-or-death fear rooted in scriptural legend to franchise returns set beside focused festival visions, 2025 stands to become the most dimensioned as well as blueprinted year since the mid-2010s.

The 2025 horror calendar is not merely full, it is methodical. top-tier distributors stabilize the year with established lines, even as streamers saturate the fall with first-wave breakthroughs and ancestral chills. Meanwhile, independent banners is surfing the afterglow from a record 2024 festival run. Since Halloween is the prized date, the schedule beyond October is tightly engineered. The fall stretch is the proving field, though in this cycle, horror is also claiming January, spring, and even mid-summer. Audiences are eager, studios are calculated, therefore 2025 may be recorded as the genre’s most deliberate campaign.

Studio Playbook and Mini-Major Tactics: Elevated fear reclaims ground

Studios are not on the sidelines. If 2024 prepared the terrain, 2025 compounds the move.

Universal’s schedule opens the year with an audacious swing: a refreshed Wolf Man, not returning to the Gothic European hamlet, in an immediate now. Directed by Leigh Whannell with Christopher Abbott alongside Julia Garner, this cut welds lycanthropy to home turmoil. The arc is bodily and domestic, about marriage, caregiving, and fragile humanity. targeting mid January, it helps remake the winter trough with prestige offerings, not discard thrillers.

As spring rolls in, Clown in a Cornfield bows, a YA slasher port tuned to austere horror. Eli Craig directs with Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it moves like barn born dread with razor satire. Behind the grin, it unpacks local hysteria, generational chasms, and crowd justice. Initial fest notes point to real bite.

At summer’s close, the Warner lot sets loose the finale of its most reliable horror franchise: The Conjuring: Last Rites. The Warrens return, played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the finale seeks an emotional close via a signature case. Despite a known recipe, Chaves seems to angle for a plaintive, inward final note. It goes early September, easing the path before October flood.

The Black Phone 2 steps in next. Originally slated for early summer, its move to an October release suggests confidence. Scott Derrickson again directs, and the defining traits of the first sleeper return: vintage toned fear, trauma as theme, plus otherworld rules that chill. This time, the stakes are raised, with more excavation of the “grabber” canon and family hauntings.

Closing the prime list is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a franchise that brings its own crowd. The next entry deepens the tale, builds out the animatronic fear crew, speaking to teens and older millennials. It drops in December, stabilizing the winter back end.

SVOD Originals: Tight funds, wide impact

With cinemas leaning into known IP, streamers are trying sharper edges, and buzz accrues.

One standout ambitious title is Weapons, a cold-case woven horror suite that weaves together three timelines connected by a mass disappearance. From Zach Cregger pairing Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the release pairs unease with narrative heft. Hitting theaters late summer with fall digital, it is expected to spark online debate and post viewing breakdowns, much like Barbarian before it.

On the more intimate flank sits Together, a tight space body horror vignette featuring Alison Brie opposite Dave Franco. Set at a remote rental during a getaway that sours, the piece probes how love, envy, and self loathing become bodily rot. It is romantic, grotesque, and deeply uncomfortable, a three act spiral into codependent hell. Although a platform date is not yet posted, it is virtually assured for fall.

Another headline entry is Sinners, a 1930s period vampire folk story toplined 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 work dissects American religious trauma using supernatural allegory. Pre release tests anoint it a conversation starter on streaming.

Several other streaming indies are quietly waiting in the wings: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper all lean on grief, loss, and identity, favoring allegory over fireworks.

Deep Possession Currents: Young & Cursed

Hitting October 2 on the platforms, Young & Cursed stands as a rare hybrid, both intimate in scope and mythic in reach. From writer director Andrew Chiaramonte, the arc centers on five strangers who wake inside a backcountry cabin, beneath Kyra’s command, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. When evening turns to black, Kyra’s control expands, an encroaching force weaponizing fears, cracks, and guilt.

The horror here is psychological but charged with primal myth. Skipping the exorcism norm of Catholic rite and Latin line, this one digs into 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.

Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home set the film as Halloween counterprogramming versus sequel waves and monster returns. It looks like sharp programming. No overweight mythology. No franchise baggage. Just pure psychological dread, contained, tense, and tailor made for the binge and breathe rhythm of digital horror fans. In a spectacle stack, Young & Cursed could be the hush before the shriek.

