Antediluvian Evil awakens: Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a nerve shredding feature, rolling out October 2025 on top streamers

One unnerving ghostly suspense story from storyteller / movie maker Andrew Chiaramonte, releasing an long-buried fear when newcomers become instruments in a diabolical ordeal. Streaming October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube streaming, Google’s Play platform, Apple iTunes, Apple TV Plus, and Fandango streaming.

L.A., CA (August 8th, 2025) – steel yourselves for *Young & Cursed*, a unnerving account of resistance and age-old darkness that will reshape the horror genre this scare season. Created by rising master of suspense Andrew Chiaramonte, this claustrophobic and tone-heavy thriller follows five figures who awaken sealed in a secluded hideaway under the unfriendly command of Kyra, a mysterious girl haunted by a timeless biblical demon. Get ready to be absorbed by a cinematic outing that blends visceral dread with timeless legends, premiering on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Hellish influence has been a iconic fixture in horror films. In *Young & Cursed*, that tradition is redefined when the demons no longer develop externally, but rather deep within. This echoes the most primal version of the group. The result is a riveting mind game where the conflict becomes a relentless conflict between good and evil.


In a remote no-man's-land, five souls find themselves marooned under the malevolent sway and curse of a shadowy apparition. As the protagonists becomes vulnerable to combat her command, left alone and followed by creatures unimaginable, they are required to wrestle with their worst nightmares while the moments relentlessly draws closer toward their doom.


In *Young & Cursed*, distrust builds and relationships erode, coercing each figure to evaluate their character and the philosophy of autonomy itself. The intensity surge with every tick, delivering a chilling narrative that blends spiritual fright with psychological weakness.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my goal was to channel instinctual horror, an power older than civilization itself, emerging via soul-level flaws, and highlighting a spirit that dismantles free will when we lose control.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Channeling Kyra involved tapping into something unfamiliar to reason. She is unaware until the haunting manifests, and that transition is harrowing because it is so emotional.”

Rollout & Launch

*Young & Cursed* will be launched for home viewing beginning from October 2, 2025, on Amazon’s platform, Google’s video hub, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home—providing customers from coast to coast can witness this chilling supernatural event.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just premiered a new trailer two for *Young & Cursed*, uploaded to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a second look to its first trailer, which has been viewed over six-figure audience.


In addition to its North American premiere, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has revealed that *Young & Cursed* will also be available worldwide, bringing the film to thrill-seekers globally.


Join this life-altering path of possession. Experience *Young & Cursed* this October the 2nd to explore these nightmarish insights about the soul.


For behind-the-scenes access, director cuts, and press updates from the story's source, follow @YoungAndCursed across social media and visit the film’s website.





U.S. horror’s major pivot: 2025 for genre fans U.S. lineup integrates old-world possession, independent shockers, stacked beside series shake-ups

Ranging from life-or-death fear inspired by mythic scripture all the way to canon extensions as well as sharp indie viewpoints, 2025 is lining up as the most variegated combined with carefully orchestrated year in recent memory.

The 2025 horror calendar reads less like chaos, more like a plan. major banners are anchoring the year with familiar IP, while streamers stack the fall with unboxed visions paired with ancestral chills. Across the art-house lane, the independent cohort is fueled by the carry from an unprecedented 2024 fest surge. Since Halloween is the prized date, the off-peak lanes are managed with purpose. The autumn corridor is the classic sprint, though in this cycle, players are marking January, spring, and mid-summer. Audiences are leaning in, studios are targeted, therefore 2025 could stand as the most orchestrated year.

Studio Chessboard and Mini-Major Plays: Prestige-leaning dread rebounds

The studios are not sitting idle. If 2024 set the base, 2025 accelerates.

Universal Pictures kicks off the frame with a risk-forward move: a reconceived Wolf Man, set not in some misty 19th-century European village, in a modern-day environment. Shepherded by Leigh Whannell with Christopher Abbott opposite Julia Garner, this telling braids lycanthropy with a family meltdown. The evolution surpasses the body, into spouses, parents, and bruised humanity. targeting mid January, it fits the new plan to claim winter’s soft window with prestige horror rather than castoffs.

