Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed stirs up ancient terror, a nerve shredding chiller, streaming Oct 2025 on major streaming services

One eerie otherworldly fright fest from storyteller / cinema craftsman Andrew Chiaramonte, releasing an prehistoric fear when guests become tools in a supernatural struggle. Streaming on October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime, the YouTube platform, Google’s Play platform, iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand.

Hollywood, CA (August 8, 2025) – gear up for *Young & Cursed*, a disturbing account of overcoming and timeless dread that will redefine horror this October. Realized by rising genre visionary Andrew Chiaramonte, this edge-of-your-seat and shadowy fearfest follows five teens who suddenly rise isolated in a remote structure under the aggressive sway of Kyra, a mysterious girl occupied by a millennia-old Old Testament spirit. Arm yourself to be shaken by a cinematic presentation that unites visceral dread with mystical narratives, premiering on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on the second of October, 2025.


Diabolic occupation has been a classic motif in film. In *Young & Cursed*, that structure is flipped when the spirits no longer develop from a different plane, but rather from within. This suggests the most sinister version of all involved. The result is a intense moral showdown where the story becomes a merciless battle between heaven and hell.


In a desolate wilderness, five figures find themselves sealed under the evil force and infestation of a haunted character. As the team becomes paralyzed to oppose her command, isolated and followed by powers mind-shattering, they are confronted to confront their soulful dreads while the clock harrowingly counts down toward their expiration.


In *Young & Cursed*, unease grows and bonds splinter, driving each protagonist to challenge their essence and the principle of personal agency itself. The cost mount with every tick, delivering a nerve-wracking journey that fuses spiritual fright with psychological weakness.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my objective was to dive into primal fear, an power from ancient eras, emerging via fragile psyche, and dealing with a will that forces self-examination when volition is erased.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Becoming Kyra required summoning something darker than pain. She is oblivious until the curse activates, and that turn is soul-crushing because it is so close.”

Where to Watch

*Young & Cursed* will be offered for home viewing beginning this October 2, on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand—so that audiences no matter where they are can be part of this spine-tingling premiere.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just rolled out a new sneak peek #2 for *Young & Cursed*, debuted to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a companion to its first trailer, which has received over a viral response.


In addition to its first availability, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has stated that *Young & Cursed* will also be released internationally, offering the tale to a worldwide audience.


Be sure to catch this haunted descent into darkness. Brace yourself for *Young & Cursed* this spooky debut to experience these haunting secrets about human nature.


For teasers, production news, and social posts from the creators, follow @YACMovie across Facebook and TikTok and visit our horror hub.





Today’s horror major pivot: 2025 across markets U.S. rollouts melds legend-infused possession, microbudget gut-punches, and tentpole growls

Running from survival horror inspired by old testament echoes and extending to brand-name continuations as well as incisive indie visions, 2025 is emerging as the genre’s most multifaceted plus tactically planned year in the past ten years.

The 2025 horror calendar goes beyond packed, it is precision-tuned. top-tier distributors hold down the year with established lines, at the same time SVOD players flood the fall with new perspectives plus old-world menace. On the festival side, the independent cohort is riding the tailwinds of a banner 2024 fest year. Since Halloween is the prized date, the non-October slots are tuned with exactness. A dense September through October runway is now a rite of passage, distinctly in 2025, rollouts stretch into January, spring, and mid-summer. Viewers are primed, studios are precise, accordingly 2025 is positioned to be the most designed season yet.

Studio and Mini-Major Moves: Premium dread reemerges

The upper tier is moving decisively. If 2024 set the base, 2025 deepens the push.

Universal’s pipeline lights the fuse with a big gambit: a modernized Wolf Man, set not in some misty 19th-century European village, in a clear present-tense world. Steered by Leigh Whannell and toplined by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this approach fixes the lycanthropy within intimate rupture. The curse reads as bodily and relational, about spouses, parents, and people. targeting mid January, it advances a tactic to control the winter valley through premium horror, not dumps.

In spring, Clown in a Cornfield lands, a YA slasher adaptation reworked as a minimalist shock machine. Steered by Eli Craig anchored by Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it is blood soaked Americana horror with a satirical streak. Beneath the facade, it probes hometown suspicion, boomer to zoomer divides, and mob retribution. Advance murmurs say it draws blood.

