The Poconos Horror Fest is a domestic and international festival that focuses on horror films (both short and feature length horror films) with an annual live screening held in East Stroudsburg, PA in the historic Pocono Cinema (opened in 1887).
Our goal is to recognize, reward and champion the efforts & hard work required to make horror films that often times goes unappreciated by mainstream cinema and relatively unseen by the general public. Pushing further with this goal to celebrate uniquely made horror films, we aim to keep submission fees low and affordable while giving back more for those selected as festival winners.
We understand the frustration of putting resources, time and people power to get your films completed & then being limited in the festival circuit due to exorbitantly high submission fees. This is counterintuitive because as a festival community, we should embrace filmmakers & not place obstacles (like high entry fees) in their path toward showcasing their work.

THE ANNUAL EVENT
The Annual event will take place in a single day in the FALL 2026. The event location is at the historic theatre known as the Pocono Cinema (built in 1887). 2-3 finalist from each award category (Best Feature, Best Short Domestic, Best Short International, Best Comedy Horror Short and Best Local Talent) will be screened at the event. Five winners will emerge on that day (per category) and receive an array of prizes. Finalists will be notified a month prior to the event.
In addition to the winners, selected by a panel of judges, we will also include 'audience favorite' winners for each category. These winners will receive trophy status on film freeway, a certificate award and an online movie review.

The Poconos Horror Fest is beyond just a one day event, it is the opportunity to uncover the talents of the next generation of filmmakers with stories (on screen) that frighten, engage, entertain and provoke us to think, reflect on our society.
Please check out our website: https://poconoshorrorfest.weebly.com
Click on Event Photos to see the finalists and winners of our April 2025 Event.

Awards & Prizes

The Poconos Horror Fest provides awards in the following five categories:

Best Domestic Horror Short - produced in the USA and its territories
Best International Horror Short - any country not the USA
Best Comedy Horror Short - films using humor and/or satire blend
Best Local Talent Horror Short - must be resident of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York or Ohio
Best Feature Horror Film - any country
Audience Favorite (all categories) - does not include physical trophy

The festival winners will receive:
- An online review of their film on our website
- A review of their film on the local newspaper (The Pocono Record)
- A unique & beautifully designed physical trophy
- Award certificate
- Inclusion on our website along with festival photos

Rules & Terms

By submitting your film, take note that:

- You agree to let us use parts of your film, the trailer, teaser, film poster, and/or stills for promotion.
- The entrants submitting the film must hold all legal rights for the film submission, including the music and all intellectual properties contained in the film.
- Entry fees cannot be refunded unless the festival disqualifies your submission (for example: A romantic comedy is submitted for this horror festival)
- Only the finalists selected in the 5 categories (a total of 10-15 films) will be screened at the festival.screening event.
- Filmmakers can submit multiple entries, and each entry can be in the 5 different categories, only as long as they satisfy the prerequisite conditions of those categories (for example: Student Horror Short and Local Talent Horror Short), Note that each submission is tied to its respective entry fee.
- Films produced in a language other than English MUST have English subtitles or be dubbed in English. If these films are requested for download, please ensure that the mp4 or MOV file contain the subtitles. We cannot take SRT files separately because we do not have the people power to combine mp4 with srt files.
- Only submissions via FilmFreeway are accepted.

We do not accept:
- Extremist or propaganda content disseminated by religious or political organizations
- Pornographic material (nudity is acceptable as the cutoff)
- Films centered on politics or endorsing a specific political agenda
- Films with hate messages.
- Animation films and AI created films will NOT be accepted
8 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Luke and Martha Van Garza

    What an honor it was for our short film, SOUS VIDE, to be selected to this festival and to be nominated as a finalist for USA horror film short. We hope to submit again in the future.

    November 2025
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  • Chris Carter

    Thank you to the Poconos Horror Fest for including our film Halloween Headliners in this year’s festival. We made this film on a road trip from Canada and shot it right in the Poconos, so having it play nearby was an absolute thrill. While we weren’t able to make the trip back, a few of our cast and crew were there to accept Best International Short, which we are very honored to receive! Thanks to the festival team for being so organized and passionate about indie horror.

    October 2025
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  • Joe Gatto

    I’m incredibly honored that my film Chompers was a finalist at the Poconos Film Festival. The sense of community at this festival is truly something special—every filmmaker is treated with genuine respect and enthusiasm. The communication was seamless, the organizers were supportive every step of the way, and it’s clear they pour their hearts into making each participant feel valued. A wonderful experience all around.

    October 2025
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  • Tracy Lynn Rohach

    We had a great time at the Poconos Horror Fest! We could tell the people organizing it loved the genre and really want all the filmmakers to succeed. We genuinely had a great time and will be resubmitting any future work we make! Thank you guys!

    May 2025
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  • Jason Taylor

    From the people running the festival, to the other filmmakers, to the members of the general public who made up much of the audience, the Poconos Horror Fest was full of people who were clearly there to have a good time and recognize and connect local filmmakers to each other, as well as showcase great horror from around the world! Can't wait for next year!

    April 2025
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