Festival Badges as Fuel

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF remain breeding grounds for what horror looks like six to twelve months later. This cycle, they are launchpads first and showcases second.

This year, Fantastic Fest confirms a strong horror slate. Primate, an opening night tropical body-horror, invites Cronenberg meets Herzog talk. Whistle, revenge folklore with Aztec roots, is poised to close with blaze.

Midnight offerings such as If I Had Legs I’d Kick You surge on execution beyond the hook. 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 is expected to unspool a familiar crop of grief steeped elevated horror, where Tribeca’s genre program draws urban, social, and surreal.

This cycle, festival strategy pivots from discovery toward branding. Those badges act as campaign openers, not end caps.

Series Horror: Follow Ups, Restarts, and Reframes

The sequel reboot ecosystem reads stronger and more precise.

Fear Street: Prom Queen comes in July with franchise revival, new lead, retro styling. Rather than prior modes, it goes camp and prom night melodrama. Expect tiaras, corn syrup blood, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 opens late June, and aims to widen its techno horror mythology with new characters and AI generated terrors. The opening film’s buzz and platform staying power help Universal go bigger.

The Long Walk arrives off an early Stephen King survival piece, led by Francis Lawrence, it functions as a harsh dystopian fable encased in survival horror, a children’s march that ends in death. If framed properly, it could echo The Hunger Games for adult horror.

Other reboots and sequels, including Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda, scatter across the calendar, many awaiting strategic windows or late acquisitions.

Trends to Watch

Ancient myth goes wide
From Lilith in Young & Cursed through Aztec curses in Whistle, teams draw on ancient texts and symbols. This is not nostalgia, it is a reclamation of pre Christian archetypes. Horror reaches past fear, it states evil is old.

Body horror returns
Work like Together, Weapons, and Keeper revisit the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation map to heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Platform originals gain bite
The filler era wanes for platform horror. Platforms are putting money into scripts, directors, and promotion. Debuts like Weapons and Sinners carry event framing, not content bins.

Festival momentum becomes leverage
Festival laurels are no longer ornamental, they are leverage for theatrical release, premium placement, and media cycles. Without festivals in 2025, a horror film can evaporate.

Theatrical becomes a trust fall
Studios are only releasing horror theatrically if they believe it will overperform or spin into sequels. The remainder goes PVOD or hybrid. Horror stays in theaters, in chosen pockets.

Season Ahead: Autumn Overload and the Winter Wildcard

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. Some may slide to early 2026 or switch platform lanes.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 steadies December, yet a last minute streamer surprise is in play. As several big titles lean dark and mythic, there is room for one last creature feature or exorcism flick.

The genre’s success in 2025 will hinge not on any one title, but on how well its diverse slate reaches its scattered, increasingly segmented audience. This year is not about chasing the next Get Out, it is about building horror that lives beyond the box office.



The 2026 Horror cycle: continuations, new stories, as well as A stacked Calendar aimed at screams

Dek: The current horror season lines up from day one with a January logjam, subsequently stretches through peak season, and well into the December corridor, fusing name recognition, new voices, and calculated offsets. Studios and platforms are betting on responsible budgets, theatrical exclusivity first, and buzz-forward plans that turn genre titles into four-quadrant talking points.

Horror momentum into 2026

The field has established itself as the sturdy tool in studio slates, a genre that can grow when it resonates and still limit the drawdown when it misses. After 2023 reconfirmed for executives that low-to-mid budget entries can command the zeitgeist, the following year continued the surge with festival-darling auteurs and quiet over-performers. The run pushed into 2025, where revivals and filmmaker-prestige bets highlighted there is demand for many shades, from brand follow-ups to original features that perform internationally. The net effect for the 2026 slate is a slate that seems notably aligned across the field, with defined corridors, a equilibrium of familiar brands and new packages, and a sharpened eye on exclusive windows that amplify PVOD and streaming on premium digital and subscription services.

Executives say the horror lane now behaves like a versatile piece on the grid. The genre can debut on virtually any date, provide a sharp concept for creative and short-form placements, and lead with viewers that show up on previews Thursday and return through the subsequent weekend if the release fires. In the wake of a production delay era, the 2026 rhythm signals confidence in that dynamic. The year begins with a weighty January window, then plants flags in spring and early summer for balance, while holding room for a autumn push that connects to Halloween and into early November. The map also highlights the stronger partnership of indie arms and digital platforms that can develop over weeks, grow buzz, and scale up at the precise moment.

