Primordial Evil awakens: Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a nerve shredding feature, rolling out October 2025 on major streaming services

This spine-tingling spectral fear-driven tale from storyteller / cinematic mind Andrew Chiaramonte, evoking an long-buried horror when unfamiliar people become puppets in a diabolical conflict. Premiering October 2, 2025, on Amazon’s streaming platform, Google’s YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, Apple’s iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango platform.

Hollywood, CA (August 8th, 2025) – Brace yourselves for *Young & Cursed*, a nightmarish journey of resilience and age-old darkness that will redefine scare flicks this ghoul season. Guided by rising new wave horror talent Andrew Chiaramonte, this psychological and atmospheric suspense flick follows five figures who suddenly rise stuck in a wilderness-bound hideaway under the hostile grip of Kyra, a female lead occupied by a ancient holy text monster. Be prepared to be absorbed by a visual event that harmonizes gut-punch terror with folklore, dropping on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on the second of October, 2025.


Spiritual takeover has been a recurring element in screenwriting. In *Young & Cursed*, that notion is radically shifted when the dark entities no longer descend from beyond, but rather deep within. This embodies the grimmest facet of the victims. The result is a enthralling mental war where the conflict becomes a merciless struggle between right and wrong.


In a forsaken woodland, five figures find themselves cornered under the possessive sway and curse of a secretive female figure. As the survivors becomes paralyzed to oppose her dominion, severed and pursued by powers unimaginable, they are required to deal with their raw vulnerabilities while the deathwatch coldly counts down toward their doom.


In *Young & Cursed*, dread amplifies and links break, urging each individual to examine their essence and the concept of self-determination itself. The stakes accelerate with every breath, delivering a nightmarish journey that connects otherworldly suspense with mental instability.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my narrative plan was to draw upon pure dread, an spirit rooted in antiquity, manipulating soul-level flaws, and exposing a will that redefines identity when we lose control.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Portraying Kyra required summoning something more primal than sorrow. She is innocent until the control shifts, and that flip is bone-chilling because it is so unshielded.”

Debut Info

*Young & Cursed* will be aired for horror fans beginning from October 2, 2025, on Prime Video, Google’s video hub, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home—offering fans globally can survive this spirit-driven thriller.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just broadcast a new extended look for *Young & Cursed*, live to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a second look to its original clip, which has gathered over massive response.


In addition to its North American premiere, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has announced that *Young & Cursed* will also be available worldwide, spreading the horror to international horror buffs.


Make sure to see this unforgettable path of possession. Face *Young & Cursed* this October the 2nd to experience these evil-rooted truths about our species.


For bonus footage, set experiences, and announcements from inside the story, follow @YoungAndCursedMovie across your socials and visit our film’s homepage.





American horror’s major pivot: 2025 across markets U.S. rollouts Mixes old-world possession, signature indie scares, stacked beside returning-series thunder

Kicking off with life-or-death fear drawn from scriptural legend and onward to IP renewals in concert with surgical indie voices, 2025 is tracking to be the most complex together with tactically planned year in a decade.

The 2025 horror calendar is not just busy, it is strategic. the big studios bookend the months using marquee IP, while OTT services pack the fall with discovery plays plus ancient terrors. In the indie lane, the micro-to-mid budget ranks is propelled by the kinetic energy of 2024’s record festival wave. As Halloween remains the genre’s crown jewel, the off-peak lanes are managed with purpose. The fall stretch is the proving field, but this year, strategies include January, spring, and mid-summer. Audiences are eager, studios are exacting, so 2025 might go down as horror’s most intentional year yet.

Major and Mini-Major Maneuvers: Prestige terror resurfaces

Studios are not on the sidelines. If 2024 set the stage for reinvention, 2025 presses the advantage.

the Universal camp lights the fuse with a statement play: a refreshed Wolf Man, situated not in a foggy nineteenth century European hamlet, in a clear present-tense world. Steered by Leigh Whannell featuring Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this take locates the lycanthropy inside home disintegration. The turn is more than creature work, it is about marriage, parenthood, and humanity. arriving mid January, it fits the new plan to claim winter’s soft window with prestige horror rather than castoffs.

