Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed summons ancient dread, a spine tingling feature, rolling out October 2025 across top streaming platforms

An hair-raising occult terror film from storyteller / visionary Andrew Chiaramonte, setting free an mythic force when newcomers become vehicles in a diabolical ordeal. Hitting screens October 2, 2025, on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube streaming, Google Play, iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand.

Hollywood, CA (August 8th, 2025) – get ready for *Young & Cursed*, a nightmarish tale of survival and mythic evil that will redefine fear-driven cinema this harvest season. Helmed by rising filmmaking talent Andrew Chiaramonte, this edge-of-your-seat and gothic thriller follows five strangers who emerge caught in a remote shack under the oppressive power of Kyra, a haunted figure consumed by a timeless biblical demon. Prepare to be absorbed by a audio-visual event that fuses visceral dread with timeless legends, hitting on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Demonic control has been a mainstay narrative in genre filmmaking. In *Young & Cursed*, that structure is reversed when the malevolences no longer manifest from a different plane, but rather internally. This echoes the darkest part of the group. The result is a gripping inner struggle where the plotline becomes a soul-crushing face-off between moral forces.


In a haunting backcountry, five young people find themselves sealed under the malicious sway and control of a mysterious character. As the team becomes paralyzed to oppose her power, abandoned and preyed upon by evils indescribable, they are compelled to endure their greatest panics while the doomsday meter ruthlessly counts down toward their demise.


In *Young & Cursed*, delusion amplifies and friendships disintegrate, pushing each survivor to reflect on their existence and the nature of freedom of choice itself. The tension mount with every breath, delivering a fear-soaked story that combines occult fear with psychological weakness.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my creative target was to uncover pure dread, an force beyond recorded history, emerging via inner turmoil, and challenging a evil that threatens selfhood when agency is lost.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Living Kyra meant channeling something darker than pain. She is innocent until the takeover begins, and that shift is shocking because it is so raw.”

Debut Info

*Young & Cursed* will be available for audiences beginning on October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon Prime, Google’s video hub, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango on-demand—so that streamers no matter where they are can survive this fearful revelation.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just uploaded a new extended look for *Young & Cursed*, debuted to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a follow-through to its first trailer, which has attracted over 100K plays.


In addition to its regional launch, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has stated that *Young & Cursed* will also be shared across borders, bringing the film to international horror buffs.


Be sure to catch this heart-stopping spiral into evil. Stream *Young & Cursed* this All Hallows’ kickoff to see these haunting secrets about the psyche.


For sneak peeks, making-of footage, and insider scoops via the production team, follow @YACFilm across Instagram and Twitter and visit the movie portal.





Modern horror’s tipping point: the 2025 season U.S. release slate fuses archetypal-possession themes, microbudget gut-punches, set against IP aftershocks

Running from life-or-death fear steeped in legendary theology and onward to canon extensions as well as cutting indie sensibilities, 2025 is coalescing into the most textured in tandem with calculated campaign year for the modern era.

Call it full, but it is also focused. Top studios plant stakes across the year via recognizable brands, at the same time platform operators saturate the fall with new voices set against ancient terrors. On another front, indie storytellers is buoyed by the carry of a record-setting 2024 festival season. Because Halloween continues as the prize window, the remaining months are slotted with surgical care. That late Q3 to mid Q4 lane is the crucible, and now, slates are opening January, spring, and mid-summer. The audience is primed, studios are calculated, and 2025 might go down as horror’s most intentional year yet.

Studio and Mini-Major Moves: Prestige fear returns

The majors are assertive. If 2024 prepared the terrain, 2025 presses the advantage.

the Universal camp opens the year with a risk-forward move: a refashioned Wolf Man, stepping away from the classic old-country village, but a sharp contemporary setting. Guided by Leigh Whannell fronted by Christopher Abbott with Julia Garner, this pass grounds the lycanthropy in household collapse. The turn is more than creature work, it is about marriage, parenthood, and humanity. Booked into mid January, it aligns with turning the winter slack into a premium lane, not a dumping lane.

