Amid the growing production of religious horror films, questions arise regarding the availability of this form of popular culture as a medium of da'wah (Islamic preaching). Previous studies suggest that such films convey Islamic messages; however, other research indicates a process of desacralization of Islamic values. Between these perspectives, two questions emerge: (1) how do Generation Z audiences, particularly university students, interpret the symbols presented in these films? and (2) how does ideology, operating through educational apparatuses as proposed by Louis Althusser, influence this reception process? This study employs a qualitative descriptive approach using reception analysis, drawing on Stuart Hall's encoding/decoding model and Althusser's theory of Ideological State Apparatuses. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with 14 informants from two educational backgrounds: formal religious education and general education. The data were categorized into three reception positions: dominant-hegemonic, negotiated, and oppositional. The findings reveal that religious horror films do not function universally as a medium of da'wah; rather, their meanings vary depending on the ideological frameworks shaping the audience. Students from religious education backgrounds tend to interpret the films within moral and theological frameworks, while those from general education backgrounds approach them from rational, cultural, and aesthetic perspectives. These findings demonstrate that the meanings of religious symbols and values are actively constructed through the interaction between media texts, ideological formation, and lived experience. In the context of Indonesia’s plural society, religious horror films function as cultural arenas where competing understandings of piety, morality, and religious authority are continuously negotiated and reinterpreted by young audiences.