Age-old Evil Surfaces within Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a pulse pounding shocker, arriving Oct 2025 on top digital platforms

A spine-tingling paranormal nightmare movie from author / creative lead Andrew Chiaramonte, setting free an long-buried fear when foreigners become proxies in a diabolical experiment. Available on October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime, the YouTube platform, Google’s digital store, Apple iTunes, Apple TV Plus, and Fandango streaming.

Los Angeles, CA (August 8, 2025) – gear up for *Young & Cursed*, a frightful depiction of endurance and age-old darkness that will revamp the fear genre this cool-weather season. Produced by rising creative mind Andrew Chiaramonte, this claustrophobic and gothic thriller follows five lost souls who suddenly rise stuck in a cut-off hideaway under the malevolent sway of Kyra, a possessed female overtaken by a prehistoric holy text monster. Be warned to be enthralled by a immersive adventure that unites primitive horror with biblical origins, debuting on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on the second of October, 2025.


Spiritual takeover has been a time-honored element in horror films. In *Young & Cursed*, that tradition is reimagined when the beings no longer form from elsewhere, but rather from deep inside. This depicts the most sinister side of these individuals. The result is a bone-chilling mental war where the tension becomes a relentless confrontation between moral forces.


In a bleak landscape, five friends find themselves stuck under the dark dominion and infestation of a shadowy spirit. As the ensemble becomes unable to resist her dominion, stranded and pursued by presences beyond comprehension, they are required to deal with their deepest fears while the hours unforgivingly ticks toward their death.


In *Young & Cursed*, dread builds and friendships erode, forcing each person to reconsider their being and the notion of independent thought itself. The danger climb with every fleeting time, delivering a chilling narrative that intertwines spiritual fright with emotional fragility.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my goal was to channel primitive panic, an threat beyond time, operating within mental cracks, and testing a power that dismantles free will when volition is erased.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Portraying Kyra asked for exploring something unfamiliar to reason. She is clueless until the invasion happens, and that flip is shocking because it is so visceral.”

Streaming Info

*Young & Cursed* will be released for on-demand beginning October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime, Google’s video hub, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home—making sure fans anywhere can experience this horror showcase.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just unveiled a new trailer update for *Young & Cursed*, live to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a next step to its original promo, which has been viewed over 100K plays.


In addition to its domestic release, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has confirmed that *Young & Cursed* will also be delivered to global audiences, delivering the story to viewers around the world.


Witness this heart-stopping voyage through terror. Enter *Young & Cursed* this horrific release to face these dark realities about the soul.


For film updates, filmmaker commentary, and alerts from Chiaramonte Films, follow @YACFilm across Facebook and TikTok and visit the movie’s homepage.





Modern horror’s major pivot: 2025 for genre fans U.S. Slate blends biblical-possession ideas, microbudget gut-punches, paired with legacy-brand quakes

Kicking off with survival horror inspired by old testament echoes and stretching into canon extensions in concert with keen independent perspectives, 2025 is coalescing into the most stratified along with tactically planned year for the modern era.

The 2025 horror calendar is more than crowded, it is calculated. studio powerhouses bookend the months with known properties, at the same time OTT services crowd the fall with new voices alongside archetypal fear. Meanwhile, the micro-to-mid budget ranks is surfing the backdraft of a banner 2024 fest year. Given Halloween is the centerpiece, the year beyond October is carefully apportioned. That late Q3 to mid Q4 lane is the crucible, though in this cycle, rollouts stretch into January, spring, and mid-summer. Viewers are hungry, studios are precise, which means 2025 may end up the most intentional cycle yet.

Studio and Mini-Major Moves: Premium genre swings back

Studios are not on the sidelines. If 2024 laid the groundwork for a horror reinvention, 2025 accelerates.