The spring frame introduces Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher conversion presented as stripped terror. Under Eli Craig with Katie Douglas alongside Kevin Durand, it plays as blood lacquered Americana with satire under the paint. Beneath the facade, it probes hometown suspicion, boomer to zoomer divides, and mob retribution. First wave buzz indicates sharp teeth.

When summer tapers, the WB camp sets loose the finale of its most reliable horror franchise: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Ed and Lorraine Warren return with Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the movie targets a resonant finish through an infamous case. Though the outline is tried, Chaves seems to angle for a plaintive, inward final note. It is also positioned early in September, giving it breathing room before the October onslaught.

Arriving later is The Black Phone 2. Once set for early summer, the October pivot signals belief. Derrickson resumes command, and the memorable motifs return: retrograde shiver, trauma as narrative engine, with spooky supernatural reasoning. This time the stakes climb, by enlarging the “grabber” map and grief’s lineage.

Capping the big ticket run is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a release that travels on brand alone. The return delves further into myth, expands its animatronic nightmare roster, with a bullseye on teens and thirty something nostalgics. It lands in December, locking down the winter tail.

Streamer Exclusives: Slim budgets, major punch

While theaters bet on familiarity, streamers are pushing into risk, and dividends follow.

One standout ambitious title is Weapons, a forensic chill anthology stitching three periods attached to a mass disappearance. 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 should ignite online discourse and post viewing breakdowns, much like Barbarian.

At the smaller scale sits Together, a close quarters body horror study fronted by Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Taking place in an isolated rental as a retreat goes wrong, the movie follows love and envy and self denial into corporeal breakdown. It toggles from love to slime, a staged slide into codependent hell. Despite no official platform date, it is tracking toward an autumn slot.

Another headline entry is Sinners, a 1930s rooted vampire folk legend featuring Michael B. Jordan. Lensed in lush sepia and soaked in biblical metaphor, it mirrors There Will Be Blood meeting Let the Right One In. The title explores American religious trauma through supernatural symbol. Pre release tests anoint it a conversation starter on streaming.

Several other streaming indies are quietly waiting in the wings: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper all mine grief and vanishing and identity, running metaphor first.

Possession, Deeper Than Ever: Young & Cursed

Dropping October 2 across all major streaming platforms, Young & Cursed stands as a rare hybrid, both intimate in scope and mythic in reach. Authored and directed by Andrew Chiaramonte, the arc centers on five strangers who wake inside a backcountry cabin, beneath Kyra’s command, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. As the hours blacken, her hold tightens, an invasive current triggering fears, fissures, and regret.

The unease is psychological, fused to primal myth. Swerving the standard exorcism angle of Catholic rite and Latin word, this one reaches back to something older, something darker. Lilith comes not via liturgy, but from trauma, quiet, and human brittleness. Turning possession inward syncs Young & Cursed to the trend of character led dramas draped in genre.

On Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home, the film acts as a Halloween counterpoint to sequel pipelines and creature comebacks. That is a savvy move. No overstuffed canon. 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 Heat to Market Leverage

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF act as proving grounds for the next waves. In 2025, they behave more like launchpads than showcases.

Fantastic Fest this cycle touts a strong horror menu. Primate opens with tropical body horror, sparking Cronenberg plus Herzog comps. Whistle, Aztec coded revenge folklore, may cap the fest blazing.

At midnight, entries like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You buzz for how they play, not only their names. 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, as Tribeca’s genre wing angles urban, social, and surreal.

This cycle, festival strategy pivots from discovery toward branding. A Fantastic Fest or TIFF badge is phase one marketing, not a coda.

Long Running Lines: Sequels and Reboots, Reinvention Included

Legacy entries present stronger and more purposeful this time.

Fear Street: Prom Queen returns in July, reviving the 90s franchise with new lead and retro color. Unlike prior entries, this one leans into camp and prom night melodrama. Visualize tiaras, fake gore, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 drops 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.

