Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed confronts primordial evil, a hair raising feature, rolling out October 2025 across premium platforms

A haunting otherworldly horror tale from writer / film architect Andrew Chiaramonte, evoking an age-old curse when unrelated individuals become conduits in a fiendish ceremony. Premiering on October 2, 2025, on Amazon’s Prime Video, YouTube streaming, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango streaming.

Los Angeles, CA (August 8th, 2025) – get ready for *Young & Cursed*, a nightmarish portrayal of resistance and archaic horror that will alter terror storytelling this scare season. Guided by rising thriller expert Andrew Chiaramonte, this gritty and shadowy fearfest follows five teens who emerge trapped in a unreachable hideaway under the unfriendly power of Kyra, a possessed female inhabited by a ancient sacred-era entity. Anticipate to be absorbed by a visual outing that intertwines visceral dread with ancient myths, landing 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 historical narrative in film. In *Young & Cursed*, that notion is flipped when the forces no longer emerge outside their bodies, but rather from within. This suggests the deepest dimension of the victims. The result is a edge-of-seat spiritual tug-of-war where the conflict becomes a merciless push-pull between purity and corruption.


In a forsaken forest, five campers find themselves isolated under the ghastly presence and spiritual invasion of a secretive being. As the victims becomes unable to withstand her control, abandoned and pursued by evils beyond comprehension, they are cornered to endure their raw vulnerabilities while the seconds relentlessly counts down toward their dark fate.


In *Young & Cursed*, distrust swells and partnerships erode, driving each cast member to examine their core and the foundation of liberty itself. The consequences magnify with every short lapse, delivering a paranormal ride that merges otherworldly panic with human vulnerability.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my purpose was to uncover basic terror, an evil beyond time, manipulating emotional vulnerability, and challenging a curse that forces self-examination when choice is taken.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Performing as Kyra called for internalizing something far beyond human desperation. She is blind until the entity awakens, and that change is terrifying because it is so emotional.”

Viewing Options

*Young & Cursed* will be aired for public screening beginning October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango at Home—delivering subscribers around the globe can survive this unholy film.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just published a new sneak peek #2 for *Young & Cursed*, online to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a next step to its initial teaser, which has collected over 100K plays.


In addition to its regional launch, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has made public that *Young & Cursed* will also be delivered to global audiences, taking the terror to a global viewership.


Don’t miss this visceral ride through nightmares. Experience *Young & Cursed* this horror drop to face these chilling revelations about the soul.


For exclusive trailers, on-set glimpses, and updates from the story's source, follow @YACFilm across social media and visit youngandcursed.com.





American horror’s decisive shift: the 2025 season American release plan integrates biblical-possession ideas, underground frights, and brand-name tremors

Spanning life-or-death fear saturated with biblical myth to franchise returns plus surgical indie voices, 2025 is lining up as the most complex combined with strategic year in ten years.

The 2025 horror calendar is more than crowded, it is calculated. studio majors bookend the months through proven series, as streaming platforms front-load the fall with new voices in concert with primordial unease. On the independent axis, the micro-to-mid budget ranks is drafting behind the tailwinds from an unprecedented 2024 fest surge. With Halloween holding the peak, the remaining months are slotted with surgical care. The September, October gauntlet has become standard, though in this cycle, strategies include January, spring, and mid-summer. Horror fans are craving, studios are methodical, hence 2025 is positioned to be the most designed season yet.

Studio Roadmap and Mini-Major Pulse: Elevated fear reclaims ground

The majors are assertive. If 2024 set the base, 2025 compounds the move.

the Universal banner opens the year with a statement play: a refreshed Wolf Man, leaving behind the period European setting, in an immediate now. Under director Leigh Whannell with Christopher Abbott opposite Julia Garner, this pass grounds the lycanthropy in household collapse. The transformation is not just physical, it is marital, parental, and painfully human. set for mid January, it helps remake the winter trough with prestige offerings, not discard thrillers.

