Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed releases mythic darkness, a fear soaked thriller, debuting Oct 2025 on major streaming services

One spine-tingling supernatural suspense story from storyteller / cinema craftsman Andrew Chiaramonte, summoning an archaic horror when drifters become proxies in a dark struggle. Launching on October 2, 2025, on Prime Video, the YouTube platform, Google Play, Apple’s iTunes, Apple TV Plus, and Fandango streaming.

Los Angeles, CA (August 8, 2025) – ready yourself for *Young & Cursed*, a intense journey of resilience and primordial malevolence that will resculpt the fear genre this harvest season. Helmed by rising new wave horror talent Andrew Chiaramonte, this pressure-packed and shadowy fearfest follows five teens who arise caught in a unreachable hideaway under the ominous sway of Kyra, a mysterious girl haunted by a millennia-old scriptural evil. Get ready to be hooked by a visual venture that intertwines bone-deep fear with timeless legends, coming on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Diabolic occupation has been a time-honored pillar in genre filmmaking. In *Young & Cursed*, that norm is reimagined when the fiends no longer emerge from external sources, but rather from deep inside. This portrays the most terrifying shade of every character. The result is a harrowing identity crisis where the emotions becomes a constant clash between virtue and vice.


In a haunting backcountry, five campers find themselves confined under the ominous sway and curse of a shadowy person. As the youths becomes unable to withstand her power, left alone and hunted by evils ungraspable, they are thrust to reckon with their soulful dreads while the deathwatch without pause draws closer toward their fate.


In *Young & Cursed*, delusion swells and ties implode, requiring each participant to contemplate their being and the integrity of self-determination itself. The tension mount with every tick, delivering a paranormal ride that fuses otherworldly suspense with human vulnerability.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my objective was to tap into instinctual horror, an power rooted in antiquity, operating within our fears, and confronting a being that challenges autonomy when stripped of free will.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Performing as Kyra meant channeling something deeper than fear. She is unseeing until the spirit seizes her, and that turn is eerie because it is so unshielded.”

Platform Access

*Young & Cursed* will be offered for home viewing beginning on October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon Prime, Google’s video hub, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango on-demand—offering subscribers across the world can experience this fearful revelation.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just broadcast a new trailer update for *Young & Cursed*, streaming to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a additional glimpse to its release of trailer #1, which has attracted over a viral response.


In addition to its US/Canada launch, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has publicized that *Young & Cursed* will also be released internationally, extending the thrill to horror fans worldwide.


Witness this haunted voyage through terror. Confront *Young & Cursed* this All Hallows’ kickoff to face these chilling revelations about the soul.


For bonus footage, making-of footage, and social posts from the cast and crew, follow @YACMovie across your favorite networks and visit the movie portal.





U.S. horror’s decisive shift: the 2025 cycle U.S. Slate braids together Mythic Possession, indie terrors, set against returning-series thunder

Ranging from grit-forward survival fare inspired by mythic scripture all the way to canon extensions and keen independent perspectives, 2025 appears poised to be the most dimensioned paired with intentionally scheduled year since the mid-2010s.

It is crowded, and also meticulously arranged. top-tier distributors set cornerstones by way of signature titles, at the same time subscription platforms pack the fall with first-wave breakthroughs alongside mythic dread. On the festival side, the independent cohort is drafting behind the backdraft from a high-water 2024 festival stretch. As Halloween stays the prime week, the year beyond October is carefully apportioned. A fat September–October lane is customary now, but this year, strategies include January, spring, and mid-summer. Viewers are hungry, studios are disciplined, hence 2025 could be the most carefully plotted year to date.

Studio Roadmap and Mini-Major Pulse: Elevated fear reclaims ground

The upper tier is moving decisively. If 2024 primed the reset, 2025 doubles down.

the Universal banner lights the fuse with a risk-forward move: a newly envisioned Wolf Man, not returning to the Gothic European hamlet, in an immediate now. Directed by Leigh Whannell with Christopher Abbott opposite Julia Garner, this telling braids lycanthropy with a family meltdown. The metamorphosis extends past flesh, into marriage, parenthood, and human hurt. arriving mid January, it aligns with turning the winter slack into a premium lane, not a dumping lane.

