TW: Brief discussions of domestic violence against women. If you or a loved one is struggling with domestic violence, the National Domestic Violence Hotline is always available.
In the last several years, there has been a rise in films in the horror scene dubbed “incel horror.” One might ask, what is incel horror, and what aspects come together for films to be given this jarring title?
Incel horror is a horror film subgenre in which the main threat to a typically female protagonist is not a monster, killer, or the paranormal, but the everyday man. The genre makes the power dynamics a key player, often placing the female protagonists in positions of little to no agency. On the other hand, the male antagonists are often portrayed as the insecure, awkward “nice guys” and/or hopeless romantics, giving the image of the incel, or involuntary celibate. In these films, the main character dynamics are often framed as romantic relationships, happy ones at that, establishing a tone for the hopeless romantic motivators behind incel culture.
For example, in Curry Barker’s Obsession (2026), a young man named Bear, played by Michael Johnston, wishes on a One Wish Willow that his work crush, Nikki, played by Inde Navarette, would reciprocate his obsession. In making this wish, he ruins her life by coercing her into a relationship without her knowing consent, turning her into a completely different person from the girl at the start of the film.
Another textbook example of the romantic relationship dynamic in an incel horror film is Drew Hancock’s Companion (2025), in which Josh, played by Jack Quaid, a lonely young man, purchases Iris, played by Sophie Thatcher, a companion robot, who then becomes self-aware of the fact that she is a robot and realizes she has only been used for sex and companionship and that Josh does not really love her.
Finally, another popular example of incel horror is Olivia Wilde’s Don’t Worry Darling (2022), in which a young woman, Alice, played by Florence Pugh, lives as a housewife to Jack, played by Harry Styles, who maintains the image of a husband who works for the mysterious Victory Project. Alice begins to question this pseudo-reality, and she realizes that her real-world, modern-day self has been hypnotized into the 1950s daydream by Jack, which is the sole purpose of the Victory Project.
The key weapon that each of these male antagonists uses is manipulation. They lead these women to believe they are loved, but in reality, they take away their sense of free will, which one could argue is not love at all.
Revoking agency from women is a common, misogynistic trend among incel culture. A portion of incel culture that should also be addressed is the concept of the “male loneliness epidemic.” Many men find comfort and community in one another, grounded in the belief that loneliness and “involuntary” celibacy are due to the women in their lives, and there is a refusal to reflect internally, change, and grow.
These feelings of anger and hatred towards women are perpetuated throughout incel circles, and they, implicitly or explicitly, encourage each other to act emotionally and physically violently towards women. And thus the genre of incel horror is born.
In Companion and Don’t Worry Darling, Iris and Alice both take revenge on their male antagonists, find freedom, and reclaim their lives. However, at the end of Obsession, though Bear dies and the curse on Nikki is broken, she is left in a room with a dead man and no memory of what happened or why she’s in this position. Obsession, specifically, illustrates the long-lasting impacts of incel culture in the real world. When men make decisions to control women’s lives through a belief that women are inferior or are the reason that these men cannot find love in their lives, it has the capability to ruin lives. The root of the issue is the outright rejection of self-reflection in these circles of men, who continuously perpetuate misogynistic beliefs about women.
Through incel horror films, we are given a tangible way to understand the impacts of incel culture and partner abuse, so taking the time to understand these systemic issues and watching these films with intention are great, though mildly frightening, ways to conceptualize what occurs in the real world as well.