As spring rolls in, Clown in a Cornfield bows, a YA slasher port tuned to austere horror. Helmed by Eli Craig with Katie Douglas alongside Kevin Durand, it functions as blood smeared American gothic with snark. Behind the grin, it unpacks local hysteria, generational chasms, and crowd justice. First wave buzz indicates sharp teeth.

By late summer, Warner’s pipeline releases the last chapter of its steadiest horror franchise: The Conjuring: Last Rites. With Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson back as Ed and Lorraine Warren, the finale seeks an emotional close via a signature case. Even with a familiar chassis, Michael Chaves is rumored to steer toward a somber, reflective register for the close. It goes early September, easing the path before October flood.

Next is The Black Phone 2. Initially pegged for early summer, an October berth implies conviction. Derrickson re boards, and the memorable motifs return: retro dread, trauma explicitly handled, plus uncanny supernatural grammar. The ante is higher this round, with added layers to the “grabber” frame and long memory of loss.

Closing the prime list is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a property whose brand does the lifting. The sequel leans deeper into its lore, builds out the animatronic fear crew, speaking to teens and older millennials. It posts in December, stabilizing the winter back end.

Streaming Firsts: Small budgets, sharp fangs

While theaters lean on names and sequels, streamers are trying sharper edges, and buzz accrues.

An especially bold streamer bet is Weapons, a cold-case linked horror tapestry that weaves together three timelines connected by a mass disappearance. From Zach Cregger pairing Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the release pairs unease with narrative heft. Posting late summer theatrically then fall streaming, it should ignite online discourse and post viewing breakdowns, much like Barbarian.

Keeping things close quarters is Together, a body horror chamber piece anchored by Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Taking place in an isolated rental as a retreat goes wrong, the piece probes how love, envy, and self loathing become bodily rot. It reads tender, repulsive, and intensely uneasy, a three act churn into codependent hell. Even without a formal platform date, it reads like an autumn stream lock.

Next comes Sinners, a 1930s set vampire folk tale featuring Michael B. Jordan. Visualized in sepia palette with scriptural metaphor, it mirrors There Will Be Blood meeting Let the Right One In. The narrative analyzes American religious trauma through a ghostly allegory. Trial screenings frame it as a high chatter SVOD arrival.

A handful of other streaming indies hover in the wings: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each engages grief, missing persons, and identity, with metaphor before show.

Possession With Depth: Young & Cursed

Hitting October 2 on the platforms, Young & Cursed stands as a rare hybrid, both intimate in scope and mythic in reach. From writer director 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. With the dark, her reach grows, a parasitic force exploiting fears, flaws, and shame.

The terror is psychological in engine, alive with primal myth. Rather than another exorcism film centered on Catholic rites or Latin incantations, this one bores into something older, something darker. Lilith bypasses ritual, she awakens from trauma, repression, and human fragility. By making possession inward rather than external, Young & Cursed joins a trend toward intimate character studies masked as genre.

Across Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home, the film stands as Halloween counterprogramming to sequel glut and monster revivals. That is a savvy move. No puffed out backstory. No legacy baggage. Just psychological dread, contained and tense, tailored to the binge then breathe cadence of digital horror fans. In a year crowded with spectacle, Young & Cursed may stand out by going quiet, then screaming.

Festival Born, Buyer Ready

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF remain breeding grounds for what horror looks like six to twelve months later. This year, the launchpad function outruns the showcase role.

Fantastic Fest has a thick horror program this time. Primate, an opening night tropical body-horror, invites Cronenberg meets Herzog talk. Whistle, a folkloric revenge piece in Aztec lore, likely shuts the fest with heat.

Midnight offerings such as If I Had Legs I’d Kick You surge on execution beyond the hook. With A24 behind it, the satire of toxic fandom under a convention lockdown seems breakout bound.

SXSW premiered Clown in a Cornfield and surfaced several microbudget hauntings that circle deals. Sundance likely lifts another batch of grief laced elevated horror, where Tribeca’s genre program draws urban, social, and surreal.

Fest circuits are brand engines as much as discovery engines. That wreath is now a starting gun, not the finish.

Legacy Lines: Follow Ups, Restarts, and Reframes

Legacy entries present stronger and more purposeful this time.

