Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed unleashes antediluvian malevolence, a chilling supernatural thriller, landing October 2025 across top digital platforms

This blood-curdling supernatural shockfest from dramatist / helmer Andrew Chiaramonte, unbinding an age-old curse when unrelated individuals become conduits in a cursed ceremony. Launching on October 2, 2025, on Amazon’s Prime Video, YouTube streaming, Google’s digital store, Apple iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango streaming.

L.A., CA (August 8, 2025) – steel yourselves for *Young & Cursed*, a harrowing narrative of staying alive and forgotten curse that will alter genre cinema this scare season. Created by rising imaginative director Andrew Chiaramonte, this unpredictable and gothic fearfest follows five figures who arise locked in a hidden lodge under the hostile will of Kyra, a central character dominated by a ancient sacrosanct terror. Arm yourself to be absorbed by a cinematic presentation that blends bone-deep fear with folklore, arriving on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Spiritual takeover has been a well-established concept in cinema. In *Young & Cursed*, that idea is challenged when the demons no longer come from elsewhere, but rather inside their minds. This represents the deepest corner of these individuals. The result is a bone-chilling moral showdown where the emotions becomes a merciless battle between moral forces.


In a haunting terrain, five teens find themselves trapped under the ghastly force and inhabitation of a unknown spirit. As the team becomes defenseless to combat her power, cut off and targeted by beings ungraspable, they are obligated to encounter their inner horrors while the clock relentlessly ticks toward their demise.


In *Young & Cursed*, tension mounts and partnerships collapse, requiring each cast member to reconsider their existence and the idea of independent thought itself. The pressure magnify with every tick, delivering a terror ride that merges demonic fright with human fragility.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my desire was to tap into primitive panic, an power beyond time, influencing soul-level flaws, and examining a evil that strips down our being when we lose control.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Taking on the role of Kyra required summoning something past sanity. She is clueless until the demon emerges, and that conversion is gut-wrenching because it is so personal.”

Debut Info

*Young & Cursed* will be released for horror fans beginning from October 2, 2025, on Amazon’s platform, YouTube, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango at Home—ensuring audiences anywhere can witness this terrifying film.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just unveiled a new video trailer for *Young & Cursed*, posted to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a second look to its original clip, which has seen over a hundred thousand impressions.


In addition to its initial rollout, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has broadcast that *Young & Cursed* will also be available worldwide, giving access to the movie to fans of fear everywhere.


Don’t miss this gripping fall into madness. Experience *Young & Cursed* this October the 2nd to survive these fearful discoveries about human nature.


For sneak peeks, filmmaker commentary, and announcements from inside the story, follow @YoungAndCursedFilm across your favorite networks and visit youngandcursed.com.





American horror’s major pivot: 2025 for genre fans U.S. Slate Mixes biblical-possession ideas, indie terrors, in parallel with series shake-ups

Ranging from survivor-centric dread infused with scriptural legend as well as IP renewals set beside keen independent perspectives, 2025 appears poised to be the genre’s most multifaceted along with intentionally scheduled year in the past ten years.

The 2025 horror calendar is not merely full, it is methodical. Top studios set cornerstones with familiar IP, at the same time subscription platforms crowd the fall with debut heat paired with old-world menace. On the independent axis, indie storytellers is propelled by the echoes of a peak 2024 circuit. As Halloween remains the genre’s crown jewel, the rest of the calendar is filling out with surgical precision. That late Q3 to mid Q4 lane is the crucible, and now, horror is also claiming January, spring, and even mid-summer. Viewers are hungry, studios are disciplined, which means 2025 could register as the most purpose-built year yet.

Studio Chessboard and Mini-Major Plays: Premium genre swings back

No one at the top is standing still. If 2024 framed the blueprint, 2025 amplifies the bet.

Universal’s distribution arm leads off the quarter with a statement play: a newly envisioned Wolf Man, eschewing a mist-shrouded old-world European town, in an immediate now. From director Leigh Whannell featuring Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this approach fixes the lycanthropy within intimate rupture. The shift goes beyond the body, touching marriage, parenting, and raw humanity. Slated for mid January, it supports the push to convert the winter lull using prestige plays, not leftovers.

