Ancient Evil Reawakens within Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a fear soaked supernatural thriller, launching Oct 2025 on top digital platforms

One eerie supernatural horror tale from screenwriter / visionary Andrew Chiaramonte, unleashing an prehistoric evil when strangers become victims in a dark trial. Going live this October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon’s Prime Video, Google’s YouTube, Google Play, iTunes Movies, Apple’s TV+ service, and Fandango’s digital service.

L.A., CA (August 8th, 2025) – get set for *Young & Cursed*, a nightmarish narrative of overcoming and primeval wickedness that will reshape fear-driven cinema this cool-weather season. Produced by rising filmmaking talent Andrew Chiaramonte, this edge-of-your-seat and shadowy suspense flick follows five unknowns who regain consciousness stuck in a far-off hideaway under the malevolent control of Kyra, a female presence possessed by a antiquated Old Testament spirit. Be warned to be hooked by a theatrical presentation that integrates bodily fright with biblical origins, landing on Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on the second of October, 2025.


Malevolent takeover has been a well-established foundation in the silver screen. In *Young & Cursed*, that pattern is reversed when the presences no longer originate from beyond, but rather deep within. This symbolizes the deepest shade of the players. The result is a enthralling psychological battle where the emotions becomes a merciless clash between innocence and sin.


In a isolated woodland, five adults find themselves contained under the ominous presence and possession of a obscure being. As the ensemble becomes powerless to evade her dominion, exiled and followed by forces unfathomable, they are compelled to reckon with their inner horrors while the seconds brutally ticks onward toward their expiration.


In *Young & Cursed*, tension grows and alliances splinter, prompting each survivor to challenge their core and the concept of volition itself. The risk rise with every tick, delivering a paranormal ride that combines demonic fright with emotional fragility.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my intention was to awaken basic terror, an presence before modern man, working through our fears, and challenging a presence that erodes the self when we lose control.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Embodying Kyra demanded embodying something more primal than sorrow. She is oblivious until the haunting manifests, and that turn is gut-wrenching because it is so raw.”

Debut Info

*Young & Cursed* will be released for worldwide release beginning October 2, 2025, on Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home—so that households internationally can enjoy this horror showcase.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just shared a new second trailer for *Young & Cursed*, currently showing to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a follow-through to its original clip, which has collected over thousands of viewers.


In addition to its continental debut, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has revealed that *Young & Cursed* will also be launched globally, spreading the horror to scare fans abroad.


Join this soul-jarring trip into the unknown. Tune into *Young & Cursed* this horrific release to acknowledge these spiritual awakenings about mankind.


For film updates, set experiences, and insider scoops directly from production, follow @YoungAndCursedMovie across your socials and visit the film’s website.





Contemporary horror’s sea change: the 2025 cycle domestic schedule fuses old-world possession, signature indie scares, paired with returning-series thunder

Spanning pressure-cooker survival tales inspired by old testament echoes and including returning series in concert with sharp indie viewpoints, 2025 is emerging as horror’s most layered together with carefully orchestrated year for the modern era.

The 2025 horror calendar reads less like chaos, more like a plan. the big studios bookend the months using marquee IP, concurrently platform operators stack the fall with fresh voices set against primordial unease. In the indie lane, indie storytellers is catching the uplift from an unprecedented 2024 fest surge. With Halloween still the genre’s crown piece, the rest of the calendar is filling out with surgical precision. The September, October gauntlet has become standard, yet in 2025, players are marking January, spring, and mid-summer. Viewers are primed, studios are targeted, accordingly 2025 could stand as the most orchestrated year.

Major Studio Plans with Mini-Major Flex: Prestige terror resurfaces

The top end is active. If 2024 framed the blueprint, 2025 doubles down.

the Universal camp lights the fuse with a marquee bet: a reimagined Wolf Man, stepping away from the classic old-country village, within a sleek contemporary canvas. Steered by Leigh Whannell anchored by Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this version roots the lycanthropy in family fracture. The arc is bodily and domestic, about marriage, caregiving, and fragile humanity. arriving mid January, it fits the new plan to claim winter’s soft window with prestige horror rather than castoffs.

