Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed reignites mythic darkness, a nightmare fueled horror thriller, landing October 2025 on premium platforms

One bone-chilling spectral shockfest from creator / film architect Andrew Chiaramonte, summoning an primeval terror when unfamiliar people become puppets in a dark maze. Premiering October 2, 2025, on Prime Video, Google’s YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple’s TV+ service, and Fandango’s digital service.

Los Angeles, CA (August 8, 2025) – Prepare yourselves for *Young & Cursed*, a gripping episode of living through and primordial malevolence that will reconstruct the fear genre this ghoul season. Helmed by rising master of suspense Andrew Chiaramonte, this unpredictable and immersive feature follows five figures who suddenly rise sealed in a far-off cottage under the menacing manipulation of Kyra, a cursed figure consumed by a millennia-old holy text monster. Be warned to be gripped by a theatrical event that combines primitive horror with arcane tradition, unleashing on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Supernatural inhabitation has been a historical element in motion pictures. In *Young & Cursed*, that framework is redefined when the dark entities no longer emerge from a different plane, but rather from within. This represents the deepest corner of these individuals. The result is a bone-chilling identity crisis where the plotline becomes a relentless face-off between righteousness and malevolence.


In a remote no-man's-land, five souls find themselves marooned under the fiendish presence and domination of a obscure figure. As the team becomes paralyzed to deny her dominion, detached and pursued by entities mind-shattering, they are obligated to encounter their inner demons while the hours coldly draws closer toward their obliteration.


In *Young & Cursed*, tension deepens and alliances crack, prompting each figure to contemplate their core and the nature of freedom of choice itself. The pressure grow with every fleeting time, delivering a frightening tale that combines spiritual fright with raw emotion.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my vision was to awaken primitive panic, an darkness beyond recorded history, filtering through emotional vulnerability, and wrestling with a will that strips down our being when will is shattered.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Stepping into Kyra was centered on something more primal than sorrow. She is uninformed until the invasion happens, and that conversion is deeply unsettling because it is so close.”

Platform Access

*Young & Cursed* will be offered for home viewing beginning from October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google’s store, Apple iTunes, Apple’s streaming platform, and Fandango on-demand—so that subscribers across the world can watch this haunted release.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just shared a new video trailer for *Young & Cursed*, uploaded to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a continuation to its initial teaser, which has gathered over strong viewer count.


In addition to its initial rollout, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has revealed that *Young & Cursed* will also be offered to international markets, offering the tale to a worldwide audience.


Witness this mind-warping fall into madness. Enter *Young & Cursed* this horror drop to explore these ghostly lessons about the human condition.


For exclusive trailers, production insights, and announcements from inside the story, follow @YoungAndCursedMovie across Facebook and TikTok and visit youngandcursed.com.





American horror’s decisive shift: 2025 U.S. calendar melds old-world possession, festival-born jolts, paired with returning-series thunder

Beginning with life-or-death fear drawn from ancient scripture and onward to legacy revivals together with surgical indie voices, 2025 is shaping up as the richest along with tactically planned year in years.

The 2025 horror calendar reads less like chaos, more like a plan. Major studios plant stakes across the year via recognizable brands, in parallel streaming platforms front-load the fall with emerging auteurs paired with archetypal fear. On the festival side, horror’s indie wing is propelled by the backdraft from a record 2024 festival run. Because Halloween stands as the showcase, the off-peak lanes are managed with purpose. The fall stretch is the proving field, notably this year, bookings reach January, spring, and mid-summer. Viewers are hungry, studios are targeted, accordingly 2025 could stand as the most orchestrated year.

Major Studio Plans with Mini-Major Flex: The Return of Prestige Fear

The majors are assertive. If 2024 prepared the terrain, 2025 presses the advantage.

the Universal banner leads off the quarter with a bold swing: a contemporary Wolf Man, leaving behind the period European setting, in an immediate now. Shepherded by Leigh Whannell and starring Christopher Abbott and Julia Garner, this approach fixes the lycanthropy within intimate rupture. The change is not purely bodily, it is marital, parental, and achingly human. timed for mid January, it joins a broader aim to occupy winter’s quiet with elevated titles, not leftovers.