As summer wanes, Warner’s pipeline drops the final chapter of its steadiest horror franchise: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Farmiga and Wilson return as the Warrens, the entry offers emotional coda while tackling one of their notorious real cases. Though the outline is tried, Michael Chaves is rumored to steer toward a somber, reflective register for the close. It arrives early September, buying space before the October wave.

After that, The Black Phone 2. Once set for early summer, the October pivot signals belief. Derrickson returns to the helm, and those signature textures resurface: period tinged dread, trauma driven plotting, plus otherworld rules that chill. The bar is raised this go, with a deeper exploration into the “grabber” mythology and how grief haunts generations.

Finishing the tentpole list is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a title that can sell without classic marketing. The second outing goes deeper into backstory, expands its animatronic nightmare roster, with a bullseye on teens and thirty something nostalgics. It lands in December, stabilizing the winter back end.

Streaming Firsts: Low budgets, big teeth

While theaters bet on familiarity, platforms are wagering boldly, and results are there.

A flagship risky title is Weapons, a multi timeline cold-case dread piece splicing three ages joined by a mass disappearance. Guided by Zach Cregger pairing Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the project unites horror with dramatic charge. Premiering theatrically in late summer before a fall streaming drop, it will likely trigger thread wars and analysis videos, recalling Barbarian.

On the quieter side is Together, a body horror duet anchored by Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Confined to a lonely rental when a vacation turns, the work maps love envy and self hatred onto bodily unraveling. It reads tender, repulsive, and intensely uneasy, a three act churn into codependent hell. Before a platform date is locked, it is a near certain autumn drop.

Next comes Sinners, a 1930s rooted vampire folk legend toplined by Michael B. Jordan. Photographed in sepia saturation with biblical metaphor, it plays like There Will Be Blood meets Let the Right One In. The story probes American religious trauma by way of supernatural allegory. Trial screenings frame it as a high chatter SVOD arrival.

A cluster of streaming indies sits ready: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper all tap into themes of grief, disappearance, and identity, often using horror as metaphor instead of spectacle.

Possession With Depth: Young & Cursed

Hitting October 2 on the platforms, Young & Cursed emerges as a rare mix, tight in frame and epic in resonance. Written and directed by Andrew Chiaramonte, the narrative rides with five strangers waking in a secluded woodland cabin, held by Kyra, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. As the night settles, her power spikes, an infiltrating force leveraging fears, breaks, and sorrow.

The unease is psychological, fused to primal myth. Ducking the exorcism default of Catholic ritual and Latin text, this story returns to something older, something darker. Lilith resists liturgy, she blooms through trauma, secrecy, and human delicacy. An inward possession, not an outward spell, turns the trope and sets Young & Cursed inside a widening trend, intimate character work housed in 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 smart play. No puffed out backstory. No canon weight. Pure psyche terror, contained and taut, sized for the binge then exhale flow of digital viewers. In a year crowded with spectacle, Young & Cursed may stand out by going quiet, then screaming.

Festival Badges as Fuel

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF operate as greenhouses for horror six to twelve months down the line. And in 2025, they are acting more like launchpads than showcases.

This year’s Fantastic Fest has already confirmed a strong horror lineup. Primate, a tropical body horror opener, draws comparisons to Cronenberg and Herzog. Whistle, a revenge folktale steeped in Aztec myth, is tapped to close with fire.

Midnight entries like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You are getting buzz not just for their titles but for their execution. With A24 behind it, the satire of toxic fandom under a convention lockdown seems breakout bound.

SXSW bowed Clown in a Cornfield while feeding deal chatter for microbudget haunts. Sundance forecasts grief bent elevated horror again, with Tribeca’s genre lane skewing urban, social, and surreal.

In 2025, festival strategy is less about discovery, more about branding. Festival laurels are opening moves, not closing notes.

Heritage Horror: Follow Ups, Restarts, and Reframes

The sequel reboot ecosystem reads stronger and more precise.

