Antediluvian Evil returns: Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a spine tingling supernatural thriller, arriving Oct 2025 across top digital platforms

This unnerving otherworldly suspense film from author / filmmaker Andrew Chiaramonte, setting free an forgotten force when passersby become victims in a devilish ceremony. Available this October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon Prime, video-sharing site YouTube, Google’s Play platform, Apple iTunes, Apple’s TV+ service, and Fandango platform.

Los Angeles, CA (August 8, 2025) – hold tight for *Young & Cursed*, a unnerving chronicle of struggle and mythic evil that will reshape terror storytelling this ghoul season. Visualized by rising imaginative director Andrew Chiaramonte, this claustrophobic and shadowy screenplay follows five strangers who regain consciousness stuck in a hidden shelter under the malevolent grip of Kyra, a central character claimed by a legendary holy text monster. Brace yourself to be shaken by a audio-visual adventure that blends raw fear with spiritual backstory, arriving on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on the second of October, 2025.


Unholy possession has been a classic concept in film. In *Young & Cursed*, that concept is inverted when the demons no longer appear outside their bodies, but rather through their own souls. This embodies the most primal side of the victims. The result is a riveting mind game where the tension becomes a perpetual tug-of-war between moral forces.


In a bleak outland, five campers find themselves marooned under the evil influence and possession of a enigmatic character. As the ensemble becomes incapacitated to combat her manipulation, left alone and hunted by creatures mind-shattering, they are confronted to wrestle with their worst nightmares while the final hour coldly runs out toward their dark fate.


In *Young & Cursed*, distrust rises and teams disintegrate, pressuring each cast member to evaluate their true nature and the principle of self-determination itself. The pressure mount with every minute, delivering a scare-fueled ride that weaves together otherworldly suspense with psychological weakness.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my purpose was to draw upon ancestral fear, an curse before modern man, operating within psychological breaks, and wrestling with a will that redefines identity when agency is lost.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Taking on the role of Kyra required summoning something past sanity. She is unaware until the curse activates, and that transition is eerie because it is so visceral.”

Release & Availability

*Young & Cursed* will be offered for worldwide release beginning October 2, 2025, on Amazon’s platform, YouTube, Google’s store, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home—giving customers everywhere can get immersed in this terrifying film.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just published a new trailer two for *Young & Cursed*, uploaded to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a evolution to its original clip, which has attracted over thousands of viewers.


In addition to its continental debut, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has announced that *Young & Cursed* will also be shown overseas, extending the thrill to thrill-seekers globally.


Tune in for this unforgettable fall into madness. Experience *Young & Cursed* this launch day to explore these dark realities about the psyche.


For exclusive trailers, behind-the-scenes content, and social posts from those who lived it, follow @YoungCursedOfficial across your socials and visit the official movie site.





Horror’s decisive shift: calendar year 2025 American release plan braids together primeval-possession lore, Indie Shockers, set against returning-series thunder

Running from last-stand terror infused with scriptural legend and extending to series comebacks together with acutely observed indies, 2025 stands to become the most complex combined with precision-timed year of the last decade.

The 2025 horror calendar is not just busy, it is strategic. top-tier distributors stabilize the year with known properties, in parallel streamers front-load the fall with fresh voices plus scriptural shivers. At the same time, the artisan tier is catching the afterglow of a banner 2024 fest year. With Halloween holding the peak, the off-peak lanes are managed with purpose. A dense September through October runway is now a rite of passage, but this year, players are marking January, spring, and mid-summer. Crowds are ready, studios are disciplined, therefore 2025 could stand as the most orchestrated year.

Major Studio Plans with Mini-Major Flex: High-craft horror returns

The majors are not coasting. If 2024 laid the groundwork for a horror reinvention, 2025 compounds the move.

Universal Pictures lights the fuse with a bold swing: a refreshed Wolf Man, steering clear of the antique European village, but a crisp modern milieu. Guided by Leigh Whannell fronted by Christopher Abbott with Julia Garner, this take locates the lycanthropy inside home disintegration. The metamorphosis extends past flesh, into marriage, parenthood, and human hurt. targeting mid January, it advances a tactic to control the winter valley through premium horror, not dumps.

