Primeval Dread reawakens: Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a fear soaked shocker, launching October 2025 on top streamers

One terrifying spiritual suspense film from cinematographer / visionary Andrew Chiaramonte, summoning an age-old malevolence when passersby become pawns in a dark ordeal. Streaming October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime Video, Google’s YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, iTunes Movies, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home.

Los Angeles, CA (August 8th, 2025) – Brace yourselves for *Young & Cursed*, a intense account of continuance and age-old darkness that will redefine the fear genre this ghoul season. Created by rising genre visionary Andrew Chiaramonte, this pressure-packed and immersive film follows five strangers who emerge caught in a off-grid lodge under the menacing sway of Kyra, a haunted figure occupied by a biblical-era Old Testament spirit. Arm yourself to be drawn in by a theatrical venture that harmonizes deep-seated panic with timeless legends, hitting on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on the second of October, 2025.


Diabolic occupation has been a long-standing motif in film. In *Young & Cursed*, that concept is turned on its head when the dark entities no longer appear from external sources, but rather internally. This symbolizes the most terrifying element of all involved. The result is a relentless moral showdown where the emotions becomes a merciless battle between moral forces.


In a forsaken no-man's-land, five young people find themselves cornered under the malicious control and control of a elusive figure. As the ensemble becomes helpless to combat her power, isolated and followed by spirits beyond reason, they are driven to face their deepest fears while the final hour relentlessly moves toward their end.


In *Young & Cursed*, dread surges and alliances collapse, compelling each person to evaluate their true nature and the foundation of autonomy itself. The pressure accelerate with every tick, delivering a terror ride that harmonizes otherworldly suspense with inner turmoil.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my purpose was to dig into instinctual horror, an curse from ancient eras, filtering through our fears, and wrestling with a entity that strips down our being when consciousness is fragmented.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Playing Kyra asked for exploring something deeper than fear. She is unseeing until the possession kicks in, and that transition is gut-wrenching because it is so unshielded.”

Streaming Info

*Young & Cursed* will be offered for worldwide release beginning on October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon’s platform, Google’s video hub, Google’s store, Apple iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home—allowing customers worldwide can dive into this fearful revelation.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just uploaded a new official preview for *Young & Cursed*, available to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a next step to its first trailer, which has earned over strong viewer count.


In addition to its initial rollout, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has revealed that *Young & Cursed* will also be launched globally, offering the tale to a worldwide audience.


Experience this mind-warping fall into madness. Confront *Young & Cursed* this spooky debut to uncover these evil-rooted truths about inner darkness.


For exclusive trailers, extra content, and updates from behind the lens, follow @YoungAndCursedMovie across platforms and visit the movie’s homepage.





The horror genre’s watershed moment: calendar year 2025 U.S. lineup weaves legend-infused possession, microbudget gut-punches, plus legacy-brand quakes

Ranging from life-or-death fear inspired by ancient scripture all the way to canon extensions in concert with acutely observed indies, 2025 is shaping up as the most textured plus deliberate year in ten years.

The 2025 horror calendar is more than crowded, it is calculated. studio powerhouses lock in tentpoles by way of signature titles, even as streaming platforms saturate the fall with unboxed visions and scriptural shivers. In parallel, the artisan tier is propelled by the echoes from a record 2024 festival run. Because Halloween continues as the prize window, the rest of the calendar is filling out with surgical precision. That late Q3 to mid Q4 lane is the crucible, but this year, bookings reach January, spring, and mid-summer. Horror fans are craving, studios are targeted, thus 2025 could be the most carefully plotted year to date.

Studio Roadmap and Mini-Major Pulse: Prestige-leaning dread rebounds

The top end is active. If 2024 framed the blueprint, 2025 amplifies the bet.

Universal’s distribution arm starts the year with a bold swing: a reimagined Wolf Man, eschewing a mist-shrouded old-world European town, but a sharp contemporary setting. From director Leigh Whannell with Christopher Abbott opposite Julia Garner, this cut welds lycanthropy to home turmoil. The change is not purely bodily, it is marital, parental, and achingly human. set for mid January, it joins a broader aim to occupy winter’s quiet with elevated titles, not leftovers.

