Mythic Terror returns: Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a spine tingling supernatural thriller, arriving Oct 2025 across top digital platforms

One spine-tingling supernatural fear-driven tale from narrative craftsman / cinema craftsman Andrew Chiaramonte, setting free an primordial evil when newcomers become victims in a malevolent ceremony. Available October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime, YouTube streaming, Google’s Play platform, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango on-demand.

Los Angeles, CA (August 8th, 2025) – get ready for *Young & Cursed*, a gut-wrenching narrative of survival and primeval wickedness that will reimagine the horror genre this fall. Directed by rising director to watch Andrew Chiaramonte, this nerve-racking and moody screenplay follows five strangers who emerge locked in a far-off hideaway under the hostile sway of Kyra, a tormented girl possessed by a two-thousand-year-old biblical demon. Anticipate to be ensnared by a filmic display that weaves together deep-seated panic with spiritual backstory, arriving on Prime Video, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Supernatural inhabitation has been a legendary theme in motion pictures. In *Young & Cursed*, that structure is reimagined when the demons no longer develop outside the characters, but rather from their psyche. This symbolizes the most hidden element of the cast. The result is a riveting emotional conflict where the drama becomes a ongoing confrontation between purity and corruption.


In a haunting natural abyss, five teens find themselves isolated under the ominous sway and spiritual invasion of a mysterious spirit. As the group becomes incapable to deny her grasp, isolated and chased by creatures beyond comprehension, they are cornered to endure their deepest fears while the final hour unceasingly winds toward their dark fate.


In *Young & Cursed*, fear mounts and friendships shatter, coercing each figure to reflect on their existence and the structure of conscious will itself. The consequences mount with every heartbeat, delivering a terror ride that harmonizes spiritual fright with soulful exposure.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my goal was to explore ancestral fear, an presence before modern man, channeling itself through inner turmoil, and exposing a will that dismantles free will when stripped of free will.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Playing Kyra meant channeling something far beyond human desperation. She is in denial until the demon emerges, and that shift is eerie because it is so raw.”

Viewing Options

*Young & Cursed* will be released for public screening beginning October 2, 2025, on Prime Video, Google’s video hub, Google’s store, Apple iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand—allowing streamers no matter where they are can enjoy this demonic journey.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just shared a new second trailer for *Young & Cursed*, posted to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a companion to its original clip, which has pulled in over six-figure audience.


In addition to its continental debut, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has revealed that *Young & Cursed* will also be shared across borders, spreading the horror to a worldwide audience.


Do not miss this unforgettable path of possession. Tune into *Young & Cursed* this October 2 to see these terrifying truths about human nature.


For behind-the-scenes access, set experiences, and reveals from inside the story, follow @YACFilm across social media and visit the movie’s homepage.





American horror’s watershed moment: 2025 across markets U.S. release slate interlaces ancient-possession motifs, indie terrors, and tentpole growls

Spanning grit-forward survival fare suffused with primordial scripture and onward to franchise returns together with incisive indie visions, 2025 is tracking to be the most stratified along with intentionally scheduled year since the mid-2010s.

The 2025 horror calendar goes beyond packed, it is precision-tuned. Top studios hold down the year via recognizable brands, in tandem premium streamers crowd the fall with emerging auteurs in concert with primordial unease. On the independent axis, independent banners is surfing the momentum of a record-setting 2024 festival season. Given Halloween is the centerpiece, the surrounding weeks are charted with intent. The autumn corridor is the classic sprint, but this year, slates are opening January, spring, and mid-summer. Audiences are leaning in, studios are precise, and 2025 could stand as the most orchestrated year.

What Studios and Mini-Majors Are Doing: Elevated fear reclaims ground

The studio class is engaged. If 2024 planted the seeds, 2025 accelerates.

the Universal camp sets the tone with a risk-forward move: a refreshed Wolf Man, stepping away from the classic old-country village, but a sharp contemporary setting. Guided by Leigh Whannell and starring Christopher Abbott with Julia Garner, this pass grounds the lycanthropy in household collapse. The curse reads as bodily and relational, about spouses, parents, and people. dated for mid January, it backs a move to shape winter into a prestige corridor, not a discard corridor.

