Age-old Evil Awakens within Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a hair raising thriller, landing October 2025 on global platforms

One unnerving paranormal scare-fest from storyteller / auteur Andrew Chiaramonte, liberating an forgotten malevolence when outsiders become vehicles in a hellish maze. Releasing this October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, Apple iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango streaming.

Los Angeles, CA (August 8, 2025) – be warned for *Young & Cursed*, a harrowing account of staying alive and ancient evil that will reshape fear-driven cinema this scare season. Crafted by rising creative mind Andrew Chiaramonte, this edge-of-your-seat and moody feature follows five figures who arise ensnared in a hidden dwelling under the malevolent power of Kyra, a mysterious girl controlled by a ancient sacred-era entity. Ready yourself to be shaken by a theatrical experience that combines deep-seated panic with arcane tradition, premiering on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Possession by evil has been a iconic concept in the silver screen. In *Young & Cursed*, that belief is redefined when the entities no longer appear outside the characters, but rather from their core. This marks the most sinister part of the cast. The result is a emotionally raw mental war where the story becomes a soul-crushing push-pull between right and wrong.


In a isolated woodland, five characters find themselves contained under the evil control and overtake of a mysterious spirit. As the team becomes submissive to break her power, cut off and attacked by presences inconceivable, they are made to endure their inner horrors while the countdown mercilessly draws closer toward their destruction.


In *Young & Cursed*, suspicion rises and relationships dissolve, compelling each member to rethink their true nature and the structure of independent thought itself. The threat surge with every instant, delivering a nerve-wracking journey that combines occult fear with human vulnerability.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my objective was to uncover basic terror, an presence older than civilization itself, filtering through psychological breaks, and examining a being that erodes the self when stripped of free will.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Playing Kyra asked for exploring something unfamiliar to reason. She is in denial until the evil takes hold, and that flip is deeply unsettling because it is so private.”

Watch the Horror Unfold

*Young & Cursed* will be available for audiences beginning this October 2, on Prime Video, Google’s video hub, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango on-demand—guaranteeing watchers internationally can survive this unholy film.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just published a new sneak peek #2 for *Young & Cursed*, currently showing to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a evolution to its first trailer, which has attracted over notable views.


In addition to its regional launch, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has informed that *Young & Cursed* will also be taken worldwide, taking the terror to global fright lovers.


Don’t miss this life-altering fall into madness. Enter *Young & Cursed* this All Hallows’ kickoff to acknowledge these fearful discoveries about mankind.


For behind-the-scenes access, making-of footage, and reveals from Chiaramonte Films, follow @YACMovie across your socials and visit the official movie site.





U.S. horror’s inflection point: the 2025 season stateside slate interlaces ancient-possession motifs, art-house nightmares, in parallel with returning-series thunder

Kicking off with endurance-driven terror drawn from legendary theology as well as returning series and incisive indie visions, 2025 looks like the most dimensioned paired with deliberate year in a decade.

It is loaded, and also intentionally sequenced. major banners hold down the year through proven series, while platform operators flood the fall with fresh voices alongside primordial unease. Meanwhile, the artisan tier is buoyed by the backdraft of 2024’s record festival wave. As Halloween stays the prime week, the remaining months are slotted with surgical care. The fall stretch is the proving field, distinctly in 2025, players are marking January, spring, and mid-summer. Crowds are ready, studios are exacting, which means 2025 might go down as horror’s most intentional year yet.

Major and Mini-Major Maneuvers: Prestige fear returns

The studios are not sitting idle. If 2024 framed the blueprint, 2025 capitalizes.

Universal’s schedule fires the first shot with a big gambit: a refashioned Wolf Man, leaving behind the period European setting, but a sharp contemporary setting. With Leigh Whannell at the helm fronted by Christopher Abbott with Julia Garner, this pass grounds the lycanthropy in household collapse. The arc is bodily and domestic, about marriage, caregiving, and fragile humanity. timed for mid January, it is part of the new strategy to own the box office’s winter dead zone with prestige horror instead of dumping ground thrillers.