A reinforcing pattern is IP cultivation across ongoing universes and established properties. The companies are not just producing another chapter. They are working to present continuity with a heightened moment, whether that is a art treatment that telegraphs a new vibe or a lead change that bridges a new entry to a initial period. At the alongside this, the directors behind the eagerly awaited originals are returning to material texture, makeup and prosthetics and distinct locales. That interplay provides 2026 a solid mix of familiarity and newness, which is the formula for international play.

The majors’ 2026 approach

Paramount plants an early flag with two marquee entries 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 forefront, signaling it as both a legacy handover and a foundation-forward relationship-driven entry. Principal photography is underway in Atlanta, and the story approach announces a heritage-honoring approach without looping the last two entries’ family thread. Watch for a push built on recognizable motifs, character spotlights, and a trailer cadence landing toward late fall. Distribution is big-screen via Paramount.

Paramount also brings back 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 screen, with the Wayans brothers involved behind the scenes for the first time since the early 2000s, a linchpin the campaign will play up. As a summer alternative, this one will seek four-quadrant chatter through share-ready beats, with the horror spoof format allowing quick pivots to whatever dominates horror talk that spring.

Universal has three defined lanes. SOULM8TE debuts January 9, 2026, a digital-age offshoot from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The hook is simple, melancholic, and easily pitched: a grieving man installs an AI companion that shifts into a perilous partner. The date nudges it to the front of a front-loaded month, with the Universal machine likely to recreate uncanny-valley stunts and quick hits that melds companionship and terror.

On May 8, 2026, the studio slots an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely rumored as the feature developed under placeholder labels in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The official slate currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which sets up a name unveil to become an fan moment closer to the teaser. The timing creates a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles circle other weekends.

Finishing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film secures October 23, 2026, a slot he has commanded before. Peele’s work are positioned as director events, with a hinting teaser and a later creative that set the tone without spoiling the concept. The late-October frame allows Universal to lead pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then leverage the copyright window to capture late-October this page interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, collaborates with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček is at the helm of, with Souheila Yacoub at the center. The franchise has long shown that a flesh-and-blood, physical-effects centered style can feel cinematic on a lean spend. Position this as a red-band summer horror shot that leans into global rollout, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most international territories.

Sony’s horror bench is loaded. The studio sets two brand plays in the back half. An untitled Insidious film premieres August 21, 2026, maintaining a trusty supernatural brand active while the spin-off branch evolves. The studio has shifted dates on this title before, but the current plan sets it in late summer, where Insidious has been strong.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil returns in what Sony is framing as a from-the-ground-up reboot for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a central part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a charge to serve both loyalists and new audiences. The fall slot offers Sony space to build campaign creative around narrative world, and practical creature work, elements that can boost deluxe auditorium demand and fan events.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, sets 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 shaped by minute detail and textual fidelity, this time orbiting lycan myth. The distributor has already locked the day for a holiday release, a promissory note in the auteur as a specialty play that can grow wide if early reception is favorable.

Streaming windows and tactics

Platform strategies for 2026 run on well-known grooves. Universal’s slate move to copyright after a theatrical and PVOD run, a cadence that optimizes both week-one demand and subscription bumps in the tail. Prime Video interleaves third-party pickups with global originals and brief theater runs when the data signals it. Max and Hulu play their strengths in library curation, using prominent placements, October hubs, and editorial rows to sustain interest on the horror cume. Netflix stays nimble about originals and festival wins, timing horror entries tight to release and framing as events arrivals with burst campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, works a laddered of precision theatrical plays and prompt platform moves that converts buzz to sign-ups. That will be key for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before leaning on genre-fan funnels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ cherry-picks horror on a situational basis. The platform has been willing to buy select projects with award winners or headline-cast packages, then give them a modest theatrical in partnership with exhibitors to meet guild rules or to gain imprimatur before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still draws on the 20th Century Studios slate, a important element for monthly activity when the genre conversation surges.

Boutique label prospects

Cineverse is quietly building a 2026 sequence with two brand extensions. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The angle is tight: the same somber, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a beloved cult piece, recalibrated for modern audio and picture. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a September to November window, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. Cineverse has flagged a standard theatrical run for the title, an optimistic indicator for fans of the uncompromising series and for exhibitors wanting edgy counter in the September weeks.

