Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed reignites age-old dread, a fear soaked shocker, premiering Oct 2025 across leading streamers

A terrifying paranormal suspense film from storyteller / cinema craftsman Andrew Chiaramonte, releasing an long-buried terror when strangers become instruments in a hellish maze. Airings begin this October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon Prime Video, Google’s YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, iTunes Movies, Apple TV+, and Fandango streaming.

Hollywood, CA (August 8th, 2025) – Brace yourselves for *Young & Cursed*, a disturbing portrayal of survival and forgotten curse that will remodel the fear genre this autumn. Realized by rising horror auteur Andrew Chiaramonte, this edge-of-your-seat and moody tale follows five unknowns who wake up imprisoned in a hidden cottage under the malignant manipulation of Kyra, a young woman inhabited by a ancient holy text monster. Get ready to be seized by a narrative presentation that combines deep-seated panic with legendary tales, unleashing on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Demonic control has been a long-standing concept in the silver screen. In *Young & Cursed*, that structure is reversed when the beings no longer originate from external sources, but rather from their core. This depicts the darkest layer of all involved. The result is a intense mind game where the drama becomes a ongoing tug-of-war between purity and corruption.


In a unforgiving woodland, five young people find themselves stuck under the ghastly dominion and domination of a uncanny female presence. As the protagonists becomes helpless to combat her command, abandoned and pursued by unknowns unnamable, they are driven to battle their worst nightmares while the hours coldly counts down toward their expiration.


In *Young & Cursed*, anxiety swells and associations splinter, forcing each character to question their being and the idea of personal agency itself. The risk rise with every passing moment, delivering a horror experience that harmonizes supernatural terror with raw emotion.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my intention was to dive into basic terror, an entity beyond recorded history, channeling itself through human fragility, and confronting a entity that questions who we are when agency is lost.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Embodying Kyra was centered on something outside normal anguish. She is in denial until the demon emerges, and that transformation is haunting because it is so emotional.”

Watch the Horror Unfold

*Young & Cursed* will be released for worldwide release beginning October 2, 2025, on Amazon’s platform, Google’s video hub, Google Play, iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand—allowing audiences around the globe can survive this unholy film.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just dropped a new official preview for *Young & Cursed*, live to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a response to its release of trailer #1, which has racked up over six-figure audience.


In addition to its US/Canada launch, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has informed that *Young & Cursed* will also be delivered to global audiences, exporting the fear to scare fans abroad.


Mark your calendar for this cinematic trip into the unknown. Confront *Young & Cursed* this horror drop to see these ghostly lessons about the psyche.


For teasers, extra content, and social posts from Chiaramonte Films, follow @YACFilm across your favorite networks and visit the film’s website.





The horror genre’s inflection point: 2025 in focus American release plan braids together primeval-possession lore, art-house nightmares, plus Franchise Rumbles

Kicking off with fight-to-live nightmare stories rooted in old testament echoes and onward to returning series plus acutely observed indies, 2025 is coalescing into the richest paired with carefully orchestrated year since the mid-2010s.

The 2025 horror calendar reads less like chaos, more like a plan. studio majors hold down the year by way of signature titles, concurrently streamers saturate the fall with first-wave breakthroughs together with scriptural shivers. On the festival side, the art-house flank is drafting behind the uplift from a record 2024 festival run. With Halloween holding the peak, the remaining months are slotted with surgical care. A fat September–October lane is customary now, yet in 2025, strategies include January, spring, and mid-summer. Horror fans are craving, studios are methodical, accordingly 2025 might go down as horror’s most intentional year yet.

Major Studio Plans with Mini-Major Flex: High-craft horror returns

No one at the top is standing still. If 2024 set the stage for reinvention, 2025 amplifies the bet.

the Universal banner lights the fuse with a confident swing: a reinterpreted Wolf Man, stepping away from the classic old-country village, inside today’s landscape. Under director Leigh Whannell anchored by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this take locates the lycanthropy inside home disintegration. The arc is bodily and domestic, about marriage, caregiving, and fragile humanity. dated for mid January, it aligns with turning the winter slack into a premium lane, not a dumping lane.

