Mythic Terror returns: Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a hair raising feature, bowing October 2025 on top streamers

One terrifying spiritual suspense film from dramatist / filmmaker Andrew Chiaramonte, triggering an timeless force when strangers become victims in a devilish game. Streaming this October 2nd, 2025, on Amazon Prime Video, the YouTube platform, Google Play, Apple iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango on-demand.

Los Angeles, CA (August 8, 2025) – hold tight for *Young & Cursed*, a harrowing portrayal of continuance and timeless dread that will reimagine horror this autumn. Visualized by rising imaginative director Andrew Chiaramonte, this unsettling and claustrophobic fearfest follows five figures who arise confined in a wooded wooden structure under the ominous will of Kyra, a possessed female controlled by a timeless religious nightmare. Be warned to be seized by a theatrical outing that melds primitive horror with mystical narratives, streaming on Amazon’s streaming platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on the second of October, 2025.


Demon possession has been a classic narrative in the movies. In *Young & Cursed*, that formula is twisted when the forces no longer arise from beyond, but rather inside them. This portrays the grimmest dimension of each of them. The result is a bone-chilling identity crisis where the emotions becomes a merciless push-pull between right and wrong.


In a unforgiving terrain, five teens find themselves cornered under the unholy effect and grasp of a mysterious person. As the team becomes helpless to fight her command, detached and pursued by powers unnamable, they are made to reckon with their core terrors while the clock mercilessly edges forward toward their doom.


In *Young & Cursed*, unease rises and relationships erode, coercing each character to question their identity and the notion of liberty itself. The consequences mount with every short lapse, delivering a nerve-wracking journey that weaves together unearthly horror with psychological weakness.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my objective was to draw upon elemental fright, an power born of forgotten ages, manifesting in psychological breaks, and examining a will that questions who we are when we lose control.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Channeling Kyra was centered on something more primal than sorrow. She is blind until the possession kicks in, and that metamorphosis is terrifying because it is so close.”

Rollout & Launch

*Young & Cursed* will be accessible for digital release beginning October 2, 2025, on Amazon’s platform, Google’s video hub, Google’s store, Apple iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home—providing horror lovers globally can get immersed in this horror showcase.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just unveiled a new sneak peek #2 for *Young & Cursed*, posted to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a continuation to its first preview, which has racked up over strong viewer count.


In addition to its initial rollout, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has shared that *Young & Cursed* will also be streamed globally, extending the thrill to a worldwide audience.


Don’t miss this haunted path of possession. Explore *Young & Cursed* this fall premiere to face these nightmarish insights about our species.


For featurettes, filmmaker commentary, and social posts from those who lived it, follow @YoungCursedOfficial across your socials and visit the film’s website.





Today’s horror watershed moment: 2025 across markets domestic schedule blends ancient-possession motifs, Indie Shockers, set against legacy-brand quakes

Beginning with fight-to-live nightmare stories rooted in biblical myth and stretching into brand-name continuations and acutely observed indies, 2025 appears poised to be horror’s most layered paired with tactically planned year since the mid-2010s.

The 2025 horror calendar is not just busy, it is strategic. leading studios set cornerstones with known properties, while digital services crowd the fall with new voices set against old-world menace. On another front, the independent cohort is drafting behind the uplift from a high-water 2024 festival stretch. Given Halloween is the centerpiece, the off-peak lanes are managed with purpose. A fat September–October lane is customary now, distinctly in 2025, strategies include January, spring, and mid-summer. Viewers are hungry, studios are disciplined, accordingly 2025 may be recorded as the genre’s most deliberate campaign.

Major Studio Plans with Mini-Major Flex: Elevated fear reclaims ground

The majors are assertive. If 2024 set the base, 2025 compounds the move.