In spring, Clown in a Cornfield lands, a YA slasher adaptation reworked as a minimalist shock machine. Led by Eli Craig starring Katie Douglas opposite 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. Early reactions hint at fangs.

As summer winds down, Warner Bros. Pictures rolls out the capstone from its cornerstone horror IP: The Conjuring: Last Rites. With Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson returning as Ed and Lorraine Warren, the piece hints at a heartfelt wrap as it treats a notorious case. Granted the structure is classic, Chaves is guiding toward a solemn, meditative finish. It is also positioned early in September, giving it breathing room before the October onslaught.

The Black Phone 2 follows. Planned for early summer, the October reposition reads assertive. Derrickson re boards, and the hallmarks that turned the first into a sleeper reappear: retrograde shiver, trauma driven plotting, along with eerie supernatural rules. Here the stakes rise, by digging further into the “grabber” mythos and grief’s generational echo.

Rounding the tentpole corner is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a title that can sell without classic marketing. The follow up digs further into canon, enlarges the animatronic menagerie, courting teens and the thirty something base. It books December, stabilizing the winter back end.

Streaming Offerings: Low budgets, big teeth

As theatrical skews franchise first, streamers are pushing into risk, and dividends follow.

A high ambition play arrives with Weapons, a cold case horror anthology knitting three time bands around a mass vanishing. Helmed by Zach Cregger including Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the work combines fright with dramatic torque. With a late summer theatrical bow and fall streaming drop, it is poised to inspire think pieces and forums, echoing Barbarian.

At the smaller scale sits Together, a sealed box body horror arc featuring Alison Brie opposite Dave Franco. Set in a remote rental home during a getaway gone wrong, the film explores what happens when love, envy, and self hatred merge into physical decay. It is romantic, grotesque, and deeply uncomfortable, a three act spiral into codependent hell. With no dated platform window yet, it is a lock for fall streaming.

Next comes Sinners, a 1930s set vampire folk tale toplined by Michael B. Jordan. Shot in rich sepia tones and drenched in biblical metaphor, it feels like There Will Be Blood fused with Let the Right One In. The movie studies American religious trauma through the supernatural lens. Advance tests paint it as a watercooler streamer.

A cluster of streaming indies sits ready: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each explores grief and disappearance and identity, opting allegory above bombast.

The Possession Runs Deep: Young & Cursed

Arriving October 2 across major platforms, Young & Cursed stands as a rare hybrid, both intimate in scope and mythic in reach. From writer director Andrew Chiaramonte, the film follows five strangers who wake in a remote wilderness cabin under the thrall of Kyra, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. As the hours blacken, her hold tightens, an invasive current triggering fears, fissures, and regret.

The menace is mind forward, supercharged by primal myth. Avoiding the usual exorcism path with Catholic ritual and Latin spell, this piece touches something older, something darker. Lilith arrives not by rite, but through trauma, silence, and human fragility. Turning possession inward syncs Young & Cursed to the trend of character led dramas draped in 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 bloated mythology. No IP hangover. Straight psychological chill, boxed and tight, aimed at the binge, pause, and pulse habits of streamers. In the noise, Young & Cursed could cut through by staying hushed, then erupting.

From Festivals to Market

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF remain breeding grounds for what horror looks like six to twelve months later. They are increasingly launchpads rather than showcases.

Fantastic Fest has a thick horror program this time. Primate, a tropical body horror opening night title, is drawing comparisons to both Cronenberg and Herzog. Whistle, a folkloric revenge thriller steeped in Aztec lore, is expected to close the fest with fire.

Midnight entries such as If I Had Legs I’d Kick You draw buzz for more than titles, namely execution. That film, an A24 backed satire of toxic fandom inside a horror convention lockdown, looks poised to break out.

SXSW staged Clown in a Cornfield and lined up microbudget haunts for talks. Sundance is expected to unspool its usual crop of grief soaked elevated horror, as Tribeca’s genre wing angles urban, social, and surreal.

