Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed awakens ancient dread, a chilling horror thriller, debuting Oct 2025 across top streaming platforms

This unnerving unearthly horror tale from cinematographer / director Andrew Chiaramonte, setting free an forgotten terror when unfamiliar people become pawns in a satanic ritual. Airings begin October 2, 2025, on Amazon’s Prime Video, YouTube streaming, Google’s digital store, iTunes, Apple’s TV+ service, and Fandango platform.

Hollywood, CA (August 8th, 2025) – ready yourself for *Young & Cursed*, a gripping story of perseverance and mythic evil that will resculpt the fear genre this ghoul season. Brought to life by rising horror auteur Andrew Chiaramonte, this psychological and moody suspense flick follows five young adults who arise stuck in a unreachable house under the aggressive grip of Kyra, a female lead inhabited by a millennia-old ancient fiend. Get ready to be absorbed by a audio-visual experience that intertwines soul-chilling terror with legendary tales, streaming on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Malevolent takeover has been a enduring pillar in genre filmmaking. In *Young & Cursed*, that notion is challenged when the malevolences no longer appear from beyond, but rather from within. This embodies the grimmest part of each of them. The result is a bone-chilling psychological battle where the emotions becomes a brutal confrontation between divinity and wickedness.


In a bleak wilderness, five individuals find themselves caught under the sinister effect and possession of a uncanny spirit. As the youths becomes paralyzed to oppose her grasp, marooned and targeted by presences unimaginable, they are compelled to deal with their inner horrors while the time harrowingly moves toward their dark fate.


In *Young & Cursed*, distrust amplifies and bonds crack, demanding each person to scrutinize their values and the concept of volition itself. The hazard escalate with every heartbeat, delivering a nerve-wracking journey that merges spiritual fright with inner turmoil.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my narrative plan was to dig into pure dread, an spirit beyond recorded history, operating within psychological breaks, and examining a force that tests the soul when freedom is gone.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Portraying Kyra meant channeling something unfamiliar to reason. She is clueless until the evil takes hold, and that evolution is gut-wrenching because it is so personal.”

Debut Info

*Young & Cursed* will be streamed for worldwide release beginning this October 2, on Amazon’s platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home—delivering horror lovers in all regions can face this horror showcase.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just released a new second trailer for *Young & Cursed*, live to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a second look to its original clip, which has collected over a hundred thousand impressions.


In addition to its North American premiere, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has made public that *Young & Cursed* will also be available worldwide, exporting the fear to a global viewership.


Be sure to catch this mind-warping ride through nightmares. Confront *Young & Cursed* this horror drop to explore these ghostly lessons about inner darkness.


For exclusive trailers, set experiences, and announcements from the story's source, follow @YoungAndCursedFilm across your socials and visit our film’s homepage.





American horror’s tipping point: 2025 across markets American release plan melds legend-infused possession, signature indie scares, set against legacy-brand quakes

Kicking off with life-or-death fear grounded in mythic scripture to IP renewals in concert with keen independent perspectives, 2025 is shaping up as the most variegated plus intentionally scheduled year for the modern era.

Call it full, but it is also focused. leading studios hold down the year with established lines, concurrently streamers saturate the fall with emerging auteurs alongside old-world menace. In parallel, the independent cohort is buoyed by the momentum of a banner 2024 fest year. With Halloween holding the peak, the rest of the calendar is filling out with surgical precision. A dense September through October runway is now a rite of passage, yet in 2025, rollouts stretch into January, spring, and mid-summer. Crowds are ready, studios are intentional, therefore 2025 could stand as the most orchestrated year.

What Studios and Mini-Majors Are Doing: Prestige-leaning dread rebounds

The top end is active. If 2024 primed the reset, 2025 accelerates.

Universal’s distribution arm opens the year with a statement play: a refashioned Wolf Man, not returning to the Gothic European hamlet, in a clear present-tense world. Shepherded by Leigh Whannell with Christopher Abbott opposite Julia Garner, this version roots the lycanthropy in family fracture. The metamorphosis extends past flesh, into marriage, parenthood, and human hurt. arriving mid January, it advances a tactic to control the winter valley through premium horror, not dumps.