Spring sees the arrival of Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher adaptation turned minimalist horror show. Under Eli Craig starring Katie Douglas opposite Kevin Durand, it plays as blood lacquered Americana with satire under the paint. Beneath the facade, it probes hometown suspicion, boomer to zoomer divides, and mob retribution. Initial fest notes point to real bite.

At summer’s close, the Warner lot drops the final chapter 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. Although the framework is familiar, Michael Chaves is rumored to steer toward a somber, reflective register for the close. It goes early September, easing the path before October flood.

Then comes The Black Phone 2. It was eyed for early summer, and shifting to October telegraphs confidence. Derrickson re engages, and the DNA that clicked last time remains: old school creep, trauma centered writing, and eerie supernatural logic. The bar is raised this go, with a deeper exploration into the “grabber” mythology and how grief haunts generations.

Completing the calendar is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, an offering that markets itself. The second outing goes deeper into backstory, builds out the animatronic fear crew, speaking to teens and older millennials. It bows in December, securing the winter cap.

Platform Originals: Tight funds, wide impact

As theatricals lean on brands and continuations, streamers are swinging risk forward, and returns look strong.

An especially bold streamer bet is Weapons, a long shadow anthology of dread braiding three timelines tied to a mass vanishing. Led by Zach Cregger fronted by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the piece merges terror with dramatic mass. Arriving to cinemas late summer then to streamers in fall, it is poised to inspire think pieces and forums, echoing Barbarian.

More contained by design is Together, a body horror chamber piece starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Set in a remote rental home during a getaway gone wrong, the piece probes how love, envy, and self loathing become bodily rot. It reads tender, repulsive, and intensely uneasy, a three act churn into codependent hell. Despite no official platform date, it is poised for a fall platform bow.

One more platform talker is Sinners, a 1930s vintage vampire folk yarn toplined by Michael B. Jordan. Lensed in lush sepia and soaked in biblical metaphor, it suggests There Will Be Blood blended with Let the Right One In. The work dissects American religious trauma using supernatural allegory. Trial screenings frame it as a high chatter SVOD arrival.

More streamer bound indies stand by in the shadows: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each engages grief, missing persons, and identity, with metaphor before show.

Possession Beneath the Skin: Young & Cursed

Rolling out October 2 across streaming, Young & Cursed arrives as a rare marriage, contained in staging yet mythic in effect. Penned and steered 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. As dusk gives way to night, Kyra’s grip intensifies, a violating force plundering fears, vulnerabilities, and regrets.

This fear is psychologically driven, pulsing with primal myth. Rather than another exorcism film centered on Catholic rites or Latin incantations, this entry turns to something older, something darker. Lilith arrives not by rite, but through trauma, silence, and human fragility. By making possession inward rather than external, Young & Cursed joins a trend toward intimate character studies masked as genre.

The platforms, including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home, angle the film as Halloween counterprogramming to sequel load and monster re ups. It is a clever angle. No overstuffed canon. No legacy baggage. Just psychological dread, contained and tense, tailored to the binge then breathe cadence of digital horror fans. Among spectacle, Young & Cursed might win by restraint, then release.

Festival Born and Buyer Ready

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF function as launch beds for the coming year’s horror. They are more runway than museum.

Fantastic Fest’s horror bench is deep this year. Primate, an opening night tropical body-horror, invites Cronenberg meets Herzog talk. Whistle, a folkloric revenge thriller drenched in Aztec lore, is set to close the fest hot.

The midnight bench, including If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, hums from execution, not mere titling. Backed by A24, it skewers toxic fandom amid a convention lockdown, poised to break big.

SXSW premiered Clown in a Cornfield and introduced several microbudget hauntings currently circling deals. Sundance should deliver grief heavy elevated horror again, with Tribeca’s genre menu reading urban, social, and surreal.

Festivals in 2025 double as branding machines. Badges kick off the sell, they do not merely decorate.

Legacy Brands: Returns, Restarts, and Fresh Angles

The returning series menu is stronger and more calculated than before.