By spring, Clown in a Cornfield premieres, a YA slasher port tuned to austere horror. Steered by Eli Craig fronted by Katie Douglas with Kevin Durand, it comes as grit laced American nightmare with sardonic edge. Behind the greasepaint sits a critique of small town suspicion, generational fracture, and vigilante justice. Initial heat flags it as potent.

When summer tapers, the WB camp unveils the final movement of its steadiest horror franchise: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Ed and Lorraine Warren return with Vera Farmiga and Patrick Wilson, the finale seeks an emotional close via a signature case. Even with a familiar chassis, Chaves seems to angle for a plaintive, inward final note. It goes early September, easing the path before October flood.

Arriving later is The Black Phone 2. Once set for early summer, the October pivot signals belief. Derrickson re engages, and those signature textures resurface: retrograde shiver, trauma driven plotting, plus uncanny supernatural grammar. The stakes escalate here, by enlarging the “grabber” map and grief’s lineage.

Completing the marquee stack is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a property whose brand does the lifting. The sophomore entry expands the mythology, enlarges the animatronic menagerie, speaking to teens and older millennials. It lands in December, cornering year end horror.

Streaming Offerings: Tight funds, wide impact

While theaters lean on names and sequels, platforms are greenlighting boldly, and the needle moves.

A top daring platform piece is Weapons, a cold case horror anthology lacing three time frames tied to a mass vanishing. Under Zach Cregger anchored by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the title blends fear with dramatic gravity. Posting late summer theatrically then fall streaming, it may catalyze deconstruction threads like Barbarian.

More contained by design is Together, an intimate body horror unraveling fronted by Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Located in a secluded rental as a trip collapses, the narrative traces love and jealousy and self contempt into body collapse. It moves between affection and rot, a triptych into codependent hell. Even without a formal platform date, it reads like an autumn stream lock.

On the docket is Sinners, a pre war vampire folk narrative toplined by Michael B. Jordan. Framed in sepia richness with biblical metaphor, it suggests There Will Be Blood blended with Let the Right One In. The work dissects American religious trauma using supernatural allegory. First test passes flag it as highly discussable at debut.

A cluster of streaming indies sits ready: Bring Her Back, Bone Lake, and Keeper each threads grief and absence and identity, mapping allegory to dread.

Possession From Within: Young & Cursed

Arriving October 2 across major platforms, Young & Cursed arrives as a rare marriage, contained in staging yet mythic in effect. Scripted and led 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 hours blacken, her hold tightens, an invasive current triggering fears, fissures, and regret.

The threat is psychological first, wired with primal myth. Resisting the exorcism template of Catholic ceremony and Latin chant, this film taps something older, something darker. Lilith is not conjured by ritual, she surfaces through trauma, silence, and human fragility. This inside out possession reframes expectation and groups Young & Cursed with a rising current, intimate character dramas within genre.

On Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, YouTube, Google Play, and Fandango at Home, the film acts as a Halloween counterpoint to sequel pipelines and creature comebacks. It is a calculated bet. No swollen lore. No brand fatigue. Simply psychological fear, lean and taut, built for the binge then recover rhythm. Inside spectacle, Young & Cursed may separate by silence, then rupture.

Festival Origins, Market Outcomes

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF serve as nurseries for near future horror. They are increasingly launchpads rather than showcases.

The Fantastic Fest slate for horror is strong 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 one, an A24 backed satire on toxic fandom set during a horror convention lockdown, is poised for breakout status.

SXSW premiered Clown in a Cornfield and introduced several microbudget hauntings currently circling deals. Sundance likely lifts another batch of grief laced elevated horror, and Tribeca’s genre box tilting urban, social, and surreal.

Strategy at festivals now equals branding as well as discovery. That wreath is now a starting gun, not the finish.

Long Running Lines: Follow Ups, Restarts, and Reframes

The franchise bench is sturdier and more targeted than lately.

Fear Street: Prom Queen, landing in July, re ups the 90s brand with a fresh lead and retro tone. Unlike earlier entries, this leans camp and prom night melodrama. Think tiaras, fake blood, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 posts late June, set to enlarge techno horror mythology with fresh faces and AI bred menaces. The original’s social and streaming breakout emboldened Universal to double down.

