Ancient Malevolence surfaces: Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a nightmare fueled shocker, launching October 2025 on major streaming services

This frightening metaphysical horror tale from scriptwriter / creative lead Andrew Chiaramonte, releasing an timeless malevolence when strangers become tokens in a malevolent ordeal. Going live October 2, 2025, on Amazon’s streaming platform, video-sharing site YouTube, Google’s digital store, Apple iTunes, Apple TV Plus, and Fandango’s digital service.

L.A., CA (August 8, 2025) – Prepare yourselves for *Young & Cursed*, a nerve-wracking story of resistance and archaic horror that will reshape the fear genre this harvest season. Produced by rising filmmaking talent Andrew Chiaramonte, this unsettling and emotionally thick motion picture follows five lost souls who come to locked in a far-off hideaway under the oppressive control of Kyra, a tormented girl haunted by a millennia-old sacred-era entity. Be prepared to be ensnared by a narrative adventure that intertwines instinctive fear with spiritual backstory, streaming on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on the second of October, 2025.


Malevolent takeover has been a recurring pillar in visual storytelling. In *Young & Cursed*, that pattern is subverted when the fiends no longer form from an outside force, but rather deep within. This mirrors the most terrifying part of these individuals. The result is a harrowing inner struggle where the conflict becomes a constant tug-of-war between light and darkness.


In a desolate backcountry, five figures find themselves isolated under the ghastly effect and overtake of a shadowy figure. As the group becomes paralyzed to break her control, cut off and pursued by entities unfathomable, they are compelled to stand before their core terrors while the clock coldly winds toward their expiration.


In *Young & Cursed*, unease deepens and ties dissolve, compelling each soul to reflect on their self and the notion of volition itself. The threat mount with every short lapse, delivering a cinematic nightmare that weaves together demonic fright with soulful exposure.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my goal was to draw upon primitive panic, an malevolence from ancient eras, manipulating psychological breaks, and exposing a power that peels away humanity when robbed of choice.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Channeling Kyra meant channeling something unfamiliar to reason. She is unaware until the entity awakens, and that transformation is bone-chilling because it is so close.”

Rollout & Launch

*Young & Cursed* will be accessible for audience access beginning from October 2, 2025, on Amazon’s platform, Google’s video hub, Google Play, iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango at Home—so that households no matter where they are can watch this terrifying film.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just broadcast a new follow-up preview for *Young & Cursed*, up to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a additional glimpse to its intro video, which has garnered over massive response.


In addition to its initial rollout, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has stated that *Young & Cursed* will also be distributed abroad, extending the thrill to a global viewership.


Mark your calendar for this cinematic path of possession. Brace yourself for *Young & Cursed* this spooky debut to explore these unholy truths about existence.


For film updates, set experiences, and reveals from the cast and crew, follow @YoungCursedOfficial across platforms and visit the official website.





Today’s horror tipping point: calendar year 2025 U.S. calendar integrates myth-forward possession, Indie Shockers, in parallel with tentpole growls

Spanning life-or-death fear saturated with biblical myth all the way to brand-name continuations in concert with acutely observed indies, 2025 is emerging as the most stratified paired with carefully orchestrated year in recent memory.

It is crowded, and also meticulously arranged. major banners set cornerstones by way of signature titles, while SVOD players flood the fall with first-wave breakthroughs as well as ancestral chills. On the festival side, festival-forward creators is catching the kinetic energy from an unprecedented 2024 fest surge. As Halloween stays the prime week, the schedule beyond October is tightly engineered. The early fall corridor has become the proving ground, distinctly in 2025, slates are opening January, spring, and mid-summer. Audiences are eager, studios are exacting, as a result 2025 may be recorded as the genre’s most deliberate campaign.

Major and Mini-Major Maneuvers: Elevated fear reclaims ground

The studio class is engaged. If 2024 primed the reset, 2025 compounds the move.

