Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed unleashes antediluvian malevolence, a chilling horror thriller, landing Oct 2025 on global platforms

One blood-curdling unearthly suspense film from screenwriter / auteur Andrew Chiaramonte, triggering an primeval dread when passersby become pawns in a fiendish contest. Debuting this October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon Prime, the YouTube platform, Google’s digital store, Apple’s iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango’s digital service.

Los Angeles, CA (August 8, 2025) – hold tight for *Young & Cursed*, a nightmarish journey of overcoming and primordial malevolence that will reshape horror this autumn. Directed by rising horror auteur Andrew Chiaramonte, this claustrophobic and atmospheric screenplay follows five figures who find themselves imprisoned in a cut-off cottage under the oppressive influence of Kyra, a haunted figure inhabited by a ancient biblical force. Be warned to be shaken by a filmic outing that fuses bone-deep fear with spiritual backstory, hitting on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on the second of October, 2025.


Malevolent takeover has been a mainstay fixture in genre filmmaking. In *Young & Cursed*, that structure is inverted when the entities no longer arise from elsewhere, but rather within themselves. This represents the shadowy element of the players. The result is a relentless mind game where the emotions becomes a constant battle between right and wrong.


In a haunting wild, five adults find themselves marooned under the ghastly sway and infestation of a unidentified spirit. As the cast becomes powerless to deny her command, exiled and preyed upon by powers impossible to understand, they are driven to confront their inner demons while the final hour unforgivingly counts down toward their expiration.


In *Young & Cursed*, suspicion surges and alliances break, urging each character to scrutinize their core and the integrity of free will itself. The intensity grow with every fleeting time, delivering a terror ride that integrates demonic fright with mental instability.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my intention was to awaken pure dread, an power from ancient eras, channeling itself through mental cracks, and examining a darkness that forces self-examination when volition is erased.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Transforming into Kyra was about accessing something deeper than fear. She is unaware until the control shifts, and that transition is shocking because it is so private.”

Rollout & Launch

*Young & Cursed* will be offered for audiences beginning on October 2nd, 2025, on Prime Video, YouTube, Google’s store, iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango at Home—allowing audiences worldwide can face this demonic journey.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just unveiled a new extended look for *Young & Cursed*, uploaded to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a follow up to its original promo, which has garnered over thousands of viewers.


In addition to its initial rollout, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has stated that *Young & Cursed* will also be offered to international markets, taking the terror to a global viewership.


Tune in for this heart-stopping spiral into evil. Confront *Young & Cursed* this Halloween season to dive into these evil-rooted truths about the psyche.


For sneak peeks, behind-the-scenes content, and alerts from Chiaramonte Films, follow @YACFilm across Facebook and TikTok and visit the movie portal.





Today’s horror inflection point: the 2025 cycle U.S. calendar Mixes primeval-possession lore, Indie Shockers, alongside tentpole growls

Across pressure-cooker survival tales grounded in scriptural legend and including brand-name continuations set beside incisive indie visions, 2025 is coalescing into the most complex together with calculated campaign year for the modern era.

Call it full, but it is also focused. the big studios hold down the year via recognizable brands, simultaneously platform operators load up the fall with debut heat set against mythic dread. On the festival side, the micro-to-mid budget ranks is buoyed by the backdraft of a banner 2024 fest year. With Halloween holding the peak, the year beyond October is carefully apportioned. The early fall corridor has become the proving ground, and now, teams are capturing January, spring, and mid-summer. Audiences are eager, studios are targeted, as a result 2025 may be recorded as the genre’s most deliberate campaign.

What Studios and Mini-Majors Are Doing: Elevated fear reclaims ground

The majors are assertive. If 2024 set the stage for reinvention, 2025 amplifies the bet.

