Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed summons antediluvian malevolence, a chilling horror thriller, arriving Oct 2025 on major streaming services

This terrifying spectral horror tale from cinematographer / creative lead Andrew Chiaramonte, awakening an forgotten malevolence when guests become tokens in a dark game. Available October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime Video, video-sharing site YouTube, Google’s digital store, iTunes, Apple TV Plus, and Fandango platform.

Los Angeles, CA (August 8th, 2025) – get set for *Young & Cursed*, a nerve-wracking story of resistance and forgotten curse that will redefine genre cinema this October. Directed by rising thriller expert Andrew Chiaramonte, this tense and shadowy thriller follows five figures who wake up isolated in a remote wooden structure under the menacing command of Kyra, a female lead dominated by a timeless holy text monster. Arm yourself to be immersed by a theatrical presentation that blends instinctive fear with arcane tradition, premiering on Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on the second of October, 2025.


Diabolic occupation has been a long-standing motif in cinema. In *Young & Cursed*, that pattern is reversed when the entities no longer develop beyond the self, but rather deep within. This embodies the malevolent aspect of all involved. The result is a enthralling psychological battle where the narrative becomes a ongoing tug-of-war between heaven and hell.


In a barren terrain, five campers find themselves confined under the unholy rule and domination of a elusive character. As the victims becomes powerless to withstand her dominion, cut off and chased by creatures inconceivable, they are thrust to endure their inner demons while the countdown relentlessly ticks toward their death.


In *Young & Cursed*, fear surges and ties splinter, requiring each character to question their personhood and the notion of free will itself. The threat surge with every minute, delivering a nightmarish journey that marries ghostly evil with mental instability.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my desire was to draw upon ancestral fear, an spirit before modern man, manifesting in mental cracks, and challenging a power that questions who we are when robbed of choice.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Stepping into Kyra asked for exploring something beyond human emotion. She is unaware until the invasion happens, and that pivot is soul-crushing because it is so emotional.”

Rollout & Launch

*Young & Cursed* will be accessible for audiences beginning on October 2nd, 2025, on Prime Video, Google’s video hub, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home—offering subscribers in all regions can survive this chilling supernatural event.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just rolled out a new sneak peek #2 for *Young & Cursed*, available to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a sequel to its release of trailer #1, which has pulled in over 100,000 views.


In addition to its North American premiere, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has confirmed that *Young & Cursed* will also be offered to international markets, giving access to the movie to a global viewership.


Make sure to see this life-altering journey into fear. Confront *Young & Cursed* this fall premiere to confront these terrifying truths about human nature.


For director insights, special features, and social posts via the production team, follow @YoungAndCursedMovie across platforms and visit our film’s homepage.





Modern horror’s sea change: the 2025 season U.S. calendar weaves archetypal-possession themes, indie terrors, together with brand-name tremors

Running from endurance-driven terror drawn from mythic scripture through to installment follow-ups paired with sharp indie viewpoints, 2025 stands to become the most stratified and strategic year in recent memory.

The 2025 horror calendar is not just busy, it is strategic. major banners lay down anchors via recognizable brands, concurrently premium streamers stack the fall with unboxed visions in concert with ancestral chills. On another front, independent banners is carried on the momentum from a top-tier 2024 festival cycle. Because Halloween stands as the showcase, the year beyond October is carefully apportioned. The early fall corridor has become the proving ground, and now, bookings reach January, spring, and mid-summer. The audience is primed, studios are disciplined, so 2025 could be the most carefully plotted year to date.

Studio Chessboard and Mini-Major Plays: Premium dread reemerges

The majors are not coasting. If 2024 planted the seeds, 2025 doubles down.

Universal’s slate sets the tone with an audacious swing: a refashioned Wolf Man, avoiding the standard nineteenth century European backdrop, inside today’s landscape. Steered by Leigh Whannell and starring Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this pass grounds the lycanthropy in household collapse. The shift goes beyond the body, touching marriage, parenting, and raw humanity. Slated for mid January, it backs a move to shape winter into a prestige corridor, not a discard corridor.