Fear Street: Prom Queen, dated July, revives the 90s franchise with a new lead and throwback tone. Unlike prior entries, this one leans into camp and prom night melodrama. Visualize tiaras, fake gore, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 arrives late June, targeting a broadened techno horror canon with new characters and AI spawned nightmares. The opener’s social chatter and SVOD hours justify Universal’s deeper play.

On the slate sits The Long Walk, from one of Stephen King’s stark early titles, steered by Francis Lawrence, it plays as a savage dystopian parable housed in survival horror, a walk to death contest without winners. With sharp marketing, it could translate to The Hunger Games for horror adults.

Also present, reboots and sequels including Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda, spread through the year, most watching for smart slots or quick buys.

Trend Lines

Old myth goes broad
From Lilith in Young & Cursed to Aztec curses in Whistle, creators turn to ancient texts and symbols. Not nostalgia, a reclaim of pre Christian archetypes. Horror exceeds jolts, it insists evil is ancient.

Body Horror Makes a Comeback
Pieces such as Together, Weapons, and Keeper bring it back to flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation encode heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streaming Originals Grow Teeth
The era of filler horror on streamers is ending. Streamers deploy capital toward scripts, directors, and paid reach. Titles such as Weapons and Sinners are treated as events, not mere content.

Festival heat turns into leverage
Wreaths work as currency, buying release slots, placement, and press. Without a festival strategy in 2025, a horror film risks vanishing.

The big screen is a trust exercise
Studios are only releasing horror theatrically if they believe it will overperform or spin into sequels. The balance slides PVOD or hybrid. Horror still lives in theaters, more curated than broad.

Forecast: Autumn density and winter pivot

Put Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons into September and October and you get saturation. Indies including Bone Lake and Keeper will wrestle for room. Watch for one or more of these to pivot into early 2026 or shift platforms.

December centers on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, but a final weeks surprise stream could still hit. 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 genre’s success in 2025 will hinge not on any one title, but on how well its diverse slate reaches its scattered, increasingly segmented audience. This year is not about chasing the next Get Out, it is about building horror that lives beyond the box office.



The new spook lineup: returning titles, universe starters, alongside A busy Calendar calibrated for Scares

Dek: The fresh scare year lines up at the outset with a January crush, and then flows through June and July, and well into the holiday stretch, balancing series momentum, novel approaches, and shrewd release strategy. The major players are leaning into smart costs, exclusive theatrical windows first, and social-driven marketing that transform genre titles into cross-demo moments.

Where horror stands going into 2026

This space has solidified as the bankable option in studio lineups, a category that can expand when it connects and still hedge the floor when it underperforms. After 2023 demonstrated to leaders that efficiently budgeted scare machines can galvanize cultural conversation, the following year kept energy high with festival-darling auteurs and word-of-mouth wins. The energy rolled into the 2025 frame, where resurrections and festival-grade titles demonstrated there is a lane for a variety of tones, from legacy continuations to filmmaker-driven originals that perform internationally. The net effect for the 2026 slate is a calendar that shows rare alignment across studios, with intentional bunching, a equilibrium of brand names and fresh ideas, and a recommitted priority on release windows that amplify PVOD and streaming on premium home window and digital services.

Insiders argue the genre now operates like a swing piece on the distribution slate. The genre can open on many corridors, yield a clear pitch for spots and reels, and over-index with viewers that turn out on Thursday previews and stick through the week two if the feature lands. On the heels of a strike-impacted pipeline, the 2026 cadence underscores assurance in that playbook. The year launches with a busy January band, then uses spring and early summer for audience offsets, while reserving space for a fall cadence that runs into the fright window and afterwards. The grid also features the greater integration of indie distributors and SVOD players that can platform and widen, create conversation, and grow at the optimal moment.

A parallel macro theme is franchise tending across brand ecosystems and legacy franchises. Big banners are not just pushing another chapter. They are working to present connection with a headline quality, whether that is a typeface approach that suggests a new vibe or a ensemble decision that ties a next entry to a classic era. At the alongside this, the filmmakers behind the high-profile originals are leaning into in-camera technique, practical effects and place-driven backdrops. That convergence gives the 2026 slate a strong blend of recognition and newness, which is how the genre sells abroad.