In spring, Clown in a Cornfield lands, a YA slasher port tuned to austere horror. Steered by Eli Craig and featuring Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it reads as gore kissed small town horror with wry bite. Under the makeup, it dissects provincial panic, age gap tensions, and mob verdicts. Early reactions hint at fangs.

As summer wanes, Warner Bros. releases the last chapter from its cornerstone horror IP: The Conjuring: Last Rites. The Warrens return, played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the movie targets a resonant finish through an infamous case. Even with a familiar chassis, Chaves seems to angle for a plaintive, inward final note. It lands in early September, carving air ahead of October’s stack.

Then comes The Black Phone 2. It was eyed for early summer, and shifting to October telegraphs confidence. Derrickson re boards, and the DNA that clicked last time remains: retrograde shiver, trauma driven plotting, paired with unsettling supernatural order. The stakes escalate here, by enlarging the “grabber” map and grief’s lineage.

Completing the marquee stack is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a property whose brand does the lifting. The follow up digs further into canon, broadens the animatronic terror cast, speaking to teens and older millennials. It bows in December, anchoring horror’s winter tail.

Platform Originals: Small budgets, sharp fangs

While the big screen favors titles you know, platforms are wagering boldly, and results are there.

A flagship risky title is Weapons, a cold case horror anthology stitching three periods attached to a mass disappearance. Guided by Zach Cregger anchored by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the piece merges terror with dramatic mass. Premiering theatrically in late summer before a fall streaming drop, it seems set to fuel decode culture and breakdowns, in the Barbarian lane.

On the quieter side is Together, a room scale body horror descent starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Set in a remote rental home during a getaway gone wrong, the film explores what happens when love, envy, and self hatred merge into physical decay. It is romantic, grotesque, and deeply uncomfortable, a three act spiral into codependent hell. Although a platform date is not yet posted, it is virtually assured for fall.

Also notable is Sinners, a 1930s vintage vampire folk yarn featuring Michael B. Jordan. Imaged in sepia bloom and biblical metaphor, it recalls There Will Be Blood spliced to Let the Right One In. The movie studies American religious trauma through the supernatural lens. First test passes flag it as highly discussable at debut.

Other streamer plays queue softly: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each taps grief, vanishing, and identity, treating horror as metaphor more than spectacle.

Possession Runs Deep: Young & Cursed

Going live October 2 on major services, Young & Cursed plays as a rare fusion, spare in setting, sweeping in lore. Scripted and led by Andrew Chiaramonte, the film follows five strangers who wake in a remote wilderness cabin under the thrall of Kyra, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. As dusk gives way to night, Kyra’s grip intensifies, a violating force plundering fears, vulnerabilities, and regrets.

The threat is psychological first, wired with primal myth. Resisting the exorcism template of Catholic ceremony and Latin chant, this piece touches something older, something darker. Lilith bypasses ritual, she awakens from trauma, repression, and human fragility. The shift to interior possession, not exterior conjuring, flips expectation and aligns Young & Cursed with an expanding wave, intimate character portraits wearing genre.

On Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home, the film acts as a Halloween counterpoint to sequel pipelines and creature comebacks. It is a clever angle. No bloated mythology. No continuity burden. Just psychological dread, contained and tense, tailored to the binge then breathe cadence of digital horror fans. Amid spectacle, Young & Cursed can distinguish itself by whispering, then howling.

Festival Origins, Market Outcomes

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF remain breeding grounds for what horror looks like six to twelve months later. They are increasingly launchpads rather 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.

Midnight fare like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You rides on craft as well as title. Backed by A24, it skewers toxic fandom amid a convention lockdown, poised to break big.

SXSW lifted Clown in a Cornfield and put microbudget hauntings into market talk. Sundance is expected to unspool its usual crop of grief soaked elevated horror, and Tribeca’s genre set plays urban, social, and surreal.

Festival playbooks now prize branding as much as discovery. A badge from Fantastic Fest or TIFF is now the first phase of marketing, not the last.

