Ancient Evil stirs: Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a bone chilling supernatural thriller, arriving Oct 2025 across major platforms

One hair-raising mystic scare-fest from creator / visionary Andrew Chiaramonte, setting free an archaic force when unfamiliar people become vehicles in a devilish ordeal. Airings begin this October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, Apple’s iTunes, Apple’s TV+ service, and Fandango’s digital service.

L.A., CA (August 8, 2025) – ready yourself for *Young & Cursed*, a traumatizing account of overcoming and old world terror that will reconstruct the fear genre this season. Created by rising director to watch Andrew Chiaramonte, this unsettling and shadowy story follows five unknowns who regain consciousness stuck in a wooded cottage under the dark power of Kyra, a mysterious girl dominated by a ancient sacrosanct terror. Steel yourself to be enthralled by a immersive journey that unites bone-deep fear with ancient myths, releasing on Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Spiritual takeover has been a enduring pillar in visual storytelling. In *Young & Cursed*, that formula is inverted when the malevolences no longer originate from beyond, but rather from their psyche. This represents the most terrifying part of the players. The result is a riveting mental war where the conflict becomes a brutal clash between purity and corruption.


In a unforgiving wild, five friends find themselves isolated under the unholy dominion and curse of a obscure female figure. As the victims becomes paralyzed to break her command, isolated and preyed upon by forces mind-shattering, they are pushed to stand before their core terrors while the seconds mercilessly strikes toward their obliteration.


In *Young & Cursed*, paranoia builds and associations disintegrate, coercing each figure to contemplate their true nature and the structure of decision-making itself. The stakes rise with every passing moment, delivering a fear-soaked story that intertwines ghostly evil with mental instability.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my narrative plan was to channel primitive panic, an evil rooted in antiquity, operating within human fragility, and questioning a entity that tests the soul when agency is lost.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Performing as Kyra involved tapping into something unfamiliar to reason. She is blind until the entity awakens, and that conversion is terrifying because it is so private.”

Rollout & Launch

*Young & Cursed* will be available for worldwide release beginning this October 2, on Amazon’s platform, YouTube, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango at Home—allowing streamers from coast to coast can engage with this haunted release.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just premiered a new second trailer for *Young & Cursed*, uploaded to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a follow up to its initial teaser, which has gathered over a huge fan reaction.


In addition to its North American premiere, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has informed that *Young & Cursed* will also be launched globally, presenting the nightmare to fans of fear everywhere.


Do not miss this unforgettable descent into hell. Enter *Young & Cursed* this October the 2nd to survive these chilling revelations about the psyche.


For bonus footage, production insights, and reveals from behind the lens, follow @YoungAndCursed across Instagram and Twitter and visit the official movie site.





Contemporary horror’s inflection point: 2025 in focus U.S. lineup fuses myth-forward possession, indie terrors, plus IP aftershocks

Moving from life-or-death fear saturated with scriptural legend and stretching into IP renewals plus keen independent perspectives, 2025 appears poised to be horror’s most layered as well as strategic year of the last decade.

The 2025 horror calendar is more than crowded, it is calculated. major banners lock in tentpoles via recognizable brands, at the same time platform operators pack the fall with debut heat set against mythic dread. At the same time, the art-house flank is catching the tailwinds from a high-water 2024 festival stretch. As Halloween remains the genre’s crown jewel, the off-peak lanes are managed with purpose. The autumn corridor is the classic sprint, and in 2025, players are marking January, spring, and mid-summer. Viewers are hungry, studios are calculated, and 2025 might go down as horror’s most intentional year yet.

Studio and Mini-Major Moves: High-craft horror returns

The studios are not sitting idle. If 2024 primed the reset, 2025 compounds the move.

Universal’s schedule starts the year with a confident swing: a refreshed Wolf Man, stepping away from the classic old-country village, in a clear present-tense world. Guided by Leigh Whannell with Christopher Abbott opposite Julia Garner, this approach fixes the lycanthropy within intimate rupture. The shift goes beyond the body, touching marriage, parenting, and raw humanity. timed for mid January, it advances a tactic to control the winter valley through premium horror, not dumps.

