A local TV personality hosts an annual Halloween broadcast, but something sinister seems to be taking place in the studio and the town surrounding it.

The finished feature-length cut of an anthology film created in collaboration with filmmakers featured at last year’s festival, premiering on opening night, set in Salem.

Free admission. Come kick off the fest with us!!!

1981. A crew of adult filmmakers tries to cash in on the slasher boom with their own spring-break knockoff, starring a killer beekeeper with a vendetta. A microbudget slasher-comedy shot on an iPhone.

Directed by Alex Montilla. 93 min. In competition.

Short films from the Midnight Fest 2026 Official Selection.

• Love, Mike! (17 min). Moved back home with his parents, Dunty spirals when his “determined” ex sends a surprise gift basket, until an unexpected guest shows up. Writer/Director: Isaac Ingle
• The Bargain (15 min). A young girl summons the Devil for revenge on the foster father who abused her. The price is more than she bargained for. Writer/Director: Alec Patchin
• Watchman’s Woods (11 min). Best friends Nat and Vicky head into the woods to get the local monster on video. Directed by Maddy Elise Geauthreaux
• Birth of the Hive Queen (9 min). A trans sex worker goes through a birth that is anything but human. Content warning: graphic body horror and nudity. Writer/Director: Tempest Creation

With cast and crew in attendance for a Q&A. Sold out. Join the waitlist on the ticket page, or catch the Saturday 6:00 PM encore.

Hideo Nakata’s J-horror landmark, on the big screen.

A woman has gone missing, and an agoraphobic man is her last hope. To find her, Keith Lamont has to face his deepest fears. Starring Lance Henriksen and Louis Gossett.

Directed by Dave Campfield. 103 min. In competition.

Short films from the Midnight Fest 2026 Official Selection.

• Trauma w/ Friends (6 min). A young woman rebuilding her life meets up with childhood friends for a game meant to dispel trauma. It works the wrong way. Written and directed by David A. Daniels
• THE DESECRATED (8 min). A young morgue attendant on the night shift gets an unwelcome visitor. Directed by John Gray
• TrueLink (14 min). Cam tries to reconnect with an old girlfriend in the digital age. Writer & Director: Derek Hughes
• LIMINAL (15 min). In 2053, a grieving physicist finally cracks time travel and learns why he never should have. Writer/Director: Keanu Cordero

The VelociPastor (2019). The one that started it all, on the big screen ahead of the encore. Screening only, no intro or Q&A.

Double feature: a bundle ticket covers both The VelociPastor at 4:00 and The VelociPastor 2 encore at 6:00, and saves you money over buying the two separately.

There’s unfinished business in Loveland. In this found-footage sequel to Frogman (2023), Dallas, Amy and Frogman are back to settle the score.

Directed by Anthony Cousins. 77 min. In competition.

A second night of The VelociPastor 2, with cast and crew in attendance and a signing to follow.

Double feature: a bundle ticket covers both The VelociPastor at 4:00 and this encore at 6:00, and saves you money over buying the two separately.

The House of the Devil (2009). Ti West’s slow-burn satanic babysitter classic.

Short films from New England filmmakers, followed by a conversation with the filmmakers.

• An Eye for an AI (3 min). After a run-in over generative AI in art class, a student turns to the occult for revenge. Directed by Flynn Reardon
• THE SCREENING (9 min). A filmmaker’s need for revenge ends in a petty attempt to embarrass his wife at a film screening. Written, Directed, and Edited by Alex O’Neil
• Tick (14 min). A couple trying to conceive on Martha’s Vineyard find strange rashes spreading across their bodies. Writer/Director: Sam Permar
• Face Crusher: Legends (15 min). A filmmaker asks his chatbot for the scariest horror concept ever and gets the gruesome legend of the Face Crusher. Written and directed by Luke St. Germaine. Shot and edited by Tyler Hrynyszyn

A night of drugs and debauchery ends in a fatal overdose, and an innocent bystander takes the blame. When he gets out of prison, the real culprit becomes the target of an eccentric killer. A queer slasher.

Directed by Roger Conners. 134 min. In competition.

Courage the Cowardly Dog and more, presented by its creator John Dilworth. Screening program followed by a live Q&A and a signing.

Night after night, a radio show broadcasts the terrifying things happening around a small Argentine town, and some locals believe the radio is causing them. Tonight, one guest wants that power for himself. Animated.

Directed by Cristian Ponce. 90 min. In competition.

HUSH (2016). Mike Flanagan’s home-invasion thriller, 10 years later.

Short films from New England filmmakers, followed by a conversation with the filmmakers.

• The Hunt Among the Green (18 min). An 8-year-old scout’s woodland scavenger hunt for a badge turns into a chase she can’t win against things that were never in the guidebook. Written by Rob Dean and Braiden Ortiz. Directed by Braiden Ortiz.
• Night Runner. A mother’s all-night runs are keeping something at bay, and her family’s growing suspicion may be the least of her problems. Writer, Director, Producer: Sebastian Anderson
• Humanzee (24 min). A woman’s quiet suburban life hinges on keeping her hybrid son hidden in the basement, until an old friend’s visit forces her hand. Writer, Director, Producer: Taro O’Halloran

Short films from the Midnight Fest 2026 Official Selection.

• Cuatro Cuartos Four Rooms (4 min). A hypnotic animated descent through four rooms of transgression and punishment. César Guevara
• TRUNK (7 min). Duct-taped in the trunk of a Chevy Malibu by a sloppy daytime kidnapper, Alex does everything right. Marisa Green
• Porphyria (8 min). A religious zealot locks himself inside to pray away a mysterious illness, then finds out where it came from. Writer and Director: Daxon Geldmacher
• Copy Protection (21 min). Three friends find a lost martial arts film, and its dead star tries to fight his way back to the land of the living. Written & Directed by: Grace Song and Michael S. Norris
• WOLF TICKET (10 min). A down-on-his-luck man buys the secret to success: a ticket that turns him into a werewolf. Written and directed by Ryan Jackson
• Intermission 2: Rewind or Die (2 min). A lost, never-aired Video Kingdom commercial, buried until now. Directed by Anna Liakos. Written by Alex Liakos

A surprise screening. The title stays secret until the lights go down. Free admission.

Phantasm (1979). Don Coscarelli’s cult classic closes out the festival.