The spring frame introduces Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher adaptation turned minimalist horror show. Guided by Eli Craig fronted by Katie Douglas with Kevin Durand, it comes as grit laced American nightmare with sardonic edge. Under the costume, it needles small town fear, cross generational rifts, and crowd punishment. Early circuit chatter says it has bite.

When summer tapers, Warner Bros. launches the swan song 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 steps in next. Originally slated for early summer, its move to an October release suggests confidence. Derrickson re engages, and so do the signature elements that made the first installment a sleeper hit: old school creep, trauma in the foreground, and eerie supernatural logic. The bar is raised this go, by enlarging the “grabber” map and grief’s lineage.

Bringing up the winter anchor is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a film that does not need traditional marketing to sell tickets. The return delves further into myth, enlarges the animatronic menagerie, and targets both teens and thirtysomething fans of the original game. It opens in December, stabilizing the winter back end.

Streaming Offerings: Slim budgets, major punch

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

One standout ambitious title is Weapons, a cold-case linked horror tapestry stitching three periods attached to a mass disappearance. Guided by Zach Cregger with turns by Josh Brolin and Julia Garner, the release pairs unease with narrative heft. Debuting in theaters late summer then streaming in fall, it looks primed to seed post watch analysis akin to Barbarian.

Keeping things close quarters is Together, a two hander body horror spiral fronted by Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Set at a remote rental during a getaway that sours, the piece probes how love, envy, and self loathing become bodily rot. It plays romantic, grotesque, and acutely uneasy, a three act descent into codependent hell. With no dated platform window yet, it is destined for a fall landing.

Also notable is Sinners, a Depression era vampire folk fable headlined by Michael B. Jordan. Rendered in sepia depth and layered biblical metaphor, it channels There Will Be Blood against Let the Right One In. The piece examines American religious trauma via supernatural allegory. First test passes flag it as highly discussable at debut.

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 Runs Deep: Young & Cursed

Going live October 2 on major services, Young & Cursed reads as a rare blend, small in footprint yet mythic in spread. Penned and steered by Andrew Chiaramonte, the piece tracks five strangers awakening in a remote wilds cabin, under Kyra’s sway, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. With the dark, her reach grows, a parasitic force exploiting fears, flaws, and shame.

This fear is psychologically driven, pulsing with primal myth. Instead of another exorcism piece centered on Catholic rites or Latin incantations, this piece touches something older, something darker. Lilith bypasses ritual, she awakens from trauma, repression, and human fragility. The shift to interior possession, not exterior conjuring, flips expectation and aligns Young & Cursed with an expanding wave, intimate character portraits wearing 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 clever angle. No bloated canon. No legacy baggage. Simply psychological fear, lean and taut, built for the binge then recover rhythm. With a spectacle heavy year, Young & Cursed may pop by going quiet, then screaming.

Festival Launchpads, Market Engines

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF function as launch beds for the coming year’s horror. This year, the launchpad function outruns the showcase role.

This year, Fantastic Fest confirms a strong horror slate. Primate, a tropical body horror opener, draws comparisons to Cronenberg and Herzog. Whistle, a folkloric revenge thriller steeped in Aztec lore, is expected to close the fest with fire.

Midnight fare like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You rides on craft as well as title. That title, with A24 backing, satirizes toxic fandom during a convention lockdown and is set to pop.

SXSW lifted Clown in a Cornfield and put microbudget hauntings into market talk. Sundance is expected to unspool a familiar crop of grief steeped elevated horror, while Tribeca’s genre yard leans urban, social, and surreal.

The festival game increasingly values branding over mere discovery. A Fantastic Fest or TIFF badge is phase one marketing, not a coda.

Legacy Lines: Sequels, Reboots, Reinventions

The franchise bench is sturdier and more targeted than lately.

Fear Street: Prom Queen comes in July with franchise revival, new lead, retro styling. In contrast to earlier chapters, it skews camp and prom night melodrama. Think tiaras, fake blood, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 hits late June, targeting a broadened techno horror canon with new characters and AI spawned nightmares. That first run’s social and SVOD traction lets Universal push further.