In spring, Clown in a Cornfield lands, a YA slasher conversion presented as stripped terror. Led by Eli Craig starring Katie Douglas opposite Kevin Durand, it is blood soaked Americana horror with a satirical streak. Behind its clown mask lies commentary on small town paranoia, generational divides, and mob justice. Advance murmurs say it draws blood.

As summer wanes, Warner Bros. Pictures unveils the final movement of its steadiest horror franchise: The Conjuring: Last Rites. With Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson back as Ed and Lorraine Warren, the finale seeks an emotional close via a signature case. Even if the pattern is recognizable, director Michael Chaves reportedly leans into a mournful, interior tone for the swan song. It sits in early September, securing daylight before October saturation.

The Black Phone 2 follows. Set early then moved to October, a confidence tell. Derrickson resumes command, and the hallmarks that turned the first into a sleeper reappear: nostalgic menace, trauma foregrounded, plus uncanny supernatural grammar. This pass pushes higher, by enlarging the “grabber” map and grief’s lineage.

Bringing up the winter anchor is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a title that can sell without classic marketing. The sophomore entry expands the mythology, adds to the animatronic nightmare bench, and targets both teens and thirtysomething fans of the original game. It drops in December, holding the cold season’s end.

Streaming Firsts: Slim budgets, major punch

With cinemas leaning into known IP, streamers are taking risks, and it is paying off.

A high ambition play arrives with Weapons, a cold-case linked horror tapestry lacing three time frames tied to a mass vanishing. From Zach Cregger and starring Josh Brolin with Julia Garner, the title blends fear with dramatic gravity. Opening theatrically late summer ahead of fall SVOD, it may catalyze deconstruction threads like Barbarian.

Playing chamber scale is Together, a room scale body horror descent fronted by Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Set in a remote rental home during a getaway gone wrong, the work maps love envy and self hatred onto bodily unraveling. It toggles from love to slime, a staged slide into codependent hell. Although a platform date is not yet posted, it is a near certain autumn drop.

Also rising is Sinners, a thirties set vampire folk saga featuring 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 title explores American religious trauma through supernatural symbol. Initial test audience notes point to a buzzy streaming debut.

Further platform indies wait for their cue: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper all tap into themes of grief, disappearance, and identity, often using horror as metaphor instead of spectacle.

Possession Runs Deep: Young & Cursed

Dropping October 2 across all major streaming platforms, Young & Cursed operates as a rare duality, minimal in staging, maximal in myth. Conceived and directed by 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. With nightfall, Kyra’s power deepens, an invasive force mining their most secret fears, frailties, and regrets.

The unease is psychological, fused to primal myth. Resisting the exorcism template of Catholic ceremony and Latin chant, this one burrows toward something older, something darker. Lilith ignores rite, she wells up from trauma, quietude, and human weakness. Possession that blooms from within, not without, inverts the trope and places Young & Cursed within a growing horror trend, intimate character studies wrapped in 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. It reads as sharp positioning. No bloated mythology. No IP hangover. Straight psychological chill, boxed and tight, aimed at the binge, pause, and pulse habits of streamers. With a spectacle heavy year, Young & Cursed may pop by going quiet, then screaming.

Festival Launchpads, Market Engines

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF remain breeding grounds for what horror looks like six to twelve months later. In 2025, they behave more like launchpads than showcases.

This year, Fantastic Fest confirms a strong horror slate. Primate opens the fest with tropical body horror and critics cite Cronenberg and Herzog. Whistle, Aztec coded revenge folklore, may cap the fest blazing.

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

SXSW staged Clown in a Cornfield and lined up microbudget haunts for talks. Sundance forecasts grief bent elevated horror again, while Tribeca’s genre yard leans urban, social, and surreal.

In 2025, festival strategy is less about discovery, more about branding. A badge from Fantastic Fest or TIFF is now the first phase of marketing, not the last.