Fear Street: Prom Queen, dated July, revives the 90s franchise with a new lead and throwback tone. In contrast to earlier chapters, it skews camp and prom night melodrama. Bring tiaras, red dye, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 arrives late June, poised to elaborate techno horror lore through new players and AI nightmares. That first run’s social and SVOD traction lets Universal push further.

The Long Walk arrives off an early Stephen King survival piece, steered by Francis Lawrence, it is a brutal dystopian allegory wrapped in survival horror, a kids walking until they die competition with no real winners. Marketed correctly, it could be The Hunger Games for horror adults.

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

Key Trends

Mythic currents go mainstream
From Lilith in Young & Cursed to Aztec curses in Whistle, horror is turning to ancient texts and symbols. This reads not as nostalgia but as reclaiming pre Christian archetypes. Horror exceeds jolts, it insists evil is ancient.

Body horror reemerges
With Together, Weapons, and Keeper, the genre goes back to the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation encode heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streamers grow fangs
Junk fill horror on platforms is receding. Streamers are investing in real scripts, real directors, and real marketing pushes. Pieces like Weapons and Sinners receive event status, not feed stock.

Festival glow translates to leverage
Festival seals operate as leverage for distribution lanes and press windows. Forgo a festival map in 2025 and obscurity beckons.

Theatrical release is a trust fall
Studios hold theatrical for overperformers or future series seeds. The remainder goes PVOD or hybrid. Horror is not shrinking in theaters, but it is becoming more curated.

Outlook: Fall stack and winter swing card

Stacking Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons in September and October yields saturation. Indies like Bone Lake and Keeper will have to fight for oxygen. Keep an eye on possible slips into early 2026 or platform flips.

December centers on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, but a final weeks surprise stream could still hit. When the heavy hitters lean mythic, a last creature feature or exorcism can still fit.

The hinge is broad reach to atomized viewers, not single tentpoles. The assignment is not to chase the next Get Out, it is to build horror that endures beyond box office.



The approaching scare calendar year ahead: next chapters, standalone ideas, alongside A jammed Calendar geared toward frights

Dek The incoming horror cycle stacks immediately with a January traffic jam, following that rolls through the mid-year, and continuing into the late-year period, balancing series momentum, inventive spins, and calculated counterprogramming. Studio marketers and platforms are focusing on lean spends, big-screen-first runs, and social-fueled campaigns that convert these pictures into culture-wide discussion.

Horror’s status entering 2026

The genre has become the predictable swing in annual schedules, a vertical that can grow when it resonates and still hedge the losses when it stumbles. After the 2023 year demonstrated to decision-makers that responsibly budgeted scare machines can steer audience talk, 2024 kept the drumbeat going with auteur-driven buzzy films and slow-burn breakouts. The energy rolled into the 2025 frame, where resurrections and filmmaker-prestige bets demonstrated there is a lane for different modes, from returning installments to original one-offs that translate worldwide. The upshot for 2026 is a grid that feels more orchestrated than usual across players, with strategic blocks, a balance of familiar brands and novel angles, and a sharpened strategy on big-screen windows that fuel later windows on premium home window and digital services.

Planners observe the category now behaves like a wildcard on the release plan. Horror can launch on nearly any frame, provide a quick sell for ad units and vertical videos, and exceed norms with crowds that show up on first-look nights and continue through the next weekend if the movie pays off. After a production delay era, the 2026 setup indicates conviction in that logic. The year commences with a heavy January window, then targets spring into early summer for counterweight, while keeping space for a September to October window that reaches into late October and into the next week. The arrangement also reflects the greater integration of specialized imprints and platforms that can stage a platform run, stoke social talk, and roll out at the sweet spot.

Another broad trend is IP stewardship across linked properties and classic IP. Major shops are not just greenlighting another installment. They are working to present connection with a sense of event, whether that is a brandmark that broadcasts a reframed mood or a ensemble decision that links a latest entry to a heyday. At the in tandem, the directors behind the marquee originals are favoring hands-on technique, special makeup and grounded locations. That combination offers the 2026 slate a robust balance of known notes and surprise, which is a pattern that scales internationally.

