It’s an inclusive showcase and celebration of disability in the genre.
The 2026 Access:Horror Film Festival begins a virtual program of movies this Sunday, October 4, continuing through Sunday, November 1. As the PR describes, “Access:Horror was founded by filmmaker and activist Ariel Baska to center disability advocacy through genre cinema. This year’s lineup features groundbreaking short films that utilize horror to dissect real-world medical racism, neurodivergence, disability, depression, and queer persecution.”
“Slurs are becoming more common in everyday language, including in Oscar-winning Hollywood films,” Baska says. “The government is unleashing daily violence on the disability community through Medicaid cuts, institutionalization, and rollbacks to disability rights protections. For disabled people, this is already a horror movie, which is why, this year, horror feels like the most honest genre out there. Access:Horror is proud to share a lineup of validating, crucial, and cathartic terrors that illustrate the strength of the disability community. Open captions and audio description make the program stronger still, letting us reach more audiences and turn more stomachs with these filmmakers’ gnarly tales.”
The programming consists of 19 international titles, plus filmmaker Q&As, panels and industry talks. Key movies in the lineup include:
A FERMENTING WOMAN (dir. Priscilla Galvez): A peculiar chef and fermentation expert prepares a career-saving meal using a very special ingredient. Walk the line between mouthwatering and revolting in this controversial culinary gamble for all the yeast and kimchi lovers out there. Fantastic Fest, 2025. Nominated for Lost Weekend Awards: Best Horror Short, Best Short, Best Short Director
BLINDSIDED (dir. P. Patrick Hogan): A relentless POV horror short experienced entirely from inside a blind woman’s perspective as she navigates an unseen threat in her home. Slamdance, 2026. LA Shorts, 2026. Nominated for the Lost Weekend Award for Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Short
COLD (dir. Liz Whitmere): A visceral horror-thriller tracking a woman’s body literally decomposing; a horrific transformation weaponized and dismissed by those around her as standard aging and menopause. Female Eye Film Festival, 2026
EVERHAND (dir. Lee Cleaveland): When a one-armed farmer orders a mysterious machine, he and his wife must face off with a company rep in order to reclaim their humanity. Slamdance, 2026
FOUR ITCHY BOYS (pictured above; dir. Andrew Hebert): An LGBTQ+ body horror and queer/trans allegory detailing the sudden media circus surrounding an unexplainable itch. A 2026 Raindance official selection, starring TWILIGHT’s Booboo Stewart, AMERICAN HORROR STORY’s Nico Greetham, NEVER HAVE I EVER’s Gilberto Ortiz and ALONE AT DAWN’s Ben Weinswig. Dances with Films LA, 2026.Nominated for Lost Weekend Awards: Best Short, Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy Short, Best Director, Best Production Design
THE HOG QUEEN (dir. Katherine Craft): A high-octane drag show survival horror set in a small-town Texas gay bar where a night of performance turns into a fight for physical and creative survival. Features Marissa Bode of WICKED. Maryland Film Festival, 2026. Nominated for the Lost Weekend Award for Best Comedy Short.
INNER DEMONS (dir. Jasmine J. Johnson): A psychological thriller where clinical depression is literalized as a relentless, stalking physical entity. SXSW, 2026
MANGO (dir. Joan Iyiola): A searing, experimental essay film unpacking the physical reality of fibroids and the systemic trauma of medical racism against Black women. Executive-produced by Wunmi Mosaku (SINNERS). Santa Barbara Film Festival, 2025. Nominated for the Lost Weekend Award for Best Horror Short.
TAL (MASK) (dir. Charlie Gillette): A haunting, claustrophobic meditation on immigrant identity and familial expectations. Locked inside a law firm late at night, a secretly queer Korean-American artist is forced into a psychological confrontation with himself. Written by and starring non-binary actor Wesley Han (RUSSIAN DOLL), delivering a deeply personal and striking lead performance. Asian American International Film Festival, 2026. Nominated for the Lost Weekend Award for Best Horror Short
Also part of the program are:
DO YOU SEE HER? (dir. Janet-Rose Nguyen)
HEARTBREAK (dir. Sarah Leigh)
LANDFILLS OF DESIRE (dir. Sapna Moti Bhavnani)
LONG PORK (dir. Iris Dukatt)
MARDAZMA (dir. Amir Masoud Soheili)
PU EKAW TNOD (dir. Rebecca Culverhouse)
REPEAT (dir. Marlon Royal Reid)
TRAPPED (dir. Greg Jeffs)
TROUBLED CONEXXXIONS (dir. E’Niyah Wilson)
VOYEUR (dir. Maryam Hashempour)
To browse the complete schedule and get access passes, click here.
