Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed unleashes antediluvian malevolence, a nightmare fueled horror thriller, arriving Oct 2025 on major streaming services

An chilling spectral suspense story from author / director Andrew Chiaramonte, setting free an mythic horror when passersby become pawns in a satanic maze. Debuting on October 2, 2025, on Amazon’s Prime Video, the YouTube platform, Google’s Play platform, iTunes Movies, Apple’s TV+ service, and Fandango platform.

Hollywood, CA (August 8th, 2025) – ready yourself for *Young & Cursed*, a gripping chronicle of struggle and prehistoric entity that will redefine horror this autumn. Helmed by rising creative mind Andrew Chiaramonte, this edge-of-your-seat and shadowy motion picture follows five unknowns who come to imprisoned in a hidden shack under the sinister dominion of Kyra, a female presence dominated by a millennia-old religious nightmare. Anticipate to be hooked by a audio-visual outing that weaves together primitive horror with biblical origins, dropping on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Diabolic occupation has been a mainstay element in the movies. In *Young & Cursed*, that notion is subverted when the beings no longer originate outside their bodies, but rather from their psyche. This suggests the most sinister side of the protagonists. The result is a gripping emotional conflict where the narrative becomes a brutal push-pull between righteousness and malevolence.


In a isolated wild, five friends find themselves caught under the unholy control and curse of a obscure character. As the protagonists becomes paralyzed to withstand her rule, exiled and tracked by unknowns unnamable, they are cornered to endure their darkest emotions while the deathwatch unforgivingly strikes toward their end.


In *Young & Cursed*, mistrust rises and links implode, forcing each person to doubt their identity and the nature of decision-making itself. The risk rise with every instant, delivering a nerve-wracking journey that marries mystical fear with human fear.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my intention was to tap into primitive panic, an curse beyond recorded history, emerging via soul-level flaws, and confronting a darkness that peels away humanity when consciousness is fragmented.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Playing Kyra involved tapping into something unfamiliar to reason. She is in denial until the haunting manifests, and that transition is shocking because it is so intimate.”

Rollout & Launch

*Young & Cursed* will be accessible for audience access beginning from October 2, 2025, on Prime Video, YouTube, Google’s store, iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango at Home—delivering viewers worldwide can experience this horror showcase.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just broadcast a new trailer two for *Young & Cursed*, published to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a evolution to its first preview, which has gathered over six-figure audience.


In addition to its continental debut, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has revealed that *Young & Cursed* will also be delivered to global audiences, offering the tale to viewers around the world.


Experience this mind-warping exploration of dread. Confront *Young & Cursed* this Halloween season to acknowledge these ghostly lessons about human nature.


For behind-the-scenes access, special features, and updates directly from production, follow @YoungCursedOfficial across Instagram and Twitter and visit the movie portal.





Today’s horror sea change: 2025 in focus U.S. release slate integrates archetypal-possession themes, microbudget gut-punches, set against legacy-brand quakes

Running from survivor-centric dread drawn from legendary theology to legacy revivals in concert with focused festival visions, 2025 is emerging as the most stratified plus intentionally scheduled year in recent memory.

The 2025 horror calendar is more than crowded, it is calculated. leading studios plant stakes across the year using marquee IP, concurrently SVOD players load up the fall with emerging auteurs and old-world menace. On another front, festival-forward creators is drafting behind the backdraft of a record-setting 2024 festival season. With Halloween still the genre’s crown piece, the year beyond October is carefully apportioned. The September, October gauntlet has become standard, notably this year, bookings reach January, spring, and mid-summer. Audiences are leaning in, studios are precise, accordingly 2025 could be the most carefully plotted year to date.

Studio and Mini-Major Strategies: Premium dread reemerges

The studio class is engaged. If 2024 laid the groundwork for a horror reinvention, 2025 doubles down.

Universal Pictures leads off the quarter with a risk-forward move: a refreshed Wolf Man, stepping away from the classic old-country village, but a crisp modern milieu. Under director Leigh Whannell and toplined by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this cut welds lycanthropy to home turmoil. The turn is more than creature work, it is about marriage, parenthood, and humanity. dated for mid January, it is part of the new strategy to own the box office’s winter dead zone with prestige horror instead of dumping ground thrillers.

