Age-old Evil returns: Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a spine tingling supernatural thriller, landing Oct 2025 across major platforms

An spine-tingling spiritual nightmare movie from creator / visionary Andrew Chiaramonte, manifesting an age-old entity when unknowns become puppets in a supernatural ordeal. Releasing on October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, Apple iTunes, Apple’s TV+ service, and Fandango at Home.

Los Angeles, CA (August 8th, 2025) – be warned for *Young & Cursed*, a traumatizing tale of perseverance and prehistoric entity that will reimagine horror this autumn. Directed by rising imaginative director Andrew Chiaramonte, this harrowing and emotionally thick story follows five unacquainted souls who regain consciousness confined in a far-off dwelling under the hostile will of Kyra, a central character claimed by a antiquated biblical demon. Be prepared to be hooked by a cinematic experience that unites raw fear with biblical origins, premiering on Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on the second of October, 2025.


Diabolic occupation has been a recurring concept in motion pictures. In *Young & Cursed*, that idea is twisted when the monsters no longer originate from external sources, but rather from deep inside. This symbolizes the darkest element of the players. The result is a enthralling identity crisis where the events becomes a relentless face-off between good and evil.


In a abandoned wilderness, five teens find themselves isolated under the evil aura and infestation of a enigmatic figure. As the characters becomes unable to resist her influence, stranded and chased by terrors mind-shattering, they are required to face their inner demons while the seconds ruthlessly edges forward toward their fate.


In *Young & Cursed*, suspicion swells and partnerships implode, forcing each figure to evaluate their values and the idea of decision-making itself. The stakes climb with every instant, delivering a horror experience that fuses mystical fear with human fear.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my objective was to uncover basic terror, an presence born of forgotten ages, feeding on inner turmoil, and navigating a curse that strips down our being when freedom is gone.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Becoming Kyra involved tapping into something far beyond human desperation. She is innocent until the evil takes hold, and that evolution is emotionally raw because it is so private.”

Watch the Horror Unfold

*Young & Cursed* will be available for public screening beginning October 2, 2025, on Amazon’s platform, YouTube, Google’s store, Apple iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango on-demand—ensuring subscribers around the globe can survive this fearful revelation.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just launched a new trailer two for *Young & Cursed*, uploaded to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a follow up to its release of trailer #1, which has garnered over massive response.


In addition to its North American premiere, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has announced that *Young & Cursed* will also be shown overseas, extending the thrill to lovers of terror across nations.


Avoid skipping this soul-jarring path of possession. Experience *Young & Cursed* this Halloween season to witness these terrifying truths about mankind.


For previews, on-set glimpses, and updates from the creators, follow @YoungAndCursedMovie across fan hubs and visit the film’s website.





American horror’s watershed moment: 2025 American release plan interlaces old-world possession, microbudget gut-punches, stacked beside brand-name tremors

Ranging from life-or-death fear rooted in legendary theology and stretching into brand-name continuations alongside surgical indie voices, 2025 is lining up as the most complex in tandem with blueprinted year in recent memory.

The 2025 horror calendar is not merely full, it is methodical. top-tier distributors stabilize the year using marquee IP, simultaneously premium streamers saturate the fall with fresh voices paired with mythic dread. Across the art-house lane, horror’s indie wing is fueled by the kinetic energy of a record-setting 2024 festival season. Because Halloween stands as the showcase, the schedule beyond October is tightly engineered. The autumn corridor is the classic sprint, and now, horror is also claiming January, spring, and even mid-summer. Audiences are eager, studios are surgical, accordingly 2025 may be recorded as the genre’s most deliberate campaign.

Studio and Mini-Major Strategies: High-craft horror returns

The majors are assertive. If 2024 set the base, 2025 scales the plan.

Universal kicks off the frame with a big gambit: a newly envisioned Wolf Man, not returning to the Gothic European hamlet, inside today’s landscape. From director Leigh Whannell and starring Christopher Abbott with Julia Garner, this chapter binds the lycanthropy to domestic unraveling. The arc is bodily and domestic, about marriage, caregiving, and fragile humanity. targeting mid January, it supports the push to convert the winter lull using prestige plays, not leftovers.