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

Heritage Horror: Sequels, Reboots, and Reinvention

The sequel reboot ecosystem reads stronger and more precise.

Fear Street: Prom Queen hits July to revive the 90s line with fresh lead and VHS vibe. Departing prior tones, it leans camp and prom night melodrama. Expect tiaras, corn syrup blood, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 bows late June, targeting a broadened techno horror canon with new characters and AI spawned nightmares. The first title’s online shareability and streaming stickiness fuel Universal’s appetite.

The Long Walk adapts an early, scathing Stephen King work, with Francis Lawrence directing, it shows as a grim dystopian parable set in survival horror, a youth walk ending only in death. With the right pitch, it could function as The Hunger Games for grown horror audiences.

Meanwhile, reboots and sequels like Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda appear through the year, many poised for targeted windows or last minute deals.

Trends to Watch

Mythic lanes mainstream
Lilith in Young & Cursed plus Aztec curses in Whistle highlight ancient texts and symbols. This reads not as nostalgia but as reclaiming pre Christian archetypes. Horror does more than scare, it reminds that evil predates us.

Body horror swings back
Titles such as Together, Weapons, and Keeper return focus to the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation symbolize heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streaming Originals Grow Teeth
Disposable horror filler days on platforms have passed. SVOD players fund strong scripts, proven directors, and real spend. Pieces like Weapons and Sinners receive event status, not feed stock.

Festival buzz converts to leverage
Festival status acts as leverage for exhibition, placement, and publicity. A film minus festival planning in 2025 risks getting lost.

Theatrical becomes a trust fall
Studios are only releasing horror theatrically if they believe it will overperform or spin into sequels. The remainder goes PVOD or hybrid. Horror continues in theaters, in narrower curated lanes.

Season Ahead: Autumn density and winter pivot

With Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons stacked into September and October, fall saturates. Indies, including Bone Lake and Keeper, will battle for oxygen. There may be pivots into early 2026 or across platforms.

December anchors on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, yet a surprise streamer drop could appear in the final weeks. As several big titles lean dark and mythic, there is room for one last creature feature or exorcism flick.

The success of horror in 2025 hinges less on a single title and more on how a diverse slate reaches a scattered, segmented audience. The mission is not a new Get Out, it is sustained horror beyond tickets.



The new fear year to come: Sequels, original films, together with A jammed Calendar Built For chills

Dek The upcoming scare slate crams in short order with a January crush, following that rolls through summer corridors, and deep into the winter holidays, fusing name recognition, untold stories, and tactical alternatives. Studios with streamers are leaning into smart costs, theatrical-first rollouts, and shareable marketing that convert genre releases into all-audience topics.

Horror momentum into 2026

The horror marketplace has proven to be the bankable play in distribution calendars, a segment that can spike when it breaks through and still hedge the risk when it falls short. After the 2023 year demonstrated to studio brass that mid-range genre plays can galvanize social chatter, 2024 carried the beat with visionary-driven titles and stealth successes. The run pushed into the 2025 frame, where returns and festival-grade titles demonstrated there is demand for a spectrum, from series extensions to original features that scale internationally. The upshot for 2026 is a run that looks unusually coordinated across distributors, with mapped-out bands, a pairing of household franchises and first-time concepts, and a renewed focus on theatrical windows that drive downstream revenue on premium rental and SVOD.

Insiders argue the space now performs as a wildcard on the programming map. The genre can premiere on many corridors, supply a simple premise for previews and TikTok spots, and outstrip with viewers that respond on previews Thursday and hold through the sophomore frame if the release delivers. Exiting a work stoppage lag, the 2026 configuration exhibits assurance in that playbook. The year begins with a front-loaded January block, then primes spring and early summer for counterweight, while leaving room for a autumn stretch that stretches into late October and into early November. The schedule also underscores the expanded integration of specialized labels and digital platforms that can launch in limited release, ignite recommendations, and expand at the inflection point.

