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Festivals

Information about our favorite Film Festivals and the great features and shorts they’re showing.

Collection of horror film posters from The PHFF Horror Short Film Director Roundtable.

The PHFF Horror Short Film Director Roundtable

The Horror Short Film Director Roundtable is one of the most important things that we did at the Portland Horror Film Festival. It provided an elevated platform for horror short filmmakers. Oftentimes, this is ground zero for original horror ideas. Unless you are a Hollywood nepo-director, short film creation is where you learn your chops. I wanted to give these creatives an opportunity to share their experiences in making movies, both good and bad, so that we can all learn a little more about the craft.
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Close-up of a man with bloodied face and intense expression, horror scene from Dracula review.

Dracula: The Night Around Us (2026): PHFF Review

★★★★ out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Sometimes it takes an indie take on a classic to make the story scary again. Dracula: The Night Around Us does exactly that. It is a dark, brooding, modern take on the Bram Stoker classic. Literal chills ran through my nervous system. This film won the Goul D'Or award at the Portland Horror Film Festival for the best Feature at the Festival in 2026.

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Goth woman holding a Rue Morgue magazine with a spooky cover image.

Rue Morgue Editor Andrea Subissati Interview at PHFF 2026

The Bloody Judge for the 2026 Portland Horror Film Festival was Andrea Subissati, the Executive Editor of Rue Morgue. She is one of the most compelling voices within the horror community, and is a powerful advocate for women within the genre. Andrea was kind enough to set some time aside to talk some terror with us between feature film showings at the festival.
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Futuristic scene with glowing green lights and a mysterious figure in darkness.

Frogman Returns (2026) Review: Portland Horror Film Festival

★★★★ out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

The Frogman is back! The first Frogman was something of a found footage cult hit. Now, both the actual film and the film within the film have a bigger budget this time out, and the results go gonzo crazy. Forget the cryptids; this sequel takes the concept into cosmic insanity. See this in a full theater, as the audience I saw it with went completely bananas. It starts out like a natural extension of the first film, but expands the story into realms practically unthinkable. This feature won the Horde Award at the Portland Horror Film Festival as the audience choice for best film.

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Leather-clad woman with whip in a BDSM-themed room with bondage gear and neon lighting.

The Demonatrix (2026) Review: Portland Horror Film Festival

★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

The Demonatrix is a cheeky, lightly racy horror-comedy that reflects on the economic troubles of the time. A dominatrix looking to get some extra income turns to hosting fake séances to make ends meet. When things inevitably go awry, she turns to a priest working in a church across the street from her kink studio. It's a silly, simple tale that features some great costumes and a couple of horror legends you will recognise.

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A woman standing alone at night on a deserted street with a flashlight and a book.

LandLord (2026): Portland Horror Film Festival Review

★★★★ out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸🩸1/2 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

LandLord poses the question "If vampires can't come into your home without an invitation, what happens if they own your housing?" A bounty hunter checks her conscience in order to save an orphaned boy from the predations of a vampire landlord consuming the tenants of a Lousiville housing complex. This gritty and moody debut from writer director Remington Smith was featured at the Portland Horror Film Festival.

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A terrifying figure in a dark uniform with a gas mask and axe in a dimly lit room.

My Bloody Valentine at 45: An Interview with George Mihalka at PHFF 2026

My Bloody Valentine turns 45 years old this year. The director, George Mihalka, was the guest of honor at this year's Portland Horror Film Festival. George was kind enough to speak with the Scariest Things, who are huge fans of the film. Lost cutting room footage was recently found when the producer was absorbed by Lionsgate, allowing some of the missing gory effects to be brought back into the movie. So, it's time to revisit this movie and talk to the creator about why it remains important today.
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Spooky horror film festival poster for Portland Horror Film Festival June 3-7, 2026, with bold red a.

The Portland Horror Film Festival 2026 Press Release

The Scariest Things, once again, is proud to be a sponsor of The Portland Horror Film Festival, and they have just announced their 2026 lineup. If you are attending, don't forget to join us for The Fifth Annual Horror Movie Greenlight Pitch event at Dot's Cafe following Saturday June 6th's movies at the Clinton Street Theater. We hope to see you there!
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A woman and a girl with disheveled hair in a dark, industrial setting, appearing tense and distresse.

Crypticon Seattle: Comfort Horror Panel Recording

Comfort Horror. It's a thing. It keeps the fandom fed. We come back time and again to get scared, and we love it. Why? This is the third of my series of Crypticon Seattle convention panel recordings. Panels are the lifeblood of this annual horror gathering, feeding the fandom's macabre knowledge cravings. Horror movies are the bonds this community shares, and to understand why, this panel examines the lure of horror for many of us. It seems antithetical that many of us crave the experience of being scared.
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A colorful collection of tiki mugs with tropical drinks and umbrellas at Crypticon Seattle 2026.

Crypticon Seattle 2026: Tiki Terror and Tropical Horror Panel

Feel the sweat and the tropical breezes; it's time to discuss Tiki Terrors and its tropical horror cousins. Transport yourself to an island in the South Pacific or the Caribbean. The exoticism and the removal from "civilization" provide the grounds for some evocative scares. These movies have been with us since the Golden Age. Think King Kong, The Mont Dangerous Game, and The Island of Lost Souls, and it found its heyday in the '50s and '60s. Listen and learn from veteran Crypticon panelists as they talk all things Tiki Terror.
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A woman holding a black and white cat at a street market during Crypticon Seattle 2026: Pets In Horr.