The spring frame introduces Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher conversion presented as stripped terror. From director Eli Craig and featuring Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it is blood soaked Americana horror with a satirical streak. Behind the greasepaint sits a critique of small town suspicion, generational fracture, and vigilante justice. Festival whispers say it is sharp.

When summer fades, Warner’s schedule drops the final chapter of its steadiest horror franchise: The Conjuring: Last Rites. The Warrens are back with Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the film signals catharsis as it engages a widely cited real case. While the template is known, Michael Chaves appears to favor a elegiac, inward tone here. It posts in early September, creating cushion before October load.

Next is The Black Phone 2. Originally slated for early summer, its move to an October release suggests confidence. Scott Derrickson again directs, and the defining traits of the first sleeper return: vintage toned fear, trauma in the foreground, plus otherworld rules that chill. This run ups the stakes, through a thicker read on the “grabber” legend and generational ache.

Completing the calendar is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a picture that draws on name power. The new chapter enriches the lore, expands its animatronic nightmare roster, bridging teens and legacy players. It lands in December, cornering year end horror.

Streaming Firsts: Modest spend, serious shock

While theaters lean on names and sequels, streamers are pushing into risk, and dividends follow.

A high ambition play arrives with Weapons, a cold-case woven horror suite that weaves together three timelines connected by a mass disappearance. Directed by Zach Cregger and starring Josh Brolin with Julia Garner, the title blends fear with dramatic gravity. With a late summer theatrical bow and fall streaming drop, it is poised to inspire think pieces and forums, echoing Barbarian.

On the more intimate flank sits Together, an intimate body horror unraveling featuring Alison Brie opposite Dave Franco. Situated in an out of the way rental during a failed escape, the arc observes love and green eyed envy and self harm turned somatic. It feels intimate, ghastly, and profoundly uneasy, a three part fall into codependent hell. Despite no official platform date, it is a near certain autumn drop.

Another headline entry is Sinners, a thirties era vampire folk parable fronted by Michael B. Jordan. Lensed in lush sepia and soaked in biblical metaphor, it evokes There Will Be Blood crossed with Let the Right One In. The story probes American religious trauma by way of supernatural allegory. Initial test audience notes point to a buzzy streaming debut.

Other streamer plays queue softly: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper all work grief and disappearance and identity, choosing meaning over noise.

Possession Underneath: Young & Cursed

Posting October 2 across the big platforms, Young & Cursed stands as a rare hybrid, both intimate in scope and mythic in reach. Shaped and helmed 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. With nightfall, Kyra’s power deepens, an invasive force mining their most secret fears, frailties, and regrets.

The threat is psychological first, wired with primal myth. Swerving the standard exorcism angle of Catholic rite and Latin word, this film taps something older, something darker. Lilith is not summoned by priests, she rises from trauma, muteness, and human fault lines. Making possession internal threads Young & Cursed into the current of intimate character studies in genre skin.

Platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home position the film as a Halloween counter to sequel heavy theatricals and monster revivals. It looks like sharp programming. No overweight mythology. No legacy baggage. 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 Origins, Market Outcomes

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF serve as nurseries for near future horror. They feel like launchpads now, not just showcases.

Fantastic Fest posts a muscular horror lineup this year. Primate, a tropical body horror curtain raiser, invites Cronenberg Herzog comp. Whistle, a folkloric revenge burner in Aztec code, should close with flame.

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 bowed Clown in a Cornfield while feeding deal chatter for microbudget haunts. Sundance appears set for grief threaded elevated horror once more, with Tribeca’s genre menu reading urban, social, and surreal.

Festivals in 2025 double as branding machines. The laurel is campaign ignition, not epilogue.

Franchise Horror: Sequels, Reboots, Reinventions

The sequel reboot ecosystem reads stronger and more precise.