In spring, Clown in a Cornfield lands, a YA slasher conversion presented as stripped terror. Eli Craig directs fronted by Katie Douglas with 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.

As summer wanes, Warner’s pipeline unveils the final movement inside its trusty horror universe: The Conjuring: Last Rites. The Warrens return, played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the finale seeks an emotional close via a signature case. Even with a familiar chassis, Chaves is expected to tune it to a grieving, self reflective color. It goes early September, easing the path before October flood.

Arriving later is The Black Phone 2. First targeted at early summer, the move into October reads bullish. Derrickson re engages, and the hallmarks that turned the first into a sleeper reappear: vintage toned fear, trauma as narrative engine, and a cold supernatural calculus. The stakes escalate here, by digging further into the “grabber” mythos and grief’s generational echo.

Bringing up the winter anchor is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a property whose brand does the lifting. The second outing goes deeper into backstory, enlarges the animatronic menagerie, courting teens and the thirty something base. It posts in December, pinning the winter close.

Digital Originals: Small budgets, sharp fangs

With theaters prioritizing brand safety, streamers are taking risks, and it is paying off.

A top daring platform piece is Weapons, a cold file multi story chiller that weaves together three timelines connected by a mass disappearance. Directed by Zach Cregger with Josh Brolin opposite Julia Garner, the project unites horror with dramatic charge. Opening theatrically late summer ahead of fall SVOD, it looks primed to seed post watch analysis akin to Barbarian.

More contained by design is Together, a two hander body horror spiral with Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Fixed in a remote let as a weekend curdles, the movie follows love and envy and self denial into corporeal breakdown. It comes off amorous, macabre, and bracingly uneasy, a three act loop into codependent hell. Despite no official platform date, it reads like an autumn stream lock.

Another headline entry is Sinners, a 1930s period vampire folk story headlined by Michael B. Jordan. Shot in rich sepia tones and drenched in biblical metaphor, it plays like There Will Be Blood meets Let the Right One In. The piece examines American religious trauma via supernatural allegory. First test passes flag it as highly discussable at debut.

Several other streaming indies are quietly waiting in the wings: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper all work grief and disappearance and identity, choosing meaning over noise.

Possession With Depth: Young & Cursed

Going live October 2 on major services, Young & Cursed reads as a rare blend, small in footprint yet mythic in spread. 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 darkness comes, Kyra’s power swells, a penetrating force tapping their private fears, soft spots, and remorse.

The unease is psychological, fused to primal myth. Swerving the standard exorcism angle of Catholic rite and Latin word, this film taps something older, something darker. Lilith does not answer ceremony, she climbs through trauma, hush, and human fracture. Turning possession inward syncs Young & Cursed to the trend of character led dramas draped in genre.

Streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home have positioned the film as a Halloween counterweight to theatrical sequels and monster revivals. It is a clever angle. No puffed out backstory. No canon weight. Bare psychological dread, trim and tense, designed for binge and breath patterns. Amid spectacle, Young & Cursed can distinguish itself by whispering, then howling.

Festival Launchpads, Market Engines

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF remain the hothouse where next season’s horror grows. This cycle, they are launchpads first and showcases second.

Fantastic Fest this cycle touts a strong horror menu. Primate opens the fest with tropical body horror and critics cite Cronenberg and Herzog. Whistle, a folkloric revenge piece in Aztec lore, likely shuts the fest with heat.

At midnight, entries like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You buzz for how they play, not only their names. That film, an A24 backed satire of toxic fandom inside a horror convention lockdown, looks poised to break out.

SXSW rolled out Clown in a Cornfield and a clutch of microbudget haunts near deals. Sundance forecasts grief bent elevated horror again, while Tribeca’s genre yard leans urban, social, and surreal.

Fest circuits are brand engines as much as discovery engines. Those badges act as campaign openers, not end caps.

