Tuesday, October 20, 2026
7:00-9:00 PM
Off Campus Location
Join us for a free screening of the Malaysian horror film Tiger Stripes (2023) on October 20, 2026 at 7:00 PM at the State Theatre in Ann Arbor, Michigan. This screening is ONLY in person at the State Theatre in Ann Arbor. Reserve your free tickets here: watch.eventive.org/halaloween
HALALOWEEN FEATURE FILM:
Tiger Stripes (2023)
2023 | 95 minutes | Malay with English subtitles | Malaysia
Directed by: Amanda Nell Eu
Featuring: Zafreen Zairizal, Piqa, Deena Ezral
Film Description: The once carefree Zaffan turns twelve years old and becomes the first girl amongst her friends to reach puberty, discovering a terrifying secret about her body. Ostracized by her community, Zaffan fights back, learning that to be truly herself and have agency, she must embrace the body she fears. Winner of the Critics’ Week Grand Prize at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.
Halaloween Horror Rating: 4/5. Scary. This movie includes the horror subgenres of body horror, blood and menstrual horror, female coming-of-age horror, gendered body horror, and posthuman transformations. Reminiscent of the teen/adolescent girl horror films Carrie and Ginger Snaps.
Religious Content: Most characters are Muslim, and the film is set in a Muslim girls' school. Includes adhan, Islamic prayer, and corrupt male religious leaders.
____
Halaloween Muslim Horror Film Festival Info:
Welcome to the 8th annual Halaloween: A Muslim Horror Film Festival 2026!
What is Halaloween? Halaloween screens horror films from across the globe that were made by, for, or about Muslims to understand: “What scares Muslim audiences? Are horror movies halal?”
This year’s Halaloween 2026 film festival is a retrospective that brings back some of our Michigan community’s favorite Muslim horror films from the past few years. As usual, the festival runs throughout October with a different movie screening and/or event every week. In addition to local theater screenings, we are bringing you three community collaborations this year: with the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, with Michigan Medicine and the U-M Medical School, and with the Brooklyn Detroit venue in Corktown!
The 2026 lineup: Halaloween starts off at the Arab American National Museum (AANM) in Dearborn on Thursday, October 8, with a screening of the Saudi found-footage film Madayen (2016). On October 12 and October 20, head to the State Theatre in Ann Arbor for the Iranian film Under the Shadow (2016) and the Malaysian film Tiger Stripes (2023), respectively. On October 27, we are collaborating with the Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine at Michigan Medicine and the University of Michigan Medical School to bring you an expert medical and film panel on “Fears of the Body: Processing Illness, Death, & Loss with Horror Movies.”
Halaloween officially ends on the evening of October 29 at 9pm at the Brooklyn Detroit venue in Corktown, Detroit, with a screening of two Muslim horror short films: Aicha (directed by Sanaa El Alaoui, Morocco, 2025) and Enmity Djinn (directed by Mohamed Echkouna, Mauritania, 2023), followed immediately after by the special event “Those Between Worlds: A Jinn Dreamscape," a Halaloween sampler with live music score in collaboration with Reginald Thiessen, Victor Ghannam, and Devil's Night Detroit!
Also check out our streaming Muslim horror films anytime on U-M Kanopy: the Senegalese folk horror film Saloum (2021), the witchy Tunisian film Dachra (2018), and the Iranian “vampire spaghetti Western” film A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014).
The festival is mostly in-person and free–but make sure to reserve tickets! In-person screenings will be first-come, first-served, with RSVPs strongly encouraged.
We are inclusive of everyone's film needs: from new horror fans who close their eyes through most scary movies, to those who love the gore–we've got films for everyone! Check the Halaloween Horror Rating in the description of each film for its scariness rating and other details.
The 2026 Halaloween Lineup:
October 8: Madayen | Saudi Arabia | 2016 | 7:00 PM | Arab American National Museum, Dearborn
October 13: Under the Shadow | Iran | 2016 | 7:00 PM | State Theatre, Ann Arbor
October 20: Tiger Stripes | Malaysia | 2023 | 7:00 PM | State Theatre, Ann Arbor
October 27: Halaloween x Michigan Medicine Panel: “Fears of the Body: Processing Illness, Death, and Loss with Horror Movies” | Hussey Room, Michigan League, University of Michigan
October 29: “Those Between Worlds: A Jinn Dreamscape": Halaloween Short Films and Live Music Score Retrospective at Devil's Night Detroit | Short films Aicha and Enmity Jinn | 7:00 PM | Brooklyn Detroit, Corktown (venue). *This event is ticketed and not free. Get tickets and more info here.
RSVP & find out more: http://watch.eventive.org/halaloween
Sponsors: Halaloween: A Muslim Horror Film Festival is brought to you by the Global Islamic Studies Center and co-sponsored by the Arab American National Museum, Devil’s Night Detroit, and Michigan Medicine.
For more events from the Global Islamic Studies Center at the University of Michigan, please visit ii.umich.edu/islamicstudies. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to islamicstudies@umich.edu.
Join our email newsletter: https://myumi.ch/nbW83
Follow our social media for event updates:
Facebook: UmichGISC
https://www.facebook.com/UmichGISC/
Twitter: @umichgisc
https://twitter.com/umichGISC
If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange. Email Contact: islamicstudies@umich.edu
HALALOWEEN FEATURE FILM:
Tiger Stripes (2023)
2023 | 95 minutes | Malay with English subtitles | Malaysia
Directed by: Amanda Nell Eu
Featuring: Zafreen Zairizal, Piqa, Deena Ezral
Film Description: The once carefree Zaffan turns twelve years old and becomes the first girl amongst her friends to reach puberty, discovering a terrifying secret about her body. Ostracized by her community, Zaffan fights back, learning that to be truly herself and have agency, she must embrace the body she fears. Winner of the Critics’ Week Grand Prize at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival.