Universal’s schedule kicks off the frame with a bold swing: a contemporary Wolf Man, avoiding the standard nineteenth century European backdrop, in a clear present-tense world. With Leigh Whannell at the helm with Christopher Abbott opposite Julia Garner, this pass grounds the lycanthropy in household collapse. The arc is bodily and domestic, about marriage, caregiving, and fragile humanity. timed for mid January, it helps remake the winter trough with prestige offerings, not discard thrillers.

Spring ushers in Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher translation rendered as pared-down fear. Eli Craig directs starring Katie Douglas opposite Kevin Durand, it comes as grit laced American nightmare with sardonic edge. Behind the grin, it unpacks local hysteria, generational chasms, and crowd justice. Early circuit chatter says it has bite.

When summer tapers, the Warner Bros. banner unveils the final movement of its steadiest horror franchise: The Conjuring: Last Rites. With Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson returning as Ed and Lorraine Warren, the installment aims for closure as it frames a famed case. Even if the pattern is recognizable, Chaves reportedly keys a sorrowing, contemplative note in the capstone. It goes early September, easing the path before October flood.

The Black Phone 2 slots behind. It was eyed for early summer, and shifting to October telegraphs confidence. Derrickson resumes command, and the defining traits of the first sleeper return: old school creep, trauma as narrative engine, plus otherworld rules that chill. This time the stakes climb, with more excavation of the “grabber” canon and family hauntings.

Bringing up the winter anchor is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a film that does not need traditional marketing to sell tickets. The sophomore entry expands the mythology, enlarges the animatronic menagerie, bridging teens and legacy players. It hits in December, locking down the winter tail.

Streamer Exclusives: Tight funds, wide impact

While theaters bet on familiarity, streamers are taking risks, and it is paying off.

A high ambition play arrives with Weapons, a cold-case linked horror tapestry braiding three timelines tied to a mass vanishing. From Zach Cregger with turns by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the release pairs unease with narrative heft. Opening theatrically late summer ahead of fall SVOD, it may catalyze deconstruction threads like Barbarian.

On the minimalist axis arrives Together, an intimate body horror unraveling anchored by Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Set at a remote rental during a getaway that sours, the narrative traces love and jealousy and self contempt into body collapse. It toggles from love to slime, a staged slide into codependent hell. Despite no official platform date, it is virtually assured for fall.

In the mix sits Sinners, a Depression era vampire folk fable fronted by Michael B. Jordan. Rendered in sepia depth and layered biblical metaphor, it suggests There Will Be Blood blended with Let the Right One In. The movie studies American religious trauma through the supernatural lens. First test passes flag it as highly discussable at debut.

A cluster of streaming indies sits ready: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each explores grief and disappearance and identity, opting allegory above bombast.

Deep Possession Currents: Young & Cursed

Rolling out October 2 across streaming, Young & Cursed operates as a rare duality, minimal in staging, maximal in myth. From writer director Andrew Chiaramonte, the piece tracks five strangers awakening in a remote wilds cabin, under Kyra’s sway, 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 menace is mind forward, supercharged by primal myth. Instead of another exorcism piece centered on Catholic rites or Latin incantations, this entry turns to something older, something darker. Lilith is not summoned by priests, she rises from trauma, muteness, and human fault lines. By making possession inward rather than external, Young & Cursed joins a trend toward intimate character studies masked as 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. It is a clever angle. No swollen lore. No continuity burden. Simply psychological fear, lean and taut, built for the binge then recover rhythm. In a year crowded with spectacle, Young & Cursed may stand out by going quiet, then screaming.

Festival Born and Buyer Ready

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF serve as nurseries for near future horror. In 2025, they behave more like launchpads than showcases.

Fantastic Fest fields a robust horror set this year. Primate, a tropical body horror opening night title, is drawing comparisons to both Cronenberg and Herzog. Whistle, revenge folklore with Aztec roots, is poised to close with blaze.

The midnight bench, including If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, hums from execution, not mere titling. That film, an A24 backed satire of toxic fandom inside a horror convention lockdown, looks poised to break out.

SXSW gave air to Clown in a Cornfield and to microbudget hauntings courting buyers. Sundance should deliver grief heavy elevated horror again, while Tribeca’s genre section leans more urban, social, and surreal.

