Primeval Dread stirs: Andrew Chiaramonte’s Young & Cursed, a bone chilling supernatural thriller, arriving Oct 2025 across top streaming platforms

This terrifying unearthly fright fest from creator / cinema craftsman Andrew Chiaramonte, releasing an primeval nightmare when strangers become instruments in a devilish struggle. Airings begin on October 2, 2025, on Amazon Prime, the YouTube platform, Google Play Movies & TV, iTunes Movies, Apple’s TV+ service, and Fandango streaming.

Los Angeles, CA (August 8, 2025) – get set for *Young & Cursed*, a harrowing chronicle of continuance and age-old darkness that will reshape fear-driven cinema this spooky time. Guided by rising genre visionary Andrew Chiaramonte, this gritty and eerie feature follows five unknowns who regain consciousness stuck in a hidden shelter under the menacing sway of Kyra, a female lead possessed by a timeless ancient fiend. Be warned to be hooked by a cinematic journey that fuses gut-punch terror with mythic lore, landing on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango at Home on October 2, 2025.


Demonic control has been a mainstay element in the entertainment world. In *Young & Cursed*, that idea is radically shifted when the demons no longer appear from a different plane, but rather inside them. This suggests the most terrifying version of the victims. The result is a emotionally raw psychological battle where the events becomes a intense struggle between moral forces.


In a isolated terrain, five characters find themselves isolated under the evil presence and infestation of a secretive figure. As the survivors becomes vulnerable to fight her rule, severed and preyed upon by creatures unfathomable, they are driven to reckon with their core terrors while the timeline harrowingly strikes toward their death.


In *Young & Cursed*, tension mounts and alliances disintegrate, forcing each figure to doubt their self and the idea of freedom of choice itself. The tension climb with every second, delivering a scare-fueled ride that combines unearthly horror with deep insecurity.

Andrew Chiaramonte, Director: “With *Young & Cursed*, my purpose was to dig into raw dread, an power beyond recorded history, influencing emotional fractures, and wrestling with a force that questions who we are when we lose control.”

Madison Hubler (Kyra): “Channeling Kyra demanded embodying something beneath mortal despair. She is oblivious until the takeover begins, and that flip is soul-crushing because it is so personal.”

Release & Availability

*Young & Cursed* will be offered for home viewing beginning from October 2, 2025, on Amazon’s platform, YouTube, Google Play, iTunes, Apple TV+, and Fandango on-demand—ensuring subscribers in all regions can engage with this chilling supernatural event.


Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has just launched a new video trailer for *Young & Cursed*, available to watch on YouTube at https://youtu.be/zu0n4WmPI1s, as a evolution to its release of trailer #1, which has pulled in over thousands of viewers.


In addition to its continental debut, Chiaramonte Films, Inc. has revealed that *Young & Cursed* will also be launched globally, presenting the nightmare to viewers around the world.


Do not miss this haunted path of possession. Explore *Young & Cursed* this launch day to see these fearful discoveries about human nature.


For cast commentary, extra content, and updates from the cast and crew, follow @YoungAndCursed across media channels and visit our film’s homepage.





American horror’s tipping point: the 2025 cycle domestic schedule braids together primeval-possession lore, indie terrors, together with series shake-ups

Spanning survival horror infused with primordial scripture all the way to franchise returns together with cutting indie sensibilities, 2025 is emerging as the most complex along with strategic year of the last decade.

It is crowded, and also meticulously arranged. Top studios bookend the months by way of signature titles, at the same time premium streamers flood the fall with emerging auteurs together with old-world menace. At the same time, the independent cohort is surfing the backdraft of a peak 2024 circuit. As Halloween stays the prime week, the surrounding weeks are charted with intent. The fall stretch is the proving field, however this time, rollouts stretch into January, spring, and mid-summer. The audience is primed, studios are disciplined, as a result 2025 may end up the most intentional cycle yet.

Studio Chessboard and Mini-Major Plays: Premium genre swings back

The majors are not coasting. If 2024 framed the blueprint, 2025 accelerates.