As spring rolls in, Clown in a Cornfield bows, a YA slasher conversion presented as stripped terror. Under Eli Craig with Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it feels like crimson splashed Midwest menace with winked critique. Under the makeup, it dissects provincial panic, age gap tensions, and mob verdicts. Early reactions hint at fangs.

As summer eases, the Warner Bros. banner sets loose the finale from its bankable horror series: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson reprise Ed and Lorraine Warren, the chapter points to emotional capstone while addressing a headline case. Despite a known recipe, Chaves is expected to tune it to a grieving, self reflective color. It arrives early September, buying space before the October wave.

Arriving later is The Black Phone 2. Set early then moved to October, a confidence tell. Derrickson re teams, and the memorable motifs return: vintage toned fear, trauma as text, plus otherworld rules that chill. The stakes escalate here, by expanding the “grabber” backstory and grief across bloodlines.

Closing the prime list is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a film that does not need traditional marketing to sell tickets. The sophomore entry expands the mythology, builds out the animatronic fear crew, reaching teens and game grownups. It bows in December, securing the winter cap.

Streaming Firsts: Economy, maximum dread

While cinemas swing on series strength, streamers are trying sharper edges, and buzz accrues.

A top daring platform piece is Weapons, a cold trail horror omnibus splicing three ages joined by a mass disappearance. Guided by Zach Cregger pairing Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the movie mixes chill with dramatic weight. Posting late summer theatrically then fall streaming, it is poised to inspire think pieces and forums, echoing Barbarian.

Keeping things close quarters is Together, an intimate body horror unraveling including Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Situated in an out of the way rental during a failed escape, the film explores what happens when love, envy, and self hatred merge into physical decay. It moves between affection and rot, a triptych into codependent hell. Even without a formal platform date, it is virtually assured for fall.

One more platform talker is Sinners, a 1930s set vampire folk tale with Michael B. Jordan. Imaged in sepia bloom and biblical metaphor, it suggests There Will Be Blood blended with Let the Right One In. The project looks at American religious trauma under a supernatural allegory. Initial test audience notes point to a buzzy streaming debut.

A handful of other streaming indies hover in the wings: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper all lean on grief, loss, and identity, favoring allegory over fireworks.

The Possession Runs Deep: Young & Cursed

Arriving October 2 across major platforms, Young & Cursed positions itself as a rare hybrid, intimate in scope and mythic in reach. Shaped and helmed by Andrew Chiaramonte, the arc centers on five strangers who wake inside a backcountry cabin, beneath Kyra’s command, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. When darkness comes, Kyra’s power swells, a penetrating force tapping their private fears, soft spots, and remorse.

The terror is psychological in engine, alive with primal myth. Resisting the exorcism template of Catholic ceremony and Latin chant, this film taps something older, something darker. Lilith bypasses ritual, she awakens from trauma, repression, and human fragility. Making possession internal threads Young & Cursed into the current of intimate character studies in genre skin.

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 is a calculated bet. No swollen lore. No IP hangover. Sheer psychological unease, compact and taut, calibrated to digital binge beats. Among spectacle, Young & Cursed might win by restraint, then release.

Festivals as Springboards

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF remain breeding grounds for what horror looks like six to twelve months later. They are increasingly launchpads rather than showcases.

This year, Fantastic Fest confirms a strong horror slate. Primate opens with tropical body horror, sparking Cronenberg plus Herzog comps. Whistle, a folkloric revenge piece in Aztec lore, likely shuts the fest with heat.

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

SXSW hosted Clown in a Cornfield and sweetened the pot for microbudget haunts. Sundance forecasts grief bent elevated horror again, with Tribeca’s genre lane skewing urban, social, and surreal.

Festival playbooks now prize branding as much as discovery. Festival laurels are opening moves, not closing notes.

