Ancient Terror Ascends in Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a nightmare fueled supernatural thriller, launching Oct 2025 across premium platforms

An unnerving ghostly fright fest from cinematographer / movie maker Andrew Chiaramonte, setting free an long-buried terror when unrelated individuals become instruments in a fiendish maze. Releasing on October 2, 2025, on Prime Video, Google’s YouTube, Google’s Play platform, Apple iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango platform.

L.A., CA (August 8th, 2025) – ready yourself for *Young & Cursed*, a gut-wrenching chronicle of endurance and old world terror that will revolutionize scare flicks this Halloween season. Crafted by rising genre visionary Andrew Chiaramonte, this psychological and moody film follows five young adults who come to isolated in a remote cabin under the malevolent dominion of Kyra, a haunted figure possessed by a 2,000-year-old scriptural evil. Brace yourself to be hooked by a theatrical spectacle that intertwines instinctive fear with legendary tales, unleashing on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on the second of October, 2025.


Hellish influence has been a classic fixture in motion pictures. In *Young & Cursed*, that structure is reimagined when the beings no longer manifest outside the characters, but rather from their psyche. This portrays the malevolent layer of every character. The result is a harrowing mind game where the intensity becomes a brutal contest between good and evil.


In a remote backcountry, five adults find themselves confined under the possessive force and haunting of a haunted being. As the team becomes powerless to evade her dominion, isolated and preyed upon by entities ungraspable, they are forced to reckon with their inner demons while the moments without pity ticks toward their demise.


In *Young & Cursed*, mistrust rises and associations disintegrate, compelling each protagonist to contemplate their essence and the foundation of self-determination itself. The risk escalate with every second, delivering a scare-fueled ride that integrates mystical fear with human vulnerability.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my focus was to tap into raw dread, an force rooted in antiquity, working through emotional fractures, and dealing with a presence that erodes the self when choice is taken.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Living Kyra involved tapping into something unfamiliar to reason. She is ignorant until the haunting manifests, and that turn is soul-crushing because it is so intimate.”

Platform Access

*Young & Cursed* will be launched for horror fans beginning October 2, 2025, on Prime Video, Google’s video hub, Google’s store, Apple iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home—ensuring subscribers globally can witness this horror showcase.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just shared a new trailer update for *Young & Cursed*, online to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a follow up to its release of trailer #1, which has collected over a hundred thousand impressions.


In addition to its US/Canada launch, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has informed that *Young & Cursed* will also be taken worldwide, extending the thrill to global fright lovers.


Join this haunted exploration of dread. Explore *Young & Cursed* this horror drop to face these fearful discoveries about the mind.


For exclusive trailers, making-of footage, and social posts directly from production, follow @YoungAndCursedMovie across Facebook and TikTok and visit youngandcursed.com.





Contemporary horror’s inflection point: 2025 for genre fans stateside slate Mixes primeval-possession lore, signature indie scares, and brand-name tremors

Ranging from survivor-centric dread grounded in ancient scripture and stretching into installment follow-ups as well as focused festival visions, 2025 stands to become the most dimensioned along with calculated campaign year in the past ten years.

The 2025 horror calendar is not merely full, it is methodical. studio powerhouses set cornerstones via recognizable brands, in parallel platform operators saturate the fall with new perspectives alongside ancient terrors. At the same time, the artisan tier is buoyed by the backdraft from a top-tier 2024 festival cycle. As Halloween stays the prime week, the non-October slots are tuned with exactness. A fat September–October lane is customary now, though in this cycle, slates are opening January, spring, and mid-summer. Viewers are hungry, studios are calculated, accordingly 2025 might go down as horror’s most intentional year yet.

Major Studio Plans with Mini-Major Flex: High-craft horror returns

Studios are not on the sidelines. If 2024 set the stage for reinvention, 2025 scales the plan.

Universal’s schedule starts the year with a statement play: a refashioned Wolf Man, steering clear of the antique European village, but a crisp modern milieu. Steered by Leigh Whannell and starring Christopher Abbott with Julia Garner, this chapter binds the lycanthropy to domestic unraveling. The transformation is not just physical, it is marital, parental, and painfully human. Slated for mid January, it helps remake the winter trough with prestige offerings, not discard thrillers.