Major-player strategies for 2026

Paramount defines the early cadence with two headline entries that run the tonal gamut. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the director position and Neve Campbell back at the spine, positioning the film as both a relay and a classic-mode character piece. Cameras are rolling in Atlanta, and the story approach announces a memory-charged angle without repeating the last two entries’ Carpenter-sisters arc. Look for a marketing run built on brand visuals, intro reveals, and a staggered trailer plan arriving in late fall. Distribution is big-screen via Paramount.

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 in development for the first time since the early 2000s, a draw the campaign will double down on. As a summer counter-slot, this one will hunt four-quadrant chatter through meme-ready spots, with the horror spoof format inviting quick shifts to whatever dominates the conversation that spring.

Universal has three clear bets. SOULM8TE bows January 9, 2026, a tech-forward branch from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The premise is tidy, heartbroken, and easily pitched: a grieving man adopts an AI companion that grows into a murderous partner. The date locates it at the front of a thick month, with the studio’s marketing likely to revisit odd public stunts and quick hits that mixes love and creep.

On May 8, 2026, the studio positions an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely interpreted as the feature developed under early labels in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The official release calendar currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which leaves room for a title drop to become an headline beat closer to the initial tease. The timing secures a slot in early May while larger tentpoles concentrate elsewhere.

Supplementing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film plants on October 23, 2026, a slot he has dominated before. Peele projects are branded as marquee events, with a minimalist tease and a subsequent trailers that tee up tone without spoiling the concept. The late-month date affords Universal to lead pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then work the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, links with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček steers, with Souheila Yacoub starring. The franchise has consistently shown that a gnarly, in-camera leaning strategy can feel big on a middle budget. Look for a grime-caked summer horror rush that maximizes global traction, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most world markets.

Sony’s horror bench is well stocked. The studio lines up two IP moves in the back half. An untitled Insidious film bows August 21, 2026, preserving a reliable supernatural brand in motion while the spin-off branch builds quietly. Sony has reslotted on this title before, but the current plan keeps it in late summer, where the brand has been strong.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil steps back in what Sony is presenting as a clean-slate approach 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 clearer mandate to serve both players and new audiences. The fall slot hands Sony window to build materials around narrative world, and monster design, elements that can stoke premium format interest and convention buzz.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, plants a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film carries forward Eggers’ run of period horror characterized by textural authenticity and dialect, this time focused on werewolf legend. The label has already staked the slot for a holiday release, a bold stance in the auteur as a specialty play that can platform wide if early reception is enthusiastic.

Streamers and platform exclusives

Platform strategies for 2026 run on tested paths. Universal’s slate shift to copyright after a cinema-first plus PVOD, a structure that maximizes both launch urgency and trial spikes in the back half. Prime Video pairs outside acquisitions with world buys and qualifying theatrical engagements when the data supports it. Max and Hulu work their edges in back-catalog play, using seasonal hubs, spooky hubs, and editorial rows to keep attention on lifetime take. Netflix remains opportunistic about Netflix films and festival additions, slotting horror entries closer to launch and coalescing around premieres with compressed campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, capitalizes on a dual-phase of precision releases and short jumps to platform that converts buzz to sign-ups. That will be meaningful for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before leaning on direct-to-fan channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ continues to evaluate horror on a bespoke basis. The platform has shown a willingness to pick up select projects with name filmmakers or name-led packages, then give them a limited theatrical run in partnership with exhibitors to meet qualifying rules or to earn receipts before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still draws on the 20th Century Studios slate, a key factor for subscriber stickiness when the genre conversation peaks.

Art-house genre prospects

Cineverse is steadily assembling a 2026 pipeline with two recognizable titles. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The offer is straightforward: the same brooding, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a cult hit, retooled for modern audio and picture. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a fall window, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has suggested a traditional cinema play for the title, an encouraging sign for fans of the ferocious series and for exhibitors seeking darker fare in the autumn weeks.