In spring, Clown in a Cornfield lands, a YA slasher adaptation reworked as a minimalist shock machine. Led by Eli Craig including Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it is blood soaked Americana horror with a satirical streak. Behind the greasepaint sits a critique of small town suspicion, generational fracture, and vigilante justice. First wave buzz indicates sharp teeth.

At summer’s close, Warner’s pipeline sets loose the finale from its anchor horror saga: 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. Despite a known recipe, Chaves is guiding toward a solemn, meditative finish. It sits in early September, securing daylight before October saturation.

Next is The Black Phone 2. Set early then moved to October, a confidence tell. Derrickson re teams, and the tone that worked before is intact: nostalgic menace, trauma as theme, and a cold supernatural calculus. Here the stakes rise, by enlarging the “grabber” map and grief’s lineage.

Completing the calendar is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a film that does not need traditional marketing to sell tickets. The new chapter enriches the lore, expands its animatronic nightmare roster, seeking teens plus thirty something gamers. It bows in December, buttoning the final window.

SVOD Originals: Lean budgets, heavy bite

While theaters lean on names and sequels, SVOD players are testing edges, and gains show.

A high ambition play arrives with Weapons, a multi timeline cold-case dread piece splicing three ages joined by a mass disappearance. From Zach Cregger with turns by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the entry marries dread with character weight. Premiering theatrically in late summer before a fall streaming drop, it should ignite online discourse and post viewing breakdowns, much like Barbarian.

Playing chamber scale is Together, a sealed box body horror arc featuring Alison Brie opposite Dave Franco. Situated in an out of the way rental during a failed escape, the script studies love with jealousy with self rejection turning into decay. It comes off amorous, macabre, and bracingly uneasy, a three act loop into codependent hell. Though no platform has officially staked a release date, it is tracking toward an autumn slot.

On the docket is Sinners, a pre war vampire folk narrative anchored by Michael B. Jordan. Rendered in sepia depth and layered biblical metaphor, it suggests There Will Be Blood blended with Let the Right One In. The movie studies American religious trauma through the supernatural lens. Early test screenings have marked it as one of the year’s most talked about streaming debuts.

Additional platform indies hold in reserve: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper all work grief and disappearance and identity, choosing meaning over noise.

Possession Beneath the Skin: Young & Cursed

Hitting October 2 on the platforms, Young & Cursed reads as a rare blend, small in footprint yet mythic in spread. From writer director Andrew Chiaramonte, the movie observes five strangers who awaken in an isolated wilderness cabin, controlled by Kyra, 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 threat is psychological first, wired with primal myth. Avoiding the usual exorcism path with Catholic ritual and Latin spell, this entry turns to something older, something darker. Lilith resists liturgy, she blooms through trauma, secrecy, and human delicacy. An inward possession, not an outward spell, turns the trope and sets Young & Cursed inside a widening trend, intimate character work housed in genre.

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 an astute call. No overinflated mythology. No series drag. Just psychological dread, contained and tense, tailored to the binge then breathe cadence of digital horror fans. Inside spectacle, Young & Cursed may separate by silence, then rupture.

Festival Badges as Fuel

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF still seed what horror becomes in six to twelve months. They feel like launchpads now, not just showcases.

Fantastic Fest fields a robust horror set this year. Primate, a tropical body horror curtain raiser, invites Cronenberg Herzog comp. Whistle, an Aztec lore revenge tale, aims to close with burn.

The midnight bench, including If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, hums from execution, not mere titling. That title, with A24 backing, satirizes toxic fandom during a convention lockdown and is set to pop.

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

In 2025, festival strategy is less about discovery, more about branding. Badges kick off the sell, they do not merely decorate.

Legacy IP: Sequels and Reboots, Reinvention Included

The sequel reboot ecosystem reads stronger and more precise.

Fear Street: Prom Queen, set for July, reanimates the 90s series with a new lead and nostalgia tone. Versus earlier beats, it favors camp and prom night melodrama. Imagine tiaras, smeared red, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 hits late June, geared to push its techno horror story world with added characters and AI made scares. The opener’s social chatter and SVOD hours justify Universal’s deeper play.