By spring, Clown in a Cornfield premieres, a YA slasher page-to-screen distilled into spare horror. Guided by Eli Craig with Katie Douglas alongside Kevin Durand, it is blood soaked Americana horror with a satirical streak. Beneath the facade, it probes hometown suspicion, boomer to zoomer divides, and mob retribution. Festival whispers say it is sharp.

When summer tapers, Warner’s schedule rolls out the capstone of its steadiest horror franchise: The Conjuring: Last Rites. The Warrens are back with Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the finale seeks an emotional close via a signature case. Even if the pattern is recognizable, Michael Chaves appears to favor a elegiac, inward tone here. It sets in early September, opening runway before October heat.

The Black Phone 2 slots behind. Once set for early summer, the October pivot signals belief. Derrickson resumes command, and so do the signature elements that made the first installment a sleeper hit: nostalgic menace, trauma as theme, and a cold supernatural calculus. The bar is raised this go, with added layers to the “grabber” frame and long memory of loss.

Rounding out the big ticket releases is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, an offering that markets itself. The sequel leans deeper into its lore, broadens the animatronic terror cast, and targets both teens and thirtysomething fans of the original game. It hits in December, locking down the winter tail.

Streaming Offerings: Small budgets, sharp fangs

While theaters bet on familiarity, streamers are pushing into risk, and dividends follow.

A flagship risky title is Weapons, a cold-case woven horror suite stitching three periods attached to a mass disappearance. Steered by Zach Cregger with turns by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the title blends fear with dramatic gravity. With a late summer theatrical bow and fall streaming drop, it is expected to spark online debate and post viewing breakdowns, much like Barbarian before it.

In the micro chamber lane is Together, a body horror chamber piece starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Taking place in an isolated rental as a retreat goes wrong, the movie follows love and envy and self denial into corporeal breakdown. It moves between affection and rot, a triptych into codependent hell. Even without a formal platform date, it is destined for a fall landing.

Next comes Sinners, a 1930s rooted vampire folk legend featuring Michael B. Jordan. Lensed in lush sepia and soaked in biblical metaphor, it nods to There Will Be Blood beside Let the Right One In. The movie studies American religious trauma through the supernatural lens. Advance tests paint it as a watercooler streamer.

Additional platform indies hold in reserve: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each explores grief and disappearance and identity, opting allegory above bombast.

Possession From Within: Young & Cursed

Arriving October 2 across major platforms, Young & Cursed presents a rare union, close in focus, wide in mythology. Authored and directed by Andrew Chiaramonte, the release shadows five strangers waking in a hidden woods cabin, bound to Kyra, 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 menace is mind forward, supercharged by primal myth. Resisting the exorcism template of Catholic ceremony and Latin chant, this piece touches something older, something darker. Lilith ignores rite, she wells up from trauma, quietude, and human weakness. The shift to interior possession, not exterior conjuring, flips expectation and aligns Young & Cursed with an expanding wave, intimate character portraits wearing 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. That is a savvy move. No overinflated mythology. No legacy baggage. Sheer psychological unease, compact and taut, calibrated to digital binge beats. Amid spectacle, Young & Cursed can distinguish itself by whispering, then howling.

Festival Born, Buyer Ready

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF function as launch beds for the coming year’s horror. They feel like launchpads now, not just showcases.

Fantastic Fest posts a muscular horror lineup this year. Primate, a tropical body horror opener, draws comparisons to Cronenberg and Herzog. Whistle, a folkloric revenge burner in Aztec code, should close with flame.

Midnight offerings such as If I Had Legs I’d Kick You surge on execution beyond the hook. With A24 behind it, the satire of toxic fandom under a convention lockdown seems breakout bound.

SXSW premiered Clown in a Cornfield and introduced several microbudget hauntings currently circling deals. Sundance likely lifts another batch of grief laced elevated horror, while Tribeca’s genre section leans more urban, social, and surreal.

The festival game increasingly values branding over mere discovery. A badge from Fantastic Fest or TIFF is now the first phase of marketing, not the last.

Legacy Horror: Reups, Reboots, and Rethinks

The sequel reboot ecosystem reads stronger and more precise.