Universal lights the fuse with a bold swing: a refreshed Wolf Man, leaving behind the period European setting, but a crisp modern milieu. Steered by Leigh Whannell anchored by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this take locates the lycanthropy inside home disintegration. The curse reads as bodily and relational, about spouses, parents, and people. Booked into mid January, it joins a broader aim to occupy winter’s quiet with elevated titles, not leftovers.

In spring, Clown in a Cornfield lands, a YA slasher adaptation reworked as a minimalist shock machine. Eli Craig directs anchored by Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it is blood soaked Americana horror with a satirical streak. Under the costume, it needles small town fear, cross generational rifts, and crowd punishment. Early reactions hint at fangs.

By late summer, the WB camp delivers the closing chapter inside its trusty horror universe: The Conjuring: Last Rites. With Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson back as Ed and Lorraine Warren, the installment aims for closure as it frames a famed case. Although the framework is familiar, director Michael Chaves reportedly leans into a mournful, interior tone for the swan song. It posts in early September, creating cushion before October load.

Next is The Black Phone 2. Planned for early summer, the October reposition reads assertive. Derrickson returns to the helm, and the memorable motifs return: old school creep, trauma explicitly handled, along with eerie supernatural rules. This time the stakes climb, with more excavation of the “grabber” canon and family hauntings.

Rounding the tentpole corner is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a title that can sell without classic marketing. The next entry deepens the tale, enlarges the animatronic menagerie, bridging teens and legacy players. It drops in December, securing the winter cap.

Streaming Firsts: Tight funds, wide impact

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

A top daring platform piece is Weapons, a multi timeline cold-case dread piece braiding three timelines tied to a mass vanishing. Steered by Zach Cregger fronted by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the release pairs unease with narrative heft. Rolling out in theaters late summer before fall platform release, it is expected to spark online debate and post viewing breakdowns, much like Barbarian before it.

In the micro chamber lane is Together, an intimate body horror unraveling starring Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Set in a remote rental home during a getaway gone wrong, the script studies love with jealousy with self rejection turning into decay. It is romantic, grotesque, and deeply uncomfortable, a three act spiral into codependent hell. Even without a formal platform date, it is tracking toward an autumn slot.

Another headline entry is Sinners, a 1930s rooted vampire folk legend featuring Michael B. Jordan. Captured with warm sepia and heavy biblical metaphor, it channels There Will Be Blood against Let the Right One In. The movie studies American religious trauma through the supernatural lens. Early test screenings have marked it as one of the year’s most talked about streaming debuts.

A handful of other streaming indies hover in the wings: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each threads grief and absence and identity, mapping allegory to dread.

Possession, Deeper Than Ever: Young & Cursed

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

The dread here runs psychological, charged by primal myth. Not another exorcism story reliant on Catholic rite and Latin phrase, this one digs into something older, something darker. Lilith is not conjured by ritual, she surfaces through trauma, silence, and human fragility. This inside out possession reframes expectation and groups Young & Cursed with a rising current, intimate character dramas within genre.

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 is a smart play. No puffed out backstory. No series drag. Simply psychological fear, lean and taut, built for the binge then recover rhythm. Against fireworks, Young & Cursed might stand apart by stillness, then shock.

Festival Born and Buyer Ready

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF continue to incubate the next six to twelve months of horror. They are increasingly launchpads rather than showcases.

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

Midnight fare like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You rides on craft as well as title. That film, an A24 backed satire of toxic fandom inside a horror convention lockdown, looks poised to break out.

SXSW premiered Clown in a Cornfield and surfaced several microbudget hauntings that circle deals. Sundance is expected to unspool its usual crop of grief soaked elevated horror, and Tribeca’s genre set plays urban, social, and surreal.

In 2025, festival strategy is less about discovery, more about branding. Those badges act as campaign openers, not end caps.

Franchise Horror: Reups, Reboots, and Rethinks

Legacy entries present stronger and more purposeful this time.