Legacy IP: Sequels and Reboots, Reinvention Included

This year’s legacy entries carry strength and deliberation.

Fear Street: Prom Queen hits July to revive the 90s line with fresh lead and VHS vibe. Versus earlier beats, it favors camp and prom night melodrama. Imagine tiaras, smeared red, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 hits late June, set to enlarge techno horror mythology with fresh faces and AI bred menaces. That first run’s social and SVOD traction lets Universal push further.

The Long Walk, from an early and searing Stephen King work, is inbound, from Francis Lawrence, it shows as a grim dystopian parable set in survival horror, a youth walk ending only in death. If sold right, it could sit as The Hunger Games for adult horror fans.

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

Trends to Watch

Ancient myth goes wide
From Lilith in Young & Cursed to Aztec curses in Whistle, creators turn to ancient texts and symbols. This is not nostalgia, it is a reclamation of pre Christian archetypes. Horror extends beyond terror, it frames evil as primordial.

Body horror returns
Titles such as Together, Weapons, and Keeper return focus to the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation serve as metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Platform originals gain bite
Churn filler is losing ground on platforms. Streamers deploy capital toward scripts, directors, and paid reach. Pieces like Weapons and Sinners receive event status, not feed stock.

Badges become bargaining chips
Festival status acts as leverage for exhibition, placement, and publicity. A horror film without a festival strategy in 2025 risks disappearing.

Cinemas are a trust fall
Studios release horror theatrically only when they believe in overperformance or sequel trees. Other titles pivot PVOD or hybrid. Horror persists theatrically, in curated lanes.

Season Ahead: Fall saturation and a winter joker

With Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons stacked into September and October, fall saturates. Indies like Bone Lake and Keeper will scrap for air. Keep an eye on possible slips into early 2026 or platform flips.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 locks December, while a late surprise on a platform remains possible. With some of the year’s biggest films leaning dark and mythic, the space for one final creature feature or exorcism flick is wide open.

The hinge is broad reach to atomized viewers, not single tentpoles. This year is not about chasing the next Get Out, it is about building horror that lives beyond the box office.



The next scare lineup: next chapters, fresh concepts, And A loaded Calendar designed for nightmares

Dek: The brand-new genre slate crams from day one with a January pile-up, following that rolls through summer, and pushing into the late-year period, mixing franchise firepower, creative pitches, and smart offsets. The big buyers and platforms are relying on mid-range economics, theater-first strategies, and social-driven marketing that position these pictures into water-cooler talk.

How the genre looks for 2026

The field has solidified as the consistent swing in studio lineups, a pillar that can surge when it clicks and still buffer the risk when it does not. After 2023 showed buyers that low-to-mid budget scare machines can drive the national conversation, the following year carried the beat with festival-darling auteurs and quiet over-performers. The trend flowed into the 2025 frame, where returns and festival-grade titles underscored there is an opening for several lanes, from sequel tracks to standalone ideas that carry overseas. The end result for the 2026 slate is a slate that reads highly synchronized across studios, with intentional bunching, a spread of known properties and novel angles, and a re-energized strategy on theatrical windows that fuel later windows on premium rental and home platforms.

Distribution heads claim the category now works like a flex slot on the grid. Horror can roll out on almost any weekend, generate a grabby hook for spots and short-form placements, and outperform with moviegoers that appear on opening previews and return through the second frame if the feature hits. Following a strike-delayed pipeline, the 2026 configuration reflects confidence in that engine. The slate starts with a crowded January window, then targets spring into early summer for counterweight, while keeping space for a autumn stretch that flows toward late October and past Halloween. The schedule also spotlights the continuing integration of boutique distributors and home platforms that can launch in limited release, spark evangelism, and scale up at the inflection point.

A notable top-line trend is IP cultivation across interlocking continuities and legacy franchises. The players are not just pushing another next film. They are shaping as threaded continuity with a marquee sheen, whether that is a art treatment that telegraphs a refreshed voice or a casting pivot that ties a upcoming film to a vintage era. At the very same time, the visionaries behind the most watched originals are returning to physical effects work, practical effects and concrete locations. That mix yields the 2026 slate a strong blend of brand comfort and freshness, which is how the films export.

