Huge congratulations to all of our Screamfest 2026 Screenplay Finalists! Meet the talented writers below, and check back to find out who takes home the grand prize.
2004 Festival Film Guide
2004 Films
Film Guide
Film Category
30 Second Bunny Theatre
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
See your favorite Horror films such as ALIEN, THE EXORCIST, JAWS & THE SHINING re-enacted by bunnies.
Film Category
Blessed
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Happily married, Samantha and Craig Howard are trying to have a baby, however, an accident has left Samantha unable to conceive. They spend their savings for the In vitro procedure at a special fertility clinic and their happiness peaks as the In Vitro procedure works and Samantha becomes pregnant with twins. Their joy is soon short lived when she learns that she is not carrying her children, but instead she is carrying the fate of the world in her womb.
Film Category
Candyman
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Helen Lyle is a student who decides to write a thesis about local legends and myths. She visits a part of the town, where she learns about the legend of the Candyman, a one-armed man who appears when you say his name five times, in front of a mirror. Of course, Helen doesn't believe all this stuff, but the people of the area are really afraid. When she ignores their warnings and begins her investigation in the places that he is rumored to appear, a series of horrible murders begins. Could the legend be true?
Film Category
Circle Of Freaks
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
All are welcome to visit the Circle of Freaks. We enjoy your company and want you to stay a while. Come see the Dog boy! Watch the Worm boy get under your skin! And say hello to the unhappiest Clown on earth! But first listen to the story of the little boy who happens upon the Circle of Freaks. Lured by his curiosity, he enters expecting to to consequences he can't imagine. Who is the real monster? You decide. have a jolly old time. What he doesn't know is that his cruel taunting will lead
Film Category
Cube Zero
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
In the latest chapter to one of the most successful sci-fi thrillers of the last decade, a new group of unwilling participants frantically moves through an ominous construct of cubeshaped rooms. While some rooms provide momentary solace, others offer hideously inventive and painful death. On the outside, a young man charged with watching over the cube is beginning to understand that there's more going on than he's been told. In order for all of them to survive, they are going to have to trust each other in navigating through this complex killing machine.
Film Category
Darkness (The Dark)
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
There's something in this house that's been awakened. Something ancient, something evil:.it remains still, hidden and silent, concealed in the shadows for years. This house hides a secret, a terrible past, an inconceivably evil act. More than forty years ago, a ritual tried to summon it. Seven children, faceless people, a circle that must be completed. But something went wrong. One of the children got away, and the circle wasn't completed. What lives here isn't fi nished. It's waiting to become complete...
Film Category
Dawn Of The Dead (Unrated Director's Cut)
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
A young female nurse, named Anna, is caught in the middle of a world-wide chaos as fl esh-eating zombies begin rising up and taking over the world and attacking the living. She escapes into the streets and finds shelter in a mall along with a group of other survivors. As the world outside grows more nightmarish, as the ever increasingly army of decomposing zombies tirelessly strive to infi ltrate the mall, the survivors battle the undead, each other and their own fears and suspicions.
Film Category
Day Off The Dead
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Dead Guy and Dead Gal fi nd themselves in a surreal, animated Dead World,where lost souls try to make their earthly desires come to life.
Film Category
Deadline
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Alex and his pregnant wife Laura, are isolated in a mountain road during to a breakdown of their jeep. They are helped by an ambiguous man, that brings them to a bleak desolated hotel shrouded in the fog. The man's speeches even if illogical, have a double and deep meaning of their own.
Film Category
Descent
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Six weeks after witnessing the brutal murder of her best friend, Andrea immerses herself in her work and accidentally stays too late, finding herself alone in the office. On the way down, the elevator makes an unexpected stop and to her absolute disbelief - the man she witnessed murder her best friend GETS ON THE ELEVATOR with her!
Film Category
Drowning Ghost
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Over 100 years ago, three students at the Hellestads Boarding School were brutally slaughtered, the murderer drowned himself in a lake nearby and his body was never found. The story has become a legend for generations of students as well as a yearly festivity. Sara, a student, is writing an essay based on the legend and uncovers new facts from the event that will cast dark shadows on the family name of one of the school's main benefi ciaries. On the night of the hundredth anniversary, the festivities go awry, students disappear and something dark and unknown is moving through the schools corridors...
Film Category
H.H. Holmes, America's First Serial Killer
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
H.H. Holmes, America's First Serial Killer is a feature-length documentary flm depicting the entire life of the infamous Dr. H.H. Holmes and his castle of horrors. Also known as the torture doctor, Holmes designed a building (aka, The Castle), complete with torture chambers, where he rented rooms to unsuspecting victims visiting the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago.