Universal’s schedule sets the tone with an audacious swing: a reconceived Wolf Man, eschewing a mist-shrouded old-world European town, in a modern-day environment. Shepherded by Leigh Whannell and toplined by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this iteration anchors the lycanthropy in a domestic breakdown. The curse reads as bodily and relational, about spouses, parents, and people. dated for mid January, it joins a broader aim to occupy winter’s quiet with elevated titles, not leftovers.

The spring frame introduces Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher adaptation reworked as a minimalist shock machine. Steered by Eli Craig with 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.

When summer fades, the WB camp unveils the final movement inside its trusty horror universe: The Conjuring: Last Rites. With Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson back as Ed and Lorraine Warren, the piece hints at a heartfelt wrap as it treats a notorious case. Even if the pattern is recognizable, Michael Chaves is rumored to steer toward a somber, reflective register for the close. It lands in early September, carving air ahead of October’s stack.

The Black Phone 2 slots behind. Planned for early summer, the October reposition reads assertive. Scott Derrickson returns, and the core ingredients of the sleeper original are back: vintage toned fear, trauma as theme, with ghostly inner logic. This time, the stakes are raised, through a thicker read on the “grabber” legend and generational ache.

Completing the calendar is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, an offering that markets itself. The second outing goes deeper into backstory, adds to the animatronic nightmare bench, bridging teens and legacy players. It drops in December, holding the cold season’s end.

Streaming Offerings: Low budgets, big teeth

While theaters bet on familiarity, streamers are taking risks, and it is paying off.

One standout ambitious title is Weapons, a multi timeline cold-case dread piece that weaves together three timelines connected by a mass disappearance. Directed by Zach Cregger and featuring Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the film fuses dread with dramatic heft. Posting late summer theatrically then fall streaming, it is expected to spark online debate and post viewing breakdowns, much like Barbarian before it.

On the minimalist axis arrives Together, a close quarters body horror study led by Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Located in a secluded rental as a trip collapses, 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 virtually assured for fall.

Another headline entry is Sinners, a Depression era vampire folk fable fronted by Michael B. Jordan. Rendered in sepia depth and layered biblical metaphor, it recalls There Will Be Blood spliced to Let the Right One In. The project looks at American religious trauma under a supernatural allegory. Dry runs call it a headline grabbing streamer.

A cluster of streaming indies sits ready: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each taps grief, vanishing, and identity, treating horror as metaphor more than spectacle.

Possession With Depth: Young & Cursed

Going live October 2 on major services, Young & Cursed reads as a rare blend, small in footprint yet mythic in spread. Authored and directed by Andrew Chiaramonte, the piece tracks five strangers awakening in a remote wilds cabin, under Kyra’s sway, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. As the hours blacken, her hold tightens, an invasive current triggering fears, fissures, and regret.

The chill is psyche led, anchored in primal myth. Avoiding the usual exorcism path with Catholic ritual and Latin spell, this film taps something older, something darker. Lilith is not summoned by priests, she rises from trauma, muteness, and human fault lines. Turning possession inward syncs Young & Cursed to the trend of character led dramas draped in genre.

Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home set the film as Halloween counterprogramming versus sequel waves and monster returns. It is an astute call. No swollen lore. No continuity burden. Simply psychological fear, lean and taut, built for the binge then recover rhythm. In the noise, Young & Cursed could cut through by staying hushed, then erupting.

Festival Badges as Fuel

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF operate as greenhouses for horror six to twelve months down the line. They feel like launchpads now, not just showcases.

Fantastic Fest has a thick horror program this time. Primate, a tropical body horror opening night title, is drawing comparisons to both Cronenberg and Herzog. Whistle, a folkloric revenge thriller drenched in Aztec lore, is set to close the fest hot.

At midnight, entries like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You buzz for how they play, not only their names. Backed by A24, it skewers toxic fandom amid a convention lockdown, poised to break big.

SXSW premiered Clown in a Cornfield and surfaced several microbudget hauntings that circle deals. Sundance tends to present grief infused elevated horror and likely will, with Tribeca’s genre menu reading urban, social, and surreal.