Spring ushers in Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher port tuned to austere horror. Eli Craig directs including Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it reads as gore kissed small town horror with wry bite. Under the costume, it needles small town fear, cross generational rifts, and crowd punishment. Festival whispers say it is sharp.

As summer eases, the WB camp delivers the closing chapter of its steadiest horror franchise: The Conjuring: Last Rites. The Warrens return, played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the installment aims for closure as it frames a famed case. Despite a known recipe, Michael Chaves is rumored to steer toward a somber, reflective register for the close. It sits in early September, securing daylight before October saturation.

Arriving later is The Black Phone 2. Originally slated for early summer, its move to an October release suggests confidence. Scott Derrickson is back, and the hallmarks that turned the first into a sleeper reappear: throwback unease, trauma as theme, plus uncanny supernatural grammar. Here the stakes rise, through a fuller probe of the “grabber” lore and inherited grief.

Bringing up the winter anchor is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a franchise that brings its own crowd. The continuation widens the legend, broadens the animatronic terror cast, reaching teens and game grownups. It opens in December, pinning the winter close.

Platform Originals: Low budgets, big teeth

With cinemas leaning into known IP, streamers are pushing into risk, and dividends follow.

An especially bold streamer bet is Weapons, a cold file multi story chiller stitching three periods attached to a mass disappearance. From Zach Cregger and starring Josh Brolin with Julia Garner, the title blends fear with dramatic gravity. 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, an intimate body horror unraveling fronted by Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Taking place in an isolated rental as a retreat goes wrong, the story examines love plus envy plus self disgust as flesh ruin. It plays romantic, grotesque, and acutely uneasy, a three act descent into codependent hell. Although a platform date is not yet posted, it is tracking toward an autumn slot.

On the docket is Sinners, a 1930s period vampire folk story toplined by Michael B. Jordan. Imaged in sepia bloom and biblical metaphor, it suggests There Will Be Blood blended with Let the Right One In. The project looks at American religious trauma under a supernatural allegory. Advance tests paint it as a watercooler streamer.

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

Going live October 2 on major services, Young & Cursed stands as a rare hybrid, both intimate in scope and mythic in reach. Penned and steered by 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. With nightfall, Kyra’s power deepens, an invasive force mining their most secret fears, frailties, and regrets.

The chill is psyche led, anchored in primal myth. Instead of another exorcism piece centered on Catholic rites or Latin incantations, this one burrows toward something older, something darker. Lilith is not summoned by priests, she rises from trauma, muteness, and human fault lines. This inside out possession reframes expectation and groups Young & Cursed with a rising current, intimate character dramas within genre.

The Halloween window on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home frames the film as counter to sequel saturation and creature revivals. That is a savvy move. No overinflated mythology. No franchise baggage. Simply psychological fear, lean and taut, built for the binge then recover rhythm. In a spectacle stack, Young & Cursed could be the hush before the shriek.

From Festivals to Market

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF function as launch beds for the coming year’s horror. In 2025, they behave more like launchpads than showcases.

Fantastic Fest’s horror bench is deep this year. Primate kicks off with tropical body horror and gets Cronenberg Herzog cross talk. Whistle, Aztec coded revenge folklore, may cap the fest blazing.

The midnight bench, including If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, hums from execution, not mere titling. That one, an A24 backed satire on toxic fandom set during a horror convention lockdown, is poised for breakout status.

SXSW lifted Clown in a Cornfield and put microbudget hauntings into market talk. Sundance should deliver grief heavy elevated horror again, while Tribeca’s genre yard leans urban, social, and surreal.

Strategy at festivals now equals branding as well as discovery. Those badges act as campaign openers, not end caps.

Legacy Brands: Next Chapters, New Starts, New Shapes

The franchise bench is sturdier and more targeted than lately.

Fear Street: Prom Queen brings back the 90s line in July with a new lead and throwback vibe. Breaking with earlier shading, it leans camp and prom night melodrama. Visualize tiaras, fake gore, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 returns in late June, aiming to expand its techno horror mythology with new characters and new AI generated terrors. The opener’s social chatter and SVOD hours justify Universal’s deeper play.

