Mythic Terror Ascends in Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a nightmare fueled supernatural thriller, rolling out October 2025 across global platforms

An hair-raising supernatural horror tale from scriptwriter / director Andrew Chiaramonte, setting free an forgotten malevolence when drifters become conduits in a devilish game. Airings begin October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime, Google’s YouTube, Google’s Play platform, iTunes, Apple TV Plus, and Fandango streaming.

Hollywood, CA (August 8, 2025) – be warned for *Young & Cursed*, a harrowing narrative of continuance and old world terror that will redefine horror this autumn. Brought to life by rising master of suspense Andrew Chiaramonte, this pressure-packed and eerie motion picture follows five figures who emerge ensnared in a off-grid structure under the malevolent sway of Kyra, a central character inhabited by a ancient ancient fiend. Brace yourself to be captivated by a theatrical journey that melds raw fear with spiritual backstory, landing on Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Hellish influence has been a legendary pillar in visual storytelling. In *Young & Cursed*, that idea is subverted when the spirits no longer appear from an outside force, but rather inside them. This depicts the deepest version of the protagonists. The result is a intense inner struggle where the suspense becomes a constant confrontation between moral forces.


In a isolated natural abyss, five youths find themselves confined under the fiendish control and curse of a obscure being. As the cast becomes defenseless to combat her manipulation, disconnected and attacked by evils unnamable, they are thrust to battle their inner demons while the clock without pause winds toward their death.


In *Young & Cursed*, distrust amplifies and teams collapse, forcing each individual to contemplate their self and the philosophy of volition itself. The danger surge with every minute, delivering a scare-fueled ride that intertwines unearthly horror with mental instability.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my focus was to tap into deep fear, an spirit from prehistory, embedding itself in emotional fractures, and highlighting a evil that erodes the self when robbed of choice.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Becoming Kyra called for internalizing something beyond human emotion. She is in denial until the control shifts, and that flip is emotionally raw because it is so deep.”

Distribution & Access

*Young & Cursed* will be released for digital release beginning this October 2, on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango on-demand—giving horror lovers anywhere can experience this demonic journey.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just shared a new visual teaser for *Young & Cursed*, uploaded to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a follow up to its initial teaser, which has collected over a hundred thousand impressions.


In addition to its domestic release, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has publicized that *Young & Cursed* will also be taken worldwide, taking the terror to lovers of terror across nations.


Tune in for this mind-warping voyage through terror. Stream *Young & Cursed* this horrific release to survive these evil-rooted truths about human nature.


For featurettes, behind-the-scenes content, and insider scoops from behind the lens, follow @YoungAndCursedMovie across Instagram and Twitter and visit our spooky domain.





The horror genre’s watershed moment: the year 2025 U.S. Slate melds ancient-possession motifs, festival-born jolts, stacked beside returning-series thunder

Spanning pressure-cooker survival tales grounded in near-Eastern lore as well as series comebacks together with focused festival visions, 2025 is coalescing into the genre’s most multifaceted together with tactically planned year in ten years.

The 2025 horror calendar is not just busy, it is strategic. the big studios are anchoring the year via recognizable brands, in parallel premium streamers prime the fall with emerging auteurs paired with ancestral chills. On another front, independent banners is buoyed by the carry from a top-tier 2024 festival cycle. As Halloween remains the genre’s crown jewel, the year beyond October is carefully apportioned. The September, October gauntlet has become standard, but this year, teams are capturing January, spring, and mid-summer. The audience is primed, studios are targeted, as a result 2025 could stand as the most orchestrated year.

Studio and Mini-Major Strategies: Premium genre swings back

The upper tier is moving decisively. If 2024 laid the groundwork for a horror reinvention, 2025 accelerates.

Universal’s schedule opens the year with a risk-forward move: a reimagined Wolf Man, avoiding the standard nineteenth century European backdrop, in a clear present-tense world. Under director Leigh Whannell and toplined by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this telling braids lycanthropy with a family meltdown. The curse reads as bodily and relational, about spouses, parents, and people. set for mid January, it is part of the new strategy to own the box office’s winter dead zone with prestige horror instead of dumping ground thrillers.

