Ancient Horror Awakens in Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a chilling horror feature, launching Oct 2025 on premium platforms

A frightening paranormal fright fest from dramatist / film architect Andrew Chiaramonte, setting free an timeless nightmare when outsiders become pawns in a dark experiment. Airings begin October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime Video, the YouTube platform, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Apple’s TV+ service, and Fandango streaming.

L.A., CA (August 8th, 2025) – Prepare yourselves for *Young & Cursed*, a gripping chronicle of perseverance and primeval wickedness that will remodel terror storytelling this spooky time. Brought to life by rising genre visionary Andrew Chiaramonte, this harrowing and eerie cinema piece follows five unknowns who snap to locked in a remote cabin under the unfriendly manipulation of Kyra, a troubled woman inhabited by a timeless ancient fiend. Arm yourself to be hooked by a screen-based presentation that weaves together bone-deep fear with ancestral stories, unleashing on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Spiritual takeover has been a enduring concept in genre filmmaking. In *Young & Cursed*, that idea is turned on its head when the spirits no longer emerge beyond the self, but rather inside their minds. This portrays the most primal version of the group. The result is a psychologically brutal mental war where the emotions becomes a constant fight between righteousness and malevolence.


In a isolated wilderness, five figures find themselves stuck under the dark influence and curse of a secretive spirit. As the protagonists becomes helpless to break her curse, abandoned and stalked by presences beyond comprehension, they are compelled to face their worst nightmares while the hours mercilessly edges forward toward their fate.


In *Young & Cursed*, fear mounts and friendships break, demanding each figure to question their existence and the concept of liberty itself. The consequences grow with every second, delivering a paranormal ride that marries demonic fright with deep insecurity.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my aim was to channel pure dread, an darkness that existed before mankind, filtering through psychological breaks, and testing a entity that peels away humanity when stripped of free will.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Becoming Kyra involved tapping into something beneath mortal despair. She is blind until the invasion happens, and that evolution is soul-crushing because it is so emotional.”

Viewing Options

*Young & Cursed* will be unleashed for audience access beginning on October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand—making sure fans everywhere can be part of this spine-tingling premiere.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just uploaded a new video trailer for *Young & Cursed*, streaming to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a second look to its original clip, which has pulled in over strong viewer count.


In addition to its US/Canada launch, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has publicized that *Young & Cursed* will also be released internationally, offering the tale to fans of fear everywhere.


Join this haunted descent into darkness. Experience *Young & Cursed* this spooky debut to witness these spiritual awakenings about the human condition.


For previews, filmmaker commentary, and alerts from Chiaramonte Films, follow @YoungAndCursedFilm across social media and visit our horror hub.





American horror’s sea change: the year 2025 stateside slate blends Mythic Possession, indie terrors, and series shake-ups

Kicking off with endurance-driven terror grounded in scriptural legend and onward to installment follow-ups plus cutting indie sensibilities, 2025 stands to become horror’s most layered and deliberate year in the past ten years.

The 2025 horror calendar goes beyond packed, it is precision-tuned. the big studios stabilize the year via recognizable brands, simultaneously OTT services front-load the fall with emerging auteurs and scriptural shivers. On another front, horror’s indie wing is buoyed by the backdraft of a banner 2024 fest year. With Halloween still the genre’s crown piece, the rest of the calendar is filling out with surgical precision. That late Q3 to mid Q4 lane is the crucible, distinctly in 2025, slates are opening January, spring, and mid-summer. Horror fans are craving, studios are methodical, thus 2025 is positioned to be the most designed season yet.

What Studios and Mini-Majors Are Doing: Premium genre swings back

The studio class is engaged. If 2024 set the stage for reinvention, 2025 accelerates.

Universal’s schedule leads off the quarter with a bold swing: a reimagined Wolf Man, set not in some misty 19th-century European village, inside today’s landscape. Guided by Leigh Whannell and toplined by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this take locates the lycanthropy inside home disintegration. The turn is more than creature work, it is about marriage, parenthood, and humanity. Booked into mid January, it joins a broader aim to occupy winter’s quiet with elevated titles, not leftovers.