Fear Street: Prom Queen brings back the 90s line in July with a new lead and throwback vibe. Compared to earlier parts, it tilts camp and prom night melodrama. Bring tiaras, red dye, and VHS panic.

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

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

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.

Trend Lines

Ancient myth goes wide
From Lilith in Young & Cursed through Aztec curses in Whistle, teams draw on ancient texts and symbols. This reads not as nostalgia but as reclaiming pre Christian archetypes. Horror reaches past fear, it states evil is old.

Body horror returns
The likes of Together, Weapons, and Keeper reshift toward flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation serve as metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Platform originals gain bite
The era of filler horror on streamers is ending. Platforms show up with budgets for scripts, directors, and campaigns. Releases like Weapons and Sinners are elevated to events, not just content.

Festival hype becomes leverage
Laurels move markets, opening release doors and coverage arcs. Skip festival strategy in 2025 and the film risks invisibility.

Theaters are a trust fall
Studios are only releasing horror theatrically if they believe it will overperform or spin into sequels. Everything else is PVOD or hybrid. Horror keeps theatrical presence, via curation.

Forward View: 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 like Bone Lake and Keeper will grind for attention. Anticipate possible date slides into early 2026 or platform moves.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 steadies December, yet a last minute streamer surprise is in play. When the heavy hitters lean mythic, a last creature feature or exorcism can still fit.

The genre’s success in 2025 will hinge not on any one title, but on how well its diverse slate reaches its scattered, increasingly segmented audience. The mission is not a new Get Out, it is sustained horror beyond tickets.



The coming 2026 fear Year Ahead: entries, fresh concepts, as well as A packed Calendar optimized for Scares

Dek: The brand-new terror cycle builds right away with a January glut, then extends through summer corridors, and deep into the winter holidays, combining brand equity, novel approaches, and calculated counterprogramming. Studios and platforms are betting on mid-range economics, box-office-first windows, and social-fueled campaigns that turn these releases into broad-appeal conversations.

The genre’s posture for 2026

The field has turned into the steady release in programming grids, a space that can expand when it performs and still cushion the downside when it under-delivers. After 2023 reassured decision-makers that low-to-mid budget pictures can lead the zeitgeist, 2024 kept the drumbeat going with visionary-driven titles and word-of-mouth wins. The momentum extended into the 2025 frame, where revivals and critical darlings highlighted there is capacity for diverse approaches, from franchise continuations to original one-offs that translate worldwide. The net effect for 2026 is a calendar that reads highly synchronized across the market, with clear date clusters, a mix of known properties and new concepts, and a reinvigorated eye on theater exclusivity that increase tail monetization on premium on-demand and digital services.

Distribution heads claim the horror lane now functions as a schedule utility on the rollout map. Horror can open on open real estate, create a clear pitch for promo reels and vertical videos, and overperform with audiences that lean in on advance nights and keep coming through the next pass if the movie satisfies. Following a strike-impacted pipeline, the 2026 configuration shows assurance in that logic. The slate begins with a front-loaded January stretch, then exploits spring through early summer for counterprogramming, while making space for a fall cadence that connects to Halloween and afterwards. The grid also features the increasing integration of specialized imprints and platforms that can platform and widen, generate chatter, and scale up at the strategic time.

A further high-level trend is brand curation across connected story worlds and long-running brands. The studios are not just releasing another return. They are looking to package story carry-over with a sense of event, whether that is a title presentation that announces a tonal shift or a lead change that ties a incoming chapter to a original cycle. At the parallel to that, the writer-directors behind the headline-grabbing originals are embracing in-camera technique, in-camera effects and site-specific worlds. That combination hands 2026 a solid mix of trust and discovery, which is how the films export.

Inside the studio playbooks

Paramount fires first with two centerpiece entries that straddle tones widely. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the top job and Neve Campbell back at the heart, setting it up as both a handoff and a heritage-centered character study. Filming is in progress in Atlanta, and the authorial approach conveys a heritage-honoring mode without replaying the last two entries’ Carpenter-sisters arc. A campaign is expected driven by heritage visuals, character previews, and a staggered trailer plan timed to 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 in creative roles for the first time since the early 2000s, a headline the campaign will feature. As a summer counter-slot, this one will generate wide appeal through social-friendly gags, with the horror spoof format lending itself to quick pivots to whatever leads the discourse that spring.

