The Halloween Horror Festival
Prepare for a night of fear, suspense, and spine-tingling storytelling. This screening event showcases short films from across the UK—all 15 minutes or less—across a thrilling range of dark genres. Whether you’re into ghosts, psychological chills, or powerful dramas with a sinister edge, there’s a category for your vision.

🎥 Featured Categories:
Environmental Horror
Where real-world crises meet terror. These films tackle ecological nightmares—whether it’s nature’s revenge or the terrifying cost of human actions.

Zombie Horror
Apocalyptic chaos, flesh-eating undead, and a world in ruins. Classic or creative takes welcome—just bring the bite.

Suspense/Thriller Horror
Tension, paranoia, and the fear of the unseen. Your film might feature ghosts—or maybe the horror is all psychological. Either way, it’ll leave audiences unsettled.

The Spooky One
From haunted houses to eerie towns, these are the films that give us goosebumps. Expect the classic horror atmosphere—with a fresh twist.

Spiritual Horror
Good vs. evil, possession, rituals, and otherworldly forces at play. If your film explores spiritual dread or divine conflict, this is your category.

Expanded Categories (New for This Year):
Psychological Thriller
Diving deep into the mind, these films explore obsession, mental decay, and disturbing truths. Perfect for fans of tense, character-driven horror.

Dark Drama
Serious, emotional storytelling with a sinister or unsettling edge. Themes might include grief, revenge, or inner demons—grounded in realism.

Surreal Horror/Thriller
Stylized, dreamlike, or abstract. These films push boundaries and blur realities. If it’s strange and disturbing—we want it.

Period Horror or Thriller
Set in the past, filled with dread. Think candlelight, corsets, and creeping shadows—or haunting tales from historical moments.

Mind-Benders
Twisty, complex narratives that keep the audience guessing until the very end. Ideal for nonlinear timelines, unreliable narrators, or shocking reveals.

Folk Horror / Rural Thriller
Isolated communities, ancient rituals, or countryside dread. Where tradition turns terrifying and myths become real.

Sci-Fi Horror or Thriller
From alien invasions to dystopian futures and AI nightmares—if your horror or thriller is set in the world of science or space, it belongs here.

🕯️ Screenings will take place at Cold Harbour Cinema in Brixton, London (UK).
For submission rules and full guidelines, please visit the “Rules” section on our website.
All films must be 15 minutes or less in length.
Selected filmmakers will need to purchase discounted tickets to attend.

All selected films will receive Halloween Horror Festival Official Selection laurels.
All films selected will have the opportunity of the following awards:

• best overall film
• best actor
• best writer
• best director
• best score
• best cinematography
• best production design
• best special fx
• best Animation
• Best overall Ultra Short film

Halloween Horror Film Festival – Submission Rules 2025

Open to filmmakers from around the world (UK filmmakers especially encouraged).

All filmmakers must be over 18 years of age to participate.

Films must not have been previously screened at the Halloween Horror Film Festival.

Short Films must be under 15 minutes in length.

Ultra Short Films must be under 5 minutes in length.

All films must be submitted via FilmFreeway or uploaded to Vimeo.com (with downloadable access enabled) by Tuesday 30th September 2025 at the latest.

If using Vimeo, passwords must also be provided via FilmFreeway.

Films must be in HD or 4K MP4 format. Preferred aspect ratio is 16:9, but other standard ratios such as 1.85:1 or 2.39:1 (CinemaScope) are also accepted.

All films must use the English language. Foreign language films are permitted only if they include full English subtitles.

The following will not be accepted: extremist or propaganda content; overtly pornographic, racist, homophobic, or sexist material.

Filmmakers are responsible for ensuring all music, sound, and visual content is cleared for public exhibition.

By submitting, filmmakers grant the Festival the right to use preview footage, publicity photos, and other related promotional materials for non-commercial promotional purposes.

All films will be reviewed by the judging panel, and a selection of the best entries will be screened at the festival.

Filmmakers will be notified by 1st October if their film has been selected for screening.

Filmmakers will be notified by 5th October if their film has been nominated for an award.

If filmmakers win an award but cannot attend the screening, they will need to pay for the award to be posted along with a small administration fee.

Short Film category entrants (under 15 mins) will receive 1 free ticket to view their film. Ultra Short Film entrants (under 5 mins) must purchase a ticket due to the reduced entry fee. Additional tickets must be purchased by all entrants.

Waiver entries will be required to purchase tickets to attend, ensuring the festival does not operate at a loss.

Admission into the festival is not guaranteed. Selection is at the discretion of the judging panel.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Jack Abernethy

    Very grateful to Hakan and the Halloween Horror Festival crew for showcasing my short "The Dianne Richards Tape" massive thanks to them for putting on a great show!

    November 2025
  • The Halloween Horror Festival was such a treat to attend and a great way to spend Halloween! My team and I were thrilled to see our film amongst a strong variety of horror films and were even more excited to bring home Best Score! The festival had spooky vibes in the best way, was exceptionally organized, and included the bonus of audiences voting for their favorites. We loved her interactive it was and appreciated receiving feedback from audience members.

    Definitely recommend and hopefully we'll be submitting another horror for next year!

    November 2025
  • Had a great time screening our latest horror film in an atmospheric cinema with a bar, snacks, and a very friendly host who made everyone feel welcome. The audience voting and costume competition were nice bonuses too.

    November 2025
    Response from festival:

    Thank you for your feedback...

  • Troy Alexander

    A brilliant festival full of thoughtful organisers, talented filmmakers and cracking independent horror! Massive thanks to the HHFF Team, hope we get the chance to screen there again.

    November 2025
  • The team of Wolf Cake is so lucky to have been able to take part in the 2025 Halloween Horror Fest and even receive a nomination as an awards finalist!

    Halloween Horror Fest and Hakan were extremely communicable, and such an awesome festival to take part in so early on in their history (year 4 alumnus). The select films we were programmed alongside this year were all awesome films recognizable from other major genre fests and they did a fantastic job programming works as well as putting together such a fantastic Halloween festival event.

    The team of Wolf Cake was unfortunately not able to attend in person this year, but the communication from the festival and its directors was outstanding. Consistent across all ends and constantly updated about the event and our own works placement within it. Thank you again Hakan and the HHFF team for allowing us to play with you and we can’t wait to be back soon enough with another!

    Great festival team— and awesome to hear that this years programme and event was completely sold out!

    November 2025