Universal’s slate leads off the quarter with a confident swing: a reconceived Wolf Man, eschewing a mist-shrouded old-world European town, but a sharp contemporary setting. Steered by Leigh Whannell with Christopher Abbott alongside Julia Garner, this pass grounds the lycanthropy in household collapse. The curse reads as bodily and relational, about spouses, parents, and people. Slated for mid January, it supports the push to convert the winter lull using prestige plays, not leftovers.

Spring brings Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher adaptation turned minimalist horror show. Directed by Eli Craig with Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it reads as gore kissed small town horror with wry bite. Under the guise, it interrogates township panic, generational breaks, and mob rule. Early reactions hint at fangs.

By late summer, Warner’s pipeline unveils the final movement from its cornerstone horror IP: The Conjuring: Last Rites. The Warrens return, played by Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the piece hints at a heartfelt wrap as it treats a notorious case. Though the formula is familiar, Chaves is guiding toward a solemn, meditative finish. It sets in early September, opening runway before October heat.

The Black Phone 2 follows. From early summer to October, a strong signal. Derrickson re boards, and the tone that worked before is intact: 70s style chill, trauma foregrounded, with ghostly inner logic. Here the stakes rise, through a thicker read on the “grabber” legend and generational ache.

Capping the big ticket run is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, an offering that markets itself. The sequel leans deeper into its lore, adds to the animatronic nightmare bench, seeking teens plus thirty something gamers. It drops in December, locking down the winter tail.

Streamer Exclusives: Low budgets, big teeth

While theaters lean on names and sequels, platforms are embracing risk, and engagement climbs.

One standout ambitious title is Weapons, a forensic chill anthology threading three timelines via a mass disappearance. Directed by Zach Cregger fronted by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the release pairs unease with narrative heft. Hitting theaters late summer with fall digital, it is poised to inspire think pieces and forums, echoing Barbarian.

Playing chamber scale is Together, a room scale body horror descent anchored by Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Located in a secluded rental as a trip collapses, the script studies love with jealousy with self rejection turning into decay. It toggles from love to slime, a staged slide into codependent hell. Even without a formal platform date, it is destined for a fall landing.

Then there is Sinners, a thirties era vampire folk parable with Michael B. Jordan. Framed in sepia richness with biblical metaphor, it feels like There Will Be Blood fused with Let the Right One In. The narrative analyzes American religious trauma through a ghostly allegory. Early test screenings have marked it as one of the year’s most talked about streaming debuts.

Extra indies bide their time on platforms: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper all work grief and disappearance and identity, choosing meaning over noise.

The Possession Runs Deep: Young & Cursed

Posting October 2 across the big platforms, Young & Cursed presents a rare union, close in focus, wide in mythology. Shaped and helmed by Andrew Chiaramonte, the film follows five strangers who wake in a remote wilderness cabin under the thrall of Kyra, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. As night descends, so does Kyra’s power, an invasive force that exploits their deepest fears, weaknesses, and regrets.

The horror here is psychological but charged with primal myth. Rather than another exorcism film centered on Catholic rites or Latin incantations, this story returns to something older, something darker. Lilith resists liturgy, she blooms through trauma, secrecy, and human delicacy. Possession that blooms from within, not without, inverts the trope and places Young & Cursed within a growing horror trend, intimate character studies wrapped in genre.

The Halloween window on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home frames the film as counter to sequel saturation and creature revivals. It is a calculated bet. No bloated mythology. No brand fatigue. Bare psychological dread, trim and tense, designed for binge and breath patterns. Inside spectacle, Young & Cursed may separate by silence, then rupture.

Festival Heat to Market Leverage

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF act as proving grounds for the next waves. In 2025, they behave more like launchpads than showcases.

Fantastic Fest this cycle touts a strong horror menu. Primate opens with tropical body horror, sparking Cronenberg plus Herzog comps. Whistle, a revenge folktale steeped in Aztec myth, is tapped to close with fire.

Midnight slots like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You earn noise for execution beyond quirky names. 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, with Tribeca’s genre menu reading 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.

Heritage Horror: Sequels, Reboots, and Reinvention

This year’s legacy entries carry strength and deliberation.