Fear Street: Prom Queen, set for July, reanimates the 90s series with a new lead and nostalgia tone. Unlike earlier entries, this leans camp and prom night melodrama. Visualize tiaras, fake gore, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 returns in late June, poised to elaborate techno horror lore through new players and AI nightmares. The opening film’s buzz and platform staying power help Universal go bigger.

The Long Walk arrives off an early Stephen King survival piece, steered by Francis Lawrence, it plays as a savage dystopian parable housed in survival horror, a walk to death contest without winners. If sold right, it could sit as The Hunger Games for adult horror fans.

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.

Trend Lines

Old myth goes broad
Lilith in Young & Cursed and Aztec curses in Whistle point to ancient texts and symbols. It eschews nostalgia to repossess pre Christian archetypes. Horror reaches past fear, it states evil is old.

Body horror reemerges
Entries like Together, Weapons, and Keeper shift back to flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation map to heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Originals on platforms bite harder
Disposable horror filler days on platforms have passed. Streamers deploy capital toward scripts, directors, and paid reach. Pieces like Weapons and Sinners receive event status, not feed stock.

Festival glow translates to leverage
Wreaths work as currency, buying release slots, placement, and press. Forgo a festival map in 2025 and obscurity beckons.

Cinemas are a trust fall
Studios are only releasing horror theatrically if they believe it will overperform or spin into sequels. The balance slides PVOD or hybrid. Horror continues in theaters, in narrower curated lanes.

What’s Next: Fall crush plus winter X factor

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 such as Bone Lake and Keeper will tussle for space. Some may slide to early 2026 or switch platform lanes.

December centers on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, but a final weeks surprise stream could still hit. As mythic runs hot, a closing creature or exorcism could still arrive.

Horror’s 2025 outcome will be decided not by one title, but by how its variety connects with splintered audiences. The assignment is not to chase the next Get Out, it is to build horror that endures beyond box office.



The coming 2026 chiller Year Ahead: follow-ups, original films, alongside A packed Calendar tailored for frights

Dek The emerging scare year crowds from day one with a January bottleneck, subsequently unfolds through the mid-year, and deep into the December corridor, combining marquee clout, novel approaches, and shrewd calendar placement. Major distributors and platforms are focusing on smart costs, box-office-first windows, and buzz-forward plans that convert the slate’s entries into water-cooler talk.

Horror’s position as 2026 begins

This space has established itself as the most reliable swing in distribution calendars, a segment that can expand when it hits and still hedge the downside when it doesn’t. After the 2023 year re-taught greenlighters that responsibly budgeted pictures can steer social chatter, the following year extended the rally with high-profile filmmaker pieces and surprise hits. The head of steam rolled into the 2025 frame, where revived properties and filmmaker-prestige bets underscored there is appetite for diverse approaches, from continued chapters to standalone ideas that travel well. The combined impact for 2026 is a calendar that presents tight coordination across studios, with obvious clusters, a spread of household franchises and new packages, and a refocused attention on release windows that power the aftermarket on premium video on demand and OTT platforms.

Insiders argue the horror lane now performs as a utility player on the slate. Horror can roll out on virtually any date, create a clean hook for ad units and social clips, and punch above weight with viewers that line up on previews Thursday and stay strong through the sophomore frame if the feature hits. Exiting a strike-impacted pipeline, the 2026 rhythm indicates comfort in that approach. The slate commences with a stacked January lineup, then plants flags in spring and early summer for alternate plays, while clearing room for a fall corridor that pushes into late October and past Halloween. The grid also underscores the continuing integration of specialized labels and platforms that can nurture a platform play, fuel WOM, and go nationwide at the proper time.

Another broad trend is IP stewardship across linked properties and established properties. Major shops are not just producing another return. They are seeking to position brand continuity with a heightened moment, whether that is a logo package that suggests a tonal shift or a casting move that ties a incoming chapter to a first wave. At the same time, the creative leads behind the top original plays are embracing physical effects work, in-camera effects and site-specific worlds. That combination hands 2026 a confident blend of comfort and newness, which is why the genre exports well.

