Primordial Evil Stirs in Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a nerve shredding shocker, arriving October 2025 across global platforms

This unnerving mystic scare-fest from creator / visionary Andrew Chiaramonte, awakening an prehistoric fear when guests become subjects in a malevolent trial. Hitting screens this October 2nd, 2025, on Prime Video, the YouTube platform, Google Play Movies & TV, Apple iTunes, Apple’s TV+ service, and Fandango at Home.

Hollywood, CA (August 8th, 2025) – be warned for *Young & Cursed*, a unnerving tale of struggle and ancient evil that will redefine horror this fall. Produced by rising filmmaking talent Andrew Chiaramonte, this edge-of-your-seat and eerie tale follows five strangers who suddenly rise isolated in a wilderness-bound dwelling under the dark influence of Kyra, a female lead occupied by a ancient sacrosanct terror. Be warned to be immersed by a screen-based journey that intertwines instinctive fear with mythic lore, streaming on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Spiritual takeover has been a iconic foundation in cinema. In *Young & Cursed*, that concept is turned on its head when the dark entities no longer manifest from beyond, but rather inside them. This mirrors the malevolent corner of the protagonists. The result is a edge-of-seat inner struggle where the conflict becomes a unyielding struggle between purity and corruption.


In a unforgiving wild, five souls find themselves imprisoned under the evil influence and possession of a unidentified entity. As the group becomes submissive to escape her control, left alone and attacked by presences unfathomable, they are made to battle their deepest fears while the final hour unceasingly runs out toward their demise.


In *Young & Cursed*, paranoia surges and bonds collapse, pushing each participant to rethink their self and the philosophy of freedom of choice itself. The cost mount with every passing moment, delivering a paranormal ride that intertwines otherworldly suspense with emotional fragility.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my vision was to dig into primal fear, an presence beyond recorded history, feeding on soul-level flaws, and navigating a entity that dismantles free will when robbed of choice.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Performing as Kyra involved tapping into something far beyond human desperation. She is blind until the spirit seizes her, and that pivot is eerie because it is so deep.”

Viewing Options

*Young & Cursed* will be unleashed for viewing beginning this October 2, on Amazon Prime, Google’s video hub, Google’s store, Apple iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home—so that streamers everywhere can dive into this chilling supernatural event.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just launched a new video trailer for *Young & Cursed*, published to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a follow up to its initial teaser, which has gathered over a viral response.


In addition to its first availability, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has made public that *Young & Cursed* will also be available worldwide, exporting the fear to scare fans abroad.


Experience this visceral trip into the unknown. Face *Young & Cursed* this launch day to confront these chilling revelations about existence.


For cast commentary, production insights, and announcements from the story's source, follow @YoungCursedOfficial across Instagram and Twitter and visit our horror hub.





Modern horror’s major pivot: 2025 for genre fans U.S. Slate Mixes old-world possession, Indie Shockers, and Franchise Rumbles

From pressure-cooker survival tales suffused with primordial scripture and extending to installment follow-ups alongside cutting indie sensibilities, 2025 is shaping up as the richest and intentionally scheduled year for the modern era.

Call it full, but it is also focused. leading studios plant stakes across the year with familiar IP, in tandem premium streamers pack the fall with unboxed visions alongside ancient terrors. At the same time, the artisan tier is drafting behind the backdraft from a record 2024 festival run. As Halloween stays the prime week, the year beyond October is carefully apportioned. That late Q3 to mid Q4 lane is the crucible, though in this cycle, rollouts stretch into January, spring, and mid-summer. Audiences are eager, studios are intentional, and 2025 could be the most carefully plotted year to date.

Major and Mini-Major Maneuvers: Prestige fear returns

The majors are not coasting. If 2024 primed the reset, 2025 capitalizes.

Universal’s distribution arm kicks off the frame with a headline swing: a newly envisioned Wolf Man, eschewing a mist-shrouded old-world European town, in a clear present-tense world. With Leigh Whannell at the helm with Christopher Abbott alongside Julia Garner, this pass grounds the lycanthropy in household collapse. The curse reads as bodily and relational, about spouses, parents, and people. set for mid January, it joins a broader aim to occupy winter’s quiet with elevated titles, not leftovers.

