Screamfest® Horror Film Festival, longest-running horror festival in the United States, today unveiled the second wave of competitive features for its 25th edition. Taking place October 7-16, 2025 at the iconic Chinese theatre, the festival invites horror lovers to immerse themselves in chilling new stories and a nightmarish vision on the big screen.
Dubbed the “Sundance of Horror,” Screamfest® showcases cutting-edge work from independent filmmakers worldwide. The New York Times hailed the festival as one of the “5 Halloween Festivals Worth Traveling For.” These latest additions bring even more blood-pumping excitement, including a special screening of Vicious from Paramount Pictures. Written and directed by Bryan Bertino (The Strangers), the film follows Polly (Dakota Fanning) who receives a mysterious Box from an unexpected late-night visitor and what follows is anything but ordinary. Additionally, Screamfest is thrilled to host the West Coast premiere of the 4K restoration of Before The Fall (Tres Dias), from the acclaimed, award winning director F. Javier Gutierrez’s (The Wait, Rings). This year’s slate is a thrilling celebration of bold new voices in the genre space that will shock, scare and entertain!
World Premieres
- Damned If You Do – Directed by Evan Metzold and Jake Rubin, their first feature starring Harvey Guillén (What We Do in the Shadows), Katie Siegel (The Haunting of Hill House) Ginger Gonzaga (She-Hulk), Paulo Costanzo (Royal Pains), Beth Dover (Orange Is the New Black) and Ed Weeks (The Mindy Project), is about three friends who make a deal with the devil and must rely on an old classmate and a devilish loophole to try and escape Hell’s grasp before the contract’s deadline: their 25th high school reunion.
- Don’t Leave The Kids Alone – A psychological horror from directors Rodrigo Herranz, Emilio Portes and starring Ana Serradilla (My Best Friend’s Wedding) and Jose Sefami (Amores Perros), about two very competitive siblings who, when they unpack their prized gaming console, reveal something sinister that makes them turn on each other.
- Love Is The Monster – Directed by Alex Noyer, this romance gone wrong follows troubled couples who head to a transformative retreat, where they fall prey to a sinister cult seeking to resurrect the Finnish ancient goddess of love.
- Host – Thai Amazon Original – A Chilling Reimagining of Thai folklore, Starring Baipor-Thitiya Jirapornsilp, Perth-Veerinsara Tungkitsuvanich, and Jump-Pisitpol Ekaphongpisit directed by acclaimed Thai director Pokpong-Pairach Khumwan. Host follows Ing (Baipor), who is sent to a remote all-girls reform school ruled by a strict hierarchy and a single rule absolute obedience, only to find herself at the bottom as disturbing events begin to unfold.
Special Screening
- Vicious – Written and directed by Bryan Bertino and being released via Paramount, the film follows Polly (Dakota Fanning) who receives a mysterious Box from an unexpected late-night visitor. It comes with a simple instruction: place three things inside: something you need, something you hate, and something you love. What begins as a strange ritual quickly unravels into a waking nightmare. Trapped in a terrifying world where reality bends and memory betrays, Polly must navigate a series of impossible choices. As time slips away, she’s forced to confront the darkness not just around her, but within her—before it consumes everything and everyone she’s ever known.
North America Premiere
- Dead By Dawn – Directed by first time Polish filmmaker Dawid Torrone, the film follows a group of actors invited to rehearse a new play in a mysterious theater rumored to be owned by a family with ties to the occult. Soon, what should have been an ordinary rehearsal spirals into a desperate game of survival as a masked killer begins to stalk them. Unbeknownst to the cast, everything-the theater, the play, and the murders-is part of a dark, elaborate ritual.
U.S. Premiere
- A Fisherman’s Tale – Directed by Edgar Nito, and winning the New Visions Award at Sitges International Film Festival, the film is about the legendary beast, La Miringua, or the one that drags you in the lake for your sins.
- Summer Teeth – Directed by Drazen Zarkovic – A student on the run from a bad employer comes to a remote island to harvest tomatoes, but there awaits a team of goofy people, one true love and a fight for his life.
West Coast Premieres
- Before The Fall – Directed by F. Javier Gutierrez , will have its West Coast Premiere of its 4K Restoration. In this tense apocalyptic thriller, in three days, a meteor will collide with Earth, and the world will end. The palpable fear and tensions of impending doom are just the start as utter chaos erupts across the planet. Before The Fall won 4 awards in Screamfest 2009.
