Primeval Evil stirs: Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a chilling horror thriller, debuting October 2025 across top streamers

This unnerving spiritual scare-fest from narrative craftsman / film architect Andrew Chiaramonte, evoking an archaic dread when unfamiliar people become pawns in a devilish struggle. Going live October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime Video, the YouTube platform, Google Play Movies & TV, Apple iTunes, Apple’s TV+ service, and Fandango on-demand.

L.A., CA (August 8, 2025) – get set for *Young & Cursed*, a disturbing portrayal of survival and ancient evil that will revolutionize genre cinema this October. Created by rising director to watch Andrew Chiaramonte, this tense and claustrophobic motion picture follows five individuals who regain consciousness isolated in a far-off dwelling under the oppressive control of Kyra, a mysterious girl haunted by a prehistoric Old Testament spirit. Prepare to be hooked by a narrative venture that harmonizes soul-chilling terror with mythic lore, dropping on Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Demonic control has been a time-honored motif in horror films. In *Young & Cursed*, that framework is reimagined when the spirits no longer descend externally, but rather through their own souls. This echoes the shadowy version of all involved. The result is a enthralling internal warfare where the emotions becomes a ongoing push-pull between divinity and wickedness.


In a bleak landscape, five teens find themselves marooned under the evil control and infestation of a enigmatic figure. As the characters becomes unresisting to evade her manipulation, left alone and stalked by spirits indescribable, they are cornered to battle their darkest emotions while the hours relentlessly moves toward their end.


In *Young & Cursed*, suspicion swells and teams erode, coercing each member to question their values and the structure of free will itself. The pressure surge with every tick, delivering a chilling narrative that intertwines paranormal dread with human fragility.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my purpose was to extract ancestral fear, an spirit born of forgotten ages, filtering through mental cracks, and examining a being that forces self-examination when autonomy is removed.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Embodying Kyra asked for exploring something darker than pain. She is unaware until the haunting manifests, and that turn is bone-chilling because it is so intimate.”

Viewing Options

*Young & Cursed* will be distributed for streaming beginning from October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango at Home—guaranteeing viewers everywhere can face this terrifying film.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just rolled out a new visual teaser for *Young & Cursed*, online to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a companion to its initial teaser, which has been viewed over strong viewer count.


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


Do not miss this unforgettable journey into fear. Face *Young & Cursed* this day of reckoning to explore these dark realities about the soul.


For behind-the-scenes access, filmmaker commentary, and alerts from the creators, follow @YACFilm across Instagram and Twitter and visit youngandcursed.com.





Horror’s tipping point: 2025 in focus U.S. calendar melds archetypal-possession themes, indie terrors, stacked beside Franchise Rumbles

Kicking off with survivor-centric dread saturated with mythic scripture and onward to returning series in concert with sharp indie viewpoints, 2025 is tracking to be the most variegated in tandem with tactically planned year in years.

The 2025 horror calendar is not just busy, it is strategic. major banners stabilize the year with franchise anchors, even as platform operators front-load the fall with unboxed visions in concert with ancient terrors. Across the art-house lane, horror’s indie wing is carried on the kinetic energy from a top-tier 2024 festival cycle. Because Halloween continues as the prize window, the other windows are mapped with care. That late Q3 to mid Q4 lane is the crucible, however this time, horror is also claiming January, spring, and even mid-summer. Viewers are primed, studios are calculated, so 2025 could register as the most purpose-built year yet.

Studio Roadmap and Mini-Major Pulse: High-craft horror returns

Studios are not on the sidelines. If 2024 planted the seeds, 2025 accelerates.

Universal starts the year with a big gambit: a reimagined Wolf Man, stepping away from the classic old-country village, in a modern-day environment. Shepherded by Leigh Whannell and starring Christopher Abbott with Julia Garner, this pass grounds the lycanthropy in household collapse. The shift goes beyond the body, touching marriage, parenting, and raw humanity. landing in mid January, it backs a move to shape winter into a prestige corridor, not a discard corridor.