The spring frame introduces Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher adaptation reframed as lean dread. Directed by Eli Craig starring Katie Douglas opposite Kevin Durand, it comes as grit laced American nightmare with sardonic edge. Beneath the facade, it probes hometown suspicion, boomer to zoomer divides, and mob retribution. First wave buzz indicates sharp teeth.

Toward summer’s end, the Warner lot drops the final chapter from its cornerstone horror IP: 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. Even if the pattern is recognizable, director Michael Chaves reportedly leans into a mournful, interior tone for the swan song. It is also positioned early in September, giving it breathing room before the October onslaught.

Next is The Black Phone 2. Planned for early summer, the October reposition reads assertive. Scott Derrickson returns, and those signature textures resurface: retro dread, trauma driven plotting, plus otherworld rules that chill. Here the stakes rise, with added layers to the “grabber” frame and long memory of loss.

Bringing up the winter anchor is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a release that travels on brand alone. The continuation widens the legend, expands its animatronic nightmare roster, with a bullseye on teens and thirty something nostalgics. It lands in December, locking down the winter tail.

Streaming Originals: Economy, maximum dread

While cinemas swing on series strength, platforms are greenlighting boldly, and the needle moves.

An especially bold streamer bet is Weapons, a long shadow anthology of dread that weaves together three timelines connected by a mass disappearance. Guided by Zach Cregger pairing Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the project unites horror with dramatic charge. With a late summer theatrical bow and fall streaming drop, it may catalyze deconstruction threads like Barbarian.

In the micro chamber lane is Together, a sealed box body horror arc led by Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Set in a remote rental home during a getaway gone wrong, the story examines love plus envy plus self disgust as flesh ruin. It lands sweet then sick then searing, a three step spin into codependent hell. Although a platform date is not yet posted, it is destined for a fall landing.

Next comes Sinners, a 1930s rooted vampire folk legend led by Michael B. Jordan. Shot in rich sepia tones and drenched in biblical metaphor, it mirrors There Will Be Blood meeting Let the Right One In. The title explores American religious trauma through supernatural symbol. First test passes flag it as highly discussable at debut.

More streamer bound indies stand by in the shadows: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each threads grief and absence and identity, mapping allegory to dread.

The Possession Runs Deep: Young & Cursed

Posting October 2 across the big platforms, Young & Cursed emerges as a rare mix, tight in frame and epic in resonance. Penned and steered by Andrew Chiaramonte, the movie observes five strangers who awaken in an isolated wilderness cabin, controlled by Kyra, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. With the dark, her reach grows, a parasitic force exploiting fears, flaws, and shame.

The chill is psyche led, anchored in primal myth. Swerving the standard exorcism angle of Catholic rite and Latin word, this one burrows toward something older, something darker. Lilith is not conjured by ritual, she surfaces through trauma, silence, and human fragility. The shift to interior possession, not exterior conjuring, flips expectation and aligns Young & Cursed with an expanding wave, intimate character portraits wearing genre.

Streaming platforms like Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home have positioned the film as a Halloween counterweight to theatrical sequels and monster revivals. It is canny scheduling. No bloated canon. No canon weight. Just pure psychological dread, contained, tense, and tailor made for the binge and breathe rhythm of digital horror fans. Among spectacle, Young & Cursed might win by restraint, then release.

Festival Born, Buyer Ready

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF continue to incubate the next six to twelve months of horror. They feel like launchpads now, not just showcases.

The Fantastic Fest slate for horror is strong this year. Primate opens the fest with tropical body horror and critics cite Cronenberg and Herzog. Whistle, a folkloric revenge burner in Aztec code, should close with flame.

Midnight entries like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You are getting buzz not just for their titles but for their execution. That title, with A24 backing, satirizes toxic fandom during a convention lockdown and is set to pop.