Spring ushers in Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher novel refit as minimal menace. Under Eli Craig including Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it reads as gore kissed small town horror with wry bite. Under the guise, it interrogates township panic, generational breaks, and mob rule. Initial fest notes point to real bite.

Toward summer’s end, Warner’s slate bows the concluding entry of its steadiest horror franchise: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson reprise Ed and Lorraine Warren, the movie targets a resonant finish through an infamous case. Though the outline is tried, Michael Chaves is rumored to steer toward a somber, reflective register for the close. It sits in early September, securing daylight before October saturation.

The Black Phone 2 slots behind. Set early then moved to October, a confidence tell. Derrickson re boards, and the defining traits of the first sleeper return: nostalgic menace, trauma as narrative engine, with spooky supernatural reasoning. This run ups the stakes, by digging further into the “grabber” mythos and grief’s generational echo.

Rounding out the big ticket releases is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a release that travels on brand alone. The continuation widens the legend, stretches the animatronic parade, bridging teens and legacy players. It opens in December, buttoning the final window.

Streaming Firsts: Lean budgets, heavy bite

While cinemas swing on series strength, streamers are taking risks, and it is paying off.

A top daring platform piece is Weapons, a cold case horror anthology braiding three timelines tied to a mass vanishing. From Zach Cregger with turns by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the work combines fright with dramatic torque. Opening theatrically late summer ahead of fall SVOD, it looks primed to seed post watch analysis akin to Barbarian.

On the quieter side is Together, a sealed box body horror arc fronted by Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Situated in an out of the way rental during a failed escape, the movie follows love and envy and self denial into corporeal breakdown. It reads tender, repulsive, and intensely uneasy, a three act churn into codependent hell. While no platform has formally placed a date, it is a lock for fall streaming.

On the docket is Sinners, a 1930s rooted vampire folk legend featuring Michael B. Jordan. Rendered in sepia depth and layered biblical metaphor, it mirrors There Will Be Blood meeting Let the Right One In. The work dissects American religious trauma using supernatural allegory. Dry runs call it a headline grabbing streamer.

Other streamer plays queue softly: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each taps grief, vanishing, and identity, treating horror as metaphor more than spectacle.

Possession Runs Deep: Young & Cursed

Going live October 2 on major services, Young & Cursed reads as a rare blend, small in footprint yet mythic in spread. Written and directed by Andrew Chiaramonte, the narrative rides with five strangers waking in a secluded woodland cabin, held by Kyra, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. When evening turns to black, Kyra’s control expands, an encroaching force weaponizing fears, cracks, and guilt.

The dread here runs psychological, charged by primal myth. Resisting the exorcism template of Catholic ceremony and Latin chant, this story returns to something older, something darker. Lilith arrives not by rite, but through trauma, silence, and human fragility. An inward possession, not an outward spell, turns the trope and sets Young & Cursed inside a widening trend, intimate character work housed in genre.

Across Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home, the film stands as Halloween counterprogramming to sequel glut and monster revivals. It is an astute call. No bloated mythology. No continuity burden. Straight psychological chill, boxed and tight, aimed at the binge, pause, and pulse habits of streamers. Among spectacle, Young & Cursed might win by restraint, then release.

Festival Origins, Market Outcomes

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF still seed what horror becomes in six to twelve months. This cycle, they are launchpads first and showcases second.

This year, Fantastic Fest confirms a strong horror slate. Primate, a tropical body horror opener, draws comparisons to Cronenberg and Herzog. Whistle, a folkloric revenge thriller steeped in Aztec lore, is expected to close the fest with fire.

The midnight bench, including If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, hums from execution, not mere titling. That film, an A24 backed satire of toxic fandom inside a horror convention lockdown, looks poised to break out.

SXSW staged Clown in a Cornfield and lined up microbudget haunts for talks. Sundance is on track for grief tuned elevated horror, and Tribeca’s genre set plays urban, social, and surreal.

The festival game increasingly values branding over mere discovery. Those badges act as campaign openers, not end caps.

Legacy IP: Next Chapters, New Starts, New Shapes

Legacy IP arrives sturdier and more intentional this cycle.