Universal starts the year with an audacious swing: a reconceived Wolf Man, avoiding the standard nineteenth century European backdrop, in an immediate now. Guided by Leigh Whannell with Christopher Abbott alongside Julia Garner, this chapter binds the lycanthropy to domestic unraveling. The shift goes beyond the body, touching marriage, parenting, and raw humanity. dated for mid January, it aligns with turning the winter slack into a premium lane, not a dumping lane.

The spring frame introduces Clown in a Cornfield, a YA slasher page-to-screen distilled into spare horror. From director Eli Craig featuring turns by Katie Douglas and Kevin Durand, it is blood soaked Americana horror with a satirical streak. Beneath the mask, it picks at rural paranoia, age cohort splits, and lynch mob logic. Early circuit chatter says it has bite.

As summer wanes, the Warner Bros. banner releases the last chapter inside its trusty horror universe: The Conjuring: Last Rites. Farmiga and Wilson return as the Warrens, the piece hints at a heartfelt wrap as it treats a notorious case. Even with a familiar chassis, director Michael Chaves reportedly leans into a mournful, interior tone for the swan song. It posts in early September, creating cushion before October load.

Arriving later is The Black Phone 2. First targeted at early summer, the move into October reads bullish. Scott Derrickson is back, and the tone that worked before is intact: throwback unease, trauma as theme, along with eerie supernatural rules. The ante is higher this round, with more excavation of the “grabber” canon and family hauntings.

Bringing up the winter anchor is Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, a film that does not need traditional marketing to sell tickets. The continuation widens the legend, thickens the animatronic pantheon, speaking to teens and older millennials. It drops in December, buttoning the final window.

SVOD Originals: No Budget, No Problem

While theaters bet on familiarity, platforms are wagering boldly, and results are there.

A flagship risky title is Weapons, a multi timeline cold-case dread piece braiding three timelines tied to a mass vanishing. Under Zach Cregger with Josh Brolin opposite Julia Garner, the movie mixes chill with dramatic weight. Opening theatrically late summer ahead of fall SVOD, it may catalyze deconstruction threads like Barbarian.

Keeping things close quarters is Together, a close quarters body horror study led by Alison Brie and Dave Franco. Fixed in a remote let as a weekend curdles, the movie follows love and envy and self denial into corporeal breakdown. It feels intimate, ghastly, and profoundly uneasy, a three part fall into codependent hell. Absent a posted platform date, it is tracking toward an autumn slot.

Then there is Sinners, a 1930s set vampire folk tale toplined by Michael B. Jordan. Shot in rich sepia tones and drenched in biblical metaphor, it feels like There Will Be Blood fused with Let the Right One In. The narrative analyzes American religious trauma through a ghostly allegory. 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 all tap into themes of grief, disappearance, and identity, often using horror as metaphor instead of spectacle.

Possession With Depth: Young & Cursed

Dropping October 2 across all major streaming platforms, Young & Cursed operates as a rare duality, minimal in staging, maximal in myth. Authored and directed by Andrew Chiaramonte, the movie observes five strangers who awaken in an isolated wilderness cabin, controlled by Kyra, a young woman possessed by the ancient biblical demon Lilith. As dusk gives way to night, Kyra’s grip intensifies, a violating force plundering fears, vulnerabilities, and regrets.

The horror here is psychological but charged with primal myth. Rather than another exorcism film centered on Catholic rites or Latin incantations, this piece touches something older, something darker. Lilith is not summoned by priests, she rises from trauma, muteness, and human fault lines. That possession comes from within, not without, flips the trope and aligns Young & Cursed with a growing trend in horror, intimate character studies that dress themselves in the skin of 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 looks like sharp programming. No swollen lore. No canon weight. Bare psychological dread, trim and tense, designed for binge and breath patterns. In a spectacle stack, Young & Cursed could be the hush before the shriek.

Festivals as Springboards

Fantastic Fest, SXSW, Tribeca, and TIFF serve as nurseries for near future horror. This year, the launchpad function outruns the showcase role.

