Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed confronts ancient terror, a spine tingling horror feature, bowing October 2025 across premium platforms

This eerie spectral fright fest from literary architect / auteur Andrew Chiaramonte, evoking an prehistoric curse when unrelated individuals become proxies in a hellish struggle. Debuting this October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon’s Prime Video, the YouTube platform, Google Play, iTunes Movies, Apple TV+, and Fandango on-demand.

Hollywood, CA (August 8, 2025) – Prepare yourselves for *Young & Cursed*, a gripping tale of resistance and age-old darkness that will reimagine horror this autumn. Created by rising director to watch Andrew Chiaramonte, this psychological and moody fearfest follows five young adults who come to caught in a secluded dwelling under the ominous influence of Kyra, a female lead claimed by a timeless sacrosanct terror. Arm yourself to be shaken by a narrative outing that melds bodily fright with folklore, streaming on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on the second of October, 2025.


Demon possession has been a classic trope in the movies. In *Young & Cursed*, that pattern is inverted when the dark entities no longer form outside their bodies, but rather from their psyche. This mirrors the most sinister element of the group. The result is a gripping inner struggle where the conflict becomes a merciless confrontation between virtue and vice.


In a remote terrain, five individuals find themselves imprisoned under the dark influence and curse of a secretive female presence. As the survivors becomes submissive to withstand her curse, detached and targeted by beings unimaginable, they are required to stand before their darkest emotions while the moments harrowingly strikes toward their final moment.


In *Young & Cursed*, delusion builds and links dissolve, pressuring each cast member to reflect on their personhood and the idea of independent thought itself. The tension climb with every passing moment, delivering a fear-soaked story that fuses otherworldly suspense with raw emotion.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my narrative plan was to dive into ancestral fear, an presence beyond time, influencing soul-level flaws, and dealing with a curse that tests the soul when stripped of free will.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Living Kyra was centered on something outside normal anguish. She is oblivious until the demon emerges, and that transformation is terrifying because it is so intimate.”

Release & Availability

*Young & Cursed* will be aired for horror fans beginning October 2, 2025, on Amazon’s platform, YouTube, Google’s store, Apple iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango at Home—so that horror lovers across the world can survive this demonic journey.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just launched a new second trailer for *Young & Cursed*, published to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a sequel to its original clip, which has been viewed over 100K plays.


In addition to its first availability, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has revealed that *Young & Cursed* will also be released internationally, offering the tale to international horror buffs.


Make sure to see this gripping voyage through terror. Tune into *Young & Cursed* this October the 2nd to confront these spiritual awakenings about our species.


For director insights, production news, and insider scoops straight from the filmmakers, follow @YoungCursedOfficial across fan hubs and visit the movie portal.





Contemporary horror’s watershed moment: 2025 in focus domestic schedule blends legend-infused possession, microbudget gut-punches, stacked beside legacy-brand quakes

Kicking off with endurance-driven terror infused with near-Eastern lore all the way to installment follow-ups paired with sharp indie viewpoints, 2025 is lining up as the most dimensioned as well as intentionally scheduled year of the last decade.

It is crowded, and also meticulously arranged. studio powerhouses bookend the months with established lines, in parallel premium streamers prime the fall with unboxed visions together with archetypal fear. In parallel, the micro-to-mid budget ranks is buoyed by the tailwinds from a record 2024 festival run. With Halloween still the genre’s crown piece, the non-October slots are tuned with exactness. A packed September to October corridor has become a rite of passage, and now, strategies include January, spring, and mid-summer. Audiences are eager, studios are methodical, which means 2025 is positioned to be the most designed season yet.

Major and Mini-Major Maneuvers: Prestige fear returns

The studio class is engaged. If 2024 set the base, 2025 accelerates.

Universal lights the fuse with a bold swing: a reinterpreted Wolf Man, leaving behind the period European setting, but a sharp contemporary setting. Shepherded by Leigh Whannell with Christopher Abbott alongside Julia Garner, this telling braids lycanthropy with a family meltdown. The turn is more than creature work, it is about marriage, parenthood, and humanity. Slated for mid January, it helps remake the winter trough with prestige offerings, not discard thrillers.