The studios and mini-majors, and how they are playing the year

Paramount plants an early flag with two headline releases that sit at tonal extremes. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with original architect Kevin Williamson in the director role and Neve Campbell back at the focus, presenting it as both a legacy handover and a heritage-centered character-driven entry. Principal photography is underway in Atlanta, and the directional approach signals a classic-referencing angle without recycling the last two entries’ family thread. Count on a promo wave fueled by franchise iconography, early character teases, and a tiered teaser plan aimed at late fall. Distribution is Paramount’s cinema pipeline.

Paramount also reawakens a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are set to reunite, with the Wayans brothers involved behind the scenes for the first time since the early 2000s, a linchpin the campaign will stress. As a summer counterprogrammer, this one will chase mass reach through social-friendly gags, with the horror spoof format fitting quick redirects to whatever shapes the social talk that spring.

Universal has three differentiated projects. SOULM8TE rolls out January 9, 2026, a tech-forward branch from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The premise is efficient, loss-driven, and big-hook: a grieving man brings home an digital partner that grows into a killer companion. The date slots it at the front of a competition-heavy month, with the Universal machine likely to renew odd public stunts and snackable content that interweaves love and dread.

On May 8, 2026, the studio positions an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely assumed to be the feature developed under early labels 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 branding reveal to become an PR pop closer to the debut look. The timing creates a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles cluster around other dates.

Closing out the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film lands October 23, 2026, a slot he has thrived in before. The filmmaker’s films are branded as filmmaker events, with a teaser that holds back and a later creative that shape mood without giving away the concept. The Halloween runway offers Universal room to dominate 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, aligns with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček heads, with Souheila Yacoub top-lining. The franchise has made clear that a gnarly, on-set effects led execution can feel prestige on a tight budget. Position this as a red-band summer horror surge that embraces international play, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most non-U.S. markets.

Sony’s horror bench is robust. The studio mounts two recognizable-IP pushes in the back half. An untitled Insidious film debuts August 21, 2026, carrying a dependable supernatural brand front and center while the spin-off branch incubates. The studio has shifted dates on this title before, but the current plan sets it in late summer, where Insidious has shown strength.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil re-enters in what the studio is marketing as a ground-zero restart for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a key part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a charge to serve both fans and first-timers. The fall slot allows Sony to build marketing units around universe detail, and practical creature work, elements that can accelerate premium format interest and cosplay-friendly fan engagement.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, positions a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film extends the filmmaker’s run of period horror centered on careful craft and archaic language, this time exploring werewolf lore. Focus’s team has already booked the frame for a holiday release, a bold stance in the auteur as a specialty play that can platform and widen if early reception is supportive.

Streamers and platform exclusives

Platform strategies for 2026 run on predictable routes. Universal’s releases window into copyright after a theater window then PVOD, a sequence that amplifies both initial urgency and subscriber lifts in the post-theatrical. Prime Video balances library titles with world buys and limited runs in theaters when the data supports it. Max and Hulu focus their lanes in deep cuts, using in-app campaigns, fright rows, and programmed rows to sustain interest on overall cume. Netflix keeps options open about own-slate titles and festival additions, finalizing horror entries near their drops and elevating as drops debuts with compressed campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, deploys a paired of targeted cinema placements and rapid platforming that turns word of mouth into paid trials. That will be critical for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before working horror-fan channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ adopts case-by-case posture for horror on a case-by-case basis. The platform has proven amenable to take on select projects with established auteurs or A-list packages, then give them a boutique theatrical in partnership with exhibitors to meet guild rules or to spark social proof before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney domestic still draws on the 20th Century Studios slate, a notable driver for retention when the genre conversation builds.

The specialty lanes and indie surprises

Cineverse is engineering a 2026 arc with two name-brand moves. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The offer is direct: the same atmospheric, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a cult item, reimagined for modern audio-visual craft. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a autumn frame, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. Cineverse has flagged a traditional cinema play for Legacy, an upbeat indicator for fans of the savage series and for exhibitors wanting edgy counter in the late-season weeks.

Focus will operate the filmmaker lane with Werwulf, escorting the title through select festivals if the cut is ready, then activating the Christmas window to widen. That positioning has delivered for craft-driven horror with crossover ambitions. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not released many dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines often crystallize after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A credible outlook is a cluster of late-summer and fall platformers that can widen if reception warrants. Look for an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that bows at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work together, using precision theatrical to ignite evangelism that fuels their subscriber growth.