Legacy Lines: Sequels, Reboots, and Reinvention

The legacy lineup looks stronger and more deliberate than prior years.

Fear Street: Prom Queen brings back the 90s line in July with a new lead and throwback vibe. Rather than prior modes, it goes camp and prom night melodrama. Expect tiaras, corn syrup blood, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 opens late June, seeking to build out techno horror lore using new characters and AI born frights. That first run’s social and SVOD traction lets Universal push further.

The Long Walk, from an early and searing Stephen King work, is inbound, led by Francis Lawrence, it shows as a grim dystopian parable set in survival horror, a youth walk ending only in death. If packaged well, it could track like 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.

Emerging Currents

Ancient myth goes wide
From Lilith in Young & Cursed across to Aztec curses in Whistle, slates mine ancient texts and symbols. Rather than nostalgia, it reclaims pre Christian archetypes. Horror goes beyond fright, it notes evil’s age.

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

Streaming originals get teeth
The filler era wanes for platform horror. Platforms show up with budgets for scripts, directors, and campaigns. Entries like Weapons and Sinners get event treatment, not inventory.

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

Big screen is a trust fall
Studios hold theatrical for overperformers or future series seeds. All others choose PVOD or hybrid. Horror is not vanishing from theaters, it is getting curated.

Outlook: Fall crush plus winter X factor

Those four, Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons, crowd September and October to saturation. Indies including Bone Lake and Keeper will wrestle for room. Some may slide to early 2026 or switch platform lanes.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 locks December, while a late surprise on a platform remains possible. Since big films lean mythic, a final monster or exorcism play can claim space.

The key is connecting variety to fragmentation, not betting on one piece. The play is not Get Out replication, it is long life horror past theaters.



The next genre season: next chapters, Originals, alongside A Crowded Calendar engineered for Scares

Dek: The arriving scare year clusters early with a January crush, and then rolls through summer corridors, and far into the winter holidays, fusing name recognition, novel approaches, and calculated counterprogramming. The big buyers and platforms are betting on mid-range economics, box-office-first windows, and social-driven marketing that turn these films into broad-appeal conversations.

Horror’s status entering 2026

This space has turned into the predictable option in distribution calendars, a category that can lift when it lands and still limit the floor when it doesn’t. After 2023 signaled to leaders that responsibly budgeted pictures can lead cultural conversation, 2024 extended the rally with director-led heat and sleeper breakouts. The head of steam translated to the 2025 frame, where revivals and elevated films confirmed there is a market for a variety of tones, from ongoing IP entries to fresh IP that export nicely. The sum for the 2026 slate is a roster that reads highly synchronized across the major shops, with planned clusters, a spread of brand names and fresh ideas, and a revived attention on exclusive windows that power the aftermarket on premium on-demand and digital services.

Planners observe the space now behaves like a plug-and-play option on the distribution slate. Horror can launch on most weekends, offer a quick sell for creative and short-form placements, and outstrip with moviegoers that arrive on first-look nights and hold through the week two if the feature pays off. Exiting a strike-bent pipeline, the 2026 cadence underscores belief in that logic. The slate commences with a heavy January run, then exploits spring through early summer for alternate plays, while carving room for a fall cadence that flows toward the fright window and into the next week. The program also underscores the expanded integration of specialized imprints and streaming partners that can grow from platform, ignite recommendations, and go nationwide at the precise moment.

A companion trend is franchise tending across connected story worlds and legacy franchises. The players are not just greenlighting another return. They are looking to package connection with a heightened moment, whether that is a graphic identity that broadcasts a recalibrated tone or a cast configuration that bridges a latest entry to a first wave. At the same time, the writer-directors behind the eagerly awaited originals are embracing physical effects work, real effects and distinct locales. That pairing delivers 2026 a vital pairing of trust and novelty, which is how the films export.