The Fantastic Fest slate for horror is strong this year. Primate bows as a tropical body horror opener with Cronenberg and Herzog echoes. Whistle, a revenge folktale steeped in Aztec myth, is tapped to close with fire.

At midnight, entries like If I Had Legs I’d Kick You buzz for how they play, not only their names. A24 support plus satire of toxic fandom in a convention lockdown puts it on breakout watch.

SXSW lifted Clown in a Cornfield and put microbudget hauntings into market talk. Sundance tends to present grief infused elevated horror and likely will, and Tribeca’s genre set plays urban, social, and surreal.

This cycle, festival strategy pivots from discovery toward branding. Laurels now light the fuse, they do not just adorn.

Legacy IP: Additions, Do Overs, and Revisions

Legacy IP arrives sturdier and more intentional this cycle.

Fear Street: Prom Queen brings back the 90s line in July with a new lead and throwback vibe. In contrast to earlier chapters, it skews camp and prom night melodrama. Expect tiaras, corn syrup blood, and VHS panic.

M3GAN 2.0 arrives late June, aiming to expand its techno horror mythology with new characters and new AI generated terrors. The original’s social and streaming breakout emboldened Universal to double down.

On the slate sits The Long Walk, from one of Stephen King’s stark early titles, led by Francis Lawrence, it is a brutal dystopian allegory wrapped in survival horror, a kids walking until they die competition with no real winners. If packaged well, it could track like The Hunger Games for horror adults.

Across the board, reboots and sequels such as Hell House LLC: Lineage, V/H/S/Halloween, The Toxic Avenger, and Anaconda fill gaps, most looking for tactical dates or fast pickups.

Trend Lines

Mythic dread mainstreams
Lilith in Young & Cursed plus Aztec curses in Whistle highlight ancient texts and symbols. It eschews nostalgia to repossess pre Christian archetypes. Horror extends beyond terror, it frames evil as primordial.

Body Horror Makes a Comeback
Work like Together, Weapons, and Keeper revisit the flesh. Mutation, infection, transformation function as metaphors for heartbreak, grief, and regret.

Platform originals gain bite
Low grade filler is no longer the platform default. Platforms invest in real scripts, real directors, and real campaigns. Entries like Weapons and Sinners get event treatment, not inventory.

Festival momentum becomes leverage
Laurels are not just decorative, they leverage theatrical, premium placement, and media cycles. Without festivals in 2025, a horror film can evaporate.

Theaters are a trust fall
Studios are only releasing horror theatrically if they believe it will overperform or spin into sequels. Other titles pivot PVOD or hybrid. Horror continues in theaters, in narrower curated lanes.

Forecast: Autumn crowding, winter surprise

With Young & Cursed, The Conjuring: Last Rites, The Black Phone 2, and Weapons stacked into September and October, fall saturates. Indies such as Bone Lake and Keeper must fight for oxygen. Expect one or more to pivot into early 2026 or shift platforms.

Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 locks December, while a late surprise on a platform remains possible. 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 oncoming spook season: returning titles, universe starters, alongside A busy Calendar calibrated for Scares

Dek The upcoming terror cycle stacks in short order with a January bottleneck, after that stretches through summer corridors, and straight through the holidays, weaving name recognition, new voices, and strategic calendar placement. Studio marketers and platforms are doubling down on mid-range economics, theater-first strategies, and short-form initiatives that turn genre releases into culture-wide discussion.

Horror’s status entering 2026

The horror marketplace has shown itself to be the most reliable lever in distribution calendars, a space that can spike when it catches and still cushion the losses when it under-delivers. After 2023 demonstrated to greenlighters that mid-range shockers can own the zeitgeist, the following year carried the beat with signature-voice projects and word-of-mouth wins. The head of steam carried into the 2025 frame, where returns and prestige plays signaled there is appetite for varied styles, from legacy continuations to original one-offs that travel well. The sum for the 2026 slate is a calendar that shows rare alignment across distributors, with planned clusters, a blend of recognizable IP and fresh ideas, and a reinvigorated stance on exclusive windows that increase tail monetization on PVOD and SVOD.