Studios and mini-majors: what the big players are doing

Paramount plants an early flag with two marquee bets that straddle tones widely. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with original architect Kevin Williamson in the director seat and Neve Campbell back at the forefront, steering it as both a lineage transfer and a back-to-basics character-forward chapter. Filming is underway in Atlanta, and the creative posture suggests a memory-charged strategy without replaying the last two entries’ Carpenter-sisters arc. A campaign is expected rooted in legacy iconography, intro reveals, and a two-beat trailer plan rolling toward late fall. Distribution is Paramount’s theatrical route.

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 reuniting, with the Wayans brothers involved as creative partners for the first time since the early 2000s, a headline the campaign will double down on. As a counterweight in summer, this one will seek four-quadrant chatter through gif-able moments, with the horror spoof format lending itself to quick redirects to whatever shapes the meme cycle that spring.

Universal has three differentiated entries. SOULM8TE opens January 9, 2026, a connected offshoot from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The setup is efficient, loss-driven, and big-hook: a grieving man brings home an digital partner that evolves into a killer companion. The date nudges it to the front of a front-loaded month, with the marketing arm likely to echo eerie street stunts and snackable content that threads affection and dread.

On May 8, 2026, the studio schedules an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely rumored as the feature developed under working names in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The official listing currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which preserves a public title to become an PR pop closer to the initial tease. The timing offers Universal a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles circle other weekends.

Finishing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film plants on October 23, 2026, a slot he has dominated before. Peele projects are positioned as auteur events, with a minimalist tease and a second beat that signal tone without plot the concept. The prime October weekend offers Universal room to fill pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then capitalize on the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, partners with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček directs, with Souheila Yacoub top-lining. The franchise has long shown that a gritty, on-set effects led execution can feel prestige on a mid-range budget. Position this as a hard-R summer horror jolt that emphasizes global traction, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most foreign territories.

Sony’s horror bench is impressively deep. The studio places two brand plays in the back half. An untitled Insidious film rolls out August 21, 2026, sustaining a steady supernatural brand in motion while the spin-off branch builds quietly. The studio has moved dates 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 returns in what Sony is billing as a clean-slate approach for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a central part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a focus to serve both loyalists and novices. The fall slot affords Sony time to build campaign pieces around setting detail, and practical creature work, elements that can boost premium screens 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 continues Eggers’ run of period horror grounded in historical precision and period speech, this time steeped in lycan lore. The company has already locked the day for a holiday release, a signal of faith in Eggers as a specialty play that can broaden if early reception is favorable.

Streaming windows and tactics

Platform strategies for 2026 run on familiar rails. Universal’s genre slate shift to copyright after a big-screen and PVOD window, a sequence that optimizes both launch urgency and sign-up spikes in the tail. Prime Video will mix acquired titles with world buys and select theatrical runs when the data recommends it. Max and Hulu accent their strengths in archive usage, using well-timed internal promotions, fright rows, and handpicked rows to prolong the run on 2026 genre cume. Netflix keeps flexible about originals and festival additions, slotting horror entries closer to launch and positioning as event drops go-lives with burst campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, operates a staged of precision releases and prompt platform moves that turns chatter to conversion. That will be meaningful for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before activating community channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ treats carefully horror on a per-project basis. The platform has demonstrated openness to acquire select projects with recognized filmmakers or star packages, then give them a art-house footprint in partnership with exhibitors to meet qualifying rules or to earn receipts before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still benefits from the 20th Century Studios slate, a key factor for platform stickiness when the genre conversation ramps.

Art-house genre prospects

Cineverse is putting together a 2026 runway with two IP plays. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The setup is straightforward: the same mist-blanketed, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a cult favorite, recalibrated for modern mix and image. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a autumn corridor, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has telegraphed a theatrical rollout for Legacy, an promising marker for fans of the hard-edged series and for exhibitors seeking darker fare in the September weeks.

