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

An chilling spectral suspense film from author / director Andrew Chiaramonte, summoning an primeval force when outsiders become tools in a fiendish experiment. Premiering October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime, Google’s YouTube, Google Play Movies & TV, Apple’s iTunes, Apple TV Plus, and Fandango on-demand.

Los Angeles, CA (August 8, 2025) – Prepare yourselves for *Young & Cursed*, a harrowing episode of staying alive and primordial malevolence that will redefine genre cinema this spooky time. Helmed by rising cinematic craftsman Andrew Chiaramonte, this pressure-packed and immersive thriller follows five lost souls who come to isolated in a secluded hideaway under the unfriendly grip of Kyra, a cursed figure occupied by a legendary ancient fiend. Steel yourself to be absorbed by a cinematic ride that intertwines gut-punch terror with ancestral stories, premiering on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Demonic control has been a long-standing element in the entertainment world. In *Young & Cursed*, that pattern is turned on its head when the malevolences no longer descend beyond the self, but rather deep within. This marks the most terrifying side of the protagonists. The result is a riveting mental war where the emotions becomes a constant contest between right and wrong.


In a desolate forest, five friends find themselves trapped under the malicious effect and inhabitation of a secretive figure. As the group becomes paralyzed to escape her command, detached and preyed upon by evils indescribable, they are cornered to confront their emotional phantoms while the time unceasingly edges forward toward their demise.


In *Young & Cursed*, fear grows and connections break, forcing each cast member to evaluate their existence and the foundation of free will itself. The stakes escalate with every passing moment, delivering a horror experience that harmonizes paranormal dread with human fear.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my aim was to draw upon basic terror, an presence before modern man, influencing soul-level flaws, and navigating a spirit that erodes the self when will is shattered.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Channeling Kyra needed manifesting something far beyond human desperation. She is ignorant until the haunting manifests, and that change is eerie because it is so internal.”

Where to Watch

*Young & Cursed* will be accessible for streaming beginning from October 2, 2025, on Prime Video, YouTube, Google’s store, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home—guaranteeing viewers worldwide can dive into this spine-tingling premiere.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just shared a new follow-up preview for *Young & Cursed*, up to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a companion to its original clip, which has gathered over massive response.


In addition to its US/Canada launch, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has publicized that *Young & Cursed* will also be launched globally, giving access to the movie to a global viewership.


Be sure to catch this haunted journey into fear. Enter *Young & Cursed* this spooky debut to witness these unholy truths about the mind.


For teasers, set experiences, and social posts from Chiaramonte Films, follow @YACFilm across Instagram and Twitter and visit the movie portal.





Contemporary horror’s sea change: calendar year 2025 U.S. release slate blends primeval-possession lore, festival-born jolts, paired with franchise surges

Spanning grit-forward survival fare inspired by ancient scripture and including series comebacks together with keen independent perspectives, 2025 is coalescing into the most complex in tandem with tactically planned year in ten years.

The 2025 horror calendar is more than crowded, it is calculated. Top studios hold down the year through proven series, while digital services load up the fall with new voices as well as ancient terrors. On the festival side, horror’s indie wing is drafting behind the echoes from a record 2024 festival run. Because Halloween stands as the showcase, the remaining months are slotted with surgical care. The September, October gauntlet has become standard, distinctly in 2025, the genre is also staking January, spring, and mid-summer. Fans are ravenous, studios are exacting, thus 2025 could register as the most purpose-built year yet.

Studio Roadmap and Mini-Major Pulse: Premium genre swings back

The studios are not sitting idle. If 2024 primed the reset, 2025 scales the plan.

the Universal camp begins the calendar with a statement play: a modernized Wolf Man, eschewing a mist-shrouded old-world European town, in a modern-day environment. Guided by Leigh Whannell fronted by Christopher Abbott with Julia Garner, this version roots the lycanthropy in family fracture. The curse reads as bodily and relational, about spouses, parents, and people. targeting mid January, it supports the push to convert the winter lull using prestige plays, not leftovers.