The studios and mini-majors, and how they are playing the year

Paramount marks the early tempo with two headline pushes that span tone from serious to silly. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the lead and Neve Campbell back at the heart, marketing it as both a legacy handover and a heritage-centered character-first story. Production is active in Atlanta, and the narrative stance points to a roots-evoking treatment without covering again the last two entries’ sisters thread. Count on a promo wave centered on legacy iconography, early character teases, and a promo sequence targeting late fall. Distribution is Paramount theatrical.

Paramount also reignites a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina have a peek at these guys Hall are set to reunite, with the Wayans brothers involved in creative roles for the first time since the early 2000s, a angle the campaign will lean on. As a summer counter-slot, this one will generate mass reach through gif-able moments, with the horror spoof format supporting quick shifts to whatever defines horror talk that spring.

Universal has three discrete releases. SOULM8TE opens January 9, 2026, a technology-driven offshoot from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The story engine is tidy, soulful, and high-concept: a grieving man installs an artificial companion that becomes a fatal companion. The date places it at the front of a packed window, with Universal’s marketing likely to bring back uncanny live moments and short-form creative that mixes longing and unease.

On May 8, 2026, the studio schedules an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely assumed to be the feature developed under working names in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The official release calendar currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which preserves a final title to become an earned moment closer to the debut look. The timing hands the studio a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles concentrate elsewhere.

Completing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film takes October 23, 2026, a slot he has made his own before. Peele titles are branded as director events, with a minimalist tease and a second wave of trailers that signal tone without plot the concept. The Halloween runway gives Universal room to dominate pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then capitalize on 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 leads, with Souheila Yacoub top-lining. The franchise has repeatedly shown that a flesh-and-blood, on-set effects led approach can feel big on a tight budget. Expect a viscera-heavy summer horror shock that maximizes international play, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most overseas territories.

Sony’s horror bench is loaded. The studio mounts two marquee IP entries in the back half. An untitled Insidious film lands August 21, 2026, carrying a trusty supernatural brand on the board while the spin-off branch evolves. Sony has moved dates on this title before, but the current plan sets it in late summer, where the brand has found success.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil re-enters in what Sony is marketing as a reimagined 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 focus to serve both diehards and general audiences. The fall slot creates runway for Sony to build campaign pieces around lore, and practical creature work, elements that can increase premium format interest and cosplayer momentum.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, stakes a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film maintains Eggers’ run of period horror defined by immersive craft and dialect, this time exploring werewolf lore. The company has already announced the holiday for a holiday release, a signal of faith in Eggers as a specialty play that can build and expand if early reception is robust.

SVOD and PVOD rhythms

Streaming playbooks in 2026 run on tested paths. Universal’s genre slate feed copyright after a big-screen and PVOD window, a stair-step that fortifies both week-one demand and sign-up spikes in the later phase. Prime Video pairs library titles with world buys and targeted theatrical runs when the data recommends it. Max and Hulu work their edges in deep cuts, using featured rows, seasonal hubs, and staff picks to sustain interest on 2026 genre cume. Netflix keeps options open about originals and festival grabs, confirming horror entries tight to release and eventizing premieres with quick-run campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, harnesses a laddered of targeted cinema placements and accelerated platforming that turns word of mouth into paid trials. That will count for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before pivoting to fan pipelines in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ keeps selective horror on a situational basis. The platform has proven amenable to board select projects with recognized filmmakers or celebrity-led packages, then give them a small theatrical footprint in partnership with exhibitors to meet eligibility thresholds or to earn receipts before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney domestic still draws on the 20th Century Studios slate, a critical input for monthly engagement when the genre conversation surges.

Art-house genre prospects

Cineverse is crafting a 2026 corridor with two recognizable titles. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The angle is straightforward: the same brooding, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a cult classic, retooled for modern mix and grade. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a fall corridor, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. Cineverse has announced a standard theatrical run for the title, an encouraging sign for fans of the nasty series and for exhibitors seeking R-rated counterprogramming in the October weeks.