Film Category
Happy Birthday To Me
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Virginia is proud that she belongs to a clique. The best students at a private school. But before her 18th birthday, a grueling set of murders take place and her friends are the ones who are falling prey. Could it be her? She suffers from blackouts due to a freak accident one year earlier. We soon learn the truth behind her accident and what is going on...
Film Category
Hellbent
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Four gay friends are terrorized on Halloween night by a masked assailant during the annual West Hollywood Street Carnival. Unaware of the killer's presence, the friends make their way along the festivities on Santa Monica Boulevard, looking for fun and love. One by one they are picked off by the killer who takes the heads of his victims as prizes.
Film Category
Highway 213
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Frank has just inherited his father's old auto repair shop complete with rusty tools, unpaid bills, and a dark secret. A mysterious woman calls up begging for help. She is stranded on Highway 213, an abandoned stretch of road miles away from any town. Being the only mechanic in the area, Frank sets out to help her. Thirty-six miles later, he finds nothing but an empty highway. Frustrated, Frank returns to his shop with the conclusion that it was only a crank caller. Or was it? The next day it's business as usual, until the woman calls back.
Film Category
Husk
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Four young men find themselves stranded roadside along the outskirts of an expansive cornfield. Out in the middle of nowhere with a busted car, their only hope is a house sitting on the other side of the cornfield. But after one of them disappears into the cornfield for help, it;s not long before they realize help is the last thing they'll find.
Film Category
Ifilm Presents....
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
JESABELLE
13:17 mins
Directed by Bryn Johns
The only inhabitants in Peter's shadowy world are Damon - an unsettling neighbor at the end of hall and the haunting
ghost of Jesabelle. Psychologically tortured by them both, their relentless assaults begin to tear away at his withering sanity until he is pushed to his limit, unraveling the tangled
thread that binds them all.
IN THE VAULT
6:20 mins
Directed by Geoffrey Clark
A lazy and unprofessional undertaker named George Birch becomes locked in his burial vault overnight. The strange
events that occur within the vault make George wonder if perhaps dead men DO tell tales.
CLARISSA X
8:41 mins
Director by Thomas Trail
Clarissa X tells the story of a chain-smoking photographer who falls in love with a neighbor who happens to be the
ghost of a serial killer from the ‘70s. It stars Ted Raimi of Xena.
ONE
6:55 mins
Directed by Stewart Hendler
The eerie story of two young lovers and their final moments together.
COOKIES FOR HARRY
4:20 mins
Directed by Nicholas Peterson
An old man struggles for one last cookie before he dies, but will his wife let him get his coveted sugar fix?
REAR VIEW MIRROR
5:40 mins
Directed by Chris Valenziano
On an empty desert road, a lost traveler learns that objects in his rear view mirror may be closer than they appear.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING CHICKEN
3:10 mins
Directed by Dorian Bustamante
A chicken comes back to life to avenge death. A brilliant parody of Night of the Living Dead.
MY BEST FRIEND
8 mins
Directed by Stacy Pierce
A young boy mowing his grandfather']s lawn accidentally runs over a bunny. He's stricken with guilt, but his grandfather throws the corpse into the woods, thinking that's the end of
it. Later that night the boy finds an unexpected visitor in his room: the mangled bunny. Overjoyed that the bunny’s not dead, the boy hugs him to death. This doesn't put the kibosh
on their friendship, but what will grandpa say?
TERRITORIAL DRINKING
11 mins
Directed by Scott Patton
A strange little man walks into a strange little bar for a drink and learns that in this surreal world, size really does matter.
13:17 mins
Directed by Bryn Johns
The only inhabitants in Peter's shadowy world are Damon - an unsettling neighbor at the end of hall and the haunting
ghost of Jesabelle. Psychologically tortured by them both, their relentless assaults begin to tear away at his withering sanity until he is pushed to his limit, unraveling the tangled
thread that binds them all.
IN THE VAULT
6:20 mins
Directed by Geoffrey Clark
A lazy and unprofessional undertaker named George Birch becomes locked in his burial vault overnight. The strange
events that occur within the vault make George wonder if perhaps dead men DO tell tales.
CLARISSA X
8:41 mins
Director by Thomas Trail
Clarissa X tells the story of a chain-smoking photographer who falls in love with a neighbor who happens to be the
ghost of a serial killer from the ‘70s. It stars Ted Raimi of Xena.
ONE
6:55 mins
Directed by Stewart Hendler
The eerie story of two young lovers and their final moments together.
COOKIES FOR HARRY
4:20 mins
Directed by Nicholas Peterson
An old man struggles for one last cookie before he dies, but will his wife let him get his coveted sugar fix?
REAR VIEW MIRROR
5:40 mins
Directed by Chris Valenziano
On an empty desert road, a lost traveler learns that objects in his rear view mirror may be closer than they appear.