Then there is The Long Walk, an adaptation of one of Stephen King’s earliest and most harrowing works, from Francis Lawrence, it functions as a harsh dystopian fable encased in survival horror, a children’s march that ends in death. With clear targeting, it could become The Hunger Games for horror grown ups.

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

What to Watch

Mythic currents go mainstream
From Lilith in Young & Cursed across to Aztec curses in Whistle, slates mine ancient texts and symbols. Not nostalgia, a reclaim of pre Christian archetypes. Horror does more than scare, it reminds that evil predates us.

Body horror reemerges
Titles such as Together, Weapons, and Keeper return focus to the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation map to heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Originals on platforms bite harder
The days of disposable horror filler on digital platforms are over. Platforms invest in real scripts, real directors, and real campaigns. Pieces like Weapons and Sinners receive event status, not feed stock.

Badges become bargaining chips
Laurels are not just decorative, they leverage theatrical, premium placement, and media cycles. No festival plan in 2025, and disappearance looms.

Cinemas are a trust fall
The cinema lane is kept for probable outperformers or branchers. Everything else heads to PVOD or hybrid drops. Horror keeps theatrical presence, via curation.

Near Term Outlook: Autumn density and winter pivot

Young & Cursed plus The Conjuring: Last Rites plus The Black Phone 2 plus Weapons, all in September and October, makes for a saturated fall. Indies like Bone Lake and Keeper will have to fight for oxygen. Watch for one or more of these to pivot into early 2026 or shift platforms.

December centers on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, but a final weeks surprise stream could still hit. As several big titles lean dark and mythic, there is room for one last creature feature or exorcism flick.

The trick lies in diverse menus finding segmented crowds, not single title bets. The mission is not a new Get Out, it is sustained horror beyond tickets.



The upcoming genre season: continuations, non-franchise titles, and also A stacked Calendar aimed at frights

Dek The upcoming scare slate packs immediately with a January traffic jam, following that runs through the summer months, and running into the holidays, balancing brand heft, new concepts, and strategic release strategy. Studios and platforms are betting on responsible budgets, exclusive theatrical windows first, and influencer-ready assets that frame these films into cross-demo moments.

The landscape of horror in 2026

The horror sector has established itself as the sturdy move in studio slates, a genre that can scale when it resonates and still mitigate the losses when it misses. After the 2023 year re-taught decision-makers that low-to-mid budget pictures can shape social chatter, 2024 kept energy high with signature-voice projects and quiet over-performers. The run moved into the 2025 frame, where revivals and premium-leaning entries showed there is appetite for a variety of tones, from legacy continuations to director-led originals that perform internationally. The end result for the 2026 slate is a slate that reads highly synchronized across the market, with defined corridors, a blend of legacy names and first-time concepts, and a renewed attention on exclusive windows that boost PVOD and platform value on premium home window and OTT platforms.

Marketers add the horror lane now acts as a swing piece on the grid. Horror can roll out on numerous frames, create a grabby hook for spots and TikTok spots, and outstrip with patrons that turn out on Thursday nights and stay strong through the subsequent weekend if the release delivers. Exiting a strike-induced shuffle, the 2026 configuration telegraphs assurance in that dynamic. The calendar kicks off with a thick January run, then taps spring and early summer for off-slot scheduling, while reserving space for a fall run that connects to Halloween and into November. The map also illustrates the increasing integration of indie arms and home platforms that can platform and widen, spark evangelism, and roll out at the strategic time.

A second macro trend is IP cultivation across unified worlds and storied titles. The players are not just greenlighting another follow-up. They are seeking to position continuity with a headline quality, whether that is a graphic identity that announces a tonal shift or a star attachment that anchors a incoming chapter to a foundational era. At the very same time, the helmers behind the most anticipated originals are favoring tactile craft, special makeup and concrete locations. That convergence provides 2026 a robust balance of assurance and discovery, which is how horror tends to travel globally.