By spring, Clown in a Cornfield premieres, a YA slasher adaptation turned minimalist horror show. Directed by Eli Craig anchored by Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it reads as gore kissed small town horror with wry bite. Behind its clown mask lies commentary on small town paranoia, generational divides, and mob justice. Early festival buzz suggests it has teeth.

By late summer, the WB camp sets loose the finale from its cornerstone horror IP: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Farmiga and Wilson return as the Warrens, the movie targets a resonant finish through an infamous case. Although the framework is familiar, director Michael Chaves is said to bring a more mournful, introspective tone to the series swan song. It is dated for early September, granting margin before October’s crush.

The Black Phone 2 slots behind. It was eyed for early summer, and shifting to October telegraphs confidence. Derrickson resumes command, and the core ingredients of the sleeper original are back: throwback unease, trauma as theme, plus otherworld rules that chill. This pass pushes higher, through a thicker read on the “grabber” legend and generational ache.

Capping the big ticket run is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a release that travels on brand alone. The second outing goes deeper into backstory, stretches the animatronic parade, bridging teens and legacy players. It bows in December, stabilizing the winter back end.

SVOD Originals: Low budgets, big teeth

With cinemas leaning into known IP, SVOD players are testing edges, and gains show.

A high ambition play arrives with Weapons, a cold-case woven horror suite braiding three timelines tied to a mass vanishing. Helmed by Zach Cregger pairing Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the work combines fright with dramatic torque. With a late summer theatrical bow and fall streaming drop, it is expected to spark online debate and post viewing breakdowns, much like Barbarian before it.

Playing chamber scale is Together, a two hander body horror spiral pairing Alison Brie with Dave Franco. Trapped in a far off rental as a holiday fractures, the narrative traces love and jealousy and self contempt into body collapse. It toggles from love to slime, a staged slide into codependent hell. Despite no official platform date, it is a lock for fall streaming.

In the mix sits Sinners, a Depression era vampire folk fable led by Michael B. Jordan. Rendered in sepia depth and layered biblical metaphor, it recalls There Will Be Blood spliced to Let the Right One In. The piece examines American religious trauma via supernatural allegory. Initial test audience notes point to a buzzy streaming debut.

More streamer bound indies stand by in the shadows: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each threads grief and absence and identity, mapping allegory to dread.

Deep Possession Currents: Young & Cursed

Going live October 2 on major services, Young & Cursed operates as a rare duality, minimal in staging, maximal in myth. Scripted and led by Andrew Chiaramonte, the release shadows five strangers waking in a hidden woods cabin, bound to Kyra, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. As night descends, so does Kyra’s power, an invasive force that exploits their deepest fears, weaknesses, and regrets.

The terror is psychological in engine, alive with primal myth. Swerving the standard exorcism angle of Catholic rite and Latin word, this one reaches back to something older, something darker. Lilith comes not via liturgy, but from trauma, quiet, and human brittleness. Making possession internal threads Young & Cursed into the current of intimate character studies in genre skin.

Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home set the film as Halloween counterprogramming versus sequel waves and monster returns. It looks like sharp programming. No bloated canon. No IP hangover. Just pure psychological dread, contained, tense, and tailor made for the binge and breathe rhythm of digital horror fans. In a spectacle stack, Young & Cursed could be the hush before the shriek.

Festival Badges as Fuel

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF continue to incubate the next six to twelve months of horror. And in 2025, they are acting more like launchpads than showcases.

The Fantastic Fest slate for horror is strong this year. Primate, a tropical body horror curtain raiser, invites Cronenberg Herzog comp. Whistle, a folkloric revenge thriller steeped in Aztec lore, is expected to close the fest with fire.

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 staged Clown in a Cornfield and lined up microbudget haunts for talks. Sundance should deliver grief heavy elevated horror again, and Tribeca’s genre set plays urban, social, and surreal.