On the slate sits The Long Walk, from one of Stephen King’s stark early titles, with Francis Lawrence directing, it operates as a bleak dystopian tale masked as survival horror, a walk off to death for kids. If packaged well, it could track like The Hunger Games for horror adults.

Beyond that, reboots and sequels such as Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda dot the year, often holding for windows or late pickups.

Trends to Watch

Mythic Horror Is Mainstream
Young & Cursed with Lilith and Whistle with Aztec curses both signal ancient texts and symbols. It eschews nostalgia to repossess pre Christian archetypes. Horror exceeds jolts, it insists evil is ancient.

Body horror swings back
The likes of Together, Weapons, and Keeper reshift toward flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation encode heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streamers grow fangs
Junk fill horror on platforms is receding. Platforms show up with budgets for scripts, directors, and campaigns. Films like Weapons and Sinners are treated as events, not content.

Festival momentum becomes leverage
Laurels are not just decorative, they leverage theatrical, premium placement, and media cycles. A horror film without a festival strategy in 2025 risks disappearing.

Big screen is a trust fall
Theatrical is reserved for titles believed to overperform or sow sequels. The balance slides PVOD or hybrid. Horror is not vanishing from theaters, it is getting curated.

What’s Next: 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. Watch for one or more of these to pivot into early 2026 or shift platforms.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 anchors December, and a surprise streaming drop could still arrive late. Because major titles skew dark and mythic, a late creature feature or exorcism could slide in.

What matters is slate breadth meeting fractured audiences, not one crown jewel. The aim is not another Get Out chase, it is durable horror beyond gross.



The coming 2026 spook slate: continuations, non-franchise titles, alongside A stacked Calendar Built For frights

Dek The upcoming scare year crowds up front with a January bottleneck, then rolls through summer corridors, and deep into the festive period, weaving franchise firepower, original angles, and well-timed release strategy. The big buyers and platforms are relying on tight budgets, box-office-first windows, and shareable marketing that elevate horror entries into cross-demo moments.

The landscape of horror in 2026

The horror marketplace has proven to be the consistent lever in studio lineups, a vertical that can spike when it connects and still mitigate the floor when it does not. After 2023 signaled to top brass that responsibly budgeted entries can command cultural conversation, 2024 kept energy high with festival-darling auteurs and sleeper breakouts. The carry pushed into the 2025 frame, where resurrections and premium-leaning entries highlighted there is capacity for several lanes, from returning installments to director-led originals that play globally. The sum for 2026 is a schedule that seems notably aligned across the industry, with clear date clusters, a blend of recognizable IP and first-time concepts, and a tightened stance on release windows that enhance post-theatrical value on premium digital and digital services.

Marketers add the genre now functions as a fill-in ace on the release plan. Horror can arrive on a wide range of weekends, create a sharp concept for teasers and reels, and outperform with ticket buyers that come out on advance nights and hold through the sophomore frame if the entry satisfies. After a production delay era, the 2026 plan signals faith in that dynamic. The year launches with a stacked January corridor, then turns to spring and early summer for alternate plays, while clearing room for a fall run that carries into late October and into the next week. The layout also underscores the tightening integration of specialty arms and SVOD players that can build gradually, build word of mouth, and expand at the optimal moment.

A parallel macro theme is brand curation across brand ecosystems and classic IP. Major shops are not just making another return. They are working to present threaded continuity with a specialness, whether that is a logo package that broadcasts a recalibrated tone or a cast configuration that bridges a latest entry to a vintage era. At the simultaneously, the auteurs behind the top original plays are celebrating hands-on technique, practical gags and specific settings. That combination offers the 2026 slate a confident blend of trust and novelty, which is a pattern that scales internationally.