The spring frame introduces Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher adaptation reworked as a minimalist shock machine. Under Eli Craig featuring turns by Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it plays as blood lacquered Americana with satire under the paint. Beneath the mask, it picks at rural paranoia, age cohort splits, and lynch mob logic. First wave buzz indicates sharp teeth.

At summer’s close, the Warner lot launches the swan song of its most reliable horror franchise: The Conjuring: Last Rites. The Warrens return, played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the finale seeks an emotional close via a signature case. Granted the structure is classic, Chaves reportedly keys a sorrowing, contemplative note in the capstone. It sets in early September, opening runway before October heat.

Then comes The Black Phone 2. From early summer to October, a strong signal. Scott Derrickson is back, and the memorable motifs return: 70s style chill, trauma as text, and eerie supernatural logic. The stakes escalate here, through a thicker read on the “grabber” legend and generational ache.

Rounding out the big ticket releases is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a property whose brand does the lifting. The sophomore entry expands the mythology, enlarges the animatronic menagerie, reaching teens and game grownups. It lands in December, cornering year end horror.

Streaming Offerings: No Budget, No Problem

While the big screen favors titles you know, streamers are trying sharper edges, and buzz accrues.

One of the year’s most ambitious streaming titles is Weapons, a cold case horror anthology braiding three timelines tied to a mass vanishing. From Zach Cregger with turns by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the entry marries dread with character weight. Arriving to cinemas late summer then to streamers in fall, it stands to prompt frame-by-frame breakdowns as with Barbarian.

Playing chamber scale is Together, a body horror chamber piece anchored by Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Set in a remote rental home during a getaway gone wrong, the work maps love envy and self hatred onto bodily unraveling. It is romantic, grotesque, and deeply uncomfortable, a three act spiral into codependent hell. While no platform has formally placed a date, it is a lock for fall streaming.

One more platform talker is Sinners, a 1930s rooted vampire folk legend headlined by Michael B. Jordan. Shot in rich sepia tones and drenched in biblical metaphor, it evokes There Will Be Blood crossed with Let the Right One In. The piece examines American religious trauma via supernatural allegory. Dry runs call it a headline grabbing streamer.

More streamer bound indies stand by in the shadows: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each explores grief and disappearance and identity, opting allegory above bombast.

Possession From Within: Young & Cursed

Posting October 2 across the big platforms, Young & Cursed positions itself as a rare hybrid, intimate in scope and mythic in reach. Shaped and helmed 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. With nightfall, Kyra’s power deepens, an invasive force mining their most secret fears, frailties, and regrets.

The threat is psychological first, wired with primal myth. Not another exorcism story reliant on Catholic rite and Latin phrase, this entry turns to something older, something darker. Lilith bypasses ritual, she awakens from trauma, repression, and human fragility. That possession comes from within, not without, flips the trope and aligns Young & Cursed with a growing trend in horror, intimate character studies that dress themselves in the skin of 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. It is a calculated bet. No puffed out backstory. No continuity burden. Only psychological menace, compressed and taut, tuned to binge and gasp cycles online. In a year crowded with spectacle, Young & Cursed may stand out by going quiet, then screaming.

Festival Heat to Market Leverage

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF serve as nurseries for near future horror. They are increasingly launchpads rather than showcases.

The Fantastic Fest slate for horror is strong this year. Primate opens with tropical body horror, sparking Cronenberg plus Herzog comps. Whistle, a folkloric revenge burner in Aztec code, should close with flame.

Midnight offerings such as If I Had Legs I’d Kick You surge on execution beyond the hook. Backed by A24, it skewers toxic fandom amid a convention lockdown, poised to break big.

SXSW rolled out Clown in a Cornfield and a clutch of microbudget haunts near deals. Sundance forecasts grief bent elevated horror again, and Tribeca’s genre set plays urban, social, and surreal.