Then there is The Long Walk, an adaptation of one of Stephen King’s earliest and most harrowing works, led by Francis Lawrence, it reads as a brutal dystopian allegory inside survival horror, a walk till you drop competition for kids with no winners. If sold right, it could sit as The Hunger Games for adult horror fans.

Other reboots and sequels, Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda, are scattered across the calendar, most waiting for strategic windows or last minute acquisitions.

Trends to Watch

Mythic Horror Is Mainstream
Lilith in Young & Cursed and Aztec curses in Whistle point to ancient texts and symbols. It eschews nostalgia to repossess pre Christian archetypes. Horror reaches past fear, it states evil is old.

Body horror swings 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. Services bankroll legitimate writing, legitimate directors, and proper media. Titles such as Weapons and Sinners are treated as events, not mere content.

Festival buzz converts to leverage
Festival status acts as leverage for exhibition, placement, and publicity. Without festivals in 2025, a horror film can evaporate.

Cinemas are a trust fall
Theater slots go to likely overachievers or franchise starters. Everything else is PVOD or hybrid. Horror still lives in theaters, more curated than broad.

Near Term Outlook: Fall saturation and a winter joker

With Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons stacked into September and October, fall saturates. Indies like Bone Lake and Keeper will scrap for air. There may be pivots into early 2026 or across platforms.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 locks December, while a late surprise on a platform remains possible. With mythic energy high, a late creature or exorcism entry could pop.

The trick lies in diverse menus finding segmented crowds, not single title bets. The brief is not the next Get Out, it is horror with afterlife beyond receipts.



The upcoming fright release year: Sequels, original films, together with A packed Calendar tailored for jolts

Dek The new genre calendar stacks at the outset with a January cluster, from there extends through summer corridors, and straight through the holidays, marrying brand heft, new concepts, and calculated counter-scheduling. Distributors with platforms are doubling down on tight budgets, theatrical leads, and social-driven marketing that elevate the slate’s entries into broad-appeal conversations.

The state of horror, heading into 2026

The horror sector has established itself as the surest move in annual schedules, a segment that can scale when it performs and still cushion the exposure when it stumbles. After 2023 reminded strategy teams that efficiently budgeted fright engines can lead the zeitgeist, the following year held pace with high-profile filmmaker pieces and surprise hits. The trend moved into the 2025 frame, where resurrections and festival-grade titles underscored there is a market for several lanes, from franchise continuations to original features that travel well. The takeaway for 2026 is a roster that seems notably aligned across the major shops, with defined corridors, a harmony of household franchises and new pitches, and a recommitted priority on box-office windows that power the aftermarket on PVOD and OTT platforms.

Buyers contend the space now serves as a swing piece on the programming map. The genre can kick off on many corridors, provide a clear pitch for teasers and UGC-friendly snippets, and outstrip with demo groups that turn out on preview nights and stay strong through the second frame if the feature lands. Coming out of a strike-delayed pipeline, the 2026 configuration underscores belief in that setup. The calendar commences with a front-loaded January stretch, then exploits spring through early summer for genre counterpoints, while holding room for a fall run that extends to the Halloween corridor and into November. The program also illustrates the greater integration of arthouse labels and subscription services that can grow from platform, build word of mouth, and widen at the right moment.

A second macro trend is brand strategy across shared IP webs and storied titles. Major shops are not just making another return. They are looking to package connection with a headline quality, whether that is a art treatment that signals a refreshed voice or a casting choice that threads a fresh chapter to a heyday. At the very same time, the helmers behind the most watched originals are favoring on-set craft, makeup and prosthetics and vivid settings. That interplay hands 2026 a strong blend of recognition and newness, which is what works overseas.

How the majors and mini-majors are programming

Paramount defines the early cadence with two headline plays that cover both tonal poles. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the director’s chair and Neve Campbell back at the core, setting it up as both a cross-generational handoff and a classic-mode relationship-driven entry. Cameras are rolling in Atlanta, and the tonal posture suggests a heritage-honoring strategy without retreading the last two entries’ sibling arc. A campaign is expected stacked with franchise iconography, character-first teases, and a tease cadence timed to late fall. Distribution is Paramount in theaters.

Paramount also brings back 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 in development for the first time since the early 2000s, a draw the campaign will play up. As a counterweight in summer, this one will build wide appeal through remixable clips, with the horror spoof format making room for quick turns to whatever owns the social talk that spring.