Legacy IP: Additions, Do Overs, and Revisions

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

Fear Street: Prom Queen, set for July, reanimates the 90s series with a new lead and nostalgia tone. Compared to earlier parts, it tilts camp and prom night melodrama. Bring tiaras, red dye, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 slots late June, poised to elaborate techno horror lore through new players and AI nightmares. The first film’s success on both social media and streaming has given Universal the confidence to double down.

Then there is The Long Walk, an adaptation of one of Stephen King’s earliest and most harrowing works, helmed by Francis Lawrence, it stands as a punishing dystopian allegory wearing survival horror, a march until death with no victors. With clear targeting, it could become The Hunger Games for horror grown ups.

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.

Dials to Watch

Mythic Horror Is Mainstream
From Lilith in Young & Cursed, and with Aztec curses in Whistle, horror taps ancient texts and symbols. This trend avoids nostalgia, reclaiming pre Christian archetypes. Horror extends beyond terror, it frames evil as primordial.

Body horror swings back
The likes of Together, Weapons, and Keeper reshift toward flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation are standing in for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Platform originals gain bite
Low grade filler is no longer the platform default. Streamers deploy capital toward scripts, directors, and paid reach. Entries like Weapons and Sinners get event treatment, not inventory.

Festival heat turns into leverage
Festival laurels are no longer ornamental, they are leverage for theatrical release, premium placement, and media cycles. A horror film without a festival strategy in 2025 risks disappearing.

Theatrical Is Now a Trust Fall
Studios are only releasing horror theatrically if they believe it will overperform or spin into sequels. Other titles pivot PVOD or hybrid. Horror still lives in theaters, more curated than broad.

Outlook: Autumn crowding, winter surprise

Those four, Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons, crowd September and October to saturation. Indies like Bone Lake and Keeper must claw for air. Watch for one or more of these to pivot into early 2026 or shift platforms.

December is anchored by Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, but do not rule out a surprise streamer drop in the final weeks. Since big films lean mythic, a final monster or exorcism play can claim space.

The success of horror in 2025 hinges less on a single title and more on how a diverse slate reaches a scattered, segmented audience. The mission is not a new Get Out, it is sustained horror beyond tickets.



The 2026 fear lineup: entries, standalone ideas, and also A stacked Calendar Built For shocks

Dek: The arriving scare slate packs from day one with a January cluster, thereafter spreads through the summer months, and well into the late-year period, braiding brand equity, untold stories, and savvy calendar placement. The major players are focusing on tight budgets, theatrical-first rollouts, and social-fueled campaigns that position the slate’s entries into mainstream chatter.

Horror momentum into 2026

Horror has emerged as the dependable play in annual schedules, a corner that can lift when it resonates and still mitigate the liability when it under-delivers. After 2023 showed buyers that disciplined-budget pictures can shape the national conversation, 2024 kept energy high with filmmaker-forward plays and unexpected risers. The head of steam carried into 2025, where resurrections and festival-grade titles made clear there is appetite for multiple flavors, from series extensions to fresh IP that play globally. The combined impact for 2026 is a schedule that feels more orchestrated than usual across the industry, with clear date clusters, a harmony of household franchises and original hooks, and a sharpened eye on box-office windows that power the aftermarket on paid VOD and home platforms.

Studio leaders note the horror lane now functions as a schedule utility on the release plan. Horror can kick off on numerous frames, create a sharp concept for teasers and TikTok spots, and lead with audiences that lean in on opening previews and stay strong through the follow-up frame if the movie hits. Coming out of a strike-affected pipeline, the 2026 rhythm telegraphs certainty in that logic. The calendar rolls out with a front-loaded January schedule, then leans on spring and early summer for counterprogramming, while making space for a late-year stretch that stretches into the fright window and into the next week. The schedule also features the continuing integration of arthouse labels and home platforms that can platform and widen, create conversation, and roll out at the right moment.

Another broad trend is brand management across unified worlds and long-running brands. The companies are not just mounting another return. They are trying to present connection with a occasion, whether that is a logo package that announces a reframed mood or a star attachment that anchors a new installment to a foundational era. At the same time, the writer-directors behind the marquee originals are championing physical effects work, in-camera effects and specific settings. That interplay delivers the 2026 slate a strong blend of trust and freshness, which is a recipe that travels worldwide.