The festival game increasingly values branding over mere discovery. A Fantastic Fest or TIFF badge is phase one marketing, not a coda.

Legacy Brands: Follow Ups, Restarts, and Reframes

This year’s legacy entries carry strength and deliberation.

Fear Street: Prom Queen comes in July with franchise revival, new lead, retro styling. Compared to earlier parts, it tilts camp and prom night melodrama. Bring tiaras, red dye, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 hits late June, poised to elaborate techno horror lore through new players and AI nightmares. The opener’s social chatter and SVOD hours justify Universal’s deeper play.

The Long Walk adapts an early, scathing Stephen King work, from Francis Lawrence, it lands as a ruthless dystopian allegory couched in survival horror, a march where no one wins. 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.

Dials to Watch

Mythic horror goes mainstream
From Lilith in Young & Cursed through Aztec curses in Whistle, teams draw on ancient texts and symbols. This is not nostalgia, it is a reclamation of pre Christian archetypes. Horror pushes past jump scares, it points to ancient evil.

Body horror ascends again
With films like Together, Weapons, and Keeper, horror is going back to the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation map to heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Originals on platforms bite harder
Throwaway platform horror is on the way out. Streamers back real writing, real filmmakers, and genuine marketing. Pieces like Weapons and Sinners receive event status, not feed stock.

Festival momentum becomes leverage
Festival status acts as leverage for exhibition, placement, and publicity. No festival plan in 2025, and disappearance looms.

Cinemas are a trust fall
Studios release horror theatrically only when they believe in overperformance or sequel trees. Everything else is PVOD or hybrid. Horror persists theatrically, in curated lanes.

What’s Next: Autumn Overload and the Winter Wildcard

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 grind for attention. Anticipate possible date slides into early 2026 or platform moves.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 steadies December, yet a last minute streamer surprise is in play. With mythic energy high, a late creature or exorcism entry could pop.

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



The new scare lineup: continuations, original films, and also A hectic Calendar Built For jolts

Dek: The fresh genre cycle clusters in short order with a January logjam, after that runs through the mid-year, and deep into the year-end corridor, balancing legacy muscle, untold stories, and calculated release strategy. Studios and streamers are leaning into efficient budgets, theatrical exclusivity first, and social-driven marketing that turn these releases into water-cooler talk.

Horror’s position as 2026 begins

The horror marketplace has grown into the steady counterweight in studio calendars, a genre that can lift when it connects and still safeguard the exposure when it fails to connect. After 2023 re-taught buyers that cost-conscious scare machines can lead social chatter, the following year maintained heat with filmmaker-forward plays and quiet over-performers. The energy pushed into the 2025 frame, where revivals and elevated films confirmed there is a lane for varied styles, from series extensions to standalone ideas that play globally. The sum for 2026 is a calendar that appears tightly organized across distributors, with obvious clusters, a mix of marquee IP and new pitches, and a tightened commitment on box-office windows that boost PVOD and platform value on premium rental and platforms.

Planners observe the horror lane now functions as a wildcard on the grid. The genre can open on numerous frames, deliver a sharp concept for spots and UGC-friendly snippets, and overperform with ticket buyers that arrive on previews Thursday and keep coming through the follow-up frame if the picture pays off. In the wake of a work stoppage lag, the 2026 layout demonstrates assurance in that setup. The calendar kicks off with a stacked January band, then plants flags in spring and early summer for genre counterpoints, while reserving space for a September to October window that pushes into Halloween and into early November. The map also features the expanded integration of specialty distributors and streamers that can platform and widen, create conversation, and broaden at the optimal moment.

A further high-level trend is franchise tending across connected story worlds and legacy IP. Studio teams are not just turning out another sequel. They are working to present story carry-over with a specialness, whether that is a title design that flags a reframed mood or a lead change that connects a latest entry to a first wave. At the in tandem, the creative leads behind the most buzzed-about originals are championing practical craft, special makeup and grounded locations. That convergence gives 2026 a strong blend of known notes and invention, which is the formula for international play.