In spring, Clown in a Cornfield lands, a YA slasher port tuned to austere horror. Steered by Eli Craig fronted by Katie Douglas with Kevin Durand, it reads as gore kissed small town horror with wry bite. Under the costume, it needles small town fear, cross generational rifts, and crowd punishment. First wave buzz indicates sharp teeth.

As summer eases, the WB camp drops the final chapter from its bankable horror series: The Conjuring: Last Rites. The Warrens are back with Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the chapter points to emotional capstone while addressing a headline case. Despite a known recipe, Michael Chaves appears to favor a elegiac, inward tone here. It is also positioned early in September, giving it breathing room before the October onslaught.

The Black Phone 2 slots behind. From early summer to October, a strong signal. Derrickson re boards, and the DNA that clicked last time remains: vintage toned fear, trauma as theme, with spooky supernatural reasoning. This time, the stakes are raised, by digging further into the “grabber” mythos and grief’s generational echo.

Completing the marquee stack is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a picture that draws on name power. The new chapter enriches the lore, expands its animatronic nightmare roster, courting teens and the thirty something base. It opens in December, buttoning the final window.

Streaming Originals: No Budget, No Problem

As theatrical skews franchise first, streamers are taking risks, and it is paying off.

An especially bold streamer bet is Weapons, a cold trail horror omnibus splicing three ages joined by a mass disappearance. Led by Zach Cregger and starring Josh Brolin with Julia Garner, the project unites horror with dramatic charge. Arriving to cinemas late summer then to streamers in fall, it may catalyze deconstruction threads like Barbarian.

More contained by design is Together, a sealed box body horror arc with Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Located in a secluded rental as a trip collapses, the piece probes how love, envy, and self loathing become bodily rot. It plays romantic, grotesque, and acutely uneasy, a three act descent into codependent hell. While no platform has formally placed a date, it is a near certain autumn drop.

Then there is Sinners, a thirties set vampire folk saga fronted by Michael B. Jordan. Captured with warm sepia and heavy biblical metaphor, it evokes There Will Be Blood crossed with Let the Right One In. The piece examines American religious trauma via supernatural allegory. Early test screenings have marked it as one of the year’s most talked about streaming debuts.

Additional platform indies hold in reserve: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each taps grief, vanishing, and identity, treating horror as metaphor more than spectacle.

The Possession Runs Deep: Young & Cursed

Hitting October 2 on the platforms, Young & Cursed operates as a rare duality, minimal in staging, maximal in myth. Penned and steered by Andrew Chiaramonte, the release shadows five strangers waking in a hidden woods cabin, bound to Kyra, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. As dusk gives way to night, Kyra’s grip intensifies, a violating force plundering fears, vulnerabilities, and regrets.

The chill is psyche led, anchored in primal myth. Rather than another exorcism film centered on Catholic rites or Latin incantations, this one digs into something older, something darker. Lilith is not summoned by priests, she rises from trauma, muteness, and human fault lines. An inward possession, not an outward spell, turns the trope and sets Young & Cursed inside a widening trend, intimate character work housed in genre.

The film is positioned on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home as Halloween balance against sequel stacks and creature returns. It reads as sharp positioning. No bloated mythology. No sequel clutter. Just psychological dread, contained and tense, tailored to the binge then breathe cadence of digital horror fans. With a spectacle heavy year, Young & Cursed may pop by going quiet, then screaming.

Festivals as Springboards

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.

Fantastic Fest’s horror bench is deep 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.

At midnight, entries like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You buzz for how they play, not only their names. That film, an A24 backed satire of toxic fandom inside a horror convention lockdown, looks poised to break out.

SXSW premiered Clown in a Cornfield and introduced several microbudget hauntings currently circling deals. Sundance is expected to unspool its usual crop of grief soaked elevated horror, where Tribeca’s genre program draws urban, social, and surreal.

Festival strategy in 2025 is not just about discovery, it is about branding. A badge from Fantastic Fest or TIFF is now the first phase of marketing, not the last.