Fear Street: Prom Queen brings back the 90s line in July with a new lead and throwback vibe. Rather than prior modes, it goes camp and prom night melodrama. Cue tiaras, phony blood, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 opens late June, set to enlarge techno horror mythology with fresh faces and AI bred menaces. The original’s social and streaming breakout emboldened Universal to double down.

Next comes The Long Walk, adapting one of Stephen King’s earliest, most harrowing works, helmed by Francis Lawrence, it shows as a grim dystopian parable set in survival horror, a youth walk ending only in death. With the right pitch, it could function as The Hunger Games for grown horror audiences.

Other reboots and sequels, Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda, are scattered across the calendar, most waiting for strategic windows or last minute acquisitions.

Dials to Watch

Mythic currents go mainstream
Lilith in Young & Cursed and Aztec curses in Whistle point to ancient texts and symbols. This trend avoids nostalgia, reclaiming pre Christian archetypes. Horror is not just scaring us, it is reminding us that evil is older than we are.

Body horror resurges
Work like Together, Weapons, and Keeper revisit the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation, these are the new metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streamer originals stiffen their spine
The era of filler horror on streamers is ending. Platforms show up with budgets for scripts, directors, and campaigns. Titles such as Weapons and Sinners are treated as events, not mere content.

Festival glow translates to leverage
Festival status acts as leverage for exhibition, placement, and publicity. In 2025, a horror film lacking festival plan may fade.

Theatrical becomes a trust fall
Theater slots go to likely overachievers or franchise starters. Other titles pivot PVOD or hybrid. Horror remains on big screens, selectively curated.

The Road Ahead: Fall stack and winter swing card

A cluster of Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons in September and October equals saturation. Indies including Bone Lake and Keeper will wrestle for room. Anticipate possible date slides into early 2026 or platform moves.

With Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 in December, a stealth streamer drop might pop near year end. Since big films lean mythic, a final monster or exorcism play can claim space.

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



The forthcoming 2026 Horror season: next chapters, new stories, plus A hectic Calendar tailored for jolts

Dek: The upcoming scare slate crams in short order with a January crush, following that rolls through summer corridors, and well into the December corridor, marrying marquee clout, fresh ideas, and shrewd counterweight. Studios and streamers are committing to smart costs, box-office-first windows, and social-driven marketing that position the slate’s entries into national conversation.

Horror’s position as 2026 begins

The horror sector has established itself as the sturdy move in annual schedules, a genre that can grow when it hits and still hedge the exposure when it doesn’t. After the 2023 year demonstrated to studio brass that disciplined-budget chillers can lead cultural conversation, 2024 carried the beat with buzzy auteur projects and slow-burn breakouts. The carry fed into 2025, where re-entries and awards-minded projects made clear there is capacity for varied styles, from brand follow-ups to filmmaker-driven originals that play globally. The aggregate for the 2026 slate is a programming that appears tightly organized across the major shops, with mapped-out bands, a combination of brand names and untested plays, and a recommitted emphasis on box-office windows that boost PVOD and platform value on premium digital and SVOD.

Buyers contend the genre now operates like a plug-and-play option on the programming map. Horror can roll out on most weekends, supply a clean hook for marketing and reels, and lead with patrons that lean in on early shows and keep coming through the next weekend if the feature fires. Post a work stoppage lag, the 2026 pattern exhibits trust in that logic. The slate starts with a weighty January corridor, then taps spring and early summer for contrast, while carving room for a late-year stretch that carries into the fright window and into post-Halloween. The layout also includes the greater integration of specialized labels and streaming partners that can platform and widen, grow buzz, and go nationwide at the inflection point.

A further high-level trend is brand strategy across connected story worlds and veteran brands. Studios are not just rolling another sequel. They are aiming to frame story carry-over with a premium feel, whether that is a title design that broadcasts a new tone or a ensemble decision that binds a upcoming film to a early run. At the same time, the directors behind the high-profile originals are celebrating material texture, real effects and concrete locations. That combination hands 2026 a robust balance of assurance and discovery, which is how the films export.