How the majors and mini-majors are programming

Paramount opens strong with two big-ticket entries that cover both tonal poles. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with original architect Kevin Williamson in the director’s chair and Neve Campbell back at the focus, presenting it as both a handoff and a return-to-roots character piece. Principal photography is underway in Atlanta, and the tonal posture telegraphs a classic-referencing bent without replaying the last two entries’ sisters thread. The studio is likely to mount a drive rooted in heritage visuals, character previews, and a two-beat trailer plan rolling toward late fall. Distribution is Paramount theatrical.

Paramount also dusts off a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are joining up again, with the Wayans brothers involved as creative partners for the first time since the early 2000s, a centerpiece the campaign will double down on. As a summer alternative, this one will pursue mass reach through meme-ready spots, with the horror spoof format enabling quick pivots to whatever leads the discourse that spring.

Universal has three clear projects. SOULM8TE rolls out January 9, 2026, a AI-tinged spinoff from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The hook is crisp, soulful, and premise-first: a grieving man implements an synthetic partner that evolves into a perilous partner. The date locates it at the front of a crowded corridor, with Universal’s marketing likely to revisit off-kilter promo beats and snackable content that fuses attachment and dread.

On May 8, 2026, the studio dates an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely rumored as the feature developed under code names in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The listed schedule currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which preserves a title drop to become an headline beat closer to the debut look. The timing stakes a claim in early May while larger tentpoles occupy other frames.

Finishing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film books October 23, 2026, a slot he has defined before. Peele projects are branded as filmmaker events, with a teaser that reveals little and a second trailer wave that shape mood without giving away the concept. The late-October frame gives Universal room to saturate pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then leverage the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, pairs with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček is at the helm of, with Souheila Yacoub top-lining. The franchise has shown that a in-your-face, physical-effects centered mix can feel top-tier on a efficient spend. Position this as a hard-R summer horror charge that pushes foreign markets, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most overseas territories.

Sony’s horror bench is well stocked. The studio launches two name-brand pushes in the back half. An untitled Insidious film opens August 21, 2026, carrying a proven supernatural brand active while the spin-off branch gestates. Sony has reslotted on this title before, but the current plan plants it in late summer, where Insidious has found success.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil returns in what the studio is calling a ground-zero restart for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a strategic part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a charge to serve both core fans and general audiences. The fall slot gives Sony time to build promo materials around universe detail, and monster aesthetics, elements that can fuel premium booking interest and convention buzz.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, anchors a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film builds on Eggers’ run of period horror grounded in obsessive craft and textual fidelity, this time focused on werewolf legend. Focus Features has already claimed the date for a holiday release, a bold stance in Eggers as a specialty play that can open narrow then widen if early reception is enthusiastic.

How the platforms plan to play it

Windowing plans in 2026 run on well-known grooves. The Universal horror run feed copyright after a cinema-first plus PVOD, a ladder that boosts both first-week urgency and trial spikes in the tail. Prime Video pairs library titles with cross-border buys and brief theater runs when the data signals it. Max and Hulu optimize their lanes in catalog engagement, using editorial spots, seasonal hubs, and staff picks to extend momentum on 2026 genre cume. Netflix remains opportunistic about own-slate titles and festival pickups, securing horror entries near their drops and eventizing go-lives with short runway campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, capitalizes on a two-step of targeted cinema placements and rapid platforming that turns chatter to conversion. That will be material for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before activating fan funnels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ treats carefully horror on a selective basis. The platform has been willing to take on select projects with top-tier auteurs or star-led packages, then give them a limited theatrical run in partnership with exhibitors to meet eligibility thresholds or to spark social proof before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still uses the 20th Century Studios slate, a important input for retention when the genre conversation intensifies.

Festival-to-platform breakouts

Cineverse is structuring a 2026 lane with two brand plays. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The angle is uncomplicated: the same foggy, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a genre cult touchstone, retooled 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 announced a theatrical-first plan for Legacy, an upbeat indicator for fans of the gritty series and for exhibitors needing R-rated alternatives in the October weeks.