Halaloween Horror Rating: 4/5. Scary. This movie includes the horror subgenres of body horror, blood and menstrual horror, female coming-of-age horror, gendered body horror, and posthuman transformations. Reminiscent of the teen/adolescent girl horror films Carrie and Ginger Snaps.
Religious Content: Most characters are Muslim, and the film is set in a Muslim girls' school. Includes adhan, Islamic prayer, and corrupt male religious leaders.
____
Halaloween Muslim Horror Film Festival Info:
Welcome to the 8th annual Halaloween: A Muslim Horror Film Festival 2026!
What is Halaloween? Halaloween screens horror films from across the globe that were made by, for, or about Muslims to understand: “What scares Muslim audiences? Are horror movies halal?”
This year’s Halaloween 2026 film festival is a retrospective that brings back some of our Michigan community’s favorite Muslim horror films from the past few years. As usual, the festival runs throughout October with a different movie screening and/or event every week. In addition to local theater screenings, we are bringing you three community collaborations this year: with the Arab American National Museum in Dearborn, with Michigan Medicine and the U-M Medical School, and with the Brooklyn Detroit venue in Corktown!
The 2026 lineup: Halaloween starts off at the Arab American National Museum (AANM) in Dearborn on Thursday, October 8, with a screening of the Saudi found-footage film Madayen (2016). On October 12 and October 20, head to the State Theatre in Ann Arbor for the Iranian film Under the Shadow (2016) and the Malaysian film Tiger Stripes (2023), respectively. On October 27, we are collaborating with the Division of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine at Michigan Medicine and the University of Michigan Medical School to bring you an expert medical and film panel on “Fears of the Body: Processing Illness, Death, & Loss with Horror Movies.”
Halaloween officially ends on the evening of October 29 at 9pm at the Brooklyn Detroit venue in Corktown, Detroit, with a screening of two Muslim horror short films: Aicha (directed by Sanaa El Alaoui, Morocco, 2025) and Enmity Djinn (directed by Mohamed Echkouna, Mauritania, 2023), followed immediately after by the special event “Those Between Worlds: A Jinn Dreamscape," a Halaloween sampler with live music score in collaboration with Reginald Thiessen, Victor Ghannam, and Devil's Night Detroit!
Also check out our streaming Muslim horror films anytime on U-M Kanopy: the Senegalese folk horror film Saloum (2021), the witchy Tunisian film Dachra (2018), and the Iranian “vampire spaghetti Western” film A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014).
The festival is mostly in-person and free–but make sure to reserve tickets! In-person screenings will be first-come, first-served, with RSVPs strongly encouraged.
We are inclusive of everyone's film needs: from new horror fans who close their eyes through most scary movies, to those who love the gore–we've got films for everyone! Check the Halaloween Horror Rating in the description of each film for its scariness rating and other details.
The 2026 Halaloween Lineup:
October 8: Madayen | Saudi Arabia | 2016 | 7:00 PM | Arab American National Museum, Dearborn
October 13: Under the Shadow | Iran | 2016 | 7:00 PM | State Theatre, Ann Arbor
October 20: Tiger Stripes | Malaysia | 2023 | 7:00 PM | State Theatre, Ann Arbor
October 27: Halaloween x Michigan Medicine Panel: “Fears of the Body: Processing Illness, Death, and Loss with Horror Movies” | Hussey Room, Michigan League, University of Michigan
October 29: “Those Between Worlds: A Jinn Dreamscape": Halaloween Short Films and Live Music Score Retrospective at Devil's Night Detroit | Short films Aicha and Enmity Jinn | 7:00 PM | Brooklyn Detroit, Corktown (venue). *This event is ticketed and not free. Get tickets and more info here.
RSVP & find out more: http://watch.eventive.org/halaloween
Sponsors: Halaloween: A Muslim Horror Film Festival is brought to you by the Global Islamic Studies Center and co-sponsored by the Arab American National Museum, Devil’s Night Detroit, and Michigan Medicine.
For more events from the Global Islamic Studies Center at the University of Michigan, please visit ii.umich.edu/islamicstudies. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to islamicstudies@umich.edu.
Join our email newsletter: https://myumi.ch/nbW83
Follow our social media for event updates:
Facebook: UmichGISC
https://www.facebook.com/UmichGISC/
Twitter: @umichgisc
https://twitter.com/umichGISC
If there is anything we can do to make this event accessible to you, please contact us. Please be aware that advance notice is necessary as some accommodations may require more time for the university to arrange. Email Contact: islamicstudies@umich.edu
| Building: | Off Campus Location |
|---|---|
| Location: | State Theatre, 233 S State St, Ann Arbor, MI 48104 |
| Website: | |
| Event Type: | Film Screening |
| Tags: | Film, Global Islamic Studies, Halaloween, Michigan Arts Festival |
| Source: | Happening @ Michigan from Global Islamic Studies Center, International Institute, Arab and Muslim American Studies (AMAS) |
The Global Islamic Studies Center organizes a number of public events each year such as lectures, conferences, and films, many in collaboration with other U-M units. Please use our searchable events calendar for information about upcoming programs sponsored by GISC and the Interdisciplinary Islamic Studies Seminar (IISS).
