Horror buffs are in for a treat – or a trick! – this Halloween.
From indie films exploring toxic masculinity and queer interpretations of slashers to adaptations of beloved video games, 2026’s stacked horror lineup offers something for every fan.
Read on for Daily Bruin Arts contributors’ selection of horror movies released this year.
“Backrooms” (May 29)
Some men would rather move into an alternate dimension than work through their divorce.
In YouTuber-turned-director Kane Parsons’ “Backrooms,” released May 29, furniture store owner Clark (Chiwetel Ejiofor) discovers a section of his basement wall he can walk straight through. On the other side, he discovers an endless sprawl of yellow walls, fluorescent lights and aggressively depressing carpeting. Naturally, he decides to explore – and eventually makes himself at home. The warped familiarity offers refuge from his crumbling marriage, failing business and, most of all, himself. His therapist, Mary (Renate Reinsve), later receives a cryptic message that says Clark won’t be returning.
But there’s no talking your way through a preternatural dimension. Everything in the Backrooms looks almost familiar. The soundtrack makes sure the viewer never feels comfortable, which only makes its distortions harder to stomach. Rooms stretch beyond reason, human figures don’t look quite human and the place seems to remember its visitors – with a little creative license. For Mary, it’s a rescue mission with an increasingly uncooperative patient. Meanwhile, researchers studying this liminal space hint that Clark isn’t the first person to take an interest in this deeply questionable real estate.
Getting out is one problem. Getting the Backrooms to forget you? That’s another problem entirely.
– Audrey Nguyenhuu
[Related: Second Take: ‘Obsession,’ ‘Backrooms’ prove fresh stories spark conversations, fill theaters]
“Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” (August 7)
“Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma” is a slasher film about the making of a slasher film.
Jane Schoenbrun’s 2026 film stars Hannah Einbinder as Kris, a young director tasked with reviving the aging Camp Miasma horror franchise. After several lackluster installments and a thinning audience, her mission leads her to the original film’s star, played by Gillian Anderson, who has since withdrawn from public life. Their meeting draws both into a violent, hallucinatory exploration of longing and terror, with the spear-wielding killer, Little Death – played by Jack Haven – lurking nearby. The ensemble cast also includes Amanda Fix, Arthur Conti, Eva Victor, Zach Cherry, Sarah Sherman and Dylan Baker.
Produced by Plan B Entertainment, the film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May, opened in theaters in the United States on Aug. 7 and was made available to stream on Mubi on Oct. 2. The film is a blend of horror and comedy and builds on the conventions of the meta-slasher. Schoenbrun, who also wrote the film, builds on the themes and characters of her previous works “I Saw the TV Glow” and “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair” as a part of her “Screen Trilogy.” Cinematographer Eric Yue helps Schoenbrun reinvent the horror heroine fashion while composer Alex G develops the film’s eroticism and brutality with a terrifying score. The film puts the genre’s “final girl” under a magnifying glass, turning a slasher stampede into the subject of the story.
Franchises rarely stay buried. This one asks what it costs to dig one up.
– Alexis Coffee
[Related: Second Take: The future of theaters depends on giving audiences a reason to leave the couch]
“Resident Evil” (September 18)
Every year, horror-comedies come and go. One thing is evident: “Resident Evil” is still alive!
“Weapons” director Zach Cregger adapts the long-running video game franchise into a fresh, standalone horror classic. Bryan Hodukavich (Austin Abrams), a lowly medical courier, becomes the latest victim of Raccoon City’s horrors. After avoiding a personal conflict, Bryan is tasked with delivering a valuable medical package to Raccoon City General Hospital. Along the way, he encounters skin-crawling creatures infected by the mysterious t-virus – a synthetic disease developed by the Umbrella Corporation that turns its hosts into tentacular, flesh-eating fiends.
The film is structured like a video game, complete with a tutorial, meticulous set pieces, a maze-like sewer section and a climactic third-act monster showdown. It’s shot like one too, emulating over-the-shoulder action shots, claustrophobic fixed perspectives and believably shaky first-person perspectives. And speaking of relatability, Bryan is the series’ most resonant protagonist since Ethan Winters in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. Not only is he hilariously terrified in every scene, but his “Eraserhead”-like fear of fatherhood and the self-hatred that comes with it bring a new dimension of humanity to the series.
So take the ride with Bryan. You’ll be screaming the whole time.
– Parsa Arshi
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