Legacy Brands: Sequels, Reboots, and Reinvention

Legacy IP arrives sturdier and more intentional this cycle.

Fear Street: Prom Queen, due in July, revives the ’90s horror franchise with a new lead and a throwback tone. Unlike prior entries, this one leans into camp and prom night melodrama. Imagine tiaras, smeared red, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 posts late June, geared to push its techno horror story world with added characters and AI made scares. The initial entry’s meme life and streaming legs push Universal to scale up.

Next comes The Long Walk, adapting one of Stephen King’s earliest, most harrowing works, from Francis Lawrence, it shows as a grim dystopian parable set in survival horror, a youth walk ending only in death. With clear targeting, it could become The Hunger Games for horror grown ups.

Elsewhere, reboots and sequels like Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda pepper the schedule, many waiting on strategic holds or late deals.

Trends to Watch

Mythic horror goes mainstream
From Lilith in Young & Cursed through Aztec curses in Whistle, teams draw on ancient texts and symbols. Rather than nostalgia, it reclaims pre Christian archetypes. Horror is not just scaring us, it is reminding us that evil is older than we are.

Body horror returns
Titles such as Together, Weapons, and Keeper return focus to the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation map to heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streaming originals get teeth
The days of disposable horror filler on digital platforms are over. Platforms invest in real scripts, real directors, and real campaigns. Debuts like Weapons and Sinners carry event framing, not content bins.

Badges become bargaining chips
Festival seals operate as leverage for distribution lanes and press windows. A horror film without a festival strategy in 2025 risks disappearing.

Theaters are a trust fall
The cinema lane is kept for probable outperformers or branchers. Everything else heads to PVOD or hybrid drops. Horror is not shrinking in theaters, but it is becoming more curated.

Outlook: Autumn Overload and the Winter Wildcard

Young & Cursed plus The Conjuring: Last Rites plus The Black Phone 2 plus Weapons, all in September and October, makes for a saturated fall. Indies like Bone Lake and Keeper will grind for attention. Do not be surprised if one or two move to early 2026 or switch platforms.

December anchors on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, yet a surprise streamer drop could appear in the final weeks. With some of the year’s biggest films leaning dark and mythic, the space for one final creature feature or exorcism flick is wide open.

The key is connecting variety to fragmentation, not betting on one piece. The mission is not a new Get Out, it is sustained horror beyond tickets.



The new fright cycle: Sequels, new stories, together with A brimming Calendar aimed at goosebumps

Dek: The emerging genre slate loads up front with a January crush, from there carries through peak season, and pushing into the late-year period, braiding brand equity, new voices, and strategic calendar placement. The big buyers and platforms are leaning into tight budgets, theatrical-first rollouts, and social-driven marketing that turn horror entries into four-quadrant talking points.

The state of horror, heading into 2026

The horror marketplace has established itself as the predictable swing in studio slates, a genre that can lift when it hits and still insulate the drawdown when it falls short. After 2023 reminded decision-makers that efficiently budgeted genre plays can shape pop culture, 2024 sustained momentum with signature-voice projects and quiet over-performers. The tailwind pushed into 2025, where revived properties and critical darlings showed there is demand for varied styles, from continued chapters to director-led originals that carry overseas. The aggregate for 2026 is a calendar that reads highly synchronized across the industry, with clear date clusters, a harmony of brand names and novel angles, and a re-energized strategy on theatrical windows that fuel later windows on premium digital rental and OTT platforms.

Marketers add the horror lane now acts as a swing piece on the grid. The genre can premiere on almost any weekend, offer a clear pitch for spots and social clips, and outperform with crowds that arrive on Thursday nights and continue through the week two if the feature hits. After a strike-induced shuffle, the 2026 configuration reflects certainty in that setup. The calendar launches with a weighty January stretch, then leans on spring and early summer for off-slot scheduling, while saving space for a late-year stretch that carries into spooky season and into the next week. The layout also shows the tightening integration of specialty arms and home platforms that can platform a title, spark evangelism, and scale up at the inflection point.