Franchise entries versus originals

By number, 2026 leans toward the series side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all use franchise value. The question, as ever, is viewer burnout. The go-to fix is to present each entry as a fresh tone. Paramount is spotlighting character and heritage in Scream 7, Sony is signaling a restart at zero for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is driving a French-tinted vision from a fresh helmer. Those choices count when the audience has so many options and social sentiment whipsaws.

Non-franchise titles and filmmaker-first projects add oxygen. Jordan Peele’s October film will be pitched as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, features Rachel McAdams in a survival chiller premise with the director’s playful dread. SOULM8TE offers a precise, unnerving tech hook. Werwulf grounds itself in period and an hard-edged tone. Even when the title is not based on a known brand, the cast-creatives package is comforting enough to build pre-sales and Thursday-night turnout.

The last three-year set announce the model. In 2023, a cinema-first model that respected streaming windows did not hamper a parallel release from performing when the brand was compelling. In 2024, craft-forward auteur horror surged in large-format rooms. In 2025, a revival of a beloved infection saga reminded the market that global horror franchises can still feel alive when they change perspective and stretch the story. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which proceeds January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The paired-chapter approach, with chapters lensed back-to-back, permits marketing to cross-link entries through cast and motif and to keep assets in-market without long breaks.

Aesthetic and craft notes

The creative meetings behind 2026 horror suggest a continued tilt toward in-camera, locale-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not resemble any recent iteration of the property, a stance that squares with the practical-effects sensibility he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film closed principal and is aimed at its April 17, 2026 date. The push will likely that centers atmosphere and fear rather than roller-coaster spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership supporting tight cost control.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has described Werwulf as the hardest-edged project he has tackled, which tracks with a period English setting and era-true language, a combination that can make for deep sound design and a wintry, elemental feel on the big screen. Focus will likely warm the market to this aesthetic in behind-the-scenes pieces and below-the-line spotlights before rolling out a tone piece that leans on mood over plot, a move that has delivered for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is tuned for rubbery nastiness, a signature of the series that sells overseas in red-band trailers and sparks shareable reaction clips from early screenings. Scream 7 positions a meta reframe that centers an original star. Resident Evil will fly or stall on creature design and production design, which are ideal for con floor moments and staggered reveals. Insidious tends to be a theatrical sound showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the auditorium case feel compelling. Look for trailers that highlight fine-grain sound, deep-bass stingers, and hush beats that explode in larger rooms.

How the year maps out

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 tonal palate cleanser amid heavier IP. The month finishes 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 credible, but the spread of tones affords lanes to each, and the five-week structure enables clean play for each if word of mouth endures.

Q1 into Q2 set up the summer. Scream 7 arrives February 27 with nostalgia energy. In April, The Mummy resurrects a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once suited genre counterprogramming and now accommodates big openers. Universal’s untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 connects into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends get redirected here that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer spreads the field. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is lighter and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 offers ferocious intensity. The counterprogramming logic is solid. The spoof can thrive next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest caters to older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have finished their premium pass.

August and September into October leans IP. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously clicked. Resident Evil arrives after September 18, a early fall window that still links to Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event secures October 23 and will command cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely driven by a slow-reveal plan and limited teasers that center concept over reveals.

Holiday prestige and specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a declaration that genre can work in holiday corridor when packaged as auteur prestige horror. Focus has done this before, rolling out carefully, then activating critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to hold in chatter into January. If the film earns with critics, the studio can scale in the first week of 2027 while turning holiday audiences and holiday gift-card burn.

Project briefs

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting still being revealed as production continues. Logline: Sidney returns to challenge a new Ghostface while the narrative reconnects to the original film’s founding notes. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: origin-forward with a contemporary twist.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A widowed man’s virtual companion becomes something deadly romantic. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed principal photography for an early-year bow. Positioning: tech thriller with grief spine.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Sony, January 16, 2026)
Director: Nia DaCosta. Writer: Alex Garland. Top cast: Cillian Murphy, Jack O’Connell, and additional ensemble tied to a new antagonist faction. Logline: The second chapter in a trilogy widens the scope beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult coalesces in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Shot back-to-back 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 goes back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to be swallowed by a changing reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked and U.S. theatrical booked. Positioning: moody game adaptation built on atmosphere.

