Anime NYC has finished this year, with New York Film Festival and New York Comic Con yet to come. But for those who love the strange and the macabre, the region’s big event is the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, October 15–22, at the Nitehawk Cinema Williamsburg. To celebrate its 11th edition, the 2026 Brooklyn Horror Fest will kick off with the U.S. Premiere of the vampire mockumentary I Love Paris, directed by Nick Murphy. From there, the festival offers horror fans an unmissable mix of new masterpieces and old favorites.
In addition to the domestic debut of I Love Paris, Brooklyn Horror Film Fest will host several world premieres. The Australian slasher The Only One, directed by Michael Schwarz, stars Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter actor Mel Jarnson as a woman whose former lovers keep getting killed. Directed by Marion Le Corroller, the French body horror film Species (Sanguine) follows a medical intern (Mara Taquin) who discovers the strange truth behind the upsetting symptoms of the patients who come into her emergency room.
For those more interested in the history of horror, the festival will premiere documentaries about legends of the genre. In Rubberhead: The Life & Monsters of Steve Johnson, director Nick Taylor introduces viewers to the gripping story of Steve Johnson, a special effects master whose name is unknown, but whose work has been seen by millions. Full Moon Rising: The Charles Band Story, directed by Sarah Appleton, introduces viewers to the infamous B-movie producer and director Charles Band, founder of Full Moon Features.
Of course, film festivals aren’t just all about the premieres. They also give moviegoers the opportunity to see the newest and most exciting horror movies, often before the works have wider distribution. Some of this year’s standouts include Sender, a psychological horror film about unwanted deliveries, starring Severance’s Britt Lower, Pluribus’ Rhea Seehorn, and Scream Queen Jamie Lee Curtis. With American Dollhouse, director John Valley offers a dark Christmas story, in which a woman discovers a horrible secret when she returns to her childhood home.