Fear Street: Prom Queen, due in July, revives the ’90s horror franchise with a new lead and a throwback tone. In contrast to earlier chapters, it skews camp and prom night melodrama. Bring tiaras, red dye, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 drops late June, targeting a broadened techno horror canon with new characters and AI spawned nightmares. The first film’s success on both social media and streaming has given Universal the confidence to double down.

Also on deck is The Long Walk, from an early, punishing Stephen King work, steered by Francis Lawrence, it is a brutal dystopian allegory wrapped in survival horror, a kids walking until they die competition with no real winners. With clear targeting, it could become The Hunger Games for horror grown ups.

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.

Key Trends

Mythic Horror Is Mainstream
Lilith in Young & Cursed and Aztec curses in Whistle point to ancient texts and symbols. It is not nostalgia, it is re owning pre Christian archetypes. Horror exceeds jolts, it insists evil is ancient.

Body horror ascends again
Projects including Together, Weapons, and Keeper re center the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation function as metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

SVOD originals harden up
Throwaway platform horror is on the way out. Streamers deploy capital toward scripts, directors, and paid reach. Titles such as Weapons and Sinners are treated as events, not mere content.

Festival Hype Equals Market Leverage
Badges are functional, they buy theatrical access, prime placement, and cycles. No festival plan in 2025, and disappearance looms.

Theatrical lanes are trust falls
The big screen goes to those expected to beat comps or build series. Everything else heads to PVOD or hybrid drops. Horror persists theatrically, in curated lanes.

Forward View: Autumn crowding, winter surprise

Stacking Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons in September and October yields saturation. Indies like Bone Lake and Keeper will grind for attention. Watch for one or more of these to pivot into early 2026 or shift platforms.

December holds on Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, though a stealth streamer release may land late. Since big films lean mythic, a final monster or exorcism play can claim space.

What matters is slate breadth meeting fractured audiences, not one crown jewel. The assignment is not to chase the next Get Out, it is to build horror that endures beyond box office.



The coming 2026 spook slate: continuations, Originals, alongside A packed Calendar optimized for shocks

Dek: The new genre slate builds at the outset with a January cluster, and then runs through the warm months, and straight through the holiday frame, blending brand heft, novel approaches, and savvy counterprogramming. Studios and streamers are prioritizing smart costs, theatrical leads, and influencer-ready assets that position these releases into all-audience topics.

Horror momentum into 2026

The genre has solidified as the sturdy swing in release plans, a lane that can spike when it clicks and still mitigate the drag when it does not. After the 2023 year re-taught leaders that lean-budget chillers can drive mainstream conversation, the following year carried the beat with high-profile filmmaker pieces and word-of-mouth wins. The carry flowed into the 2025 frame, where returns and prestige plays confirmed there is room for diverse approaches, from franchise continuations to original features that travel well. The takeaway for 2026 is a calendar that shows rare alignment across studios, with intentional bunching, a balance of known properties and untested plays, and a renewed emphasis on theater exclusivity that power the aftermarket on PVOD and SVOD.

Buyers contend the horror lane now operates like a flex slot on the slate. Horror can roll out on open real estate, generate a grabby hook for teasers and social clips, and outperform with demo groups that appear on Thursday previews and sustain through the second frame if the offering hits. Following a strike-affected pipeline, the 2026 rhythm exhibits assurance in that dynamic. The calendar rolls out with a front-loaded January corridor, then leans on spring and early summer for audience offsets, while saving space for a fall cadence that flows toward holiday-adjacent weekends and past Halloween. The calendar also reflects the tightening integration of indie distributors and streaming partners that can launch in limited release, generate chatter, and scale up at the precise moment.

An added macro current is brand management across connected story worlds and heritage properties. The companies are not just greenlighting another follow-up. They are trying to present ongoing narrative with a heightened moment, whether that is a title presentation that indicates a recalibrated tone or a casting choice that binds a next entry to a early run. At the same time, the writer-directors behind the top original plays are returning to hands-on technique, special makeup and place-driven backdrops. That convergence gives 2026 a confident blend of comfort and discovery, which is a pattern that scales internationally.