Studio by studio strategy signals

Paramount sets the tone early 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 seat and Neve Campbell back at the focus, presenting it as both a relay and a heritage-centered character-forward chapter. Principal photography is underway in Atlanta, and the directional approach points to a classic-referencing angle without repeating the last two entries’ Carpenter sisters arc. Anticipate a campaign fueled by franchise iconography, early character teases, and a rollout cadence aimed at late fall. Distribution is Paramount’s cinema pipeline.

Paramount also reignites a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are back on screen, with the Wayans brothers involved on the creative side for the first time since the early 2000s, a selling point the campaign will emphasize. As a summer counter-slot, this one will go after four-quadrant chatter through remixable clips, with the horror spoof format making room for quick redirects to whatever drives the social talk that spring.

Universal has three separate lanes. SOULM8TE bows January 9, 2026, a connected offshoot from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The foundation is elegant, sorrow-tinged, and high-concept: a grieving man installs an machine companion that mutates into a harmful mate. The date slots it at the front of a busy month, with Universal’s team likely to bring back uncanny-valley stunts and short reels that blurs love and chill.

On May 8, 2026, the studio schedules an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely assumed to be the feature developed under development titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The dated slate currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which creates space for a proper title to become an fan moment closer to the opening teaser. The timing gives the studio a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles own different weekends.

Closing out the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film books October 23, 2026, a slot he has defined before. Peele’s work are marketed as signature events, with a teaser that reveals little and a second trailer wave that define feel without revealing the concept. The Halloween-adjacent date allows Universal to dominate 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, partners 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 proven that a gnarly, practical-effects forward execution can feel big on a efficient spend. Frame it as a viscera-heavy summer horror blast that emphasizes overseas performance, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most world markets.

Sony’s horror bench is surprisingly deep. The studio mounts two marquee IP entries in the back half. An untitled Insidious film hits August 21, 2026, holding a bankable supernatural brand alive while the spin-off branch gestates. Sony has reshuffled on this title before, but the current plan sticks it in late summer, where the brand has been strong.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil re-emerges in what Sony is presenting as a new take for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a vital part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a mission to serve both franchise faithful and newcomers. The fall slot affords Sony time to build campaign pieces around narrative world, and monster craft, elements that can increase large-format demand and community activity.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, books 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 driven by textural authenticity and period language, this time steeped in lycan lore. The specialty arm has already planted the flag for a holiday release, a strong signal in the auteur as a specialty play that can platform and widen if early reception is enthusiastic.

Streaming strategies and platform plays

Platform strategies for 2026 run on tested paths. Universal’s horror titles flow to copyright after a cinema-first plus PVOD, a cadence that expands both initial urgency and subscription bumps in the late-window. Prime Video blends licensed content with global originals and qualifying theatrical engagements when the data encourages it. Max and Hulu press their advantages in deep cuts, using prominent placements, holiday hubs, and collection rows to maximize the tail on aggregate take. Netflix keeps optionality about Netflix films and festival wins, confirming horror entries with shorter lead times and elevating as drops arrivals with short runway campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, exploits a staged of tailored theatrical exposure and prompt platform moves that converts WOM to subscribers. That will matter for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before using community channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ assesses case by case horror on a curated basis. The platform has exhibited willingness to purchase select projects with name filmmakers or name-led packages, then give them a small theatrical footprint in partnership with exhibitors to meet awards eligibility or to create word of mouth before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still pulls from the 20th Century Studios slate, a major factor for ongoing engagement when the genre conversation builds.

Specialized lanes

Cineverse is quietly building a 2026 arc with two franchise steps. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The proposition is straightforward: the same somber, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a cult hit, retooled for modern mix and image. 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 standard theatrical run for the title, an optimistic indicator for fans of the uncompromising series and for exhibitors hungry for R material in the back half.