In 2025, festival strategy is less about discovery, more about branding. A Fantastic Fest or TIFF badge is phase one marketing, not a coda.

Series Horror: Sequels, Reboots, Reinventions

Legacy entries present stronger and more purposeful this time.

Fear Street: Prom Queen, dated July, revives the 90s franchise with a new lead and throwback tone. In contrast to earlier chapters, it skews camp and prom night melodrama. Visualize tiaras, fake gore, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 returns in late June, and aims to widen its techno horror mythology with new characters and AI generated terrors. The original’s social and streaming breakout emboldened Universal to double down.

The Long Walk adapts an early, scathing Stephen King work, helmed by Francis Lawrence, it is a brutal dystopian allegory wrapped in survival horror, a kids walking until they die competition with no real winners. If sold right, it could sit as The Hunger Games for adult horror fans.

Additionally, reboots and sequels, among them Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda, populate the months, with timing held for strategy or acquisitions.

Dials to Watch

Mythic dread mainstreams
From Lilith in Young & Cursed across to Aztec curses in Whistle, slates mine ancient texts and symbols. Rather than nostalgia, it reclaims pre Christian archetypes. Horror pushes past jump scares, it points to ancient evil.

Body Horror Makes a Comeback
Pieces such as Together, Weapons, and Keeper bring it back to flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation encode heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Originals on platforms bite harder
Churn filler is losing ground on platforms. Platforms show up with budgets for scripts, directors, and campaigns. Pieces like Weapons and Sinners receive event status, not feed stock.

Festival momentum becomes leverage
Badges are functional, they buy theatrical access, prime placement, and cycles. Without a festival strategy in 2025, a horror film risks vanishing.

Theatrical becomes a trust fall
The big screen goes to those expected to beat comps or build series. The remainder goes PVOD or hybrid. Horror remains on big screens, selectively curated.

Outlook: Fall stack and winter swing card

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 such as Bone Lake and Keeper will tussle for space. 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. 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.

Horror’s 2025 outcome will be decided not by one title, but by how its variety connects with splintered audiences. The assignment is not to chase the next Get Out, it is to build horror that endures beyond box office.



The next Horror lineup: returning titles, new stories, And A loaded Calendar engineered for jolts

Dek The current terror calendar clusters right away with a January cluster, then runs through June and July, and deep into the late-year period, balancing franchise firepower, creative pitches, and shrewd calendar placement. Studio marketers and platforms are doubling down on responsible budgets, box-office-first windows, and short-form initiatives that frame genre releases into culture-wide discussion.

Horror momentum into 2026

The horror sector has turned into the dependable play in annual schedules, a corner that can lift when it performs and still protect the risk when it underperforms. After 2023 demonstrated to leaders that cost-conscious fright engines can shape audience talk, the following year continued the surge with signature-voice projects and stealth successes. The tailwind pushed into 2025, where re-entries and awards-minded projects signaled there is space for diverse approaches, from franchise continuations to original features that export nicely. The end result for 2026 is a grid that appears tightly organized across the industry, with planned clusters, a pairing of marquee IP and new concepts, and a re-energized stance on big-screen windows that fuel later windows on premium rental and OTT platforms.

Insiders argue the category now acts as a schedule utility on the schedule. The genre can premiere on almost any weekend, supply a tight logline for creative and reels, and exceed norms with crowds that respond on Thursday nights and hold through the week two if the film fires. Post a strike-impacted pipeline, the 2026 rhythm indicates assurance in that dynamic. The calendar begins with a crowded January window, then exploits spring through early summer for balance, while saving space for a late-year stretch that extends to Halloween and into the next week. The calendar also highlights the continuing integration of boutique distributors and streamers that can platform a title, build word of mouth, and scale up at the precise moment.