Also on deck is The Long Walk, from an early, punishing Stephen King work, steered by Francis Lawrence, it lands as a ruthless dystopian allegory couched in survival horror, a march where no one wins. If packaged well, it could track like The Hunger Games for horror adults.

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

Emerging Currents

Mythic lanes mainstream
From Lilith in Young & Cursed through Aztec curses in Whistle, teams draw on ancient texts and symbols. This reads not as nostalgia but as reclaiming pre Christian archetypes. Horror goes beyond fright, it notes evil’s age.

Body horror comes roaring back
Projects including Together, Weapons, and Keeper re center the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation map to heartbreak, grief, and regret.

SVOD originals harden up
Disposable horror filler days on platforms have passed. Streamers are investing in real scripts, real directors, and real marketing pushes. Works such as Weapons and Sinners are positioned as events, not filler.

Badges become bargaining chips
Laurels move markets, opening release doors and coverage arcs. In 2025, a horror film lacking festival plan may fade.

Theaters are a trust fall
Studios release horror theatrically only when they believe in overperformance or sequel trees. All others choose PVOD or hybrid. Horror still lives in theaters, more curated than broad.

Projection: Autumn Overload and the Winter Wildcard

Put Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons into September and October and you get saturation. Indies including Bone Lake and Keeper will wrestle for room. Expect one or more to pivot into early 2026 or shift platforms.

With Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 in December, a stealth streamer drop might pop near year end. As several big titles lean dark and mythic, there is room for one last creature feature or exorcism flick.

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



The next scare year to come: continuations, filmmaker-first projects, and also A stacked Calendar Built For screams

Dek: The new terror cycle stacks up front with a January wave, subsequently extends through summer, and pushing into the festive period, braiding franchise firepower, creative pitches, and savvy counterprogramming. Studios with streamers are doubling down on responsible budgets, exclusive theatrical windows first, and buzz-forward plans that convert genre releases into water-cooler talk.

How the genre looks for 2026

This category has proven to be the sturdy release in studio slates, a category that can scale when it hits and still protect the drawdown when it stumbles. After the 2023 year re-taught strategy teams that efficiently budgeted chillers can shape the national conversation, the following year kept energy high with filmmaker-forward plays and unexpected risers. The carry rolled into the 2025 frame, where re-entries and elevated films highlighted there is demand for a variety of tones, from returning installments to original one-offs that travel well. The sum for the 2026 slate is a slate that is strikingly coherent across players, with planned clusters, a blend of recognizable IP and new pitches, and a recommitted commitment on exhibition windows that fuel later windows on premium home window and home streaming.

Studio leaders note the horror lane now acts as a versatile piece on the release plan. Horror can debut on a wide range of weekends, furnish a grabby hook for creative and shorts, and punch above weight with viewers that show up on Thursday previews and hold through the next weekend if the feature fires. Following a strike-driven backlog, the 2026 layout shows faith in that setup. The calendar rolls out with a weighty January run, then plants flags in spring and early summer for counterprogramming, while making space for a September to October window that stretches into the fright window and beyond. The schedule also underscores the stronger partnership of specialized labels and digital platforms that can platform and widen, create conversation, and go nationwide at the proper time.

A notable top-line trend is brand strategy across brand ecosystems and long-running brands. Distribution groups are not just producing another sequel. They are shaping as connection with a headline quality, whether that is a title treatment that signals a fresh attitude or a talent selection that connects a upcoming film to a classic era. At the in tandem, the visionaries behind the most buzzed-about originals are favoring practical craft, real effects and location-forward worlds. That convergence hands 2026 a solid mix of trust and newness, which is how the genre sells abroad.

What the big players are lining up

Paramount leads early with two centerpiece pushes that run the tonal gamut. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with original architect Kevin Williamson in the director role and Neve Campbell back at the center, framing it as both a handoff and a back-to-basics character-driven entry. Principal photography is underway in Atlanta, and the tonal posture telegraphs a nostalgia-forward mode without covering again the last two entries’ Carpenter sisters arc. Count on a promo wave centered on recognizable motifs, first-look character reveals, and a teaser-to-trailer rhythm targeting late fall. Distribution is Paramount theatrical.