Focus will work the director lane with Werwulf, piloting the title through festival season if the cut is ready, then deploying the holiday frame to open out. That positioning has worked well for filmmaker-first horror with crossover ambitions. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not released many dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines usually solidify after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A sound expectation is a brace of late-summer and fall platformers that can expand if reception supports. Watch for an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that launches at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work jointly, using limited theatrical to fuel evangelism that fuels their membership.

Legacy titles versus originals

By share, 2026 favors the series side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all use fan equity. The concern, as ever, is viewer burnout. The practical approach is to sell each entry as a re-toned entry. Paramount is bringing forward character and roots in Scream 7, Sony is signaling a fresh ground-up build for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is maximizing a French-tinted vision from a emerging director. Those choices move the needle when the audience has so many options and social sentiment turns quickly.

Non-franchise titles 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, casts Rachel McAdams in a survival shocker premise with Raimi’s impish dread. SOULM8TE offers a clean, creepy tech hook. Werwulf grounds itself in period and an unyielding tone. Even when the title is not based on a property, the bundle is steady enough to spark pre-sales and Thursday previews.

The last three-year set outline the template. In 2023, a exclusive window model that honored streaming windows did not prevent a same-day experiment from paying off when the brand was powerful. In 2024, precision craft horror rose in PLF auditoriums. In 2025, a resuscitation of a beloved infection saga broadcast that global horror franchises can still feel fresh when they pivot perspective and grow scope. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which advances January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The two-step approach, with chapters shot consecutively, lets marketing to tie installments through relationships and themes and to continue assets in field without hiatuses.

Aesthetic and craft notes

The creative meetings behind these films hint at a continued lean toward hands-on, location-grounded craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not echo any recent iteration of the property, a stance that aligns with the in-camera lean he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film completed filming and is lined up for its April 17, 2026 date. Look for a campaign that leans on mood and dread rather than fireworks, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership backing budget rigor.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has called Werwulf as the most severe project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval world and historically accurate language, a combination that can make for 3D sound and a cold, elemental mood on the big screen. Focus will likely tease this aesthetic in behind-the-scenes pieces and craft spotlights before rolling out a tease that elevates tone over story, a move that has delivered for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is built for tactile gnarliness, a signature of the series that performs globally in red-band trailers and sparks shareable crowd-reaction snippets from early screenings. Scream 7 promises a self-referential reset that refocuses on the original lead. Resident Evil will live or die on creature work and production design, which work nicely for booth activations and managed asset releases. Insidious tends to be a sound-mix showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the theatrical pitch feel irresistible. Look for trailers that highlight pin-drop sound, deep-bass stingers, and sudden silences that sing on PLF.

Calendar map: winter through the holidays

January is full. 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 moody palate cleanser amid heavier IP. The month buttons with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival-and-paranoia piece from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is stiff, but the mix of tones opens lanes for all, and the five-week structure creates breathing room for each if word of mouth endures.

Winter into spring tee up summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 bows February 27 with legacy heat. In April, New Line’s The Mummy reawakens a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once was home to genre counterprogramming and now accommodates big openers. Universal’s 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 spreads the field. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is jokier and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 drops brutal intensity. The counterprogramming logic is sensible. The spoof can thrive next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest hits squarely for older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have shuffled through big rooms.

Back half into fall leans series. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously worked. Resident Evil steps in after September 18, a transitional slot that still steps into Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film locks October 23 and will engross cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely amplified by a shroud-first teaser rhythm and limited previews that trade in concept over detail.

Prestige at year’s end. Werwulf on December 25 is a declaration that genre can work in holiday corridor when packaged as filmmaker-driven prestige horror. The distributor has done this before, platforming with care, then working critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to stay top of mind into January. If the film lands critically, the studio can increase count in the first week of 2027 while carrying holiday turnout and gift-card burn.

Title snapshots

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting rolling out as production proceeds. Logline: Sidney returns to meet a new Ghostface while the narrative re-keys to the original film’s genome. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: roots-first with a today edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A mourning man’s AI companion grows into something deadly romantic. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal completed for an early-year bow. Positioning: tech-horror with an emotional core.