NIGHT OF THE LIVING CHICKEN
3:10 mins
Directed by Dorian Bustamante
A chicken comes back to life to avenge death. A brilliant parody of Night of the Living Dead.
MY BEST FRIEND
8 mins
Directed by Stacy Pierce
A young boy mowing his grandfather']s lawn accidentally runs over a bunny. He's stricken with guilt, but his grandfather throws the corpse into the woods, thinking that's the end of
it. Later that night the boy finds an unexpected visitor in his room: the mangled bunny. Overjoyed that the bunny’s not dead, the boy hugs him to death. This doesn't put the kibosh
on their friendship, but what will grandpa say?
TERRITORIAL DRINKING
11 mins
Directed by Scott Patton
A strange little man walks into a strange little bar for a drink and learns that in this surreal world, size really does matter.
Film Category
The Invisible
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Nicklas is an intelligent guy with a very bright future in front of him, but unfortunately, the expectations of the rest of the world are in direct opposition to his dreams. One day, Nicklas' life takes an abrupt change in direction when he ends up in a fight with the school's aggressive bully. When Nicklas returns to school the following morning, everything has changed. Nobody sees him. Nobody hears him. It's as though he has become invisible.
Film Category
Jeepers Creepers
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Bickering siblings Darry and Trish are driving home for college break when they make a horrifi c and bizarre discovery in an old church basement. Break may have to wait as Darry and Trish are relentlessly pursued by The Creeper, a creature who is hell-bent on eating them. Gore, tragedy, and an unexpected ending ensue.
Film Category
Jennifer's Shadow
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Jennifer Cassi travels to Buenos Aires to claim inheritance of her recently deceased twin sister's house, only to fi nd herself in confl ict against her grandmother Mary Ellen. Jennifer soon realizes she has an illness that has taken the lives of her family, painfully caused by ravens coming into her dreams and stealing her organs. Convinced it is her grandmother's doing, she must try to stay alive and destroy the evil consuming her.
Film Category
John Carpenter's The Thing
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
An American scientifi c expedition to the frozen wastes of the Antarctic is interrupted by a pair of seemingly mad Norwegians pursuing and shooting at a husky. The helicopter explodes in an accident, and the Norwegians are killed, leaving no explanation for the chase. During the night, as the scientists look on in shock, the husky mutates and attacks the other dogs in the camp. The team soon realizes that a bizarre alien life-form has found its way into their midst.
Film Category
Lamia
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
When Damien, an artist strangely by his surroundings, begins to paint a mysterious lady, he learns that sometimes remembrance is worse than oblivion.
Film Category
Le Prince Bleu
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Le Prince Bleu is an unexpected journey into a Dark Poetry universe.
Film Category
The Locals
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Two best friends Grant and Paul hit the road for a weekend of surfing, booze and hopefully . . . girls. With night falling they take a short cut and meet Lisa and Kelly, a couple of babes with a fast car, who invite them to a party. Lust takes the wheel and a game of cat and mouse begins leading them deep into the heartland of evil where they meet . . . The Locals.
Film Category
Lost Things
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Four teenagers defy their parents to have a wild end-of-school beach vacation. They arrive at a private beach cove; however there is something odd about this beach. After a surprise encounter with a creepy beachcomber named Zippo, the friends want to go home. But now they are trapped, thrashing like fi sh caught in a net as the terrifying mysteries of their fate are revealed.
Film Category
New Orleans Rich & Haunted
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
This documentary features an eyeopening array of paranormal phenomena caught on tape while the enhanced Psi abilities of the ISPR Investigators (International Society for Paranormal Research), provides often substantiated identifi cation and circumstances of the earthbound entities that inhabit the select collection of New Orleans most conservative and sophisticated businesses. The spiritual community in New Orleans is alive and well.
Film Category
The Packer House
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Hayden, Grant and Clare are on the run trying to find shelter. They find a cabin in the woods although it isn't what they expected. They find that the inhabitants are decomposing and fight to not become their next meal.
Film Category
The Park (3D)
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
An amusement park is forced to shut down after a machinery malfunction causes a little girl's death. Fourteen years later, rumors circulate that the deserted park is inhabited by ghosts. When a boy goes missing, his brother and six friends sneak into the park to search for him. Soon enough, they realize they are in for much more than
Film Category
Re-Animator
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Medical student Dan Cain and his beloved girlfriend, Megan, become involved in the macabre experiments of his room-mate, the sinister Dr. Herbert West, who has created a serum that can bring both brain and body back from the dead. However, a chilling side effect to West's discovery leads to a seemingly endless night of mind-bending terror and unthinkable madness.