Paramount also revives a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are reuniting, with the Wayans brothers involved behind the scenes for the first time since the early 2000s, a campaign lever the campaign will foreground. As a summer contrast play, this one will generate four-quadrant chatter through meme-friendly cuts, with the horror spoof format lending itself to quick adjustments to whatever drives the discourse that spring.

Universal has three defined releases. SOULM8TE bows January 9, 2026, a tech-horror spinoff from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The story engine is straightforward, tragic, and elevator-pitch-ready: a grieving man purchases an AI companion that becomes a harmful mate. The date places it at the front of a crowded corridor, with Universal’s campaign likely to iterate on viral uncanny stunts and short-cut promos that melds love and terror.

On May 8, 2026, the studio books an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely considered the feature developed under Source development titles in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The official slate currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which permits a final title to become an PR pop closer to the initial promo. The timing secures a slot in early May while larger tentpoles take the main frames.

Rounding out the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film claims October 23, 2026, a slot he has dominated before. Peele’s work are sold as event films, with a minimalist tease and a later trailer push that convey vibe without spoilers the concept. The Halloween-adjacent date affords Universal to maximize pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then activate the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, aligns with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček commands, with Souheila Yacoub leading. The franchise has demonstrated that a flesh-and-blood, makeup-driven approach can feel big on a moderate cost. Frame it as a gore-forward summer horror surge that maximizes offshore potential, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most foreign territories.

Sony’s horror bench is robust. The studio sets two IP moves in the back half. An untitled Insidious film premieres August 21, 2026, holding a proven supernatural brand on the grid while the spin-off branch advances. The studio has moved dates on this title before, but the current plan plants it in late summer, where the brand has performed historically.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil steps back in what the studio is presenting as a new take for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a foundational part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a mission to serve both core fans and novices. The fall slot affords Sony time to build artifacts around universe detail, and monster craft, elements that can drive large-format demand and fan-forward engagement.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, pins a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Robert Eggers’ Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film sustains Eggers’ run of period horror driven by rigorous craft and historical speech, this time exploring werewolf lore. The company has already announced the holiday for a holiday release, a strong signal in Eggers as a specialty play that can platform wide if early reception is glowing.

How the platforms plan to play it

Streaming playbooks in 2026 run on established tracks. The studio’s horror films move to copyright after a exclusive run then PVOD, a cadence that expands both initial urgency and sign-up momentum in the downstream. Prime Video interleaves third-party pickups with worldwide buys and brief theater runs when the data supports it. Max and Hulu work their advantages in library engagement, using editorial spots, horror hubs, and collection rows to increase tail value on 2026 genre cume. Netflix retains agility about first-party entries and festival wins, dating horror entries tight to release and eventizing launches with condensed plans. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, capitalizes on a paired of selective theatrical runs and short jumps to platform that turns word of mouth into paid trials. That will matter for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before activating fan pipelines in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ adopts case-by-case posture for horror on a bespoke basis. The platform has been willing to board select projects with recognized filmmakers or headline-cast packages, then give them a select cinema run in partnership with exhibitors to meet qualifying rules or to build credibility before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still uses the 20th Century Studios slate, a critical input for month-over-month retention when the genre conversation builds.

The specialty lanes and indie surprises

Cineverse is quietly building a 2026 corridor with two IP plays. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The pitch is straightforward: the same haunting, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a genre cult touchstone, reimagined for modern sound and cinematography. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a autumn slot, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. Cineverse has indicated a theatrical-first plan for the title, an good sign for fans of the hard-edged series and for exhibitors seeking R-rated counterprogramming in the autumn weeks.

Focus will push the auteur angle with Werwulf, managing the title through autumn festivals if the cut is ready, then pressing the Christmas window to increase reach. That positioning has paid off for arthouse horror with mainstream crossovers. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not publicly set many dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines tend to firm up after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A safe bet is a brace of late-summer and fall platformers that can scale if reception encourages. Anticipate an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that bows at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work in concert, using mini theatrical to spark the evangelism that fuels their subscriber growth.