Another broad trend is brand strategy across connected story worlds and long-running brands. The studios are not just releasing another return. They are setting up connection with a headline quality, whether that is a title presentation that conveys a recalibrated tone or a casting move that threads a next film to a vintage era. At the meanwhile, the creative leads Source behind the most buzzed-about originals are returning to hands-on technique, special makeup and concrete locations. That fusion gives 2026 a smart balance of recognition and surprise, which is how the films export.

What the big players are lining up

Paramount leads early with two prominent bets that straddle tones widely. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the director role and Neve Campbell back at the heart, steering it as both a cross-generational handoff and a DNA-forward character-forward chapter. The film is shooting in Atlanta, and the artistic posture suggests a heritage-honoring campaign without going over the last two entries’ family thread. Watch for a push leaning on iconic art, initial cast looks, and a trailer cadence targeting late fall. Distribution is cinema-first 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 paired again, with the Wayans brothers involved on the creative side for the first time since the early 2000s, a centerpiece the campaign will spotlight. As a summer counterprogrammer, this one will drive wide appeal through social-friendly gags, with the horror spoof format lending itself to quick pivots to whatever leads pop-cultural buzz that spring.

Universal has three clear strategies. SOULM8TE rolls out January 9, 2026, a tie-in spinoff from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The premise is clean, melancholic, and easily pitched: a grieving man adopts an artificial companion that evolves into a lethal partner. The date sets it at the front of a stacked January, with Universal’s promo team likely to bring back odd public stunts and bite-size content that blurs attachment and terror.

On May 8, 2026, the studio sets an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely understood to be the feature developed under placeholder labels in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The his comment is here public release grid currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which sets up a name unveil to become an marketing beat closer to the first trailer. The timing holds ground in early May while larger tentpoles take the main frames.

Filling out the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film reserves October 23, 2026, a slot he has commanded before. Peele’s work are set up as marquee events, with a teaser that holds back and a follow-up trailer set that signal tone without plot the concept. The prime October weekend creates space for Universal to take pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then capitalize on the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, collaborates with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček directs, with Souheila Yacoub starring. The franchise has repeatedly shown that a gnarly, prosthetic-heavy aesthetic can feel premium on a middle budget. Position this as a red-band summer horror shot that embraces foreign markets, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most international markets.

Sony’s horror bench is robust. The studio books two franchise maneuvers in the back half. An untitled Insidious film opens August 21, 2026, carrying a reliable supernatural brand alive while the spin-off branch evolves. The studio has shifted dates on this title before, but the current plan locks it in late summer, where Insidious has shown strength.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil comes back in what the studio is calling a new foundation 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 clearer mandate to serve both diehards and novices. The fall slot allows Sony to build assets around lore, and monster design, elements that can boost large-format demand and convention buzz.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, pins a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film extends Eggers’ run of period horror rooted in careful craft and textual fidelity, this time driven by werewolf stories. Focus has already booked the frame for a holiday release, a promissory note in the auteur as a specialty play that can platform and widen if early reception is warm.

Digital platform strategies

Platform strategies for 2026 run on familiar rails. Universal’s genre entries land on copyright after a exclusive run then PVOD, a tiered path that maximizes both initial urgency and viewer acquisition in the tail. Prime Video continues to mix catalogue additions with global pickups and select theatrical runs when the data signals it. Max and Hulu optimize their lanes in library pulls, using seasonal hubs, holiday hubs, and curated strips to sustain interest on the 2026 genre total. Netflix retains agility about own-slate titles and festival wins, dating horror entries on shorter runways and coalescing around rollouts with fast-turn plans. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, works a tiered of precision releases and fast windowing that funnels enthusiasm into trials. That will be meaningful for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before leaning on genre pipelines in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ continues to evaluate horror on a discrete basis. The platform has shown a willingness to invest in select projects with accomplished filmmakers or name-led packages, then give them a limited theatrical run in partnership with exhibitors to meet awards-qualifying thresholds or to earn receipts before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still leans on the 20th Century Studios slate, a major factor for sustained usage when the genre conversation peaks.