Crypticon Seattle 2026: Pets In Horror Panel

Crypticon Seattle, the great Pacific Northwest horror convention, has once again come and gone, but the memories linger. The panels are what make the convention feel like a class reunion. The panels are produced entirely by volunteer experts from across the region and are the ultimate in fan interaction. This is what it feels like to create a horror community, sharing our ideas and experiences with each other. This year, I decided to record some of the panels I participated in and attended to give you a sense of what happens at these events. This Pets in Horror panel was hosted by Brien Gorham, and I participated in it along with Kathy Fennesy and Todd Johnstson.
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A terrifying slasher movie bracket battle at Crypticon 2026 featuring iconic horror characters and i.

Crypticon Seattle 2026: The Slasher Movie King of the Mountain Bracket Battle Results

At Crypticon Seattle, we held a Slasher Movie King of the Mountain Bracket Battle to decide the greatest slasher movie of all time. Cheers, groans, hoots, and pleading were all part of the event. I asked the audience to get loud, and they made it happen! The final four were from franchises that would not surprise you, but the actual champion was not a highly seeded favorite. Who won? Check out the full interactive bracket right here!
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A haunting figure wearing a skull mask with spikes, evoking fear and unease.

Parasomnia (2026): Overlook Film Festival Review

★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

Intensity 🩸🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

The Southern Gothic film Parasomnia dips into the "dream demon" trope, infusing it with a voodoo twist and a delicious betrayal to spice up the story. Solid performances and carefully crafted character relationships help offset a somewhat pedestrian depiction of the demon.

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Buffet Infinity movie poster with a burger and fries, vintage comic style, humorous and surreal imag.

The Overlook Film Festival 2026 Recap: Ep. 211

Another year, another Overlook Film Festival, one of the premier genre festivals in the country. Unfortunately, this year, the main players of The Scariest Things were unable to attend the festival in person. Eric was able to get some of the films to stream, but, as is the norm, remote screeners were limited and did not include the showcase films. Fortunately for us, one of our loyal Patreon Contributors, Robin Marcotte, was in attendance again, and she helped fill in the gaps we missed. This year, there were a number of good films, and according to Robin, one GREAT film. This year, we watched fourteen films and thirty shorts. Give our recap a listen to hear our thoughts on the 2026 Overlook presentation.
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A man in a red shirt with hands raised inside a pawnshop.

Buffet Infinity (2026): Overlook Film Festival Review

★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

Intensity 🩸🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Buffet Infinity is a film as strange as its name. This lo-fi cosmic-horror oddity spins its story through local advertisements that slowly escalate from commercial competition to societal domination. It is a clever concept that takes a while to comprehend, but it manages to combine initially incongruent media into a cohesive story of dread and destruction.

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American Dollhouse (2026): Overlook Film Festival Review

★★★★ out of ★★★★★

Intensity 🩸🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

American Dollhouse is what you get when a slow-burning liminal horror film decides to step on the gas and slams you into psycho murder madness. Sarah is a woman who hasn't been given many breaks in her life. When she inherits her dilapidated childhood home, she thinks she has struck the lottery. Unfortunately, the house retains awful memories, and worse yet, has a psychotic neighbor who has a strange obsession with her. Tensions rise as the neighbor's behavior escalates into violence, pushing Sarah deeper into a nightmare that threatens everything around her.

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The Peril at Pincer Point (2026): SXSW Review

★★★ out of ★★★★★ Intensity 🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸 If Guy Maddin and Roger Corman collaborated on a British comedy sketch about ghostly folk tales, filmmaking, and the creative process, it might look something like The Peril at Pincer Point — but then again, it absolutely might not . . .  
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A woman and a girl in shiny, elegant dresses holding hands at a festive event.

Quince (AKA Fifteen, 2026): SXSW Review

★★★★ out of ★★★★★ Intensity 🩸🩸🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸 Turning 15 years old is hard enough, but when a monstrous event affects your best friend and a quinceañera goes horribly wrong, things get gory and violent, indeed, as Quince (Fifteen) shows in great detail. 
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A woman with a distressed expression, partially covered by a blue sign reading "Ugly Cry" with dripp.

Ugly Cry (2026): SXSW Review

★★★★ out of ★★★★★

Intensity 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Ugly Cry joins the ranks of body horror movies written and directed by women that shine a light on the unfair beauty standards that women are held to. Emily Robinson wrote, directed, and stars in this dark comedy drama where facial expressions can doom you to getting a key acting job or not. "It's not body horror, but it is a film about the horror of having a body" (Robinson) This movie premiered at SXSW.

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Pretty Lethal (2026): SXSW Review

★★★★ out of ★★★★★

Intensity 🩸🩸🩸1/2 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Virtuosos get violent in Pretty Lethal as a troupe of American ballerinas find themselves in a dangerous situation facing Hungarian mobsters. This fun feature delivers genre thrills at an allegro pace.

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A woman resting in a cluttered, dimly lit room with damaged walls and old furniture.

Bagworm (2026): SXSW Review

★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

Intensity 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Bagworm is intensely uncomfortable. Carroll is a loser living in a burned-out bungalow in decaying squalor. His love life reflects his living situation: rotting and getting worse. When this hammer salesman, ironically, steps on a rusty nail in his front yard, it adds a third leg to this stool of personal destruction. Tetanus overcomes him due to personal neglect, leading to madness and hallucinations. It is a story well told, and though it sprinkles in some humor, it is wrought with cringeworthy moments. Bagworm had its North American debut at SXSW.

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A Safe Distance (2026): SXSW Review - Two women walking through a dense forest, exploring themes of.

A Safe Distance (2026): SXSW Review

★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

Intensity 🩸🩸1/2 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

A young woman abandoned in the forest falls in with a pair of bank robbers in Canadian thriller A SAFE DISTANCE.

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