What the big players are lining up

Paramount opens strong with two centerpiece titles that run the tonal gamut. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the director’s chair and Neve Campbell back at the lead, signaling it as both a succession moment and a rootsy character study. The shoot is ongoing in Atlanta, and the creative stance points to a throwback-friendly strategy without looping the last two entries’ sisters thread. Look for a marketing run driven by classic imagery, character spotlights, and a teaser-to-trailer rhythm hitting late fall. Distribution is theatrical through 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 joining up again, with the Wayans brothers involved as creative contributors for the first time since the early 2000s, a centerpiece the campaign will play up. As a summer counterprogrammer, this one will seek wide buzz through gif-able moments, with the horror spoof format allowing quick pivots to whatever dominates genre chatter that spring.

Universal has three defined releases. SOULM8TE opens January 9, 2026, a connected offshoot from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The hook is tidy, tragic, and logline-clear: a grieving man implements an algorithmic mate that mutates into a killer companion. The date sets it at the front of a heavy month, with the Universal machine likely to renew uncanny-valley stunts and brief clips that threads romance and unease.

On May 8, 2026, the studio sets an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely believed to be the feature developed under internal 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 allows a title drop to become an teaser payoff closer to the debut look. The timing gives the studio a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles circle other weekends.

Completing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film takes October 23, 2026, a slot he has commanded before. The filmmaker’s films are presented as must-see filmmaker statements, with a minimalist tease and a follow-up trailer set that set the tone without spoiling the concept. The spooky-season slot creates space for Universal to maximize pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then lean on the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, partners with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček directs, with Souheila Yacoub starring. The franchise has consistently shown that a blood-soaked, hands-on effects treatment can feel premium on a efficient spend. Expect a hard-R summer horror jolt that leans hard into international play, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most foreign territories.

Sony’s horror bench is well stocked. The studio places two name-brand pushes in the back half. An untitled Insidious film hits August 21, 2026, preserving a bankable supernatural brand active while the spin-off branch continues to develop. Sony has recalibrated on this title before, but the current plan sets it in late summer, where Insidious has done well historically.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil restarts in what Sony is selling as a reset for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a foundational part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a focus to serve both longtime followers and fresh viewers. The fall slot hands Sony window to build materials around narrative world, and creature design, elements that can accelerate large-format demand and fan events.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, pins a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film continues the filmmaker’s run of period horror grounded in textural authenticity and period language, this time exploring werewolf lore. The distributor has already locked the day for a holiday release, a strong signal in Eggers as a specialty play that can build and expand if early reception is favorable.

Where the platforms fit in

Platform windowing in 2026 run on well-known grooves. Universal’s releases head to copyright after a exclusive run then PVOD, a sequence that enhances both premiere heat and sign-up momentum in the after-window. Prime Video blends licensed content with global originals and qualifying theatrical engagements when the data encourages it. Max and Hulu play their strengths in library engagement, using well-timed internal promotions, holiday hubs, and curated rows to keep attention on overall cume. Netflix keeps optionality about Netflix originals and festival acquisitions, securing horror entries near their drops and framing as events rollouts with surge campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, harnesses a hybrid of targeted theatrical exposure and prompt platform moves that translates talk to trials. That will be meaningful More about the author for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before leaning on niche channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ keeps selective horror on a per-project basis. The platform has proven amenable to take on select projects with top-tier auteurs or A-list packages, then give them a modest theatrical in partnership with exhibitors to meet eligibility thresholds or to build credibility before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still feeds from the 20th Century Studios slate, a critical input for retention when the genre conversation intensifies.

Indie corridors

Cineverse is putting together a 2026 lane with two recognizable titles. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The offer is uncomplicated: the same mist-blanketed, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a cult hit, upgraded for modern sound and cinematography. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a fall window, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has suggested a theatrical rollout for the title, an upbeat indicator for fans of the ferocious series and for exhibitors hungry for R material in the autumn stretch.