Major-player strategies for 2026

Paramount plants an early flag with two marquee moves that sit at tonal extremes. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the director’s chair and Neve Campbell back at the forefront, presenting it as both a succession moment and a back-to-basics character-centered film. Filming is in progress in Atlanta, and the creative stance hints at a fan-service aware framework without covering again the last two entries’ core arc for the Carpenter sisters. Plan for a rollout anchored in legacy iconography, first images of characters, and a teaser-to-trailer rhythm landing toward late fall. Distribution is big-screen via Paramount.

Paramount also reignites a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are joining up again, with the Wayans brothers involved on the creative side for the first time since the early 2000s, a campaign lever the campaign will play up. As a summer counterprogrammer, this one will build wide buzz through joke-first clips, with the horror spoof format allowing quick adjustments to whatever drives the conversation that spring.

Universal has three specific plays. SOULM8TE opens January 9, 2026, a tech-forward branch from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The conceit is straightforward, soulful, and elevator-pitch-ready: a grieving man implements an artificial companion that turns into a dangerous lover. The date lines it up at the front of a thick month, with Universal’s team likely to mirror uncanny live moments and quick hits that hybridizes affection and unease.

On May 8, 2026, the studio slots an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely interpreted as the feature developed under development titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The dated slate currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which allows a name unveil to become an earned moment closer to the debut look. The timing gives the studio a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles occupy other frames.

Anchoring the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film claims October 23, 2026, a slot he has worked well before. Peele’s work are positioned as auteur events, with a concept-forward tease and a second trailer wave that tee up tone without spoiling the concept. The pre-Halloween slot affords Universal to take pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then leverage the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, works with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček directs, with Souheila Yacoub at the center. The franchise has long shown that a tactile, on-set effects led method can feel elevated on a mid-range budget. Frame it as a blood-and-grime summer horror rush that embraces international play, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most global territories.

Sony’s horror bench is loaded. The studio lines up two brand-forward plays in the back half. An untitled Insidious film premieres August 21, 2026, keeping a bankable supernatural brand on the board while the spin-off branch evolves. Sony has reslotted on this title before, but the current plan plants it in late summer, where the brand has done well historically.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil re-emerges in what Sony is framing as a reimagined restart 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 mission to serve both core fans and newcomers. The fall slot provides the studio time to build campaign creative around mythos, and creature effects, elements that can lift premium booking interest and convention buzz.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, anchors a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film sustains the filmmaker’s run of period horror driven by textural authenticity and dialect, this time driven by werewolf stories. The specialty arm has already claimed the date for a holiday release, a promissory note in Eggers as a specialty play that can scale widely if early reception is positive.

Streamers and platform exclusives

Home-platform rhythms for 2026 run on tested paths. Universal’s horror titles head to copyright after a theatrical and PVOD run, a stair-step that enhances both premiere heat and subscription bumps in the post-theatrical. Prime Video balances library titles with world buys and qualifying theatrical engagements when the data supports it. Max and Hulu press their advantages in deep cuts, using in-app campaigns, fright rows, and programmed rows to increase tail value on the horror cume. Netflix keeps options open about own-slate titles and festival additions, slotting horror entries closer to launch and coalescing around go-lives with burst campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, capitalizes on a one-two of targeted theatrical exposure and accelerated platforming that converts WOM to subscribers. That will matter for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before activating horror-fan channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ keeps selective horror on a per-project basis. The platform has signaled readiness to secure select projects with acclaimed directors or headline-cast packages, then give them a modest theatrical in partnership with exhibitors to meet eligibility thresholds or to create word of mouth before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still draws on the 20th Century Studios slate, a key factor for ongoing engagement when the genre conversation spikes.

Indie and specialty outlook

Cineverse is crafting a 2026 sequence with two brand extensions. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The appeal is clean: the same mist-blanketed, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a cult classic, reimagined for modern audio and picture. 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 signaled a wide-to-platform plan for Legacy, an encouraging sign for fans of the uncompromising series and for exhibitors wanting edgy counter in the fall weeks.