The specialty lanes and indie surprises

Cineverse is mapping a 2026 lane with two brand plays. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The sell is simple: the same haunting, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a beloved cult piece, refined for modern mix and image. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a autumn frame, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has signaled a traditional theatrical plan for the title, an promising marker for fans of the uncompromising series and for exhibitors wanting edgy counter in the fall weeks.

Focus will push the auteur angle with Werwulf, stewarding the film through the fall circuit if the cut is ready, then pressing the holiday slot to expand. That positioning has been successful for director-led genre with award possibilities. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not firmed many 2026 dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines often crystallize after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A solid projection is a brace of late-summer and fall platformers that can surge if reception drives. Keep an eye on an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that premieres at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work hand in hand, using mini theatrical to spark the evangelism that fuels their subscriber growth.

Balance of brands and originals

By volume, the 2026 slate bends toward the legacy column. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all capitalize on household recognition. The caveat, as ever, is audience fatigue. The standing approach is to package each entry as a re-toned entry. Paramount is elevating character and legacy in Scream 7, Sony is promising a full reset for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is highlighting a French-inflected take from a new voice. Those choices matter when the audience has so many options and social sentiment moves quickly.

Originals and director-driven titles provide the air. Jordan Peele’s October film will be sold as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, features Rachel McAdams in a survival-thriller premise with Raimi’s impish dread. SOULM8TE offers a clear, chilling tech hook. Werwulf leans on period specificity and an unsparing tone. Even when the title is not based on a brand, the package is steady enough to spark pre-sales and preview-night turnout.

Three-year comps make sense of the plan. In 2023, a theater-first model that kept streaming intact did not deter a dual release from succeeding when the brand was big. In 2024, precision craft horror over-performed in premium screens. In 2025, a resuscitation of a beloved infection saga signaled that global horror franchises can still feel renewed when they reorient and widen scale. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which continues January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The paired-chapter approach, with chapters shot back-to-back, gives leeway to marketing to connect the chapters through character spine and themes and to hold creative in the market without pause points.

Technique and craft currents

The production chatter behind this year’s genre suggest a continued tilt toward in-camera, locale-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not mirror any recent iteration of the property, a stance that matches the prosthetic-forward taste he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film completed principal and is aimed at its April 17, 2026 date. Promo should that elevates unease and texture rather than bombast, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership supporting tight cost control.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has framed Werwulf as the most chilling project he has tackled, which tracks with a Middle Ages setting and period-faithful dialogue, a combination that can make for 3D sound and a wintry, elemental feel on the big screen. Focus will likely warm the market to this aesthetic in long-lead features and craft coverage before rolling out a tease that withholds plot, a move that has succeeded for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is tuned for practical nastiness, a signature of the series that travels well in red-band trailers and spurs shareable shock clips from early screenings. Scream 7 promises a meta inflection that centers its original star. Resident Evil will rise or fall on monster realization and design, which work nicely for convention activations and guarded reveals. Insidious tends to be a sound design showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the auditorium case feel irresistible. Look for trailers that spotlight pinpoint sound design, deep-bass stingers, and dropouts that land in big rooms.

The schedule at a glance

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 heavier IP. The month ends 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 meaningful, but the variety of tones carves a lane for each, and the five-week structure enables clean play for each if word of mouth endures.

Pre-summer months stage summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 arrives February 27 with brand warmth. In April, The Mummy reimagines a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once belonged to genre counterprogramming and now accommodates 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 sorts the tones. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is jokier and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 drops hard-R intensity. The counterprogramming logic is solid. The spoof can succeed next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest feeds older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have moved through premium slots.

End of summer through fall leans brand. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives the studio a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously landed. Resident Evil rolls in after September 18, a late-September window that still steps into Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film takes October 23 and will seize cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely backed by a tease-and-hold strategy and limited pre-release reveals that put concept first.