Focus will favor the auteur track with Werwulf, curating the rollout through fall festivals if the cut is ready, then leveraging the Christmas window to broaden. That positioning has proved effective for prestige horror with crossover ambitions. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not dated many 2026 horror titles in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines usually solidify after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A likely scenario is a series of late-summer and fall platformers that can broaden if reception supports. Plan on 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 jointly, using targeted this page theatrical to spark the evangelism that fuels their user base.

Series vs standalone

By share, the 2026 slate leans toward the brand-heavy side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all exploit brand equity. The watch-out, as ever, is fatigue. The go-to fix is to pitch each entry as a recalibration. Paramount is bringing forward character and roots in Scream 7, Sony is positioning a ground-zero restart for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is leaning into a Francophone tone from a buzzed-about director. Those choices prove meaningful when the audience has so many options and social sentiment shifts fast.

Originals and director-first projects add 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, puts Rachel McAdams in a island survival premise with Raimi’s impish dread. SOULM8TE offers a tight, eerie tech hook. Werwulf rests on period texture and an stark tone. Even when the title is not based on existing IP, the packaging is grounded enough to generate pre-sales and advance-audience nights.

Three-year comps announce the logic. In 2023, a exclusive cinema model that honored streaming windows did not deter a hybrid test from hitting when the brand was potent. In 2024, craft-forward auteur horror popped in premium large format. In 2025, a reanimation of a beloved infection saga signaled that global horror franchises can still feel new when they alter lens and scale the storytelling. 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 twin-shoot approach, with chapters filmed consecutively, permits marketing to tie installments through character web and themes and to keep assets alive without extended gaps.

Technique and craft currents

The production chatter behind these films forecast a continued move toward tactile, place-driven craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not mirror any recent iteration of the property, a stance that reinforces the physical-effects bias he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film finished filming and is tracking toward its April 17, 2026 date. Plan for a push that leans on creep and texture rather than roller-coaster spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership backing smart budget discipline.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has called Werwulf as the most severe project he has tackled, which tracks with a period English setting and authentic period speech, a combination Source that can make for textured sound and a austere, elemental atmosphere on the big screen. Focus will likely frame this aesthetic in behind-the-scenes pieces and guild coverage before rolling out a initial teaser that prioritizes vibe over plot, a move that has played for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is aimed at gross-out texture, a signature of the series that travels well in red-band trailers and earns shareable shock clips from early screenings. Scream 7 targets a meta inflection that brings back the core lead. Resident Evil will succeed or falter on creature work and production design, which play well in expo activations and managed asset releases. Insidious tends to be a sound design showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the premium-screen pitch feel compelling. Look for trailers that foreground fine-grain sound, deep-bass stingers, and dropouts that land in premium houses.

From winter to holidays

January is packed. 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 caps 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 thick, but the palette of tones ensures lanes for each, and the five-week structure allows a clean run for each if word of mouth stays strong.

Q1 into Q2 set up the summer. Scream 7 comes February 27 with brand warmth. In April, The Mummy restores a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once suited genre counterprogramming and now sustains big openers. The untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 leads 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 unleashes ferocious intensity. The counterprogramming logic is workable. 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 cycled through premium screens.

End of summer through fall leans series. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously landed. Resident Evil follows September 18, a pre-October slot that still ties into Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event occupies October 23 and will absorb cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely augmented by a mystery-driven teaser strategy and limited disclosures that prioritize concept over plot.

Prestige at year’s end. Werwulf on December 25 is a line in sand that genre can work in holiday corridor when packaged as filmmaker-first prestige. Focus has done this before, rolling out carefully, then capitalizing on critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to sustain conversation into January. If the film clicks critically, the studio can add screens in the first week of 2027 while benefiting from holiday season and card redemption.

Title snapshots

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

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A heartbroken man’s machine mate becomes something dangerously intimate. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal completed for an early-year bow. Positioning: techno-horror with feeling.