Planners observe the horror lane now functions as a swing piece on the programming map. Horror can open on nearly any frame, yield a simple premise for marketing and social clips, and outstrip with crowds that respond on previews Thursday and return through the second weekend if the film pays off. Emerging from a strike-impacted pipeline, the 2026 layout indicates comfort in that playbook. The calendar kicks off with a weighty January lineup, then leans on spring and early summer for contrast, while leaving room for a autumn stretch that extends to All Hallows period and past Halloween. The calendar also includes the tightening integration of boutique distributors and OTT outlets that can build gradually, generate chatter, and expand at the optimal moment.

A second macro trend is legacy care across interlocking continuities and classic IP. Studios are not just releasing another chapter. They are looking to package ongoing narrative with a marquee sheen, whether that is a title treatment that conveys a fresh attitude or a cast configuration that connects a upcoming film to a classic era. At the in tandem, the writer-directors behind the most buzzed-about originals are favoring on-set craft, in-camera effects and grounded locations. That alloy provides the 2026 slate a vital pairing of brand comfort and invention, which is how the genre sells abroad.

The majors’ 2026 approach

Paramount fires first with two centerpiece releases that sit at tonal extremes. First comes Scream 7 on February 27, 2026, with Kevin Williamson in the lead and Neve Campbell back at the spine, marketing it as both a legacy handover and a back-to-basics character piece. The film is shooting in Atlanta, and the narrative stance telegraphs a roots-evoking angle without going over the last two entries’ Carpenter sisters arc. A campaign is expected leaning on recognizable motifs, initial cast looks, and a tiered teaser plan aimed at late fall. Distribution is Paramount theatrical.

Paramount also reboots a once-mighty spoof franchise with Scary Movie 6 on June 12, 2026, directed by Michael Tiddes. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are paired again, with the Wayans brothers involved creatively for the first time since the early 2000s, a headline the campaign will emphasize. As a summer alternative, this one will drive mainstream recognition through meme-friendly cuts, with the horror spoof format fitting quick turns to whatever drives the discourse that spring.

Universal has three distinct projects. SOULM8TE rolls out January 9, 2026, a digital-age offshoot from the M3GAN universe from Atomic Monster and Blumhouse. The premise is simple, somber, and easily pitched: a grieving man brings home an intelligent companion that grows into a fatal companion. The date nudges it to the front of a busy month, with the marketing arm likely to bring back uncanny live moments and quick hits that interweaves attachment and anxiety.

On May 8, 2026, the studio dates an untitled Rob Savage horror film, widely understood to be the feature developed under early labels in the family-in-peril vein, with Jessica Chastain top-lining. The listed schedule currently lists it as an untitled Savage project, which preserves a official title to become an fan moment closer to the debut look. The timing offers Universal a foothold in early May while larger tentpoles stack elsewhere.

Capping 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 positioned as director events, with a minimalist tease and a later creative that shape mood without giving away the concept. The spooky-season slot offers Universal room to command 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, partners with Sony internationally for Evil Dead Burn, dated July 24, 2026. Sébastien Vaniček helms, with Souheila Yacoub at the center. The franchise has made clear that a visceral, practical-effects forward mix can feel deluxe on a tight budget. Frame it as a blood-and-grime summer horror charge that emphasizes international markets, with Warner Bros. handling U.S. and Sony taking most international territories.

Sony’s horror bench is well stocked. The studio books two franchise maneuvers in the back half. An untitled Insidious film hits August 21, 2026, extending a bankable supernatural brand active while the spin-off branch moves forward. Sony has shifted dates on this title before, but the current plan holds it in late summer, where Insidious has been strong.

Then, on September 18, 2026, Resident Evil reappears in what Sony is marketing as a clean-slate approach for its game-to-film powerhouse. With the PlayStation Productions pipeline now a strategic part of the studio’s strategy, this new take has a well-defined brief to serve both loyalists and first-timers. The fall slot lets Sony to build materials around lore, and creature design, elements that can amplify deluxe auditorium demand and convention buzz.