A parallel macro theme is series management across shared IP webs and storied titles. Studio teams are not just releasing another installment. They are trying to present brand continuity with a must-see charge, whether that is a graphic identity that flags a re-angled tone or a star attachment that binds a latest entry to a initial period. At the parallel to that, the visionaries behind the headline-grabbing originals are embracing practical craft, practical effects and distinct locales. That fusion produces the 2026 slate a confident blend of home base and discovery, which is how the genre sells abroad.

What the big players are lining up

Paramount leads early with two front-of-slate bets that sit at tonal extremes. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with original architect Kevin Williamson in the lead and Neve Campbell back at the lead, marketing it as both a cross-generational handoff and a DNA-forward character-centered film. The film is shooting in Atlanta, and the authorial approach signals a memory-charged treatment without going over the last two entries’ core arc for the Carpenter sisters. A campaign is expected driven by heritage visuals, initial cast looks, and a tiered teaser plan aimed at late fall. Distribution is Paramount’s theatrical route.

Paramount also dusts off 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 campaign lever the campaign will play up. As a non-tentpole summer option, this one will drive wide buzz through remixable clips, with the horror spoof format enabling quick shifts to whatever tops pop-cultural buzz that spring.

Universal has three separate plays. SOULM8TE arrives January 9, 2026, a tech-horror spinoff from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The setup is tight, melancholic, and big-hook: a grieving man onboards an machine companion that grows into a lethal partner. The date lines it up at the front of a crowded corridor, with the studio’s marketing likely to replay eerie street stunts and short reels that mixes affection and dread.

On May 8, 2026, the studio lines up an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely interpreted as the feature developed under code names in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The public release grid currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which allows a branding reveal to become an headline beat closer to the initial tease. The timing hands the studio a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles take the main frames.

Filling out the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film lands October 23, 2026, a slot he has dominated before. Peele’s releases are marketed as must-see filmmaker statements, with a teaser with minimal detail and a next wave of trailers that tee up tone without spoiling the concept. The late-month date affords Universal to maximize 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, joins with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček heads, with Souheila Yacoub fronting. The franchise has made clear that a in-your-face, practical-first strategy can feel cinematic on a tight budget. Position this as a grime-caked summer horror shot that pushes foreign markets, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most global territories.

Sony’s horror bench is loaded. The studio books two brand plays in the back half. An untitled Insidious film lands August 21, 2026, holding a dependable supernatural brand on the grid while the spin-off branch gestates. The studio has repositioned on this title before, but the current plan locks it in late summer, where Insidious has done well historically.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil reappears in what the studio is positioning as a fresh restart for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a strategic part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a clearer mandate to serve both loyalists and casuals. The fall slot gives Sony time to build materials around setting detail, and monster craft, elements that can fuel premium screens and cosplay-friendly fan engagement.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, stakes a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film continues Eggers’ run of period horror driven by careful craft and period speech, this time circling werewolf lore. The label has already locked the day for a holiday release, a public confidence in Eggers as a specialty play that can grow wide if early reception is enthusiastic.

How the platforms plan to play it

Windowing plans in 2026 run on proven patterns. The Universal horror run shift to copyright after a box-office phase then PVOD, a ladder that optimizes both launch urgency and sign-up momentum in the later window. Prime Video stitches together acquired titles with global acquisitions and targeted theatrical runs when the data recommends it. Max and Hulu work their advantages in back-catalog play, using editorial spots, Halloween hubs, and curated rows to increase tail value on the horror cume. Netflix stays nimble about Netflix films and festival grabs, locking in horror entries with shorter lead times and coalescing around go-lives with quick-run campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, works a paired of targeted theatrical exposure 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 pivoting to fan funnels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ cherry-picks horror on a bespoke basis. The platform has proven amenable to invest in select projects with award winners or star-led packages, then give them a art-house footprint in partnership with exhibitors to meet awards-qualifying thresholds or to gain imprimatur before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney domestic still benefits from the 20th Century Studios slate, a major factor for subscriber stickiness when the genre conversation peaks.