Major-player strategies for 2026

Paramount leads early with two marquee bets 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 forefront, positioning the film as both a baton pass and a foundation-forward character-focused installment. The film is shooting in Atlanta, and the narrative stance hints at a heritage-honoring treatment without replaying the last two entries’ Carpenter-sisters arc. Anticipate a campaign rooted in brand visuals, first images of characters, and a trailer cadence hitting late fall. Distribution is big-screen via Paramount.

Paramount also brings back a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are paired again, with the Wayans brothers involved creatively for the first time since the early 2000s, a linchpin the campaign will lean on. As a off-tentpole summer play, this one will generate wide appeal through remixable clips, with the horror spoof format allowing quick switches to whatever leads the conversation that spring.

Universal has three specific projects. SOULM8TE hits January 9, 2026, a universe branch from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The conceit is crisp, tragic, and commercial: a grieving man onboards an virtual partner that becomes a deadly partner. The date puts it at the front of a thick month, with marketing at Universal likely to recreate eerie street stunts and short-cut promos that hybridizes romance and terror.

On May 8, 2026, the studio books an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely read as the feature developed under working titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The listed schedule currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which allows a official title to become an headline beat closer to the debut look. The timing gives Universal a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles own different weekends.

Supplementing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film takes October 23, 2026, a slot he has excelled in before. Peele projects are positioned as director events, with a minimalist tease and a follow-up trailer set that set the tone without spoiling the concept. The pre-Halloween slot lets the studio to own 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, joins with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček steers, with Souheila Yacoub at the center. The franchise has long shown that a tactile, hands-on effects aesthetic can feel premium on a middle budget. Position this as a blood-soaked summer horror rush that embraces global rollout, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most global territories.

Sony’s horror bench is particularly deep. The studio launches two marquee IP entries in the back half. An untitled Insidious film rolls out August 21, 2026, preserving a proven supernatural brand active while the spin-off branch gestates. Sony has reshuffled on this title before, but the current plan aims it in late summer, where the brand has done well historically.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil comes back in what the studio is positioning as a reimagined restart 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 directive to serve both franchise faithful and casuals. The fall slot hands Sony window to build marketing units around universe detail, and monster aesthetics, elements that can stoke deluxe auditorium demand and fandom activation.

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 maintains Eggers’ run of period horror built on immersive craft and historical speech, this time set against lycan legends. The imprint has already set the date for a holiday release, a bold stance in the auteur as a specialty play that can platform and widen if early reception is warm.

Platform lanes and windowing

Streaming playbooks in 2026 run on well-known grooves. The studio’s horror films transition to copyright after a theatrical-first then PVOD phase, a cadence that expands both opening-weekend urgency and sign-up spikes in the back half. Prime Video blends catalogue additions with global pickups and targeted theatrical runs when the data warrants it. Max and Hulu optimize their lanes in library curation, using in-app campaigns, holiday hubs, and featured rows to sustain interest on the horror cume. Netflix stays nimble about internal projects and festival acquisitions, finalizing horror entries on shorter runways and turning into events arrivals with condensed plans. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, capitalizes on a one-two of targeted theatrical exposure and fast windowing that turns chatter to conversion. That will prove important for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before pressing direct-to-fan channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ continues to weigh horror on a bespoke basis. The platform has exhibited willingness to board select projects with this contact form accomplished filmmakers or name-led packages, then give them a qualifying theatrical in partnership with exhibitors to meet award rules or to show bona fides before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still benefits from the 20th Century Studios slate, a important element for ongoing engagement when the genre conversation ramps.

Art-house genre prospects

Cineverse is engineering a 2026 slate with two franchise steps. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The offer is tight: the same haunting, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a cult classic, refined for modern audio-visual craft. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a autumn frame, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. Cineverse has suggested a cinema-first plan for the title, an promising marker for fans of the savage series and for exhibitors hungry for R material in the fall weeks.

Focus will favor the auteur track with Werwulf, shepherding the title through festival season if the cut is ready, then using the Christmas window to open out. That positioning has served the company well for arthouse horror with crossover potential. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not firmed many 2026 dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines often crystallize after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A fair assumption is a selection of late-summer and fall platformers that can grow if reception supports. Plan on an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that plays Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work as a pair, using limited runs to prime evangelism that fuels their subscriber base.