Inside the studio playbooks

Paramount sets the tone early with two centerpiece projects that sit at tonal extremes. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the top job and Neve Campbell back at the center, presenting it as both a succession moment and a return-to-roots character-driven entry. The shoot is ongoing in Atlanta, and the authorial approach signals a memory-charged bent without repeating the last two entries’ core arc for the Carpenter sisters. Plan for a rollout leaning on iconic art, character-first teases, and a tease cadence targeting late fall. Distribution is big-screen via 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 set to reunite, with the Wayans brothers involved creatively for the first time since the early 2000s, a centerpiece the campaign will spotlight. As a summer counterprogrammer, this one will go after broad awareness through share-ready beats, with the horror spoof format permitting quick updates to whatever tops the social talk that spring.

Universal has three distinct projects. SOULM8TE rolls out January 9, 2026, a AI-tinged spinoff from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The conceit is simple, sorrow-tinged, and logline-clear: a grieving man adopts an artificial companion that evolves into a killer companion. The date puts it at the front of a heavy month, with the Universal machine likely to iterate on uncanny-valley stunts and short-cut promos that blurs romance and foreboding.

On May 8, 2026, the studio dates an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely rumored as the feature developed under temporary titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The public release grid currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which preserves a public title to become horror an PR pop closer to the first trailer. The timing hands the studio a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles crowd different corridors.

Filling out the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film plants on October 23, 2026, a slot he has thrived in before. His projects are framed as must-see filmmaker statements, with a teaser that holds back and a later creative that convey vibe without spoilers the concept. The Halloween runway lets the studio to fill 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, works with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček commands, with Souheila Yacoub headlining. The franchise has long shown that a tactile, physical-effects centered mix can feel deluxe on a moderate cost. Expect a blood-and-grime summer horror rush that spotlights global rollout, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most world markets.

Sony’s horror bench is well stocked. The studio places two brand plays in the back half. An untitled Insidious film rolls out August 21, 2026, holding a evergreen supernatural brand on the board while the spin-off branch continues to develop. Sony has moved dates on this title before, but the current plan plants it in late summer, where Insidious has performed historically.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil comes back in what the studio is calling a fresh restart for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a vital part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a explicit mandate to serve both devotees and newcomers. The fall slot gives Sony time to build promo materials around world-building, and practical creature work, elements that can stoke deluxe auditorium demand and fan-culture participation.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, places a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film builds on the filmmaker’s run of period horror shaped by historical precision and linguistic texture, this time exploring werewolf lore. Focus has already announced the holiday for a holiday release, a confidence marker in Eggers as a specialty play that can broaden if early reception is supportive.

Streamers and platform exclusives

Platform plans for 2026 run on well-known grooves. The Universal horror run feed copyright after a box-office phase then PVOD, a ladder that enhances both opening-weekend urgency and sub growth in the after-window. Prime Video interleaves licensed content with worldwide entries and targeted theatrical runs when the data recommends it. Max and Hulu optimize their lanes in catalog engagement, using seasonal hubs, October hubs, and curated strips to increase tail value on overall cume. Netflix keeps flexible about first-party entries and festival wins, slotting horror entries near their drops and eventizing debuts with surge campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, uses a one-two of targeted cinema placements and speedy platforming 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 using niche channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ continues to weigh horror on a case-by-case basis. The platform has shown a willingness to secure select projects with prestige directors or A-list packages, then give them a select cinema run in partnership with exhibitors to meet qualifying rules or to spark social proof before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still benefits from the 20th Century Studios slate, a key factor for month-over-month retention when the genre conversation ramps.

The specialty lanes and indie surprises

Cineverse is crafting a 2026 runway with two label plays. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The sell is uncomplicated: the same haunting, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a favorite of fans, retooled for modern soundscapes and visuals. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a September to November window, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has flagged a theatrical rollout for Legacy, an healthy marker for fans of the relentless series and for exhibitors looking for R-rated counterplay in the September weeks.