Focus will push the auteur angle with Werwulf, curating the rollout through autumn festivals if the cut is ready, then turning to the year-end corridor to increase reach. That positioning has served the company well for auteur horror with mainstream crossovers. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not posted many 2026 dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines commonly finalize after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A credible outlook is a set of late-summer and fall platformers that can surge if reception warrants. Expect an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that debuts at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work in parallel, using limited theatrical to spark the evangelism that fuels their audience.

Franchise entries versus originals

By number, 2026 tilts in favor of the recognizable IP side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all capitalize on brand equity. The potential drawback, as ever, is brand wear. The pragmatic answer is to present each entry as a re-toned entry. Paramount is foregrounding character and legacy in Scream 7, Sony is suggesting a clean restart for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is maximizing a French-inflected take from a hot helmer. Those choices register when the audience has so many options and social sentiment whipsaws.

Originals and visionary-led titles keep the lungs full. Jordan Peele’s October film will be presented as a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, puts Rachel McAdams in a survival shocker premise with the director’s playful dread. SOULM8TE offers a clean, creepy tech hook. Werwulf roots in era detail and an severe tone. Even when the title is not based on a brand, the packaging is comforting enough to generate pre-sales and Thursday previews.

Past-three-year patterns make sense of the method. In 2023, a theater-first model that kept streaming intact did not prevent a day-date move from delivering when the brand was sticky. In 2024, meticulous-craft horror outperformed in PLF. In 2025, a reawakened chapter of a beloved infection saga broadcast that global horror franchises can still feel novel when they pivot perspective and elevate 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 linked-chapter plan, with chapters produced back-to-back, creates space for marketing to tie installments through character web and themes and to keep assets alive without extended gaps.

Aesthetic and craft notes

The craft rooms behind 2026 horror point to a continued turn toward real, location-led craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not repeat any recent iteration of the property, a stance that echoes the practical-craft ethos he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film wrapped principal photography and is tracking toward its April 17, 2026 date. Plan for a push that foregrounds mood and dread rather than theme-park spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership bolstering financial discipline.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has spoken of Werwulf as the grimmest project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval backdrop and period-accurate language, a combination that can make for 3D sound and a icy, primal tone on the big screen. Focus will likely pre-sell this aesthetic in craft journalism and below-the-line spotlights before rolling out a atmospheric tease that leans on mood over plot, a move that has performed for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is set up for gristle and gore, a signature of the series that lands overseas in red-band trailers and sparks shareable reaction clips from early screenings. Scream 7 offers a self-aware reset that centers an original star. Resident Evil will win or lose on creature craft and set design, which are ideal for convention activations and controlled asset drops. Insidious tends to be a soundstage showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the premium-screen pitch feel key. Look for trailers that elevate pin-drop sound, deep-bass stingers, and dead-air cuts that land in big rooms.

The schedule at a glance

January is loaded. 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 quiet contrast amid heftier brand moves. The month concludes with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival thriller from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is legit, but the palette of tones gives each title a lane, and the five-week structure enables clean play for each if word of mouth endures.

Early-year through spring load in summer. Scream 7 rolls out February 27 with legacy heat. In April, The Mummy reintroduces a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once was home to genre counterprogramming and now accommodates big openers. Universal’s untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 hands off to summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer spreads the field. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is jokier and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 drops brutal intensity. The counterprogramming logic is sound. The spoof can pop next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest hits squarely for older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have shuffled through big rooms.

Late summer into fall leans brand. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously landed. Resident Evil rolls in after September 18, a shoulder-season slot that still ties into Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film takes October 23 and will seize cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely driven by a mystery-driven teaser strategy and limited advance reveals that elevate concept over story.

Prestige at year’s end. Werwulf on December 25 is a line in sand that genre can hold in the holidays when packaged as awards-flirting horror. Focus has done this before, platforming with care, then capitalizing on critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to hold in chatter into January. If the film lands critically, the studio can expand in the first week of 2027 while benefiting from holiday season and gift card usage.