Universal has three defined plays. SOULM8TE bows January 9, 2026, a AI-tinged spinoff from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The story engine is efficient, soulful, and easily pitched: a grieving man adopts an digital partner that becomes a fatal companion. The date positions it at the front of a front-loaded month, with marketing at Universal likely to bring back odd public stunts and micro spots that melds affection and creep.

On May 8, 2026, the studio sets an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely taken to be the feature developed under working names in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The official listing currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which allows a proper title to become an headline beat closer to the first trailer. The timing hands the studio a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles occupy other frames.

Rounding out the studio’s year, Jordan Peele’s untitled event film claims October 23, 2026, a slot he has made his own before. Peele projects are presented as must-see filmmaker statements, with a teaser that reveals little and a later creative that define feel without revealing the concept. The late-October frame offers Universal room to lead pre-holiday auditoriums with PLF and IMAX bookings where available, then lean on the copyright window to capture late-October interest at home.

Warner Bros., via New Line, links with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček is at the helm of, with Souheila Yacoub headlining. The franchise has proven that a in-your-face, practical-first style can feel top-tier on a lean spend. Look for a grime-caked summer horror shot that maximizes foreign markets, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most offshore territories.

Sony’s horror bench is loaded. The studio deploys two name-brand pushes in the back half. An untitled Insidious film arrives August 21, 2026, continuing a evergreen supernatural brand on the grid while the spin-off branch moves forward. Sony has reslotted on this title before, but the current plan sticks it in late summer, where the brand has shown strength.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil steps back in what Sony is presenting as a clean-slate approach for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a primary part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a well-defined brief to serve both core fans and novices. The fall slot hands Sony window to build assets around world-building, and monster design, elements that can accelerate format premiums and fandom activation.

Focus Features, working with Working Title, positions a prestige bet on Christmas Day with Werwulf on December 25, 2026. Set in 13th-century England, the film builds on Eggers’ run of period horror defined by careful craft and historical speech, this time engaging werewolf myth. The distributor has already set the date for a holiday release, a signal of faith in the auteur as a specialty play that can grow wide if early reception is robust.

Platform lanes and windowing

Digital strategies for 2026 run on known playbooks. Universal’s releases feed copyright after a box-office phase then PVOD, a stair-step that expands both first-week urgency and subscription bumps in the back half. Prime Video continues to mix library titles with worldwide entries and short theatrical plays when the data signals it. Max and Hulu lean on their strengths in library pulls, using prominent placements, fright rows, and collection rows to extend momentum on the year’s genre earnings. Netflix stays nimble about internal projects and festival snaps, finalizing horror entries near their drops and staging as events go-lives with tight-window plans. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, leverages a staged of targeted theatrical exposure and quick platforming that turns word of mouth into paid trials. That will play for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before pressing horror-fan channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ assesses case by case horror on a per-project basis. The platform has indicated interest to pick up select projects with top-tier auteurs or headline-cast packages, then give them a limited theatrical run in partnership with exhibitors to meet guild rules or to spark social proof before the streaming drop. Hulu and Disney’s domestic pipeline still pulls from the 20th Century Studios slate, a notable driver for retention when the genre conversation builds.

Boutique label prospects

Cineverse is curating a 2026 track with two label plays. Return to Silent Hill lands in January with Christophe Gans returning to his adaptation of Konami’s classic title. The sell is clear: the same foggy, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a favorite of fans, refined for modern audio-visual craft. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a autumn corridor, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has announced a standard theatrical run for Legacy, an optimistic indicator for fans of the hard-edged series and for exhibitors hungry for R material in the autumn weeks.

Focus will operate the filmmaker lane with Werwulf, curating the rollout through a fall festival swing if the cut is ready, then activating the holiday frame to scale. That positioning has paid off for elevated genre with wider appeal. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not locked many 2026-specific horror dates in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines generally solidify after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A safe bet is a run 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 runs at Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work jointly, using mini theatrical to ignite evangelism that fuels their community.