Spring brings Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher conversion presented as stripped terror. Under Eli Craig featuring turns by Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it comes as grit laced American nightmare with sardonic edge. Behind the grin, it unpacks local hysteria, generational chasms, and crowd justice. First wave buzz indicates sharp teeth.

When summer fades, Warner’s slate rolls out the capstone within its surest horror brand: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Ed and Lorraine Warren return with Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the installment aims for closure as it frames a famed case. Despite a known recipe, Chaves is guiding toward a solemn, meditative finish. It posts in early September, creating cushion before October load.

After that, The Black Phone 2. First targeted at early summer, the move into October reads bullish. Derrickson re engages, and the DNA that clicked last time remains: old school creep, trauma as theme, plus otherworld rules that chill. The bar is raised this go, by digging further into the “grabber” mythos and grief’s generational echo.

Completing the marquee stack is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a film that does not need traditional marketing to sell tickets. The new chapter enriches the lore, broadens the animatronic terror cast, and targets both teens and thirtysomething fans of the original game. It drops in December, securing the winter cap.

Streamer Exclusives: Tight funds, wide impact

As theatrical skews franchise first, platforms are wagering boldly, and results are there.

A flagship risky title is Weapons, a cold-case linked horror tapestry lacing three time frames tied to a mass vanishing. Helmed by Zach Cregger fronted by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the title blends fear with dramatic gravity. Premiering theatrically in late summer before a 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 close quarters body horror study including Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Set at a remote rental during a getaway that sours, the arc observes love and green eyed envy and self harm turned somatic. It comes off amorous, macabre, and bracingly uneasy, a three act loop into codependent hell. Even without a formal platform date, it is virtually assured for fall.

Another headline entry is Sinners, a 1930s period vampire folk story featuring Michael B. Jordan. Visualized in sepia palette with scriptural metaphor, it recalls There Will Be Blood spliced to Let the Right One In. The movie studies American religious trauma through the supernatural lens. Early test screens tag it as a top talked streaming debut.

A cluster of streaming indies sits ready: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each threads grief and absence and identity, mapping allegory to dread.

Possession With Depth: Young & Cursed

Bowing October 2 on major streamers, Young & Cursed operates as a rare duality, minimal in staging, maximal in myth. Penned and steered by Andrew Chiaramonte, the work follows five strangers rousing in a remote timber cabin, under Kyra’s control, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. With nightfall, Kyra’s power deepens, an invasive force mining their most secret fears, frailties, and regrets.

The chill is psyche led, anchored in primal myth. Instead of another exorcism piece centered on Catholic rites or Latin incantations, this one bores into something older, something darker. Lilith bypasses ritual, she awakens from trauma, repression, and human fragility. That possession comes from within, not without, flips the trope and aligns Young & Cursed with a growing trend in horror, intimate character studies that dress themselves in the skin of 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 looks like sharp programming. No overinflated mythology. No series drag. Just psychological dread, contained and tense, tailored to the binge then breathe cadence of digital horror fans. In a spectacle stack, Young & Cursed could be the hush before the shriek.

Festival Badges as Fuel

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF continue to incubate the next six to twelve months of horror. In 2025, they behave more like launchpads than showcases.

This year’s Fantastic Fest has already confirmed a strong horror lineup. Primate kicks off with tropical body horror and gets Cronenberg Herzog cross talk. Whistle, an Aztec lore revenge tale, aims to close with burn.

Midnight fare like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You rides on craft as well as title. The A24 fueled satire of toxic fandom in a con lockdown has breakout energy.

SXSW staged Clown in a Cornfield and lined up microbudget haunts for talks. Sundance is expected to unspool a familiar crop of grief steeped elevated horror, while Tribeca’s genre yard leans urban, social, and surreal.

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

Long Running Lines: Returns, Restarts, and Fresh Angles

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. Unlike prior entries, this one leans into camp and prom night melodrama. Expect tiaras, corn syrup blood, and VHS panic.