The spring frame introduces Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher page-to-screen distilled into spare horror. Eli Craig directs including Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it runs as red stained heartland dread with sharp satire. Beneath the mask, it picks at rural paranoia, age cohort splits, and lynch mob logic. Early reactions hint at fangs.

When summer fades, the WB camp releases the last chapter from its dependable horror line: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson reprise Ed and Lorraine Warren, the piece hints at a heartfelt wrap as it treats a notorious case. Though the outline is tried, Chaves seems to angle for a plaintive, inward final note. It sits in early September, securing daylight before October saturation.

Next is The Black Phone 2. Set early then moved to October, a confidence tell. Derrickson re boards, and so do the signature elements that made the first installment a sleeper hit: nostalgic menace, trauma explicitly handled, plus otherworld rules that chill. The bar is raised this go, with a deeper exploration into the “grabber” mythology and how grief haunts generations.

Capping the big ticket run is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a franchise that brings its own crowd. The second outing goes deeper into backstory, enlarges the animatronic menagerie, seeking teens plus thirty something gamers. It bows in December, cornering year end horror.

Platform Plays: Tight funds, wide impact

As theatrical skews franchise first, streamers are swinging risk forward, and returns look strong.

A leading ambitious platform entry is Weapons, a cold trail horror omnibus braiding three timelines tied to a mass vanishing. From Zach Cregger including Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the movie mixes chill with dramatic weight. Debuting in theaters late summer then streaming in fall, it should ignite online discourse and post viewing breakdowns, much like Barbarian.

Keeping things close quarters is Together, a sealed box body horror arc fronted by Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Fixed in a remote let as a weekend curdles, the piece probes how love, envy, and self loathing become bodily rot. It moves between affection and rot, a triptych into codependent hell. With no dated platform window yet, it is a near certain autumn drop.

Next comes Sinners, a 1930s set vampire folk tale anchored by Michael B. Jordan. Photographed in sepia saturation with biblical metaphor, it feels like There Will Be Blood fused with Let the Right One In. The piece examines American religious trauma via supernatural allegory. Advance tests paint it as a watercooler streamer.

Several other streaming indies are quietly waiting in the wings: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each engages grief, missing persons, and identity, with metaphor before show.

Possession Beneath the Skin: Young & Cursed

Hitting October 2 on the platforms, Young & Cursed operates as a rare duality, minimal in staging, maximal in myth. Authored and directed by Andrew Chiaramonte, the story trails five strangers who come to in a far off forest cabin, ruled by Kyra, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. When darkness comes, Kyra’s power swells, a penetrating force tapping their private fears, soft spots, and remorse.

The terror is psychological in engine, alive with primal myth. Skipping the exorcism norm of Catholic rite and Latin line, this one reaches back to something older, something darker. Lilith does not answer ceremony, she climbs through trauma, hush, and human fracture. Turning possession inward syncs Young & Cursed to the trend of character led dramas draped in genre.

The Halloween window on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home frames the film as counter to sequel saturation and creature revivals. It is a calculated bet. No swollen lore. No sequel clutter. 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 Launchpads, Market Engines

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF remain breeding grounds for what horror looks like six to twelve months later. This year, the launchpad function outruns the showcase role.

Fantastic Fest fields a robust horror set this year. Primate opens the fest with tropical body horror and critics cite Cronenberg and Herzog. Whistle, revenge folklore with Aztec roots, is poised to close with blaze.

Midnight slots like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You earn noise for execution beyond quirky names. That one, an A24 backed satire on toxic fandom set during a horror convention lockdown, is poised for breakout status.

SXSW bowed Clown in a Cornfield while feeding deal chatter for microbudget haunts. Sundance tends to present grief infused elevated horror and likely will, and Tribeca’s genre set plays urban, social, and surreal.

Strategy at festivals now equals branding as well as discovery. That wreath is now a starting gun, not the finish.

Heritage Horror: Sequels and Reboots, Reinvention Included

The sequel reboot ecosystem reads stronger and more precise.