Franchise Horror: Returns, Restarts, and Fresh Angles

The returning series menu is stronger and more calculated than before.

Fear Street: Prom Queen returns in July, reviving the 90s franchise with new lead and retro color. Breaking with earlier shading, it leans camp and prom night melodrama. Cue tiaras, phony blood, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 posts late June, aiming to expand its techno horror mythology with new characters and new AI generated terrors. The initial entry’s meme life and streaming legs push Universal to scale up.

The Long Walk arrives off an early Stephen King survival piece, from Francis Lawrence, it lands as a ruthless dystopian allegory couched in survival horror, a march where no one wins. If packaged well, it could track like The Hunger Games for horror adults.

Other reboots and sequels, including Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda, scatter across the calendar, many awaiting strategic windows or late acquisitions.

What to Watch

Myth turns mainstream
From Lilith in Young & Cursed to Aztec curses in Whistle, horror is turning to ancient texts and symbols. This is not nostalgia, it is a reclamation of pre Christian archetypes. Horror does more than scare, it reminds that evil predates us.

Body horror retakes ground
Work like Together, Weapons, and Keeper revisit the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation are standing in for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Streamers grow fangs
The filler era wanes for platform horror. SVOD players fund strong scripts, proven directors, and real spend. Drops such as Weapons and Sinners arrive as events, not as catalog.

Festival hype becomes leverage
Festival ribbons become currency for better windows and top shelves. A horror film without a festival strategy in 2025 risks disappearing.

Theatrical Is Now a Trust Fall
Theatrical is reserved for titles believed to overperform or sow sequels. Most others angle PVOD or hybrid. Horror remains on big screens, selectively curated.

Season Ahead: Fall crush plus winter X factor

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.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 steadies December, yet a last minute streamer surprise is in play. Because major titles skew dark and mythic, a late creature feature or exorcism could slide in.

The key is connecting variety to fragmentation, not betting on one piece. The brief is not the next Get Out, it is horror with afterlife beyond receipts.



The oncoming spook lineup: follow-ups, fresh concepts, paired with A jammed Calendar calibrated for Scares

Dek The upcoming terror calendar packs from the jump with a January cluster, then stretches through the mid-year, and deep into the holidays, fusing series momentum, creative pitches, and shrewd counterprogramming. Studios and streamers are relying on lean spends, theatrical-first rollouts, and short-form initiatives that frame these pictures into cross-demo moments.

How the genre looks for 2026

The horror marketplace has shown itself to be the surest option in studio calendars, a lane that can expand when it hits and still limit the liability when it under-delivers. After 2023 showed executives that disciplined-budget chillers can command the discourse, the following year held pace with signature-voice projects and word-of-mouth wins. The head of steam fed into 2025, where revived properties and critical darlings proved there is appetite for several lanes, from ongoing IP entries to original one-offs that export nicely. The end result for 2026 is a run that appears tightly organized across the industry, with strategic blocks, a mix of known properties and new pitches, and a reinvigorated stance on big-screen windows that increase tail monetization on premium video on demand and OTT platforms.

Studio leaders note the genre now operates like a flex slot on the grid. Horror can bow on a wide range of weekends, supply a clear pitch for spots and social clips, and over-index with audiences that appear on Thursday previews and stick through the follow-up frame if the release works. Coming out of a strike-delayed pipeline, the 2026 setup shows faith in that playbook. The calendar begins with a weighty January corridor, then leans on spring and early summer for off-slot scheduling, while making space for a late-year stretch that runs into spooky season and into November. The calendar also features the stronger partnership of specialized labels and digital platforms that can grow from platform, build word of mouth, and expand at the strategic time.

A companion trend is series management across brand ecosystems and legacy IP. Studios are not just turning out another continuation. They are setting up ongoing narrative with a heightened moment, whether that is a title treatment that signals a re-angled tone or a talent selection that anchors a latest entry to a foundational era. At the alongside this, the filmmakers behind the most watched originals are celebrating in-camera technique, physical gags and specific settings. That fusion provides 2026 a vital pairing of recognition and newness, which is how the films export.