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

Another headline is The Long Walk, adapting a grim early Stephen King piece, Directed by Francis Lawrence, it functions as a harsh dystopian fable encased in survival horror, a children’s march that ends in death. With the right pitch, it could function as The Hunger Games for grown horror audiences.

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

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

Streaming exclusives sharpen their bite
Throwaway platform horror is on the way out. Platforms are putting money into scripts, directors, and promotion. Releases like Weapons and Sinners are elevated to events, not just content.

Laurels convert to leverage
Festival ribbons become currency for better windows and top shelves. Forgo a festival map in 2025 and obscurity beckons.

Big screen is a trust fall
The cinema lane is kept for probable outperformers or branchers. Everything else is PVOD or hybrid. Horror continues in theaters, in narrower curated lanes.

Projection: Autumn density and winter pivot

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

December anchors on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, yet a surprise streamer drop could appear in the final weeks. Since big films lean mythic, a final monster or exorcism play can claim space.

The key is connecting variety to fragmentation, not betting on one piece. The aim is not another Get Out chase, it is durable horror beyond gross.



The upcoming fright calendar year ahead: Sequels, original films, and also A hectic Calendar calibrated for nightmares

Dek The fresh genre season crams in short order with a January crush, from there stretches through June and July, and running into the late-year period, mixing IP strength, novel approaches, and savvy counterplay. Distributors with platforms are leaning into cost discipline, exclusive theatrical windows first, and platform-native promos that transform these pictures into all-audience topics.

The landscape of horror in 2026

The genre has become the sturdy option in release plans, a pillar that can spike when it lands and still limit the floor when it doesn’t. After 2023 signaled to leaders that responsibly budgeted pictures can lead social chatter, the following year continued the surge with high-profile filmmaker pieces and under-the-radar smashes. The run flowed into 2025, where reawakened brands and prestige plays demonstrated there is demand for a spectrum, from series extensions to non-IP projects that carry overseas. The end result for 2026 is a calendar that reads highly synchronized across the industry, with strategic blocks, a combination of household franchises and new packages, and a re-energized commitment on box-office windows that feed downstream value on PVOD and home streaming.

Distribution heads claim the horror lane now functions as a fill-in ace on the programming map. The genre can arrive on virtually any date, yield a quick sell for marketing and social clips, and lead with viewers that respond on opening previews and keep coming through the next pass if the movie connects. On the heels of a strike-driven backlog, the 2026 layout exhibits certainty in that playbook. The year kicks off with a busy January corridor, then exploits spring through early summer for counterprogramming, while making space for a September to October window that flows toward the Halloween corridor and beyond. The schedule also reflects the deeper integration of arthouse labels and OTT outlets that can nurture a platform play, ignite recommendations, and grow at the proper time.

A notable top-line trend is brand strategy across brand ecosystems and heritage properties. The studios are not just releasing another return. They are looking to package lore continuity with a specialness, whether that is a brandmark that flags a re-angled tone or a lead change that binds a incoming chapter to a original cycle. At the same time, the filmmakers behind the marquee originals are doubling down on physical effects work, practical gags and grounded locations. That mix hands the 2026 slate a vital pairing of comfort and freshness, which is how the films export.

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

Paramount establishes early momentum with two big-ticket releases that live at opposite ends of the tone spectrum. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with original architect Kevin Williamson in the helm and Neve Campbell back at the lead, marketing it as both a succession moment and a rootsy character piece. Production is active in Atlanta, and the directional approach telegraphs a nostalgia-forward mode without looping the last two entries’ sisters thread. Look for a marketing run driven by iconic art, early character teases, and a promo sequence landing toward late fall. Distribution is theatrical through Paramount.

Paramount also resurrects a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are back together, with the Wayans brothers involved as creative partners for the first time since the early 2000s, a headline the campaign will lean on. As a summer contrast play, this one will seek wide buzz through share-ready beats, with the horror spoof format making room for quick pivots to whatever dominates trend lines that spring.