- Redux Redux – Directed by Kevin McManus and Matthew McManus, the film premiering at SXSW earlier this year, is about a woman who travels through parallel universes, repeatedly killing her daughter’s murderer. As she becomes consumed by vengeance, her humanity hangs in the balance.
- Thinestra – Directed by first time feature director Nathan Hertz, stars Mary Beth Marone (Overcompensating), Brian Huskey (Bob’s Burgers, Veep), and others, in a film about Penny who is plagued by body dysmorphia who impulsively takes Ozempic to curb her hunger. When her body starts to purge itself of its fat, it morphs into a ravenous dopplegänger that wreaks havoc while Penny tries to overcome her hunger before it’s too late.
LA Premiere
- Theatre Is Dead – Directed by Katherine Dudas, follows Willow, a brilliant engineering student, is captivated by acclaimed theater director Matthew Malvaggio, who casts her in his modern adaptation of Women of Trachis. As she becomes engrossed in the theater world, Matthew, a soul-sucking demon, exploits her insecurities, causing her castmates to exhibit increasingly bizarre behavior. On opening night, Willow must choose between her dream and killing the demon.
Formed in August 2001 by film producer Rachel Belofsky, Screamfest® Horror Film Festival is a female-run 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that gives filmmakers and screenwriters in the horror and science fiction genres a venue to have their work showcased in the film industry.
Please find the 2025 Screamfest® second wave features line-up below:
FEATURES:
A Fisherman’s Tale (Mexico, 2025) – US Premiere
Directed by Edgar Nito
Written by Alfredo Mendoza, Edgar Nito
Produced by Carlos Eguiluz, Juan Sarquis
Cast: Renata Vaca, Noe Hernandez, Jorge A. Jimenez
Legend says that long ago, nature thrived in harmony around the lake, until evil arrived. Men, blinded by dark desires, brought fear, hate, and death. Fishermen call it La Miringua, the one that drags you in the lake for your sins.
Before The Fall (Spain, 2008 ) West Coast Premiere of its 4K Restoration
Directed by F. Javier Gutierrez
Written by F. Javier Gutierrez, Juan Velarde
Produced by Antonio Banderas, Antonio P. Perez
Cast: Victor Clavijo, Mariana Cordero
The UN Security Council announces that, against all united efforts of the government agencies and scientific factions, they have failed at attempts to prevent a catastrophic disaster; in three days, a meteor will collide with Earth, and the world will end. The palpable fear and tensions of impending doom are just the start as utter chaos erupts across the planet
Damned If You Do (US, 2025) – World Premiere
Directed by Evan Metzold, Jake Rubin
Written by Eric Gilde, Ellen Adair
Produced by Matthew Cooper, Uwakokunre Imasogie, Lior Haas
Cast: Katie Siegel, Harvey Guillen, Ginger Gonzaga, Beth Dover, Paulo Costanzo, Mike Flanagan, Ed Weeks
After enthusiastically selling their souls to a charming demon in 1999, three former best friends, a rock star, a tech mogul, and a high-profile activist must rely on an old classmate and a devilish loophole to try and escape Hell’s grasp before the contract’s deadline: their 25th high school reunion.
Dead By Dawn (Poland, 2025) – North American Premiere
Directed by Dawid Torrone
Written by Dawid Torrone
Produced by Katarzyna Kostecka, Kinga Tas
Cast: Sylwia Boron, Monika Frajczyk
A group of actors invited to rehearse a new play in the mysterious theater of the Heissenhoff family, a well-known artistic dynasty with rumored ties to the occult. Soon, what should have been an ordinary rehearsal spirals into a desperate game of survival as a masked killer begins to stalk them. Unbeknownst to the cast, everything-the theater, the play, and the murders-is part of a dark, elaborate ritual.
Don’t Leave The Kids Alone (Mexico, 2025) – World Premiere
Directed by Rodrigo Herranz, Emilio Portes
Written by Rodrigo Herranz, Emilio Portes
Produced by Rodrigo Herranz, Emilio Portes
Cast: Ana Serradilla, Jose Sefami, Juan Pablo Velasco
A claustrophobic and psychological horror film about two competitive siblings alone in their new house. Newly widowed Cata attends a party, leaving her two young sons, Mati and Emi, alone at their new house. As the brothers attempt to find their games console their rivalry raises its head.