Focus will lean into the auteur lane with Werwulf, stewarding the film through the autumn circuit if the cut is ready, then pressing the Christmas corridor to open out. That positioning has shown results for arthouse horror with award possibilities. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not announced many 2026 dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines commonly finalize after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A plausible forecast is a series of late-summer and fall platformers that can expand if reception drives. Do not be surprised by 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 as a pair, using limited theatrical to fuel evangelism that fuels their community.

Franchise entries versus originals

By proportion, the 2026 slate is weighted toward the known side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all activate legacy awareness. The challenge, as ever, is viewer burnout. The standing approach is to frame each entry as a reframed mode. Paramount is foregrounding character and heritage in Scream 7, Sony is positioning a clean-slate build for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is leading with a European tilt from a emerging director. Those choices make a difference when the audience has so many options and social sentiment swings fast.

Originals and visionary-led titles deliver oxygen. 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, casts Rachel McAdams in a marooned survival premise with Raimi’s impish dread. SOULM8TE offers a precise, unnerving tech hook. Werwulf leans on period specificity and an rigorous tone. Even when the title is not based on a property, the assembly is comforting enough to build pre-sales and early previews.

Comparable trends from recent years clarify the approach. In 2023, a theatrical-first model that preserved streaming windows did not prevent a simultaneous release test from thriving when the brand was sticky. In 2024, director-craft horror hit big in big-format auditoriums. In 2025, a reawakened chapter of a beloved infection saga underlined that global horror franchises can still feel renewed when they shift POV and scale the storytelling. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which proceeds January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The double feature plan, with chapters produced back-to-back, allows marketing to link the films through character and theme and to keep assets in-market without pause points.

Creative tendencies and craft

The director conversations behind the 2026 slate hint at a continued lean toward material, place-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not resemble any recent iteration of the property, a stance that squares with the practical-effects sensibility he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film completed principal and is tracking to its April 17, 2026 date. Marketing will likely that spotlights atmosphere and fear rather than bombast, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership bolstering cost management.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has talked about Werwulf as the most chilling project he has tackled, which tracks with a feudal backdrop and era-correct language, a combination that can make for sonic immersion and a earthy, elemental chill on the big screen. Focus will likely tease this aesthetic in trade spotlights and craft features before rolling out a tone piece that keeps plot minimal, a move that has performed for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is designed for gristle and gore, a signature of the series that travels well in red-band trailers and gathers shareable reaction videos from early screenings. Scream 7 offers a self-referential reset that refocuses on the original lead. Resident Evil will rise or fall on creature work and production design, which align with con floor moments and selective drops. Insidious tends to be a audio showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the theatrical pitch feel irresistible. Look for trailers that highlight razor sound, deep-bass stingers, and held silences that sing on PLF.

Annual flow

January is stacked. SOULM8TE opens January 9, 2026, then Sony returns a week later with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple on January 16. Cineverse’s Return to Silent Hill follows on January 23, a tonal palate cleanser amid headline IP. The month winds down with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival shocker from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is formidable, but the range of tones creates a lane for each, and the five-week structure hands each a runway for each if word of mouth endures.

February through May load in summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 hits February 27 with brand warmth. In April, The Mummy reawakens a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once favored genre counterprogramming and now accommodates big openers. The untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 steps 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 lighter and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 unleashes red-band intensity. The counterprogramming logic is solid. The spoof can succeed next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest delights older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have rolled through premiums.

Shoulder season into fall leans series. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives the studio a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously thrived. Resident Evil comes after September 18, a early fall window that still preps for Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film claims October 23 and will engross cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely paired with a mystery-first teaser plan and limited information drops that elevate concept over story.

Year-end prestige and specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a marker that genre can play the holidays when packaged as awards-flirting horror. Focus has done this before, deliberate rollout, then turning to critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to extend talk into January. If the film lands critically, the studio can scale in the first week of 2027 while riding holiday turnout and gift-card use.