SXSW premiered Clown in a Cornfield and surfaced several microbudget hauntings that circle deals. Sundance tends to present grief infused elevated horror and likely will, while Tribeca’s genre section leans more urban, social, and surreal.

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

Long Running Lines: Next Chapters, New Starts, New Shapes

Legacy IP arrives sturdier and more intentional this cycle.

Fear Street: Prom Queen hits July to revive the 90s line with fresh lead and VHS vibe. Breaking with earlier shading, it leans camp and prom night melodrama. Bring tiaras, red dye, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 arrives late June, set to enlarge techno horror mythology with fresh faces and AI bred menaces. The first film’s success on both social media and streaming has given Universal the confidence to double down.

The Long Walk arrives off an early Stephen King survival piece, under Francis Lawrence, it lands as a ruthless dystopian allegory couched in survival horror, a march where no one wins. With sharp marketing, it could translate to The Hunger Games for horror adults.

Elsewhere, reboots and sequels like Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda pepper the schedule, many waiting on strategic holds or late deals.

Trends to Watch

Old myth goes broad
Young & Cursed with Lilith and Whistle with Aztec curses both signal ancient texts and symbols. Not nostalgia, a reclaim of pre Christian archetypes. Horror surpasses shocks, it recalls evil’s antiquity.

Body horror swings back
Projects including Together, Weapons, and Keeper re center the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation, these are the new metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streaming originals get teeth
The days of disposable horror filler on digital platforms are over. Streamers deploy capital toward scripts, directors, and paid reach. Titles such as Weapons and Sinners are treated as events, not mere 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.

Theatrical Is Now a Trust Fall
Studios are only releasing horror theatrically if they believe it will overperform or spin into sequels. Everything else is PVOD or hybrid. Horror continues in theaters, in narrower curated lanes.

Season Ahead: Fall crush plus winter X factor

Young & Cursed plus The Conjuring: Last Rites plus The Black Phone 2 plus Weapons, all in September and October, makes for a saturated fall. Indies like Bone Lake and Keeper will scrap for air. Expect one or more to pivot into early 2026 or shift platforms.

With Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 in December, a stealth streamer drop might pop near year end. With some of the year’s biggest films leaning dark and mythic, the space for one final creature feature or exorcism flick is wide open.

The success of horror in 2025 hinges less on a single title and more on how a diverse slate reaches a scattered, segmented audience. This year is not about chasing the next Get Out, it is about building horror that lives beyond the box office.



The coming 2026 Horror season: next chapters, fresh concepts, paired with A jammed Calendar tailored for frights

Dek: The incoming terror slate crams in short order with a January bottleneck, before it runs through the summer months, and running into the holiday frame, balancing series momentum, original angles, and well-timed calendar placement. The big buyers and platforms are relying on right-sized spends, theater-first strategies, and short-form initiatives that pivot these releases into broad-appeal conversations.

The genre’s posture for 2026

This category has grown into the consistent tool in studio slates, a category that can grow when it clicks and still buffer the downside when it fails to connect. After 2023 reminded top brass that mid-range scare machines can drive the national conversation, the following year held pace with director-led heat and word-of-mouth wins. The carry flowed into the 2025 frame, where reawakened brands and premium-leaning entries underscored there is capacity for multiple flavors, from sequel tracks to original features that play globally. The net effect for 2026 is a slate that shows rare alignment across the industry, with defined corridors, a combination of familiar brands and first-time concepts, and a refocused stance on cinema windows that feed downstream value on premium rental and digital services.

Studio leaders note the horror lane now works like a schedule utility on the calendar. Horror can launch on a wide range of weekends, create a quick sell for trailers and short-form placements, and punch above weight with viewers that come out on previews Thursday and continue through the subsequent weekend if the entry satisfies. In the wake of a strike-driven backlog, the 2026 rhythm exhibits faith in that model. The slate gets underway with a weighty January window, then targets spring into early summer for balance, while making space for a fall corridor that reaches into spooky season and afterwards. The layout also features the stronger partnership of specialty arms and platforms that can develop over weeks, spark evangelism, and go nationwide at the optimal moment.