Host (Thai, 2025) – World Premiere
Directed by Pokpong-Pairach Khumwan
Produced by Transformation Films
A teenage girl, Rin, is sent to a reform school for “troubled” girls on a remote island. She quickly learns that there is a hierarchy to the school, with the queen bee and teacher’s pet, Aim, on top, and Rin, as the new girl, on the bottom. Not long after her arrival, strange, inexplicable incidents begin to occur with the girls on school grounds, and somehow Rin always seems to be at the center of it – isolating her even further from the rest of the students. As these coincidences begin to pile up, even Rin begins to wonder, is she the unwitting victim, or could she unknowingly be the cause?
Love Is The Monster (US, 2025) – World Premiere
Directed by Alex Noyer
Written by Alex Noyer, Hannu Aukia, Blair Bathory
Produced by Laurence Gendron, Alex Noyer, Hannu Aukia
Cast: Madeline Zima, Leonardo Nam, Moe Jeudy-Lamour, Kimberly-Sue Murray, Kristina Tonteri-Young, Milla Puolakanaho and Sheila McCarthy
Troubled couples head to a transformative retreat, where they fall prey to a sinister cult seeking to resurrect the Finnish ancient goddess of love.
Redux Redux (US, 2025) – West Coast Premiere
Directed by Kevin McManus, Matthew McManus
Written by McManus Brothers
Produced by Michael J. McGarry, McManus Brothers, Nate Cormier, PJ McCabe
Cast: Michaela McManus, Stella Marcus, Jeremy Holm, Jim Cummings, Grace Van Dien, Taylor Misiak, Dendrie Taylor
Irene Kelly travels through parallel universes, repeatedly killing her daughter’s murderer. As she becomes consumed by vengeance, her humanity hangs in the balance.
Summer Teeth (Croatia, 2024) – US Premiere
Directed by Drazen Zarkovic
Written by Ivan Turkovic Krnjak
Produced by Maja Todorovic, Damir Teresak, Aan Grbac
Cast: Momcilo Otasevic, Ivana Gulin, Snjezana Sinocic Siskov, Milica Janevski, Ljubisa Savanovic
A student on the run from a bad employer comes to a remote island to harvest tomatoes, but there awaits a team of goofy people, one true love and a fight for his life.
Theatre Is Dead (US, 2024) LA Premiere
Directed by Katherine Dudas
Written by Madison Lawlor, Katherine Dudas, Olivia Blue, Decker Sadowski
Produced by Zach Mann, Katherine Dudas, Madison Lawlor, Decker Sadowski, Jacob Nichols, Juan Mas, Olivia Blue
Cast: Shane West, Madison Lawlor, Decker Sadowski, Olivia Blue, Stephanie Suganami, Dylan Adler, Colin McCalla, Julie Wittner, Tammy Tavares, Jacob Nichols
An earnest engineering student begins to sense that her true calling is the theater, but when she lands the lead in a prestigious production, she realizes there may be a demonic dark side to this fantastical dream.
Thinestra (US, 2025) – West Coast Premiere
Directed by Nathan Hertz
Written by Avra Fox-Lerner
Produced by Joshua Raymond Lee, Alexandra Lubenova, Kelly Ann Parker
Cast: Mary Beth Barone, Annie Ngosi Ilonzeh, Brian Huskey, Jared Bankens, Britt Rentschler
It’s a sweltering Christmas in LA. Penny—plagued by body dysmorphia and cycles of binge eating—impulsively takes Thinestra, a mysterious Ozempic-like drug. That night, she violently expels masses of fat in a painful and grotesque purge. But her discarded flesh returns…and like the Hyde to Penny’s Jekyll, PENELOPE is born. As her ravenous dopplegänger wreaks bloody havoc, Penny struggles to regain control. Can she overcome her hunger before it’s too late?
Vicious (US, 2025) – Special Screening
Directed by Bryan Bertino
Written by Bryan Bertino
Produced by Richard Suckle, p.g.a., Bryan Bertino
Cast: Dakota Fanning, Kathryn Hunter, Mary McCormack, Rachel Blanchard, Devyn Nekoda, Klea Scott, Emily Mitchell
When Polly (Dakota Fanning) receives a mysterious Box from an unexpected late-night visitor, it comes with a simple instruction: place three things inside: something you need, something you hate, and something you love. What begins as a strange ritual quickly unravels into a waking nightmare. Trapped in a terrifying world where reality bends and memory betrays, Polly must navigate a series of impossible choices. As time slips away, she’s forced to confront the darkness not just around her, but within her—before it consumes everything and everyone she’s ever known.
Tickets available at www.screamfestla.com