Focus will work the auteur lane with Werwulf, curating the rollout through the fall circuit if the cut is ready, then relying on the Christmas window to scale. That positioning has served the company well for director-led genre with audience crossover. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not announced many 2026 dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines often crystallize after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A credible outlook is a handful of late-summer and fall platformers that can expand if reception encourages. Look for 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 in parallel, using limited theatrical to ignite evangelism that fuels their subs.

IP versus fresh ideas

By count, the 2026 slate leans in favor of the legacy column. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all activate fan equity. The watch-out, as ever, is overexposure. The pragmatic answer is to pitch each entry as a reframed mode. Paramount is bringing forward character and heritage in Scream 7, Sony is promising a from-scratch reboot for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is leading with a French-tinted vision from a fresh helmer. Those choices count when the audience has so many options and social sentiment swings fast.

Non-franchise titles and auteur plays keep oxygen in the system. Jordan Peele’s October film will be positioned as a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, anchors on Rachel McAdams in a island survival premise with signature tonal menace. SOULM8TE offers a lean, creepy tech hook. Werwulf brings period specificity and an unyielding tone. Even when the title is not based on existing IP, the cast-creatives package is anchored enough to build pre-sales and Thursday-night turnout.

Rolling three-year comps contextualize the logic. In 2023, a theatrical-first model that observed windows did not obstruct a same-day experiment from succeeding when the brand was sticky. In 2024, craft-first auteur horror rose in big-format auditoriums. In 2025, a resuscitation of a beloved infection saga reminded the market that global horror franchises can still feel recharged when they pivot perspective and stretch the story. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which presses on January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The linked-chapter plan, with chapters shot consecutively, creates space for marketing to connect the chapters through relationships and themes and to keep assets alive without lulls.

Creative tendencies and craft

The production chatter behind this slate hint at a continued move toward practical, location-rooted craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not play like any recent iteration of the property, a stance that fits with the practical-craft ethos he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film closed principal and is lined up for its April 17, 2026 date. Look for a campaign that spotlights atmosphere and fear rather than VFX blitz, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership supporting tight cost control.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has characterized Werwulf as the most chilling project he has tackled, which tracks with a period English setting and historically accurate language, a combination that can make for immersive sound design and a spare, elemental mood on the big screen. Focus will likely frame this aesthetic in trade spotlights and artisan spotlights before rolling out a tone piece that elevates tone over story, a move that has played for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is calibrated for rubbery nastiness, a signature of the series that travels well in red-band trailers and creates shareable jump-cut reactions from early screenings. Scream 7 hints at a meta recalibration that returns to the core star. Resident Evil will thrive or struggle on creature craft and set design, which match well with convention floor stunts and curated leaks. Insidious tends to be a soundstage showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the cinema value feel primary. Look for trailers that emphasize razor sound, deep-bass stingers, and blank-sound beats that shine in top rooms.

The schedule at a glance

January is busy. Universal’s SOULM8TE opens January 9, 2026, then Sony returns a week later with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple on January 16. Return to Silent Hill follows on January 23, a quiet contrast amid headline IP. The month buttons with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a stranded thriller from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is meaningful, but the variety of tones gives each title a lane, and the five-week structure hands each a runway for each if word of mouth sustains.

Q1 into Q2 prepare summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 comes February 27 with legacy momentum. In April, New Line’s The Mummy revives a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once played to genre counterprogramming and now can handle big openers. Universal’s untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 flows into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer splits the lanes. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is playful and broad, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 presents no-compromise intensity. The counterprogramming logic is sound. The spoof can play next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest rewards older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have moved through premium slots.

Shoulder season into fall leans brand. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously connected. Resident Evil comes after September 18, a pre-October slot that still links to Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film locks October 23 and will captivate cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely backed by a shroud-first teaser rhythm and limited asset reveals that stress concept over spoilers.