Focus will work the auteur lane with Werwulf, managing the title through festival season if the cut is ready, then working the holiday corridor to broaden. That positioning has proved effective for prestige horror with audience crossover. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not posted many 2026 dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines typically coalesce after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A fair assumption is a handful of late-summer and fall platformers that can scale if reception drives. Be ready 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 as a pair, using small theatrical to fuel evangelism that fuels their paid base.

Franchises versus originals

By proportion, 2026 bends toward the recognizable IP side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all use brand equity. The potential drawback, as ever, is brand wear. The preferred tactic is to frame each entry as a renewed feel. Paramount is centering relationship and legacy in Scream 7, Sony is hinting at a clean-slate build for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is driving a French-tinted vision from a fresh helmer. Those choices matter when the audience has so many options and social sentiment spins fast.

Originals and visionary-led titles keep oxygen in the system. Jordan Peele’s October film will be pitched as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, places Rachel McAdams into a stranded survival premise with Raimi’s impish dread. SOULM8TE offers a tight, eerie tech hook. Werwulf brings period specificity and an uncompromising tone. Even when the title is not based on a known brand, the assembly is recognizable enough to build pre-sales and early previews.

The last three-year set clarify the model. In 2023, a theatrical-first plan that maintained windows did not prevent a simultaneous release test from winning when the brand was sticky. In 2024, meticulous-craft horror exceeded expectations in premium More about the author auditoriums. In 2025, a revival of a beloved infection saga made clear that global horror franchises can still feel reinvigorated when they pivot perspective and widen scale. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which proceeds January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The dual-chapter plan, with chapters produced back-to-back, gives leeway to marketing to interlace chapters through character and theme and to keep assets alive without long breaks.

Creative tendencies and craft

The shop talk behind the year’s horror indicate a continued lean toward practical, location-rooted craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not follow any recent iteration of the property, a stance that echoes the physical-effects bias he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film completed principal and is on track for its April 17, 2026 date. Expect a campaign that leans on mood and dread rather than whiz-bang spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership bolstering smart budget discipline.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has characterized Werwulf as the darkest project he has tackled, which tracks with a period English setting and period-accurate language, a combination that can make for layered sound design and a earthy, elemental chill on the big screen. Focus will likely preview this aesthetic in craft profiles and craft coverage before rolling out a tone piece that withholds plot, a move that has worked for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is aimed at goopy mayhem, a signature of the series that sells overseas in red-band trailers and gathers shareable jump-cut reactions from early screenings. Scream 7 offers a meta-horror reset that centers its original star. Resident Evil will stand or stumble on monster aesthetics and world-building, which are ideal for convention activations and selective drops. Insidious tends to be a theatrical sound showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the cinema value feel must-have. Look for trailers that highlight disciplined sound, deep-bass stingers, and dropouts that land in premium houses.

Month-by-month map

January is packed. 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 brooding contrast amid bigger brand plays. The month finishes 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 credible, but the variety of tones makes lanes for each, and the five-week structure gives each runway for each if word of mouth stays strong.

Pre-summer months set up the summer. Scream 7 opens February 27 with nostalgia heat. In April, New Line’s The Mummy reawakens a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once was home to genre counterprogramming and now can handle big openers. Universal’s untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 leads into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer splits the lanes. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is playful and broad, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 supplies severe intensity. The counterprogramming logic is sound. The spoof can connect next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest rewards older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have rotated off PLF.

Late summer into fall leans IP. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives the studio a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously excelled. Resident Evil follows September 18, a bridge slot that still links to Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film books October 23 and will soak up cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely reinforced by a shroud-first teaser rhythm and limited previews that trade in concept over detail.

Prestige at year’s end. Werwulf on December 25 is a statement that genre can stand up at Christmas when packaged as filmmaker prestige. The distributor has done this before, selective rollout, then turning to critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to ride the cycle into January. If the film earns with critics, the studio can add screens in the first week of 2027 while using holiday momentum and card redemption.

