Screamfest Horror Film Festival 2026
Founded in 2001 by film producers Rachel Belofsky and Ross martin, Screamfest Horror Film Festival is the largest and longest-running horror festival in the United States. Screamfest Horror Film Festival 2026 will run Tuesday, October 6th – Thursday, October 15th at the TCL Chinese 6 Theaters in Hollywood, California. The festival invites horror fans to experience twisted tales and terrifying films on the big screen. For its 26th season, the festival has announced an exciting lineup of features and shorts from around the world.
The Features
This year’s lineup delivers an exciting slate of genre films, featuring 8 world premieres, 6 North American premieres, 1 US premiere, and 3 West Coast premieres. Highlights include the world premieres THE CAGED, by Jeffrey Scott Collins and starring Edmund Kingsley (Capsule), Callen Carter, and Raffi Chapman (Vesper); GROW, by Brian Gottlieb and starring Annet Mahendru (The Americans) and Philip Tabor (Heights); WOUNDS, by Ron Krauss and starring Jack Kilmer (Palo Alto) and Paris Jackson (Swarm). The lineup also includes the Los Angeles premiere of SERENA, directed by Rob Alicea and starring Andi Matichak (Halloween), Steve Strait (The Expanse), and Ashley Murray (Riverdale), and the North American premiere of SLAY by Kyra Gardner, starring Zoey Luna (Hauntology), Aya Cash (The Boys, The Brink of War), Shawnee Smith (Saw II), Malina Pauli-Weissman (ICK).
Screamfest 2026 will launch with the World Premiere of Jeremy Weiss’ THE NIGHT DRIVER, starring Josh Lucas, David Arquette, and Alyssa Milano. This gripping, twist-filled thriller takes audiences on a terrifying journey where one fateful night on a lonely stretch of highway becomes a relentless fight for survival.
Acclaimed filmmaker Michael Dougherty (Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Trick ‘r Treat, Krampus) will be in attendance for a special screening of TRICK ‘R TREAT with the brand-new 4K restoration of Michael Dougherty’s SEASON’S GREETINGS, the Screamfest 2003 Best Animated Short winner that first unleashed the iconic burlap-masked Sam on the world. After the screening, Dougherty will join attendees for a Q&A, giving fans a chance to hear directly from the filmmaker about the making of these iconic works. As part of the celebration, 50 lucky random attendees will receive a copy of Legendary Comics’ TRICK ’R TREAT: WITCHING HOURS, featuring four brand-new stories starring Sam, and will be invited to an exclusive Screamfest Lounge signing with Michael Dougherty (creator/writer/director), Todd Casey (writer), Zach Shields (writer), Curtis Waugh (writer), El Garing (artist), and Breehn Burns (artist). The graphic novel will also be available for purchase ahead of its official release, and all attendees will receive exclusive TRICK ’R TREAT stickers and posters.
Expanding beyond the traditional theater setting, Screamfest is also teaming up with Ovation Hollywood for a free outdoor screening of Ghostbusters (1984). The special event will invite festival attendees and the wider public to gather in Ovation Hollywood’s courtyard for an evening celebrating one of the most beloved and enduring sci-fi comedies in film history. Presented at no cost, the centerpiece screening will create a communal big-screen experience for horror and film fans of all generations in the heart of Hollywood.
The Shorts
My personal favorite parts of the festival are the shorts. Screamfest Horror Film Festival 2026 will screen over 80 short films during its run. From independent shorts, student shorts, and animated shorts, there are terrors for everyone in this year’s lineup. Here are some of the shorts I can’t wait to see:
- THE TRICK (Directed by Fitch/Baker) – When Rita, a tired waitress eager to clock off, asks a mysterious Man in Black to finish his drink and go, she becomes the unwilling participant in a sinister show that blurs the line between illusion and reality. What begins as a simple card trick spirals into something truly uncanny and by last orders, no one is quite who they seemed.
- COMPOST (Directed by Jennifer Lumbroso) – Months after the disappearance of his father, Leonard, 11 years old, discovers a living entity in the compost at the back of the garden. He secretly forms a bond with this thing, which is soon discovered by his little sister. Both start to believe it’s their father. When their mother protests against this idea, Léonard begins to have doubts about her.
- NO VOLVERE (Directed by Jan Bross) – A lonely ventriloquist is served divorce papers at the showroom bar where he works. Things take a strange turn when he tries to remedy the situation with his puppet, Luis.
- MIMIC (Directed by J. Mendoza) – A little girl with echolalia is left home alone at night with her mother, whom she no longer recognizes.
- STUD MUFIN (Directed by
Jed Keith Woods) – A dark comedy-horror exploring the perils of toxic masculinity and the male gaze…
Beyond the Films
Adding to this year’s lineup of exciting initiatives, Screamfest is partnering with ScareScore, an innovative app that measures moviegoers’ real-time biometric reactions and transforms them into a personalized score that fans can share, compare, and compete with. Available across most festival features, ScareScore offers audiences an entirely new way to experience horror and, for the first time, one film will receive an award for generating the festival’s highest biometric scare response, determined not by what audiences say, but by how their bodies actually react.
As part of this year’s Screamfest Horror Film Festival, Yulissa Morales and Ahbra Perry are spearheading two dedicated Industry Days designed to bring the genre community of Los Angeles together beyond the screenings. Taking place October 7th and 8th, the programming will bring filmmakers, executives, producers, distributors, and other industry voices together for candid conversations about the business and craft of horror, alongside mentorship opportunities and networking events.
Drawing on Morales and Perry’s extensive backgrounds across genre filmmaking, acquisitions, sales, distribution, programming, and live events, the Industry Days are designed to be both useful and fun, creating a space for emerging and established filmmakers to connect directly with the people shaping the genre and for the horror community to talk openly about where the business is headed. Programming highlights include an in-depth panel with writer-director-producer Chris Marrs Piliero and Bill Vergos, Head of Digital Film Distribution at Magenta Light Studios, exploring how to successfully navigate packaging, financing, distribution, and marketing for independent films. The discussion draws directly from the journey of Piliero’s APPOFENIACS, which celebrated its West Coast premiere at Screamfest 2025 ahead of its October 2, 2026 theatrical release.
Attend Screamfest Horror Film Festival 2026
Dates: Tuesday, October 6th – Thursday, October 15th, 2026
Location: TCL Chinese 6 Theaters, 6801 Hollywood, Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028
Festival Badges: Full Festival Badges are $300, All Movie Badges are $200, Weekend of Scream Badges are $125, and Single-Day Saturday or Sunday Screening Passes are $50. Purchase your badges here.
Single-Screening Tickets: Tickets are $16 per film block. To order your ticket, select your movie from the Film Guide and click on “Order Tickets” on the film’s page.
Schedule: View the full festival calendar here.
Film Guide: View the list of all Features and Shorts here.
Social Media: Learn more on Screamfest’s official Facebook & Instagram.
I hope to see you there!
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