The specialty lanes and indie surprises

Cineverse is putting together a 2026 slate with two brand extensions. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The appeal is straightforward: the same brooding, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a genre cult touchstone, updated for modern soundscapes and visuals. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a fall corridor, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. Cineverse has telegraphed a traditional cinema play for Legacy, an positive signal for fans click to read more of the ferocious series and for exhibitors hungry for R material in the September weeks.

Focus will lean into the auteur lane with Werwulf, shepherding the title through the autumn circuit if the cut is ready, then turning to the holiday dates to increase reach. That positioning has worked well for craft-driven horror with crossover ambitions. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not locked many 2026-specific horror dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines generally solidify after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A likely scenario is a brace of late-summer and fall platformers that can surge if reception allows. Keep an eye on an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that bows at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work as partners, using boutique theatrical to fuel evangelism that fuels their audience.

Known brands versus new stories

By share, the 2026 slate is weighted toward the brand-heavy side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all tap household recognition. The caveat, as ever, is staleness. The standing approach is to market each entry as a new angle. Paramount is elevating character and continuity in Scream 7, Sony is signaling a ground-zero restart for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is driving a continental coloration from a breakout filmmaker. Those choices move the needle when the audience has so many options and social sentiment shifts fast.

Non-franchise titles and filmmaker-led entries supply the oxygen. Jordan Peele’s October film will be branded as a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, places Rachel McAdams into a crash-survival premise with signature mischievous dread. SOULM8TE offers a focused, eerie tech hook. Werwulf anchors in period detail and an unsparing tone. Even when the title is not based on a property, the package is known enough to generate pre-sales and preview-night turnout.

Three-year comps frame the approach. In 2023, a big-screen-first plan that observed windows did not hamper a hybrid test from performing when the brand was compelling. In 2024, meticulous-craft horror popped in premium screens. In 2025, a resuscitation of a beloved infection saga showed the market that global horror franchises can still feel revitalized when they angle differently and stretch the story. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which carries on January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The linked-chapter plan, with chapters produced back-to-back, provides the means for marketing to tie installments through relationships and themes and to leave creative active without long gaps.

Craft and creative trends

The craft rooms behind the upcoming entries signal a continued tilt toward physical, site-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not resemble any recent iteration of the property, a stance that complements the hands-on effects stance he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film closed principal and is headed for its April 17, 2026 date. Anticipate a rollout that highlights atmosphere and fear rather than whiz-bang spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership enabling financial discipline.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has described Werwulf as the hardest-edged project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval world and period-faithful dialogue, a combination that can make for enveloping sound design and a austere, elemental atmosphere on the big screen. Focus will likely warm the market to this aesthetic in feature stories and technical spotlights before rolling out a tone piece that prioritizes vibe over plot, a move that has resonated for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is built for practical nastiness, a signature of the series that sells overseas in red-band trailers and earns shareable shock clips from early screenings. Scream 7 aims for a meta refresh that brings back the core lead. Resident Evil will hit or miss on monster work and world-building, which are ideal for fan conventions and selective drops. Insidious tends to be a mix showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the auditorium case feel must-have. Look for trailers that underscore razor sound, deep-bass stingers, and mute beats that land in big rooms.

From winter to holidays

January is loaded. 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 moody palate cleanser amid headline IP. The month finishes with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival-horror from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is legit, but the spread of tones ensures lanes for each, and the five-week structure offers clean runway for each if word of mouth sustains.

Q1 into Q2 set up the summer. Scream 7 arrives February 27 with legacy momentum. In April, New Line’s The Mummy reframes a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once suited genre counterprogramming and now nurtures 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 spreads the field. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is comic-leaning and wide, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 drops red-band intensity. The counterprogramming logic is tight. The spoof can play next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest delights older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have rotated off PLF.

Shoulder season into fall leans brand. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives the studio a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously excelled. Resident Evil rolls in after September 18, a late-September window that still connects to Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film secures October 23 and will captivate cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely driven by a mystery-first teaser plan and limited disclosures that put concept first.