Spring ushers in Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher conversion presented as stripped terror. Eli Craig directs with Katie Douglas alongside Kevin Durand, it runs as red stained heartland dread with sharp satire. Beneath the mask, it picks at rural paranoia, age cohort splits, and lynch mob logic. Advance murmurs say it draws blood.

Toward summer’s end, the Warner Bros. banner delivers the closing chapter within its surest horror brand: The Conjuring: Last Rites. The Warrens are back with Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the movie targets a resonant finish through an infamous case. Even with a familiar chassis, Chaves is guiding toward a solemn, meditative finish. It is also positioned early in September, giving it breathing room before the October onslaught.

Then comes The Black Phone 2. Once set for early summer, the October pivot signals belief. Scott Derrickson returns, and those signature textures resurface: period tinged dread, trauma explicitly handled, and eerie supernatural logic. This pass pushes higher, by enlarging the “grabber” map and grief’s lineage.

Rounding the tentpole corner is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a property whose brand does the lifting. The new chapter enriches the lore, expands its animatronic nightmare roster, speaking to teens and older millennials. It lands in December, pinning the winter close.

Streamer Exclusives: Economy, maximum dread

With cinemas leaning into known IP, SVOD players are testing edges, and gains show.

One of the year’s most ambitious streaming titles is Weapons, a forensic chill anthology interlacing three eras linked by a mass vanishing. Under Zach Cregger and starring Josh Brolin with Julia Garner, the piece merges terror with dramatic mass. Posting late summer theatrically then fall streaming, it is poised to inspire think pieces and forums, echoing Barbarian.

In the micro chamber lane is Together, a two hander body horror spiral led by Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Taking place in an isolated rental as a retreat goes wrong, the arc observes love and green eyed envy and self harm turned somatic. It feels intimate, ghastly, and profoundly uneasy, a three part fall into codependent hell. Despite no official platform date, it is poised for a fall platform bow.

Another headline entry is Sinners, a Depression era vampire folk fable toplined by Michael B. Jordan. Framed in sepia richness with biblical metaphor, it nods to There Will Be Blood beside Let the Right One In. The project looks at American religious trauma under a supernatural allegory. Trial screenings frame it as a high chatter SVOD arrival.

More streamer bound indies stand by in the shadows: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each taps grief, vanishing, and identity, treating horror as metaphor more than spectacle.

Possession, Deeper Than Ever: Young & Cursed

Dropping October 2 across all major streaming platforms, Young & Cursed emerges as a rare mix, tight in frame and epic in resonance. Scripted and led by Andrew Chiaramonte, the film follows five strangers who wake in a remote wilderness cabin under the thrall of Kyra, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. When evening turns to black, Kyra’s control expands, an encroaching force weaponizing fears, cracks, and guilt.

The unease is psychological, fused to primal myth. Resisting the exorcism template of Catholic ceremony and Latin chant, this story returns to something older, something darker. Lilith comes not via liturgy, but from trauma, quiet, and human brittleness. By making possession inward rather than external, Young & Cursed joins a trend toward intimate character studies masked as genre.

The platforms, including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home, angle the film as Halloween counterprogramming to sequel load and monster re ups. That is a savvy move. No bloated canon. No brand fatigue. Just psychological dread, contained and tense, tailored to the binge then breathe cadence of digital horror fans. In a spectacle stack, Young & Cursed could be the hush before the shriek.

Festival Badges as Fuel

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF remain breeding grounds for what horror looks like six to twelve months later. They are more runway than museum.

This year, Fantastic Fest confirms a strong horror slate. Primate, a tropical body horror opening night title, is drawing comparisons to both Cronenberg and Herzog. Whistle, Aztec coded revenge folklore, may cap the fest blazing.

Midnight fare like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You rides on craft as well as title. With A24 behind it, the satire of toxic fandom under a convention lockdown seems breakout bound.

SXSW premiered Clown in a Cornfield and introduced several microbudget hauntings currently circling deals. Sundance is expected to unspool a familiar crop of grief steeped elevated horror, as Tribeca’s genre wing angles urban, social, and surreal.

This cycle, festival strategy pivots from discovery toward branding. The laurel is campaign ignition, not epilogue.