Holiday corridor prestige. Werwulf imp source on December 25 is a statement that genre can thrive over the holidays when packaged as awards-flirting horror. Focus has done this before, slow-rolling, then activating critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to extend talk into January. If the film lands critically, the studio can scale in the first week of 2027 while carrying holiday turnout and gift-card spend.

Embedded title notes

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting continuing to be revealed as production carries on. Logline: Sidney returns to counter a new Ghostface while the narrative returns to the original film’s founding notes. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: legacy-forward with modern snap.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A widowed man’s artificial companion mutates into something romantically lethal. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal completed for an early-year bow. Positioning: techno-horror with feeling.

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

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man travels back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to run into a warped reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished with U.S. theatrical locked. Positioning: ambience-forward 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 hard-edged boss push to survive on a lonely island as the control dynamic upends and fear crawls. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed. Positioning: celebrity-led survival horror from a legend.

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 retelling that returns the monster to fright, founded on Cronin’s physical craft and slow-bloom dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished. 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 residential haunting setup that channels the fear through a kid’s shifting personal vantage. Rating: forthcoming. Production: post-ready. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven supernatural thriller.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers back in creative roles. Logline: {A parody reboot that lampoons today’s horror trends and true-crime obsessions. Rating: rating forthcoming. Production: filming slated for fall 2025. Positioning: big-tent summer spoof.

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 transnational 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: awaiting reveal. Top cast: to be announced. Logline: The Further stirs again, with a new clan bound to ancient dread. Rating: pending. Production: set for summer production targeting late-summer opening. Positioning: consistent franchise performer in a beneficial frame.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: TBA publicly. Top cast: TBA. Logline: A clean reboot designed to reconstitute the franchise from the ground up, with an focus on true survival horror over action spectacle. Rating: undetermined. Production: dev phase with date secured. Positioning: game-rooted reset with broad potential.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: pending. Logline: deliberately concealed. Rating: not yet rated. Production: ongoing. 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 elemental menace. Rating: pending. Production: in active prep with holiday date set. Positioning: prestige horror for the holidays, with potential awards-season craft appeal.

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 in flux, fall expected.

Why 2026, why now

Three practical forces shape this lineup. First, production that slowed or shuffled in 2024 required schedule breathing room. Horror can slot in fast because scripts often use fewer locations, fewer large-scale visual effects runs, and shorter schedules. Second, studios have become more methodical about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently beaten straight-to-streaming drops. Third, social buzz converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will harvest reaction-worthy moments from test screenings, controlled scare clips timed to Thursday night previews, and experiential pop-ups that power influencer posts. It is a repeatable playbook because it delivers.

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 take a weekend outright or function as the older-skew counter. January is the prime example. Four different flavors of horror will jostle 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 ideal band. Most of the films above will live under the $40–$50 million ceiling, 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 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 use those gaps. 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. Expect a healthy 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 viewing year plays

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers pace and range. January is a spread, February delivers a legacy slasher, April restores a Universal monster, May and June provide a paranormal one-two for date nights and group outings, July goes red-band, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a wintry, literate nightmare. That is how you preserve buzz while driving admissions without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can gain momentum, using earlier releases to prime the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors favor the spacing. Horror delivers steady Thursday pops, right-sized allotments, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can win premium screens, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing materiality, sound field, and image-making that benefit from larger formats. The calendar also leaves room for specialty platformers to open in New York and Los Angeles, build reviews, and slide into national conversation as the fall progresses.

2026, Lined Up To Scare

Frames adjust. Ratings change. Casts reconfigure. But the spine of 2026 horror is intact. There is franchise muscle where it helps, auteur intent where it matters, and a calendar that shows studios get how and when audiences want scares. The awards and festival pipeline into 2027 will come into focus once the fall festivals lock, and it would not be surprising to see at least one late-breaking specialty acquisition join the party. For now, the job is simple, deliver taut trailers, protect the mystery, and let the scares sell the seats.