By Gary M. Kramer—
2026 has been a queer year for horror. Even the hit film Obsession starred out actor Michael Johnston. With Halloween on the horizon, here is a rundown of ten films, all available for streaming, that have thrilled audiences this year.
Out gay writer/director Adrian Chiarella’s remarkable feature debut Leviticus has queer teens haunted by their desires. Naim (Joe Bird) and his mother, Arlene (Mia Wasikowska), have moved to a small town in Australia where Naim falls for his classmate, Ryan (Stacy Clausen). They love each other in secret, but Naim questions why Ryan treats him differently when they are alone. Their relationship changes when Naim spies Ryan kissing Hunter (Jeremy Blewitt). Naim informs Hunter’s father, the local preacher, who brings in a Deliverance Healer (Nicholas Hope) to “cure” these boys of their “affliction.” What the Deliverance Healer does, however, is cause Hunter and Ryan, and later Naim, to be haunted by the object of their desire, who comes for them when they are alone—and it can’t be undone. Leviticus provides an allegory for conversion therapy, but it also smartly depicts how queer teens navigate safe spaces.
Likewise, the trans and non-binary writer/director Jane Schoenbrun’s new film Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is an astonishing homage to slasher films and a sensitive queer love story. Schoenbrun has a deep appreciation for the horror genre. The opening credits reveal how the original Camp Miasma film spawned sequels, toys, games, and even a New Yorker cartoon. The central plot has Kris (Hannah Einbinder), a filmmaker, meeting with the reclusive actress Billy (Gillian Anderson)—the final girl in the original film—to see if she will participate in the reboot of the franchise. What transpires between the two women becomes more than just a job interview. Billy may be seducing Kris who wants to learn how Billy captured a certain look in her eye when her character is threatened by “Little Death” (Jack Haven), the killer of the Camp Miasma series. As the film folds in on itself, Kris’s relationship with Billy gets complicated, and creepy.
Trans filmmaker Alice Maio Mackay’s beguiling horror film The Serpent’s Skin has the trans Anna (Alexandra McVicker) leaving her hometown to go live with her sister Dakota (Charlotte Chimes) in the big city. She quickly meets (and sleeps with) Danny (Jordan Dulieu) but has “day-mares”—visions that haunt her. When Anna discovers she has a supernatural ability that can cause others to bleed from their eyes or possibly go brain dead, the similarly gifted Gen (Avalon Fast), a tattoo artist, helps Anna learns how to control her powers. Gen and Anna soon fall in love. However, after one of Gen’s tattoos causes its bearer to make others catatonic, they have to find a way to stop the horror. This modest, low-budget thriller has real affection for its characters and the genre as well as nifty supernatural action and special effects.
Non-binary filmmaker Avalon Fast’s sophomore feature Camp is a low-budget queer horror movie that gives off lesbian and supernatural vibes. Emily (Zola Grimmer) is haunted by a double whammy of unintended trauma. She goes to work as a counselor at a camp for damaged kids, only to discover that the other counselors have witchy powers. A sequence where Emily falls asleep around a bonfire but wakes up in her bed, unable to discern what happened and what was real, suggests sinister forces. Camp pursues some of these narrative threads in a story about queer joy and empowerment.
Another film about witches is Forbidden Fruits, a slow-burn dark comedy about Pumpkin (Lola Tung), who befriends Apple (out actress Lili Reinhart), and her coworkers, Cherry (Victoria Pedretti) and Fig (out actress Alexandra Shipp), at Free Eden, a high-end store in a Texas mall. These “witchy sisters” conjure confidence for their customers, but they also create a safe space for themselves after hours where they confess to the female martyr Marilyn Monroe and cast hexes on “the deserving.” There is a lesbian kiss, but the film is less sapphic and more satanic. Pumpkin, it is revealed, has an agenda, which comes to light after some particularly gruesome deaths. Forbidden Fruits, which is adapted from a play, benefits from the strong cast who get the assignment and perform their roles with
relish.
The playful horror film Whistle has Chrys (Dafne Keen) arriving at a new high school where she immediately starts flirting with Ellie (Sophie Nélisse, of Heated Rivalry). Chrys also finds an ancient Mexican whistle in her locker; it was left there by the previous student who died. Unbeknownst to Chrys and Ellie and their friends, the relic summons death when it is blown. As bodies start piling up—Whistle features some spectacular killings for genre fans—Ellie uses her medical knowledge to save lives as the teens try to cheat death.
Saccharine is a parable about weight loss and addiction and how one literally feeds the other. Writer/director Natalie Erika James’s film shows the physical and psychological dangers of eating disorders, body dysmorphia, and compulsive behavior, and puts a queer romance at the heart of it. When Hana (out actress Midori Francis), a medical student, is approached by Alanya (Madeleine Madden), a trainer at her gym, to do a 12-week fitness challenge, she agrees mostly because she has a crush on Alanya. However, when Hana has a chance encounter with an old classmate, Melissa (Annie Shapero), who has lost a dramatic amount of weight, she starts taking a black-market diet pill that allows her to eat what she wants and still lose weight. This leads to a scary spiral as well as oozing substances and foodstuffs. Saccharine is a disturbing entry in the body horror genre.
Touch Me is out gay writer/director Addison Heimann’s wildly inventive film about Joey (Olivia Taylor Dudley) and her gay bestie, Craig (Jordan Gavaris), who fall under the seductive spell of Brian (Lou Taylor Pucci), a hot alien who can heal their traumas through cross-species intercourse. Or can he? This fabulous sci-fi horror comedy is equally ticklish and violent as the friends jealously battle each other for the love of a man who may have nefarious intentions.
The queer romantic thriller Shadows of Willow Cabin has Devon (John Brodsky) meeting Albert (Bryan Bellomo) for a romantic getaway. While things start out well, with wine, talk, dancing, and some hot tub time, by day three, some weird things start happening and Devon and Albert become trapped in the cabin without power, food, and water. The film leans into horror tropes in its second half, especially after Devon has an unsettling experience in a shower. As Devon works through some trauma, he and Albert must fight to keep themselves and their budding relationship alive.
A Useful Ghost has Academic Ladyboy (Wisarut Homhuan) buying a vacuum cleaner only to discover the machine is possessed by a ghost. Enter the adorable Krong (Wanlop Rungkumjad), a repairman, who recounts the story of two ghosts. One is Tok (Krittin Thongmai), a dead factory worker who had a secret male lover, Pin (Wachara Kanha). The other ghost is Nat (Davika Hoorne), the late wife of March (Wisarut Himmarat), the son of Suman (Apasiri Nitibhon), the owner of the factory where Tok died. The ghosts are “useful,” and this irreverent film is both clever and stylish as it explores issues of memory, truth, and forgiveness. Writer/director Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke delivers an entrancing story about love, death, and ghosts, and features a smattering of hot gay sex.
© 2026 Gary M. Kramer
Gary M. Kramer is the author of “Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews,” and the co-editor of “Directory of World Cinema: Argentina.” He teaches Short Attention Span Cinema at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute and is the moderator for Cinema Salon, a weekly film discussion group. Follow him on IG @garyemkramer
Film
Published on October 22, 2026
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