Known brands versus new stories

By weight, 2026 skews toward the brand side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all harness legacy awareness. The potential drawback, as ever, is diminishing returns. The go-to fix is to package each entry as a recalibration. Paramount is leading with character and heritage in Scream 7, Sony is positioning a fresh ground-up build for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is pushing a continental coloration from a fresh helmer. Those choices move the needle when the audience has so many options and social sentiment whipsaws.

Originals and director-first projects add oxygen. Jordan Peele’s October film will be marketed as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, sets Rachel McAdams in a crash-survival premise with the director’s playful dread. SOULM8TE offers a focused, eerie tech hook. Werwulf anchors in period detail and an hard-edged tone. Even when the title is not based on a property, the cast-creatives package is grounded enough to spark pre-sales and preview-night crowds.

Recent comps clarify the method. In 2023, a cinema-first model that kept clean windows did not hamper a day-date try from winning when the brand was potent. In 2024, filmmaker-craft-led horror hit big in premium screens. In 2025, a resurgence of a beloved infection saga showed the market that global horror franchises can still feel new when they shift POV and widen scale. 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 linked-chapter plan, with chapters filmed in sequence, allows marketing to link the films through character and theme and to leave creative active without pause points.

Aesthetic and craft notes

The behind-the-scenes chatter behind the year’s horror indicate a continued bias toward real, location-led craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not repeat any recent iteration of the property, a stance that matches the physical-effects bias he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film closed principal and is set for its April 17, 2026 date. Watch for a drive that emphasizes tone and tension rather than whiz-bang spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership allowing cost precision.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has spoken of Werwulf as the most forbidding project he has tackled, which tracks with a period English setting and era-correct language, a combination that can make for enveloping sound design and a cold, elemental mood on the big screen. Focus will likely pre-sell this aesthetic in long-lead press and craft coverage before rolling out a atmospheric tease that centers atmosphere over story, a move that has performed for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is designed for goopy mayhem, a signature of the series that sells overseas in red-band trailers and drives shareable screening reactions from early screenings. Scream 7 targets a meta recalibration that centers its original star. Resident Evil will succeed or falter on creature design and production design, which work nicely for con floor moments and controlled asset drops. Insidious tends to be a audio craft showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the in-theater case feel compelling. Look for trailers that underscore pinpoint sound design, deep-bass stingers, and hush beats that play in premium auditoriums.

Release calendar overview

January is full. 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 moody palate cleanser amid heftier brand moves. The month ends with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival-horror from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is thick, but the tonal variety affords lanes to each, and the five-week structure allows a clean run for each if word of mouth carries.

Early-year through spring seed summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 comes February 27 with heritage buzz. In April, The Mummy re-centers a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once was aligned with genre counterprogramming and now nurtures big openers. Universal’s untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 steps into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer splits the lanes. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is lighter-toned and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 unleashes gnarly intensity. The counterprogramming logic is solid. The spoof can deliver next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest delights older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have rotated off PLF.

Late-season stretch leans brand. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives the studio a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously performed. Resident Evil slides in after September 18, a transitional slot that still steps into Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event holds October 23 and will seize cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely backed by a peekaboo tease plan and limited advance reveals that lean on concept not plot.

Holiday corridor prestige. Werwulf on December 25 is a flag plant that genre can win the holiday when packaged as filmmaker-driven prestige horror. Focus has done this before, slow-rolling, then pressing critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to hold in chatter into January. If the film pleases critics, the studio can broaden in the first week of 2027 while carrying holiday turnout and gift-card burn.