Spring delivers Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher novel refit as minimal menace. From director Eli Craig with Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it moves like barn born dread with razor satire. Beneath the facade, it probes hometown suspicion, boomer to zoomer divides, and mob retribution. Early festival buzz suggests it has teeth.

As summer wanes, the Warner Bros. banner bows the concluding entry from its anchor horror saga: The Conjuring: Last Rites. The Warrens return, played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the piece hints at a heartfelt wrap as it treats a notorious case. While the template is known, director Michael Chaves reportedly leans into a mournful, interior tone for the swan song. It sets in early September, opening runway before October heat.

Arriving later is The Black Phone 2. Set early then moved to October, a confidence tell. Scott Derrickson again directs, and the DNA that clicked last time remains: 70s style chill, trauma as theme, paired with unsettling supernatural order. This time the stakes climb, with more excavation of the “grabber” canon and family hauntings.

Closing the prime list is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a film that does not need traditional marketing to sell tickets. The sequel leans deeper into its lore, enlarges the animatronic menagerie, reaching teens and game grownups. It arrives in December, buttoning the final window.

SVOD Originals: Tight funds, wide impact

With theaters prioritizing brand safety, platforms are wagering boldly, and results are there.

A flagship risky title is Weapons, a cold case horror anthology knitting three time bands around a mass vanishing. Led by Zach Cregger with turns by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the release pairs unease with narrative heft. Premiering theatrically in late summer before a fall streaming drop, it is poised to inspire think pieces and forums, echoing Barbarian.

On the more intimate flank sits Together, a sealed box body horror arc including Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Confined to a lonely rental when a vacation turns, the story examines love plus envy plus self disgust as flesh ruin. It comes off amorous, macabre, and bracingly uneasy, a three act loop into codependent hell. With no dated platform window yet, it is destined for a fall landing.

One more platform talker is Sinners, a 1930s vintage vampire folk yarn led by Michael B. Jordan. Framed in sepia richness with biblical metaphor, it feels like There Will Be Blood fused with Let the Right One In. The narrative analyzes American religious trauma through a ghostly allegory. Trial screenings frame it as a high chatter SVOD arrival.

More streamer bound indies stand by in the shadows: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each taps grief, vanishing, and identity, treating horror as metaphor more than spectacle.

Deep Possession Currents: Young & Cursed

Going live October 2 on major services, Young & Cursed reads as a rare blend, small in footprint yet mythic in spread. Penned and steered by Andrew Chiaramonte, the work follows five strangers rousing in a remote timber cabin, under Kyra’s control, 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. Rather than another exorcism film centered on Catholic rites or Latin incantations, this one digs into 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.

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 overinflated mythology. No continuity burden. Straight psychological chill, boxed and tight, aimed at the binge, pause, and pulse habits of streamers. Against fireworks, Young & Cursed might stand apart by stillness, then shock.

Festival Heat to Market Leverage

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF serve as nurseries for near future horror. In 2025, they behave more like launchpads than showcases.

Fantastic Fest fields a robust horror set this year. Primate kicks off with tropical body horror and gets Cronenberg Herzog cross talk. Whistle, a folkloric revenge thriller drenched in Aztec lore, is set to close the fest hot.

At midnight, entries like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You buzz for how they play, not only their names. Backed by A24, it skewers toxic fandom amid a convention lockdown, poised to break big.

SXSW premiered Clown in a Cornfield and introduced several microbudget hauntings currently circling deals. Sundance tends to present grief infused elevated horror and likely will, and Tribeca’s genre set plays urban, social, and surreal.

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

Legacy Lines: Returns, Restarts, and Fresh Angles

The franchise bench is sturdier and more targeted than lately.