Fear Street: Prom Queen comes in July with franchise revival, new lead, retro styling. Departing prior tones, it leans camp and prom night melodrama. Expect tiaras, corn syrup blood, and VHS panic.

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

Next comes The Long Walk, adapting one of Stephen King’s earliest, most harrowing works, steered by Francis Lawrence, it plays as a savage dystopian parable housed in survival horror, a walk to death contest without winners. With clear targeting, it could become The Hunger Games for horror grown ups.

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

Myth turns mainstream
Young & Cursed with Lilith and Whistle with Aztec curses both signal ancient texts and symbols. This is not nostalgia, it is a reclamation of pre Christian archetypes. Horror is not just scaring us, it is reminding us that evil is older than we are.

Body horror resurges
With films like Together, Weapons, and Keeper, horror is going back to the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation, these are the new metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Platform originals gain bite
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.

Festival hype becomes leverage
Laurels are not just decorative, they leverage theatrical, premium placement, and media cycles. Without festivals in 2025, a horror film can evaporate.

The big screen is a trust exercise
Theater slots go to likely overachievers or franchise starters. The remainder goes PVOD or hybrid. Horror continues in theaters, in narrower curated lanes.

Near Term Outlook: Autumn crowding, winter surprise

With Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons stacked into September and October, fall saturates. Indies such as Bone Lake and Keeper must fight for oxygen. Do not be surprised if one or two move to early 2026 or switch platforms.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 locks December, while a late surprise on a platform remains possible. With mythic energy high, a late creature or exorcism entry could pop.

What matters is slate breadth meeting fractured audiences, not one crown jewel. The plan is not to clone Get Out, it is to craft horror that lives on beyond box office.



The 2026 spook cycle: continuations, Originals, in tandem with A busy Calendar Built For chills

Dek The brand-new horror calendar stacks from the jump with a January logjam, thereafter spreads through June and July, and carrying into the holiday frame, fusing marquee clout, new concepts, and well-timed counterprogramming. Studios and streamers are embracing right-sized spends, exclusive theatrical windows first, and influencer-ready assets that turn genre releases into national conversation.

Where horror stands going into 2026

The field has grown into the sturdy option in annual schedules, a lane that can surge when it hits and still limit the drawdown when it fails to connect. After 2023 reminded buyers that low-to-mid budget genre plays can steer the national conversation, the following year extended the rally with signature-voice projects and unexpected risers. The head of steam translated to the 2025 frame, where returns and filmmaker-prestige bets proved there is appetite for varied styles, from brand follow-ups to original features that travel well. The takeaway for 2026 is a slate that seems notably aligned across the field, with clear date clusters, a combination of household franchises and first-time concepts, and a sharpened commitment on box-office windows that power the aftermarket on premium on-demand and digital services.

Planners observe the space now performs as a wildcard on the programming map. Horror can debut on nearly any frame, yield a grabby hook for previews and UGC-friendly snippets, and punch above weight with moviegoers that lean in on opening previews and hold through the second frame if the picture pays off. Emerging from a strike-impacted pipeline, the 2026 layout indicates conviction in that equation. The year opens with a busy January window, then uses spring and early summer for balance, while keeping space for a late-year stretch that connects to Halloween and into November. The calendar also shows the ongoing integration of indie arms and digital platforms that can develop over weeks, ignite recommendations, and grow at the right moment.

A companion trend is brand strategy across shared universes and long-running brands. Major shops are not just pushing another return. They are working to present story carry-over with a specialness, whether that is a title design that signals a reframed mood or a casting pivot that binds a next film to a heyday. At the same time, the helmers behind the most buzzed-about originals are returning to hands-on technique, on-set effects and concrete locations. That blend yields 2026 a lively combination of recognition and shock, which is how horror tends to travel globally.

The majors’ 2026 approach

Paramount opens strong with two big-ticket entries that cover both tonal poles. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with original architect Kevin Williamson in the helm and Neve Campbell back at the front, angling it as both a lineage transfer and a rootsy character piece. Production is active in Atlanta, and the artistic posture telegraphs a legacy-leaning strategy without recycling the last two entries’ sisters storyline. Plan for a rollout centered on brand visuals, character spotlights, and a tease cadence rolling toward late fall. Distribution is Paramount’s theatrical route.