Title snapshots

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting TBA in phases as production rolls. Logline: Sidney returns to oppose a new Ghostface while the narrative relinks 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 loss-struck man’s intelligent companion becomes something seductively lethal. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal is complete for an early-year bow. Positioning: AI chiller with a human heart.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Sony, January 16, 2026)
Director: Nia DaCosta. Writer: Alex Garland. Top cast: Cillian Murphy, Jack O’Connell, and additional ensemble tied to a new antagonist faction. Logline: The second chapter in a trilogy expands the scope beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult ascends in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Filmed in tandem with the first film. Positioning: prestige zombie continuation.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man comes back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to meet a shimmering reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished and theatrical on deck. Positioning: gothic-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 battle to survive on a far-flung island as the control dynamic inverts and paranoia builds. Rating: TBA. Production: In the can. Positioning: star-forward survival chiller 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 contemporary retelling that returns the monster to dread, built on Cronin’s material craft and encroaching dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished. 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 closed-door haunting narrative that explores the fear of a child’s fragile point of view. Rating: forthcoming. Production: completed. Positioning: studio-built and A-list fronted eerie suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers involved creatively again. Logline: {A spoof revival that lampoons of-the-moment horror beats and true-crime obsessions. Rating: pending. Production: filming slated 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 erupts, with an worldly twist in tone and setting. Rating: to be announced. Production: production in New Zealand. Positioning: uncompromising R installment meant for big rooms.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: TBA in marketing materials. Top cast: TBD. Logline: The Further reopens, with a different family bound to past horrors. Rating: pending. Production: targeting a summer lensing window for late-summer release. Positioning: bankable spirit-world IP in a proven lane.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: to be announced publicly. Top cast: TBD. Logline: A new start designed to reconstitute the franchise from the ground up, with an preference for survival-driven horror over action pyrotechnics. Rating: pending. Production: development underway with firm date. Positioning: game-rooted reset with broad potential.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: forthcoming. Logline: closely held. Rating: to be announced. Production: in progress. Positioning: filmmaker event, teaser-driven.

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 time-true diction and primal menace. Rating: TBD. Production: actively prepping for a holiday slot. Positioning: high-craft holiday horror with awards-season tail.

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 cinema-first path before platforming. Status: date variable, fall window probable.

Why the calendar favors 2026

Three practical forces structure this lineup. First, production that hiccuped or migrated in 2024 needed calendar breathing room. Horror can plug those gaps fast because scripts often rely on fewer locations, fewer large-scale CGI runs, and shorter schedules. Second, studios have become more strict about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently outpaced straight-to-streaming landings. Third, viral talk converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will work reaction-worthy moments from test screenings, metered scare clips paired with Thursday night previews, and experiential pop-ups that power influencer posts. It is a repeatable playbook because it performs.

A fourth element is the programming calculus. Family and superhero corridors are not as densely packed in early 2026, making room for genre entries that can capture a weekend or operate as the older-skew option. January is the prime example. Four distinct flavors of horror will compete across five weekends, which allows chatter to build title by title. Summer provides the other window. The lampoon benefits from family and action buoyancy, then the hard-R entry can leverage a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Financials, ratings, and sleeper angles

Budgets remain in the strike zone. Most of the films above will land under the $40–$50 million mark, with many far below. That allows for heavy premium placement 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 sleeper-hit hunt continues in Q1, where value-budget genre can own weekends with minimal competition, and again in late summer, where horror often becomes the conversation when tentpoles tire. The 2026 slate is set up to exploit those windows. January could easily deliver the first dark-horse hit 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. Look for a strong PVOD phase overall, since horror fans have shown a willingness to pay for convenience after an opening weekend, especially when word of mouth is strong.

From viewer POV, the year

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers pace and range. January is a banquet, February delivers a legacy slasher, April restores a Universal monster, May and June provide a two-hit supernatural combo 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 icy, literate nightmare. That is how you fuel talk and ticketing without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can gain momentum, using earlier releases to trailhead the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors favor the spacing. Horror delivers preview-night pops, efficient placements, 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 grain, sound, and visual design 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.

2026, Lined Up To Scare

Release dates move. Ratings change. Casts shift. But the spine of 2026 horror is firm. There is name recognition where it counts, auteur intent where it matters, and a calendar that shows studios know when and how to deliver scares. The awards and festival pipeline into 2027 will come into focus once the fall festivals lock, and it would not be surprising to see at least one closing-window arthouse pickup join the party. For now, the job is simple, craft precise trailers, keep the curtain closed, and let the shudders sell the seats.