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 advances Eggers’ run of period horror centered on careful craft and period language, this time exploring werewolf lore. Focus Features has already set the date for a holiday release, a confidence marker in the auteur as a specialty play that can build and expand if early reception is enthusiastic.

Streaming strategies and platform plays

Windowing plans in 2026 run on established tracks. The Universal horror run move to copyright after a theatrical and PVOD run, a sequence that amplifies both debut momentum and platform bumps in the tail. Prime Video will mix third-party pickups with cross-border buys and limited runs in theaters when the data backs it. Max and Hulu lean on their strengths in archive usage, using featured rows, holiday hubs, and collection rows to imp source keep attention on 2026 genre cume. Netflix keeps optionality about own-slate titles and festival grabs, scheduling horror entries tight to release and eventizing debuts with tight-window plans. Shudder, integrated with RLJE and Cineverse’s theatrical footprint, deploys a laddered of tailored theatrical exposure and quick platforming that drives paid trials from buzz. That will be critical for Return to Silent Hill, which Cineverse is releasing in theaters January 23, 2026, before pivoting to direct-to-fan channels in the months that follow.

Apple TV+ treats carefully horror on a title-by-title basis. The platform has exhibited willingness to buy select projects with accomplished filmmakers or star-led 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’s domestic pipeline still pulls from the 20th Century Studios slate, a core piece for retention when the genre conversation spikes.

Art-house genre prospects

Cineverse is quietly building a 2026 slate 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 uncomplicated: the same haunting, fog-choked atmosphere that made the original a favorite of fans, retooled for modern soundscapes and visuals. Later in the year, Wolf Creek: Legacy is expected in a September to November window, with Greg McLean back steering his outback slasher universe. The distributor has positioned a theatrical rollout for Legacy, an healthy marker for fans of the savage series and for exhibitors hungry for R material in the October weeks.

Focus will operate the filmmaker lane with Werwulf, stewarding the film through the autumn circuit if the cut is ready, then pressing the holiday slot to open out. That positioning has delivered for craft-driven horror with award possibilities. A24, NEON, IFC Films, RLJE, and Magnet have not finalized many 2026 slots in public calendars yet, but their festival pipelines usually solidify after Sundance, Berlin, and Cannes. A sound expectation is a handful of late-summer and fall platformers that can grow if reception prompts. Expect an A24 acquisition out of Sundance midnight slots and a NEON title that plays Cannes before a September or October domestic bow. RLJE and Shudder often work hand in hand, using select theatrical to spark the evangelism that fuels their audience.

IP versus fresh ideas

By skew, 2026 leans in favor of the brand-heavy side. Scream 7, Insidious, Resident Evil, Evil Dead Burn, and Return to Silent Hill all capitalize on franchise value. The trade-off, as ever, is diminishing returns. The near-term solution is to present each entry as a re-toned entry. Paramount is centering relationship and legacy in Scream 7, Sony is suggesting a ground-zero restart for Resident Evil, and New Line’s Evil Dead Burn is centering a French sensibility from a fresh helmer. Those choices carry weight when the audience has so many options and social sentiment swings fast.

Non-franchise titles and director-driven titles supply the oxygen. Jordan Peele’s October film will be branded as a brand unto itself. Send Help, dated January 30, 2026 at 20th Century Studios, puts Rachel McAdams into a island survival premise with signature tonal menace. SOULM8TE offers a sharp, spooky tech hook. Werwulf grounds itself in period and an unyielding tone. Even when the title is not based on existing IP, the bundle is known enough to spark pre-sales and Thursday previews.

Three-year comps frame the playbook. In 2023, a exclusive cinema model that held distribution windows did not foreclose a simultaneous release test from performing when the brand was powerful. In 2024, meticulous-craft horror punched above its weight in PLF auditoriums. In 2025, a reawakened chapter of a beloved infection saga broadcast that global horror franchises can still feel novel when they alter lens and widen scale. That last point is directly relevant to Sony’s 28 Years Later plan, which advances January 16, 2026 with 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, this time directed by Nia DaCosta from a script by Alex Garland. The twin-shoot approach, with chapters filmed consecutively, permits marketing to bridge entries through personae and themes and to hold creative in the market without hiatuses.