Project briefs

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting continuing to be revealed as production proceeds. Logline: Sidney returns to confront a new Ghostface while the narrative returns to the original film’s genes. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: heritage pivot with a current edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A widowed man’s machine mate unfolds into something perilously amorous. Rating: TBA. Production: Shoot completed for an early-year bow. Positioning: tech thriller with grief spine.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Sony, January 16, 2026)
Director: Nia DaCosta. Writer: Alex Garland. Top cast: Cillian Murphy, Jack O’Connell, and additional ensemble tied to a new antagonist faction. Logline: The second chapter in a trilogy grows the world beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult surges in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Shot back-to-back with the first film. Positioning: revived prestige horror saga’s second leg.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man goes back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to confront a shimmering reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed with U.S. theatrical distribution secured. 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 abrasive boss claw to survive on a remote island as the control dynamic inverts and paranoia builds. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked. Positioning: celebrity-led survival horror from a legend.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles TBA in official materials. Logline: A renewed vision that returns the monster to chill, founded on Cronin’s practical craft and navigate here quiet dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked. 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 residential haunting premise that manipulates the panic of a child’s unreliable interpretations. Rating: pending. Production: wrapped. Positioning: studio-grade and headline-actor led paranormal suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers reuniting creatively. Logline: {A parody return that pokes at current genre trends and true-crime manias. Rating: rating forthcoming. Production: lensing scheduled 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 bursts, with an overseas twist in tone and setting. Rating: not yet rated. Production: principal photography in New Zealand. Positioning: graphic series entry optimized for PLF.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: awaiting reveal. Top cast: pending. Logline: The Further reopens, with a new household bound to older hauntings. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: planning summer shoot for late-summer date. Positioning: dependable ghost-franchise slot that suits the brand.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: TBD publicly. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: A fresh restart designed to reframe the franchise from the ground up, with an priority on survival-first horror over action-centric bombast. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: in development with a locked date. Positioning: source-faithful reboot with four-quadrant path.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: TBD. Logline: deliberately concealed. Rating: undetermined. Production: advancing. 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 time-true diction and elemental fear. Rating: pending. Production: in active prep with holiday date set. Positioning: high-craft holiday horror with awards-season tail.

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 the moment is 2026

Three practical forces define this lineup. First, production that downshifted or shifted in 2024 demanded space on the calendar. Horror can occupy those holes swiftly because scripts often demand fewer locations, fewer large-scale VFX sequences, and shorter schedules. Second, studios have become more strict about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently surpassed straight-to-streaming landings. Third, social chatter converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will lean on repeatable beats from test screenings, curated scare clips dropping on Thursday previews, and experiential pop-ups that spark influencer coverage. It is a repeatable playbook because it converts.

The slot calculus is real. Family and superhero corridors are not as densely packed in early 2026, providing runway for genre entries that can seize a weekend or sit as the slightly older-skewing alternative. January is the prime example. Four genre tones will compete across five weekends, which lets WOM accrue cleanly. Summer provides the other window. The spoof can draft behind animation and action in early summer, then the hard-R entry can leverage a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Economics and ratings, plus sleeper strategy

Budgets remain in the target range. Most of the films above will budget under the $40–$50 million tier, with many far below. That allows for robust premium-format allocation 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 surprise-hit pursuit continues in Q1, where disciplined-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 shock over-performer of the year, and August into September gives Sony an avenue to hold screens with back-to-back supernatural IP while still leaving room for an indie breakout.

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

What the calendar feels like for audiences

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers pace and range. January is a spread, February delivers a legacy slasher, April revives a Universal monster, May and June provide a back-to-back spirit play for date nights and group outings, July turns feral, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a somber, 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 scale over time, using earlier releases to prime the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors are pleased with the spacing. Horror delivers regular Thursday spikes, smart allocations, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can warrant PLF, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing detail, soundscape, and image-making that benefit from larger formats. The calendar also leaves room for specialty platformers to open in New York and Los Angeles, build reviews, and slide into national conversation as the fall progresses.

2026 Is Well Positioned

Frames adjust. Ratings change. Casts refresh. But the spine of 2026 horror is sturdy. There is brand power where it counts, fresh vision where it counts, and a calendar that shows studios grasp the timing of scares. The awards and festival pipeline into 2027 will come into focus once the fall festivals lock, and it would not be surprising to see at least one late-arriving specialty entry join the party. For now, the job is simple, edit tight trailers, keep secrets, and let the screams sell the seats.