15 Films We Can’t Wait To See At FrightFest

Family filmmaking sensation the Adams Family return to FrightFest this year with their latest feature, Mother of Flies, recently acquired by Shudder for a 2026 release. The haunted fairytale stars writer/directors Toby Poser, John Adams and daughter Zelda Adams, with elder Adams daughter Lulu also starring. Mother of Flies follows Mickey, a woman who faces a terminal diagnosis and so seeks dark magic at the hands of mysterious recluse. We were excited to see Mother of Flies before it took home the top prize at Fantasia, and now we're even more so. Mother of Flies is playing FrightFest's Main Screen on Monday, 25 August at 1:30pm.

The Serpent's Skin, the sixth feature from filmmaking sensation Alice Maio Mackay (T Blockers, Carnage for Christmas) is a queer supernatural romance with nods to The Craft, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed, all channelled through Mackay's signature punk spirit and trans lens. The UK premiere of The Serpent's Skin airs on FrightFest's Discovery Screen One at 6:15pm on Monday 25 August – with Mackay herself attending in person along with some of the film's cast.

Closing out this year's FrightFest is Influencers, a sequel to the 2023 Shudder thriller Influencer from director Kurtis David Harder. Starring returning lead Cassandra Naud and Barbarian‘s Georgina Campbell, Influencers is set in Southern France, and centers on a young woman’s chilling fascination with murder and identity theft sends her life into a whirlwind of chaos. If Influencers is anywhere near as sharp and satirical as its predecessor, we're in for a grand finale to see us out. Influencers screens at 8:45pm on Monday 25 August on the Main Screen.

Despite our tough reputation, us horror fans are, in general, a bunch of animal-loving softies. That's why Don't Let the Cat Out, from FrightFest alumni Tim Cruz (Ladybug) stands as a highlight among the lineup this year. In Don't Let the Cat Out, a feline-obsessed couple seek a human vessel for the soul of their beloved cat. Can you blame them? Catch the campy kitty horror at 3:15pm on Friday 22 August in FrightFest's Discovery Screen One.

Prolific Japanese filmmaker Toshiaki Toyoda (Blue Spring, The Day of Destruction) returns with Transcending Dimensions, another genre-bending feature sure to melt the minds of those catching it on the Main Screen at 3:30pm on Friday 22 August.  The sci-fi sorcery epic stars frequent Toyoda collaborator Ryuhei Matsuda as Shinno, an assassin hired to investigate the disappearance of a young monk last seen training at the temple of the enigmatic and mysterious Master Hanzo. A must-see for Japanese genre cinema fans.

Opening this year's FrightFest is The Home, the Pete Davidson vs. old people shocker from The Purge creator James DeMonaco. Centering on a retirement home where Davidson's character takes a job as a janitor and begins to suspect things are amiss, The Home looks like a wild ride, inspired by DeMonaco's love of '70s horror and fascination with eyeballs. Sounds like the perfect film for FrightFest's raucous 6pm opening slot on Thursday 21 August.

Keith David (The Thing, They Live, Platoon, Hazbin Hotel), Trey Holland (Battleship) and Richard Kind (Curb Your Enthusiasm, A Serious Man) all star in Woody Bess' Portal to Hell, which should be enough to convince you alone. But just incase that isn't enough, Portal to Hell follows a debt collector who lives a life of routine until a portal to hell opens in his local laundromat, followed by a demon (Kind) sent to drag his neighbor, Mr. Bobshank (David), to hell for an unpaid debt. SOLD! Portal to Hell screens at 10:45pm on Friday 21 August in FrightFest's Discovery Screen One.

Korean animator Ahn Jae-huun (The Shaman Sorceress) returns for another dreamy 2D feature with Gill, playing FrightFest's Discovery Screen Two at 6pm on Monday 25 August. In Gill, a young boy with gills is rescued by another boy and his grandpa, and together they become an odd family. Gill should be a gentle, thoughtful watch to finish off your FrightFest after a weekend of chaos.