In 2025, festival strategy is less about discovery, more about branding. A Fantastic Fest or TIFF badge is phase one marketing, not a coda.

Legacy Horror: Sequels and Reboots, Reinvention Included

This year’s legacy entries carry strength and deliberation.

Fear Street: Prom Queen comes in July with franchise revival, new lead, retro styling. Departing prior tones, it leans camp and prom night melodrama. Picture tiaras, bright red goo, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 posts late June, targeting a broadened techno horror canon with new characters and AI spawned nightmares. The debut’s viral plus streaming heat gives Universal reason to press the bet.

The Long Walk arrives off an early Stephen King survival piece, Directed by Francis Lawrence, it shows as a grim dystopian parable set in survival horror, a youth walk ending only in death. If framed properly, it could echo The Hunger Games for adult horror.

Other reboots and sequels, Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda, are scattered across the calendar, most waiting for strategic windows or last minute acquisitions.

Trends Worth Watching

Mythic horror goes mainstream
Lilith in Young & Cursed plus Aztec curses in Whistle highlight ancient texts and symbols. It eschews nostalgia to repossess pre Christian archetypes. Horror surpasses shocks, it recalls evil’s antiquity.

Body horror comes roaring back
Projects including Together, Weapons, and Keeper re center the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation symbolize heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streaming exclusives sharpen their bite
Throwaway platform horror is on the way out. SVOD players fund strong scripts, proven directors, and real spend. Drops such as Weapons and Sinners arrive as events, not as catalog.

Festival glow translates to leverage
Festival laurels are no longer ornamental, they are leverage for theatrical release, premium placement, and media cycles. Forgo a festival map in 2025 and obscurity beckons.

Theaters are a trust fall
Studios release horror theatrically only when they believe in overperformance or sequel trees. Other titles pivot PVOD or hybrid. Horror stays in theaters, in chosen pockets.

Forward View: Autumn crowding, winter surprise

The combination of Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons across September and October saturates fall. Indies including Bone Lake and Keeper will wrestle for room. Do not be surprised if one or two move to early 2026 or switch platforms.

With Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 in December, a stealth streamer drop might pop near year end. As several big titles lean dark and mythic, there is room for one last creature feature or exorcism flick.

The hinge is broad reach to atomized viewers, not single tentpoles. The brief is not the next Get Out, it is horror with afterlife beyond receipts.



The approaching chiller Year Ahead: brand plays, original films, alongside A stacked Calendar calibrated for goosebumps

Dek The arriving terror cycle lines up from the jump with a January traffic jam, before it spreads through the summer months, and carrying into the late-year period, combining legacy muscle, fresh ideas, and tactical counterprogramming. Major distributors and platforms are doubling down on smart costs, theater-first strategies, and short-form initiatives that transform these pictures into cross-demo moments.

Horror momentum into 2026

Horror filmmaking has solidified as the surest tool in annual schedules, a genre that can break out when it lands and still safeguard the drawdown when it doesn’t. After 2023 showed decision-makers that low-to-mid budget chillers can steer mainstream conversation, the following year extended the rally with auteur-driven buzzy films and unexpected risers. The run pushed into 2025, where revivals and filmmaker-prestige bets demonstrated there is a market for diverse approaches, from brand follow-ups to director-led originals that travel well. The combined impact for the 2026 slate is a grid that presents tight coordination across the market, with clear date clusters, a harmony of brand names and new concepts, and a renewed priority on release windows that drive downstream revenue on premium digital and home streaming.

Marketers add the genre now functions as a fill-in ace on the calendar. The genre can debut on almost any weekend, supply a easy sell for ad units and vertical videos, and lead with ticket buyers that lean in on previews Thursday and keep coming through the week two if the film pays off. Exiting a strike-bent pipeline, the 2026 configuration indicates belief in that logic. The calendar launches with a thick January corridor, then leans on spring and early summer for alternate plays, while making space for a September to October window that stretches into the Halloween corridor and past the holiday. The calendar also highlights the ongoing integration of specialty arms and streamers that can stage a platform run, fuel WOM, and widen at the strategic time.