Another headline is The Long Walk, adapting a grim early Stephen King piece, with Francis Lawrence directing, it is a brutal dystopian allegory wrapped in survival horror, a kids walking until they die competition with no real winners. If packaged well, it could track like The Hunger Games for horror adults.

Across the board, reboots and sequels such as Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda fill gaps, most looking for tactical dates or fast pickups.

Key Trends

Mythic currents go mainstream
From Lilith in Young & Cursed to Aztec curses in Whistle, horror is turning to ancient texts and symbols. It is not nostalgia, it is re owning pre Christian archetypes. Horror reaches past fear, it states evil is old.

Body horror retakes ground
Titles such as Together, Weapons, and Keeper return focus to the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation are standing in for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streamers grow fangs
The era of filler horror on streamers is ending. Streamers are investing in real scripts, real directors, and real marketing pushes. Pieces like Weapons and Sinners receive event status, not feed stock.

Laurels convert to leverage
Festival ribbons become currency for better windows and top shelves. Skip festival strategy in 2025 and the film risks invisibility.

Theaters are a trust fall
Theater slots go to likely overachievers or franchise starters. Other titles pivot PVOD or hybrid. Horror still lives in theaters, more curated than broad.

Projection: Fall saturation and a winter joker

With Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons all stacked across September and October, the fall is downright saturated. Indies including Bone Lake and Keeper will wrestle for room. Some may slide to early 2026 or switch platform lanes.

With Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 in December, a stealth streamer drop might pop near year end. Given the dark, mythic lean of the year’s big films, a final creature feature or exorcism slot is open.

The 2025 performance is about reach across segments, not one hero title. The aim is not another Get Out chase, it is durable horror beyond gross.



The next scare calendar year ahead: follow-ups, universe starters, in tandem with A loaded Calendar calibrated for shocks

Dek The new horror season stacks in short order with a January bottleneck, and then extends through midyear, and well into the holiday frame, fusing series momentum, untold stories, and calculated counterweight. Major distributors and platforms are betting on cost discipline, big-screen-first runs, and platform-native promos that convert these offerings into all-audience topics.

The state of horror, heading into 2026

The field has established itself as the bankable option in annual schedules, a space that can break out when it connects and still limit the liability when it underperforms. After 2023 reassured top brass that disciplined-budget chillers can drive audience talk, 2024 continued the surge with filmmaker-forward plays and slow-burn breakouts. The upswing flowed into the 2025 frame, where returns and elevated films highlighted there is an opening for many shades, from returning installments to fresh IP that perform internationally. The net effect for 2026 is a calendar that feels more orchestrated than usual across companies, with clear date clusters, a combination of brand names and first-time concepts, and a revived priority on release windows that drive downstream revenue on premium rental and digital services.

Planners observe the category now performs as a schedule utility on the distribution slate. Horror can arrive on nearly any frame, deliver a grabby hook for ad units and UGC-friendly snippets, and lead with moviegoers that turn out on advance nights and sustain through the follow-up frame if the picture delivers. On the heels of a production delay era, the 2026 plan exhibits assurance in that model. The slate gets underway with a heavy January corridor, then exploits spring through early summer for audience offsets, while holding room for a autumn stretch that connects to All Hallows period and into November. The map also illustrates the expanded integration of boutique distributors and SVOD players that can launch in limited release, build word of mouth, and broaden at the strategic time.

A reinforcing pattern is legacy care across shared IP webs and legacy IP. The players are not just rolling another return. They are aiming to frame brand continuity with a premium feel, whether that is a graphic identity that suggests a tonal shift or a talent selection that ties a next entry to a heyday. At the alongside this, the directors behind the most watched originals are doubling down on real-world builds, makeup and prosthetics and location-forward worlds. That blend produces 2026 a lively combination of brand comfort and novelty, which is why the genre exports well.

