The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival (BHFF) announces today the full program for its 2026 incarnation. The festival will run from October 15-22 with all screenings held at Nitehawk Cinema Williamsburg. Audiences are in for a blood-splattered lineup of films and events, including a Dark Suburbia sidebar and and returning program staples like Slayed presented by MUBI, Culture Shock which is the new official program name for our Black Horror section, and Fear in Focus, this time tackling the dark abyss of Cyber Horror.
The Opening Night film is the U.S. Premiere of Nicky Murphy’s award-winning, vampire mockumentary I LOVE PARIS. After the film, audiences will be invited to keep the good vibes going at the Opening Night Party presented by Dark Sky Films, taking over both levels of the Nitehawk. The 2026 festival lineup will also celebrate the world premiere of Michael Schwarz’s early aughts throwback slasher THE ONLY ONE as well as feature documentaries about genre legends: RUBBERHEAD: THE LIFE & MONSTERS OF STEVE JOHNSON and FULL MOON RISING: THE CHARLES BAND STORY.
Making up the Dark Suburbia sidebar is the batshit crazy AMERICAN DOLLHOUSE, the dizzying SENDER starring a stacked cast including Britt Lower and producer Jamie Lee Curtis, and the absurdist nightmare LITTLE DOORS.
A fully loaded retrospective slate comprised of a 50th Anniversary screening of J.D.’S REVENGE on 35mm and a 35th anniversary screening of THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS, both part of this year’s Culture Shock section. Fear in Focus: Cyber Horror takes audiences from an early entry in the subgenre GHOST IN THE MACHINE on 35mm directed by Rachel Talalay, to 2013 shocker THE DEN and up to modern day with Jane Schoenbrun’s breakout film WE’RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD’S FAIR.
Two more very special screenings complete the retros: TRICK ‘R TREAT on 35mm preceded by the original Sam short film SEASON’S GREETINGS restored in 4K and followed by a conversation with director Michael Dougherty; and the monumental silent-era tragedy THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC featuring an original live score from The Flushing Remonstrance.
This year’s Closing Night feature is the drug fueled action horror KICK ON from director Nick Kozakis. Capping off the festival in true seasonal fashion is the Closing Night Halloween Party presented by ALTER.
I LOVE PARIS
OPENING NIGHT FILM
PRESENTED BY MUBI
Austrialia, France | 2026 | 120 Min. | Dir. Nicky Murphy
Aspiring underground singer Paris is bitten and turned into a vampire but, instead of letting her dreams of music stardom die, her hustle only goes harder and bloodier.
SPECIES (SANGUINE)
CENTERPIECE FILM
New York Premiere
France | 2026 | 103 Min. | Dir. Marion Le Corroller
A young intern at a prestigious ER struggles to keep up with the fast paced environment, and when a strange disease begins appearing in a number of her patients, she starts suffering from her own bodily symptoms.
KICK ON
CLOSING NIGHT FILM
New York Premiere
Australia | 2026 | 91 Min. | Dir. Nick Kozakis
What starts off as a wild night of partying devolves into a brutal fight for survival when four friends cross paths with a mobster’s unhinged son in this gruesome new entry in the single-location siege horror canon.
THE GLORIOUS DEAD
Presented by Arrow Video
Leviathan Award
New York Premiere
USA | 2026 | 80 Min. | Dir. John Adams, Toby Poser
What should be a typical day in the life for a small town sheriff quickly turns sinister as people begin to disappear and fleshy creatures begin popping up all around them.
AMERICAN DOLLHOUSE
New York Premiere
USA | 2026 | 87 Min. | Dir. John Valley
A woman living a drama-riddled life returns to her childhood home for what she hopes can be a clean start but, no thanks to her psychotic and homicidal new neighbor, doesn’t go as planned.
CORPUS
Presented by MUBI
USA | 2026 | 102 Min. | Dir. Corrin Evans
A photographer takes a trip to Upstate NY with his longtime friend and unrequited love, but the trip takes a turn when their three mysterious hosts begin to show they have ulterior motives.
THE CYCLE
East Coast Premiere
UK | 2026 | 112 Min. | Dir. Jordan Downey
When her estranged father’s corpse is discovered at a grisly crime scene, Meg is dragged into the investigation to uncover why—when he’s been missing for over three decades.
