If there was any doubt it’s a grand time to be a horror fan, just take a look at the stacked list of cinematic scares vying for the genre-exalting Fangoria Chainsaw Awards.
The nominees for Best Wide Release film include such critically acclaimed bangers as Weapons, Obsession, Backrooms, and Send Help, alongside horror-head favorites like 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Hokum, and the criminally underseen Dust Bunny.
Meanwhile, the non-gendered acting categories feature a who’s-who of Oscar winners (Jessie Buckley, Amy Madigan) and nominees (Chiwetel Ejiofor, Ralph Fiennes, Rachel McAdams, Sigourney Weaver, Elle Fanning, Jacob Elordi), as well as an Emmy winner (Peter Dinklage) and various nominees (Fanning, Adam Scott). As an added bonus, there’s even an aspiring Academy Awards contender (Inde Navarette).
All told, The Bone Temple and Dust Bunny led the way with nine apiece, followed by Backrooms with six. The Bride!, Frankenstein, and Hokum each talled five, while Obsession wished up a quartet of nods.
The Best Series category features breakout shows Alien: Earth and Widow’s Bay, as well as Netflix’s haunting limited series Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, and new seasons of The Vampire Lestat and cult fave The Creep Tapes.
Launched by the iconic frightzine in 1992, the Fangoria Chainsaw Awards have previously recognized the likes of Wes Craven, George A. Romero, Lupita Nyong’o, Elisabeth Moss, Mia Goth, and Jordan Peele over the past three decades.
Nominees were selected by a panel of industry tastemakers, creators, and professionals from films released between July 2025 and June 2026. Winners will be determined by fan balloting; voting opens Thursday and runs through July 15 at on fangoria.com. The winners will be announced Oct. 25 during a ceremony on Shudder.
Here’s the complete list of conteders for the 2026 awards:
BEST WIDE RELEASE
- 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Backrooms
- The Bride!
- Dust Bunny
- Faces of Death
- Hokum
- Leviticus
- Obsession
- Send Help
- Weapons
BEST LIMITED RELEASE MOVIE
- Forbidden Fruits
- Mārama
- Queens of the Dead
- The Serpent’s Skin
- Touch Me
BEST STREAMING PREMIERE
- I Am Frankelda
- Influencers
- Mother of Flies
- Reflection in a Dead Diamond
- V/H/S/Halloween
BEST INTERNATIONAL MOVIE
- Alpha
- Exit 8
- Mārama
- Reflection in a Dead Diamond
- The Wailing
BEST FIRST FEATURE
- Backrooms
- Buffet Infinity
- Dust Bunny
- Iron Lung
- Queens of the Dead
BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE
- Zazie Beetz, They Will Kill You
- Jessie Buckley, The Bride!
- Peter Dinklage, The Toxic Avenger
- Chiwetel Ejiofor, Backrooms
- Ralph Fiennes, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Rachel McAdams, Send Help
- Inde Navarette, Obsession
- Toby Poser, Mother of Flies
- Adam Scott, Hokum
- Sophie Sloan, Dust Bunny
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE
- Stacy Clausen, Leviticus
- Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
- Elle Fanning, Predator: Badlands
- Regina Hall, Scary Movie
- David Jonsson, The Long Walk
- Amy Madigan, Weapons
- Mads Mikkelsen, Dust Bunny
- Dacre Montgomery, Faces of Death
- Jack O’Connell, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Sigourney Weaver, Dust Bunny
BEST DIRECTOR
- Curry Barker, Obsession
- Zach Cregger, Weapons
- Nia DaCosta, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Bryan Fuller, Dust Bunny
- Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Bride!
BEST SCREENPLAY
- Curry Barker, Obsession
- Zach Cregger, Weapons
- Alex Garland, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Isa Mazzei and Daniel Goldhaber, Faces of Death
- Damian McCarthy, Hokum
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
- Sean Bobbitt, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Jeremy Cox, Backrooms
- Andrew Droz Palermo & Rina Yang, Mother Mary
- Nicole Hirsch Whitaker, Dust Bunny
- Colm Hogan, Hokum
BEST SCORE
- Gavin Brivik, Faces of Death
- Alexandre Desplat, Frankenstein
- Hildur Guðnadóttir, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Daniel Hart, Mother Mary
- Kane Parsons & Edo Van Breemen, Backrooms
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
- Olivier Bériot & Catherine Leterrier, Dust Bunny
- Kate Hawley, Frankenstein
- Carson McColl & Gareth Pugh, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Sandy Powell, The Bride!
- David Tabbert, Queens of the Dead
BEST MAKEUP FX
- Chris Gallaher, Nadia Stacey & Scott Stoddard, The Bride!
- Mike Hill, Frankenstein
- Millennium FX, The Toxic Avenger
- John Nolan, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Arjen Tuiten, Lee Cronin’s The Mummy
BEST CREATURE FX
- Legacy Effects, Dust Bunny
- Studio Gillis and Wētā Workshop, Predator: Badlands
- Millennium FX, Primate
- Werner Pretorius and Amazing Ape Productions, Backrooms
- Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
- 1000 Women in Horror
- Chain Reactions
- In Search of Darkness: 1995-1999
- The Last Sacrifice
- Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror
BEST NON-FICTION TV SERIES OR MINISERIES
- The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula: Titans
- Grave Conversations
- The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs
- Monstrum
- Svengoolie
BEST SERIES
- Alien: Earth
- The Creep Tapes
- Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen
- The Vampire Lestat
- Widow’s Bay
BEST VIDEO GAME
- Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake
- Little Nightmares III
- No, I’m Not A Human
- Resident Evil: Requiem
- Silent Hill f