Jimmy and Stiggs, the batshit'n'bloody new alien horror from Joe Begos (Bliss, Christmas Bloody Christmas) explodes onto FrightFest's Main Screen at 8:30pm on Saturday 23 August. The first new feature from Eli Roth's newly-founded label The Horror Section, Jimmy and Stiggs follows a down-on-his-luck filmmaker (Begos) who claims he was abducted by aliens, vowing to bring them down alongside his friend (Matt Mercer). Neon splatter, plenty of gratuitous gore and a spiralling descent into madness? Sounds like a future FrightFest classic.

Erik Bloomquist (She Came from the Woods, Founder's Day) returns with his latest horror feature (and ninth overall), Self-Help, playing on FrightFest's Main Screen at 3:25pm on Saturday 23 August. Self-Help stars Jake Weber, Landry Bender, Madison Lintz, and Amy Hargreaves, and follows a young woman as she infiltrates a dangerous self-actualization community after her mother becomes entangled with its enigmatic leader. Expect twisted life lessons galore.

Directed by Mercedes Bryce Morgan (Spoonful of Sugar), Bone Lake is an erotic horror described by our own Maggie Boccella as “Barbarian‘s hornier sibling” – and she ain't wrong. The twisty pic follows a couple whose romantic vacation at a secluded lakeside estate is upended when they are forced to share the mansion with a mysterious and attractive couple. Catch the UK Premiere of Bone Lake on Sunday 24 August at 6:30pm on FrightFest's Main Screen.

It's been almost two years since Macon Blair's The Toxic Avenger reboot premiered at Fantastic Fest, so you best believe we're excited to finally be seeing it over the pond. In Blair's reimagining of Michael Herz and Lloyd Kaufman's 1984 sick superhero tale, Peter Dinklage stars as downtrodden janitor Winston Gooze, who, after a freak accident, transforms into the mutant vigilante we know and love as Toxie. Starring alongside Dinklage in the officially Certified Fresh pic are Kevin Bacon, Elijah Wood, Jacob Tremblay, Julia Davis, Taylour Paige and Luisa Guerreiro, who provides Toxie's physical performance. FrightFest attendees can catch Toxie's latest adventure on Friday 22 August at 8:20pm on the Main Screen.

Love 'em or hate 'em – public domain horrors are a blast with a crowd. In this latest offering from the Poohniverse's Jagged Edge Productions (Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey, Peter Pan’s Neverland Nightmare), everyone's favorite little deer turns into a horned mutant beast out for revenge after the death of his mother. Bambi: The Reckoning has its UK Premiere on Discovery Screen One on Thursday 21 August at 8:30pm.

Blood Shine, the sophomore feature of husband-and-wife creative duo Emily Bennett and Justin Brooks, stars David Call (Insidious: The Red Door) as, a horror filmmaker working on his latest script with he meets a religious zealot who leads him into an hallucinatory web of faith, flesh, and the sublime. Bennett and Brooks' first feature, the Barbara Crampton-starring Alone With You, won the pair the coveted Editor's Eyeball on the Future Award at the FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards back in 2023, and so needless to say we're incredibly hype to see what the pair have cooked up with Blood Shine. Catch the World Premiere on FrightFest's Discovery Two Screen at 3:20pm on Saturday 23 August.

Latvian rotoscope-animated horror Dog of God boasts exploding genitals, gelatinous sex, poop in abundance and all manner of sick and twisted (complimentary) set pieces that make it a truly unique take on the classic werewolf tale. From co-directors Lauris and Raitis Abele, Dog of God is based on the true story of the 1692 Livonian werewolf trial of Thiess of Kaltenbrun and, if the trailer is anything to go by, is NOT one to be missed on the big screen. Catch it at FrightFest at 10:45am on Friday 22 August in Discovery Screen Two.