THE DEN
USA | 2026 | 77 Min. | Dir. Zachary Donohue
While studying the behaviors of webcam users, a sociology student witnesses a murder and becomes the killer’s next target in this early and underrated entry in the “screenlife” horror canon.
ERIE
East Coast Premiere
USA | 2026 | 89 Min. | Dir. Alison-Eve Hammersley
Aided by her skeptical older brother, a young girl launches her own investigation into their sister’s mysterious death, connecting it to a string of local suicides whose explanations may or may not be supernatural.
Full Moon Rising: The Charles Band Story
North American Premiere
UK | 2026 | 94 Min. | Sarah Appleton
From his days revolutionizing the home video market to producing classics like FROM BEYOND and RE-ANIMATOR and running the influential Full Moon Features, indie maverick Charles Band’s illustrious career is front and center in this entertaining and inspiring documentary.
GHOST IN THE MACHINE (35mm)
USA | 1993 | 95 Min. | Dir. Rachel Talalay
After he’s killed in a car accident, a serial killer’s soul is uploaded into a computer system, enabling him to find technological ways to try to kill the woman he was targeting before his death.
GODHEAD
East Coast Premiere
USA | 2026 | 98 Min. | Dir. Mark H. Rapaport
A pair of oddball, possibly dangerous twins force a priest to make a series of painful and potentially Biblical decisions in this singular blend of pitch-black comedy and surrealist horror.
J.D.’S REVENGE (35mm)
USA | 1976 | 95 Min. | Dir. Arthur Marks
Hell-bent on getting some long-overdue revenge, the ghost of a New Orleans gangster inhabits the body of a young black law student in this Blaxploitation horror gem.
LITTLE DOORS
New York Premiere
USA | 2026 | 77 Min. | Dir. Anthony Oberback
A woman doing her best to survive day to day in an apocalyptic world finds a small door on the side of her body and contemplates opening it to see what’s inside.
MOUNTAIN KING
East Coast Premiere
USA | 2026 | 94 Min. | Dir. Gabrielle Christensen
Surprising her boyfriend unannounced at his family home in Scandinavia, Hannah is determined to prove she can be part of the family no matter how increasingly dark their traditions seem to be.
NIGHT AFTER NIGHT
East Coast Premiere
USA | 2026 | 86 Min. | Dir. Josh Lobo
When his fellow security guard vanishes, Andy is overwhelmed with paranoia about their enigmatic workplace’s intentions and the disturbing phenomenon kept hidden in the building’s new wing.
THE ONLY ONE
World Premiere
Australia | 2026 | 99 Min. | Dir. Michael Schwarz
When her exes are suddenly being murdered one by one, suspicion falls on Zoe and it’s up to her and a ragtag team of old friends to prove her innocence and figure out the identity of the masked Prince Charming killer.
OPI
North American Premiere
Poland | 2026 | 96 Min. | Dir. Marta Giec
Shortly before her 18th birthday, a young woman’s already complicated home life gets upended by the arrival of an aunt and grandmother she’s never met before, triggering her family’s downward spiral into nightmarish folk horror.
THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC (with live score)
France | 1928 | 81 Min. | Dir. Carl Theodore Dreyer
A towering achievement of the silent-film era, THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC equals and oftentimes eclipses the horror of any other masterwork from the 1920’s. Live music accompaniment by The Flushing Remonstrance.
THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS
USA | 1991 | 103 Min. | Dir. Wes Craven
Two criminals and their teenage accomplice find themselves stuck inside the booby-trap-riddled home of their ghetto neighborhood’s evil landlords in Wes Craven’s massively entertaining marriage of horror-comedy and social commentary.
POSTHUMOUS
East Coast Premiere
Australia | 2026 | 110 Min. | Dir. Josh Tanner
After returning to her childhood home, a troubled woman becomes enamored with VHS birthday tapes left behind by her late mother that gradually reveal a secret family connection to the occult.
ROMA ELASTICA
Presented by MUBI
New York Premiere
France, Italy | 2026 | 107 Min. | Dir. Bertrand Mandico
A struggling French actress travels to Rome to work on a science fiction film which sends her spiraling and threatens to make this the last film she makes.