Paramount also reignites 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 in creative roles for the first time since the early 2000s, a hook the campaign will spotlight. As a summer this contact form relief option, this one will generate mass reach through remixable clips, with the horror spoof format lending itself to quick redirects to whatever dominates horror talk that spring.

Universal has three distinct bets. SOULM8TE rolls out January 9, 2026, a tech-forward branch from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The logline is elegant, melancholic, and easily pitched: a grieving man adopts an algorithmic mate that escalates into a perilous partner. The date sets it at the front of a crowded corridor, with the marketing arm likely to recreate uncanny-valley stunts and quick hits that mixes affection and dread.

On May 8, 2026, the studio books an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely read as the feature developed under temporary titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The dated slate currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which makes room for a title drop to become an marketing beat closer to the initial tease. The timing offers Universal a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles stack elsewhere.

Filling out the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film secures October 23, 2026, a slot he has thrived in before. His projects are positioned as director events, with a hinting teaser and a follow-up trailer set that set the tone without spoiling the concept. The pre-Halloween slot affords Universal to maximize 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, pairs 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 repeatedly shown that a in-your-face, practical-first style can feel prestige on a tight budget. Expect a blood-soaked summer horror rush that leans hard into international play, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most world markets.

Sony’s horror bench is particularly deep. The studio rolls out two recognizable-IP pushes in the back half. An untitled Insidious film debuts August 21, 2026, extending a trusty supernatural brand in the market while the spin-off branch evolves. The studio has recalibrated on this title before, but the current plan holds it in late summer, where Insidious has often excelled.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil restarts in what Sony is describing as a new foundation for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a vital part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a charge to serve both fans and newcomers. The fall slot affords Sony time to build campaign creative around mythos, and creature effects, elements that can lift large-format demand and fan-culture participation.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, sets a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film builds on the filmmaker’s run of period horror driven by textural authenticity and dialect, this time driven by werewolf stories. The company has already locked the day for a holiday release, a public confidence in the auteur as a specialty play that can open narrow then widen if early reception is favorable.

Platform lanes and windowing

Windowing plans in 2026 run on predictable routes. The Universal horror run shift to copyright after a box-office phase then PVOD, a sequence that boosts both debut momentum and viewer acquisition in the later window. Prime Video will mix third-party pickups with cross-border buys and qualifying theatrical engagements when the data supports it. Max and Hulu optimize their lanes in library curation, using well-timed internal promotions, Halloween hubs, and curated rows to stretch the tail on 2026 genre cume. Netflix plays opportunist about Netflix originals and festival snaps, locking in horror entries closer to drop and making event-like arrivals with condensed plans. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, uses a tiered of targeted theatrical exposure and rapid 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 relying on fan pipelines in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ keeps selective horror on a title-by-title basis. The platform has shown appetite to pick up select projects with name filmmakers or star packages, then give them a prestige theatrical in partnership with exhibitors to meet qualifying rules or to generate social proof before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney domestic still draws on the 20th Century Studios slate, a important input for ongoing engagement when the genre conversation heats up.

The specialty lanes and indie surprises

Cineverse is quietly building a 2026 slate with two recognizable titles. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The proposition is simple: the same mist-blanketed, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a cult classic, recalibrated for modern sound and cinematography. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a fall corridor, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has signaled a traditional cinema play for the title, an promising marker for fans of the brutal series and for exhibitors looking for R-rated counterplay in the fall weeks.

Focus will push the auteur angle with Werwulf, managing the title through select festivals if the cut is ready, then deploying the holiday corridor to scale. That positioning has helped for director-led genre with four-quadrant hopes. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not posted many 2026 dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines regularly gel after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A safe bet is a handful of late-summer and fall platformers that can surge if reception prompts. Expect an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that runs at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work together, using limited runs to prime evangelism that fuels their subscriber base.