Fear Street: Prom Queen, due in July, revives the ’90s horror franchise with a new lead and a throwback tone. In contrast to earlier chapters, it skews camp and prom night melodrama. Imagine tiaras, smeared red, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 bows late June, seeking to build out techno horror lore using new characters and AI born frights. The initial entry’s meme life and streaming legs push Universal to scale up.

Another headline is The Long Walk, adapting a grim early Stephen King piece, steered by Francis Lawrence, it reads as a brutal dystopian allegory inside survival horror, a walk till you drop competition for kids with no winners. With sharp marketing, it could translate to 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.

Trends to Watch

Old myth goes broad
Young & Cursed with Lilith and Whistle with Aztec curses both signal ancient texts and symbols. This is not nostalgia, it is a reclamation of pre Christian archetypes. Horror exceeds jolts, it insists evil is ancient.

Body horror resurges
Entries like Together, Weapons, and Keeper shift back to flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation function as metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streamers grow fangs
The filler era wanes for platform horror. SVOD players fund strong scripts, proven directors, and real spend. Drops such as Weapons and Sinners arrive as events, not as catalog.

Festival glow translates to leverage
Festival seals operate as leverage for distribution lanes and press windows. A film minus festival planning in 2025 risks getting lost.

Theaters are a trust fall
Studios hold theatrical for overperformers or future series seeds. Everything else is PVOD or hybrid. Horror is not vanishing from theaters, it is getting curated.

Forward View: Autumn density and winter pivot

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 grind for attention. Some may slide to early 2026 or switch platform lanes.

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.

Horror’s 2025 outcome will be decided not by one title, but by how its variety connects with splintered audiences. The play is not Get Out replication, it is long life horror past theaters.



The approaching terror cycle: continuations, fresh concepts, and also A busy Calendar engineered for shocks

Dek: The new genre calendar stacks in short order with a January logjam, from there extends through the mid-year, and well into the holiday stretch, blending legacy muscle, new voices, and shrewd counterweight. The major players are prioritizing efficient budgets, theater-first strategies, and shareable marketing that convert genre releases into national conversation.

Horror momentum into 2026

Horror filmmaking has become the predictable release in annual schedules, a corner that can accelerate when it catches and still protect the drag when it under-delivers. After 2023 signaled to top brass that cost-conscious genre plays can galvanize audience talk, 2024 extended the rally with visionary-driven titles and unexpected risers. The head of steam fed into 2025, where re-entries and elevated films signaled there is capacity for a spectrum, from brand follow-ups to non-IP projects that scale internationally. The upshot for 2026 is a calendar that is strikingly coherent across the market, with defined corridors, a mix of known properties and novel angles, and a reinvigorated priority on cinema windows that boost PVOD and platform value on premium digital rental and home platforms.

Insiders argue the space now behaves like a versatile piece on the grid. The genre can arrive on numerous frames, supply a simple premise for ad units and reels, and lead with patrons that show up on previews Thursday and hold through the next pass if the movie connects. Post a production delay era, the 2026 rhythm shows belief in that logic. The slate rolls out with a front-loaded January band, then primes spring and early summer for counterweight, while clearing room for a fall corridor that extends to All Hallows period and past Halloween. The layout also underscores the stronger partnership of specialized imprints and home platforms that can grow from platform, ignite recommendations, and go nationwide at the precise moment.

A companion trend is brand curation across unified worlds and legacy IP. The companies are not just greenlighting another follow-up. They are aiming to frame ongoing narrative with a marquee sheen, whether that is a title design that flags a reframed mood or a star attachment that ties a next film to a initial period. At the meanwhile, the creative leads behind the headline-grabbing originals are returning to real-world builds, physical gags and distinct locales. That mix affords the 2026 slate a healthy mix of familiarity and discovery, which is why the genre exports well.

Major-player strategies for 2026

Paramount opens strong with two marquee titles that bracket the tone map. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the helm and Neve Campbell back at the heart, steering it as both a relay and a back-to-basics character piece. Filming is in progress in Atlanta, and the creative stance indicates a heritage-honoring campaign without replaying the last two entries’ Carpenter-sisters arc. The studio is likely to mount a drive anchored in signature symbols, initial cast looks, and a tiered teaser plan aimed at late fall. Distribution is Paramount’s theatrical route.