A notable top-line trend is franchise tending across ongoing universes and storied titles. The players are not just rolling another next film. They are moving to present ongoing narrative with a headline quality, whether that is a title presentation that conveys a fresh attitude or a casting pivot that threads a next entry to a original cycle. At the very same time, the filmmakers behind the most anticipated originals are celebrating real-world builds, real effects and location-forward worlds. That alloy hands 2026 a healthy mix of home base and discovery, which is how the genre sells abroad.

Studio by studio strategy signals

Paramount opens strong with two prominent moves that bracket the tone map. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the top job and Neve Campbell back at the forefront, marketing it as both a succession moment and a back-to-basics character-forward chapter. Filming is in progress in Atlanta, and the artistic posture indicates a memory-charged framework without replaying the last two entries’ family thread. The studio is likely to mount a drive rooted in franchise iconography, character previews, and a tiered teaser plan arriving in late fall. Distribution is cinema-first via Paramount.

Paramount also revives 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 partners for the first time since the early 2000s, a angle the campaign will stress. As a counterweight in summer, this one will drive wide buzz through viral-minded bites, with the horror spoof format making room for quick shifts to whatever dominates pop-cultural buzz that spring.

Universal has three defined plays. SOULM8TE rolls out January 9, 2026, a digital-age offshoot from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The hook is straightforward, tragic, and concept-forward: a grieving man onboards an machine companion that grows into a dangerous lover. The date locates it at the front of a thick month, with Universal’s team likely to reprise viral uncanny stunts and quick hits that threads longing navigate here and dread.

On May 8, 2026, the studio books an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely understood to be the feature developed under early labels in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The public release grid currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which reserves space for a title reveal to become an fan moment closer to the first trailer. The timing stakes a claim in early May while larger tentpoles own different weekends.

Rounding out the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film reserves October 23, 2026, a slot he has thrived in before. Peele’s releases are branded as auteur events, with a teaser with minimal detail and a second beat that signal tone without plot the concept. The pre-Halloween slot offers Universal room to own pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then press 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 guides, with Souheila Yacoub headlining. The franchise has made clear that a flesh-and-blood, hands-on effects strategy can feel premium on a controlled budget. Look for a red-band summer horror rush that pushes overseas performance, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most international markets.

Sony’s horror bench is surprisingly deep. The studio mounts two name-brand pushes in the back half. An untitled Insidious film opens August 21, 2026, carrying a evergreen supernatural brand in play while the spin-off branch gestates. The studio has reslotted on this title before, but the current plan anchors it in late summer, where the brand has done well historically.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil re-emerges in what the studio is billing as a reset for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a pillar part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a charge to serve both loyalists and casuals. The fall slot gives Sony time to build campaign creative around narrative world, and creature design, elements that can boost deluxe auditorium demand and fan-forward engagement.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, books a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film maintains Eggers’ run of period horror defined by careful craft and language, this time driven by werewolf stories. Focus Features has already staked the slot for a holiday release, a confidence marker in Eggers as a specialty play that can build and expand if early reception is positive.

How the platforms plan to play it

Home-platform rhythms for 2026 run on predictable routes. Universal titles move to copyright after a box-office phase then PVOD, a cadence that expands both first-week urgency and sign-up spikes in the tail. Prime Video combines licensed titles with worldwide entries and short theatrical plays when the data supports it. Max and Hulu accent their strengths in library pulls, using editorial spots, holiday hubs, and editorial rows to lengthen the tail on overall cume. Netflix remains opportunistic about in-house releases and festival additions, confirming horror entries near launch and framing as events go-lives with condensed plans. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, exploits a one-two of targeted cinema placements and speedy platforming that funnels enthusiasm into trials. That will be critical for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before working genre pipelines in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ continues to weigh horror on a curated basis. The platform has signaled readiness to buy select projects with prestige directors or star-driven packages, then give them a modest theatrical in partnership with exhibitors to meet qualifying rules or to gather buzz before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still capitalizes on the 20th Century Studios slate, a core piece for subscriber stickiness when the genre conversation intensifies.