A reinforcing pattern is brand management across connected story worlds and storied titles. Studios are not just releasing another sequel. They are moving to present connection with a marquee sheen, whether that is a title treatment that conveys a fresh attitude or a casting choice that binds a new installment to a initial period. At the parallel to that, the creative teams behind the eagerly awaited originals are championing on-set craft, practical gags and grounded locations. That combination delivers 2026 a vital pairing of comfort and discovery, which is why the genre exports well.

What the big players are lining up

Paramount defines the early cadence with two prominent titles that bookend the tonal range. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with original architect Kevin Williamson in the director role and Neve Campbell back at the spine, angling it as both a passing of the torch and a return-to-roots character study. Cameras are rolling in Atlanta, and the tonal posture conveys a roots-evoking mode without covering again the last two entries’ family thread. Watch for a push fueled by franchise iconography, character spotlights, and a tiered teaser plan rolling toward late fall. Distribution is big-screen via Paramount.

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 re-teaming, with the Wayans brothers involved on the creative side for the first time since the early 2000s, a hook the campaign will double down on. As a non-tentpole summer option, this one will drive wide buzz through social-friendly gags, with the horror spoof format supporting quick updates to whatever drives the discourse that spring.

Universal has three discrete lanes. SOULM8TE rolls out January 9, 2026, a universe branch from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The setup is tight, melancholic, and premise-first: a grieving man sets up an intelligent companion that turns into a perilous partner. The date sets it at the front of a thick month, with the marketing arm likely to renew viral uncanny stunts and micro spots that hybridizes intimacy and chill.

On May 8, 2026, the studio positions an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely considered the feature developed under development titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The listed schedule currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which reserves space for a proper title to become an PR pop closer to the first look. The timing offers Universal a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles take the main frames.

Completing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film lands October 23, 2026, a slot he has commanded before. Peele’s pictures are marketed as filmmaker events, with a minimalist tease and a subsequent trailers that convey vibe without spoilers the concept. The late-October frame 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 is at the helm of, with Souheila Yacoub leading. The franchise has established that a in-your-face, practical-first method can feel high-value on a mid-range budget. Position this as a grime-caked summer horror shot that emphasizes foreign markets, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most foreign territories.

Sony’s horror bench is impressively deep. The studio places two brand-forward plays in the back half. An untitled Insidious film opens August 21, 2026, maintaining a steady supernatural brand in the market while the spin-off branch moves forward. The studio has repositioned on this title before, but the current plan sticks it in late summer, where Insidious has traditionally delivered.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil re-emerges in what the studio is selling as a reimagined 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 mission to serve both players and first-timers. The fall slot provides the studio time to build marketing units around environmental design, and creature work, elements that can accelerate deluxe auditorium demand and community activity.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, sets a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film maintains the filmmaker’s run of period horror characterized by immersive craft and dialect, this time driven by werewolf stories. Focus’s team has already planted the flag for a holiday release, a vote of confidence in the auteur as a specialty play that can move wide if early reception is warm.

Streamers and platform exclusives

Windowing plans in 2026 run on tested paths. Universal’s genre slate head to copyright after a exclusive run then PVOD, a cadence that amplifies both FOMO and sign-up spikes in the tail. Prime Video continues to mix licensed titles with international acquisitions and short theatrical plays when the data justifies it. Max and Hulu accent their strengths in library engagement, using well-timed internal promotions, genre hubs, and programmed rows to stretch the tail on the horror cume. Netflix retains agility about Netflix originals and festival pickups, locking in horror entries closer to drop and making event-like launches with quick-run campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, leverages a laddered of precision theatrical plays and speedy platforming that turns chatter to conversion. That will matter for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before pressing horror-fan channels in the months that follow.

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

Indie and specialty outlook

Cineverse is engineering a 2026 track with two franchise steps. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The pitch is tight: the same brooding, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a cult hit, reimagined for modern audio-visual craft. 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 flagged a big-screen first plan for the title, an positive signal for fans of the savage series and for exhibitors seeking adult skew in the fall weeks.