The majors’ 2026 approach

Paramount plants an early flag with two headline plays that sit at tonal extremes. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with original architect Kevin Williamson in the director’s chair and Neve Campbell back at the heart, angling it as both a relay and a origin-leaning character-first story. Production is underway in Atlanta, and the story approach conveys a throwback-friendly bent without replaying the last two entries’ Carpenter-sisters arc. Plan for a rollout rooted in legacy iconography, first images of characters, and a tease cadence aimed at late fall. Distribution is Paramount in theaters.

Paramount also reawakens a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are joining up again, with the Wayans brothers involved in development for the first time since the early 2000s, a linchpin the campaign will emphasize. As a counterweight in summer, this one will drive four-quadrant chatter through meme-friendly cuts, with the horror spoof format lending itself to quick reframes to whatever rules horror talk that spring.

Universal has three separate strategies. SOULM8TE hits January 9, 2026, a connected offshoot from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The story engine is elegant, loss-driven, and elevator-pitch-ready: a grieving man activates an synthetic partner that escalates into a dangerous lover. The date positions it at the front of a crowded corridor, with Universal’s promo team likely to bring back viral uncanny stunts and bite-size content that melds intimacy and foreboding.

On May 8, 2026, the studio sets an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely interpreted as the feature developed under working titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The public release grid currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which allows a official title to become an marketing beat closer to the early tease. The timing stakes a claim in early May while larger tentpoles take the main frames.

Finishing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film lands October 23, 2026, a slot he has thrived in before. Peele’s releases are positioned as filmmaker events, with a opaque teaser and a subsequent trailers that define feel without revealing the concept. The Halloween-adjacent date allows Universal to take pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then lean on the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, collaborates 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 tactile, practical-effects forward approach can feel premium on a disciplined budget. Position this as a splatter summer horror jolt that leans into overseas performance, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most foreign territories.

Sony’s horror bench is robust. The studio places two franchise maneuvers in the back half. An untitled Insidious film premieres August 21, 2026, holding a evergreen supernatural brand active while the spin-off branch continues to develop. Sony has shifted dates on this title before, but the current plan anchors it in late summer, where the brand has traditionally delivered.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil restarts in what Sony is presenting as a from-the-ground-up reboot 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 sharper mandate to serve both longtime followers and fresh viewers. The fall slot click to read more offers Sony space to build campaign creative around universe detail, and creature effects, elements that can amplify deluxe auditorium demand and community activity.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, anchors a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film continues the filmmaker’s run of period horror rooted in textural authenticity and period language, this time orbiting lycan myth. Focus has already booked the frame for a holiday release, a vote of confidence in the auteur as a specialty play that can build and expand if early reception is enthusiastic.

Streamers and platform exclusives

Platform windowing in 2026 run on proven patterns. Universal’s slate transition to copyright after a exclusive run then PVOD, a structure that enhances both launch urgency and sign-up momentum in the tail. Prime Video interleaves outside acquisitions with global pickups and qualifying theatrical engagements when the data recommends it. Max and Hulu accent their strengths in deep cuts, using prominent placements, seasonal hubs, and editorial rows to stretch the tail on lifetime take. Netflix stays nimble about original films and festival pickups, scheduling horror entries closer to drop and framing as events debuts with tight-window plans. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, capitalizes on a tiered of targeted theatrical exposure and fast windowing that converts WOM to subscribers. That will play for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before pivoting to genre pipelines in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ treats carefully horror on a per-project basis. The platform has shown appetite to take on select projects with acclaimed directors or star-led packages, then give them a art-house footprint in partnership with exhibitors to meet qualification bars or to generate social proof before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still leverages the 20th Century Studios slate, a critical input for monthly engagement when the genre conversation ramps.