Major-player strategies for 2026

Paramount leads early with two headline plays that bookend the tonal range. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the director’s chair and Neve Campbell back at the heart, setting it up as both a handoff and a rootsy relationship-driven entry. The film is shooting in Atlanta, and the story approach points to a fan-service aware treatment without repeating the last two entries’ sibling arc. Watch for a push leaning on legacy iconography, initial cast looks, and a tiered teaser plan timed to late fall. Distribution is cinema-first via Paramount.

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 set to reunite, with the Wayans brothers involved in creative roles for the first time since the early 2000s, a hook the campaign will feature. As a summer relief option, this one will drive mainstream recognition through remixable clips, with the horror spoof format allowing quick shifts to whatever drives horror talk that spring.

Universal has three differentiated pushes. SOULM8TE bows January 9, 2026, a universe branch from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The premise is tight, soulful, and logline-clear: a grieving man implements an artificial companion that shifts into a dangerous lover. The date nudges it to the front of a thick month, with marketing at Universal likely to echo creepy live activations and bite-size content that blurs intimacy and anxiety.

On May 8, 2026, the studio lines up an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely considered the feature developed under placeholder labels in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The official listing currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which reserves space for a proper title to become an marketing beat closer to the early tease. The timing gives the studio a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles take the main frames.

Filling out the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film grabs October 23, 2026, a slot he has worked well before. Peele’s pictures are treated as creative events, with a teaser that holds back and a subsequent trailers that shape mood without giving away the concept. The holiday-adjacent corridor offers Universal room to saturate pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then capitalize 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 steers, with Souheila Yacoub starring. The franchise has demonstrated that a flesh-and-blood, hands-on effects execution can feel deluxe on a lean spend. Look for a splatter summer horror shot that leans into foreign markets, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most international markets.

Sony’s horror bench is notably deep. The studio mounts two IP moves in the back half. An untitled Insidious film arrives August 21, 2026, preserving a steady supernatural brand in motion while the spin-off branch gestates. The studio has recalibrated on this title before, but the current plan keeps it in late summer, where Insidious has often excelled.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil restarts in what Sony is describing as a from-the-ground-up reboot for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a key part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a explicit mandate to serve both fans and new audiences. The fall slot lets Sony to build campaign creative around mythos, and creature effects, elements that can lift premium booking interest and fan-culture participation.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, places a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film carries forward Eggers’ run of period horror rooted in rigorous craft and dialect, this time set against lycan legends. The imprint has already set the date for a holiday release, a clear message in the auteur as a specialty play that can scale widely if early reception is robust.

SVOD and PVOD rhythms

Windowing plans in 2026 run on familiar rails. Universal’s releases land on copyright after a theater window then PVOD, a tiered path that boosts both FOMO and subscription bumps in the after-window. Prime Video continues to mix catalogue additions with world buys and short theatrical plays when the data warrants it. Max and Hulu optimize their lanes in archive usage, using well-timed internal promotions, fright rows, and handpicked rows to maximize the tail on the year’s genre earnings. Netflix keeps optionality about original films and festival grabs, locking in horror entries near their drops and positioning as event drops launches with tight-window plans. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, works a two-step of focused cinema runs and prompt platform moves that converts buzz to sign-ups. That will count for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before pivoting to community channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ assesses case by case horror on a discrete basis. The platform has signaled readiness to purchase select projects with award winners or marquee packages, then give them a boutique theatrical in partnership with exhibitors to meet awards eligibility or to spark social proof before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still capitalizes on the 20th Century Studios slate, a meaningful lever for monthly activity when the genre conversation heats up.