Universal has three separate entries. SOULM8TE rolls out January 9, 2026, a digital-age offshoot from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The premise is efficient, loss-driven, and premise-first: a grieving man onboards an algorithmic mate that becomes a dangerous lover. The date puts it at the front of a busy month, with Universal’s marketing likely to mirror creepy live activations and bite-size content that interlaces love and creep.

On May 8, 2026, the studio sets an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely taken to be the feature developed under early labels in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The posted calendar currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which allows a official title to become an teaser payoff closer to the teaser. The timing secures a slot in early May while larger tentpoles crowd different corridors.

Supplementing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film secures October 23, 2026, a slot he has commanded before. Peele’s work are branded as director events, with a opaque teaser and a later creative that set the tone without spoiling the concept. The late-October frame gives the studio room to lead pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then leverage 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 directs, with Souheila Yacoub anchoring. The franchise has established that a gritty, practical-first strategy can feel high-value on a tight budget. Look for a red-band summer horror surge that maximizes global rollout, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most global territories.

Sony’s horror bench is robust. The studio places two marquee IP entries in navigate to this website the back half. An untitled Insidious film opens August 21, 2026, maintaining a proven supernatural brand front and center while the spin-off branch progresses. The studio has reslotted on this title before, but the current plan anchors it in late summer, where Insidious has been strong.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil reboots in what Sony is presenting as a from-the-ground-up reboot for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a vital part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a clearer mandate to serve both loyalists and casuals. The fall slot offers Sony space to build assets around lore, and creature work, elements that can lift premium booking interest and cosplayer momentum.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, plants a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film carries forward Eggers’ run of period horror grounded in minute detail and language, this time focused on werewolf legend. The specialty arm has already claimed the date for a holiday release, a promissory note in the auteur as a specialty play that can platform and widen if early reception is glowing.

Where the platforms fit in

Windowing plans in 2026 run on known playbooks. Universal’s horror titles head to copyright after a big-screen and PVOD window, a ordering that fortifies both launch urgency and platform bumps in the after-window. Prime Video balances outside acquisitions with worldwide entries and select theatrical runs when the data warrants it. Max and Hulu lean on their strengths in archive usage, using featured rows, seasonal hubs, and programmed rows to sustain interest on overall cume. Netflix stays nimble about Netflix originals and festival snaps, slotting horror entries near launch and eventizing rollouts with tight-window plans. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, deploys a staged of precision releases and accelerated platforming that monetizes buzz via trials. That will be critical for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before turning to genre pipelines in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ adopts case-by-case posture for horror on a per-project basis. The platform has been willing to buy select projects with recognized filmmakers or name-led packages, then give them a qualifying theatrical in partnership with exhibitors to meet qualification bars or to spark social proof before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still leverages the 20th Century Studios slate, a notable driver for platform stickiness when the genre conversation intensifies.

Art-house genre prospects

Cineverse is mapping 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 setup is simple: the same moody, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a cult favorite, reimagined for modern sound and cinematography. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a autumn slot, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. Cineverse has positioned a traditional theatrical plan for the title, an healthy marker for fans of the gritty series and for exhibitors looking for R-rated counterplay in the late stretch.

Focus will cultivate the auteur lane with Werwulf, curating the rollout through festivals in the fall if the cut is ready, then working the December frame to move out. That positioning has proved effective for elevated genre with mainstream crossovers. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not finalized many 2026 slots in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines generally solidify after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A plausible forecast is a selection of late-summer and fall platformers that can surge if reception merits. Watch for an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that runs at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work in tandem, using small theatrical to stir evangelism that fuels their audience.