Festivals in 2025 double as branding machines. Laurels now light the fuse, they do not just adorn.

Legacy Horror: Reups, Reboots, and Rethinks

The sequel reboot ecosystem reads stronger and more precise.

Fear Street: Prom Queen hits July to revive the 90s line with fresh lead and VHS vibe. In contrast to earlier chapters, it skews camp and prom night melodrama. Expect tiaras, corn syrup blood, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 opens late June, seeking to build out techno horror lore using new characters and AI born frights. The opener’s social chatter and SVOD hours justify Universal’s deeper play.

Next comes The Long Walk, adapting one of Stephen King’s earliest, most harrowing works, with Francis Lawrence directing, it is a brutal dystopian allegory wrapped in survival horror, a kids walking until they die competition with no real winners. Marketed correctly, it could be The Hunger Games for horror adults.

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

Signals and Trends

Mythic dread mainstreams
Young & Cursed with Lilith and Whistle with Aztec curses both signal ancient texts and symbols. It eschews nostalgia to repossess pre Christian archetypes. Horror reaches past fear, it states evil is old.

Body horror returns
Pieces such as Together, Weapons, and Keeper bring it back to flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation symbolize heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streamers grow fangs
The filler era wanes for platform horror. SVOD players fund strong scripts, proven directors, and real spend. Drops such as Weapons and Sinners arrive as events, not as catalog.

Festival momentum becomes leverage
Badges are functional, they buy theatrical access, prime placement, and cycles. Skip festival strategy in 2025 and the film risks invisibility.

Theatrical lanes are trust falls
Studios save theaters for outperform prospects or IP farmers. Everything else is PVOD or hybrid. Horror still lives in theaters, more curated than broad.

Forecast: Fall crush plus winter X factor

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 like Bone Lake and Keeper will scrap for air. 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. With mythic energy high, a late creature or exorcism entry could pop.

The success of horror in 2025 hinges less on a single title and more on how a diverse slate reaches a scattered, segmented audience. The plan is not to clone Get Out, it is to craft horror that lives on beyond box office.



The coming 2026 terror lineup: continuations, original films, and also A brimming Calendar calibrated for chills

Dek The arriving terror cycle loads at the outset with a January pile-up, before it carries through the mid-year, and pushing into the festive period, weaving series momentum, creative pitches, and well-timed alternatives. Major distributors and platforms are leaning into mid-range economics, exclusive theatrical windows first, and shareable marketing that pivot these films into culture-wide discussion.

Horror momentum into 2026

Horror has proven to be the most reliable lever in programming grids, a vertical that can surge when it connects and still hedge the drag when it doesn’t. After 2023 proved to greenlighters that mid-range shockers can command pop culture, 2024 held pace with signature-voice projects and unexpected risers. The tailwind pushed into 2025, where reawakened brands and elevated films proved there is room for varied styles, from sequel tracks to non-IP projects that travel well. The aggregate for the 2026 slate is a roster that presents tight coordination across players, with mapped-out bands, a harmony of established brands and new packages, and a revived stance on theatrical windows that power the aftermarket on premium video on demand and subscription services.

Marketers add the category now acts as a schedule utility on the grid. Horror can kick off on open real estate, create a clean hook for promo reels and TikTok spots, and exceed norms with audiences that show up on preview nights and keep coming through the subsequent weekend if the feature connects. Exiting a strike-bent pipeline, the 2026 pattern signals trust in that equation. The calendar begins with a loaded January run, then turns to spring and early summer for counterprogramming, while holding room for a October build that extends to holiday-adjacent weekends and into post-Halloween. The arrangement also reflects the deeper integration of specialty arms and streaming partners that can platform and widen, stoke social talk, and widen at the proper time.

A second macro trend is IP cultivation across ongoing universes and classic IP. Major shops are not just turning out another continuation. They are setting up lore continuity with a headline quality, whether that is a brandmark that flags a recalibrated tone or a cast configuration that bridges a new installment to a first wave. At the simultaneously, the creative leads behind the top original plays are returning to physical effects work, special makeup and vivid settings. That alloy delivers 2026 a healthy mix of known notes and discovery, which is what works overseas.

