Hysteria Film Festival

2025 Hysteria Fest: July 10-13. 2025

"One of the most eagerly anticipated film festivals" – Horror Movies Uncut

"A festival made for filmmakers and fans" – Bloody Flicks

"One of the coolest up and coming genre fests featuring great films from filmmakers across the world" - Devanny Pinn, director of THE BLACK MASS

Hysteria Fest 2025 is set to be bigger than ever, running from July 10-13 at the Arkadin Cinema in the historic Bevo Mill area of St. Louis, MO. As one of the fastest-growing film festivals in the world, we're entering our fourth year with a lineup that horror fans surely won't want to miss. Leading up to the main festival, we'll also host several screenings and events from late 2024 into 2025, providing even more opportunities for filmmakers and fans to connect.

When submitting your film, you can specify in your cover letter whether you'd like to be considered for these lead-up events, just for the main festival, or both. Otherwise, we'll reach out if your film is a perfect fit for one of our events and then ask what you'd prefer.

ANNOUNCEMENT: NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH BLACK MANDALA!

We are thrilled to announce our partnership with Black Mandala, a leading agency that helps filmmakers secure distribution. The exciting part? We can recommend films for distribution at any time during the submission process—not just after the festival. This means your film could be discovered and distributed as soon as it passes our screening judges, long before the festival even takes place.

2025: A Year of International Horror with a Canadian Twist

While 2025 will spotlight Canadian horror through some of the genre's most iconic films, Hysteria Fest remains committed to showcasing the best festival films from around the world. This year's special event will include an epic screening and prom night themed around the cult classic Hello Mary Lou: Prom Night II. But rest assured, our festival will continue to feature a diverse lineup of cutting-edge horror from every corner of the globe.

Music Videos!: We are opening up this year to music videos and the chance to have your video play during the main even screening, during the spooky prom that leads up to Hello Mary Lou Prom Night II

All accepted features will be reviewed by one of our partner review sites: zekefilm, Horror Movies Uncut or Destroy the Brain! All shorts will be either reviewed or highlighted.

About Hysteria Fest

Hysteria Fest began in 2022 at Arkadin Cinema in the heart of the historic Bevo Mill area of St. Louis, MO. We dubbed our first year "Year Zero"—a test run to gauge the market for a horror festival in the area. The response was overwhelming: the event sold out months in advance, and the atmosphere was electric, with a "punk rock" vibe that made it clear we had something special on our hands.

Encouraged by this success, we turned Hysteria Fest into a permanent fixture. 2023 was our first year accepting submissions, and we expanded the festival beyond a two-day event. That success led us into 2024, and now, as we head into our fourth year, we're proud to be one of the fastest-growing film festivals in the world.

Run by horror lovers, Hysteria Fest is known for its supportive audience and dedication to filmmakers. We accept horror films from all subgenres—from slashers to horror-comedies to anything that even remotely touches on horror. If there's one thing that defines this festival, it's our commitment to showcasing films that challenge the norm and push boundaries. If your film fits that description, we want to see it.

We're also running a screenwriting contest, with winners to be announced on the evening of the fest.