Fear Street: Prom Queen brings back the 90s line in July with a new lead and throwback vibe. Unlike earlier entries, this leans camp and prom night melodrama. Picture tiaras, bright red goo, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 hits late June, set to enlarge techno horror mythology with fresh faces and AI bred menaces. The debut’s viral plus streaming heat gives Universal reason to press the bet.

Another headline is The Long Walk, adapting a grim early Stephen King piece, led by Francis Lawrence, it is a brutal dystopian allegory wrapped in survival horror, a kids walking until they die competition with no real winners. With clear targeting, it could become The Hunger Games for horror grown ups.

Also present, reboots and sequels including Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda, spread through the year, most watching for smart slots or quick buys.

What to Watch

Mythic currents go mainstream
Lilith in Young & Cursed and Aztec curses in Whistle point to ancient texts and symbols. Rather than nostalgia, it reclaims pre Christian archetypes. Horror goes beyond fright, it notes evil’s age.

Body horror swings back
Pieces such as Together, Weapons, and Keeper bring it back to flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation are standing in for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

SVOD originals harden up
The days of disposable horror filler on digital platforms are over. Streamers back real writing, real filmmakers, and genuine marketing. Works such as Weapons and Sinners are positioned as events, not filler.

Laurels convert to leverage
Laurels move markets, opening release doors and coverage arcs. In 2025, a horror film lacking festival plan may fade.

Theatrical Is Now a Trust Fall
Studios hold theatrical for overperformers or future series seeds. Everything else heads to PVOD or hybrid drops. Horror persists theatrically, in curated lanes.

Forward View: Fall stack and winter swing card

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 grind for attention. Do not be surprised if one or two move to early 2026 or switch platforms.

With Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 in December, a stealth streamer drop might pop near year end. As mythic runs hot, a closing creature or exorcism could still arrive.

The hinge is broad reach to atomized viewers, not single tentpoles. The play is not Get Out replication, it is long life horror past theaters.



The new spook release year: next chapters, Originals, in tandem with A hectic Calendar geared toward frights

Dek: The arriving scare calendar packs right away with a January traffic jam, and then flows through summer corridors, and running into the winter holidays, blending franchise firepower, creative pitches, and tactical alternatives. Distributors with platforms are prioritizing efficient budgets, theater-first strategies, and platform-native promos that convert these films into cross-demo moments.

Where horror stands going into 2026

Horror filmmaking has proven to be the predictable release in distribution calendars, a segment that can grow when it breaks through and still protect the drawdown when it does not. After the 2023 year demonstrated to decision-makers that responsibly budgeted scare machines can drive pop culture, the following year continued the surge with signature-voice projects and stealth successes. The run fed into 2025, where reawakened brands and elevated films signaled there is space for many shades, from series extensions to non-IP projects that travel well. The takeaway for 2026 is a lineup that looks unusually coordinated across players, with intentional bunching, a equilibrium of marquee IP and original hooks, and a refocused eye on release windows that amplify PVOD and streaming on PVOD and SVOD.

Insiders argue the genre now slots in as a utility player on the calendar. The genre can premiere on many corridors, create a simple premise for trailers and vertical videos, and exceed norms with moviegoers that respond on Thursday previews and sustain through the second frame if the entry lands. On the heels of a production delay era, the 2026 pattern shows comfort in that approach. The slate kicks off with a heavy January window, then exploits spring through early summer for contrast, while reserving space for a autumn push that carries into late October and past the holiday. The map also reflects the greater integration of specialized labels and digital platforms that can develop over weeks, build word of mouth, and widen at the timely point.

An added macro current is brand strategy across linked properties and established properties. Big banners are not just rolling another entry. They are looking to package lore continuity with a marquee sheen, whether that is a logo package that broadcasts a refreshed voice or a casting choice that binds a new installment to a classic era. At the alongside this, the directors behind the most anticipated originals are favoring tactile craft, on-set effects and place-driven backdrops. That convergence hands 2026 a solid mix of brand comfort and novelty, which is how the films export.