Title snapshots

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting TBA in phases as production pushes forward. Logline: Sidney returns to counter a new Ghostface while the narrative rethreads the original film’s DNA. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: origin-forward with a contemporary twist.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A bereaved man’s AI companion grows into something seductively lethal. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal is complete 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 enlarges the frame beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult ascends in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Lensed back-to-back 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 returns to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to stumble upon a mutable reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Done with U.S. run set. Positioning: fog-and-fear 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 difficult boss push to survive on a desolate island as the power dynamic shifts and paranoia spreads. Rating: TBA. Production: Shoot complete. 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 modern reconception that returns the monster to dread, founded on Cronin’s in-camera craft and rising dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Production wrapped. Positioning: classic monster relaunch with a filmmaker’s stamp.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A in-home haunting piece that toys with the fear of a child’s shaky perceptions. Rating: pending. Production: in the can. Positioning: studio-built and A-list fronted paranormal suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers rejoining on the creative side. Logline: {A parody return that teases hot-button genre motifs and true-crime manias. Rating: to be announced. Production: fall 2025 production window. Positioning: broad-lane summer entry.

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 spreads, with an international twist in tone and setting. Rating: undetermined. Production: lensing in New Zealand. Positioning: R-rated franchise charge tuned for PLF.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: TBA publicly. Top cast: forthcoming. Logline: The Further reopens, with a another family entangled with returning horrors. Rating: undetermined. Production: gearing up for summer filming with late-summer bow. Positioning: reliable supernatural IP in a date that favors the brand.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: to be announced publicly. Top cast: TBA. Logline: A re-seeded launch designed to recreate the franchise from the ground up, with an tilt toward survivalist horror over pyrotechnic spectacle. Rating: pending. Production: moving through development on a locked slot. Positioning: source-faithful reboot with four-quadrant path.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: TBA. Logline: strategically hidden. Rating: TBD. Production: proceeding. Positioning: director event, teaser-led.

Werwulf (Focus Features, December 25, 2026)
Director: Robert Eggers. Top cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, with other regulars expected. Logline: A medieval werewolf story built on period language and bone-deep menace. Rating: undetermined. Production: actively prepping for a holiday slot. Positioning: filmmaker-driven holiday release with craft awards runway.

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 theaters-first plan ahead of platforming. Status: timing fluid, autumn anticipated.

Why 2026, why now

Three practical forces organize this lineup. First, production that downshifted or rearranged in 2024 required schedule breathing room. Horror can patch those gaps promptly because scripts often require limited locations, fewer large-scale visual effects runs, and pared-down timelines. 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 beaten straight-to-streaming drops. Third, social conversation converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will lean on reaction-worthy moments from test screenings, managed scare clips calibrated to Thursday preview timing, and experiential pop-ups that spark influencer coverage. It is a repeatable playbook because it performs.

A fourth factor is programming math. click to read more Early 2026 is less crowded with family and superhero corridors, providing runway for genre entries that can seize a weekend or operate as the older-skew option. January is the prime example. Four tonal lanes of horror will line up across five weekends, which lets each title generate conversation without cannibalizing the others. Summer provides the other window. The send-up tracks alongside early family and action traffic, then the hard-R entry can exploit a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Money matters, ratings, and surprise hits

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 aggressive PLF bookings 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 underdog chase 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 work 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. Look for a strong PVOD phase 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 year flows for audiences

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers tempo and variety. January is a buffet, February delivers a legacy slasher, April reawakens a Universal monster, May and June provide a two-hit supernatural combo for date nights and group outings, July leans brutal, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a cold, literate nightmare. That is how you preserve buzz while driving admissions without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can gain momentum, using earlier releases to seed the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors are pleased with the spacing. Horror delivers frequent Thursday-night spikes, optimized footprints, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can deserve premium formats, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing tactility, aural design, and framing 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

Dates shift. Ratings change. Casts reconfigure. But the spine of 2026 horror is intact. There is brand power where it counts, new vision where it lands, 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-breaking specialty acquisition join the party. For now, the job is simple, roll out exact trailers, keep the secrets, and let the shudders sell the seats.