Fear Street: Prom Queen, landing in July, re ups the 90s brand with a fresh lead and retro tone. Rather than prior modes, it goes camp and prom night melodrama. Think tiaras, fake blood, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 returns in late June, seeking to build out techno horror lore using new characters and AI born frights. The first title’s online shareability and streaming stickiness fuel Universal’s appetite.

The Long Walk arrives off an early Stephen King survival piece, helmed by Francis Lawrence, 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.

Other reboots and sequels, including Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda, scatter across the calendar, many awaiting strategic windows or late acquisitions.

Trends to Watch

Ancient myth goes wide
From Lilith in Young & Cursed to Aztec curses in Whistle, creators turn to 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 swings back
Entries like Together, Weapons, and Keeper shift back to flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation now read as metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streaming originals get teeth
Junk fill horror on platforms is receding. Streamers are investing in real scripts, real directors, and real marketing pushes. Pieces like Weapons and Sinners receive event status, not feed stock.

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

Theatrical release is a trust fall
Studios save theaters for outperform prospects or IP farmers. The remainder goes PVOD or hybrid. Horror still lives in theaters, more curated than broad.

Forward View: Autumn Overload and the Winter Wildcard

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 wrestle for room. Look for a pivot by one or more into early 2026 or to new platforms.

With Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 in December, a stealth streamer drop might pop near year end. As several big titles lean dark and mythic, there is room for one last creature feature or exorcism flick.

What matters is slate breadth meeting fractured audiences, not one crown jewel. The goal is not Get Out again, it is horror with staying power past opening weekends.



The coming 2026 terror season: brand plays, original films, paired with A brimming Calendar aimed at nightmares

Dek The arriving terror cycle lines up at the outset with a January cluster, following that rolls through the mid-year, and deep into the holiday frame, fusing IP strength, fresh ideas, and well-timed release strategy. The major players are focusing on lean spends, big-screen-first runs, and social-fueled campaigns that position the slate’s entries into four-quadrant talking points.

The genre’s posture for 2026

Horror filmmaking has established itself as the sturdy move in release strategies, a vertical that can lift when it catches and still hedge the downside when it stumbles. After 2023 showed buyers that efficiently budgeted shockers can own mainstream conversation, 2024 kept the drumbeat going with filmmaker-forward plays and unexpected risers. The tailwind translated to the 2025 frame, where re-entries and awards-minded projects made clear there is room for diverse approaches, from franchise continuations to non-IP projects that scale internationally. The result for 2026 is a grid that shows rare alignment across distributors, with mapped-out bands, a combination of established brands and fresh ideas, and a recommitted priority on theater exclusivity that power the aftermarket on PVOD and streaming.

Executives say the space now behaves like a versatile piece on the slate. Horror can premiere on many corridors, create a easy sell for marketing and reels, and overperform with crowds that arrive on first-look nights and continue through the sophomore frame if the feature satisfies. After a production delay era, the 2026 setup indicates confidence in that engine. The slate starts with a busy January run, then uses spring and early summer for off-slot scheduling, while reserving space for a September to October window that reaches into late October and into November. The schedule also reflects the continuing integration of boutique distributors and streamers that can platform and widen, generate chatter, and scale up at the precise moment.

A notable top-line trend is brand management across ongoing universes and veteran brands. Studio teams are not just releasing another continuation. They are trying to present story carry-over with a specialness, whether that is a title design that signals a new vibe or a lead change that links a incoming chapter to a first wave. At the same time, the writer-directors behind the marquee originals are prioritizing practical craft, real effects and place-driven backdrops. That convergence yields the 2026 slate a solid mix of comfort and newness, which is how the genre sells abroad.

How the majors and mini-majors are programming

Paramount leads early with two spotlight projects that live at opposite ends of the tone spectrum. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the director’s chair and Neve Campbell back at the spine, presenting it as both a lineage transfer and a foundation-forward character-forward chapter. Production is active in Atlanta, and the artistic posture signals a heritage-honoring angle without repeating the last two entries’ Carpenter-sisters arc. Anticipate a campaign centered on legacy iconography, character previews, and a trailer cadence slated for late fall. Distribution is Paramount’s cinema pipeline.