Franchise Horror: Sequels, Reboots, Reinventions

The sequel reboot ecosystem reads stronger and more precise.

Fear Street: Prom Queen, set for July, reanimates the 90s series with a new lead and nostalgia tone. Rather than prior modes, it goes camp and prom night melodrama. Think tiaras, fake blood, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 posts late June, geared to push its techno horror story world with added characters and AI made scares. The opening film’s buzz and platform staying power help Universal go bigger.

The Long Walk, from an early and searing Stephen King work, is inbound, helmed by Francis Lawrence, it lands as a ruthless dystopian allegory couched in survival horror, a march where no one wins. With clear targeting, it could become The Hunger Games for horror grown ups.

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.

Signals and Trends

Mythic horror goes mainstream
From Lilith in Young & Cursed, and with Aztec curses in Whistle, horror taps ancient texts and symbols. This trend avoids nostalgia, reclaiming pre Christian archetypes. Horror surpasses shocks, it recalls evil’s antiquity.

Body horror returns
Entries like Together, Weapons, and Keeper shift back to flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation serve as metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

SVOD originals harden up
Disposable horror filler days on platforms have passed. Platforms are putting money into scripts, directors, and promotion. Works such as Weapons and Sinners are positioned as events, not filler.

Festival heat turns into leverage
Festival laurels are no longer ornamental, they are leverage for theatrical release, premium placement, and media cycles. Without festivals in 2025, a horror film can evaporate.

Theatrical release is a trust fall
Studios release horror theatrically only when they believe in overperformance or sequel trees. The balance slides PVOD or hybrid. Horror is not shrinking in theaters, but it is becoming more curated.

The Road Ahead: 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 including Bone Lake and Keeper will wrestle for room. Keep an eye on possible slips into early 2026 or platform flips.

December anchors on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, yet a surprise streamer drop could appear in the final weeks. As mythic runs hot, a closing creature or exorcism could still arrive.

What matters is slate breadth meeting fractured audiences, not one crown jewel. The play is not Get Out replication, it is long life horror past theaters.



The oncoming Horror lineup: entries, Originals, and also A loaded Calendar geared toward nightmares

Dek: The incoming scare calendar stacks early with a January traffic jam, after that extends through the mid-year, and continuing into the winter holidays, blending brand heft, fresh ideas, and savvy offsets. Major distributors and platforms are relying on efficient budgets, big-screen-first runs, and influencer-ready assets that turn these films into all-audience topics.

Where horror stands going into 2026

The field has grown into the predictable move in annual schedules, a space that can spike when it performs and still hedge the exposure when it falls short. After the 2023 year reminded executives that responsibly budgeted genre plays can lead the national conversation, 2024 sustained momentum with high-profile filmmaker pieces and stealth successes. The run extended into the 2025 frame, where legacy revivals and prestige plays confirmed there is a lane for many shades, from brand follow-ups to non-IP projects that carry overseas. The combined impact for 2026 is a schedule that presents tight coordination across the major shops, with strategic blocks, a combination of brand names and first-time concepts, and a sharpened eye on theater exclusivity that boost PVOD and platform value on paid VOD and streaming.

Marketers add the genre now behaves like a wildcard on the grid. The genre can open on many corridors, offer a easy sell for spots and vertical videos, and outperform with fans that show up on first-look nights and maintain momentum through the second weekend if the entry lands. On the heels of a work stoppage lag, the 2026 setup telegraphs trust in that setup. The year gets underway with a stacked January schedule, then exploits spring through early summer for alternate plays, while clearing room for a autumn push that pushes into All Hallows period and afterwards. The program also underscores the ongoing integration of arthouse labels and digital platforms that can nurture a platform play, stoke social talk, and scale up at the inflection point.

A companion trend is brand curation across ongoing universes and heritage properties. The studios are not just mounting another installment. They are moving to present continuity with a occasion, whether that is a title design that broadcasts a recalibrated tone or a ensemble decision that reconnects a new entry to a heyday. At the very same time, the auteurs behind the eagerly awaited originals are embracing on-set craft, physical gags and place-driven backdrops. That blend yields 2026 a robust balance of assurance and freshness, which is why the genre exports well.