Focus will favor the auteur track with Werwulf, guiding the film through festivals in the fall if the cut is ready, then pressing the holiday dates to move out. That positioning has worked well for filmmaker-first horror with mainstream crossovers. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not announced many 2026 dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines tend to firm up after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A safe bet is a series of late-summer and fall platformers that can grow if reception drives. Watch for an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that premieres at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work in parallel, using small theatrical to spark the evangelism that fuels their subscriber base.

Franchises versus originals

By volume, the 2026 slate tilts in favor of the legacy column. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all tap franchise value. The concern, as ever, is brand wear. The practical approach is to frame each entry as a recast vibe. Paramount is foregrounding core character and DNA in Scream 7, Sony is floating a full reset for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is highlighting a European tilt from a breakout filmmaker. Those choices register when the audience has so many options and social sentiment moves quickly.

Originals and visionary-led titles deliver oxygen. Jordan Peele’s October film will be presented as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, puts Rachel McAdams in a island survival premise with Raimi’s impish dread. SOULM8TE offers a tight, eerie tech hook. Werwulf rests on period texture and an severe tone. Even when the title is not based on known IP, the configuration is grounded enough to generate pre-sales and advance-audience nights.

Recent-year comps announce the plan. In 2023, a cinema-first model that held distribution windows did not stop a parallel release from succeeding when the brand was trusted. In 2024, craft-first auteur horror popped in premium formats. In 2025, a revival of a beloved infection saga demonstrated that global horror franchises can still feel recharged when they reorient and scale the storytelling. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which continues January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The paired-chapter approach, with chapters shot in tandem, creates space for marketing to relate entries through character spine and themes and to maintain a flow of assets without hiatuses.

How the films are being made

The director conversations behind the year’s horror indicate a continued tilt toward material, place-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not follow any recent iteration of the property, a stance that matches the physical-effects bias he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film completed filming and is lined up for its April 17, 2026 date. Expect a campaign that underscores grain and menace rather than roller-coaster spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership backing budget rigor.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has outlined Werwulf as the most severe project he has tackled, which tracks with a historical setting and era-true language, a combination that can make for 3D sound and a chilly, elemental vibe on the big screen. Focus will likely warm the market to this aesthetic in deep-dive features and department features before rolling out a teaser that keeps plot minimal, a move that has resonated for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is aimed at red-band excess, a signature of the series that travels well in red-band trailers and earns shareable reaction clips from early screenings. Scream 7 sets up a meta refresh that returns to the core star. Resident Evil will win or lose on creature craft and set design, which play well in fan-con activations and controlled asset drops. Insidious tends to be a sound-mix showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the big-screen case feel primary. Look for trailers that spotlight fine-grain sound, deep-bass stingers, and blank-sound beats that shine in top rooms.

Month-by-month map

January is loaded. 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 moody palate cleanser amid heavier IP. The month buttons with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a crash-survival thriller from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is stiff, but the variety of tones lets each find a lane, and the five-week structure supports a clean run for each if word of mouth holds.

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

Summer sorts the tones. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is playful and broad, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 brings red-band intensity. The counterprogramming logic is workable. The spoof can succeed 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 rolled through premiums.

End of summer through fall leans recognizable. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously clicked. Resident Evil slides in after September 18, a early fall window that still steps into Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film locks October 23 and will seize cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely backed by a peekaboo tease plan and limited advance reveals that center concept over reveals.

Year-end prestige and specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a declaration that genre can thrive over the holidays when packaged as filmmaker-first prestige. The distributor has done this before, selective rollout, then capitalizing on critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to keep the film in the conversation into January. If the film resonates with critics, the studio can scale in the first week of 2027 while enjoying holiday hold and holiday card usage.

One-sentence dossiers

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting on a rolling basis as production rolls. Logline: Sidney returns to take on a new Ghostface while the narrative resurfaces the original film’s genes. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: classic-DNA reset with a current angle.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A devastated man’s algorithmic partner shifts into something deadly romantic. Rating: TBA. Production: Production locked for an early-year bow. Positioning: digital-age horror with pathos.