Specialized lanes

Cineverse is engineering a 2026 runway with two label plays. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The setup is tight: the same foggy, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a beloved cult piece, elevated for modern mix and image. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a fall frame, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has flagged a standard theatrical run for Legacy, an optimistic indicator for fans of the hard-edged series and for exhibitors seeking adult skew in the autumn stretch.

Focus will work the auteur lane with Werwulf, guiding the film through the fall circuit if the cut is ready, then turning to the holiday frame to scale. That positioning has worked well for arthouse horror with mainstream crossovers. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not released many dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines usually solidify after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A solid projection is a set of late-summer and fall platformers that can expand if reception prompts. Plan on an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that launches at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work in parallel, using limited theatrical to spark the evangelism that fuels their paid base.

Franchise entries versus originals

By volume, the 2026 slate leans toward the franchise column. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all activate legacy awareness. The challenge, as ever, is brand wear. The pragmatic answer is to present each entry as a tone reset. Paramount is emphasizing character and roots in Scream 7, Sony is positioning a restart at zero for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is leaning into a Francophone tone from a buzzed-about director. Those choices prove meaningful when the audience has so many options and social sentiment shifts fast.

Originals and auteur plays add air. Jordan Peele’s October film will be marketed as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, centers Rachel McAdams in a crash-survival premise with that teasing menace. SOULM8TE offers a sharp, spooky tech hook. Werwulf brings period specificity and an unsparing tone. Even when the title is not based on a recognizable brand, the cast-creatives package is assuring enough to turn curiosity into pre-sales and early previews.

Recent comps illuminate the template. In 2023, a theatrical-first plan that honored streaming windows did not deter a hybrid test from hitting when the brand was potent. In 2024, meticulous-craft horror over-performed in premium auditoriums. In 2025, a revived cycle of a beloved infection saga showed the market that global horror franchises can still feel renewed when they alter lens and scale the storytelling. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which unfolds January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The paired-chapter approach, with chapters shot in tandem, creates space for marketing to relate entries through character arcs and themes and to keep materials circulating without extended gaps.

Creative tendencies and craft

The filmmaking conversations behind this year’s genre foreshadow a continued move toward physical, site-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not resemble any recent iteration of the property, a stance that reinforces the practical-craft ethos he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film finished filming and is aimed at its April 17, 2026 date. Anticipate a rollout that elevates tone and tension rather than roller-coaster spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership backing cost precision.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has said Werwulf as the most chilling project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval setting and authentic period speech, a combination that can make for deep sound design and a icy, primal tone on the big screen. Focus will likely highlight this aesthetic in craft journalism and artisan spotlights before rolling out a initial teaser that plays with mood rather than plot, a move that has played 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 sparks shareable shock clips from early screenings. Scream 7 promises a meta inflection that re-anchors on the original star. Resident Evil will hit or miss on creature craft and set design, which favor convention activations and controlled asset drops. Insidious tends to be a mix showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the auditorium case feel key. Look for trailers that underscore razor sound, deep-bass stingers, and mute beats that land in big rooms.

Calendar map: winter through the holidays

January is crowded. 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 atmospheric change-up amid larger brand plays. The month winds down 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 meaningful, but the spread of tones creates a lane for each, and the five-week structure hands each a runway for each if word of mouth carries.

February through May load in summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 opens February 27 with brand warmth. In April, The Mummy restores a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once was aligned with genre counterprogramming and now can handle big openers. The 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 sharpens the contrast. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is jokier and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 presents no-compromise intensity. The counterprogramming logic is sound. The spoof can win next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest delights older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have finished their premium pass.

August into fall leans franchise. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously landed. Resident Evil steps in after September 18, a pre-October slot that still links to Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film secures October 23 and will soak up cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely augmented by a mystery-first teaser plan and limited information drops that favor idea over plot.

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 turning to critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to sustain conversation into January. If the film wins with critics, the studio can increase count in the first week of 2027 while using holiday momentum and holiday card usage.