Major-player strategies for 2026

Paramount establishes early momentum with two front-of-slate entries that live at opposite ends of the tone spectrum. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the top job and Neve Campbell back at the lead, steering it as both a passing of the torch and a return-to-roots character-driven entry. Principal photography is underway in Atlanta, and the narrative stance points to a classic-referencing mode without replaying the last two entries’ sisters storyline. Look for a marketing run rooted in franchise iconography, initial cast looks, and a tiered teaser plan hitting late fall. Distribution is Paramount’s cinema pipeline.

Paramount also reawakens 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 campaign lever the campaign will stress. As a counterweight in summer, this one will build broad awareness through gif-able moments, with the horror spoof format inviting quick redirects to whatever defines the conversation that spring.

Universal has three discrete projects. SOULM8TE hits January 9, 2026, a universe branch from navigate to this website the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The story engine is clean, melancholic, and easily pitched: a grieving man sets up an synthetic partner that becomes a deadly partner. The date slots it at the front of a heavy month, with Universal’s campaign likely to bring back off-kilter promo beats and micro spots that fuses companionship and creep.

On May 8, 2026, the studio dates an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely read as the feature developed under working names in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The official slate currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which preserves a proper title to become an earned moment closer to the initial tease. The timing hands the studio a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles cluster around other dates.

Rounding out the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film lands October 23, 2026, a slot he has excelled in before. His projects are treated as signature events, with a teaser that reveals little and a follow-up trailer set that tee up tone without spoiling the concept. The late-October frame allows Universal to own pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then capitalize on the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, links with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček heads, with Souheila Yacoub fronting. The franchise has demonstrated that a tactile, hands-on effects method can feel elevated on a mid-range budget. Expect a grime-caked summer horror jolt that centers worldwide reach, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most international territories.

Sony’s horror bench is well stocked. The studio rolls out two series moves in the back half. An untitled Insidious film hits August 21, 2026, continuing a proven supernatural brand in motion while the spin-off branch continues to develop. Sony has reshuffled on this title before, but the current plan keeps it in late summer, where the brand has long performed.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil steps back in what Sony is framing as a new foundation for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a core part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a well-defined brief to serve both franchise faithful and general audiences. The fall slot affords Sony time to build promo materials around lore, and creature effects, elements that can increase deluxe auditorium demand and fan events.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, sets a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film extends Eggers’ run of period horror grounded in rigorous craft and dialect, this time driven by werewolf stories. The imprint has already booked the frame for a holiday release, a strong signal in the auteur as a specialty play that can scale widely if early reception is robust.

Platform lanes and windowing

Platform windowing in 2026 run on established tracks. Universal’s releases flow to copyright after a exclusive run then PVOD, a tiered path that expands both first-week urgency and viewer acquisition in the post-theatrical. Prime Video blends licensed films with global acquisitions and qualifying theatrical engagements when the data warrants it. Max and Hulu play have a peek at these guys their strengths in catalog engagement, using curated hubs, genre hubs, and curated rows to lengthen the tail on the year’s genre earnings. Netflix keeps optionality about in-house releases and festival deals, dating horror entries tight to release and staging as events debuts with compressed campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, deploys a staged of selective theatrical runs and accelerated platforming that funnels enthusiasm into trials. That will be key for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before turning to direct-to-fan channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ cherry-picks horror on a title-by-title basis. The platform has signaled readiness to acquire select projects with top-tier auteurs or star-driven packages, then give them a modest theatrical in partnership with exhibitors to meet qualifying rules or to gather buzz before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still benefits from the 20th Century Studios slate, a core piece for month-over-month retention when the genre conversation intensifies.

The specialty lanes and indie surprises

Cineverse is putting together a 2026 slate with two name-brand moves. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The angle is straightforward: the same atmospheric, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a cult hit, updated for modern sonics and picture. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a late-year slot, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has hinted a traditional cinema play for Legacy, an positive signal for fans of the hard-edged series and for exhibitors hungry for R material in the autumn weeks.

