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UPRM | Culture > Entertainment

Is 2026 the year of horror cinema?

Sofia Morales Esteva Student Contributor, University of Puerto Rico - Mayaguez
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UPRM chapter and does not reflect the views of Her Campus.

From new horror films to sequels and other famous horror series, 2026 has become an era where horror has been dominating. It surely is, and without a doubt, a good time for new and old horror fans. Horror movies have historically reflected public concerns, and this year has included new films and revivals of familiar franchises in different horror subgenres․ New and revived horror films in 2026 also shows that current horror movies are introducing new ideas‚ not simply repeating past successes․

Early releases this year include Obsession‚ a movie released in theaters back in May about literal obsession with many supernatural elements to it. In the same month, we got the movie adaptation of the Backrooms which is an Internet legend about endless and unsettling spaces․ Both of these performed amazingly in box offices, and it is no surprise because each introduced a new audience to an original idea rather than a sequel or remake. Other movie adaptations demonstrate how other horror genres can be brought to film․ Leviticus‚ released in the US in June‚ is a disturbing supernatural story about themes of identity‚ desire and the consequences of forced religious conversion․ 

“Why can’t you love me?”

“Stop.”

“WHY DON’T YOU LOVE ME?!”

The horror genre also contains survival and suspense stories; it is good for moviegoers who can’t handle really terrifying movies since they lean more towards the thriller genre (for example, myself)․ Send Help‚ a comedy horror story‚ contains survival themes as well as humor․ On the other hand, the horror story Hokum entertains the audience with a supernatural story․ A new recent addition to this year’s lineup,  Whalefall, is a film that contains survival elements, and contributes to this year’s discourse with a suspenseful story about the dangers of being stranded; in this case, it’s the fear of being stranded inside a whale․

Another film containing little elements of comedy is Resident Evil, a horror film based on the beloved video game franchise․ Insidious: Out of the Further did an amazing job expanding on the franchise’s established supernatural mythology․ You would think these are enough horror films for 2026, but the list just keeps expanding․ The film Other Mommy deals with horror themes involving a creature similar to a child’s mother․ Clayface, recently released in theaters, is a body horror movie adaptation of a comic book․ Alongside these, an adaptation coming in December, Werwulf‚ is a historical film that takes a darker approach to the werewolf tale․

turned on LED movie projector
Photo by Alex Litvin from Unsplash

This year’s horror films are diverse in content, which makes this, to me, the most unique year for horror․ Types of horror films this year include personal stories, stories drawn from myths and legends, and adventure films. Rather than focusing on one reason someone might fear this genre, horror films explore different fears, including fear of the unknown and fear of change. 

Ultimately‚ there are different aspects of 2026 horror movies in addition to the number of movies released․ Movies such as Obsession‚ Hokum‚ and Clayface explore various themes, and take creative approaches to horror that reach new and excited audiences․ Horror movies provide many benefits to viewers, and are one of the most popular types of movies since they are so fun to watch with loved ones. 

Additionally with the film Werwulf releasing in December‚ there is still an opportunity to entertain and scare audiences this year․ Some people believe that 2026 will be a breakthrough year for horror films‚ while others believe it will be “just another successful year” for the genre․ New films support the idea that this style is evolving, and a benefit for upcoming films is the anticipation of future horror films․

Whether 2026 will or not be remembered as a significant year for horror releases depends largely on how audiences feel about horror films released in and after 2026․ I have to say that, at least on my and my peers’ part, this is and will be an unforgettable year for horror, and hopefully it will inspire more film makers to bring in more fun and unique stories to the screen. 

movie theater with people
Photo by Krists Luhaers from Unsplash
Sofia Morales Esteva

UPRM '26

Sofia Morales Esteva is part of the writing team at the Her Campus UPRM chapter. She is currently a fifth year undergraduate and research student pursuing a degree in Industrial Microbiology, with hopes of going to pharmacy after acquiring her bachelor’s degree in June 2026 and pursuing a career in that industry.


In addition to Her Campus, Sofia is part of the following associations at the biology department: CPM (Circle of Premedical Students), The National Honor Society of Biology (Tribeta), WINS (Women in Natural Sciences), AMSA (American Medical Student Association), FPA (Future Pharmacists Association) and Medlife (UPRM Chapter). She also has done internships and shadowings in different branches of medical specialties like optometry, dentistry, cardiology, neurology, dermatology, pharmacy and many more at hospitals in Puerto Rico (mostly Mayagüez and Ponce) and one summer fully dedicated to that at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Medical School. She has also done research at Project AV (rovers) here in UPRM as a microbiology researcher to explore the possibility of life on Mars. She hopes to accomplish more research during the summer and in the fall semester of 2025 in different areas of biology (mainly focusing in pharmaceutical research).


Outside of academics, Sofia has a love for music and is an avid playlist curator (currently with 130 playlists in her Spotify account and more to come, she makes one for everything). She also loves movies and is a regular at Letterbox. Her Letterbox 4 are Pride and Prejudice (2005), La La Land (2017), Howl's Moving Castle (2004) and 10 things I hate about you (1999). Also, if you couldn’t tell from the bio, Sofia is a certified yapper and loves building connections with friends, family, and new people (don’t let the INFJ MBTI tell you otherwise).


In her everyday life, Sofia loves reading (book reading challenge completed successfully every year), swimming, scroll endlessly on Pinterest, consuming pop culture, watching new films, doing makeup, skincare, going out with her friends, completing bucket list items and overall just having a good time whether in school or outside of it.