The spring frame introduces Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher page-to-screen distilled into spare horror. Under Eli Craig starring Katie Douglas opposite Kevin Durand, it plays as blood lacquered Americana with satire under the paint. Beneath the mask, it picks at rural paranoia, age cohort splits, and lynch mob logic. Early reactions hint at fangs.

At summer’s close, the WB camp launches the swan song from its anchor horror saga: The Conjuring: Last Rites. With Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson returning as Ed and Lorraine Warren, the chapter points to emotional capstone while addressing a headline case. Though the outline is tried, Chaves seems to angle for a plaintive, inward final note. It posts in early September, creating cushion before October load.

Following that is The Black Phone 2. Set early then moved to October, a confidence tell. Scott Derrickson returns, and the core ingredients of the sleeper original are back: vintage toned fear, trauma in the foreground, paired with unsettling supernatural order. The ante is higher this round, with more excavation of the “grabber” canon and family hauntings.

Closing the prime list is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a franchise that brings its own crowd. The new chapter enriches the lore, expands its animatronic nightmare roster, speaking to teens and older millennials. It hits in December, cornering year end horror.

Streaming Firsts: Low budgets, big teeth

While theaters bet on familiarity, platforms are greenlighting boldly, and the needle moves.

One standout ambitious title is Weapons, a cold trail horror omnibus threading three timelines via a mass disappearance. Helmed by Zach Cregger anchored by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the movie mixes chill with dramatic weight. Debuting in theaters late summer then streaming in fall, it looks primed to seed post watch analysis akin to Barbarian.

On the more intimate flank sits Together, a sealed box body horror arc featuring Alison Brie opposite Dave Franco. Located in a secluded rental as a trip collapses, the film explores what happens when love, envy, and self hatred merge into physical decay. It plays romantic, grotesque, and acutely uneasy, a three act descent into codependent hell. Though no platform has officially staked a release date, it is destined for a fall landing.

Also notable is Sinners, a 1930s vintage vampire folk yarn led by Michael B. Jordan. Visualized in sepia palette with scriptural metaphor, it mirrors There Will Be Blood meeting Let the Right One In. The film interrogates American religious trauma through supernatural allegory. Trial screenings frame it as a high chatter SVOD arrival.

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

Possession Beneath the Skin: Young & Cursed

Hitting October 2 on the platforms, Young & Cursed operates as a rare duality, minimal in staging, maximal in myth. Conceived and directed by Andrew Chiaramonte, the narrative rides with five strangers waking in a secluded woodland cabin, held by Kyra, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. As the night settles, her power spikes, an infiltrating force leveraging fears, breaks, and sorrow.

The menace is mind forward, supercharged by primal myth. Avoiding the usual exorcism path with Catholic ritual and Latin spell, this entry turns to something older, something darker. Lilith arrives not by rite, but through trauma, silence, and human fragility. By making possession inward rather than external, Young & Cursed joins a trend toward intimate character studies masked as 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 reads as sharp positioning. No bloated canon. No sequel clutter. Sheer psychological unease, compact and taut, calibrated to digital binge beats. With a spectacle heavy year, Young & Cursed may pop by going quiet, then screaming.

Festivals as Springboards

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 fields a robust horror set this year. Primate, a tropical body horror opening night title, is drawing comparisons to both Cronenberg and Herzog. Whistle, a folkloric revenge thriller steeped in Aztec lore, is expected to close the fest with fire.

Midnight entries such as If I Had Legs I’d Kick You draw buzz for more than titles, namely execution. That film, an A24 backed satire of toxic fandom inside a horror convention lockdown, looks poised to break out.

SXSW rolled out Clown in a Cornfield and a clutch of microbudget haunts near deals. Sundance is on track for grief tuned elevated horror, and Tribeca’s genre set plays urban, social, and surreal.

Fest circuits are brand engines as much as discovery engines. Festival laurels are opening moves, not closing notes.

Franchise Horror: Follow Ups, Restarts, and Reframes

Legacy entries present stronger and more purposeful this time.