Film Category
Rojo Sangre
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Pablo Thevenet, an out-of-work actor must face humiliating casting sessions and disregard of young directors and the indifference of old compatriots. Nearly broke and desperate, Thevenet accepts a job offer at the strange Pandora Club run by the bizarre Refi cul. Without knowing, Pablo soon becomes an agent of the dark side and finds himself on a descent into hell.
Film Category
Shadow Man
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
After getting in trouble in class for talking about the Shadow Man, young Kevin is forced to stay after school. As the sun sets and the shadows lengthen, Kevin grows more and more fearful. When he's fi nally released by his teacher, Kevin races to reach his home before the streetlights come on. But along the way he discovers fi rsthand that the Shadow Man is very real indeed - and it intends to claim Kevin as its next victim.
Film Category
The Silvergleam Whistle
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Forty years ago, the SILVERGLEAM EXPRESS steam engine train was struck by lightning, electrocuting everyone on board. Legend has it that the SILVERGLEAM and its engineer still haunt the woods, trying to gather more passengers to finish its final run. Tonight, one family will find out if the story is true... But will they live to tell their tale?
Film Category
Summer Chill
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
In the heat of the night, Steve is taken out of his sleep by a noise coming from the living room of their new apartment. Vanessa his girlfriend, still sound asleep, is not aware her boyfriend is searching every room to find the intruder.
Film Category
The Taking
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Some old houses have secrets. Dark secrets. It bleeds into the wood and soaks the very soul of its foundations. For young Isobel and her Grandmother, they discover through the course of one eerie night that some secrets weren't meant to be unraveled. They're coming...and they're taking...
Film Category
Tales From The Crypt - From Comic Books To Television
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
They were the Horror Comics of the 1950s and they served as inspiration for a generation of writers and fi lmmakers, including R.L. Stine, Joel Silver, John Carpenter and George A. Romero. Tales From The Crypt: From Comic Books to Television tells the story of famed EC Comics publisher Willaim M. Gaines and details the controversy which erupted a half century ago over his ground-breaking horror, crime and science fi ction comic books. Using hundreds of comic book images and numerous clips from fi lms and television series, the program highlights the life, death and rebirth of the most infl uential comic book company of all time.d rebirth of the most infl uential comic book company of all time.
Film Category
Tears Of Kali
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
The eerie stories around the Taylor-Eriksson-group and their members are told in three episodes Shakti, Devi, Kali, embedded into a frame plot. The group tried to redefine the limits of self-finding, sex & violence. Starting as a psychological cat-and-mouse-game, the story soon turns into pure horror.
Film Category
The Thing With No Head
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
There's an old saying that reads; A friend with no head is better than no friend at all. The Thing with No Head is a sweet, pungent, animated short about a young boy's memories of his best friend growing up a headless Thing that wanders onto the farm one summer's day.
Film Category
Unwelcome
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Unwelcome is the story of a young painter who moves into a haunted house. The evil presence won't leave her in peace, but she can't afford to move. Her only choice is to exorcise the ghost by avenging his murder. Or so she thinks…
Film Category
Walpurgis Nacht
Meet the Filmmaker
Synopsis
Despite warnings, a headstrong British solicitor goes sightseeing in Eastern Germany only to encounter more than he was willing to believe. Based on the discarded writings of Bram Stoker, Walpurgis Nacht is set in Germany at the end of the 19th Century. With its gothic overtones, the fi lm invokes the atmosphere of classic horror films.
Articles
News & Videos
Events
Oct 02, 2026
We couldn’t be prouder to celebrate the theatrical release of APPOFENIACS, hitting theatres nationwide tomorrow, October 2nd! Following its standout West Coast Premiere at Screamfest 2025, writer-director-producer Chris Marrs Piliero’s darkly comic techno-thriller is officially making its big-screen debut. Get tickets at AMC
Events
Sep 17, 2026
Prepare for a night of horror and celebration! The 26th Annual Screamfest kicks off with the highly anticipated film, NIGHT DRIVER, screening on Opening Night at 7:30pm.
Article
Sep 15, 2026
Discover the official 2026 Screamfest Horror Film Festival lineup, schedule, and event details. Read the full press release to get the latest updates on terrifying indie films, special screenings, and tickets.
Events
Aug 13, 2026
Join Screamfest for a special 15th-anniversary Fears & Beers screening of The Cabin in the Woods under the stars at McGroarty Arts Center in Tujunga on Sept 12, 2026! Enjoy an exclusive Q&A with actor Fran Kranz, grab a bite from Sarah's SammichesSaladsSides food truck (available for purchase), and sip on complimentary Golden Road Brewery beer for ticketed guests 21+. Plus, stick around after the screening for horror trivia!
Events
Aug 11, 2026
Celebrate 25 years of Thirteen Ghosts on the big screen! Join Screamfest LA at LOOK Dine-In Cinemas Glendale on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, for dinner, drinks, and sheer terror. Grab tickets now!