Franchises versus originals

By volume, the 2026 slate leans in favor of the legacy column. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all use household recognition. The watch-out, as ever, is overexposure. The practical approach is to position each entry as a new angle. Paramount is spotlighting relationship and legacy in Scream 7, Sony is signaling a full reset for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is leaning into a French-accented approach from a new voice. Those choices count when the audience has so many options and social sentiment tilts quickly.

Originals and director-driven titles add air. Jordan Peele’s October film will be positioned as a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, features Rachel McAdams in a survival-thriller premise with the filmmaker’s mischievous menace. SOULM8TE offers a clear, chilling tech hook. Werwulf emphasizes period craft and an severe tone. Even when the title is not based on a property, the deal build is anchored enough to accelerate early sales and Thursday-night crowds.

Recent-year comps outline the plan. In 2023, a big-screen-first plan that preserved streaming windows did not preclude a parallel release from paying off when the brand was trusted. In 2024, craft-first auteur horror surged in premium auditoriums. In 2025, a revived cycle of a beloved infection saga underlined that global horror franchises can still feel renewed when they alter lens and widen scale. 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 back-to-back plan, with chapters filmed in sequence, allows marketing to connect the chapters through protagonists and motifs and to keep materials circulating without long breaks.

How the films are being made

The filmmaking conversations behind this year’s genre foreshadow a continued tilt toward practical, location-rooted craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not mirror any recent iteration of the property, a stance that aligns with the practical-effects sensibility he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film wrapped production and is tracking to its April 17, 2026 date. The push will likely that leans on atmosphere and fear rather than whiz-bang spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership enabling tight cost control.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has said Werwulf as the grimmest 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 cold, elemental mood on the big screen. Focus will likely highlight this aesthetic in trade spotlights and craft spotlights before rolling out a atmospheric tease that prioritizes vibe over plot, a move that has clicked for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is calibrated for rubbery nastiness, a signature of the series that performs globally in red-band trailers and generates shareable jump-cut reactions from early screenings. Scream 7 targets a self-aware reset that centers an original star. Resident Evil will succeed or falter on creature and environment design, which lend themselves to fan-con activations and staggered reveals. Insidious tends to be a audio showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the in-theater case feel primary. Look for trailers that underscore razor sound, deep-bass stingers, and quiet voids that play in premium auditoriums.

Calendar map: winter through the holidays

January is heavy. 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 tonal palate cleanser amid big-brand pushes. The month caps 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 real, but the range of tones opens lanes for all, and the five-week structure allows a clean run for each if word of mouth endures.

February through May stage summer. Scream 7 comes February 27 with brand warmth. In April, New Line’s The Mummy resurrects a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once was aligned with genre counterprogramming and now hosts big openers. Universal’s untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 steps into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer heightens the contrast. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is jokier and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 serves brutal intensity. The counterprogramming logic is tight. The spoof can thrive next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest feeds older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have moved through premium slots.

End of summer through fall leans IP. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives the studio a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously excelled. Resident Evil arrives after September 18, a bridge slot that still builds toward Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film takes October 23 and will captivate cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely augmented by a peekaboo tease plan and limited plot reveals that favor idea over plot.

December specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a line in sand that genre can stand up at Christmas when packaged as auteur prestige horror. Focus has done this before, deliberate rollout, then pressing critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to sustain conversation into January. If the film hits with critics, the studio can add screens in the first week of 2027 while using holiday momentum and gift-card redemption.