RUBBERHEAD: THE LIFE & MONSTERS OF STEVE JOHNSON
East Coast Premiere
USA | 2026 | 106 Min. | Dir. Nick Taylor
Tracks the spectacular rise and swift fall of practical SFX master Steve Johnson while taking viewers on an impressively candid and revealing overview of the glory days of special effects makeup.
SENDER
New York Premiere
USA | 2026 | 94 Min. | Dir. Russell Goldman
A newly sober woman begins to find a disturbing amount of daily packages she never ordered on her doorstep, setting her off on a paranoid and dizzying investigation to discover her tormentors.
SLAY
East Coast Premiere
Presented by MUBI
USA | 2026 | 89 Min. | Dir. Kyra Elise Gardner
After her friend is brutally murdered, a young social media star heads to a cabin in the woods with friends for what’s meant to be a distracting good time but turns into a bloodbath when a masked killer crashes the party.
SPLIT ROCK
North American Premiere
Canada | 2026 | 98 Min. | Dir. Ryan Glover
A group of geologists discover a strange anomaly in the desert and as they continue their research their thirst for knowledge threatens to put them in grave danger against an ancient horror.
SUNDOWN
East Coast Premiere
USA | 2026 | 79 Min. | Dir. Rebekah McKendry
A trio of blood-related women seeking vengeance kidnap a man only to discover that his darkest secret is far worse than what they thought.
Screening with: Bloodsuckers, dir. Rosie Brear (USA, 10min)
TRAUMA, OR MONSTERS ALL
New York Premiere
USA | 2026 | 118 Min. | Dir. Larry Fessenden
Larry Fessenden’s down-and-dirty, blue-collar universe of Universal-Monster-inspired films (HABIT, DEPRAVED, BLACK OUT) comes to its masterful conclusion in this clash of nightmarish titans set in a small town harboring its own dark past.
TRICK ’R TREAT (35mm) w/ SEASON’S GREETINGS
USA | 2007 | 86 Min. | Dir. Michael Dougherty
It’s the ultimate Halloween season event with everyone’s favorite little pumpkin-headed demon, Sam: a special 35mm screening of Michael Dougherty’s classic Samhain-minded omnibus gem TRICK ’R TREAT (2007), preceded by the filmmaker’s handmade animated short that inspired it, SEASON’S GREETINGS (1996), and capped off by a conversation with Dougherty to discuss it all.
WE’RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD’S FAIR
USA | 2021 | 86 Min. | Dir. Jane Schoenbrun
A teen loses her sense of reality as she is drawn into a popular online role-playing game.
Secret Screening
??? | 2026 | > 100 Min. | Dir. ???
Get your best guesses ready, scary movie lovers—Brooklyn Horror is excited to present a mystery film that, trust us, you won’t want to miss! And, sorry, we won’t give any easy-to-solve hints for all of you proud cinema sleuths out there!
Okay, fine, we’ll give you a little something: Our “Secret Screening” film will be a must-see new gem that’ll make NYC’s horror fans kick themselves for missing if they aren’t in the building for it at Nitehawk. Sorry, that’s all you’re going to get. Now let the speculation begin!
NIGHTMARE FUEL
These frightening folktales, body horrors, and monsters in the machine will haunt your dreams and make sure you never sleep again!
Bagman, dir. Connor Gaston, Vaughn Gaston (Canada); Stuck, dir. Jan van Gorkum (Netherlands); Wax, dir. Alexandre Forgues, (Canada); Breeder, dir. Sapphire Sandalo (USA); YAOGUAI, dir. Mimi Lee (USA); Don’t Go, dir. Talon Darren Winsnes, (Norway); Tsume Kill: The Clapper Claw, dir. Shinsuke Fujioka (Japan); Ceiling King, dir. Mats Udd (Sweden).
HEAD TRIP
Open your mind to genre-bending terror and find the fear in everyday things like your sewing projects, mancaves, and headphones. Embrace the bizarre.
Man Eating Pussy, dir. Emily Lawson (Canada); Summer Project, dir. Yuki Hara (Japan); Headphones, dir. Steven Arriagada (Australia); Rusalka, dir. Mykita Bulgakov, Vlad Fishez, Oleg Batrakov (Ukraine); Prosthetika, dir. Brandon Chi-Wei Chen (USA); Needle, Sofie Somoroff (USA); Mancave dir. Fredrik S. Hana (Norway)
CULTURE SHOCK
Our latest and permanent program section strives to uplift Black filmmakers and aims to be a launchpad for new excellence in genre cinema. Join us in celebrating Black stories with our very first Culture Shock: Black Horror shorts block.