Focus will favor the auteur track with Werwulf, escorting the title through the autumn circuit if the cut is ready, then working the Christmas window to scale. That positioning has been successful for filmmaker-driven genre with mainstream crossovers. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not publicly set many dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines regularly gel after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A credible outlook is a set of late-summer and fall platformers that can surge if reception drives. Plan on an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that runs at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work together, using limited theatrical to prime evangelism that fuels their audience.

Known brands versus new stories

By count, the 2026 slate leans toward the known side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all draw on legacy awareness. The challenge, as ever, is brand wear. The standing approach is to package each entry as a renewed feel. Paramount is centering character-first legacy in Scream 7, Sony is signaling a clean-slate build for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is centering a Francophone tone from a buzzed-about director. Those choices matter when the audience has so many options and social sentiment spins fast.

Originals and filmmaker-led entries 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, places Rachel McAdams into a survival shocker premise with the director’s playful dread. SOULM8TE offers a clear, chilling tech hook. Werwulf brings period specificity and an uncompromising tone. Even when the title is not based on a property, the bundle is anchored enough to spark pre-sales and Thursday previews.

Comparable trends from recent years frame the strategy. In 2023, a theater-first model that preserved streaming windows did not obstruct a simultaneous release test from paying off when the brand was powerful. In 2024, director-craft horror outperformed in premium screens. In 2025, a return of a beloved infection saga underlined that global horror franchises can still feel alive when they shift POV and increase ambition. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which carries on January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The linked-chapter plan, with chapters filmed consecutively, permits marketing to thread films through character spine and themes and to keep assets in-market without long breaks.

How the films are being made

The shop talk behind the year’s horror hint at a continued turn toward material, place-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not echo any recent iteration of the property, a stance that fits with the hands-on effects stance he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film wrapped principal photography and is tracking toward its April 17, 2026 date. Expect a campaign that elevates unease and texture rather than whiz-bang spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership permitting budget rigor.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has spoken of Werwulf as the darkest project he has tackled, which tracks with a 13th-century milieu and era-true language, a combination that can make for sonic immersion and a icy, primal tone on the big screen. Focus will likely highlight this aesthetic in long-lead features and guild coverage before rolling out a teaser that plays with mood rather than plot, a move that has succeeded for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is engineered for visceral gnarl, a signature of the series that exports well in red-band trailers and drives shareable audience clips from early screenings. Scream 7 delivers a meta refresh that returns to the core star. Resident Evil will hit or miss on monster aesthetics and world-building, which fit with fan conventions and controlled asset drops. Insidious tends to be a audio showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the theatrical pitch feel necessary. Look for trailers that underscore disciplined sound, deep-bass stingers, and dropouts that land in premium houses.

Annual flow

January is packed. 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 quiet contrast amid marquee brands. The month buttons with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a island survival chiller from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is real, but the menu of tones affords lanes to each, and the five-week structure creates great post to read breathing room for each if word of mouth spreads.

Late winter and spring prime the summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 hits February 27 with brand warmth. In April, The Mummy resurrects a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once belonged to genre counterprogramming and now can handle big openers. The untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 feeds 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 comedic and broad, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 serves ferocious intensity. The counterprogramming logic is solid. The spoof can deliver 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 rolled through premiums.

Shoulder season into fall leans brand. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously connected. Resident Evil slides in after September 18, a pre-October slot that still links to Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film claims October 23 and will seize cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely amplified by a mystery-driven teaser strategy and limited plot reveals that put concept first.

Christmas prestige. Werwulf on December 25 is a declaration that genre can compete at Christmas when packaged as director prestige horror. Focus has done this before, slow-rolling, then capitalizing on critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to extend talk into January. If the film pleases critics, the studio can open up in the first week of 2027 while enjoying holiday hold and gift card usage.

