The FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards return this October, and we have your official list of nominees featuring 35 of the best new horror movies nominated across 14 categories, plus the best horror series and video games released in the last year.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple and Dusty Bunny lead the pack with nine nominations each, followed by this year's box office-breaking Backrooms with six nominations. Frankenstein, Hokum, and The Bride! each landed five nominations, and Curry Barker's mega-hit Obsession is nominated across four categories, including the Best Director category for Barker and a Best Lead Performance nod for Inde Navarrette.
The nominees were selected by a nominating body of industry tastemakers, creators, and professionals and cover releases between July 2025 and June 2026.
“If there’s a theme to be found in this year’s crop of nominations, it’s that horror lovers do not and will not abide by what mainstream box office numbers decide the ‘winners’ are. The big horror hits are here, of course, but so too are fiercely independent visions that, for one reason or another, have yet to find the audience they deserve. If we can get more eyeballs on these genre gems by celebrating them at the Chainsaw Awards, that’s a win for all of us,” said FANGORIA Editor-in-Chief Phil Nobile Jr.
“One of the most rewarding parts of putting the Chainsaw Awards together every year is seeing the passion and fervor of the fans. Ultimately, they're the ones who rally behind the nominees and make the final call,” said Michael Varrati, writer and director of the FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards. “This year's nominees reflect a wide range of diverse stories, titles, and creatives whom horror enthusiasts have championed since our last show. I encourage fans to get out and vote, because it may well be their voice and love of fright that changes the course of horror history.”
Believe me when I say your one vote could be the difference between your top pick taking home the trophy and coming in second place (we have seen it happen!). So get in there and make your voice heard.
Without further ado, we are proud to present the official 2026 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards nominees. Check out the full list of nominees below. The polls are now officially open and will close on July 15 at 11:59 PM PST. The fate of the awards is now in your hands.
Be sure to tune in when the winners are revealed on October 25th during the FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards broadcast on Shudder.
Congratulations to all the nominees, and thank you for an incredible year of horror. Happy voting!
Official Nominees for the 2026 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards
Nominees are presented alphabetically within each category.
BEST WIDE RELEASE
- 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Backrooms
- THE BRIDE!
- Faces of Death
- Forbidden Fruits
- Hokum
- Leviticus
- Obsession
- Send Help
- Weapons
BEST LIMITED RELEASE MOVIE
- Dust Bunny
- Mārama
- Queens of the Dead
- The Serpent's Skin
- Touch Me
BEST STREAMING PREMIERE
- I Am Frankelda
- Influencers
- Mother of Flies
- Reflection in a Dead Diamond
- V/H/S/Halloween
BEST INTERNATIONAL MOVIE
- Alpha
- Exit 8
- Mārama
- Reflection in a Dead Diamond
- The Wailing
BEST FIRST FEATURE
- Backrooms
- Buffet Infinity
- Dust Bunny
- Iron Lung
- Queens of the Dead
BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE
- Zazie Beetz, They Will Kill You
- Jessie Buckley, THE BRIDE!
- Peter Dinklage, The Toxic Avenger
- Chiwetel Ejiofor, Backrooms
- Ralph Fiennes, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Rachel McAdams, Send Help
- Inde Navarette, Obsession
- Toby Poser, Mother of Flies
- Adam Scott, Hokum
- Sophie Sloan, Dust Bunny
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
- Stacy Clausen, Leviticus
- Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
- Elle Fanning, Predator: Badlands
- Regina Hall, Scary Movie
- David Jonsson, The Long Walk
- Amy Madigan, Weapons
- Mads Mikkelsen, Dust Bunny
- Dacre Montgomery, Faces of Death
- Jack O'Connell, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Sigourney Weaver, Dust Bunny
BEST DIRECTOR
- Curry Barker, Obsession
- Zach Cregger, Weapons
- Nia DaCosta, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Bryan Fuller, Dust Bunny
- Maggie Gyllenhaal, THE BRIDE!
BEST SCREENPLAY
- Curry Barker, Obsession
- Zach Cregger, Weapons
- Alex Garland, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Isa Mazzei and Daniel Goldhaber, Faces of Death
- Damian McCarthy, Hokum
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- Sean Bobbitt, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Jeremy Cox, Backrooms
- Andrew Droz Palermo & Rina Yang, Mother Mary
- Nicole Hirsch Whitaker, Dust Bunny
- Colm Hogan, Hokum
BEST SCORE
- Gavin Brivik, Faces of Death
- Alexandre Desplat, Frankenstein
- Hildur Guðnadóttir, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Daniel Hart, Mother Mary
- Kane Parsons & Edo Van Breemen, Backrooms
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
- Olivier Bériot & Catherine Leterrier, Dust Bunny
- Kate Hawley, Frankenstein
- Carson McColl & Gareth Pugh, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Sandy Powell, THE BRIDE!
- David Tabbert, Queens of the Dead
BEST MAKEUP FX
- Chris Gallaher, Nadia Stacey & Scott Stoddard, THE BRIDE!
- Mike Hill, Frankenstein
- Millennium FX, The Toxic Avenger
- John Nolan, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Arjen Tuiten, Lee Cronin's The Mummy
BEST CREATURE FX
- Legacy Effects, Dust Bunny
- Studio Gillis and Wētā Workshop, Predator: Badlands
- Millennium FX, Primate
- Werner Pretorius and Amazing Ape Productions, Backrooms
- Jim Henson's Creature Shop, Five Nights at Freddy's 2
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
- 1000 Women in Horror
- Chain Reactions
- In Search of Darkness: 1995-1999
- The Last Sacrifice
- Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror
BEST NON-FICTION TV SERIES OR MINISERIES
- The Boulet Brothers' Dragula: Titans
- Grave Conversations
- The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs
- Monstrum
- Svengoolie
BEST SERIES
- Alien: Earth
- The Creep Tapes
- Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen
- The Vampire Lestat
- Widow’s Bay
BEST VIDEO GAME
-
- Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake
- Little Nightmares III
- No, I’m Not A Human
- Resident Evil: Requiem
- Silent Hill f
What an incredible crop of nominees, we're going to have one hell of a bountiful harvest this October. The polls are now open and will close on July 15 at 11:59 PM PST. Vote for the 2026 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards now.