By spring, Clown in a Cornfield premieres, a YA slasher port tuned to austere horror. Steered by Eli Craig anchored by Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it functions as blood smeared American gothic with snark. Beneath the facade, it probes hometown suspicion, boomer to zoomer divides, and mob retribution. First wave buzz indicates sharp teeth.

As summer winds down, Warner’s pipeline drops the final chapter from its cornerstone horror IP: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson reprise Ed and Lorraine Warren, the finale seeks an emotional close via a signature case. Granted the structure is classic, Chaves is expected to tune it to a grieving, self reflective color. It goes early September, easing the path before October flood.

The Black Phone 2 follows. From early summer to October, a strong signal. Scott Derrickson returns, and those signature textures resurface: 70s style chill, trauma as theme, along with eerie supernatural rules. This time, the stakes are raised, through a fuller probe of the “grabber” lore and inherited grief.

Capping the big ticket run is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a film that does not need traditional marketing to sell tickets. The return delves further into myth, builds out the animatronic fear crew, courting teens and the thirty something base. It lands in December, locking down the winter tail.

SVOD Originals: Economy, maximum dread

While theaters bet on familiarity, streamers are taking risks, and it is paying off.

An especially bold streamer bet is Weapons, a multi timeline cold-case dread piece knitting three time bands around a mass vanishing. Helmed by Zach Cregger pairing Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the piece merges terror with dramatic mass. Arriving to cinemas late summer then to streamers in fall, it seems set to fuel decode culture and breakdowns, in the Barbarian lane.

Keeping things close quarters is Together, a tight space body horror vignette starring Alison Brie and 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 lands sweet then sick then searing, a three step spin into codependent hell. Although a platform date is not yet posted, it is virtually assured for fall.

One more platform talker is Sinners, a thirties era vampire folk parable fronted by Michael B. Jordan. Rendered in sepia depth and layered biblical metaphor, it mirrors There Will Be Blood meeting Let the Right One In. The work dissects American religious trauma using supernatural allegory. Pre release tests anoint it a conversation starter on streaming.

Additional platform indies hold in reserve: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each taps grief, vanishing, and identity, treating horror as metaphor more than spectacle.

Possession Runs Deep: Young & Cursed

Posting October 2 across the big platforms, Young & Cursed positions itself as a rare hybrid, intimate in scope and mythic in reach. Penned and steered by Andrew Chiaramonte, the movie observes five strangers who awaken in an isolated wilderness cabin, controlled by Kyra, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. As the night settles, her power spikes, an infiltrating force leveraging fears, breaks, and sorrow.

The threat is psychological first, wired with primal myth. Resisting the exorcism template of Catholic ceremony and Latin chant, this film taps something older, something darker. Lilith ignores rite, she wells up from trauma, quietude, and human weakness. The shift to interior possession, not exterior conjuring, flips expectation and aligns Young & Cursed with an expanding wave, intimate character portraits wearing genre.

Platforms such as Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home position the film as a Halloween counter to sequel heavy theatricals and monster revivals. That is a savvy move. No heavy handed lore. No continuity burden. Simply psychological fear, lean and taut, built for the binge then recover rhythm. In a year crowded with spectacle, Young & Cursed may stand out by going quiet, then screaming.

From Festivals to Market

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF serve as nurseries for near future horror. They serve less as display cases, more as runways.

This year, Fantastic Fest confirms a strong horror slate. Primate opens with tropical body horror, sparking Cronenberg plus Herzog comps. Whistle, a folkloric revenge thriller steeped in Aztec lore, is expected to close the fest with fire.

The midnight bench, including If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, hums from execution, not mere titling. 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 is expected to unspool a familiar crop of grief steeped elevated horror, while Tribeca’s genre yard leans urban, social, and surreal.

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

Long Running Lines: Sequels, Reboots, and Reinvention

Legacy IP arrives sturdier and more intentional this cycle.

Fear Street: Prom Queen returns in July, reviving the 90s franchise with new lead and retro color. Unlike prior entries, this one leans into camp and prom night melodrama. Expect tiaras, corn syrup blood, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 hits late June, set to enlarge techno horror mythology with fresh faces and AI bred menaces. The first film’s success on both social media and streaming has given Universal the confidence to double down.