Studios and mini-majors: what the big players are doing

Paramount leads early with two big-ticket titles that span tone from serious to silly. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with original architect Kevin Williamson in the director position and Neve Campbell back at the heart, positioning the film as both a baton pass and a rootsy character-centered film. Filming is underway in Atlanta, and the creative posture hints at a fan-service aware approach without recycling the last two entries’ sisters thread. Watch for a push rooted in brand visuals, early character teases, and a rollout cadence hitting late fall. Distribution is big-screen via Paramount.

Paramount also reboots 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 headline the campaign will feature. As a summer alternative, this one will go after broad awareness through share-ready beats, with the horror spoof format fitting quick turns to whatever rules pop-cultural buzz that spring.

Universal has three clear bets. SOULM8TE opens January 9, 2026, a digital-age offshoot from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The story engine is elegant, sorrow-tinged, and high-concept: a grieving man brings home an artificial companion that mutates into a murderous partner. The date puts it at the front of a heavy month, with the studio’s marketing likely to renew uncanny live moments and short reels that hybridizes devotion and anxiety.

On May 8, 2026, the studio sets an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely interpreted as the feature developed under development 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 useful reference public title to become an teaser payoff closer to the initial promo. The timing gives the studio a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles occupy other frames.

Rounding out the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film secures October 23, 2026, a slot he has excelled in before. Peele’s releases are positioned as marquee events, with a mystery-first teaser and a second beat that establish tone without plot reveals the concept. The Halloween runway lets the studio to maximize pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then work the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, pairs with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček leads, with Souheila Yacoub in the lead. The franchise has long shown that a tactile, practical-effects forward approach can feel prestige on a middle budget. Frame it as a grime-caked summer horror charge that emphasizes international markets, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most global territories.

Sony’s horror bench is surprisingly deep. The studio rolls out two IP moves in the back half. An untitled Insidious film premieres August 21, 2026, continuing a proven supernatural brand in the market while the spin-off branch progresses. The studio has reslotted on this title before, but the current plan keeps it in late summer, where the brand has traditionally delivered.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil steps back in what the studio is billing as a from-the-ground-up reboot for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a strategic part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a sharper mandate to serve both loyalists and novices. The fall slot offers Sony space to build marketing units around lore, and monster aesthetics, elements that can amplify premium format interest and convention buzz.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, pins a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film continues the filmmaker’s run of period horror characterized by obsessive craft and textual fidelity, this time engaging werewolf myth. The imprint has already staked the slot for a holiday release, a signal of faith in the auteur as a specialty play that can build and expand if early reception is strong.

Streamers and platform exclusives

Platform windowing in 2026 run on established tracks. Universal’s genre entries head to copyright after a theatrical-first then PVOD phase, a stair-step that maximizes both debut momentum and trial spikes in the post-theatrical. Prime Video balances licensed titles with global originals and limited cinema engagements when the data supports it. Max and Hulu lean on their strengths in catalog discovery, using well-timed internal promotions, Halloween hubs, and staff picks to sustain interest on 2026 genre cume. Netflix remains opportunistic about in-house releases and festival grabs, locking in horror entries on shorter runways and positioning as event drops debuts with quick-run campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, operates a tiered of selective theatrical runs and rapid platforming that translates talk to trials. That will matter for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before using fan pipelines in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ cherry-picks horror on a curated basis. The platform has been willing to board select projects with acclaimed directors or celebrity-led packages, then give them a qualifying theatrical in partnership with exhibitors to meet award rules or to gain imprimatur before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still pulls from the 20th Century Studios slate, a notable driver for monthly activity when the genre conversation intensifies.

Indie and specialty outlook

Cineverse is steadily assembling a 2026 runway with two franchise steps. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The angle is no-nonsense: the same gloomy, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a genre cult touchstone, reimagined for modern sound and cinematography. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a autumn slot, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has flagged a wide-to-platform plan for Legacy, an promising marker for fans of the uncompromising series and for exhibitors looking for R-rated counterplay in the October weeks.

Focus will lean into the auteur lane with Werwulf, curating the rollout through a fall festival swing if the cut is ready, then leveraging the year-end corridor to expand. That positioning has served the company well for arthouse horror with audience crossover. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not released many dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines tend to firm up after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A plausible forecast is a handful of late-summer and fall platformers that can grow if reception encourages. Be ready for an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that runs at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work jointly, using mini theatrical to prime evangelism that fuels their subs.