Paramount also reboots a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are reuniting, with the Wayans brothers involved in development for the first time since the early 2000s, a campaign lever the campaign will foreground. As a summer alternative, this one will build wide buzz through remixable clips, with the horror spoof format inviting quick pivots to whatever drives the social talk that spring.

Universal has three separate lanes. SOULM8TE rolls out January 9, 2026, a technology-driven offshoot from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The conceit is crisp, grief-rooted, and logline-clear: a grieving man implements an virtual partner that shifts into a deadly partner. The date locates it at the front of a thick month, with Universal’s campaign likely to revisit uncanny live moments and snackable content that blurs attachment and anxiety.

On May 8, 2026, the studio dates an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely considered 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 sets up a proper title to become an event moment closer to the opening teaser. The timing creates a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles take the main frames.

Finishing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film claims October 23, 2026, a slot he has commanded before. Peele projects are treated as creative events, with a teaser with minimal detail and a second beat that set the tone without spoiling the concept. The prime October weekend opens a lane to lead pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then press 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 helms, with Souheila Yacoub starring. The franchise has demonstrated that a tactile, physical-effects centered aesthetic can feel top-tier on a moderate cost. Position this as a gore-forward summer horror jolt that leans into global traction, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most world markets.

Sony’s horror bench is loaded. The studio deploys two recognizable-IP pushes in the back half. An untitled Insidious film lands August 21, 2026, maintaining a proven supernatural brand in play while the spin-off branch gestates. The studio has recalibrated on this title before, but the current plan keeps it in late summer, where the brand has been strong.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil restarts 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 focus to serve both core fans and fresh viewers. The fall slot hands Sony window to build assets around setting detail, and creature work, elements that can drive deluxe auditorium demand and convention buzz.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, positions a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film follows the filmmaker’s run of period horror shaped by minute detail and period speech, this time circling werewolf lore. The company has already claimed the date for a holiday release, a clear message in the auteur as a specialty play that can platform and widen if early reception is glowing.

How the platforms plan to play it

Streaming playbooks in 2026 run on tested paths. Universal’s genre entries head to copyright after a cinema-first plus PVOD, a ordering that amplifies both debut momentum and subscriber lifts in the tail. Prime Video combines licensed films with global acquisitions and select theatrical runs when the data justifies it. Max and Hulu play their strengths in library pulls, using in-app campaigns, Halloween hubs, and handpicked rows to increase tail value on lifetime take. Netflix keeps optionality about Netflix films and festival wins, locking in horror entries near launch and framing as this content events rollouts with fast-turn plans. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, exploits a dual-phase of selective theatrical runs and rapid platforming that translates talk to trials. That will matter for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before activating fan pipelines in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ cherry-picks horror on a discrete basis. The platform has demonstrated openness to take on select projects with award winners or name-led packages, then give them a select cinema run in partnership with exhibitors to meet awards-qualifying thresholds or to create word of mouth before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still uses the 20th Century Studios slate, a key factor for monthly engagement when the genre conversation heats up.

The specialty lanes and indie surprises

Cineverse is structuring a 2026 slate with two franchise steps. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The promise is direct: the same atmospheric, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a favorite of fans, modernized for modern mix and image. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a autumn slot, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has suggested a big-screen first plan for the title, an healthy marker for fans of the nasty series and for exhibitors wanting edgy counter in the October weeks.

Focus will favor the auteur track with Werwulf, piloting the title through the autumn circuit if the cut is ready, then turning to the holiday corridor to open out. That positioning has paid off for elevated genre with award possibilities. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not publicly set many dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines usually solidify after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A plausible forecast is a cluster of late-summer and fall platformers that can widen if reception justifies. Keep an eye on an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that launches at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work in tandem, using select theatrical to fuel evangelism that fuels their paid base.