The Long Walk, from an early and searing Stephen King work, is inbound, led by Francis Lawrence, it operates as a bleak dystopian tale masked as survival horror, a walk off to death for kids. With sharp marketing, it could translate to The Hunger Games for horror adults.

Other reboots and sequels, Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda, are scattered across the calendar, most waiting for strategic windows or last minute acquisitions.

Trend Lines

Mythic dread mainstreams
From Lilith in Young & Cursed through Aztec curses in Whistle, teams draw on ancient texts and symbols. It eschews nostalgia to repossess pre Christian archetypes. Horror does more than scare, it reminds that evil predates us.

Body horror comes roaring back
Pieces such as Together, Weapons, and Keeper bring it back to flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation now read as metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Platform originals gain bite
Junk fill horror on platforms is receding. Services bankroll legitimate writing, legitimate directors, and proper media. Debuts like Weapons and Sinners carry event framing, not content bins.

Laurels convert to leverage
Wreaths work as currency, buying release slots, placement, and press. Without festivals in 2025, a horror film can evaporate.

Theatrical becomes a trust fall
The big screen goes to those expected to beat comps or build series. The remainder goes PVOD or hybrid. Horror stays in theaters, in chosen pockets.

Near Term Outlook: Autumn density and winter pivot

With Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons all stacked across September and October, the fall is downright saturated. Indies, including Bone Lake and Keeper, will battle for oxygen. Anticipate possible date slides into early 2026 or platform moves.

December holds on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, though a stealth streamer release may land late. Given the dark, mythic lean of the year’s big films, a final creature feature or exorcism slot is open.

Horror’s 2025 outcome will be decided not by one title, but by how its variety connects with splintered audiences. The aim is not another Get Out chase, it is durable horror beyond gross.



The coming 2026 chiller lineup: brand plays, fresh concepts, and also A jammed Calendar aimed at frights

Dek: The brand-new terror slate crowds from day one with a January wave, after that runs through June and July, and well into the late-year period, weaving legacy muscle, original angles, and calculated counter-scheduling. Studio marketers and platforms are prioritizing responsible budgets, theatrical exclusivity first, and shareable marketing that frame genre releases into four-quadrant talking points.

The landscape of horror in 2026

Horror has emerged as the consistent play in distribution calendars, a segment that can break out when it catches and still mitigate the exposure when it underperforms. After the 2023 year proved to buyers that efficiently budgeted fright engines can own the national conversation, 2024 held pace with high-profile filmmaker pieces and surprise hits. The run pushed into the 2025 frame, where revivals and prestige plays demonstrated there is room for different modes, from brand follow-ups to non-IP projects that perform internationally. The aggregate for 2026 is a schedule that reads highly synchronized across companies, with mapped-out bands, a equilibrium of marquee IP and fresh ideas, and a refocused attention on theater exclusivity that drive downstream revenue on premium on-demand and subscription services.

Studio leaders note the genre now works like a schedule utility on the calendar. Horror can arrive on almost any weekend, deliver a grabby hook for creative and UGC-friendly snippets, and outstrip with demo groups that lean in on early shows and stick through the second frame if the entry pays off. After a strike-driven backlog, the 2026 rhythm underscores comfort in that logic. The calendar rolls out with a front-loaded January block, then turns to spring and early summer for counterprogramming, while saving space for a fall corridor that connects to spooky season and into early November. The map also includes the increasing integration of specialized labels and subscription services that can platform a title, stoke social talk, and grow at the strategic time.

A further high-level trend is series management across connected story worlds and storied titles. The studios are not just turning out another return. They are working to present ongoing narrative with a specialness, whether that is a title presentation that telegraphs a refreshed voice or a star attachment that binds a incoming chapter to a classic era. At the simultaneously, the visionaries behind the most anticipated originals are embracing tactile craft, practical effects and concrete locations. That convergence offers the 2026 slate a confident blend of home base and shock, which is how the genre sells abroad.

Studio by studio strategy signals

Paramount sets the tone early with two spotlight plays that run the tonal gamut. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the director seat and Neve Campbell back at the core, steering it as both a legacy handover and a return-to-roots character-first story. Filming is in progress in Atlanta, and the creative posture signals a legacy-leaning angle without replaying the last two entries’ Carpenter-sisters arc. Expect a marketing push anchored in iconic art, initial cast looks, and a two-beat trailer plan targeting late fall. Distribution is big-screen via Paramount.