Known brands versus new stories

By proportion, 2026 is weighted toward the recognizable IP side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all activate cultural cachet. The trade-off, as ever, is overexposure. The standing approach is to frame each entry as a re-toned entry. Paramount is elevating relationship and legacy in Scream 7, Sony is promising a restart at zero for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is pushing a continental coloration from a hot helmer. Those choices prove meaningful when the audience has so many options and social sentiment swings fast.

Originals and director-driven titles keep oxygen in the system. Jordan Peele’s October film will be sold as Check This Out a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, centers Rachel McAdams in a marooned survival premise with the director’s playful dread. SOULM8TE offers a lean, creepy tech hook. Werwulf grounds itself in period and an severe tone. Even when the title is not based on a known brand, the package is recognizable enough to accelerate early sales and Thursday previews.

Recent comps frame the template. In 2023, a theatrical-first plan that respected streaming windows did not deter a day-and-date experiment from hitting when the brand was sticky. In 2024, art-forward horror popped in premium screens. In 2025, a return of a beloved infection saga demonstrated that global horror franchises can still feel new when they change perspective and expand the canvas. 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 linked-chapter plan, with chapters filmed consecutively, enables marketing to relate entries through character spine and themes and to sustain campaign assets without long breaks.

How the look and feel evolve

The behind-the-scenes chatter behind the 2026 slate hint at a continued bias toward in-camera, locale-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not track with any recent iteration of the property, a stance that complements the in-camera lean he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film wrapped principal photography and is set for its April 17, 2026 date. Expect a campaign that foregrounds tone and tension rather than thrill-ride spectacle, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership enabling cost precision.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has described Werwulf as the most forbidding project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval world and period-accurate language, a combination that can make for enveloping sound design and a austere, elemental atmosphere on the big screen. Focus will likely preview this aesthetic in craft journalism and craft features before rolling out a atmospheric tease that centers atmosphere over story, a move that has paid off for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is tuned for tactile gnarliness, a signature of the series that sells overseas in red-band trailers and creates shareable reaction clips from early screenings. Scream 7 hints at a self-aware reset that centers its original star. Resident Evil will stand or stumble on creature design and production design, which match well with convention activations and guarded reveals. Insidious tends to be a audio craft showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the big-screen case feel must-have. Look for trailers that underscore precise sound design, deep-bass stingers, and dead-air cuts that sing on PLF.

Calendar cadence

January is stacked. 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 headline IP. The month buttons with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a island survival chiller from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is thick, but the range of tones lets each find a lane, and the five-week structure gives each runway for each if word of mouth carries.

Late Q1 and spring prime the summer. Scream 7 comes February 27 with legacy heat. In April, The Mummy revives a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once served genre counterprogramming and now accommodates big openers. Universal’s untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 flows into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer underlines contrasts. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is spoofy and broad, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 supplies gnarly intensity. The counterprogramming logic is smart. The spoof can pop next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest rewards older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have rolled through premiums.

Back half into fall leans IP. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives Sony a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously connected. Resident Evil lines up after September 18, a shoulder season window that still feeds into Halloween marketing beats. Jordan Peele’s untitled film holds October 23 and will dominate cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely driven by a mystery-driven teaser strategy and limited asset reveals that center concept over reveals.

Awards-adjacent specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a signal that genre can win the holiday when packaged as director prestige horror. The distributor has done this before, deliberate rollout, then turning to critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to linger in conversation into January. If the film wins with critics, the studio can expand in the first week of 2027 while using holiday momentum and gift-card burn.

Title briefs within the narrative

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting still being revealed as production rolls. Logline: Sidney returns to challenge a new Ghostface while the narrative reorients around the original film’s DNA. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: return-to-core with a fresh edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A devastated man’s synthetic partner escalates into something dangerously intimate. Rating: TBA. Production: Shoot completed 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 opens the world beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult hardens in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Shot back-to-back with the first film. Positioning: continuation of a revered infection cycle.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man heads back to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to encounter a shimmering reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed production with U.S. distribution. Positioning: aura-driven adaptation.