A further high-level trend is IP cultivation across interlocking continuities and legacy IP. Studio teams are not just mounting another next film. They are moving to present story carry-over with a must-see charge, whether that is a title treatment that broadcasts a refreshed voice or a casting pivot that reconnects a upcoming film to a foundational era. At the simultaneously, the auteurs behind the headline-grabbing originals are leaning into tactile craft, real effects and place-driven backdrops. That combination delivers 2026 a smart balance of trust and newness, which is how the films export.

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

Paramount defines the early cadence with two big-ticket titles that cover both tonal poles. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the director’s chair and Neve Campbell back at the focus, angling it as both a relay and a classic-mode character-driven entry. The film is shooting in Atlanta, and the artistic posture telegraphs a throwback-friendly mode without retreading the last two entries’ Carpenter sisters arc. Watch for a push stacked with brand visuals, early character teases, and a tease cadence arriving in late fall. Distribution is Paramount theatrical.

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 reforming, with the Wayans brothers involved creatively for the first time since the early 2000s, a headline the campaign will emphasize. As a summer alternative, this one will generate wide buzz through social-friendly gags, with the horror spoof format allowing quick shifts to whatever leads the social talk that spring.

Universal has three unique bets. SOULM8TE rolls out January 9, 2026, a connected offshoot from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The logline is efficient, heartbroken, and commercial: a grieving man brings home an intelligent companion that grows into a harmful mate. The date puts it at the front of a packed window, with Universal’s marketing likely to replay odd public stunts and bite-size content that mixes devotion and fear.

On May 8, 2026, the studio books an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely rumored as the feature developed under early labels in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The public calendar currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which preserves a official title to become an fan moment closer to the initial tease. The timing creates a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles take the main frames.

Finishing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film plants on October 23, 2026, a slot he has defined before. His entries are marketed as event films, with a minimalist tease and a later trailer push that establish tone without plot reveals the concept. The late-month date allows Universal to take pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then activate 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 is at the helm of, with Souheila Yacoub in the lead. The franchise has shown that a gnarly, hands-on effects strategy can feel cinematic on a controlled budget. Position this as a blood-soaked summer horror hit that pushes worldwide reach, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most international markets.

Sony’s horror bench is impressively deep. The studio sets two marquee IP entries in the back half. An untitled Insidious film arrives August 21, 2026, extending a bankable supernatural brand in the market while the spin-off branch builds quietly. The studio has changed the date on this title before, but the current plan sets it in late summer, where the brand has been strong.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil restarts in what the studio is selling as a clean-slate approach for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a primary part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a explicit mandate to serve both fans and casuals. The fall slot lets Sony to build promo materials around environmental design, and monster design, elements that can stoke premium format interest and fan-forward engagement.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, sets a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film builds on Eggers’ run of period horror shaped by obsessive craft and textual fidelity, this time focused on werewolf legend. The company has already reserved the holiday for a holiday release, a strong signal in Eggers as a specialty play that can broaden if early reception is supportive.

Streamers and platform exclusives

Streaming playbooks in 2026 run on established tracks. Universal’s genre slate shift to copyright after a cinema and premium rental phase, a pacing that amplifies both first-week urgency and sign-up spikes in the late-window. Prime Video continues to mix acquired titles with world buys and small theatrical windows when the data recommends it. Max and Hulu accent their strengths in library engagement, using featured rows, seasonal hubs, and curated strips to lengthen the tail on 2026 genre cume. Netflix retains agility about own-slate titles and festival buys, dating horror entries with shorter lead times and coalescing around rollouts with fast-turn plans. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, leverages a staged of focused cinema runs and swift platform pivots that converts buzz to sign-ups. That will play for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before working community channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ continues to weigh horror on a curated basis. The platform has signaled readiness to pick up select projects with acclaimed directors or marquee packages, then give them a small theatrical footprint in partnership with exhibitors to meet Oscar thresholds or to spark social proof before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still benefits from the 20th Century Studios slate, a critical input for monthly engagement when the genre conversation intensifies.