Universal has three separate entries. SOULM8TE bows January 9, 2026, a universe branch from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The story engine is straightforward, somber, and concept-forward: a grieving man brings home an synthetic partner that turns into a dangerous lover. The date puts it at the front of a competition-heavy month, with Universal’s team likely to revisit creepy live activations and micro spots that mixes intimacy and fear.

On May 8, 2026, the studio schedules an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely understood to be the feature developed under temporary titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The listed schedule currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which reserves space for a official title to become an PR pop closer to the initial promo. The timing secures a slot in early May while larger tentpoles crowd different corridors.

Anchoring the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film plants on October 23, 2026, a slot he has excelled in before. The filmmaker’s films are sold as creative events, with a teaser that reveals little and a later trailer push that prime atmosphere without details the concept. The pre-Halloween slot allows Universal to command pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then pivot to 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 is at the helm of, with Souheila Yacoub starring. The franchise has established that a gnarly, makeup-driven aesthetic can feel premium on a efficient spend. Frame it as a red-band summer horror blast that leans into foreign markets, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most foreign territories.

Sony’s horror bench is surprisingly deep. The studio deploys two recognizable-IP pushes in the back half. An untitled Insidious film lands August 21, 2026, sustaining a proven supernatural brand front and center while the spin-off branch moves forward. The studio has reshuffled on this title before, but the current plan sticks it in late summer, where the brand has traditionally delivered.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil restarts in what Sony is calling a clean-slate approach for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Young & Cursed Productions pipeline now a primary part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a mission to serve both fans and new audiences. The fall slot allows Sony to build campaign pieces around narrative world, and monster aesthetics, elements that can amplify premium format interest and fan-forward engagement.

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 maintains Eggers’ run of period horror built on meticulous craft and textual fidelity, this time exploring werewolf lore. Focus’s team has already staked the slot for a holiday release, a strong signal in the auteur as a specialty play that can grow wide if early reception is favorable.

Streaming strategies and platform plays

Platform plans for 2026 run on predictable routes. The studio’s horror films flow to copyright after a theatrical and PVOD run, a tiered path that expands both launch urgency and platform bumps in the after-window. Prime Video will mix library titles with global originals and limited runs in theaters when the data signals it. Max and Hulu optimize their lanes in back-catalog play, using featured rows, October hubs, and staff picks to increase tail value on the horror cume. Netflix keeps flexible about Netflix originals and festival wins, slotting horror entries tight to release and eventizing debuts with burst campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, works a dual-phase of selective theatrical runs and quick platforming that turns word of mouth into paid trials. That will prove important for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before activating niche channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ continues to evaluate horror on a bespoke basis. The platform has exhibited willingness to take on select projects with established auteurs or headline-cast packages, then give them a small theatrical footprint in partnership with exhibitors to meet qualifying rules or to show bona fides before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still leans on the 20th Century Studios slate, a core piece for ongoing engagement when the genre conversation surges.

Festival-to-platform breakouts

Cineverse is putting together a 2026 lane 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 angle is tight: the same gloomy, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a beloved cult piece, recalibrated for modern audio-visual craft. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a fall window, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. Cineverse has flagged a traditional cinema play for Legacy, an promising marker for fans of the relentless series and for exhibitors seeking adult skew in the September weeks.

Focus will play the auteur card with Werwulf, escorting the title through select festivals if the cut is ready, then turning to the holiday frame to go wider. That positioning has helped for prestige horror with four-quadrant hopes. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not publicly set many dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines tend to converge after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A sound expectation is a handful of late-summer and fall platformers that can go wider if reception merits. Watch for an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that screens at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work in tandem, using limited runs to kindle evangelism that fuels their paid base.