The Inheritance, dir. Destinee Stewart (USA); Night Feeds, dir. Rana Roy (USA); Angels Pull Your Hair, dir. Gabby Beans (USA); Dread, dir. Loren Loubser, Gabe Gabriel (South Africa, UK); The Keeper, dir Tananarive Due, Steven Barnes (USA); Grampa, dir Justice Smith (USA)
SLAYED
Presented by MUBI
Brooklyn horror explores the gamut of queer experiences in this shorts block, from messy lesbian relationships to taboo sexual experiences.
By Yourself, dir. Elaine Frost (USA); Crash Season, dir. Audrey Rosenberg (USA); Four Itchy Boys, dir. Andrew Hebert (USA); Internet Boy, dir. Joseph Demaria (USA); Embrace, dir. Matthew Rush (USA); Tooth, dir. Max Wren (USA); Mine, dir. Jaclyn Moore (USA); Scissors, dir. Hannah Alline (USA)
LAUGH NOW, DIE LATER
Horror and comedy are sisters – both build up tension for a satisfying relief. Afterall, isn’t death the final punch line?
Knitting Club, dir. Diogo Abrantes, João Rito (Portugal); Baby Fever, dir. Katrina Vergara (USA); Udders!, dir. Michael Spencer (USA); CHÄIR, dir Chris McInroy (USA); A Stable Marriage, dir. Josephine Decker (USA); Matches, dir. Jake Delaney (USA); Open Mic, dir. Jano Pita (Spain); Vape Glow, dir. Steven Schloss (USA); Gloss, dir. Leah Shore (USA); House Cat, dir. Kyle Spleiss (USA)
DEATH GRIP
These shorts will grab a hold of you, won’t let go, and love to watch you squirm. Enjoy slow-burn horror and explore the dark recesses that hide in quiet moments.
Bruised Sky, dir. Gary James Kent (UK); Down the Length, dir. Milo Ed (UK); Primus the Robot, dir. Max Delagrave (France); Devourer, dir. Nirvana Nagi; Living Grounds, dir. Émile Lavoie (Canada)
HOME INVASION 1
Hometown heroes and fresh faces alike showcase their newest works. Enjoy the work of our locals and let their creativity inspire you!
The Crying Man, dir. Emily Bennett; Richard Goes On a Date, dir. Johnny Frohman; Imprint, dir. Ran Jing; PRIME, dir. Meagan Coyle; Viewfinder, dir. Clay von Carlowitz; Packages, dir. Nick Barat; Crib Club, dir. Jordan Freeman Klaja; Walter Wuz Here, dir. Ben Duff
HOME INVASION 2
The category so nice, we made it twice. Our community is bursting at the seams with talented creatives, we can’t fit everything into one block.
Echelon, dir. Sebastian DiNatale; Book U Can Ask ???s, dir. Casimir Nozkowski; No Free Brains, dir. Ciara Sergi; Behind This Locked Door, dir. Matthew Brennan; Carousel, dir. Christopher Kosakowski; Hand, dir. Jennifer Winterbotham; The Fool, dir. Adjahni Dèsirè; In My Blood, dir. Alex Bendo
SPECIAL EVENTS
Final Exam Horror Trivia
Presented by Dark Sky Films
Do you think you know more about horror films than the rest of Gotham? Then it’s time to prove it via five blistering rounds of expert level creepy trivia with hosts Ted Geoghegan (director of We Are Still Here and Shudder’s Brooklyn 45) and journalist Michael Gingold (of Fangoria and Rue Morgue fame)! Meet new friends, win amazing prizes, and learn more about horror cinema exclusively at Final Exam!
Certified Forgotten Podcast
Certified Forgotten is a 60-minute bi-weekly horror movie podcast with a focus on underseen films. Hosts Matt Donato and Matt Monagle speak with creators, filmmakers, and critics about their lifelong relationships to the horror genre. Each episode also highlights another unique genre title with ten-or-fewer reviews on aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes that’s picked by the guest, letting them champion each episode’s title to their heart’s content.
Additional events will be announced leading up to the festival.