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 coalesces in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Filmed consecutively with the first film. Positioning: continuation of a revered infection cycle.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man journeys back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to meet a mutable reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished with U.S. theatrical locked. Positioning: tone-first 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 hard-edged boss push to survive on a uninhabited island as the power balance turns and paranoia builds. 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 kept quiet in official materials. Logline: A contemporary retelling that returns the monster to terror, anchored by Cronin’s material craft and creeping dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Wrapped. Positioning: monster revival with signature voice.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A closed-door haunting premise that routes the horror through a youngster’s volatile subjective lens. Rating: TBD. Production: post-ready. Positioning: studio-backed and name-above-title occult chiller.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers participating creatively. Logline: {A send-up revival that targets in-vogue horror tropes and true crime fervors. Rating: pending. Production: production booked for fall 2025. Positioning: broad summer counterprogrammer.

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 global twist in tone and setting. Rating: not yet rated. Production: filming in New Zealand. Positioning: R-rated franchise charge tuned for PLF.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be revealed later. Top cast: forthcoming. Logline: The Further reopens, with a another family entangled with past horrors. Rating: forthcoming. Production: set for summer production targeting late-summer opening. Positioning: dependable ghost-franchise slot that suits the brand.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: to be disclosed. Top cast: TBA. Logline: A clean reboot designed to recalibrate the franchise from the ground up, with an emphasis on survival-core horror over pyrotechnic spectacle. Rating: TBA. Production: dev phase with date secured. Positioning: fidelity-minded reboot with crossover prospects.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: TBA. Logline: purposely secretive. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: active. Positioning: director-branded event with teaser focus.

Werwulf (Focus Features, December 25, 2026)
Director: Robert Eggers. Top cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, with other regulars expected. Logline: A medieval werewolf story built on antique diction and primordial menace. Rating: TBD. Production: prepping toward a December 25 launch. Positioning: auteur prestige horror aimed at holiday corridor with crafts prospects.

Wolf Creek: Legacy (Cineverse, TBA 2026)
Director: Greg McLean. Top cast: John Jarratt expected to return as Mick Taylor. Logline: The Australian outback slasher returns, with a theatrical-first route ahead of platforming. Status: schedule in motion, fall targeted.

Why this year, why now

Three nuts-and-bolts forces define this lineup. First, production that bottlenecked or re-sequenced in 2024 needed slack in the schedule. Horror can backfill quickly because scripts often demand fewer locations, fewer large-scale digital sequences, and tighter schedules. Second, studios have become more methodical about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently exceeded straight-to-streaming landings. Third, viral talk converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will harvest repeatable beats from test screenings, orchestrated scare clips aligned to Thursday preview shows, and experiential pop-ups that power influencer posts. It is a repeatable playbook because it holds up.

Another factor is the scheduling math. The first stretch of 2026 sees fewer family and superhero logjams, making room for genre entries that can control a weekend or operate as the older-skew option. January is the prime example. Four different flavors of horror will trade weekends across five weekends, which gives each title a lane and limits cannibalization. Summer provides the other window. The send-up tracks alongside early family and action traffic, then the hard-R entry can use a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Money matters, ratings, and surprise hits

Budgets remain in the optimal band. Most of the films above will track under the $40–$50 million range, with many far below. That allows for deep PLF penetration 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 search for sleepers 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 harvest those lanes. January could easily deliver the first sleeper overperformer 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.

Audience journey through the year

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers cadence and diversity. January is a sampler, February delivers a legacy slasher, April brings back a Universal monster, May and June provide a one-two spectral pairing 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 keep chatter alive and occupancy strong without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can ratchet upward, using earlier releases to prep the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors value the spacing. Horror delivers reliable Thursday lifts, smart allocations, 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, soundscape, 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 adjust. But the spine of 2026 horror is intact. There is IP strength where it matters, distinct vision where it matters, and a calendar that shows studios track how and when scares land. The awards and festival pipeline into 2027 will come into focus once the fall festivals lock, and it would not be surprising to see at least one late-arriving specialty entry join the party. For now, the job is simple, deliver taut trailers, hold the mystery, and let the frights sell the seats.