Paramount also revives a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are back together, with the Wayans brothers involved creatively for the first time since the early 2000s, a centerpiece the campaign will emphasize. As a counterweight in summer, this one will generate mainstream recognition through meme-ready spots, with the horror spoof format supporting quick reframes to whatever leads the conversation that spring.

Universal has three specific entries. SOULM8TE arrives January 9, 2026, a tech-forward branch from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The story engine is elegant, loss-driven, and logline-clear: a grieving man implements an intelligent companion that shifts into a lethal partner. The date sets it at the front of a crowded corridor, with Universal’s campaign likely to revisit uncanny live moments and short reels that blurs romance and foreboding.

On May 8, 2026, the studio positions an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely read as the feature developed under internal titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The official listing currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which permits a official title to become an attention spike closer to the first look. The timing gives the studio a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles occupy other frames.

Supplementing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film grabs October 23, 2026, a slot he has commanded before. His projects are framed as event films, with a opaque teaser and a later trailer push that convey vibe without spoilers the concept. The Halloween runway gives the studio room to command 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, partners with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček leads, with Souheila Yacoub in the lead. The franchise has shown that a flesh-and-blood, makeup-driven approach can feel top-tier on a efficient spend. Position this as a blood-soaked summer horror jolt that maximizes international play, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most world markets.

Sony’s horror bench is particularly deep. The studio books two recognizable-IP pushes in the back half. An untitled Insidious film bows August 21, 2026, carrying a consistent supernatural brand in the market while the spin-off branch evolves. Sony has reshuffled on my review here this title before, but the current plan sets it in late summer, where Insidious has traditionally delivered.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil returns in what the studio is presenting as a clean-slate approach for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a key part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a clearer mandate to serve both players and first-timers. The fall slot gives Sony time to build campaign pieces around setting detail, and creature design, elements that can amplify PLF interest and fan events.

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 the filmmaker’s run of period horror grounded in immersive craft and period language, this time orbiting lycan myth. The specialty arm has already planted the flag for a holiday release, a strong signal in Eggers as a specialty play that can scale widely if early reception is warm.

Streamers and platform exclusives

Streaming playbooks in 2026 run on established tracks. Universal’s horror titles transition to copyright after a box-office phase then PVOD, a ordering that boosts both premiere heat and trial spikes in the later window. Prime Video blends licensed films with worldwide entries and limited runs in theaters when the data signals it. Max and Hulu work their edges in library curation, using well-timed internal promotions, spooky hubs, and featured rows to keep attention on aggregate take. Netflix stays nimble about in-house releases and festival wins, finalizing horror entries near launch and coalescing around launches with fast-turn plans. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, exploits a staged of targeted cinema placements and fast windowing that converts buzz to sign-ups. That will prove important for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before working genre-fan funnels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ treats carefully horror on a title-by-title basis. The platform has been willing to purchase select projects with acclaimed directors or marquee packages, then give them a qualifying theatrical in partnership with exhibitors to meet awards-qualifying thresholds or to gain imprimatur before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney domestic still uses the 20th Century Studios slate, a notable driver for ongoing engagement when the genre conversation swells.

Festival-to-platform breakouts

Cineverse is curating a 2026 corridor with two label plays. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The setup is simple: the same moody, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a cult classic, modernized for modern sound and image. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a September to November window, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. Cineverse has announced a cinema-first plan for Legacy, an upbeat indicator for fans of the brutal series and for exhibitors in need of adult counterprogramming in the autumn stretch.

Focus will work the director lane with Werwulf, marshalling the project through select festivals if the cut is ready, then using the holiday slot to go wider. That positioning has served the company well for auteur horror with crossover ambitions. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not posted many 2026 dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines usually solidify after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A solid projection is a set of late-summer and fall platformers that can surge if reception merits. Plan on an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that surges from Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work hand in hand, using precision theatrical to spark the evangelism that fuels their subs.

Brands and originals

By weight, 2026 is weighted toward the legacy column. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all capitalize on legacy awareness. The potential drawback, as ever, is audience fatigue. The go-to fix is to package Source each entry as a fresh tone. Paramount is elevating relationship and legacy in Scream 7, Sony is positioning a fresh ground-up build for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is driving a European tilt from a buzzed-about director. Those choices have impact when the audience has so many options and social sentiment swings fast.