The majors’ 2026 approach

Paramount fires first with two marquee releases that run the tonal gamut. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with original architect Kevin Williamson in the director seat and Neve Campbell back at the focus, marketing it as both a cross-generational handoff and a heritage-centered character-driven entry. Cameras are rolling in Atlanta, and the directional approach conveys a heritage-honoring campaign without covering again the last two entries’ Carpenter sisters arc. Look for a marketing run driven by heritage visuals, character previews, and a staggered trailer plan rolling toward late fall. Distribution is Paramount’s theatrical route.

Paramount also brings back a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are reforming, with the Wayans brothers involved as creative voices for the first time since the early 2000s, a campaign lever the campaign will lean on. As a counterweight in summer, this one will chase mass reach through social-friendly gags, with the horror spoof format permitting quick redirects to whatever drives pop-cultural buzz that spring.

Universal has three separate lanes. SOULM8TE launches 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 digital partner that evolves into a harmful mate. The date positions it at the front of a stacked January, with the marketing arm likely to reprise creepy live activations and short-cut promos that hybridizes romance and unease.

On May 8, 2026, the studio positions an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely believed to be the feature developed under temporary titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The dated slate currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which creates space for a final title to become an marketing beat closer to the initial promo. The timing gives the studio a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles cluster around other dates.

Supplementing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film reserves October 23, 2026, a slot he has thrived in before. His entries are positioned as event films, with a teaser with minimal detail and a follow-up trailer set that convey vibe without spoilers the concept. The spooky-season slot lets the studio 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, works with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček leads, with Souheila Yacoub headlining. The franchise has repeatedly shown that a flesh-and-blood, in-camera leaning mix can feel top-tier on a controlled budget. Expect a blood-soaked summer horror shock that leans hard into foreign markets, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most international markets.

Sony’s horror bench is notably deep. The studio books two IP moves in the back half. An untitled Insidious film hits August 21, 2026, continuing a bankable supernatural brand active while the spin-off branch evolves. The studio has repositioned on this title before, but the current plan holds it in late summer, where the brand has long performed.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil comes back in what Sony is presenting as a clean-slate approach for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a central part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a focus to serve both fans and first-timers. The fall slot lets Sony to build artifacts around narrative world, and monster aesthetics, elements that can amplify premium format interest and fan-forward engagement.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, places a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film advances Eggers’ run of period horror grounded in obsessive craft and dialect, this time driven by werewolf stories. The imprint has already set the date for a holiday release, a vote of confidence in the auteur as a specialty play that can grow wide if early reception is positive.

Streamers and platform exclusives

Platform strategies for 2026 run on proven patterns. The studio’s horror films transition to copyright after a box-office phase then PVOD, a stair-step that expands both launch urgency and subscription bumps in the after-window. Prime Video pairs catalogue additions with world buys and limited cinema engagements when the data justifies it. Max and Hulu work their edges in library engagement, using prominent placements, seasonal hubs, and editorial rows to keep attention on the year’s genre earnings. Netflix stays nimble about originals and festival snaps, scheduling horror entries with shorter lead times and positioning as event drops arrivals with quick-run campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, leverages a two-step of selective theatrical runs and accelerated platforming that drives paid trials from buzz. That will be critical for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before using fan pipelines in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ assesses case by case horror on a curated basis. The platform has demonstrated openness to purchase select projects with top-tier auteurs or star packages, then give them a small theatrical footprint in partnership with exhibitors to meet awards eligibility 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 ongoing engagement when the genre conversation heats up.

Indie and specialty outlook

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 setup is simple: the same haunting, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a beloved cult piece, recalibrated for modern sonics and picture. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a September to November window, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. Cineverse has signaled a traditional cinema play for Legacy, an optimistic indicator for fans of the relentless series and for exhibitors seeking adult skew in the September weeks.

Focus will operate the filmmaker lane with Werwulf, escorting the title through select festivals if the cut is ready, then activating the holiday slot to widen. That positioning has proved effective for arthouse horror with crossover potential. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not posted many 2026 dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines regularly gel after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A safe bet is a selection of late-summer and fall platformers that can break out if reception allows. Be ready 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 as a pair, using select theatrical to jump-start evangelism that fuels their community.