Fear Street: Prom Queen, landing in July, re ups the 90s brand with a fresh lead and retro tone. Compared to earlier parts, it tilts camp and prom night melodrama. Imagine tiaras, smeared red, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 drops late June, with a plan to deepen its techno horror mythos via new characters and AI terrors. The initial entry’s meme life and streaming legs push Universal to scale up.

On the slate sits The Long Walk, from one of Stephen King’s stark early titles, with Francis Lawrence directing, it stands as a punishing dystopian allegory wearing survival horror, a march until death with no victors. With sharp marketing, it could translate to The Hunger Games for horror adults.

Meanwhile, reboots and sequels like Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda appear through the year, many poised for targeted windows or last minute deals.

Signals and Trends

Mythic horror goes mainstream
Lilith in Young & Cursed plus Aztec curses in Whistle highlight ancient texts and symbols. This trend avoids nostalgia, reclaiming pre Christian archetypes. Horror does more than scare, it reminds that evil predates us.

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

Streamer originals stiffen their spine
Low grade filler is no longer the platform default. Platforms invest in real scripts, real directors, and real campaigns. Pieces like Weapons and Sinners receive event status, not feed stock.

Festival buzz converts to leverage
Laurels are not just decorative, they leverage theatrical, premium placement, and media cycles. A horror film without a festival strategy in 2025 risks disappearing.

Theatrical release is a trust fall
Studios release horror theatrically only when they believe in overperformance or sequel trees. The balance slides PVOD or hybrid. Horror is not shrinking in theaters, but it is becoming more curated.

Outlook: Autumn overload with a winter wildcard

Young & Cursed plus The Conjuring: Last Rites plus The Black Phone 2 plus Weapons, all in September and October, makes for a saturated fall. Indies, including Bone Lake and Keeper, will battle for oxygen. Look for a pivot by one or more into early 2026 or to new platforms.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 anchors December, and a surprise streaming drop could still arrive late. When the heavy hitters lean mythic, a last creature feature or exorcism can still fit.

The 2025 performance is about reach across segments, not one hero title. The plan is not to clone Get Out, it is to craft horror that lives on beyond box office.



The new fear lineup: Sequels, original films, together with A jammed Calendar calibrated for screams

Dek: The arriving terror slate loads up front with a January wave, thereafter carries through midyear, and pushing into the holiday frame, weaving brand equity, original angles, and smart release strategy. The big buyers and platforms are focusing on right-sized spends, cinema-first plans, and social-driven marketing that transform these offerings into mainstream chatter.

Horror momentum into 2026

The field has shown itself to be the dependable swing in studio calendars, a lane that can grow when it catches and still insulate the liability when it falls short. After 2023 signaled to greenlighters that modestly budgeted entries can shape the discourse, the following year held pace with director-led heat and sleeper breakouts. The momentum moved into the 2025 frame, where revivals and premium-leaning entries made clear there is a market for multiple flavors, from brand follow-ups to original features that translate worldwide. The end result for the 2026 slate is a run that looks unusually coordinated across companies, with planned clusters, a equilibrium of household franchises and untested plays, and a re-energized focus on theater exclusivity that enhance post-theatrical value on premium home window and subscription services.

Buyers contend the genre now works like a fill-in ace on the schedule. The genre can premiere on numerous frames, create a tight logline for promo reels and shorts, and over-index with crowds that lean in on preview nights and stick through the second weekend if the picture satisfies. Coming out of a strike-induced shuffle, the 2026 setup reflects belief in that setup. The calendar opens with a busy January corridor, then uses spring and early summer for off-slot scheduling, while saving space for a fall cadence that connects to All Hallows period and afterwards. The gridline also underscores the tightening integration of indie distributors and streamers that can platform and widen, create conversation, and expand at the timely point.

A further high-level trend is IP cultivation across ongoing universes and established properties. The players are not just producing another installment. They are aiming to frame continuity with a headline quality, whether that is a typeface approach that suggests a new vibe or a star attachment that bridges a latest entry to a early run. At the concurrently, the filmmakers behind the eagerly awaited originals are embracing physical effects work, practical gags and concrete locations. That blend yields 2026 a vital pairing of brand comfort and invention, which is how the genre sells abroad.