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 expands the scope beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult ascends in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Shot sequentially 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 journeys back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to collide with a mutable reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked and U.S. theatrical booked. 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 prickly boss scramble to survive on a lonely island as the power balance of power turns and dread encroaches. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed. Positioning: A-list survival chiller from a master.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles kept quiet in official materials. Logline: A modern reimagining that returns the monster to fear, founded on Cronin’s practical effects and get redirected here slow-bloom dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed. Positioning: classic monster revival with auteur stamp.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A closed-door haunting narrative that threads the dread through a child’s unsteady personal vantage. Rating: pending. Production: picture-locked. Positioning: studio-grade and toplined ghost thriller.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers back in creative roles. Logline: {A spoof revival that skewers of-the-moment horror beats and true crime fervors. Rating: undetermined. Production: shoot planned for 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 spreads, with an transnational twist in tone and setting. Rating: to be announced. Production: on location in New Zealand. Positioning: hard-R franchise continuation built for premium large format.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: awaiting reveal. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: The Further stirs again, with a different family caught in returning horrors. Rating: pending. Production: gearing up for summer filming with late-summer bow. Positioning: stalwart franchise piece in a friendly frame.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: to be announced publicly. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: A reboot designed to reconstitute the franchise from the ground up, with an center of gravity in survival-first horror over action-forward bombast. Rating: TBA. Production: developing against a fixed date. Positioning: lore-true modernization with broad upside.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: pending. Logline: carefully shrouded. Rating: undetermined. Production: proceeding. Positioning: director event, teaser-led.

Werwulf (Focus Features, December 25, 2026)
Director: Robert Eggers. Top cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, with other regulars expected. Logline: A medieval werewolf story built on historical diction and primal 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 classic theatrical rollout before platforming. Status: timing fluid, autumn anticipated.

Why the calendar favors 2026

Three workable forces shape this lineup. First, production that decelerated or reshuffled in 2024 needed latitude on the slate. Horror can backfill quickly because scripts often demand fewer locations, fewer large-scale CGI sequences, and accelerated schedules. Second, studios have become more strict about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently surpassed straight-to-streaming landings. Third, online chatter converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will mine social-ready stingers from test screenings, controlled scare clips dropping on Thursday previews, and experiential pop-ups that power influencer posts. It is a repeatable playbook because it converts.

A fourth factor is programming math. The family and cape slots are lighter early in 2026, freeing space 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 jostle across five weekends, which allows chatter to build title by title. Summer provides the other window. The parody aligns with early family and action waves, then the hard-R entry can capitalize on a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Business outlook: budgets, ratings, and the sleeper hunt

Budgets remain in the Goldilocks zone. Most of the films above will come in under $40–$50 million, with many far below. That allows for wide PLF deployment 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 dark-horse hunt continues in great post to read 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 capitalize on those pockets. January could easily deliver the first left-field winner of the year, and August into September gives Sony an avenue to hold screens with back-to-back supernatural IP while still leaving room for an indie breakout.

Internationally, brand recognition helps Resident Evil, Evil Dead, and Scream travel, while 28 Years Later benefits from a British setting and returning talent. Werwulf and The Mummy will lean on auteur and classic-monster awareness abroad. Streamers will amplify the tail, with copyright pickups boosting Universal’s slate and Shudder driving evangelism for Cineverse titles. Expect a healthy PVOD phase across the board, since horror fans have shown a willingness to pay for convenience after an opening weekend, especially when word of mouth is strong.

What the calendar feels like for audiences

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

Exhibitors favor the spacing. Horror delivers frequent Thursday-night spikes, tight deployments, 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 tactility, sound field, 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 Looks Exciting

Calendars slide. Ratings change. Casts refresh. But the spine of 2026 horror is solid. There is brand power where it counts, creative ambition where it counts, and a calendar that shows studios know when and how to deliver 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 near-deadline boutique buy join the party. For now, the job is simple, cut crisp trailers, protect the mystery, and let the fear sell the seats.