Brands and originals

By number, 2026 is weighted toward the recognizable IP side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all draw on household recognition. The trade-off, as ever, is staleness. The standing approach is to market each entry as a recast vibe. Paramount is spotlighting character and heritage in Scream 7, Sony is signaling a fresh ground-up build for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is driving a European tilt from a emerging director. Those choices count when the audience has so many options and social sentiment tilts quickly.

Originals and director-first projects keep the lungs full. Jordan Peele’s October film will be pitched as a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, sets Rachel McAdams in a survival shocker premise with Raimi’s playful menace. SOULM8TE offers a focused, eerie tech hook. Werwulf grounds itself in period and an rigorous tone. Even when the title is not based on familiar IP, the deal build is steady enough to convert curiosity into pre-sales and first-night audiences.

Recent comps announce the template. In 2023, a exclusive theatrical model that honored streaming windows did not foreclose a same-day experiment from winning when the brand was compelling. In 2024, craft-forward auteur horror rose in premium formats. In 2025, a return of a beloved infection saga reminded the market that global horror franchises can still feel alive when they angle differently and increase ambition. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which proceeds January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The twin-shoot approach, with chapters shot in tandem, lets marketing to connect the chapters through character web and themes and to sustain campaign assets without long breaks.

How the look and feel evolve

The shop talk behind this year’s genre indicate a continued preference for practical, location-rooted craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not imitate any recent iteration of the property, a stance that aligns with the prosthetic-forward taste he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film wrapped production and is set for its April 17, 2026 date. Promo should that emphasizes mood and dread rather than CG roller-coasters, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership permitting budget prudence.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has said Werwulf as the hardest-edged project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval world and medieval diction, a combination that can make for deep sound design and a chilly, elemental vibe on the big screen. Focus will likely tease this aesthetic in behind-the-scenes pieces and craft features before rolling out a tone piece that plays with mood rather than plot, a move that has clicked for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is designed for tactile gnarliness, a signature of the series that travels well in red-band trailers and produces shareable audience clips from early screenings. Scream 7 delivers a meta recalibration that centers an original star. Resident Evil will hit or miss on creature craft and set design, which fit with con floor moments and selective drops. Insidious tends to be a sound design showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the in-theater case feel necessary. Look for trailers that accent surgical sound design, deep-bass stingers, and hush beats that play in premium auditoriums.

Release calendar overview

January is loaded. 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 foggy reset amid headline IP. The month winds down 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 mix of tones affords lanes to each, and the five-week structure allows a clean run for each if word of mouth stays strong.

Winter into spring seed summer. Scream 7 comes February 27 with brand energy. In April, New Line’s The Mummy restores a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once suited genre counterprogramming and now can handle big openers. Universal’s untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 rolls 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 lighter-toned and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 drops no-compromise intensity. The counterprogramming logic is strong. The spoof can hit next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest feeds older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have cycled through PLF.

Late summer into fall leans brand. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously landed. Resident Evil rolls in after September 18, a bridge slot that still connects to Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event occupies October 23 and will command cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely driven by a tease-and-hold strategy and limited disclosures that put concept first.

December specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a stakes that genre can play the holidays when packaged as director prestige horror. The distributor has done this before, selective rollout, then pressing critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to remain in discourse into January. If the film earns with critics, the studio can increase count in the first week of 2027 while turning holiday audiences and card redemption.

Project-by-project snapshots

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting still being revealed as production proceeds. Logline: Sidney returns to take on a new Ghostface while the narrative reconnects to 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 sorrowing man’s artificial companion escalates into something perilously amorous. Rating: TBA. Production: Wrapped principal for an early-year bow. Positioning: silicon scare with soul.

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 widens the scope beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult coalesces in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Shot sequentially 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 finds his way back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to collide with a altering reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished with U.S. theatrical locked. Positioning: mood-led adaptation.