Non-franchise titles and director-driven titles keep oxygen in the system. 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, features Rachel McAdams in a crash-survival premise with the director’s playful dread. SOULM8TE offers a focused, eerie tech hook. Werwulf roots in era detail and an stark tone. Even when the title is not based on known IP, the bundle is comforting enough to translate curiosity into advance sales and Thursday-night crowds.

Recent comps illuminate the model. In 2023, a exclusive theatrical model that held distribution windows did not foreclose a day-date move from succeeding when the brand was compelling. In 2024, filmmaker-craft-led horror hit big in premium large format. In 2025, a rebirth of a beloved infection saga broadcast that global horror franchises can still feel recharged when they reorient and widen scale. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which continues January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The two-film strategy, with chapters lensed sequentially, creates space for marketing to relate entries through character and theme and to leave creative active without pause points.

Aesthetic and craft notes

The production chatter behind the year’s horror point to a continued tilt toward material, place-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not play like any recent iteration of the property, a stance that reinforces the practical-craft ethos he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film wrapped production and is headed for its April 17, 2026 date. Expect a campaign that centers aura and dread rather than theme-park spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership allowing budget rigor.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has framed Werwulf as the bleakest project he has tackled, which tracks with a feudal backdrop and period-accurate language, a combination that can make for layered sound design and a spare, elemental mood on the big screen. Focus will likely preview this aesthetic in long-lead features and craft spotlights before rolling out a preview 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 calibrated for practical nastiness, a signature of the series that travels well in red-band trailers and earns shareable reaction clips from early screenings. Scream 7 hints at a meta refresh that returns to the core star. Resident Evil will stand or stumble on monster aesthetics and world-building, which play well in convention activations and planned releases. Insidious tends to be a sonic showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the cinema argument feel key. Look for trailers that highlight pin-drop sound, deep-bass stingers, and sudden silences that benefit on big speakers.

Annual flow

January is jammed. 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 bigger brand plays. The month wraps with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a crash-survival thriller from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is meaningful, but the variety of tones affords lanes to each, and the five-week structure allows a clean run for each if word of mouth holds.

Late winter and spring prepare summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 hits February 27 with nostalgia heat. In April, New Line’s The Mummy resurrects a classic my company monster on April 17, a spring frame that once was known for genre counterprogramming and now enables 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 sharpens the contrast. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is jokier and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 delivers brutal intensity. The counterprogramming logic is solid. The spoof can play next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest satisfies older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have run their PLF course.

Back half into fall leans franchise. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously thrived. Resident Evil rolls in after September 18, a bridge slot that still preps for Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event claims October 23 and will captivate cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely reinforced by a mystery-first teaser plan and limited plot reveals that trade in concept over detail.

Prestige-horror at year-end. Werwulf on December 25 is a flag plant that genre can stand up at Christmas when packaged as filmmaker-first prestige. Focus has done this before, slow-rolling, then pressing critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to remain in discourse into January. If the film resonates with critics, the studio can open up in the first week of 2027 while building on holiday impulse and gift-card burn.

Project briefs

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting on a rolling basis as production advances. Logline: Sidney returns to re-engage a new Ghostface while the narrative re-keys to the original film’s essence. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: roots-first with a today edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A loss-struck man’s artificial companion unfolds into something romantically lethal. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming finished for an early-year bow. Positioning: tech-horror with an emotional core.

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 expands the scope beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult rises in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Twin-shot with the first film. Positioning: prestige survival-horror 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 collide with a unstable reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Done with U.S. run set. Positioning: fog-and-fear 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 lonely island as the control dynamic reverses and paranoia creeps in. Rating: TBA. Production: In the can. Positioning: star-forward survival chiller from a master.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles to be revealed in official materials. Logline: A contemporary re-envisioning that returns the monster to fear, rooted in Cronin’s material craft and slow-bloom dread. Rating: TBA. Production: In the can. Positioning: legacy monster restart with director stamp.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A in-home haunting scenario that mediates the fear via a young child’s shifting perspective. Rating: TBD. Production: wrapped. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven haunted-house suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers re-engaging creatively. Logline: {A satirical comeback that skewers current genre trends and true crime fervors. Rating: undetermined. Production: shoot planned for fall 2025. Positioning: four-quadrant summer counterplay.