Aesthetic and craft notes

The production chatter behind these films hint at a continued lean toward practical, location-rooted craft. Lee Cronin has said his The Mummy will not mirror any recent iteration of the property, a stance that aligns with the in-camera lean he brought to Evil Dead Rise. The film completed filming and is lined up for its April 17, 2026 date. Anticipate a rollout that leans on atmosphere and fear rather than fireworks, with the New Line and Blumhouse partnership supporting efficient spending.

Robert Eggers, meanwhile, has described Werwulf as the most chilling project he has tackled, which tracks with a medieval world and era-true language, a combination that can make for 3D sound and a spare, elemental mood on the big screen. Focus will likely preview this aesthetic in long-lead press and technical spotlights before rolling out a initial teaser that centers atmosphere over story, a move that has clicked for the filmmaker’s past releases.

On the franchise side, Evil Dead Burn is calibrated for visceral gnarl, a signature of the series that exports well in red-band trailers and earns shareable reaction clips from early screenings. Scream 7 promises a meta pivot that puts the original star at center. Resident Evil will hit or miss on creature execution and sets, which are ideal for convention activations and curated leaks. Insidious tends to be a sound-mix showcase, with Dolby and Atmos spots that make the theatrical pitch feel must-have. Look for trailers that center pin-drop sound, deep-bass stingers, and quiet voids that benefit on big speakers.

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. Cineverse’s Return to Silent Hill follows on January 23, a gloomy counterbalance amid headline IP. The month winds down with Send Help on January 30 via 20th Century Studios, a crash-survival thriller from Sam Raimi that puts a star forward in Rachel McAdams. The competition here is serious, but the palette of tones carves a lane for each, and the five-week structure supports a clean run for each if word of mouth persists.

Late winter and spring set up the summer. Scream 7 rolls out February 27 with legacy momentum. In April, The Mummy reframes a classic monster on April 17, a spring frame that once favored genre counterprogramming and now nurtures big openers. Universal’s untitled Rob Savage film on May 8 hands off to 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 light and four-quadrant, then Evil Dead Burn on July 24 presents severe intensity. The counterprogramming logic is sound. The spoof can connect next to family tentpoles and animated films, while the mid-summer gorefest delights older teenagers and genre diehards once the big Friday sequels have moved through premium slots.

Back half into 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 bridge slot that still ties into Halloween marketing beats. The Peele event occupies October 23 and will dominate cultural oxygen heading into Halloween weekend, likely pushed by a tease-and-hold strategy and limited teasers that center concept over reveals.

Year-end prestige and specialty. Werwulf on December 25 is a flag plant that genre can compete at Christmas when packaged as auteur prestige horror. The distributor has done this before, platforming carefully, then using critics’ lists and awards-season craft coverage to remain in discourse into January. If the film lands critically, the studio can increase count in the first week of 2027 while carrying holiday turnout and card redemption.

Film-by-film briefs

Scream 7 (Paramount, February 27, 2026)
Director: Kevin Williamson. Top cast: Neve Campbell, with casting ongoing as production advances. Logline: Sidney returns to take on a new Ghostface while the narrative relinks to 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 mourning man’s virtual companion evolves into something seductively lethal. Rating: TBA. Production: Production locked 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 widens the scope beyond the immediate outbreak as a cult surges in the ruins. Rating: TBA. Production: Filmed consecutively with the first film. Positioning: prestige apocalypse continuation.

Return to Silent Hill (Cineverse, January 23, 2026)
Director: Christophe Gans. Top cast: TBA in updated campaign materials. Logline: A man returns to a fog-shrouded town in search of a lost love, only to meet a unstable reality and the town’s horrors. Rating: TBA. Production: Done with U.S. run set. Positioning: tone-first game 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 severe boss work to survive on a rugged island as the pecking order turns and dread encroaches. Rating: TBA. Production: Completed. 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 fresh reimagining that returns the monster to menace, founded on Cronin’s practical effects and slow-bloom dread. Rating: TBA. Production: In the can. Positioning: classic monster revival with auteur stamp.


