York's Dead Northern film festival returns to Picturehouse City Screen this autumn, with an electrifying first wave of features that includes forgotten cult classics, groundbreaking indie horrors, international premieres and more. Dead Northern's 2026 festival takes place from September 27 to September 29, bringing three days of screenings, Q&As, live events and networking in the heart of York, the UK's spookiest city. Read on for our exclusive reveal of the full lineup.
Kicking off the first wave lineup reveal for this year is a rare UK screening of Wrye Martin and Barry Poltermann's 1994 independent horror Aswang. A vampire tale told through the lens of Filipino folklore, the Milwaukee-made Aswang follows a pregnant woman who is persuaded by a mysterious aristocrat to allow his family to adopt her unborn child as their heir. But when she arrives at their remote estate to give birth, she uncovers a horrifying secret that emerges only after dark.
Aswang will be accompanied by a special panel discussion exploring the evolution and legacy of the vampire across cultures, and why these creatures remain some of horror's most enduring monster.
Next up on the Dead Northern slate is the UK Premiere of Buffet Libre. From Spanish filmmaker Zoe Berriatúa, the horror-comedy follows the owners of a struggling all-you-can-eat buffet who discover that murder might be the answer to both their financial problems and toxic relationship, bodies begin piling up and onto the menu.
This year, Dead Northern also welcomes back filmmaker Stewart Sparke, whose How to Kill Monsters won Best Feature at the fest back in 2023. Sparke's Dead Reset, which is based on the interactive video game of the same name, follows surgeon Cole Mason as he becomes trapped inside a mysterious underwater facility, forced into a terrifying cycle of death and resurrection while uncovering an evolving parasitic nightmare.
Charlie Robb and Douglas Tawn's Loner is the next independent horror to grace the Dead Northern screen. The survival horror, which Dead Northern describes as blending “psychological horror, dark comedy and striking cinematography”, follows aspiring vlogger Angus Mattock, whose attempt to build a successful online survival channel descends into a terrifying fight for his life after becoming trapped in the wilderness by a mysterious natural force.
Finally, wrapping up Dead Northern's first wave of features is microbudget slasher Friday the 69th, which (if you couldn't tell by the name) is a love letter to the “outrageous excesses of 1980s horror cinema”. Written by, directed by and starring Alex Montilla, the horror comedy begins inside a chaotic writers’ room before spiralling into a gleefully absurd tale of college students, homicidal beekeepers and spectacular practical effects.
Dead Northern Festival Director Joshua Lawson has the following to say about this eclectic first lineup:
Dead Northern has never been about chasing premieres for the sake of it. It’s about discovering the films people will still be talking about when they leave the cinema. Sometimes that’s a world premiere, sometimes it’s a forgotten cult classic that deserves to be seen by a new audience, and sometimes it’s an independent film that’s simply too good to ignore. Every film in this first announcement represents something we love about horror originality, passion and filmmakers taking risks. We can’t wait to share them with audiences in York.
Dead Northern tickets and festival passes are available now right here . Stay tuned for further feature films, short film selections, special guests, live events and industry panels set to be announced over the coming weeks.