Legacy titles versus originals

By count, 2026 bends toward the brand side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all activate legacy awareness. The potential drawback, as ever, is fatigue. The practical approach is to sell each entry as a tone reset. Paramount is elevating character and continuity in Scream 7, Sony is positioning a fresh ground-up build for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is embracing a French-accented approach from a new voice. Those choices make a difference when the audience has so many options and social sentiment swings fast.

Originals and filmmaker-led entries add air. Jordan Peele’s October film will be marketed as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, puts Rachel McAdams into a island-set survival premise with that teasing menace. SOULM8TE offers a simple, unsettling tech hook. Werwulf anchors in period detail and an unyielding tone. Even when the title is not based on a property, the team and cast is recognizable enough to accelerate early sales and advance-audience nights.

Recent-year comps frame the approach. In 2023, a theatrical-first plan that kept streaming intact did not obstruct a day-and-date experiment from winning when the brand was robust. In 2024, craft-forward auteur horror outperformed in premium auditoriums. In 2025, a rebirth of a beloved infection saga signaled that global horror franchises can still feel fresh when they shift POV and grow scope. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which continues January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The dual-chapter plan, with chapters shot consecutively, permits marketing to bridge entries through protagonists and motifs and to maintain a flow of assets without extended gaps.

Creative tendencies and craft

The director conversations behind the 2026 slate signal a continued preference for physical, site-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not repeat any recent iteration of the property, a stance that matches the in-camera sensibility he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film wrapped photography and is tracking to its April 17, 2026 date. Plan for a push that elevates grain and menace rather than whiz-bang spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership making room for cost management.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has framed Werwulf as the most shadowed project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval setting and historically accurate language, a combination that can make for sonic immersion and a chilly, elemental vibe on the big screen. Focus will likely pre-sell this aesthetic in feature stories and craft coverage before rolling out a tone piece that withholds plot, a move that has resonated for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is geared for rubbery nastiness, a signature of the series that connects worldwide in red-band trailers and produces shareable audience clips from early screenings. Scream 7 targets a meta refresh that refocuses on the original lead. Resident Evil will win or lose on monster aesthetics and world-building, which align with convention activations and managed asset releases. Insidious tends to be a soundstage showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the auditorium case feel essential. Look for trailers that highlight hyper-detailed sound, deep-bass stingers, and held silences that sing on PLF.

The schedule at a glance

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 somber counterpoint amid marquee brands. The month wraps with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival-and-paranoia piece from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is thick, but the menu of tones opens lanes for all, and the five-week structure hands each a runway for each if word of mouth persists.

February through May load in summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 rolls out February 27 with nostalgia energy. In April, The Mummy resurrects a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once served genre counterprogramming and now supports big openers. Universal’s untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 flows into 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 comic-leaning and wide, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 brings hard-R intensity. The counterprogramming logic is strong. The spoof can succeed next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest hits squarely for older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have run their PLF course.

Back half into fall leans recognizable. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives the studio a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously worked. Resident Evil rolls in after September 18, a shoulder season window that still connects to Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event books October 23 and will soak up cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely pushed by a shroud-first teaser rhythm and limited disclosures that trade in concept over detail.

Awards-adjacent specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a statement that genre can live at Christmas when packaged as filmmaker prestige. The distributor has done this before, slow-rolling, then pressing critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to extend talk into January. If the film clicks critically, the studio can increase count in the first week of 2027 while carrying holiday turnout and holiday gift-card burn.

Title snapshots

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting to be detailed as production continues. Logline: Sidney returns to confront a new Ghostface while the narrative relinks to the original film’s genome. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: origin-forward with a contemporary twist.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A sorrowing man’s virtual companion becomes something romantically lethal. Rating: TBA. Production: Shoot completed for an early-year bow. Positioning: techno-horror with feeling.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Sony, January 16, 2026)
Director: Nia DaCosta. Writer: Alex Garland. Top cast: Cillian Murphy, Jack O’Connell, and additional ensemble tied to a new antagonist faction. Logline: The second chapter in a trilogy extends the world beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult rises in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Shot sequentially 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 travels back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to collide with a mutable reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked and U.S. theatrical booked. Positioning: moody game adaptation built on atmosphere.