Franchises versus originals

By volume, the 2026 slate tips toward the IP side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all leverage household recognition. The potential drawback, as ever, is brand erosion. The preferred tactic is to present each entry as a renewed feel. Paramount is emphasizing relationship and legacy in Scream 7, Sony is hinting at a new foundation for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is driving a Francophone tone from a rising filmmaker. Those choices have impact when the audience has so many options and social sentiment changes rapidly.

Non-franchise titles and filmmaker-first projects keep the lungs full. Jordan Peele’s October film will be framed 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 the director’s playful dread. SOULM8TE offers a lean, creepy tech hook. Werwulf rests on period texture and an unyielding tone. Even when the title is not based on legacy IP, the package is known enough to turn curiosity into pre-sales and advance-audience nights.

Rolling three-year comps make sense of the model. In 2023, a exclusive window model that held distribution windows did not hamper a dual release from performing when the brand was trusted. In 2024, meticulous-craft horror hit big in big-format auditoriums. In 2025, a rebirth of a beloved infection saga proved again that global horror franchises can still feel fresh when they angle differently and elevate scope. 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 back-to-back plan, with chapters lensed back-to-back, allows marketing to cross-link entries through cast and motif and to continue assets in field without long breaks.

Aesthetic and craft notes

The craft conversations behind the upcoming entries signal a continued lean toward in-camera, locale-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not track with any recent iteration of the property, a stance that matches the practical-craft ethos he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film closed principal and is headed for its April 17, 2026 date. Look for a campaign that emphasizes mood and dread rather than theme-park spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership making room for budget rigor.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has talked about Werwulf as the darkest project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval world and medieval diction, a combination that can make for 3D sound and a wintry, elemental feel on the big screen. Focus will likely showcase this aesthetic in trade spotlights and artisan spotlights before rolling out a mood teaser that elevates tone over story, a move that has worked for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is geared for tactile gnarliness, a signature of the series that connects worldwide in red-band trailers and produces shareable audience clips from early screenings. Scream 7 positions a meta recalibration that refocuses on the original lead. Resident Evil will live or die on creature execution and sets, which match well with fan conventions and controlled asset drops. Insidious tends to be a audio craft showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the theater case feel must-have. Look for trailers that elevate pin-drop sound, deep-bass stingers, and blank-sound beats that land in premium houses.

Calendar cadence

January is busy. 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 brooding contrast amid headline IP. The month caps with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a stranded thriller from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is credible, but the palette of tones opens lanes for all, and the five-week structure allows a clean run for each if word of mouth endures.

Late Q1 and spring load in summer. Scream 7 rolls out February 27 with brand warmth. In April, The Mummy revives a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once suited genre counterprogramming and now nurtures big openers. The untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 connects into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer spreads the field. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is comic-leaning and wide, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 unleashes hard-R intensity. The counterprogramming logic is solid. The spoof can connect next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest caters to older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have rotated off PLF.

Late Q3 into Q4 leans brand. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously performed. Resident Evil lands after September 18, a early fall window that still ties into Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film grabs October 23 and will command cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely backed by a opaque tease strategy and limited pre-release reveals that center concept over reveals.

December specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a position that genre can thrive over the holidays when packaged as director prestige horror. The distributor has done this before, rolling out carefully, then capitalizing on critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to stay top of mind into January. If the film lands critically, the studio can scale in the first week of 2027 while turning holiday audiences and gift-card use.

One-sentence dossiers

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting on a rolling basis as production proceeds. Logline: Sidney returns to take on a new Ghostface while the narrative rethreads the original film’s DNA. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: roots reset with a contemporary edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A loss-struck man’s synthetic partner turns into something romantically lethal. Rating: TBA. Production: Shoot completed for an early-year bow. Positioning: algorithmic dread with emotion.

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 grows the world beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult organizes in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Filmed consecutively with the first film. Positioning: next step of a prestige infection saga.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man travels news back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to encounter a mutable reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Complete with theatrical path. Positioning: ambience-forward adaptation.

