2026 was filled with visionary horror films that rocked the box office, like “Obsession” and “Backrooms.” But what does the future of the genre look like?
At this year’s Fantastic Fest in Austin, I moderated a panel about fear, fandom and the future of the horror genre, which touched on several topics about the business of getting scared. Joining me on the panel were Emily Gotto, Shudder‘s SVP of acquisitions and production; Nick Lazo, Shudder’s SVP of development and production; Angel Melanson, Shudder’s director of programming; Jordan Downey, the director of “The Cycle,” which debuted at Fantastic Fest, and a segment from the streamer’s “V/H/S/Beyond”; and Toby Poser, a member of the Adams Family filmmakers, whose “The Glorious Dead” played at Fantastic Fest and was recently announced to be acquired by Shudder.
The conversation opened with thoughts about how horror has always been a space where filmmakers can take creative swings, experiment with form and push boundaries to do all kinds of fantastic work.
“I think you can inherently take risks with scary material because you can have really deep conversations about dramatic things that happen in your life, and wrap them in this genre cloth that is accessible and fun and cool, but you’re also taking big swings with some material that may be too heavy-handed or otherwise a little difficult to swallow,” Lazo said. “I think the horror genre lends itself to emerging filmmakers and new voices and people who have something really compelling to say that don’t necessarily have access to the biggest budgets in the world. When you can say something very scary in a very dark room that doesn’t require a lot of lighting or set design or the most expensive cast that you can possibly bring to the table, you can take big swings and you’re mitigating your risk automatically just having your budget be a little bit lower.”
The conversation then pivoted to other reasons for horror’s big boom this year.
“I think horror is the best sandbox that you could possibly play in because, to Nick’s point, you can fold anything else into that,” Melanson said. “The rules are there are no rules. Horror dictates that you can do anything. You wrap fantasy in there, you can throw drama in there, you can have comedy. So you’re already opening yourself up to all these different things that you can layer within it. And I feel like everyone’s hungry for something that’s original, that’s new. And you look at the stuff that’s popping off right now and everyone is just very, very hungry and excited for these new and original concepts and ideas. Also, it’s very accessible. Equipment is becoming more accessible, but just horror inherently has always been a more accessible genre than something like going off to make a period drama that’s expensive. You can do more and I feel like it’s maybe a little bit more forgiving. You have strong performances, you have a strong story and we’re all going to show up for that.”
At one point during the panel, Gotto was asked to predict what emerging themes or subgenres she thought could arrive in the next wave in horror.
“Everybody loves a monster movie,” she said. “I think when we talk about originality, we’re talking about authorship. It’s the voice of the filmmaker that is coming forward to talk about something or someone within the genre sandpit. I love that term. Sometimes there can be very well-trodden themes and zeitgeists, but really what’s making something fresh is the point of view or the style of direction or the modes of talking about what is being brought to the fore, be it from a sociological, anthropological or individual subject matter, all of which I think are treated exceptionally well in genre. So in terms of new wave or next wave, I personally feel that that’s dictated by the filmmaker’s voices and the audience who’s willing to consume and celebrate those filmmakers’ voices. I don’t think it’s dictated by us as executives — or at least I would hope it’s not.”
When it comes to how filmmakers’ voices can be influenced by the opinions of fans or reception at film festivals, Poser broke down how those opinions might impact the creative process.
“We’re absolutely listening to what everyone has to say, and we almost take it as a personal challenge to then try something different,” she says. “For instance, sometimes people will say, ‘Oh, they do a lot of folk horror. They have slow burn.’ It was almost like homework with our newest one, ‘The Glorious Dead.’ We said, ‘No, let’s set out to really see what we do with a film that takes place over the course of one day with just escalating dread and a drive and momentum that we don’t usually focus upon.’ We love hearing what people think, and it almost grants us a responsibility to challenge ourselves as filmmakers and our audiences because we want to work. So we want to do a film pretty much every year or so. We have responsibility to them too to take what we learn and try new things.”
Downey spoke specifically to how he processes instant feedback — like social media and Letterboxd reviews — when his art goes into the world.
“It’s somewhat similar to feedback you get on a script or on a cut where you want to listen to it all, but then you try to build a bigger picture and not get too stuck on any one note or one comment, but you want to learn from it,” he said. “I feel like to be ignorant to it doesn’t really help you that much. And now live talking to people in person is a great way to do it, because people get online and just get into troll mode for unnecessary reasons sometimes. So I love talking to people right after the screening to hear what they thought. And I would also love if someone said, ‘Hey, I didn’t really like this scene or this moment.’ But it’s just like notes on anything where you just take it all with a grain of salt and ultimately have to filter it through your own filmmaking style and just move on to the next one and try to do better.”
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