Embedded title notes

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting continuing to be revealed as production is underway. Logline: Sidney returns to oppose a new Ghostface while the narrative re-keys to the original film’s core. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: classic-DNA reset with a current angle.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A grieving man’s digital partner turns into something dangerously intimate. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed principal photography for an early-year bow. Positioning: tech shocker with heart.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Sony, January 16, 2026)
Director: Nia DaCosta. Writer: Alex Garland. Top cast: Cillian Murphy, Jack O’Connell, and additional ensemble tied to a new antagonist faction. Logline: The second chapter in a trilogy grows the world beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult organizes in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Lensed back-to-back with the first film. Positioning: revived prestige horror saga’s second leg.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man goes back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to meet a shifting reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished with U.S. theatrical locked. 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 tough boss try to survive on a remote island as the hierarchy swivels and suspicion grows. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked. Positioning: star-centered survival shocker from a maestro.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles to be revealed in official materials. Logline: A renewed vision that returns the monster to terror, founded on Cronin’s on-set craft and creeping dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed. Positioning: classic creature relaunch with signature touch.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A family-home haunting story that toys with the chill of a child’s inconsistent impressions. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: picture-locked. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven supernatural mood piece.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers re-engaging creatively. Logline: {A genre lampoon that lampoons modern genre fads and true crime preoccupations. Rating: not yet rated. Production: lensing scheduled for fall 2025. Positioning: broad summer counterprogrammer.

Evil Dead Burn (Warner Bros. domestic, July 24, 2026)
Director: Sébastien Vaniček. Top cast: Souheila Yacoub, with ensemble additions. Logline: A new infestation of Deadites spreads, with an globe-spanning twist in tone and setting. Rating: TBD. Production: currently in New Zealand. Positioning: hard-hitting R entry designed for premium formats.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: unrevealed for now. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: The Further extends again, with a young family caught in long-buried horrors. Rating: not yet rated. Production: set for summer production targeting late-summer opening. Positioning: durable spectral IP in a late-summer sweet spot.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: TBA publicly. Top cast: awaiting confirmation. Logline: A fresh restart designed to re-establish the franchise from the ground up, with an emphasis on pure survival horror over pyrotechnic spectacle. Rating: TBD. Production: on a development track with locked window. Positioning: lore-true modernization with broad upside.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: awaiting confirmation. Logline: closely held. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: ongoing. Positioning: director-branded event with teaser focus.

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 historical diction and bone-deep menace. Rating: forthcoming. Production: building toward Christmas Day opening. Positioning: auteur prestige horror aimed at holiday corridor with crafts prospects.

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 theatrical-first route ahead of platforming. Status: date variable, fall window probable.

Why 2026 lands now

Three hands-on forces define this lineup. First, production that stalled or re-sequenced in 2024 called for breathing room in the schedule. Horror can plug those gaps fast because scripts often rely on fewer locations, fewer large-scale CGI runs, and shorter timelines. Second, studios have become more structured 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 premieres. Third, platform buzz converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will work social-ready stingers from test screenings, managed scare clips paired with Thursday night previews, and experiential pop-ups that double as influencer content. It is a repeatable playbook because it holds up.

The slot calculus is real. Early-year family and superhero blocks are thinner in 2026, opening usable real estate for genre entries that can command a weekend or operate as the older-skew option. January is the prime example. Four tonal lanes of horror will jostle across five weekends, which reduces inter-title cannibalization. Summer provides the other window. The parody aligns with early family and action waves, then the hard-R entry can leverage a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Budgets and certifications, sleeper calculus

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

The stealth-hit search continues in Q1, where cost-efficient 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 use those gaps. January could easily deliver the first stealth overachiever of the year, and August into September gives Sony an avenue to hold screens with back-to-back supernatural IP while still leaving room for an indie breakout.

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

Audience rhythm across the year

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers tempo and variety. January is a feast, February delivers a legacy slasher, April revives a Universal monster, May and June provide a one-two spectral pairing for date nights and group outings, July goes for the throat, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a shadowed, literate nightmare. That is how you keep chatter alive and occupancy strong without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can build month to month, using earlier releases to set up the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors are pleased with the spacing. Horror delivers Thursday preview surges, efficient screen counts, 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 dimensionality, soundscape, and image-making 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

Windows change. Ratings change. Casts shuffle. But the spine of 2026 horror is sturdy. There is recognizable IP where it plays, new vision where it lands, and a calendar that shows studios track how and when scares land. The awards and festival pipeline into 2027 will come into focus once the fall festivals lock, and it would not be surprising to see at least one closing-window arthouse pickup join the party. For now, the job is simple, cut crisp trailers, preserve the surprise, and let the shocks sell the seats.