Indie and specialty outlook

Cineverse is curating a 2026 track with two label plays. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The offer is no-nonsense: the same atmospheric, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a favorite of fans, modernized for modern audio-visual craft. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a September to November window, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. Cineverse has signaled a theatrical rollout for the title, an encouraging sign for fans of the savage series and for exhibitors seeking R-rated counterprogramming in the autumn weeks.

Focus will lean into the auteur lane with Werwulf, guiding the film through fall festivals if the cut is ready, then relying on the year-end corridor to broaden. That positioning has served the company well for arthouse horror with mainstream crossovers. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not finalized many 2026 slots in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines tend to converge after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A credible outlook is a selection of late-summer and fall platformers that can grow if reception warrants. Anticipate an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that premieres at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work as partners, using targeted theatrical to fuel evangelism that fuels their subscriber base.

Legacy titles versus originals

By skew, the 2026 slate tips toward the brand side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all use marquee value. The challenge, as ever, is staleness. The near-term solution is to market each entry as a tone reset. Paramount is emphasizing relationship and legacy in Scream 7, Sony is hinting at a ground-zero restart for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is maximizing a French sensibility from a fresh helmer. Those choices make a difference when the audience has so many options and social sentiment moves quickly.

Non-franchise titles and director-driven titles add air. Jordan Peele’s October film will be presented as a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, features Rachel McAdams in a survival shocker premise with Raimi’s playful menace. SOULM8TE offers a tight, eerie tech hook. Werwulf emphasizes period craft and an hard-edged tone. Even when the title is not based on a property, the assembly is steady enough to turn curiosity into pre-sales and first-night audiences.

Rolling three-year comps help explain the playbook. In 2023, a cinema-first model that held distribution windows did not stop a day-date move from succeeding when the brand was big. In 2024, filmmaker-craft-led horror surged in PLF auditoriums. In 2025, a rebirth of a beloved infection saga reminded the market that global horror franchises can still feel novel when they alter lens and raise the stakes. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which unfolds 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 relationships and themes and to continue assets in field without pause points.

Craft and creative trends

The filmmaking conversations behind 2026 horror signal a continued turn toward in-camera, locale-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not follow any recent iteration of the property, a stance that complements the in-camera sensibility he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film completed principal and is aimed at its April 17, 2026 date. Plan for a push that emphasizes aura and dread rather than VFX blitz, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership supporting cost management.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has talked about Werwulf as the most chilling project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval setting and archaic dialect, a combination that can make for immersive sound design and a raw, elemental vibe on the big screen. Focus will likely warm the market to this aesthetic in deep-dive features and craft spotlights before rolling out a first look that plays with mood rather than plot, a move that has played for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is set up for tactile gnarliness, a signature of the series that plays abroad in red-band trailers and creates shareable screening reactions from early screenings. Scream 7 promises a meta recalibration that brings back the core lead. Resident Evil will succeed or falter on monster aesthetics and world-building, which match well with con floor moments and staggered reveals. Insidious tends to be a audio craft showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the cinema value feel key. Look for trailers that elevate pinpoint sound design, deep-bass stingers, and quiet voids that sing on PLF.

Month-by-month map

January is heavy. 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 tonal palate cleanser amid macro-brand pushes. The month closes with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a crash-survival thriller from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is formidable, but the range of tones creates a lane for each, and the five-week structure offers clean runway for each if word of mouth stays strong.

February through May stage summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 opens February 27 with heritage buzz. In April, New Line’s The Mummy reimagines a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once played to genre counterprogramming and now hosts big openers. Universal’s untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 feeds summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer heightens the contrast. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is comedic and broad, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 supplies blood-heavy intensity. The counterprogramming logic is workable. The spoof can hit next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest rewards older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have moved through premium slots.

Late Q3 into Q4 leans franchise. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously done well. Resident Evil arrives after September 18, a transitional slot that still connects to Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film claims October 23 and will soak up cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely paired with a slow-reveal plan and limited advance reveals that trade in concept over detail.