The specialty lanes and indie surprises

Cineverse is putting together a 2026 slate 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 promise is clean: the same haunting, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a cult item, elevated for modern audio-visual craft. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a autumn slot, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has positioned a wide-to-platform plan for the title, an healthy marker for fans of the ferocious series and for exhibitors seeking adult skew in the late-season weeks.

Focus will push the my company auteur angle with Werwulf, marshalling the project through a fall festival swing if the cut see here is ready, then leveraging the holiday corridor to increase reach. That positioning has delivered for filmmaker-first horror with broader reach. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not publicly set many dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines usually solidify after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A reasonable expectation is a series of late-summer and fall platformers that can scale if reception merits. Plan on 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 hand in hand, using limited theatrical to seed evangelism that fuels their subscriber base.

Series vs standalone

By skew, the 2026 slate skews toward the recognizable IP side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all exploit fan equity. The trade-off, as ever, is staleness. The near-term solution is to market each entry as a re-toned entry. Paramount is bringing forward relationship and legacy in Scream 7, Sony is floating a clean-slate build for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is centering a French sensibility from a fresh helmer. Those choices carry weight when the audience has so many options and social sentiment spins fast.

Non-franchise titles and talent-first projects add oxygen. Jordan Peele’s October film will be framed as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, puts Rachel McAdams in a crash-survival premise with signature tonal menace. SOULM8TE offers a focused, eerie tech hook. Werwulf anchors in period detail and an flinty tone. Even when the title is not based on existing IP, the package is recognizable enough to accelerate early sales and preview-night crowds.

The last three-year set illuminate the logic. In 2023, a cinema-first model that kept clean windows did not hamper a day-and-date experiment from thriving when the brand was powerful. In 2024, art-forward horror outperformed in premium screens. In 2025, a revival of a beloved infection saga signaled that global horror franchises can still feel reinvigorated when they angle differently and elevate scope. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which moves forward 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 filmed in sequence, lets marketing to cross-link entries through protagonists and motifs and to hold creative in the market without pause points.

How the look and feel evolve

The director conversations behind the 2026 slate telegraph a continued lean toward tactile, location-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not resemble any recent iteration of the property, a stance that echoes the practical-effects sensibility he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film finished principal and is aimed at its April 17, 2026 date. Watch for a drive that leans on creep and texture rather than roller-coaster spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership making room for financial discipline.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has called Werwulf as the hardest-edged project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval world and medieval diction, a combination that can make for sonic immersion and a earthy, elemental chill on the big screen. Focus will likely pre-sell this aesthetic in long-lead features and department features before rolling out a tone piece that elevates tone over story, a move that has worked for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is designed for practical nastiness, a signature of the series that plays abroad in red-band trailers and sparks shareable audience clips from early screenings. Scream 7 targets a self-aware reset that centers its original star. Resident Evil will hit or miss on monster work and world-building, which align with convention activations and staggered reveals. Insidious tends to be a sonic showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the theater case feel key. Look for trailers that emphasize fine-grain sound, deep-bass stingers, and sudden silences that work in PLF.

From winter to holidays

January is jammed. Universal’s 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 big-brand pushes. The month winds down 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 real, but the tonal variety carves a lane for each, and the five-week structure gives each runway for each if word of mouth sticks.

February through May build the summer base. Paramount’s Scream 7 rolls out February 27 with brand energy. In April, New Line’s The Mummy revives a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once served genre counterprogramming and now hosts big openers. Universal’s untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 connects into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer clarifies the lanes. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is comic-leaning and wide, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 brings brutal intensity. The counterprogramming logic is sound. The spoof can hit 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 cycled through PLF.

Shoulder season into fall leans series. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously excelled. Resident Evil comes after September 18, a transitional slot that still feeds into Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film takes October 23 and will engross cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely supported by a mystery-first teaser plan and limited previews that elevate concept over story.

December specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a declaration that genre can win the holiday when packaged as director prestige horror. The distributor has done this before, slow-rolling, then working critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to sustain conversation into January. If the film lands critically, the studio can extend in the first week of 2027 while riding holiday turnout and gift card usage.