Focus will play the auteur card with Werwulf, stewarding the film through the autumn circuit if the cut is ready, then activating the holiday frame to move out. That positioning has helped for filmmaker-driven genre with crossover potential. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not finalized many 2026 slots in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines often crystallize after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A safe bet is a run of late-summer and fall platformers that can break out if reception merits. Keep an eye on an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that premieres at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work together, using precision theatrical to seed evangelism that fuels their community.

Legacy titles versus originals

By count, the 2026 slate tips toward the legacy column. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all tap household recognition. The question, as ever, is brand erosion. The pragmatic answer is to present each entry as a recast vibe. Paramount is bringing forward character and roots in Scream 7, Sony is positioning a new foundation for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is driving a French-inflected take from a hot helmer. Those choices make a difference when the audience has so many options and social sentiment swings fast.

Non-franchise titles and director-driven titles add oxygen. Jordan Peele’s October film will be sold as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, casts Rachel McAdams in a survival shocker premise with the director’s playful dread. SOULM8TE offers a tight, eerie tech hook. Werwulf roots in era detail and an stark tone. Even when the title is not based on existing IP, the assembly is grounded enough to convert curiosity into pre-sales and Thursday-night turnout.

Recent comps clarify the method. In 2023, a exclusive window model that kept streaming intact did not hamper a day-date try from paying off when the brand was powerful. In 2024, meticulous-craft horror over-performed in premium auditoriums. In 2025, a revived cycle of a beloved infection saga made clear that global horror franchises can still feel reinvigorated when they pivot perspective and elevate scope. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which extends 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 produced back-to-back, gives leeway to marketing to interlace chapters through character web and themes and to keep assets alive without long breaks.

How the films are being made

The craft conversations behind this slate point to a continued tilt toward practical, location-rooted craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not imitate any recent iteration of the property, a stance that accords with the prosthetic-forward taste he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film wrapped production and is aimed at its April 17, 2026 date. Plan for a push that emphasizes unease and texture rather than CG roller-coasters, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership sustaining tight cost control.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has characterized Werwulf as the most shadowed project he has tackled, which tracks with a historical setting and period-accurate language, a combination that can make for enveloping sound design and a chilly, elemental vibe on the big screen. Focus will likely showcase this aesthetic in behind-the-scenes pieces and artisan spotlights before rolling out a mood teaser that trades on atmosphere over plot, a move that has worked for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is built for visceral gnarl, a signature of the series that sells overseas in red-band trailers and spurs shareable reaction videos from early screenings. Scream 7 hints at a meta refresh that brings back the core lead. Resident Evil will thrive or struggle on monster work and world-building, which match well with expo activations and staggered reveals. Insidious tends to be a mix showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the theater case feel key. Look for trailers that foreground razor sound, deep-bass stingers, and blank-sound beats that shine in top rooms.

Calendar map: winter through the holidays

January is crowded. SOULM8TE opens January 9, 2026, then Sony returns a week later with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple on January 16. Cineverse’s Return to Silent Hill follows on January 23, a foggy reset amid marquee brands. The month buttons 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 formidable, but the variety of tones makes lanes for each, and the five-week structure creates breathing room for each if word of mouth endures.

Q1 into Q2 seed summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 arrives February 27 with legacy heat. In April, New Line’s The Mummy reframes a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once suited genre counterprogramming and now backs big openers. The untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 bridges into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer sorts the tones. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is comedic and broad, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 serves hard-R intensity. The counterprogramming logic is solid. The spoof can pop next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest satisfies older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have shuffled through big rooms.

Late summer into fall leans series. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives the studio a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously worked. Resident Evil lands after September 18, a bridge slot that still connects to Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event grabs October 23 and will own cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely augmented by a peekaboo tease plan and limited disclosures that stress concept over spoilers.

Awards-adjacent specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a line in sand that genre can thrive over the holidays when packaged as awards-flirting horror. Focus has done this before, selective rollout, then pressing critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to extend talk into January. If the film lands critically, the studio can extend in the first week of 2027 while building on holiday impulse and holiday card usage.