Project briefs

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting TBA in phases as production rolls. Logline: Sidney returns to re-engage a new Ghostface while the narrative relinks to the original film’s DNA. 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 algorithmic partner mutates into something fatal and romantic. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed principal photography 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 expands the scope beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult forms in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Twin-shot with the first film. Positioning: prestige survival-horror continuation.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man goes back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to be swallowed by a mutable reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked and U.S. theatrical booked. Positioning: moody game adaptation built on atmosphere.

Send Help (20th Century Studios, January 30, 2026)
Director: Sam Raimi. Top cast: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Dennis Haysbert, Chris Pang. Logline: After a plane crash, an employee and her tough boss claw to survive on a rugged island as the pecking order turns and fear crawls. Rating: TBA. Production: Wrapped. 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 kept quiet in official materials. Logline: A modern reimagining that returns the monster to chill, rooted in Cronin’s practical craft and suffocating dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Shoot done. Positioning: monster revival with signature voice.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A family-home haunting setup that manipulates the panic of a child’s uncertain read. Rating: to be announced. Production: picture-locked. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven haunted-house suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers participating creatively. Logline: {A spoof revival that riffs on hot-button genre motifs and true-crime crazes. Rating: not yet rated. Production: filming slated for fall 2025. Positioning: mainstream summer comedy-horror.

Evil Dead Burn (Warner Bros. domestic, July 24, 2026)
Director: Sébastien Vaniček. Top cast: Souheila Yacoub, with ensemble additions. Logline: A new infestation of Deadites surges, with an overseas 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: TBA in marketing materials. Top cast: TBA. Logline: The Further unfurls again, with a new clan snared by returning horrors. Rating: to be announced. Production: targeting a summer lensing window for late-summer release. Positioning: dependable ghost-franchise slot that suits the brand.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: forthcoming. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: A reboot designed to re-engineer the franchise from the ground up, with an focus on survival-core horror over set-piece spectacle. Rating: forthcoming. Production: developing against a fixed date. Positioning: source-faithful reboot with four-quadrant path.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: Kept under wraps by design. Rating: pending. Production: continuing. 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 historical diction and ancient menace. Rating: not yet rated. Production: in active prep with holiday date set. Positioning: specialty holiday horror poised for crafts recognition.

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 shifting, fall likely.

Why 2026 and why now

Three hands-on forces structure this lineup. First, production that paused or recalendared in 2024 needed latitude on the slate. Horror can bridge those gaps quickly because scripts often use fewer locations, fewer large-scale CGI runs, and condensed timelines. 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 surpassed straight-to-streaming dumps. Third, community talk converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will activate meme-ready beats from test screenings, metered scare clips aligned to Thursday preview shows, and experiential pop-ups that seed creator reels. It is a repeatable playbook because it holds up.

Another factor is the scheduling math. Early 2026 is less crowded with family and superhero corridors, creating valuable space for genre entries that can command a weekend or function as the older-skew counter. January is the prime example. Four horror varieties will cluster across five weekends, which keeps buzz lanes tidy. Summer provides the other window. The parody can surf the early-summer animated and action swell, then the hard-R entry can benefit from a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Business outlook: budgets, ratings, and the sleeper hunt

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

The breakout hunt continues in Q1, where 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 exploit those windows. 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. 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.

How the viewing year plays

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers rhythm and variety. January is a feast, February delivers a legacy slasher, April restores a Universal monster, May and June provide a two-hit supernatural combo for date nights and group outings, July goes red-band, 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 the discourse going and the seats filled without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can gain momentum, using earlier releases to seed the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors favor the spacing. Horror delivers Thursday preview surges, optimized footprints, 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 surface detail, sound, and camera work that benefit from larger formats. The calendar also leaves room for specialty platformers to open in New York and Los Angeles, build reviews, and slide into national conversation as the fall progresses.

2026 Looks Exciting

Timing shifts. Ratings change. Casts refresh. But the spine of 2026 horror is sturdy. There is recognizable IP where it plays, new vision where it lands, and a calendar that shows studios meet the timing 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, roll out exact trailers, keep secrets, and let the screams sell the seats.