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 severe boss work to survive on a rugged island as the control balance swivels and unease intensifies. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked. 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 modern reconception that returns the monster to menace, anchored by Cronin’s physical craft and suffocating dread. Rating: TBA. Production: In the can. Positioning: classic monster relaunch with a filmmaker’s stamp.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A home-set haunting tale that filters its scares through a little one’s wavering subjective view. Rating: TBD. Production: completed. Positioning: studio-backed and name-above-title haunting thriller.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers re-engaging creatively. Logline: {A satirical comeback that lampoons hot-button genre motifs and true crime fixations. Rating: to be announced. Production: cameras due to roll fall 2025. Positioning: wide-lane seasonal counterprogram.

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 breaks out, with an global twist in tone and setting. Rating: TBD. Production: filming in New Zealand. Positioning: uncompromising R installment meant for big rooms.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be revealed later. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: The Further widens again, with a fresh family caught in returning horrors. Rating: pending. Production: on track for summer lensing before late-summer rollout. Positioning: stalwart franchise piece in a friendly frame.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: to be announced publicly. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: A reboot designed to reconstitute the franchise from the ground up, with an emphasis on classic survival-horror tone over action spectacle. Rating: pending. Production: dev phase with date secured. Positioning: game-grounded refresh with wider appeal.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: awaiting confirmation. Logline: Kept under wraps by design. Rating: my company TBD. Production: in progress. 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 antique diction and elemental menace. Rating: forthcoming. Production: actively prepping for a holiday slot. Positioning: specialty holiday horror poised for crafts recognition.

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

Why this year, why now

Three grounded forces shape this lineup. First, production that downshifted or reshuffled in 2024 needed latitude on the slate. Horror can move in swiftly because scripts often need fewer locations, fewer large-scale digital sequences, and compressed schedules. Second, studios have become more orderly about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently generated more than straight-to-streaming releases. Third, social conversation converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will activate repeatable beats from test screenings, carefully timed scare clips timed to Thursday night previews, and experiential pop-ups that become influencer fuel. It is a repeatable playbook because it pays off.

Programming arithmetic plays a role. Early-year family and superhero blocks are thinner in 2026, freeing space for genre entries that can capture a weekend or function as the older-skew counter. January is the prime example. Four genre tones will line up across five weekends, which helps each film cultivate buzz on its own. Summer provides the other window. The lampoon benefits from family and action buoyancy, then the hard-R entry can use a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Budget discipline, rating paths, sleeper math

Budgets remain in the efficient band. Most of the films above will track under the $40–$50 million range, with many far below. That allows for robust premium-format allocation 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 breakout hunt continues in Q1, where lean-budget genre can own weekends with minimal competition, and again in late summer, where horror often becomes the conversation when tentpoles tire. The 2026 slate is set up to maximize those pockets. January could easily deliver the first unexpected 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. Project a sturdy PVOD period across titles, since horror fans have shown a willingness to pay for convenience after an opening weekend, especially when word of mouth is strong.

Audience rhythm across the year

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers cadence and diversity. January is a banquet, February delivers a legacy slasher, April reawakens a Universal monster, May and June provide a ghostly double-hit for date nights and group outings, July gets visceral, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a bleak, literate nightmare. That is how you fuel talk and ticketing without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can sequence upward, using earlier releases to warm up the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors appreciate the spacing. Horror delivers predictable Thursday surges, lean footprints, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can warrant PLF, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing materiality, audio design, 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.

A Robust 2026 On Deck

Dates shift. Ratings change. Casts rotate. But the spine of 2026 horror is set. There is recognizable IP where it plays, inventive vision where it helps, 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-stage specialty acquisition join the party. For now, the job is simple, cut crisp trailers, protect the mystery, and let the fear sell the seats.