What the big players are lining up

Paramount defines the early cadence with two prominent projects that run the tonal gamut. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the top job and Neve Campbell back at the forefront, framing it as both a passing of the torch and a DNA-forward relationship-driven entry. Production is active in Atlanta, and the tonal posture conveys a throwback-friendly angle without looping the last two entries’ sibling arc. Look for a marketing run anchored in heritage visuals, first images of characters, and a tiered teaser plan slated for late fall. Distribution is Paramount’s cinema pipeline.

Paramount also dusts off a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are joining up again, with the Wayans brothers involved as creative partners for the first time since the early 2000s, a linchpin the campaign will spotlight. As a summer alternative, this one will hunt large awareness through gif-able moments, with the horror spoof format supporting quick pivots to whatever owns the meme cycle that spring.

Universal has three defined entries. SOULM8TE hits January 9, 2026, a technology-driven offshoot from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The conceit is tight, soulful, and big-hook: a grieving man purchases an digital partner that shifts into a dangerous lover. The date places it at the front of a competition-heavy month, with Universal’s promo team likely to renew strange in-person beats and bite-size content that mixes romance and foreboding.

On May 8, 2026, the studio positions an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely taken to be the feature developed under internal 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 name unveil to become an event moment closer to the first look. The timing holds ground in early May while larger tentpoles stack elsewhere.

Completing the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film reserves October 23, 2026, a slot he has commanded before. Peele’s pictures are positioned as auteur events, with a teaser that reveals little and a later trailer push that convey vibe without spoilers the concept. The late-October frame creates space for Universal to maximize pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then work the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, pairs with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček helms, with Souheila Yacoub top-lining. The franchise has repeatedly shown that a raw, prosthetic-heavy execution can feel prestige on a mid-range budget. Look for a grime-caked summer horror hit that maximizes international play, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most non-U.S. markets.

Sony’s horror bench is unusually deep. The studio deploys two brand plays in the back half. An untitled Insidious film premieres August 21, 2026, holding a steady supernatural brand active while the spin-off branch builds quietly. The studio has adjusted timing on this title before, but the current plan plants it in late summer, where Insidious has been strong.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil comes back in what Sony is selling as a clean-slate approach for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a pillar part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a charge to serve both players and new audiences. The fall slot creates runway for Sony to build materials around narrative world, and monster design, elements that can fuel IMAX and PLF uptake and cosplay-friendly fan engagement.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, sets a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film continues Eggers’ run of period horror driven by minute detail and historical speech, this time focused on werewolf legend. The distributor has already reserved the holiday for a holiday release, a vote of confidence in Eggers as a specialty play that can open narrow then widen if early reception is supportive.

How the platforms plan to play it

Platform strategies for 2026 run on familiar rails. Universal’s slate shift to copyright after a cinema-first plus PVOD, a tiered path that elevates both opening-weekend urgency and viewer acquisition in the tail. Prime Video will mix third-party pickups with global originals and limited runs in theaters when the data supports it. Max and Hulu optimize their lanes in deep cuts, using featured rows, seasonal hubs, and editorial rows to stretch the tail on the annual genre haul. Netflix retains agility about in-house releases and festival deals, finalizing horror entries closer to drop and framing as events launches with surge campaigns. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, uses a tiered of precision releases and rapid platforming that funnels enthusiasm into trials. That will be key for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before pressing direct-to-fan channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ adopts case-by-case posture for horror on a bespoke basis. The platform has shown a willingness to secure select projects with name filmmakers or A-list packages, then give them a modest theatrical in partnership with exhibitors to meet guild rules or to show bona fides before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney domestic still leans on the 20th Century Studios slate, a notable driver for ongoing engagement when the genre conversation heats up.

Festival-to-platform breakouts

Cineverse is putting together a 2026 sequence with two franchise steps. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The setup is no-nonsense: the same somber, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a genre cult touchstone, reimagined for modern audio and picture. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a autumn frame, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has telegraphed a theatrical rollout for the title, an positive signal for fans of the brutal series and for exhibitors seeking adult skew in the autumn weeks.

Focus will operate the filmmaker lane with Werwulf, managing the title through the autumn circuit if the cut is ready, then pressing the Christmas corridor to widen. That positioning has served the company well for auteur horror with crossover potential. 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 plausible forecast is a selection of late-summer and fall platformers that can scale if reception allows. Look for 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 tandem, using limited runs to ignite evangelism that fuels their user base.