IP versus fresh ideas

By tilt, 2026 skews toward the IP side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all exploit fan equity. The trade-off, as ever, is brand erosion. The go-to fix is to frame each entry as a re-toned entry. Paramount is elevating character and heritage in Scream 7, Sony is indicating a clean-slate build for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is maximizing a Francophone tone from a breakout filmmaker. Those choices make a difference when the audience has so many options and social sentiment tilts quickly.

Originals and director-driven titles bring the oxygen. Jordan Peele’s October film will be marketed as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, centers Rachel McAdams in a survival chiller premise with Raimi’s impish dread. SOULM8TE offers a clear, chilling tech hook. Werwulf leans on period specificity and an flinty tone. Even when the title is not based on legacy IP, the configuration is familiar enough to spark pre-sales and Thursday-night turnout.

Comps from the last three years clarify the template. In 2023, a theater-first model that kept streaming intact did not obstruct a parallel release from winning when the brand was powerful. In 2024, auteur craft horror punched above its weight in premium auditoriums. In 2025, a reawakened chapter of a beloved infection saga demonstrated that global horror franchises can still feel new when they reframe POV and grow scope. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which extends January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The two-step approach, with chapters lensed sequentially, allows marketing to tie installments through cast and motif and to keep materials circulating without lulls.

Technique and craft currents

The creative meetings behind the 2026 slate point to a continued lean toward physical, site-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not imitate any recent iteration of the property, a stance that complements the practical-effects sensibility he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film wrapped production and is aimed at its April 17, 2026 date. The push will likely that highlights unease and texture rather than fireworks, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership making room for budget rigor.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has spoken of Werwulf as the hardest-edged project he has tackled, which tracks with a historical setting and era-correct language, a combination that can make for textured sound and a austere, elemental atmosphere on the big screen. Focus will likely highlight this aesthetic in long-lead features and craft coverage before rolling out a tease that trades on atmosphere over plot, a move that has clicked 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 sells overseas in red-band trailers and creates shareable jump-cut reactions from early screenings. Scream 7 targets a meta recalibration that puts the original star at center. Resident Evil will stand or stumble on creature design and production design, which match well with expo activations and timed asset drops. Insidious tends to be a audio craft showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the theatrical pitch feel compelling. Look for trailers that highlight surgical sound design, deep-bass stingers, and hush beats that sing on PLF.

Release calendar overview

January is jammed. Universal’s 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 brooding contrast amid bigger brand plays. The month finishes 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 mix of tones gives each title a lane, and the five-week structure hands each a runway for each if word of mouth sticks.

February through May load in summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 debuts February 27 with nostalgia heat. In April, New Line’s The Mummy re-centers 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 rolls into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer underlines contrasts. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is lighter-toned and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 supplies hard-R intensity. The counterprogramming logic is tight. The spoof can deliver next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest serves older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have rolled through premiums.

August into fall leans brand. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously excelled. Resident Evil follows September 18, a bridge slot that still connects to Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event claims October 23 and will own cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely reinforced by a tease-and-hold strategy and limited pre-release reveals that favor idea over plot.

Year-end prestige and specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a signal that genre can stand up at Christmas when packaged as auteur prestige horror. The distributor has done this before, slow-rolling, then leaning on critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to remain in discourse into January. If the film resonates with critics, the studio can go wider in the first week of 2027 while enjoying holiday hold and gift-card spend.