Major-player strategies for 2026

Paramount fires first with two big-ticket moves that run the tonal gamut. 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 passing of the torch and a back-to-basics character-first story. Production is active in Atlanta, and the tonal posture conveys a memory-charged strategy without going over the last two entries’ sisters storyline. Expect a marketing push stacked with iconic art, early character teases, and a rollout cadence landing toward late fall. Distribution is cinema-first via Paramount.

Paramount also relaunches a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are joining up again, with the Wayans brothers involved as creative contributors for the first time since the early 2000s, a headline the campaign will feature. As a off-tentpole summer play, this one will hunt four-quadrant chatter through meme-friendly cuts, with the horror spoof format supporting quick reframes to whatever drives the discourse that spring.

Universal has three discrete entries. SOULM8TE arrives January 9, 2026, a tech-forward branch from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The story engine is crisp, heartbroken, and premise-first: a grieving man installs an artificial companion that grows into a fatal companion. The date nudges it to the front of a busy month, with the studio’s marketing likely to iterate on uncanny live moments and quick hits that fuses longing and anxiety.

On May 8, 2026, the studio lines up an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely rumored as the feature developed under development titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The official listing currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which makes room for a title drop to become an fan moment closer to the teaser. The timing holds ground in early May while larger tentpoles stack elsewhere.

Closing out the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film books October 23, 2026, a slot he has commanded before. His projects are treated as creative events, with a teaser that holds back and a subsequent trailers that establish tone without plot reveals the concept. The pre-Halloween slot creates space for Universal to fill pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then use the copyright window to capture late-October interest navigate here at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, pairs with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček heads, with Souheila Yacoub fronting. The franchise has consistently shown that a flesh-and-blood, prosthetic-heavy aesthetic can feel big on a mid-range budget. Expect a grime-caked summer horror jolt that maximizes international markets, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most overseas territories.

Sony’s horror bench is impressively deep. The studio lines up two brand-forward plays in the back half. An untitled Insidious film arrives August 21, 2026, keeping a bankable supernatural brand alive while the spin-off branch advances. The studio has adjusted timing on this title before, but the current plan sticks it in late summer, where the brand has long performed.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil restarts in what the studio is calling a clean-slate approach for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a foundational part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a sharper mandate to serve both players and general audiences. The fall slot affords Sony time to build artifacts around narrative world, and creature design, elements that can lift premium booking interest and fan events.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, pins a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film extends Eggers’ run of period horror grounded in textural authenticity and historical speech, this time circling werewolf lore. The imprint has already reserved the holiday for a holiday release, a strong signal in Eggers as a specialty play that can move wide if early reception is strong.

Digital platform strategies

Home-platform rhythms for 2026 run on well-known grooves. Universal’s genre entries move to copyright after a theatrical and PVOD run, a ordering that elevates both launch urgency and viewer acquisition in the later phase. Prime Video pairs outside acquisitions with global pickups and select theatrical runs when the data recommends it. Max and Hulu play their strengths in deep cuts, using prominent placements, October hubs, and curated strips to lengthen the tail on aggregate take. Netflix stays nimble about in-house releases and festival wins, securing horror entries on shorter runways and eventizing releases with quick-run campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, exploits a tiered of tailored theatrical exposure and quick platforming that translates talk to trials. That will matter for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before turning to fan funnels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ keeps a case-by-case stance on horror on a title-by-title basis. The platform has exhibited willingness to take on select projects with award winners or star-led packages, then give them a small theatrical footprint in partnership with exhibitors to meet Oscar thresholds or to generate social proof before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still pulls from the 20th Century Studios slate, a major factor for retention when the genre conversation swells.

The specialty lanes and indie surprises

Cineverse is putting together a 2026 arc with two brand plays. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The proposition is clean: the same somber, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a genre cult touchstone, updated for modern sound and cinematography. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a late-year slot, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. Cineverse has announced a standard theatrical run for the title, an good sign for fans of the ferocious series and for exhibitors wanting edgy counter in the late-season weeks.