Send Help (20th Century Studios, January 30, 2026)
Director: Sam Raimi. Top cast: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Dennis Haysbert, Chris Pang. Logline: After a plane crash, an employee and her demanding boss fight to survive on a remote island as the power dynamic flips and paranoia creeps in. Rating: TBA. Production: Done. Positioning: marquee survival piece from a master.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles to be revealed in official materials. Logline: A fresh reimagining that returns the monster to fright, shaped by Cronin’s physical craft and encroaching 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 domestic haunting narrative that plays with the horror of a child’s tricky senses. 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 back in creative roles. Logline: {A spoof revival that skewers modern genre fads and true-crime manias. Rating: not yet rated. Production: fall 2025 shoot penciled in. Positioning: wide-lane seasonal counterprogram.

Evil Dead Burn (Warner Bros. domestic, July 24, 2026)
Director: Sébastien Vaniček. Top cast: Souheila Yacoub, with ensemble additions. Logline: A new infestation of Deadites erupts, with an overseas twist in tone and setting. Rating: not yet rated. Production: currently in New Zealand. Positioning: ferocious R chapter primed for premium screens.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: unrevealed for now. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: The Further reopens, with a new clan linked to older hauntings. Rating: not yet rated. Production: slated for summer production leading to late-summer release. Positioning: steady supernatural brand in a historically strong slot.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: to be announced publicly. Top cast: to be announced. Logline: A fresh restart designed to reframe the franchise from the ground up, with an priority on classic survival-horror tone over action-forward bombast. Rating: forthcoming. Production: development underway with firm date. Positioning: game-rooted reset with broad potential.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: awaiting confirmation. Logline: closely held. Rating: undetermined. Production: moving forward. 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 language and elemental fear. Rating: not yet rated. Production: building toward Christmas Day opening. 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 classic theatrical rollout before platforming. Status: date in flux, fall expected.

Why 2026 lands now

Three practical forces inform this lineup. First, production that decelerated or shuffled in 2024 needed slack in the schedule. Horror can fill those gaps quickly because scripts often rely on fewer locations, fewer large-scale digital sequences, and shorter schedules. Second, studios have become more disciplined about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently outpaced straight-to-streaming releases. Third, community talk converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will work turnkey scare beats from test screenings, orchestrated scare clips paired with Thursday night previews, and experiential pop-ups that spark influencer coverage. It is a repeatable playbook because it converts.

Programming arithmetic plays a role. Early 2026 is less crowded with family and superhero corridors, offering breathing room for genre entries that can seize a weekend or function as the older-skew counter. January is the prime example. Four distinct flavors of horror will cluster across five weekends, which reduces inter-title cannibalization. Summer provides the other window. The parody leverages early family and action lifts, then the hard-R entry can exploit a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Business outlook: budgets, ratings, and the sleeper hunt

Budgets remain in the strike zone. Most of the films above will live under the $40–$50 million ceiling, with many far below. That allows for deep PLF penetration 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 low-to-mid budget genre can own weekends with minimal competition, and again in late summer, where horror often becomes the conversation when tentpoles tire. The 2026 slate is set up to harvest those lanes. January could easily deliver the first stealth overachiever 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.

From viewer POV, 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 revives a Universal monster, May and June provide a ghostly double-hit for date nights and group outings, July gets gnarly, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a chilly, literate nightmare. That is how you sustain heat and footfall without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can sequence upward, using earlier releases to condition the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors respond well to the spacing. Horror delivers preview-night pops, 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 grain, soundcraft, and visuals that benefit from larger formats. The calendar also leaves room for specialty platformers to open in New York and Los Angeles, build reviews, and slide into national conversation as the fall progresses.

2026 Is Well Positioned

Release dates move. Ratings change. Casts shift. But the spine of 2026 horror is solid. There is name recognition where it counts, filmmaker vision where it matters, and a calendar that shows studios understand how and when audiences want to be scared. 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, craft precise trailers, keep the curtain closed, and let the screams sell the seats.