2023 film selections

Nightmares Film Festival sets itself apart from other genre fests by its deep year-round connection to the horror filmmaking community, which gives it the first line on the rarest, scariest, most daring and most unsettling films being created around the country. To see the full screening schedule, to purchase a festival pass, or to secure a single screening ticket, click here.

Butcher’s Book 2: Raghorn

The Deep Dark

Departing Seniors

Livescreamers

Saint Drogo

Santa Isn’t Real

Cryptids

How to Kill Monsters

Murder Ballads: How to Make It in Rock ‘n’ Roll

Abruptio

Hundreds of Beavers

Love Will Tear Us Apart

The People’s Joker

The Wheel of Heaven

The Beast of Walton St.

The Choice

Trunk

Neon Crimson
Derek Stewart

Drift Off
Avishai Weinberger

Sawbuck
Mark Strauss

The Waif
Adam Hampton

Problematic
Jerry Sampson

The Tooth Fairy
Tony Morales, Fer Zaragoza

The Morbs
Greg Sisco

Porcelain
Christine Makepeace

Revival
Abby Selden

A Song That Sears the Sky
WL Freeman

Asphalt and Lipstick
Ryan Andrews, Katisha Shaw

Hardwood Hallway
Mason McDonald, Emily McDaniel

Blood Everywhere
Dan Ast

Forever Friends
Stirling J McLaughlin

Gentlemen of Leisure
Jason Kupfer

Sister Mary Murphy: Vampire Slayer
Vanessa Ionta Wright

Zits
David Bornstein

Mr. Right
Rakefet Abergel

All The Rage
Maryellen DeVivo

Seeds
Rozalyn Mattocks

The First Day of School
Shane Thompson

The Avon Lady
Guillermo Ortiz, Geena Karsama

Full Moon

Let It Kill You

Scratch

Hide Your Crazy
Batshit Crazy
Cut Me If You Can
Good Looking Out
Suction
The Management
Thin Skinned
Under My Bed
Waka Chicka Waka

Abominations
Safe
Gnaw
Alicia
Red Velvet
Janelle’s Baby
Night Work
All Your Women Things
Bookworm

Caustic
Lands of Steel
Lake Sunshine 1989
Hims
The Queue
Filter
Cover Your Ears

Lure
Honeymoon at Cold Hollow
Baby Fever
Get Away
No Overnight Parking
Skin Deep

Rezar
Pest
Biters and Bleeders
MK Ultra Violence
Where’s Weirdo
Vespa

No More Room In Hell
Demon Box

All-Nighter

An American Family Calamity

Dummy

Exit Package

Last Sacrifice

Shelter Half

Sleep Tight

Super Happy Fun Clown

Surgical Precision

That Doll Ain’t Right!

That Doll Ain’t Right III

That Doll Ain’t Right Too

The Clogging

#Pizzagate

A Suit and a Straight Razor

Candor

Engram

Fed

Filet De Femme

Influence

The Ossan

Remembered

Ride Baby Ride

Saint-Sacrifice

Three Baths

Come Home

In The Heat

Up on the Housetop

Cornerboy
The Mobius Trip
F’ckin Nuts
Didn’t Think I’d See You Here
Annihaltor
The Mantis
What Lies Within
Gummy

First Blood
Floater
The Heritage
Toad Boy
Latex Lorenzo
The Little Girl Eater
Hot Local Singles Are In Your Area
Virgil’s Rings
Don’t Eat Candy at Night
Content: The Lo Fi Man

Thingamajig
The Hanover Incident
Susi Q, Where Are You?
Tied Down
Deadly Reunion
I’m Going to Kill You
Bedbugs Ate My Dreams
Partnr

tu:li:
Stolen Tundra
They Call It .. Red Cemetary!
Garbage Days
Caterpillar
The Watcher
The Emissaries
That’s Our Time

Tiny Thing
Make the Call
Winder
In Your Arms
Caroline
POV
Pruning

Everything Is Quiet Now
Two Knocks on a Door
Latchkey
Robbie Ain’t Right No More
Closing Time
Leaving Yellowstone

The Night Editors
with Departing Seniors

We Joined A Cult
with How To Kill Monsters

Tooth
with Hundreds of Beavers

Nasty Videos
with Love Will Tear Us Apart

Virga
with The Choice

The Spirit Became Flesh
with Santa Isn’t Real

Shut
with Trunk

Sempre Avanti
with Cryptids

Signal
with Butchers Book Two: Raghorn

The Hunter
with Abruptio

Ringing Rocks
with Saint Drogo

The Beast
with The Beast of Walton St.