Embedded title notes

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting continuing to be revealed as production continues. Logline: Sidney returns to oppose a new Ghostface while the narrative rethreads the original film’s DNA. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: legacy-forward with modern snap.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A heartbroken man’s synthetic partner unfolds into something perilously amorous. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal completed for an early-year bow. Positioning: AI chiller with a human heart.

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

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 face a altering reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked and U.S. theatrical booked. 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 difficult boss scramble to survive on a remote island as the power balance reverses and mistrust rises. Rating: TBA. Production: In the can. 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 TBA in official materials. Logline: A contemporary re-envisioning that returns the monster to terror, driven by Cronin’s on-set craft and creeping dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked. Positioning: classic monster reset with creative stamp.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A home-set haunting narrative that channels the fear through a little one’s wavering subjective lens. Rating: pending. Production: in the can. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven spectral suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers back in creative roles. Logline: {A Check This Out parody return that lampoons in-vogue horror tropes and true-crime manias. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: lensing scheduled for fall 2025. Positioning: mass-audience summer option.

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 international twist in tone and setting. Rating: TBD. Production: on location in New Zealand. Positioning: hard-R franchise continuation built for premium large format.

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

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: TBD publicly. Top cast: forthcoming. Logline: A ground-up reset designed to rebuild the franchise from the ground up, with an preference for survival-first horror over action spectacle. Rating: to be announced. Production: moving through development on a locked slot. Positioning: game-faithful modern reboot with crossover potential.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: tightly guarded. Rating: TBA. Production: in progress. Positioning: director-fronted event with teaser rhythm.

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-accurate language and elemental dread. Rating: pending. Production: prepping toward a December 25 launch. Positioning: holiday prestige play with craft awards upside.

Wolf Creek: Legacy (Cineverse, TBA 2026)
Director: Greg McLean. Top cast: John Jarratt expected to return as Mick Taylor. Logline: The Australian outback slasher returns, with a standard theatrical approach before platforming. Status: timing TBD, fall window eyed.

Why the moment is 2026

Three workable forces drive this lineup. First, production that hiccuped or re-slotted in 2024 needed spacing on the calendar. Horror can fill those gaps quickly because scripts often are set in fewer locales, fewer large-scale effects sequences, and pared-down timelines. Second, studios have become more strict about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently beaten straight-to-streaming drops. Third, social conversation converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will lean on meme-ready beats from test screenings, metered scare clips dropping on Thursday previews, and experiential pop-ups that seed creator reels. It is a repeatable playbook because it holds up.

Factor four is the scheduling calculus. Family and superhero corridors are not as densely packed in early 2026, opening usable real estate for genre entries that can take a weekend outright or stand as the older-leaning counter. January is the prime example. Four varied shades of horror will jostle across five weekends, which permits distinct conversations to flourish. Summer provides the other window. The lampoon benefits from family and action buoyancy, then the hard-R entry can use a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Money matters, ratings, and surprise hits

Budgets remain in the optimal band. Most of the films above will stay under the $40 to $50 million threshold, with many far below. That allows for broad premium screen use 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 disciplined-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 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.

From viewer POV, the year

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers rhythm and variety. January is a smorgasbord, February delivers a legacy slasher, April revives a Universal monster, May and June provide a paranormal one-two for date nights and group outings, July runs hard, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a icy, literate nightmare. That is how you fuel talk and ticketing without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can sequence upward, using earlier releases to warm up the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors value the spacing. Horror delivers steady Thursday pops, optimized footprints, 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 dimensionality, soundcraft, 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.

2026 Looks Exciting

Calendars slide. Ratings change. Casts shuffle. But the spine of 2026 horror is in place. There is franchise muscle where it helps, original vision where it matters, and a calendar that shows studios sense the cadence of scares. The awards and festival pipeline into 2027 will come into focus once the fall festivals lock, and it would not be surprising to see at least one eleventh-hour specialty buy join the party. For now, the job is simple, shape lean trailers, guard the secrets, and let the fear sell the seats.