Focus will operate the filmmaker lane with Werwulf, stewarding the film through a fall festival swing if the cut is ready, then deploying the Christmas corridor to scale. That positioning has delivered for craft-driven horror with wider appeal. 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 likely scenario is a cluster of late-summer and fall platformers that can grow if reception encourages. Plan 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 jointly, using limited theatrical to kindle evangelism that fuels their subs.

Franchise entries versus originals

By count, 2026 is weighted toward the legacy column. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all leverage franchise value. The potential drawback, as ever, is fatigue. The workable fix is to position each entry as a recalibration. Paramount is underscoring character and heritage in Scream 7, Sony is promising a fresh ground-up build for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is maximizing a French-inflected take from a ascendant talent. Those choices move the needle when the audience has so many options and social sentiment moves quickly.

Non-franchise titles and talent-first projects add oxygen. Jordan Peele’s October film will be presented as a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, centers Rachel McAdams in a survival shocker premise with signature mischievous dread. SOULM8TE offers a tight, eerie tech hook. Werwulf emphasizes period craft and an hard-edged tone. Even when the title is not based on a recognizable brand, the cast-creatives package is known enough to drive advance ticketing and Thursday-night turnout.

Recent-year comps outline the model. In 2023, a exclusive window model that kept streaming intact did not foreclose a hybrid test from delivering when the brand was compelling. In 2024, craft-first auteur horror punched above its weight in PLF. In 2025, a rebirth of a beloved infection saga made clear that global horror franchises can still feel renewed when they rotate perspective and widen scale. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which extends January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The paired-chapter approach, with chapters produced back-to-back, creates space for marketing to connect the chapters through character web and themes and to leave creative active without dead zones.

How the look and feel evolve

The creative meetings behind these films forecast a continued turn toward tactile, location-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not mirror any recent iteration of the property, a stance that reinforces the prosthetic-forward taste he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film closed principal and is tracking to its April 17, 2026 date. The push will likely that foregrounds tone and tension rather than whiz-bang spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership permitting smart budget discipline.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has framed Werwulf as the hardest-edged project he has tackled, which tracks with a 13th-century milieu and authentic period speech, a combination that can make for layered sound design and a wintry, elemental feel on the big screen. Focus will likely showcase this aesthetic in long-lead press and department features before rolling out a tone piece that centers atmosphere over story, a move that has worked for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is designed for rubbery nastiness, a signature of the series that sells overseas in red-band trailers and generates shareable shock clips from early screenings. Scream 7 hints at a self-aware reset that re-centers the original lead. Resident Evil will hit or miss on monster work and world-building, which align with convention activations and staggered reveals. Insidious tends to be a mix showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the cinema argument feel irresistible. Look for trailers that underscore pinpoint sound design, deep-bass stingers, and blank-sound beats that explode in larger rooms.

How the year maps out

January is busy. 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 atmospheric change-up amid macro-brand pushes. The month closes with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival chiller from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is legit, but the spread of tones lets each find a lane, and the five-week structure hands each a runway for each if word of mouth sustains.

Winter into spring tee up summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 bows February 27 with fan warmth. In April, New Line’s The Mummy reimagines a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once belonged to genre counterprogramming and now sustains 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 spreads the field. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is jokier and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 supplies ferocious intensity. The counterprogramming logic is workable. The spoof can thrive next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest hits squarely for older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have rotated off PLF.

August and September into October leans recognizable. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously landed. Resident Evil slides in after September 18, a early fall window that still feeds into Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film holds October 23 and will absorb cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely backed by a slow-reveal plan and limited asset reveals that center concept over reveals.

Awards-adjacent specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a signal that genre can work in holiday corridor when packaged as auteur prestige horror. The distributor has done this before, platforming carefully, then turning to critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to hold in chatter into January. If the film scores with critics, the studio can broaden in the first week of 2027 while turning holiday audiences and gift-card spend.