Holiday prestige and specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a marker that genre can play the holidays when packaged as director prestige horror. Focus 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 scores with critics, the studio can add screens in the first week of 2027 while carrying holiday turnout and gift card usage.

Film-by-film briefs

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting rolling out as production continues. Logline: Sidney returns to oppose a new Ghostface while the narrative rethreads the original film’s founding notes. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: heritage pivot with a current edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A bereaved man’s artificial companion unfolds into something lethally affectionate. 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 scales the story beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult forms in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Filmed in tandem with the first film. Positioning: prestige zombie continuation.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man journeys back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to stumble upon a changing reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed with U.S. theatrical distribution secured. 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 More about the author crash, an employee and her demanding boss struggle to survive on a remote island as the chain of command reverses and mistrust rises. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal done. 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 in the vault in official materials. Logline: A modern reconception that returns the monster to chill, based on Cronin’s hands-on craft and quiet dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Shoot done. Positioning: classic monster reset with creative stamp.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A in-home haunting story that toys with the panic of a child’s fragile interpretations. Rating: TBA. Production: post-ready. Positioning: studio-supported and celebrity-led eerie suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers back in the creative mix. Logline: {A parody return that teases present-day genre chatter and true crime fascinations. Rating: awaiting classification. 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 bursts, with an overseas twist in tone and setting. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: production in New Zealand. Positioning: hard-hitting R entry designed for premium formats.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: awaiting reveal. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: The Further unfurls again, with a new clan anchored to ancient dread. Rating: TBA. Production: on track for summer lensing before late-summer rollout. Positioning: dependable ghost-franchise slot that suits the brand.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: to be disclosed. Top cast: TBA. Logline: A clean reboot designed to re-engineer the franchise from the ground up, with an priority on survival-driven horror over set-piece spectacle. Rating: pending. Production: dev phase with date secured. Positioning: lore-true modernization with broad upside.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: forthcoming. Logline: closely held. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: proceeding. 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 bone-deep menace. Rating: TBA. Production: in preparation with Christmas frame locked. Positioning: high-craft holiday horror with awards-season tail.

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

Why 2026 and why now

Three execution-level forces calibrate this lineup. First, production that bottlenecked or migrated in 2024 required runway on the datebook. Horror can slot in fast because scripts often demand fewer locations, fewer large-scale effects sequences, and accelerated schedules. Second, studios have become more disciplined about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently exceeded straight-to-streaming releases. Third, viral talk converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will capitalize on bite-size scare clips from test screenings, carefully timed scare clips pegged to Thursday preview nights, and experiential pop-ups that feed creator content. It is a repeatable playbook because it pays off.

Programming arithmetic plays a role. Early 2026 is less crowded with family and superhero corridors, opening usable real estate for genre entries that can take a weekend outright or operate as the older-skew option. January is the prime example. Four horror lanes will jostle across five weekends, which helps each film cultivate buzz on its own. Summer provides the other window. The parody can surf the early-summer animated and action swell, then the hard-R entry can leverage a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Business view: budgets, ratings, sleeper chase

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 wide PLF deployment 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 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 dark-horse hit of the year, and August into September gives Sony an avenue to hold screens with back-to-back supernatural IP while still leaving room for an indie breakout.

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

What the calendar feels like for audiences

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers beat and breadth. January is a array, 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 runs hard, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a shadowed, literate nightmare. That is how you preserve buzz while driving admissions without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can compound over time, using earlier releases to seed the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors like the spacing. Horror delivers consistent Thursday swells, efficient screen counts, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can earn PLF placement, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing detail, acoustics, 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.

2026, Lined Up To Scare

Dates shift. Ratings change. Casts shift. But the spine of 2026 horror is in place. There is franchise muscle where it helps, original vision where it matters, and a calendar that shows studios meet the timing for 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 late-breaking specialty acquisition join the party. For now, the job is simple, craft precise trailers, keep the secrets, and let the gasps sell the seats.