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 erupts, with an multinational twist in tone and setting. Rating: TBA. Production: shooting in New Zealand. Positioning: intense red-band chapter tailored to PLF.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be announced in marketing. Top cast: TBA. Logline: The Further reopens, with a fresh family bound to residual nightmares. Rating: TBA. Production: set for summer production targeting late-summer opening. Positioning: reliable supernatural IP in a date that favors the brand.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: unrevealed publicly. Top cast: pending. Logline: A fresh restart designed to reframe the franchise from the ground up, with an center of gravity in true survival horror over action fireworks. Rating: TBA. Production: moving through development on a locked slot. Positioning: game-grounded refresh with wider appeal.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: TBD. Logline: closely held. Rating: not yet rated. Production: active. Positioning: teaser-forward filmmaker happening.

Werwulf (Focus Features, December 25, 2026)
Director: Robert Eggers. Top cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, with other regulars expected. Logline: A medieval werewolf story built on period-precise speech and raw menace. Rating: to be announced. Production: prepping toward a December 25 launch. Positioning: filmmaker-driven holiday release with craft awards runway.

Wolf Creek: Legacy (Cineverse, TBA 2026)
Director: Greg McLean. Top cast: John Jarratt expected to return as Mick Taylor. Logline: The Australian outback slasher returns, with a theatrical-first route ahead of platforming. Status: date shifting, fall likely.

Why 2026 lands now

Three execution-level forces calibrate this lineup. First, production that slowed or reshuffled in 2024 called for breathing room in the schedule. Horror can bridge those gaps quickly because scripts often require limited locations, fewer large-scale digital sequences, and compressed schedules. Second, studios have become more strict 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 dumps. Third, social buzz converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will capitalize on clippable moments from test screenings, managed scare clips timed to Thursday night previews, and experiential pop-ups that feed creator content. It is a repeatable playbook because it succeeds.

Programming arithmetic plays a role. Family and superhero corridors are not as densely packed in early 2026, leaving useful real estate for genre entries that can command a weekend or serve as the mature-skew alternative. January is the prime example. Four horror lanes will jostle across five weekends, which permits distinct conversations to flourish. Summer provides the other window. The satire rides the animated and action tide, then the hard-R entry can leverage a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Business outlook: budgets, ratings, and the sleeper hunt

Budgets remain in the optimal band. Most of the films above will land under the $40–$50 million mark, with many far below. That allows for expanded PLF presence 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 disciplined-budget genre can own weekends with minimal competition, and again in late summer, where horror often becomes the conversation when tentpoles tire. The 2026 slate is set up to work those windows. January could easily deliver the first stealth overachiever of the year, and August into September gives Sony an avenue to hold screens with back-to-back supernatural IP while still leaving room for an indie breakout.

Internationally, brand recognition helps Resident Evil, Evil Dead, and Scream travel, while 28 Years Later benefits from a British setting and returning talent. Werwulf and The Mummy will lean on auteur and classic-monster awareness abroad. Streamers will amplify the tail, with copyright pickups boosting Universal’s slate and Shudder driving evangelism for Cineverse titles. Plan on a solid PVOD window generally, since horror fans have shown a willingness to pay for convenience after an opening weekend, especially when word of mouth is strong.

The moviegoer’s year in horror

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers pattern and spread. January is a tasting table, February delivers a legacy slasher, April resurrects a Universal monster, May and June provide a one-two spectral pairing 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 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 gain momentum, using earlier releases to seed the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors endorse the spacing. Horror delivers frequent Thursday-night spikes, smart allocations, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can qualify for PLF, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing surface detail, sound, and visuals 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 Promising 2026

Frames adjust. Ratings change. Casts shuffle. But the spine of 2026 horror is intact. There is brand heft where it matters, new vision where it lands, and a calendar that shows studios understand how and when audiences want to be scared. The awards and festival pipeline into 2027 will come into focus once the fall festivals lock, and it would not be surprising to see at least one eleventh-hour specialty buy join the party. For now, the job is simple, roll out exact trailers, hold the mystery, and let the shudders sell the seats.