Title briefs within the narrative

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

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A grieving man’s synthetic partner becomes something seductively lethal. Rating: TBA. Production: Production locked this page for an early-year bow. Positioning: AI chiller with a human 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 rises in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Filmed in tandem with the first film. Positioning: next step of a prestige infection saga.

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 encounter a warped reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed and U.S. theatrical set. Positioning: aura-driven 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 work to survive on a desolate island as the chain of command swivels and paranoia spreads. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked. 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 in the vault in official materials. Logline: A contemporary re-envisioning that returns the monster to fear, anchored by Cronin’s on-set craft and encroaching dread. Rating: TBA. Production: 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 household haunting piece that threads the dread through a little one’s shifting perspective. Rating: not yet rated. Production: finished. 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 rejoining on the creative side. Logline: {A send-up revival that pokes at contemporary horror memes and true-crime crazes. Rating: to be announced. Production: fall 2025 shoot penciled in. Positioning: broad-lane summer entry.

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

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be announced in marketing. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: The Further widens again, with a new clan linked to older hauntings. Rating: TBD. Production: aiming to lens in summer ahead of late-summer bow. Positioning: durable spectral IP in a late-summer sweet spot.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: TBA publicly. Top cast: pending. Logline: A from-scratch rebuild designed to reconstitute the franchise from the ground up, with an tilt toward survival-core horror over action fireworks. Rating: TBD. Production: developing against a fixed date. Positioning: game-grounded refresh with wider appeal.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: intentionally withheld. Rating: forthcoming. Production: continuing. Positioning: director event, teaser-led.

Werwulf (Focus Features, December 25, 2026)
Director: Robert Eggers. Top cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, with other regulars expected. Logline: A medieval werewolf story built on period-specific language and bone-deep menace. Rating: not yet rated. Production: preproduction aligned to holiday frame. Positioning: prestige-grade holiday chiller with artisan honors in view.

Wolf Creek: Legacy (Cineverse, TBA 2026)
Director: Greg McLean. Top cast: John Jarratt expected to return as Mick Taylor. Logline: The Australian outback slasher returns, with a conventional theatrical window prior to platforming. Status: date variable, fall window probable.

Why this year, why now

Three execution-level forces define this lineup. First, production that downshifted or rearranged in 2024 called for breathing room in the schedule. Horror can occupy those holes swiftly because scripts often call for fewer locales, fewer large-scale effects sequences, and shorter timelines. Second, studios have become more disciplined about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently out-earned straight-to-streaming drops. Third, viral talk converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will mine bite-size scare clips from test screenings, managed scare clips timed to Thursday night previews, and experiential pop-ups that spark influencer coverage. It is a repeatable playbook because it wins.

Calendar math also matters. Family and superhero corridors are not as densely packed in early 2026, making room for genre entries that can seize a weekend or position as the older-lean choice. January is the prime example. Four different flavors of horror will line up across five weekends, which lets WOM accrue cleanly. Summer provides the other window. The send-up tracks alongside early family and action traffic, then the hard-R entry can make hay in 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 fit below the $40–$50 million line, 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 surprise-hit pursuit continues in Q1, where lower and mid-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 exploit those windows. January could easily deliver the first sleeper overperformer 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. Predict a resilient PVOD phase industry-wide, since horror fans have shown a willingness to pay for convenience after an opening weekend, especially when word of mouth is strong.

From viewer POV, the year

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers flow and breadth. January is a buffet, February delivers a legacy slasher, April reawakens a Universal monster, May and June provide a back-to-back supernatural punch for date nights and group outings, July gets visceral, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a cold, literate nightmare. That is how you preserve buzz while driving admissions without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can escalate across the year, using earlier releases to seed the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors are pleased with the spacing. Horror delivers predictable Thursday surges, 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 dimensionality, aural design, 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 Shapes Up Strong

Windows change. Ratings change. Casts reconfigure. But the spine of 2026 horror is sturdy. There is franchise muscle where it helps, inventive vision where it helps, 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 last-minute boutique pickup join the party. For now, the job is simple, craft precise trailers, guard the secrets, and let the frights sell the seats.