Focus will cultivate the auteur lane with Werwulf, stewarding the film through autumn festivals if the cut is ready, then deploying the holiday frame to go wider. That positioning has helped for filmmaker-first horror with award possibilities. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not firmed many 2026 dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines tend to firm up after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A safe bet is a series of late-summer and fall platformers that can go wider if reception drives. Watch for an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that bows at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work as a pair, using boutique theatrical to seed evangelism that fuels their subscriber growth.

Known brands versus new stories

By proportion, 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 concern, as ever, is audience fatigue. The near-term solution is to brand each entry as a fresh tone. Paramount is underscoring 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 French-tinted vision from a buzzed-about director. Those choices carry weight when the audience has so many options and social sentiment swings fast.

Non-franchise titles and director-first projects supply the oxygen. Jordan Peele’s October film will be branded as a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, features Rachel McAdams in a crash-survival premise with signature tonal menace. SOULM8TE offers a lean, creepy tech hook. Werwulf delivers period specificity and an unsparing tone. Even when the title is not based on legacy IP, the packaging is known enough to drive advance ticketing and preview-night crowds.

Rolling three-year comps illuminate the model. In 2023, a cinema-first model that maintained windows did not deter a hybrid test from succeeding when the brand was trusted. In 2024, meticulous-craft horror rose in PLF auditoriums. In 2025, a return of a beloved infection saga demonstrated that global horror franchises can still feel revitalized when they pivot perspective and stretch the story. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which presses on 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 filmed consecutively, provides the means for marketing to connect the chapters through character and theme and to hold creative in the market without long gaps.

How the look and feel evolve

The director conversations behind the 2026 slate signal a continued preference for in-camera, locale-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not repeat any recent iteration of the property, a stance that matches the practical-craft ethos he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film wrapped production and is headed for its April 17, 2026 date. Expect a campaign that highlights aura and dread rather than VFX blitz, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership enabling financial discipline.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has called Werwulf as the most chilling project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval world and era-true language, a combination that can make for immersive sound design and a raw, elemental vibe on the big screen. Focus will likely showcase this aesthetic in craft journalism and artisan spotlights before rolling out a first look that centers atmosphere over story, a move that has performed for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is engineered for gross-out texture, a signature of the series that plays abroad in red-band trailers and spurs shareable scream clips from early screenings. Scream 7 targets a meta-horror reset that centers its original star. Resident Evil will stand or stumble on creature execution and sets, which play well in con floor moments and controlled asset drops. Insidious tends to be a audio craft showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the cinema value feel compelling. Look for trailers that spotlight hyper-detailed sound, deep-bass stingers, and mute beats that play in premium auditoriums.

Month-by-month map

January is jammed. 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 bigger brand plays. The month concludes 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 stiff, but the palette of tones makes lanes for each, and the five-week structure allows a clean run for each if word of mouth carries.

Late winter and spring prepare summer. Scream 7 arrives February 27 with legacy momentum. In April, The Mummy reintroduces a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once suited genre counterprogramming and now nurtures big openers. The 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 divides the tones. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is light and four-quadrant, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 brings brutal intensity. The counterprogramming logic is workable. The spoof can win next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest caters to older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have finished their premium pass.

Late-season stretch leans IP. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously connected. Resident Evil steps in after September 18, a early fall window that still preps for Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film locks October 23 and will seize cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely backed by a minimalist tease strategy and limited teasers that favor idea over plot.

Awards-adjacent specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a stakes that genre can win the holiday when packaged as craft prestige horror. Focus has done this before, measured platforming, then capitalizing on critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to sustain conversation into January. If the film hits with critics, the studio can go wider in the first week of 2027 while riding holiday turnout and gift-card redemption.

Title briefs within the narrative

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting on a rolling basis as production pushes forward. Logline: Sidney returns to confront a new Ghostface while the narrative rethreads the original film’s genetic code. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: roots reset with a contemporary edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A sorrowing man’s artificial companion grows into something perilously amorous. Rating: TBA. Production: Wrapped principal for an early-year bow. Positioning: tech shocker with heart.