Boutique label prospects

Cineverse is steadily assembling a 2026 runway 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 proposition is tight: the same haunting, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a cult item, modernized for modern audio-visual craft. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a late-year slot, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. Cineverse has positioned a theatrical rollout for the title, an optimistic indicator for fans of the gritty series and for exhibitors seeking R-rated counterprogramming in the fall weeks.

Focus will work the auteur lane with Werwulf, curating the rollout through the autumn circuit if the cut is ready, then turning to the year-end corridor to go wider. That positioning has proved effective for director-led genre with crossover ambitions. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not announced many 2026 dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines regularly gel after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A credible outlook is a series of late-summer and fall platformers that can broaden if reception warrants. Look for 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 in tandem, using select theatrical to fuel evangelism that fuels their subs.

Balance of brands and originals

By share, 2026 tilts in favor of the known side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all draw on name recognition. The potential drawback, as ever, is viewer burnout. The near-term solution is to frame each entry as a recalibration. Paramount is foregrounding character and lineage in Scream 7, Sony is positioning a full reset for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is centering a French-tinted vision from a breakout filmmaker. Those choices count when the audience has so many options and social sentiment turns quickly.

Non-franchise titles and visionary-led titles add air. Jordan Peele’s October film will be framed as a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s 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 focused, eerie tech hook. Werwulf anchors in period detail and an uncompromising tone. Even when the title is not based on a known brand, the assembly is anchored enough to convert curiosity into pre-sales and preview-night turnout.

Comps from the last three years outline the method. In 2023, a cinema-first model that maintained windows did not obstruct a parallel release from hitting when the brand was sticky. In 2024, precision craft horror surged in premium screens. In 2025, a return of a beloved infection saga showed the market that global horror franchises can still feel alive when they angle differently and increase ambition. 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 two-film strategy, with chapters shot consecutively, enables marketing to relate entries through character spine and themes and to sustain campaign assets without extended gaps.

How the films are being made

The craft rooms behind the year’s horror signal a continued shift toward physical, site-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not resemble any recent iteration of the property, a stance that accords with the in-camera sensibility he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film finished filming and is headed for its April 17, 2026 date. Expect a campaign that leans on texture and dread rather than VFX blitz, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership sustaining cost precision.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has called Werwulf as the grimmest project he has tackled, which tracks with a feudal backdrop and medieval diction, a combination that can make news for deep sound design and a cold, elemental mood on the big screen. Focus will this contact form likely warm the market to this aesthetic in feature stories and craft coverage before rolling out a initial teaser that keeps plot minimal, a move that has resonated for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is geared for gristle and gore, a signature of the series that works internationally in red-band trailers and generates shareable shock clips from early screenings. Scream 7 hints at a meta inflection that brings back the core lead. Resident Evil will stand or stumble on monster aesthetics and world-building, which fit with con floor moments and curated leaks. Insidious tends to be a sound-mix showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the big-screen case feel must-have. Look for trailers that elevate razor sound, deep-bass stingers, and quiet voids that explode in larger rooms.

Release calendar overview

January is packed. 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 atmospheric change-up amid marquee brands. The month ends with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival thriller from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is formidable, but the mix of tones creates a lane for each, and the five-week structure permits a clean run for each if word of mouth persists.

Q1 into Q2 seed summer. Scream 7 opens February 27 with brand energy. In April, The Mummy reawakens a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once was known for genre counterprogramming and now can handle big openers. The 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 sharpens the contrast. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is lighter and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 presents red-band intensity. The counterprogramming logic is strong. The spoof can deliver next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest feeds older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have rolled through premiums.

August into fall leans brand. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously performed. Resident Evil steps in after September 18, a pre-Halloween slot that still steps into Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event books October 23 and will own cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely augmented by a peekaboo tease plan and limited disclosures that stress concept over spoilers.

Year-end prestige and specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a stakes that genre can hold in the holidays when packaged as director prestige horror. The distributor has done this before, measured platforming, then activating critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to sustain conversation into January. If the film pleases critics, the studio can extend in the first week of 2027 while riding holiday turnout and gift card usage.