Wicked Image
with Monster Ballads

Old Flames
with Livescreamers

schedule

Nightmares Film Festival 2023 presents a world-class assembly of the scariest, tensest, and most bizarre films from across the globe. Discover your new favorite genre film among our four-day lineup. To see the full screening schedule, to purchase a festival pass, or to secure a single screening ticket, click here.

Thursday

october

26

6:00pm
Departing Seniors w/The Night Editors (11)
Ohio Premiere

Horror Comedy Shorts

8:00pm
How to Kill Monsters w/We Joined a Cult
United States Premiere

Midnight Shorts A

10:00pm
Hundreds of Beavers w/Tooth
Ohio Premiere

Horror Shorts A

FRIDAY

october

27

2:00pm
Love Will Tear Us Apart w/Nasty Videos
Midwest Premiere

Recurring Nightmares A

4:00pm
The Choice w/Virga
Eastern United States Premiere

Horror Shorts B

6:00pm
Filmmaker and screenwriter meet up: The Festival Lounge

7:00pm
Killer Trivia: The Festival Lounge

8:00pm
Santa Isn’t Real w/The Spirit Became Flesh
World Premiere

Thriller Shorts A

10:00pm
The Wheel of Heaven
Ohio Premiere

Horror Shorts C

SATURDAY

october

28

Noon
Trunk w/Shut
United States Premiere

Panel Discussion: Social Progress Through Horror
Moderated by NFF co-founder, Jason Tostevin

1:00pm
Panel Discussion: The New Distribution
Moderated by NFF co-founder, Chris Hamel

2:00pm
The People’s Joker
Midwest Premiere

Recurring Nightmares B

4:00pm
Slay Ride Shorts

Hairy Situations Shorts

5:15pm
Nightmares Film Festival 2023 Awards Presentation

6:00pm
The Deep Dark
Midwest Premiere

Thriller Shorts B

8:00pm
Cryptids w/Sempre Avanti
Ohio Premiere

Horror Shorts D

10:00pm
Butcher’s Book Two: Raghorn w/Signal
World Premiere

Midnight Shorts B

Midnight
Abruptio w/The Hunter
Ohio Premiere

Thriller Shorts C

Sunday

october

29

Noon
Saint Drogo w/Ringing Rocks
Midwest Premiere

Ohio Shorts

2:00pm
Panel Discussion: Pitching to Press w/The New York Times

The Beast of Walton St.  w/The Beast

3:00pm
Real Nightmares: Documentary Shorts

4:00pm
Murder Ballads: How to Make It in Rock ‘n’ Roll  w/Wicked Image
World Premiere

Livescreamers w/Old Flames
Ohio Premiere

tickets

Nightmares Film Festival is held in the country’s secret heart of horror: the inclusive, fun and centrally located Columbus, Ohio. All Screening as are at Gateway Film Center – 1550 N. High St., Columbus, OH 43201

parking and directions

Nightmares Film Festival is a destination horror and genre fest conveniently held in the heart of the Midwest: easily reached, easily navigated, and inclusive Columbus, Ohio. Festival screenings are held at the world-renowned Gateway Film Center, named one of the 20 best art houses on the continent by Sundance. The Film Center’s dedicated team of expert projectionists – maybe the last such team in the country – oversees all presentation, to ensure every film looks and sounds its very best.

Gateway Film Center
1550 North High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43201
614.259.7182

Directions

From the North
Take any major highway to I-270. Take I-270 to SR 315 South. Exit Lane Avenue and turn left (east) to High Street. Turn right (south) onto High Street and proceed to 11th Avenue. Turn left (east) onto 11th Avenue and park in the GFC parking garage located on your right (south).

From the East
Take any major highway to I-70 West. Take I-70 to SR 315 North. Exit Lane Avenue and turn right (east) to High Street. Turn right (south) onto High Street and proceed to 11th Avenue. Turn left (East) onto 11th Avenue and park in the GFC parking garage located on your right (south).

From the South
Take any major highway to I-270. Take I-270 to SR 315 North. Exit Lane Avenue and turn right (east) to High Street. Turn right (south) onto High Street and proceed to 11th Avenue. Turn left (east) onto 11th Avenue and park in the GFC parking garage located on your right (south).

From the West
Take any major highway to I-70 East. Take I-70 to SR 315 North. Exit Lane Avenue and turn right (east) to High Street. Turn right (south) onto High Street and proceed to 11th Avenue. Turn left (east) onto 11th Avenue and park in the GFC parking garage located on your right (south).

Convenient garage Parking

Convenient parking is available in the garage located right next door to the cinema on both the 9th and 11th avenues. To validate your parking, purchase a single exit voucher at the film center box office. The $2 validation is good until 4:00 am in the garage.

FREE Street Parking

Free street parking is available on 9th Avenue, 11th Avenue and Indianola Avenue with the exception of street sweeping days.

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