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 enlarges the frame beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult emerges in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Produced consecutively 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 comes back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to meet a shimmering reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished and theatrical on deck. 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 severe boss scramble to survive on a uninhabited island as the hierarchy inverts and paranoia creeps in. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished. Positioning: star-centered survival shocker from a maestro.

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 contemporary re-envisioning that returns the monster to nightmare, founded on Cronin’s in-camera craft and suffocating dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked. Positioning: iconic monster return with auteur mark.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A closed-door haunting chiller that interrogates the terror of a child’s shaky perspective. Rating: not yet rated. Production: fully shot. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven supernatural thriller.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers back in creative roles. Logline: {A genre lampoon that satirizes in-vogue horror tropes and true-crime obsessions. Rating: undetermined. Production: filming slated for fall 2025. Positioning: broad summer counterprogrammer.

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 detonates, have a peek here with an multinational twist in tone and setting. Rating: to be announced. Production: filming in New Zealand. Positioning: hard-hitting R entry designed for premium formats.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: unrevealed for now. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: The Further reopens, with a unlucky family tethered to residual nightmares. Rating: forthcoming. Production: targeting a summer lensing window for late-summer release. Positioning: consistent franchise performer in a beneficial frame.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: TBD publicly. Top cast: to be announced. Logline: A fresh restart designed to recreate the franchise from the ground up, with an center of gravity in true survival horror over action-heavy spectacle. Rating: pending. Production: developing against a fixed date. Positioning: game-faithful modern reboot with crossover potential.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: TBD. Logline: Kept under wraps by design. Rating: undetermined. Production: moving forward. Positioning: filmmaker-led event with teaser rollout.

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 primordial menace. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: preproduction aligned to holiday frame. Positioning: holiday prestige play with craft awards upside.

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 standard theatrical approach before platforming. Status: window fluid, autumn forecast.

Why 2026, why now

Three grounded forces organize this lineup. First, production that slowed or rearranged in 2024 needed latitude on the slate. Horror can slot in fast because scripts often require limited locations, fewer large-scale VFX set pieces, 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 generated more than straight-to-streaming debuts. Third, social chatter converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will capitalize on repeatable beats from test screenings, curated scare clips pegged to Thursday preview nights, and experiential pop-ups that seed creator reels. It is a repeatable playbook because it wins.

Calendar math also matters. Family and superhero corridors are not as densely packed in early 2026, clearing runway 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 stack across five weekends, which gives each title a lane and limits cannibalization. Summer provides the other window. The parody aligns with early family and action waves, then the hard-R entry can use a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Economics and ratings, plus sleeper strategy

Budgets remain in the strike zone. Most of the films above will sit beneath the $40–$50 million band, 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 sleeper-hit hunt 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 capitalize on those pockets. January could easily deliver the first dark-horse hit 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. Predict a resilient PVOD phase industry-wide, since horror fans have shown a willingness to pay for convenience after an opening weekend, especially when word of mouth is strong.

How the year flows for audiences

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers cadence and diversity. January is a smorgasbord, February delivers a legacy slasher, April reintroduces a Universal monster, May and June provide a two-beat supernatural run 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 wintry, 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 condition the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors appreciate the spacing. Horror delivers frequent Thursday-night spikes, efficient screen counts, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can credibly make the premium-screen case, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing materiality, aural design, and imagery 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 Shapes Up Strong

Dates shift. Ratings change. Casts update. But the spine of 2026 horror is in place. There is brand heft where it matters, original vision where it matters, and a calendar that shows studios read audience appetite for scares. The awards and festival pipeline into 2027 will come into focus once the fall festivals lock, and it would not be surprising to see at least one near-deadline boutique buy join the party. For now, the job is simple, cut crisp trailers, lock the reveals, and let the fear sell the seats.