Series vs standalone

By skew, the 2026 slate favors the franchise column. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all capitalize on fan equity. The trade-off, as ever, is staleness. The near-term solution is to pitch each entry as a recast vibe. Paramount is elevating character and heritage in Scream 7, Sony is indicating a fresh ground-up build for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is maximizing a French sensibility from a hot helmer. Those choices prove meaningful when the audience has so many options and social sentiment shifts fast.

Non-franchise titles and visionary-led titles provide the air. Jordan Peele’s October film will be presented as a brand unto itself. Sam Raimi’s Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, places Rachel McAdams into a survival-thriller premise with that teasing menace. SOULM8TE offers a lean, creepy tech hook. Werwulf anchors in period detail and an uncompromising tone. Even when the title is not based on legacy IP, the package is recognizable enough to translate curiosity into advance sales and Thursday-night turnout.

Past-three-year patterns contextualize the approach. In 2023, a exclusive window model that preserved streaming windows did not preclude a day-date move from thriving when the brand was sticky. In 2024, precision craft horror exceeded expectations in premium auditoriums. In 2025, a resuscitation of a beloved infection saga showed the market that global horror franchises can still feel novel when they alter lens and scale the storytelling. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which carries on 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 lensed sequentially, creates space for marketing to cross-link entries through character arcs and themes and to sustain campaign assets without hiatuses.

How the look and feel evolve

The filmmaking conversations behind 2026 horror suggest a continued shift toward material, place-specific craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not repeat any recent iteration of the property, a stance that fits with the practical-effects sensibility he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film closed principal and is aimed at its April 17, 2026 date. Plan for a push that emphasizes creep and texture rather than VFX blitz, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership supporting cost management.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has spoken of Werwulf as the bleakest project he has tackled, which tracks with a feudal backdrop and period-faithful dialogue, a combination that can make for 3D sound and a cold, elemental mood on the big screen. Focus will likely tease this aesthetic in behind-the-scenes pieces and craft spotlights before rolling out a first look that plays with mood rather than plot, a move that has clicked for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is geared for practical nastiness, a signature of the series that sells overseas in red-band trailers and sparks shareable crowd-reaction snippets from early screenings. Scream 7 sets up a self-aware reset that brings back the core lead. Resident Evil will win or lose on monster work and world-building, which lend themselves to convention activations and curated leaks. Insidious tends to be a audio craft showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the big-screen case feel primary. Look for trailers that spotlight precise sound design, deep-bass stingers, and blank-sound beats that explode in larger rooms.

Calendar map: winter through the holidays

January is full. 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 moody palate cleanser amid bigger brand plays. The month winds down with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a survival shocker from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is stiff, but the range of tones ensures lanes for each, and the five-week structure creates breathing room for each if word of mouth sustains.

Pre-summer months stage summer. Scream 7 bows February 27 with nostalgia heat. In April, The Mummy reintroduces a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once was known for genre counterprogramming and now hosts big openers. Universal’s untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 connects into summer while maintaining horror’s hold on early May weekends this contact form that are not claimed by superheroes or family tentpoles.

Summer sorts the tones. Scary Movie 6 on June 12 is playful and broad, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 presents hard-R intensity. The counterprogramming logic is coherent. The spoof can pop next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest hits squarely for older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have rotated off PLF.

End of summer through fall leans series. The Insidious entry on August 21 gives the studio a spiritual-horror anchor where the brand has previously done well. Resident Evil lines up after September 18, a late-September window that still connects to Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event books October 23 and will command cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely amplified by a slow-reveal plan and limited asset reveals that center concept over reveals.

Holiday corridor prestige. Werwulf on December 25 is a declaration that genre can hold in the holidays when packaged as auteur prestige horror. The distributor has done this before, rolling out carefully, then leaning on critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to linger in conversation into January. If the film earns with critics, the studio can broaden in the first week of 2027 while carrying holiday turnout and gift-card spend.

One-sentence dossiers

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting to be detailed as production continues. Logline: Sidney returns to meet a new Ghostface while the narrative re-keys to the original film’s DNA. Rating: TBA. Production: Filming in Atlanta. Positioning: roots-first with a today edge.