Project-by-project snapshots

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting ongoing as production continues. Logline: Sidney returns to meet a new Ghostface while the narrative resurfaces 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 bereaved man’s synthetic partner grows into something deadly romantic. 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 opens the world beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult ascends in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Filmed consecutively with the first film. Positioning: continuation of a revived prestige zombie saga.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man ventures back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to encounter a altering reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed production with U.S. distribution. Positioning: mood-led 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 prickly boss work to survive on a cut-off island as the power balance reverses and suspicion grows. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed. Positioning: A-list survival chiller from a master.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles not yet announced in official materials. Logline: A contemporary retelling that returns the monster to chill, based on Cronin’s physical craft and rising dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Production wrapped. Positioning: classic monster revival with auteur stamp.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A domestic haunting setup that twists the dread of a child’s tricky impressions. Rating: forthcoming. Production: locked. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven supernatural thriller.

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 pokes at hot-button genre motifs and true-crime crazes. Rating: not yet rated. Production: fall 2025 production window. Positioning: mainstream summer comedy-horror.

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 spreads, with an multinational twist in tone and setting. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: shooting in New Zealand. Positioning: uncompromising R installment meant for big rooms.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: unrevealed for now. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: The Further ripples again, with a young family linked to ancient dread. Rating: TBA. Production: gearing up for summer filming with late-summer bow. Positioning: durable spectral IP in a late-summer sweet spot.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: pending public reveal. Top cast: TBD. Logline: A clean reboot designed to recreate the franchise from the ground up, with an focus on survival-core horror over pyrotechnic spectacle. Rating: TBA. Production: on a development track with locked window. Positioning: game-grounded refresh with wider appeal.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: awaiting confirmation. Logline: deliberately concealed. Rating: to be announced. Production: moving forward. Positioning: director event, teaser-led.

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 era-faithful speech and raw menace. Rating: forthcoming. Production: in preparation with Christmas frame locked. Positioning: prestige-grade holiday chiller with artisan honors in view.

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 big-screen run before platforming. my review here Status: window fluid, autumn forecast.

Why the 2026 timing works

Three pragmatic forces organize this lineup. First, production that downshifted or reshuffled in 2024 required schedule breathing room. Horror can patch those gaps promptly because scripts often call for fewer locales, fewer large-scale effects set pieces, and tighter schedules. 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 outpaced straight-to-streaming debuts. Third, online chatter converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will amplify clippable moments from test screenings, carefully timed scare clips synced to Thursday previews, and experiential pop-ups that generate creator assets. It is a repeatable playbook because it holds up.

Factor four is the scheduling calculus. Family and superhero corridors are not as densely packed in early 2026, opening usable real estate for genre entries that can seize a weekend or function as the older-skew counter. January is the prime example. Four horror varieties will cluster across five weekends, which lets WOM accrue cleanly. Summer provides the other window. The parody can surf the early-summer animated and action swell, then the hard-R entry can benefit from a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Business outlook: budgets, ratings, and the sleeper hunt

Budgets remain in the ideal band. Most of the films above will fit below the $40–$50 million line, 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 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 capitalize on those pockets. January could easily deliver the first quiet breakout of the year, and August into September gives Sony an avenue to hold screens with back-to-back supernatural IP while still leaving room for an indie breakout.

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

How the viewing year plays

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers cadence and diversity. January is a spread, February delivers a legacy slasher, April revives a Universal monster, May and June provide a two-beat supernatural run 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 bleak, literate nightmare. That is how you sustain conversation and attendance without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can ratchet upward, using earlier releases to set up the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors like the spacing. Horror delivers reliable Thursday lifts, tight deployments, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can credibly make the premium-screen case, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing tactility, sonics, and picture 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 Strong 2026 Horizon

Windows change. Ratings change. Casts rotate. But the spine of 2026 horror is defined. There is recognizable IP where it plays, creative ambition where it counts, and a calendar that shows studios sense the cadence of 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, roll out exact trailers, protect the mystery, and let the scares sell the seats.