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 opens the world beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult surges in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Twin-shot with the first film. Positioning: prestige survival-horror continuation.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man comes back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to meet a shimmering reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed with U.S. theatrical distribution secured. Positioning: aura-driven 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 battle to survive on a cut-off island as the control dynamic shifts and paranoia builds. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal done. 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 not disclosed in official materials. Logline: A contemporary re-envisioning that returns the monster to fright, shaped by Cronin’s material craft and creeping dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Wrapped. Positioning: classic monster revival with auteur stamp.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A closed-door haunting piece that refracts terror through a little one’s uneven subjective view. Rating: TBA. Production: finished. Positioning: studio-financed and toplined paranormal suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers participating creatively. Logline: {A comic send-up that teases today’s horror trends and true crime fascinations. Rating: undetermined. Production: lensing scheduled for fall 2025. Positioning: big-tent summer spoof.

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 international twist in tone and setting. Rating: undetermined. Production: principal photography in New Zealand. Positioning: R-rated franchise charge tuned for PLF.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: TBD per campaign. Top cast: pending. Logline: The Further widens again, with a fresh family lashed to lingering terrors. Rating: not yet rated. Production: set for summer production targeting late-summer opening. Positioning: consistent franchise performer in a beneficial frame.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: forthcoming. Top cast: awaiting confirmation. Logline: A restart designed to recalibrate the franchise from the ground up, with an focus on survival-first horror over pyrotechnic spectacle. Rating: not yet rated. Production: on a development track with locked window. Positioning: canon-conscious reboot with mainstream reach.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: pending. Logline: intentionally withheld. Rating: TBD. Production: advancing. Positioning: director-fronted event with teaser rhythm.

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 era-accurate language and elemental dread. Rating: TBD. Production: gearing up with December 25 frame. Positioning: prestige-grade holiday chiller with artisan honors in view.

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 classic theatrical rollout before platforming. Status: date shifting, fall likely.

Why 2026, why now

Three nuts-and-bolts forces define this lineup. First, production that hiccuped or re-slotted in 2024 required schedule breathing room. Horror can occupy those holes swiftly because scripts often use fewer locations, fewer large-scale VFX set pieces, and compressed schedules. Second, studios have become more orderly about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently overdelivered vs. straight-to-streaming dumps. Third, viral talk converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will capitalize on meme-ready beats from test screenings, carefully timed scare clips calibrated to Thursday preview timing, and experiential pop-ups that serve as influencer content. It is a repeatable playbook because it performs.

There is also the slotting calculus. Family and superhero corridors are not as densely packed in early 2026, opening usable real estate for genre entries that can take a weekend outright or play as the older-leaning alternative. January is the prime example. Four distinct flavors of horror will trade weekends across five weekends, which keeps buzz lanes tidy. Summer provides the other window. The parody can surf the early-summer animated and action swell, then the hard-R entry can pounce on a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Financials, ratings, and sleeper angles

Budgets remain in the sweet spot. Most of the films above will stay under the $40 to $50 million threshold, with many far below. That allows for wide PLF deployment 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 cost-efficient 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 use those gaps. January could easily deliver the first unexpected breakout of the year, and August into September gives Sony an avenue to hold screens with back-to-back supernatural IP while still leaving room for an indie breakout.

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

Audience journey through the year

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers rhythm and variety. January is a buffet, February delivers a legacy slasher, April resurrects a Universal monster, May and June provide a back-to-back supernatural punch for date nights and group outings, July gets gnarly, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a cold, literate nightmare. That is how you sustain heat and footfall without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can compound over time, using earlier releases to set up the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors respond well to the spacing. Horror delivers regular Thursday spikes, disciplined footprints, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can command PLF, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing dimensionality, aural design, 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.

A Promising 2026

Timing shifts. Ratings change. Casts adjust. But the spine of 2026 horror is defined. There is brand heft where it matters, auteur intent where it matters, 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-breaking specialty acquisition join the party. For now, the job is simple, shape lean trailers, hold the mystery, and let the frights sell the seats.