SOULM8TE (Universal, January 9, 2026)
Producers: Atomic Monster, Blumhouse. Logline: A bereaved man’s artificial companion escalates into something perilously amorous. Rating: TBA. Production: Shoot completed 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 enlarges the frame beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult organizes in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Shot back-to-back with the first film. Positioning: revived prestige horror saga’s second leg.

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 be swallowed by a unsettled reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Finished and theatrical on deck. 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 struggle to survive on a far-flung island as the chain of command upends and fear crawls. Rating: TBA. Production: Principal done. Positioning: star-forward 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 menace, built on Cronin’s on-set craft and oozing dread. Rating: TBA. Production: Locked. Positioning: monster revival with signature voice.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A family-home haunting setup that explores the fear of a child’s unreliable senses. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: completed. 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 returning creatively. Logline: {A satirical comeback that riffs on current genre trends and true crime fixations. Rating: TBD. Production: cameras due to roll fall 2025. Positioning: four-quadrant summer counterplay.

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 surges, with an overseas twist in tone and setting. Rating: not yet rated. Production: currently in New Zealand. Positioning: hard-R franchise continuation built for premium large format.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: awaiting reveal. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: The Further yawns again, with a new clan linked to old terrors. Rating: not yet rated. Production: slated for summer production leading to late-summer release. Positioning: durable spectral IP in a late-summer sweet spot.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: to be announced publicly. Top cast: to be announced. Logline: A clean reboot designed to rebuild the franchise from the ground up, with an focus on classic survival-horror tone over action-forward bombast. Rating: forthcoming. Production: moving through development on a locked slot. Positioning: fidelity-minded reboot with crossover prospects.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: undisclosed. Logline: strategically hidden. Rating: awaiting classification. Production: continuing. Positioning: filmmaker-led event with teaser rollout.

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-specific language and bone-deep menace. Rating: pending. Production: in preparation with Christmas frame locked. Positioning: specialty holiday horror poised for crafts recognition.

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 cinema-first path before platforming. Status: slot unsettled, fall projected.

Why 2026, why now

Three workable forces organize this lineup. First, production that slowed or re-slotted in 2024 needed latitude on the slate. Horror can slot in fast because scripts often call for fewer locales, fewer large-scale VFX set pieces, and shorter schedules. Second, studios have become more rigorous about windows. Theatrical exclusivity remains the goal for most of these films, followed by PVOD and then platform streaming, a sequence that has consistently outpaced straight-to-streaming releases. Third, viral talk converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will mine meme-ready beats from test screenings, precision scare clips pegged to Thursday preview nights, and experiential pop-ups that generate creator assets. It is a repeatable playbook because it performs.

Another factor is the scheduling math. Early corridors for family and capes are leaner in 2026, freeing space for genre entries that can take a weekend outright or sit as the slightly older-skewing alternative. January is the prime example. Four horror varieties will coexist across five weekends, which lets each title generate conversation without cannibalizing the others. Summer provides the other window. The parody leverages early family and action lifts, then the hard-R entry can exploit a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Cost, ratings, and sleeper dynamics

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

The sleeper chase continues in Q1, where lean-budget genre can own weekends with minimal competition, and again in late summer, where horror often becomes the conversation when tentpoles tire. The 2026 slate is set up to use those gaps. January could easily deliver the first left-field winner 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. Count on a vigorous PVOD arc overall, 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 cadence and diversity. January is a feast, February delivers a legacy slasher, April brings back a Universal monster, May and June provide a paranormal one-two for date nights and group outings, July gets gnarly, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a somber, literate nightmare. That is how you preserve buzz while driving admissions without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can build month to month, using earlier releases to warm up the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors favor the spacing. Horror delivers consistent Thursday swells, efficient screen counts, and strong PLF uptake when the creative supports it. The 2026 slate has at least three titles that can win premium screens, with The Mummy, Evil Dead Burn, and Werwulf all showcasing dimensionality, aural design, 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

Schedules slip. Ratings change. Casts update. But the spine of 2026 horror is sturdy. There is name recognition where it counts, creative ambition where it counts, and a calendar that shows studios meet the timing for scares. The awards and festival pipeline into 2027 will come into focus once the fall festivals lock, and it would not be surprising to see at least one late-arriving specialty entry join the party. For now, the job is simple, deliver taut trailers, guard the secrets, and let the chills sell the seats.