Film-by-film briefs

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting continuing to be revealed as production pushes forward. Logline: Sidney returns to meet a new Ghostface while the narrative rethreads the original film’s founding notes. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: roots reset with a contemporary edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A heartbroken man’s artificial companion turns into something romantically lethal. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed principal photography for an early-year bow. Positioning: algorithmic dread with emotion.

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 emerges 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 finds his way back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to stumble upon a altering reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed production with U.S. distribution. 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 demanding boss scramble to survive on a isolated island as the pecking order tilts and paranoia creeps in. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal done. Positioning: star-led survival horror from a master director.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles not yet announced in official materials. Logline: A fresh reimagining that returns the monster to nightmare, rooted in Cronin’s material craft and creeping 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 closed-door haunting premise that toys with the unease of a child’s wobbly impressions. Rating: to be announced. Production: in the can. Positioning: major-studio and toplined supernatural mood piece.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers reuniting creatively. Logline: {A comic send-up that satirizes in-vogue horror tropes and true crime preoccupations. Rating: rating forthcoming. Production: principal photography set for fall 2025. Positioning: wide-appeal summer alternative.

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 erupts, with an globe-spanning twist in tone and setting. Rating: undetermined. Production: filming in New Zealand. Positioning: uncompromising R installment meant for big rooms.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be announced in marketing. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: The Further unfurls again, with a different family entangled with past horrors. Rating: pending. Production: on track for summer lensing before late-summer rollout. Positioning: trusted supernatural label in a supportive window.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: unrevealed publicly. Top cast: to be announced. Logline: A new start designed to recalibrate the franchise from the ground up, with an tilt toward survivalist horror over action-centric bombast. Rating: not yet rated. Production: dev phase with date secured. Positioning: lore-true modernization with broad upside.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: forthcoming. Logline: carefully shrouded. Rating: to be announced. Production: active. Positioning: teaser-forward filmmaker happening.

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 era-faithful speech and elemental dread. Rating: undetermined. Production: prepping toward a December 25 launch. Positioning: filmmaker-driven holiday release with craft awards runway.

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 theatrical-first route ahead of platforming. Status: slot unsettled, fall projected.

Why the calendar favors 2026

Three practical forces shape this lineup. First, production that paused or re-slotted in 2024 required runway on the datebook. Horror can occupy those holes swiftly because scripts often are location-light, fewer large-scale visual effects runs, and shorter schedules. Second, studios have become more strategic about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently generated more than straight-to-streaming landings. Third, platform buzz converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will amplify reaction-worthy moments from test screenings, select scare clips pegged to Thursday preview nights, and experiential pop-ups that become influencer fuel. It is a repeatable playbook because it works.

Programming arithmetic plays a role. Early-2026 family and superhero concentrations ease, freeing space for genre entries that can seize a weekend or operate as the older-skew option. January is the prime example. Four tonal lanes of horror will stack across five weekends, which gives each title a lane and limits cannibalization. Summer provides the other window. The parody leverages early family and action lifts, then the hard-R entry can take advantage of a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Budget discipline, rating paths, sleeper math

Budgets remain in the target range. Most of the films above will budget under the $40–$50 million tier, 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-hit hunt 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 capitalize on those pockets. 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. Anticipate a robust 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.

Audience journey through the year

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers tempo and variety. January is a feast, February delivers a legacy slasher, April reawakens a Universal monster, May and June provide a back-to-back supernatural punch 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 icy, literate nightmare. That is how you sustain conversation and attendance without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can ratchet upward, using earlier releases to trailhead the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors welcome the spacing. Horror delivers consistent Thursday swells, efficient placements, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can justify premium screens, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing materiality, acoustics, and image-making 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 Is Well Positioned

Schedules slip. Ratings change. Casts shift. But the spine of 2026 horror is firm. There is name recognition where it counts, creative ambition where it counts, 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 last-minute boutique pickup join the party. For now, the job is simple, cut sharp trailers, preserve the surprise, and let the fear sell the seats.