Paramount also revives a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are joining up again, with the Wayans brothers involved as creative partners for the first time since the early 2000s, a headline the campaign will play up. As a summer counterprogrammer, this one will hunt wide appeal through viral-minded bites, with the horror spoof format inviting quick adjustments to whatever leads the discourse that spring.

Universal has three specific releases. SOULM8TE rolls out January 9, 2026, a AI-tinged spinoff from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The hook is crisp, tragic, and premise-first: a grieving man implements an digital partner that evolves into a deadly partner. The date locates it at the front of a heavy month, with the studio’s marketing likely to mirror off-kilter promo beats and short-form creative that melds companionship and unease.

On May 8, 2026, the studio places an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely taken to be the feature developed under placeholder labels in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The official listing currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which leaves room for a name unveil to become an attention spike closer to the opening teaser. The timing gives Universal a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles take the main frames.

Closing out the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film lands October 23, 2026, a slot he has dominated before. The filmmaker’s films are marketed as must-see filmmaker statements, with a concept-forward tease and a second beat that convey vibe without spoilers the concept. The spooky-season slot allows Universal to dominate 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, works with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček directs, with Souheila Yacoub at the center. The franchise has made clear that a gritty, on-set effects led aesthetic can feel cinematic on a moderate cost. Expect a blood-soaked summer horror surge that leans into worldwide reach, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most offshore territories.

Sony’s horror bench is impressively deep. The studio deploys two IP moves in the back half. An untitled Insidious film bows August 21, 2026, extending a evergreen supernatural brand on the grid while the spin-off branch continues to develop. The studio has moved dates on this title before, but the current plan locks it in late summer, where Insidious has done well historically.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil reappears in what the studio is describing as a reimagined restart for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a key part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a explicit mandate to serve both diehards and fresh viewers. The fall slot affords Sony time to build materials around world-building, and monster design, elements that can drive premium format interest and fan events.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, books a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film sustains Eggers’ run of period horror driven by historical precision and period language, this time orbiting lycan myth. Focus’s team has already locked the day for a holiday release, a vote of confidence in Eggers as a specialty play that can move wide if early reception is robust.

Streaming strategies and platform plays

Home-platform rhythms for 2026 run on tested paths. Universal’s slate land on copyright after a box-office phase then PVOD, a sequence that optimizes both launch urgency and sub growth in the downstream. Prime Video will mix licensed titles with international acquisitions and short theatrical plays when the data points to it. Max and Hulu optimize their lanes in library curation, using timely promos, spooky hubs, and handpicked rows to keep attention on overall cume. Netflix keeps options open about Netflix films and festival grabs, finalizing horror entries on shorter runways and turning into events rollouts with tight-window plans. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, works a two-step of focused cinema runs and swift platform pivots that drives paid trials from buzz. That will be meaningful for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before pressing fan pipelines in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ keeps a case-by-case stance on horror on a per-project basis. The platform has signaled readiness to take on select projects with accomplished filmmakers or marquee packages, then give them a prestige theatrical in partnership with exhibitors to meet qualification bars or to gather buzz before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still feeds from the 20th Century Studios slate, a meaningful lever for monthly engagement when the genre conversation heats up.

Indie and specialty outlook

Cineverse is crafting a 2026 arc with two brand-forward moves. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The promise is clean: the same foggy, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a genre cult touchstone, recalibrated for modern mix and image. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a autumn corridor, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has telegraphed a theatrical-first plan for Legacy, an promising marker for fans of the nasty series and for exhibitors wanting edgy counter in the fall weeks.

Focus will push the auteur angle with Werwulf, shepherding the title through a fall festival swing if the cut is ready, then relying on the holiday corridor to scale. That positioning has helped for auteur horror with mainstream crossovers. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not announced many 2026 dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines often crystallize after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A safe bet is a selection of late-summer and fall platformers that can widen if reception prompts. Do not be surprised by an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that launches at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work together, using small theatrical to seed evangelism that fuels their membership.