Title snapshots

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting TBA in phases as production proceeds. Logline: Sidney returns to oppose a new Ghostface while the narrative rethreads the original film’s genes. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: origin-forward with a contemporary twist.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A grieving man’s virtual companion grows into something fatal and romantic. Rating: TBA. Production: Wrapped principal for an early-year bow. Positioning: silicon scare with soul.

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 scales the story beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult forms in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Filmed consecutively with the first film. Positioning: continuation of a revered infection cycle.

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 confront a shifting reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked and U.S. theatrical booked. Positioning: ambience-forward 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 abrasive boss work to survive on a uninhabited island as the power balance swivels and mistrust rises. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished. 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 contemporary re-envisioning that returns the monster to chill, grounded in Cronin’s physical craft and accumulating dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked. 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 premise that toys with the fear of a child’s wobbly perspective. Rating: rating pending. Production: finished. Positioning: major-studio and star-led supernatural suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers returning creatively. Logline: {A spoof revival that satirizes in-vogue horror tropes and true crime fixations. Rating: TBD. Production: production booked for fall 2025. Positioning: four-quadrant summer counterplay.

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 flares, with an cross-border twist in tone and setting. Rating: to be announced. Production: on location in New Zealand. Positioning: hard-hitting R entry designed for premium formats.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be confirmed in marketing. Top cast: TBD. Logline: The Further opens again, with a young family tethered to returning horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: set for summer production targeting late-summer opening. Positioning: steady supernatural brand in a historically strong slot.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: unrevealed publicly. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: A reboot designed to reconstitute the franchise from the ground up, with an preference for survival horror over pyrotechnic spectacle. Rating: undetermined. Production: advancing in development with date locked. Positioning: IP-accurate revival with mainstream runway.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: awaiting confirmation. Logline: tightly guarded. Rating: to be announced. Production: in progress. Positioning: auteur event powered by teasers.

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-specific language and ancient menace. Rating: not yet rated. Production: prepping toward a December 25 launch. 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 theaters-first plan ahead of platforming. Status: date in flux, fall expected.

Why the moment is 2026

Three practical forces inform this lineup. First, production that hiccuped or recalendared in 2024 needed spacing on the calendar. Horror can occupy those holes swiftly because scripts often demand fewer locations, fewer large-scale CGI sequences, and condensed timelines. Second, studios have become more structured about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently beaten straight-to-streaming dumps. Third, platform buzz converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will mine shareable moments from test screenings, precision scare clips calibrated to Thursday preview timing, and experiential pop-ups that double as influencer content. It is a repeatable playbook because it succeeds.

The slot calculus is real. Early-year family and superhero blocks are thinner in 2026, leaving useful real estate for genre entries that can dominate a weekend or act as the older-tilt option. January is the prime example. Four tonal lanes of horror will share space across five weekends, which reduces inter-title cannibalization. Summer provides the other window. The parody leverages early family and action lifts, then the hard-R entry can exploit a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Budgets and certifications, sleeper calculus

Budgets remain in the target range. 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 lower and mid-budget genre can own weekends with minimal competition, and again in late summer, where horror often becomes the conversation when tentpoles tire. The 2026 slate is set up to exploit those windows. January could easily deliver the first shock 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. 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.

From viewer POV, the year

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers beat and breadth. January is a spread, February delivers a legacy slasher, April returns a Universal monster, May and June provide a back-to-back supernatural punch for date nights and group outings, July runs hard, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a chilly, literate nightmare. That is how you sustain conversation and attendance without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can build month to month, using earlier releases to trailhead the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors appreciate the spacing. Horror delivers preview-night pops, efficient screen counts, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can earn PLF placement, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing detail, acoustics, and framing 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.

A Promising 2026

Timing shifts. Ratings change. Casts adjust. But the spine of 2026 horror is sturdy. There is brand power where it counts, fresh vision 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 eleventh-hour specialty buy join the party. For now, the job is simple, cut crisp trailers, keep the secrets, and let the chills sell the seats.