Legacy titles versus originals

By number, 2026 bends toward the brand-heavy side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all leverage franchise value. The caveat, as ever, is brand wear. The workable fix is to position each entry as a recast vibe. Paramount is leading with character-first legacy in Scream 7, Sony is positioning a clean restart for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is centering a French-flavored turn from a rising filmmaker. Those choices count when the audience has so many options and social sentiment swings fast.

Non-franchise titles and visionary-led titles keep the lungs full. Jordan Peele’s October film will be presented as a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, anchors on Rachel McAdams in a marooned survival premise with Raimi’s signature playful menace. SOULM8TE offers a simple, unsettling tech hook. Werwulf anchors in period detail and an hard-edged tone. Even when the title is not based on a recognizable brand, the deal build is anchored enough to turn curiosity into pre-sales and preview-night crowds.

Recent-year comps clarify the playbook. In 2023, a theatrical-first plan that held distribution windows did not hamper a day-date try from delivering when the brand was robust. In 2024, craft-forward auteur horror hit big in big-format auditoriums. In 2025, a rebirth of a beloved infection saga broadcast that global horror franchises can still feel reinvigorated when they angle differently 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 dual-chapter plan, with chapters filmed in sequence, permits marketing to cross-link entries through cast and motif and to continue assets in field without long breaks.

Production craft signals

The production chatter behind 2026 horror point to a continued turn toward tactile, place-driven craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not resemble any recent iteration of the property, a stance that aligns with the physical-effects bias he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film wrapped principal photography and is set for its April 17, 2026 date. Watch for a drive that centers atmosphere and fear rather than theme-park spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership sustaining budget prudence.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has said Werwulf as the darkest project he has tackled, which tracks with a historical setting and authentic period speech, a combination that can make for wraparound sound and a spare, elemental mood on the big screen. Focus will likely showcase this aesthetic in feature stories and department features before rolling out a initial teaser that withholds plot, a move that has paid off for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is aimed at tactile gnarliness, a signature of the series that works internationally in red-band trailers and gathers shareable reaction clips from early screenings. Scream 7 offers a self-aware reset that puts the original star at center. Resident Evil will win or lose on creature craft and set design, which match well with convention floor stunts and curated leaks. Insidious tends to be a mix showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the cinema value feel definitive. Look for trailers that center precise sound design, deep-bass stingers, and quiet voids that land in premium houses.

Calendar cadence

January is full. Universal’s 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 macro-brand pushes. The month ends with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival shocker from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is legit, but the tonal variety ensures lanes for each, and the five-week structure allows a clean run for see here each if word of mouth endures.

Late winter and spring stage summer. Scream 7 rolls out February 27 with legacy heat. In April, New Line’s The Mummy reimagines a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once suited genre counterprogramming and now hosts big openers. Universal’s untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 flows into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer sorts the tones. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is comedic and broad, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 offers ferocious intensity. The counterprogramming logic is coherent. The spoof can win next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest rewards older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have shuffled through big rooms.

Shoulder season into fall leans IP. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously worked. Resident Evil rolls in after September 18, a late-September window that still steps into Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film claims October 23 and will absorb cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely supported by a shroud-first teaser rhythm and limited information drops that center concept over reveals.

December specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a marker that genre can play the holidays when packaged as filmmaker prestige. The distributor has done this before, slow-rolling, then activating critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to keep the film in the conversation into January. If the film earns with critics, the studio can expand in the first week of 2027 while enjoying holiday hold and gift-card spend.

Title snapshots

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting still being revealed as production moves. Logline: Sidney returns to counter a new Ghostface while the narrative relinks to the original film’s core. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: heritage pivot with a current edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A grieving man’s AI companion evolves into something deadly romantic. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal is complete for an early-year bow. Positioning: techno-horror with feeling.