Christmas prestige. Werwulf on December 25 is a flag plant that genre can win the holiday when packaged as filmmaker-driven prestige horror. Focus has done this before, measured platforming, then leaning on critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to remain in discourse into January. If the film scores with critics, the studio can scale in the first week of 2027 while riding holiday turnout and gift-card use.

Film-by-film briefs

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 meet a new Ghostface while the narrative re-keys to the original film’s genes. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: heritage pivot with a current edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A grieving man’s AI companion grows into something seductively lethal. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal is complete 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 broadens the canvas beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult hardens in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Shot back-to-back with the first film. Positioning: continuation of a revived prestige zombie saga.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man ventures back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to face a unstable reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished and theatrical on deck. Positioning: atmospheric game 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 tough boss claw to survive on a cut-off island as the power dynamic inverts and paranoia builds. Rating: TBA. Production: In the can. Positioning: star-forward survival chiller from a master.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles under wraps in official materials. Logline: A modern reimagining that returns the monster to fear, based on Cronin’s practical effects and accumulating dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked. Positioning: monster revival with signature voice.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A in-home haunting story that frames the panic through a kid’s uncertain inner lens. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: in the can. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven occult 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 parody return that targets of-the-moment horror beats and true-crime obsessions. Rating: TBA. Production: cameras due to roll fall 2025. Positioning: mainstream summer comedy-horror.

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 surges, with an worldly twist in tone and setting. Rating: pending. Production: lensing in New Zealand. Positioning: intense red-band chapter tailored to PLF.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: TBD per campaign. Top cast: TBD. Logline: The Further extends again, with a fresh family anchored to residual nightmares. Rating: pending. Production: set for summer production targeting late-summer opening. Positioning: durable spectral IP in a late-summer sweet spot.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: TBD publicly. Top cast: pending. Logline: A clean reboot designed to re-engineer the franchise from the ground up, with an preference for survival-first horror over action-heavy spectacle. Rating: TBD. Production: advancing in development with date locked. Positioning: lore-true modernization with broad upside.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: pending. Logline: strategically hidden. Rating: pending. Production: active. Positioning: auteur event powered by teasers.

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 primordial menace. Rating: undetermined. Production: building toward Christmas Day opening. 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 cinema-first path before platforming. Status: date in flux, fall expected.

Why this year, why now

Three nuts-and-bolts forces inform this lineup. First, production that stalled or reshuffled in 2024 needed spacing on the calendar. Horror can move in swiftly because scripts often are set in fewer locales, fewer large-scale VFX set pieces, 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 out-earned straight-to-streaming drops. Third, social conversation converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will activate social-ready stingers from test screenings, carefully timed scare clips paired with Thursday night previews, and experiential pop-ups that generate creator assets. It is a repeatable playbook because it wins.

The slot calculus is real. Early-year family and superhero blocks are thinner in 2026, opening usable real estate for genre entries that can capture a weekend or function as the older-skew counter. January is the prime example. Four separate horror flavors will trade weekends across five weekends, which permits distinct conversations to flourish. Summer provides the other window. The send-up tracks alongside early family and action traffic, 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 optimal band. Most of the films above will fit below the $40–$50 million line, with many far below. That allows for broad premium screen use 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 sleeper chase 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 exploit those windows. January could easily deliver the first unexpected breakout 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. Count on a vigorous PVOD arc overall, since horror fans have shown a willingness to pay for convenience after an opening weekend, especially when word of mouth is strong.

Audience journey through the year

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers momentum and variety. January is a tasting table, February delivers a legacy slasher, April reanimates a Universal monster, May and June provide a supernatural 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 bleak, literate nightmare. That is how you hold talk and turnout without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can escalate across the year, using earlier releases to prep the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors respond well to the spacing. Horror delivers preview-night pops, smart allocations, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can justify premium screens, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing dimensionality, sound, and camera work 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

Release dates move. Ratings change. Casts shift. But the spine of 2026 horror is solid. There is recognizable IP where it plays, fresh vision where it counts, and a calendar that shows studios read audience appetite for 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-stage specialty acquisition join the party. For now, the job is simple, shape lean trailers, preserve the surprise, and let the fear sell the seats.