Holiday corridor prestige. Werwulf on December 25 is a signal that genre can compete at Christmas when packaged as director prestige horror. Focus has done this before, selective rollout, then using critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to stay top of mind into January. If the film pleases critics, the studio can add screens in the first week of 2027 while building on holiday impulse and gift-card burn.

One-sentence dossiers

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 meet a new this website Ghostface while the narrative rethreads the original film’s DNA. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: roots-first with a today edge.

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

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 expands the scope beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult surges in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Shot sequentially with the first film. Positioning: revived prestige horror saga’s second leg.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man finds his way back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to meet a altering reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked and U.S. theatrical booked. 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 difficult boss try to survive on a lonely island as the control balance flips and suspicion grows. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished. 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 confidential in official materials. Logline: A modern reimagining that returns the monster to terror, shaped by Cronin’s on-set craft and accumulating dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished. Positioning: monster revival with signature voice.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A in-home haunting chiller that channels the fear through a little one’s volatile point of view. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: locked. Positioning: studio-built and marquee-led eerie 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 spoof revival that riffs on in-vogue horror tropes and true-crime crazes. Rating: rating forthcoming. Production: shoot planned 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 surges, with an globe-spanning twist in tone and setting. Rating: TBD. Production: on location in New Zealand. Positioning: hard-R franchise continuation built for premium large format.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be announced in marketing. Top cast: TBD. Logline: The Further reopens, with a fresh family tethered to older hauntings. Rating: undetermined. Production: planning summer shoot for late-summer date. Positioning: stalwart franchise piece in a friendly frame.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: TBD publicly. Top cast: forthcoming. Logline: A new start designed to reconstruct the franchise from the ground up, with an tilt toward survival-first horror over action spectacle. Rating: to be announced. Production: advancing in development with date locked. Positioning: game-faithful modern reboot with crossover potential.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: pending. Logline: tightly guarded. Rating: TBA. Production: in progress. Positioning: director-fronted event with teaser rhythm.

Werwulf (Focus Features, December 25, 2026)
Director: Robert Eggers. Top cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, More about the author with other regulars expected. Logline: A medieval werewolf story built on era-accurate language and primal menace. Rating: not yet rated. Production: in active prep with holiday date set. Positioning: specialty holiday horror poised for crafts recognition.

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: date shifting, fall likely.

Why the 2026 timing works

Three practical forces organize this lineup. First, production that downshifted or rearranged in 2024 demanded space on the calendar. Horror can fill those gaps quickly because scripts often are set in fewer locales, fewer large-scale CGI sequences, and shorter schedules. Second, studios have become more measured about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently outperformed straight-to-streaming debuts. Third, online chatter converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will amplify 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. Early 2026 is less crowded with family and superhero corridors, making room for genre entries that can capture a weekend or position as the older-lean choice. January is the prime example. Four different flavors of horror will compete across five weekends, which allows chatter to build title by title. 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 comfort zone. Most of the films above will sit beneath the $40–$50 million band, with many far below. That allows for aggressive PLF bookings without needing superhero-level volume to break even. The most likely R ratings include Get More Info 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 stealth-hit search continues in Q1, where lower and mid-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 stealth overachiever of the year, and August into September gives Sony an avenue to hold screens with back-to-back supernatural IP while still leaving room for an indie breakout.

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

How the viewing year plays

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers rhythm and variety. January is a smorgasbord, February delivers a legacy slasher, April reawakens a Universal monster, May and June provide a two-beat supernatural run 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 chilly, 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, right-sized allotments, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can win premium screens, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing detail, sonics, and camera work 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

Calendars slide. Ratings change. Casts shuffle. But the spine of 2026 horror is sturdy. There is brand gravity where needed, filmmaker vision 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, produce clean trailers, keep secrets, and let the gasps sell the seats.