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Festivals

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

Scared man in a tunnel of red and orange light effects.

Armageddon Road (2026): Popcorn Frights FF Review

★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸1/2 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Take a road trip to the end of the world, with a dying angel of war as your companion in the surreal Armageddon Road. This adventurously spirited horror-romance follows a Las Vegas mob chauffeur who gets in way over his head when his assigned passenger dies and becomes possessed by one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. This curious film substitutes miniature model cars for its chase sequences and conjures nostalgic images of a Vegas of ages past. A wholly original concept that struggles with plot pacing, but manages to amuse throughout.

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Two people holding horror masks, dark background, dramatic lighting, horror theme.

Break a Leg (2026): Popcorn Frights FF Review

★★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Break a Leg is a two-hander horror comedy that deftly packs in more character arcs than a sine wave convention. Australian Kaitlin Boyé's feature directorial debut reveals a filmmaker of immense potential. If you prize snappy dialogue and sarcastic wit more than a big body count in your horror movies, then this is the movie for you. Realistically, that isn't the typical horror fan demographic, so it may struggle to find a big audience, but the writing is so fantastic and the performances so endearing that it deserves to be sought out when it becomes available to watch near you. Break a Leg screened as part of the Popcorn Frights Film Festival Virtual Program.

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Woman with blonde hair screaming with a frightened expression and scratches on her face.

Demonetize (2026) Popcorn Frights FF Review

★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Demonetize documents the story of failed TV ghost chasers who concoct a scheme to recover their fame. They invite a group of mostly annoying online influencers to draw out ghosts that are attracted to content-creator vibes. Everybody gets more than they bargained for. This cute movie feels like empty calories. It has its moments, but for a film that promotes itself as a wild horror-comedy, the jokes didn't hit often enough. This was a featured film in Popcorn Fright Film Festival's streaming catalog this year.

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Colorful puppet show scene with a sinister puppet and stage curtains.

Big City Pizza (2026): Popcorn Frights Review

★★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Adult animation can be a wild, confusing ride. Big City Pizza shoots for the moon and hits a bullseye with its hypnotic and amusing slice of pizza life. We follow skeleton delivery man Boney and his wild adventures delivering Big City Pizzas. It threatens to be too weird to watch, as it dances right on the edge of being too artsy. We've all been there with independent animation films, particularly in this genre. However, the pacing is perfect, and it is filled with raunchy, hysterical moments with wonderfully colorful characters. I had a blast with this film, which played on the Popcorn Frights Streaming Program.

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Creepy cat camera footage with shadowy figure in the background.

Cat Cam (2026) Popcorn Frights FF Review

★★★1/2 out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸1/2 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Cat Cam marries up the themes of Paranormal Activity and Good Boy. It utilizes stationary cameras (by way of "cat cams") to document the goings-on of a haunted house. The couple who own the house prepare to leave for a French vacation, and the underachieving little brother is left to cat-sit while they are away. When the owner's away, the ghost will play, and Nug knows what's up. Cats have that extra sense, plus the cunning instincts to know to stay away from the ghost.

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Colorful poster for Popcorn Frights with a dinosaur breathing fire over a cityscape.

Popcorn Frights 2026 First and Second Wave Announcements

Get ready Florida! Popcorn Frights is coming! The kaiju-sized festival is going to be scaring up horror fans from August 6-16, and they have made their big programming announcements. This has been one of our favorite festivals, and has one of the biggest horror-only platforms in the country.
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Two women with surprised expressions in front of neon sign reading 'Show and Tell'.

Grind (2026): PHFF Review and Interview

★★★★ out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Does working in today's economy feel like you are on a treadmill that is getting too fast for you? Has your job killed your dreams? Employment in the modern world can be, in a word, a Grind. Grind is a timely anthology that is neatly stitched together and explores how working for the Mega-Corporations (TM) can erode your sense of being and may cost you more than a diminished paycheck. If you ever thought "This job is gonna kill me." Grind will resonate with you.

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Person in yellow glove holding a large kitchen knife in a garden setting.

Friday the 69th (2026): PHFF Review

★★★ out of ★★★★★

Intensity: 🩸🩸 out of 🩸🩸🩸🩸🩸

Friday the 69th prescribes a gonzo premise: What if a porn studio tries to rescue its fortunes by going straight and making a mainstream horror movie? This debut film from Alex Montilla was featured at the Portland Horror Film Festival. This retro grindhouse spoof behaves itself... mostly. The movie isn't nearly as dirty as it potentially could have been. It pays homage to the slasher movies of the early '80s and has subtle nods to the adult-film roots of the characters making the movie-within-the-movie. The comedy is a bit uneven, but it hits often enough to put a smile on your face.

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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 (2025): 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 (2025): 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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