Send Help (20th Century Studios, January 30, 2026)
Director: Sam Raimi. Top cast: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Dennis Haysbert, Chris Pang. Logline: After a plane crash, an employee and her demanding boss battle to survive on a far-flung island as the control balance turns and mistrust rises. Rating: TBA. Production: Wrapped. Positioning: star-led survival horror from a master director.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles kept quiet in official materials. Logline: A contemporary re-envisioning that returns the monster to menace, shaped by Cronin’s practical craft and oozing dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal wrapped. Positioning: legendary monster re-up with auteur hand.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A domestic haunting chiller that filters its scares through a minor’s volatile POV. Rating: TBD. Production: picture-locked. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven ghostly suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers returning creatively. Logline: {A spoof revival that skewers of-the-moment horror beats and true-crime buzz. Rating: undetermined. Production: filming slated for fall 2025. Positioning: wide-lane seasonal counterprogram.

Evil Dead Burn (Warner Bros. domestic, July 24, 2026)
Director: Sébastien Vaniček. Top cast: Souheila Yacoub, with ensemble additions. Logline: A new infestation of Deadites bursts, with an global twist in tone and setting. Rating: not yet rated. Production: filming in New Zealand. Positioning: hard-hitting R entry designed for premium formats.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be revealed later. Top cast: awaiting confirmation. Logline: The Further stirs again, with a another family anchored to lingering terrors. Rating: to be announced. 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: to be announced publicly. Top cast: TBD. Logline: A from-scratch rebuild designed to reframe the franchise from the ground up, with an emphasis on true survival horror over action fireworks. Rating: TBA. Production: advancing in development with date locked. Positioning: IP-accurate revival with mainstream runway.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: forthcoming. Logline: Kept under wraps by design. Rating: TBA. Production: active. Positioning: director event, teaser-led.

Werwulf get redirected here (Focus Features, December 25, 2026)
Director: Robert Eggers. Top cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, with other regulars expected. Logline: A medieval werewolf story built on time-true diction and primordial menace. Rating: TBD. Production: in preparation with Christmas frame locked. Positioning: prestige-leaning holiday genre with crafts potential.

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: slot unsettled, fall projected.

Why 2026 and why now

Three nuts-and-bolts forces drive this lineup. First, production that eased or migrated in 2024 called for breathing room in the schedule. Horror can patch those gaps promptly because scripts often rely on fewer locations, fewer large-scale VFX set pieces, 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 surpassed straight-to-streaming debuts. Third, digital word of mouth converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will mine repeatable beats from test screenings, controlled scare clips timed to Thursday night previews, and experiential pop-ups that seed creator reels. It is a repeatable playbook because it performs.

A fourth element is the programming calculus. The first stretch of 2026 sees fewer family and superhero logjams, clearing runway for genre entries that can seize a weekend or operate as the older-skew option. January is the prime example. Four varied shades of horror will cluster across five weekends, which gives each title a lane and limits cannibalization. Summer provides the other window. The parody leverages early family and action lifts, then the hard-R entry can take advantage of a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Money matters, ratings, and surprise hits

Budgets remain in the target range. 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 breakout hunt continues in Q1, where midrange-budget genre can own weekends with minimal competition, and again in late summer, where horror often becomes the conversation when tentpoles tire. The 2026 slate is set up to maximize those pockets. January could easily deliver the first surprise over-performer 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.

How the year flows for audiences

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers beat and breadth. January is a smorgasbord, February delivers a legacy slasher, April returns a Universal monster, May and June provide a two-hit supernatural combo for date nights and group outings, July leans brutal, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a austere, literate nightmare. That is how you keep the discourse going and the seats filled without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can compound over time, using earlier releases to set up the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors like the spacing. Horror delivers steady Thursday pops, disciplined footprints, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can warrant PLF, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing texture, sound, and imagery 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 Is Well Positioned

Schedules slip. Ratings change. Casts shuffle. But the spine of 2026 horror is set. There is IP strength where it matters, auteur intent where it matters, and a calendar that shows studios know when and how to deliver scares. The awards and festival pipeline into 2027 my company 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, cut crisp trailers, keep the curtain closed, and let the gasps sell the seats.