The Monster in Me Sees the Monster in You: Horror as Mirror

"Horror breeds empathy," said Mike Flanagan in one of his interviews while promoting Carrie (2026), the first series adaptation of Stephen King's 1974 franchise and the fourth screen adaptation of the same. Indeed, the monsters we see on the big screen and others reveal the monsters within us and expose deep anxieties we harbour. Horror possesses a unique and powerful ability to connect us with our feelings, allowing us to confront emotions we might otherwise struggle to acknowledge. Our previous October editions have talked about horror through the lens of the gross transformations, supernatural events, displacement, grief, trauma, war, sites of loss. This article, however, aims to look at what our reactions to things that frighten us, unsettles us, mirror our actions in contemporary times.

Perhaps this is another reason why horror continues to attract attention from almost all types of audiences. The path unknown is mysterious and our monsters who rise from the dark and walk in those paths change as our social, cultural and political conditions evolve. I've been an ardent horror fan as some of our old readers might already know. Here I want to discuss the three movies of 2026 I recently watched to understand different ways of investigating our fears, and thus, know ourselves better.

The Unbearable Horror of Being

Let me begin with Carrie, which captivated generations with its gripping story. The horror begins with an experience most of us might be familiar with: the vulnerability of growing up in a world which doesn't turn out to be the one we imagined in the first place. Themes of religious repression, bullying and social alienation have been long explored. Its recent adaptation, however, not only brings these anxieties together into conversation but also extends the scope beyond school corridors into digital spaces. Today's audience in our lives, penetrated by social media, is endless. Just how the categorisation of public and private blurs, supernatural abilities of Carrie complicate our perception of the victim and the monster divide. But aren't they always the two sides of the same coin?! Her account compels us to confront the archetypal Frankenstein questions: What happens when someone who is repeatedly denied dignity finally learns or acquires the power to retaliate? Violence breeds violence, but why should only the subjugated one carry the burden of ethics and not utilise that one opportunity life doesn't offer in usual, to show people their real place?! Why should one care about what consequences others will face when they didn't care about that one individual in the first place?

"Perhaps the real horror is to acknowledge how much self-constraint it takes to not participate in creating the monsters we condemn so readily."

Umm, So What's Your Age? You Don't Look Your Age!

The horror of looking exactly like your age, which I can't fully comprehend, is so deeply ingrained in our society that we laugh about it. We compliment people on looking younger but when did we stop celebrating experiences that only come our way with our age? This fear of aging, especially in women, exposes how bodies are scrutinised in our society no matter how progressive we look on the outside.

I watched Insidious: Out of the Further (2026) and was particularly keen to look at how the elderly characters are portrayed. In the first instance we get to see them, their smiles are distorted, the familiar image of old age is turned into something sinister. In that very moment, the viewers realise that those are threatening figures to the child in the movie. Conventionally old people are associated with wisdom, care and compassion. Here, the roles have been reversed and they become agents of danger instead. In fact in many other movies, the getup to be serial killers revolves around wrinkled faces. Perhaps we are taught to fear growing old because it is believed to be nearer to death than usual.

The Tragedy of Getting What We Desire

"There are two tragedies in life. One is to lose your heart's desire. The other is to gain it."

— George Bernard Shaw

Curry Barker's Obsession (2026) explores the latter possibility. The fulfillment of desire becomes a nightmare for the male protagonist who uses a One Wish Willow, an object from the folklore, to win his crush's heart only to realise later what a grave threat he welcomed through this. Devotion becomes possession which is quite an old trope in cinema. Longing becomes entitlement. Only if the woman was respected for her choices and left alone, the horror wouldn't have emerged. The movie then becomes yet another cautionary tale about forced love and companions. It exposes the violence underneath the desire to control another's autonomy.

Darkness, My Old Friend!

Together, these films suggest that horror is not merely an escape from reality but in fact, mirrors our present day contradictions and realities. In the times of oil wars, civil wars and genocide, horror examines our capacity to inflict violence. Empathy can help channelise our emotions better to imagine and construct alternative realities for the future.