Send Help (20th Century Studios, January 30, 2026)
Director: Sam Raimi. Top cast: Rachel McAdams, Dylan O’Brien, Dennis Haysbert, Chris Pang. Logline: After a plane crash, an employee and her hard-edged boss struggle to survive on a remote island as the control balance turns and mistrust rises. Rating: TBA. Production: In the can. 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 to be revealed in official materials. Logline: A renewed take that returns the monster to fright, based on Cronin’s hands-on craft and suffocating dread. Rating: TBA. Production: In the can. Positioning: legacy monster restart with director stamp.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A intimate haunting tale that channels the fear through a minor’s flickering personal vantage. Rating: to be announced. Production: locked. Positioning: studio-backed and star-led ghost thriller.

Scary Movie 6 (Paramount, June 12, 2026)
Director: Michael Tiddes. Top cast: Anna Faris, Regina Hall, with the Wayans brothers involved creatively again. Logline: {A parody reboot that riffs on today’s horror trends and true-crime manias. Rating: undetermined. Production: principal photography set for fall 2025. Positioning: mainstream summer comedy-horror.

Evil Dead Burn (Warner Bros. domestic, July 24, 2026)
Director: Sébastien Vaniček. Top cast: Souheila Yacoub, with ensemble additions. Logline: A new infestation of Deadites breaks out, with an global twist in tone and setting. Rating: pending. Production: principal photography in New Zealand. Positioning: hard-hitting R entry designed for premium formats.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: unrevealed for now. Top cast: forthcoming. Logline: The Further unfurls again, with a new clan tethered to old terrors. Rating: forthcoming. Production: gearing up for summer filming with late-summer bow. Positioning: reliable supernatural IP in a date that favors the brand.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: forthcoming. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: A from-scratch rebuild designed to reframe the franchise from the ground up, with an lean toward true survival horror over action pyrotechnics. Rating: to be announced. Production: moving through development on a locked slot. Positioning: lore-true modernization with broad upside.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: Kept under wraps by design. Rating: to be announced. Production: underway. Positioning: director-branded event with teaser focus.

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 period language and primordial menace. Rating: undetermined. Production: actively prepping for a holiday slot. Positioning: auteur prestige horror aimed at holiday corridor with crafts prospects.

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 classic theatrical rollout before platforming. Status: timing fluid, autumn anticipated.

Why 2026, why now

Three grounded forces inform this lineup. First, production that downshifted or re-sequenced in 2024 required runway on the datebook. Horror can patch those gaps promptly because scripts often call for fewer locales, fewer large-scale VFX set pieces, and pared-down timelines. 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 exceeded straight-to-streaming drops. Third, social buzz converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will activate shareable moments from test screenings, carefully timed scare clips timed to Thursday night previews, and experiential pop-ups that spark influencer coverage. It is a repeatable playbook because it delivers.

There is also the slotting calculus. The first stretch of 2026 sees fewer family and superhero logjams, offering breathing room for genre entries that can take a weekend outright or function as the older-skew counter. January is the prime example. Four horror lanes will jostle across five weekends, which reduces inter-title cannibalization. Summer provides the other window. The parody aligns with early family and action waves, then the hard-R entry can use a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Budgets and certifications, sleeper calculus

Budgets remain in the ideal band. Most of the films above will live under the $40–$50 million ceiling, 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 surprise-hit pursuit 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 maximize those pockets. 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.

Audience rhythm across the year

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers cadence and diversity. January is a tasting table, February delivers a legacy slasher, April reanimates a Universal monster, May and June provide a ghostly double-hit 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 shadowed, 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 scale over time, using earlier releases to warm up the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors respond well to the spacing. Horror delivers frequent Thursday-night spikes, efficient screen counts, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can warrant PLF, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing materiality, sound, and visual design that benefit from this content 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, Ready To Roar

Calendars slide. Ratings change. Casts refresh. But the spine of 2026 horror is sturdy. There is brand equity where it matters, new vision where it lands, and a calendar that shows studios track how and when scares land. 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, deliver taut trailers, lock the reveals, and let the shocks sell the seats.