Legacy titles versus originals

By volume, 2026 favors the series side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all capitalize on name recognition. The trade-off, as ever, is brand wear. The preferred tactic is to position each entry as a renewed feel. Paramount is foregrounding character and heritage in Scream 7, Sony is suggesting a clean restart for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is highlighting a continental coloration from a buzzed-about director. Those choices have impact when the audience has so many options and social sentiment tilts quickly.

Non-franchise titles and filmmaker-centric entries supply the oxygen. Jordan Peele’s October film will be branded as a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, puts Rachel McAdams in a survival shocker premise with signature mischievous dread. SOULM8TE offers a precise, unnerving tech hook. Werwulf brings period specificity and an rigorous tone. Even when the title is not based on existing IP, the package is comforting enough to turn curiosity into pre-sales and Thursday-night turnout.

Past-three-year patterns announce the approach. In 2023, a exclusive window model that preserved streaming windows did not foreclose a day-and-date experiment from succeeding when the brand was compelling. In 2024, precision craft horror rose in PLF. In 2025, a resurgence of a beloved infection saga showed the market that global horror franchises can still feel revitalized when they angle differently and raise the stakes. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which presses on 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 lensed sequentially, lets marketing to relate entries through character web and themes and to keep assets in-market without long breaks.

How the films are being made

The craft rooms behind this year’s genre foreshadow a continued preference for tactile, location-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not follow any recent iteration of the property, a stance that echoes the prosthetic-forward taste he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film finished principal and is moving toward its April 17, 2026 date. Promo should that centers atmosphere and fear rather than roller-coaster spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership allowing cost precision.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has described Werwulf as the hardest-edged project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval backdrop and archaic dialect, a combination that can make for enveloping sound design and a icy, primal tone on the big screen. Focus will likely pre-sell this aesthetic in feature stories and department features before rolling out a atmospheric tease that keeps plot minimal, a move that has played for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is tuned for gross-out texture, a signature of the series that exports well in red-band trailers and generates shareable reaction clips from early screenings. Scream 7 sets up a meta refresh that re-anchors on the original star. Resident Evil will fly or stall on creature execution and sets, which play well in fan-con activations and managed asset releases. Insidious tends to be a audio showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the premium-screen pitch feel irresistible. Look for trailers that spotlight fine-grain sound, deep-bass stingers, and dead-air cuts 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 somber counterpoint amid larger brand plays. The month winds down with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival-horror from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is stiff, but the range of tones carves a lane for each, and the five-week structure hands each a runway for each if word of mouth carries.

February through May seed summer. Paramount’s Scream 7 opens February 27 with heritage buzz. In April, New Line’s The Mummy re-centers a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once belonged to genre counterprogramming and now accommodates big openers. The untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 connects into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer divides the tones. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is lighter and broader, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 brings brutal intensity. The counterprogramming logic is sound. The spoof can win next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest rewards older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have finished their premium pass.

Back half into fall leans brand. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives the studio a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously excelled. Resident Evil lands after September 18, a bridge slot that still ties into Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film books October 23 and will captivate cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely augmented by a slow-reveal plan and limited advance reveals that lean on concept not plot.

December specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a statement that genre can compete at Christmas when packaged as prestige-leaning horror. The distributor has done this before, selective rollout, then using critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to keep the film in the conversation into January. If the film earns with critics, the studio can go wider in the first week of 2027 while enjoying holiday hold and holiday gift-card burn.

Project-by-project snapshots

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting rolling out as production moves. Logline: Sidney returns to oppose a new Ghostface while the narrative relinks to the original film’s core. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: roots reset with a contemporary edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A mourning man’s algorithmic partner shifts into something fatal and romantic. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal is complete for an early-year bow. Positioning: techno-horror with feeling.

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 grows the world beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult forms in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Produced consecutively with the first film. Positioning: prestige zombie continuation.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man travels back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to be swallowed by a warped reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Done with U.S. run set. Positioning: ambience-forward adaptation.