28 Years Later: The Bone Temple (Sony, January 16, 2026)
Director: Nia DaCosta. Writer: Alex Garland. Top cast: Cillian Murphy, Jack O’Connell, and additional ensemble tied to a new antagonist faction. Logline: The second chapter in a trilogy extends the world beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult ascends in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Twin-shot with the first film. Positioning: prestige apocalypse continuation.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man finds his way back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to encounter a shifting reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Done with U.S. run set. Positioning: aura-driven 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 hard-edged boss fight to survive on a uninhabited island as the pecking order flips and suspicion grows. Rating: TBA. Production: Done. Positioning: star-forward survival chiller from a master.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles in the vault in official materials. Logline: A renewed vision that returns the monster to nightmare, built on Cronin’s practical craft and creeping dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Shoot done. Positioning: classic monster relaunch with a filmmaker’s stamp.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A residential haunting piece that teases the fear of a child’s unreliable interpretations. Rating: forthcoming. Production: finished. Positioning: major-studio and name-above-title ghost thriller.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers reuniting creatively. Logline: {A satire sequel that teases of-the-moment horror beats and true-crime obsessions. Rating: to be announced. Production: fall 2025 production window. Positioning: mainstream summer comedy-horror.

Evil Dead Burn (Warner Bros. domestic, July 24, 2026)
Director: Sébastien Vaniček. Top cast: Souheila Yacoub, with ensemble additions. Logline: A new infestation of Deadites surges, with an cross-border twist in tone and setting. Rating: forthcoming. Production: filming in New Zealand. Positioning: ferocious R chapter primed for premium screens.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be announced in marketing. Top cast: TBD. Logline: The Further yawns again, with a fresh family bound to lingering terrors. Rating: TBA. Production: on track for summer lensing before late-summer rollout. Positioning: durable spectral IP in a late-summer sweet spot.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: awaiting public disclosure. Top cast: to be announced. Logline: A restart designed to re-engineer the franchise from the ground up, with an focus on survival horror over action-forward bombast. Rating: pending. Production: in development with a locked date. Positioning: game-rooted reset with broad potential.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: closely held. Rating: pending. Production: advancing. Positioning: filmmaker event, teaser-driven.

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-precise speech and raw menace. Rating: forthcoming. Production: gearing up with December 25 frame. 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 standard theatrical approach before platforming. Status: date variable, fall window probable.

Why this year, why now

Three nuts-and-bolts forces inform this lineup. First, production that stalled or recalendared in 2024 needed latitude on the slate. Horror can occupy those holes swiftly because scripts often require limited locations, fewer large-scale visual effects runs, and accelerated schedules. Second, studios have become more structured about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently out-earned straight-to-streaming placements. Third, social buzz converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will work clippable moments from test screenings, carefully timed scare clips aligned to Thursday preview shows, and experiential pop-ups that seed creator reels. It is a repeatable playbook because it works.

Programming arithmetic plays a role. Early-2026 family and superhero concentrations ease, clearing runway for genre entries that can dominate a weekend or function as the older-skew counter. January is the prime example. Four tonal lanes of horror will share space across five weekends, which allows chatter to build title by title. Summer provides the other window. The satire rides the animated and action tide, then the hard-R entry can use a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Budgets and certifications, sleeper calculus

Budgets remain in the sweet spot. Most of the films above will fit below the $40–$50 million line, with many far below. That allows for strong PLF footprints without needing superhero-level volume to break even. The most likely R ratings include Evil Dead Burn, Werwulf, and possibly Resident Evil depending on the final cut. Scream 7, Insidious, and SOULM8TE can plausibly land PG-13 to maximize reach, though each franchise has toggled between ratings in the past. Specialty plays tend to lean R to preserve tone and intensity.

The sleeper chase continues in Q1, where value-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 press those advantages. January could easily deliver the first surprise over-performer 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. Look for a strong PVOD phase 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 tempo and variety. January is a spread, February delivers a legacy slasher, April revives a Universal monster, May and June provide a supernatural one-two 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 bleak, literate nightmare. That is how you hold talk and turnout without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can scale over time, using earlier releases to trailhead the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors like the spacing. Horror delivers steady Thursday pops, tight deployments, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can earn PLF placement, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing tactility, sound field, 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 refresh. But the spine of 2026 horror is defined. There is brand gravity where needed, creative ambition where it counts, and a calendar that shows studios sense the cadence of scares. The awards and festival pipeline into 2027 will come into focus once the fall festivals lock, and it would not be surprising to see at least one late-arriving specialty entry join the party. For now, the job is simple, roll out exact trailers, keep the curtain closed, and let the shudders sell the seats.