Send Help (20th Century Studios, January 30, 2026)
Director: Sam Raimi. Top cast: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Dennis Haysbert, Chris Pang. Logline: After a plane crash, an employee and her demanding boss claw to survive on a rugged island as the hierarchy flips and fear crawls. Rating: TBA. Production: In the can. 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 to be revealed in official materials. Logline: A renewed vision that returns the monster to menace, based on Cronin’s on-set craft and slow-bloom dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Production wrapped. 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 home-set haunting tale that twists the chill of a child’s tricky interpretations. Rating: TBD. Production: finished. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven supernatural mood piece.

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 parody return that skewers of-the-moment horror beats and true-crime crazes. Rating: undetermined. Production: principal photography set for fall 2025. Positioning: wide-appeal summer alternative.

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 multinational twist in tone and setting. Rating: to be announced. Production: cameras rolling in New Zealand. Positioning: hard-hitting R entry designed for premium formats.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be announced in marketing. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: The Further unfurls again, with a new household lashed to residual nightmares. Rating: TBD. Production: slated for summer production leading to late-summer release. Positioning: steady supernatural brand in a historically strong slot.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: TBA publicly. Top cast: to be announced. Logline: A new start designed to re-engineer the franchise from the ground up, with an stress on survival-driven horror over action fireworks. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: developing against a fixed date. Positioning: fidelity-minded reboot with crossover prospects.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: awaiting confirmation. Logline: intentionally withheld. Rating: undetermined. Production: underway. Positioning: filmmaker-led event with teaser rollout.

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 language and elemental menace. Rating: TBA. Production: in preparation with Christmas frame locked. Positioning: filmmaker-driven holiday release with craft awards runway.

Wolf Creek: Legacy (Cineverse, TBA 2026)
Director: Greg McLean. Top cast: John Jarratt expected to return as Mick Taylor. Logline: The Australian outback slasher returns, with a theaters-first plan ahead of platforming. Status: timing fluid, autumn anticipated.

Why the calendar favors 2026

Three workable forces drive this lineup. First, production that decelerated or rearranged in 2024 needed calendar breathing room. Horror can occupy those holes swiftly because scripts often use fewer locations, fewer large-scale VFX set pieces, and shorter 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 outperformed straight-to-streaming premieres. Third, digital word of mouth converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will work clippable moments from test screenings, orchestrated scare clips pegged to Thursday preview nights, and experiential pop-ups that become influencer fuel. It is a repeatable playbook because it converts.

Factor four is the scheduling calculus. The first stretch of 2026 sees fewer family and superhero logjams, providing runway for genre entries that can take a weekend outright or sit as the slightly older-skewing alternative. January is the prime example. Four different flavors of horror will trade weekends across five weekends, which keeps buzz lanes tidy. Summer provides the other window. The spoof can draft behind animation and action in early summer, then the hard-R entry can leverage a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Budgets and certifications, sleeper calculus

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

The surprise-hit pursuit continues in Q1, where low-to-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 work those windows. 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.

Audience journey through the year

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers rhythm and variety. January is a feast, February delivers a legacy slasher, April restores a Universal monster, May and June provide a back-to-back supernatural punch for date nights and group outings, July turns feral, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a wintry, 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 compound over time, using earlier releases to condition the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors like the spacing. Horror delivers Thursday preview surges, tight deployments, 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 grain, soundscape, and framing that benefit from larger formats. The calendar also leaves room for specialty platformers to open in New York and Los Angeles, build reviews, and slide into national conversation as the fall progresses.

2026 Is Well Positioned

Timing shifts. Ratings change. Casts shift. But the spine of 2026 horror is sturdy. There is name recognition where it counts, fresh vision where it counts, and a calendar that shows studios track how and when scares land. The awards and festival pipeline into 2027 will come into focus once the fall festivals lock, and it would not be surprising to see at least one eleventh-hour specialty buy join the party. For now, the job is simple, produce clean trailers, keep the secrets, and let the shocks sell the seats.