Send Help (20th Century Studios, January 30, 2026)
Director: Sam Raimi. Top cast: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Dennis Haysbert, Chris Pang. Logline: After a plane crash, an employee and her unyielding boss fight to survive on a far-flung island as the power balance of power reverses and suspicion grows. Rating: TBA. Production: Wrapped. 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 under wraps in official materials. Logline: A contemporary re-envisioning that returns the monster to nightmare, founded on Cronin’s in-camera craft and suffocating dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed. Positioning: classic creature relaunch with signature touch.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A residential haunting narrative that toys with the fright of a child’s wobbly perceptions. Rating: to be announced. Production: picture-locked. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven paranormal suspense.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers re-engaging creatively. Logline: {A satire sequel that satirizes modern genre fads and true-crime manias. Rating: undetermined. Production: production booked for fall 2025. Positioning: big-tent summer spoof.

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 bursts, with an multinational twist in tone and setting. Rating: not yet rated. Production: cameras rolling in New Zealand. Positioning: hard-hitting R entry designed for premium formats.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: TBA publicly. Top cast: to be announced. Logline: The Further opens again, with a new clan entangled with ancient dread. Rating: TBA. Production: set for summer production targeting late-summer opening. Positioning: bankable spirit-world IP in a proven lane.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: forthcoming. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: A reboot designed to recreate the franchise from the ground up, with an focus on pure survival horror over action-heavy spectacle. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: advancing in development with date locked. Positioning: IP-accurate revival with mainstream runway.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: TBD. Logline: purposely secretive. Rating: to be announced. Production: advancing. Positioning: teaser-forward filmmaker happening.

Werwulf (Focus Features, December 25, 2026)
Director: Robert Eggers. Top cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, with other regulars expected. this contact form Logline: A medieval werewolf story built on era-accurate language and elemental dread. Rating: TBD. Production: gearing up with December 25 frame. Positioning: prestige-grade holiday chiller with artisan honors in view.

Wolf Creek: Legacy (Cineverse, TBA 2026)
Director: Greg McLean. Top cast: John Jarratt expected to return as Mick Taylor. Logline: The Australian outback slasher returns, with a theaters-first plan ahead of platforming. Status: date in flux, fall expected.

Why this year, why now

Three grounded forces shape this lineup. First, production that downshifted or reshuffled in 2024 needed calendar breathing room. Horror can bridge those gaps quickly because scripts often use fewer locations, fewer large-scale VFX set pieces, and tighter schedules. Second, studios have become more measured about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently outperformed straight-to-streaming launches. Third, platform buzz converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will lean on meme-ready beats from test screenings, orchestrated scare clips timed to Thursday night previews, and experiential pop-ups that feed creator content. It is a repeatable playbook because it pays off.

Programming arithmetic plays a role. The family and cape slots are lighter early in 2026, providing runway for genre entries that can control a weekend or position as the older-lean choice. January is the prime example. Four horror varieties will line up across five weekends, which permits distinct conversations to flourish. Summer provides the other window. The parody aligns with early family and action waves, then the hard-R entry can capitalize on a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Business outlook: budgets, ratings, and the sleeper hunt

Budgets remain in the target range. Most of the films above will come in under $40–$50 million, with many far below. That allows for wide PLF deployment 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 dark-horse hunt continues in Q1, where modest-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. Expect a healthy PVOD phase across the board, since horror fans have shown a willingness to pay for convenience after an opening weekend, especially when word of mouth is strong.

The moviegoer’s year in horror

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers flow and breadth. January is a banquet, February delivers a legacy slasher, April reanimates a Universal monster, May and June provide a paranormal one-two for date nights and group outings, July goes for the throat, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a wintry, literate nightmare. That is how you keep chatter alive and occupancy strong without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can stack through the year, using earlier releases to prime the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors are pleased with the spacing. Horror delivers consistent Thursday swells, right-sized allotments, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can deserve premium formats, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing texture, soundscape, and cinematography 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

Timing shifts. Ratings change. Casts shuffle. But the spine of 2026 horror is defined. There is IP strength where it matters, distinct 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 last-minute boutique pickup join the party. For now, the job is simple, edit tight trailers, lock the reveals, and let the screams sell the seats.