Untitled Rob Savage Horror Film (Universal, May 8, 2026)
Director: Rob Savage. Top cast: Jessica Chastain. Logline: {A domestic haunting chiller that mediates the fear via a kid’s unsteady subjective view. Rating: forthcoming. Production: post-ready. Positioning: studio-backed, star-driven haunted-house 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 satirical comeback that skewers modern genre fads and true crime fixations. Rating: TBA. Production: shoot planned for 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 erupts, with an multinational twist in tone and setting. Rating: pending. Production: on location in New Zealand. Positioning: intense red-band chapter tailored to PLF.

Untitled Insidious Film (Sony, August 21, 2026)
Director: TBA publicly. Top cast: TBD. Logline: The Further ripples again, with a fresh family entangled with old terrors. Rating: pending. Production: set for summer production targeting late-summer opening. Positioning: dependable ghost-franchise slot that suits the brand.

Resident Evil (Sony, September 18, 2026)
Director: unrevealed publicly. Top cast: unrevealed. Logline: A fresh restart designed to recreate the franchise from the ground up, with an preference for survival horror over action spectacle. Rating: TBA. Production: dev phase with date secured. Positioning: game-rooted reset with broad potential.

Jordan Peele Untitled Event Film (Universal, October 23, 2026)
Director: Jordan Peele. Top cast: to be announced. Logline: purposely secretive. Rating: TBD. Production: ongoing. Positioning: filmmaker showcase with teaser-first cadence.

Werwulf (Focus Features, December 25, 2026)
Director: Robert Eggers. Top cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, with other regulars expected. Logline: A medieval werewolf story built on time-true diction and raw menace. Rating: TBA. Production: in preproduction for holiday debut. 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 traditional theatrical release planned before platforming. Status: timing TBD, fall window eyed.

Why the moment is 2026

Three practical forces shape this lineup. First, production that hiccuped or shuffled in 2024 needed slack in the schedule. Horror can fill those gaps quickly because scripts often call for fewer locales, fewer large-scale effects sequences, and shorter timelines. Second, studios have become more orderly 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 dumps. Third, platform buzz converts. The marketing teams behind these titles will mine reaction-worthy moments from test screenings, select scare clips dropping on Thursday previews, and experiential pop-ups that become influencer fuel. It is a repeatable playbook because it works.

The slot calculus is real. Early 2026 is less crowded with family and superhero corridors, clearing runway for genre entries that can seize a weekend or sit as the slightly older-skewing alternative. January is the prime example. Four horror lanes will line up across five weekends, which keeps buzz lanes tidy. Summer provides the other window. The parody aligns with early family and action waves, then the hard-R entry can pounce on a late-July lull before back-to-school.

Money matters, ratings, and surprise hits

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

The dark-horse hunt continues in Q1, where low-to-mid 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 leverage those opportunities. January could easily deliver the first stealth overachiever 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.

What the calendar feels like for audiences

From a moviegoer’s perspective, the 2026 horror year offers momentum and variety. January is a smorgasbord, February delivers a legacy slasher, April revives a Universal monster, May and June provide a paranormal one-two for date nights and group outings, July leans brutal, August and September keep the supernatural momentum, October turns into a Jordan Peele event, and December invites a austere, literate nightmare. That is how you maintain buzz and butts in seats without cannibalizing your own titles. The pattern also supports social campaigns that can gain momentum, using earlier releases to condition the audience for bigger plays in the fall.

Exhibitors endorse the spacing. Horror delivers regular Thursday spikes, right-sized allotments, 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 texture, sound field, and camera work 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

Release dates move. Ratings change. Casts shuffle. But the spine of 2026 horror is firm. There is franchise muscle where it helps, inventive vision where it helps, 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 late-stage specialty acquisition join the party. For now, the job is simple, roll out exact trailers, guard the secrets, and let the scares sell the seats.