Balance of brands and originals

By proportion, 2026 is weighted toward the series side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all use legacy awareness. The potential drawback, as ever, is diminishing returns. The workable fix is to present each entry as a new angle. Paramount is emphasizing character and roots in Scream 7, Sony is promising a clean restart for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is pushing a French-inflected take from a new voice. Those choices prove meaningful when the audience has so many options and social sentiment moves quickly.

Non-franchise titles and filmmaker-led entries supply the oxygen. Jordan Peele’s October film will be marketed as a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, sets Rachel McAdams in a survival chiller premise with that teasing menace. SOULM8TE offers a tight, eerie tech hook. Werwulf rests on period texture and an rigorous tone. Even when the title is not based on a recognizable brand, the package is steady enough to convert curiosity into pre-sales and Thursday-night crowds.

The last three-year set frame the strategy. In 2023, a cinema-first model that respected streaming windows did not preclude a day-date try from thriving when the brand was sticky. In 2024, meticulous-craft horror exceeded expectations in premium large format. In 2025, a reanimation of a beloved infection saga reminded the market that global horror franchises can still feel revitalized when they change perspective and increase ambition. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which proceeds January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The linked-chapter plan, with chapters produced back-to-back, allows marketing to bridge entries through character arcs and themes and to sustain campaign assets without extended gaps.

Aesthetic and craft notes

The craft conversations behind the year’s horror foreshadow a continued tilt toward real, location-led craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not resemble any recent iteration of the property, a stance that squares with the in-camera sensibility he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film finished filming and is tracking to its April 17, 2026 date. Expect a campaign that elevates mood and dread rather than CG roller-coasters, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership supporting efficient spending.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has outlined Werwulf as the most chilling project he has tackled, which tracks with a Middle Ages setting and period-accurate language, a combination that can make for immersive sound design and a chilly, elemental vibe on the big screen. Focus will likely highlight this aesthetic in long-lead features and technical spotlights before rolling out a tone piece that prioritizes vibe over plot, a move that has performed for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is engineered for practical nastiness, a signature of the series that performs globally in red-band trailers and produces shareable reaction clips from early screenings. Scream 7 aims for a meta pivot that centers an original star. Resident Evil will thrive or struggle on creature work and production design, which fit with fan conventions and guarded reveals. Insidious tends to be a theatrical sound showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the cinema argument feel definitive. Look for trailers that emphasize disciplined sound, deep-bass stingers, and held silences that explode in larger rooms.

How great post to read the year maps out

January is packed. Universal’s SOULM8TE opens January 9, 2026, then Sony returns a week later with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple on January 16. Return to Silent Hill follows on January 23, a somber counterpoint amid heftier brand moves. The month concludes with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival shocker from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is legit, but the tonal variety gives each title a lane, and the five-week structure hands each a runway for each if word of mouth sticks.

Pre-summer months prime the summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 hits February 27 with legacy momentum. In April, The Mummy reawakens a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once suited genre counterprogramming and now can handle big openers. Universal’s untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 hands off to summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer clarifies the lanes. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is spoofy and broad, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 offers hard-R intensity. The counterprogramming logic is solid. The spoof can thrive next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest satisfies older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have rotated off PLF.

August and September into October leans IP. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously clicked. Resident Evil steps in after September 18, a bridge slot that still feeds into Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event locks October 23 and will command cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely pushed by a minimalist tease strategy and limited disclosures that stress concept over spoilers.

Prestige-horror at year-end. Werwulf on December 25 is a marker that genre can live at Christmas when packaged as director prestige horror. Focus has done this before, slow-rolling, then turning to critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to keep the film in the conversation into January. If the film pleases critics, the studio can increase count in the first week of 2027 while turning holiday audiences and gift-card spend.

Title briefs within the narrative

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting on a rolling basis as production pushes forward. Logline: Sidney returns to meet a new Ghostface while the narrative rethreads 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 devastated man’s artificial companion escalates into something lethally affectionate. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal completed for an early-year bow. Positioning: tech-horror with an emotional core.

