The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival has revealed its full 2026 program, delivering a blood-splattered lineup of world premieres, restored classics, and genre retrospectives. The festival runs Oct. 15–22, with all screenings taking place at Nitehawk Cinema Williamsburg.
The festival kicks off with the U.S. premiere of Nicky Murphy’s award-winning vampire mockumentary, “I Love Paris,” followed by an opening-night party presented by Dark Sky Films across both levels of Nitehawk. The festival closes Oct. 22 with Nick Kozakis’ drug-fueled action-horror feature “Kick On” and a Halloween party hosted by ALTER.
This year’s premiere lineup includes the world premiere of Michael Schwarz’s early-2000s throwback slasher “The Only One,” alongside two deep-dive genre documentaries: “Rubberhead: The Life & Monsters of Steve Johnson” and “Full Moon Rising: The Charles Band Story.”
The festival’s new “Dark Suburbia” sidebar spotlights unhinged indie horror, including “American Dollhouse,” the psychological thriller “Sender” (starring Britt Lower and executive produced by Jamie Lee Curtis), and the absurdist nightmare “Little Doors.”
“Culture Shock,” the rebranded official title for the festival’s Black horror section, features a 50th-anniversary 35mm screening of “J.D.’s Revenge” and a 35th-anniversary screening of “The People Under the Stairs.”
This year’s “Fear in Focus” block tackles the dark abyss of cyber horror, tracing the evolution of digital terror through Rachel Talalay’s 1993 classic “Ghost in the Machine” on 35mm, the 2013 found-footage shocker “The Den,” and Jane Schoenbrun’s breakout “We’re All Going to the World’s Fair.”
Rounding out the retrospective slate are two special event screenings: Michael Dougherty’s “Trick ‘r Treat” on 35mm—preceded by a 4K restoration of his original short film, “Season’s Greetings,” and followed by a live director Q&A—and Carl Theodor Dreyer’s silent-era masterpiece “The Passion of Joan of Arc,” featuring a live score by The Flushing Remonstrance.
Festival badges are on sale now. Individual tickets go on sale Friday, Sept. 18 at 10 a.m. EST. The complete program schedule is available now on the Brooklyn Horror Festival website.