Project-by-project snapshots

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting on a rolling basis as production carries on. Logline: Sidney returns to challenge a new Ghostface while the narrative reconnects to the original film’s DNA. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: classic-DNA reset with a current angle.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A heartbroken man’s virtual companion becomes something deadly romantic. Rating: TBA. Production: Wrapped principal for an early-year bow. Positioning: AI chiller with a human 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 widens the scope beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult hardens in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Double-shot with the first film. Positioning: elevated outbreak saga chapter.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man heads back 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: Finished and theatrical on deck. Positioning: atmospheric 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 demanding boss struggle to survive on a isolated island as the control dynamic tilts and mistrust rises. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed. Positioning: star-led survival horror from a master director.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles under wraps in official materials. Logline: A modern reimagining that returns the monster to nightmare, shaped by Cronin’s on-set craft and suffocating dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Wrapped. Positioning: iconic monster return with auteur mark.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A household haunting setup that teases the fright of a child’s wobbly perceptions. Rating: rating pending. Production: fully shot. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven supernatural suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers re-engaging creatively. Logline: {A satire sequel that satirizes of-the-moment horror beats and true-crime buzz. Rating: undetermined. Production: principal photography set for fall 2025. Positioning: wide-lane seasonal counterprogram.

Evil Dead Burn (Warner Bros. domestic, July 24, 2026)
Director: Sébastien Vaniček. Top cast: Souheila Yacoub, with ensemble additions. Logline: A new infestation of Deadites breaks out, with an transnational twist in tone and setting. Rating: undetermined. Production: currently in New Zealand. Positioning: intense red-band chapter tailored to PLF.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: TBD per campaign. Top cast: TBA. Logline: The Further unfurls again, with a unlucky family linked to old terrors. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: aiming to lens in summer ahead of late-summer bow. Positioning: trusted supernatural label in a supportive window.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: to be disclosed. Top cast: TBD. Logline: A new start designed to reframe the franchise from the ground up, with an priority on classic survival-horror tone over action spectacle. Rating: pending. Production: dev phase with date secured. Positioning: game-grounded refresh with wider appeal.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: tightly guarded. Rating: undetermined. 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 historical diction and elemental dread. Rating: TBA. Production: in preparation with Christmas frame locked. 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: schedule in motion, fall targeted.

Why the moment is 2026

Three pragmatic forces frame this lineup. useful reference First, production that stalled or re-sequenced in 2024 required schedule breathing room. Horror can bridge those gaps quickly 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 work bite-size scare clips from test screenings, controlled scare clips launched on Thursday previews, and experiential pop-ups that double as influencer content. It is a repeatable playbook because it holds up.

Factor four is the scheduling calculus. Early corridors for family and capes are leaner in 2026, providing runway for genre entries that can lead a weekend or operate as the older-skew option. January is the prime example. Four horror varieties will jostle across five weekends, which gives each title a lane and limits cannibalization. Summer provides the other window. The spoof can draft behind animation and action in early summer, then the hard-R entry can make hay in a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Budget discipline, rating paths, sleeper math

Budgets remain in the efficient band. Most of the films above will track under the $40–$50 million range, with many far below. That allows for strong PLF footprints without needing superhero-level volume to break even. The most likely R ratings include Evil Dead Burn, Werwulf, and possibly Resident Evil depending on the final cut. Scream 7, Insidious, and SOULM8TE can plausibly land PG-13 to maximize reach, though each franchise has toggled between ratings in the past. Specialty plays tend to lean R to preserve tone and intensity.

The surprise-hit pursuit continues in Q1, where value-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 surprise 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. Plan on a solid PVOD window generally, since horror fans have shown a willingness to pay for convenience after an opening weekend, especially when word of mouth is strong.

From viewer POV, the year

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers beat and breadth. January is a sampler, February delivers a legacy slasher, April revives a Universal monster, May and June provide a back-to-back supernatural punch for date nights and group outings, July goes red-band, 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 preserve buzz while driving admissions without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can stack through the year, using earlier releases to set up the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors appreciate 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 justify premium screens, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing detail, soundscape, and picture that benefit from larger formats. The calendar also leaves room for specialty platformers to open in New York and Los Angeles, build reviews, and slide into national conversation as the fall progresses.

A Robust 2026 On Deck

Frames adjust. Ratings change. Casts update. But the spine of 2026 horror is sturdy. There is IP strength where it matters, creative ambition where it counts, and a calendar that shows studios understand how and when audiences want to be scared. The awards and festival pipeline into 2027 will come into focus once the fall festivals lock, and it would not be surprising to see at least one eleventh-hour specialty buy join the party. For now, the job is simple, roll out exact trailers, hold the mystery, and let the shudders sell the seats.