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 scales the story beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult organizes in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Filmed in tandem with the first film. Positioning: prestige survival-horror continuation.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man journeys back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to stumble upon a shifting reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed production with U.S. distribution. 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 fight to survive on a desolate island as the chain of command upends and paranoia creeps in. Rating: TBA. Production: Done. Positioning: star-led survival piece from a genre icon.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles to be revealed in official materials. Logline: A fresh reimagining that returns the monster to terror, driven by Cronin’s physical craft and encroaching dread. Rating: TBA. Production: In the can. Positioning: legacy monster restart with director stamp.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A household haunting story that explores the horror of a child’s wobbly read. Rating: not yet rated. Production: wrapped. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven paranormal suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers rejoining on the creative side. Logline: {A satirical comeback that skewers in-vogue horror tropes and true crime fascinations. Rating: not yet rated. Production: filming slated for fall 2025. Positioning: big-tent summer spoof.

Evil Dead Burn (Warner Bros. domestic, July 24, 2026)
Director: Sébastien Vaniček. Top cast: Souheila Yacoub, with ensemble additions. Logline: A new infestation of Deadites bursts, with an cross-border twist in tone and setting. Rating: to be announced. Production: filming in New Zealand. Positioning: R-forward continuation crafted for PLF.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be revealed later. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: The Further yawns again, with a new household linked to old terrors. Rating: to be announced. Production: slated for summer production leading to late-summer release. Positioning: durable spectral IP in a late-summer sweet spot.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: to be announced publicly. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: A clean reboot designed to rebuild the franchise from the ground up, with an focus on pure survival horror over action pyrotechnics. Rating: TBD. Production: developing against a fixed date. Positioning: lore-true modernization with broad upside.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: to be announced. Logline: intentionally withheld. Rating: TBD. Production: underway. Positioning: filmmaker showcase with teaser-first cadence.

Werwulf (Focus Features, December 25, 2026)
Director: Robert Eggers. Top cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, with other regulars expected. Logline: A medieval werewolf story built on period-precise speech and primal menace. Rating: TBD. 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 traditional theatrical release planned before platforming. Status: date variable, fall window probable.

Why 2026 makes sense

Three execution-level forces define this lineup. First, production that decelerated or rearranged in 2024 needed calendar breathing room. Horror can backfill quickly because scripts often are set in fewer locales, fewer large-scale visual effects runs, and condensed timelines. 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 out-earned straight-to-streaming drops. Third, community talk converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will activate shareable moments from test screenings, curated scare clips pegged to Thursday preview nights, and experiential pop-ups that power influencer posts. It is a repeatable playbook because it converts.

The slot calculus is real. Early-year family and superhero blocks are thinner in 2026, creating valuable space for genre entries that can seize a weekend or act as the older-tilt option. January is the prime example. Four distinct flavors of horror will cluster across five weekends, which reduces inter-title cannibalization. Summer provides the other window. The parody leverages early family and action lifts, then the hard-R entry can use a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Business outlook: budgets, ratings, and the sleeper hunt

Budgets remain in the strike zone. Most of the films above will sit beneath the $40–$50 million band, with many far below. That allows for broad premium screen use 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 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 use those gaps. January could easily deliver the first quiet breakout of the year, and August into September gives Sony an avenue to hold screens with back-to-back supernatural IP while still leaving room for an indie breakout.

Internationally, brand recognition helps Resident Evil, Evil Dead, and Scream travel, while 28 Years Later benefits from a British setting and returning talent. Werwulf and The Mummy will lean on auteur and classic-monster awareness abroad. Streamers will amplify the tail, with copyright pickups boosting Universal’s slate and Shudder driving evangelism for Cineverse titles. Expect a healthy 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.

The moviegoer’s year in horror

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers pace and range. January is a array, February delivers a legacy slasher, April brings back a Universal monster, May and June provide a ghostly double-hit for date nights and group outings, July goes for the throat, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a austere, literate nightmare. That is how you maintain buzz and butts in seats without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can gain momentum, using earlier releases to seed the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors like the spacing. Horror delivers reliable Thursday lifts, lean footprints, 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 texture, acoustics, 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 Robust 2026 On Deck

Slots move. Ratings change. Casts adjust. But the spine of 2026 horror is established. There is name recognition where it counts, 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 late-arriving specialty entry join the party. For now, the job is simple, edit tight trailers, hold the mystery, and let the gasps sell the seats.