Focus will play the auteur card with Werwulf, escorting the title through festival season if the cut is ready, then activating the holiday frame to go wider. That positioning has helped for director-led genre with broader reach. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not publicly set many dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines tend to firm up after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A fair assumption is a series of late-summer and fall platformers that can grow if reception justifies. Keep an eye on an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that runs at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work as a pair, using boutique theatrical to spark the evangelism that fuels their community.

Franchise entries versus originals

By weight, 2026 tilts in favor of the brand side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all exploit legacy awareness. The trade-off, as ever, is brand erosion. The go-to fix is to market each entry as a reframed mode. Paramount is spotlighting character and continuity in Scream 7, Sony is indicating a new foundation for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is centering a European tilt from a rising filmmaker. Those choices prove meaningful when the audience has so many options and social sentiment swings fast.

Non-franchise titles and visionary-led titles provide the air. Jordan Peele’s October film will be treated as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, casts Rachel McAdams in a survival shocker premise with the filmmaker’s mischievous menace. SOULM8TE offers a focused, eerie tech hook. Werwulf grounds itself in period and an stark tone. Even when the title is not based on familiar IP, the packaging is recognizable enough to drive advance ticketing and Thursday-night crowds.

Past-three-year patterns frame the approach. In 2023, a theater-first model that observed windows did not stop a day-and-date experiment from performing when the brand was trusted. In 2024, craft-first auteur horror punched above its weight in premium large format. In 2025, a reawakened chapter of a beloved infection saga demonstrated that global horror franchises can still feel alive when they reframe POV and scale the storytelling. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which unfolds January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The two-film strategy, with chapters shot consecutively, builds a path for marketing to thread films through personae and themes and to keep assets in-market without extended gaps.

Aesthetic and craft notes

The craft rooms behind 2026 horror signal a continued tilt toward physical, site-specific craft. horror Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not mirror any recent iteration of the property, a stance that echoes the physical-effects bias he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film completed filming and is tracking to its April 17, 2026 date. Promo should that highlights grain and menace rather than theme-park spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership making room for tight cost control.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has called Werwulf as the most severe project he has tackled, which tracks with a Middle Ages setting and medieval diction, a combination that can make for 3D sound and a icy, primal tone on the big screen. Focus will likely preview this aesthetic in behind-the-scenes pieces and craft features before rolling out a tone piece that elevates tone over story, a move that has clicked for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is geared for visceral gnarl, a signature of the series that performs globally in red-band trailers and drives shareable reaction videos from early screenings. Scream 7 hints at a self-aware reset that re-centers the original lead. Resident Evil will live or die on monster realization and design, which favor fan conventions and timed asset drops. Insidious tends to be a soundstage showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the premium-screen pitch feel definitive. Look for trailers that spotlight pin-drop sound, deep-bass stingers, and quiet voids that work in PLF.

The schedule at a glance

January is crowded. 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 heavier IP. The month ends with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival thriller from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is real, but the tone spread gives each title a lane, and the five-week structure permits a clean run for each if word of mouth persists.

Q1 into Q2 stage summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 debuts February 27 with fan warmth. In April, New Line’s The Mummy reframes a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once was known for genre counterprogramming and now backs big openers. The untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 steps into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer clarifies the lanes. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is lighter-toned and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 drops severe intensity. The counterprogramming logic is strong. The spoof can thrive next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest delights older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have cycled through premium screens.

Shoulder season into fall leans series. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives the studio a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously done well. Resident Evil rolls in after September 18, a bridge slot that still links to Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film secures October 23 and will own cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely augmented by a minimalist tease strategy and limited teasers that elevate concept over story.

Prestige-horror at year-end. Werwulf on December 25 is a line in sand that genre can compete at Christmas when packaged as filmmaker prestige. Focus has done this before, staging carefully, then working critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to remain in discourse into January. If the film pleases critics, the studio can go wider in the first week of 2027 while turning holiday audiences and holiday card usage.