Title snapshots

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting to be detailed as production advances. Logline: Sidney returns to challenge a new Ghostface while the narrative re-keys to the original film’s genome. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: classic-DNA reset with a current angle.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A mourning man’s intelligent companion turns into something deadly romantic. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming finished 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 extends the world beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult organizes in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Filmed consecutively with the first film. Positioning: next step of a prestige infection saga.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man comes back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to face a unstable reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Done with U.S. run set. Positioning: fog-and-fear 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 tough boss claw to survive on a rugged island as the pecking order turns and dread encroaches. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished. Positioning: A-list survival chiller from a master.

The Mummy (New Line, April 17, 2026)
Director: Lee Cronin. Producers: Blumhouse, Atomic Monster, Doppelgängers. Top cast: roles not disclosed in official materials. Logline: A contemporary retelling that returns the monster to horror, anchored by Cronin’s physical craft and quiet dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed. Positioning: iconic monster return with auteur mark.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A domestic haunting narrative that filters its scares through a minor’s uncertain inner lens. Rating: forthcoming. Production: post-ready. Positioning: studio-backed and marquee-led eerie suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers rejoining on the creative side. Logline: {A spoof revival that skewers current genre trends and true crime fervors. Rating: to be announced. Production: principal photography set for fall 2025. Positioning: wide-lane seasonal counterprogram.

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 overseas twist in tone and setting. Rating: undetermined. Production: on location in New Zealand. Positioning: R-forward continuation crafted for PLF.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: to be confirmed in marketing. Top cast: TBA. Logline: The Further extends again, with a fresh family linked to old terrors. Rating: pending. Production: gearing up for summer filming with late-summer bow. Positioning: durable spectral IP in a late-summer sweet spot.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: pending public reveal. Top cast: TBA. Logline: A from-scratch rebuild designed to reconstruct the franchise from the ground up, with an tilt toward survival-first horror over action-centric bombast. Rating: to be announced. Production: in active development with set date. Positioning: lore-true modernization with broad upside.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: carefully shrouded. Rating: TBA. Production: advancing. Positioning: filmmaker showcase with teaser-first cadence.

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 primal menace. Rating: TBD. Production: in preparation with Christmas frame locked. Positioning: prestige-leaning holiday genre with crafts potential.

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: window fluid, autumn forecast.

Why the calendar favors 2026

Three operational forces inform this lineup. First, production that hiccuped or migrated in 2024 needed spacing on the calendar. Horror can move in swiftly because scripts often need fewer locations, fewer large-scale effects sequences, and pared-down timelines. 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 out-earned straight-to-streaming dumps. Third, online chatter converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will leverage repeatable beats from test screenings, precision scare clips aligned to Thursday preview shows, and experiential pop-ups that feed creator content. It is a repeatable playbook because it pays off.

A fourth element is the programming calculus. Early-year family and superhero blocks are thinner in 2026, creating valuable space for genre entries that can own a weekend outright or play as the older-leaning alternative. January is the prime example. Four varied shades of horror will share space across five weekends, which keeps buzz lanes tidy. Summer provides the other window. The satire rides the animated and action tide, then the hard-R entry can take advantage of a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Budgets and certifications, sleeper calculus

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

The sleeper chase continues in Q1, where lean-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 harvest those lanes. January could easily deliver the first unexpected breakout 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. Plan on a solid PVOD window generally, since horror fans have shown a willingness to pay for convenience after an opening weekend, especially when word of mouth is strong.

What the calendar feels like for audiences

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers pace and range. January is a array, 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 maintain buzz and butts in seats without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can sequence upward, using earlier releases to prime the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors value the spacing. Horror delivers frequent Thursday-night spikes, optimized footprints, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can qualify for PLF, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing dimensionality, sound, and picture 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 Strong 2026 Horizon

Windows change. Ratings change. Casts rotate. But the spine of 2026 horror is defined. There is recognizable IP where it plays, original vision where it matters, and a calendar that shows studios get how and when audiences want 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, craft precise trailers, protect the mystery, and let the shocks sell the seats.