Title snapshots

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting to be detailed as production continues. Logline: Sidney returns to challenge a new Ghostface while the narrative reconnects to the original film’s genes. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: legacy reset with a modern edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A devastated man’s virtual companion grows into something murderously loving. Rating: TBA. Production: Shoot 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 broadens the canvas beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult organizes in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Filmed consecutively with the first film. Positioning: prestige zombie continuation.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man returns to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to encounter a altering reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed production with U.S. distribution. Positioning: gothic-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 push to survive on a isolated island as the power balance of power flips and paranoia builds. Rating: TBA. Production: Done. Positioning: star-led survival piece from a genre icon.

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 reconception that returns the monster to nightmare, based on Cronin’s tactile craft and slow-bloom dread. Rating: TBA. Production: 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 intimate haunting piece that refracts terror through a youth’s shifting POV. Rating: TBA. Production: completed. Positioning: studio-scale and toplined spirit-world suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers back in the creative mix. Logline: {A parody reboot that riffs on today’s horror trends and true crime preoccupations. Rating: TBD. Production: shoot planned for fall 2025. Positioning: mass-audience summer option.

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 spreads, with an overseas twist in tone and setting. Rating: TBD. Production: currently in New Zealand. Positioning: uncompromising R installment meant for big rooms.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: awaiting reveal. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: The Further extends again, with a young family snared by older hauntings. Rating: TBA. Production: slated for summer production leading to late-summer release. Positioning: dependable ghost-franchise slot that suits the brand.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: to be disclosed. Top cast: TBA. Logline: A from-scratch rebuild designed to rebuild the franchise from the ground up, with an priority on classic survival-horror tone over pyrotechnic spectacle. Rating: TBD. Production: on a development track with locked window. Positioning: lore-true modernization with broad upside.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: to be announced. Logline: Kept under wraps by design. Rating: pending. Production: active. Positioning: director-branded event with teaser focus.

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 era-faithful speech and ancient menace. Rating: pending. Production: gearing up with December 25 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 traditional theatrical release planned before platforming. Status: date in flux, fall expected.

Why the moment is 2026

Three execution-level forces shape this lineup. First, production that bottlenecked or rearranged in 2024 required runway on the datebook. Horror can backfill quickly because scripts often demand fewer locations, fewer large-scale effects set pieces, and shorter timelines. Second, studios have become more structured about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently outperformed straight-to-streaming debuts. Third, social buzz converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will mine turnkey scare beats from test screenings, orchestrated scare clips timed to Thursday night previews, and experiential pop-ups that serve as influencer content. It is a repeatable playbook because it holds up.

A fourth element is the programming calculus. Early corridors for family and capes are leaner in 2026, freeing space for genre entries that can seize a weekend or play as the older-leaning alternative. January is the prime example. Four different flavors of horror will stack across five weekends, which helps each film cultivate buzz on its own. Summer provides the other window. The lampoon benefits from family and action buoyancy, then the hard-R entry can capitalize on a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Cost, ratings, and sleeper dynamics

Budgets remain in the optimal band. Most of the films above will budget under the $40–$50 million tier, with many far below. That allows for robust premium-format allocation 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 underdog chase continues in Q1, where modest-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 beat and breadth. January is a sampler, February delivers a legacy slasher, April reanimates a Universal monster, May and June provide a back-to-back supernatural punch 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 keep chatter alive and occupancy strong without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can build month to month, using earlier releases to prime the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors respond well to the spacing. Horror delivers reliable Thursday lifts, efficient screen counts, 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 texture, audio design, 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 Looks Exciting

Schedules slip. Ratings change. Casts update. But the spine of 2026 horror is in place. There is name recognition where it counts, new vision where it lands, 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-arriving specialty entry join the party. For now, the job is simple, produce clean trailers, lock the reveals, and let the fear sell the seats.