Haunted House FearFest Invites Genre Filmmakers to Apply for New York City Event
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The spooky season is starting early this year!
Filmmakers and video game developers are invited to join in their love of monsters, zombies, and more by participating in the 2023 Haunted House FearFest.
"Haunted House FearFest Film Festival is a platform for diverse filmmakers and game developers from around the world to showcase their work for well-crafted horror and its sub-genres, including psychological, Giallo, gore, monsters, slasher, zombie, and experimental — that will have you glancing over your shoulder until the very end," shares Renee Huff, the festival's owner and executive director, in a statement to PEOPLE.
"As a lover of horror films, I'd been aware of the festival. So, when I learned the founder was stepping down, I saw it as an opportunity to not only take over the existing festival but also grow it in line with my creative vision and goals," adds Huff.
The global independent film festival was established in 2017 to celebrate the horror genre by allowing creators to showcase their creativity across categories that include Best Short Horror, Best Feature Horror, Best Comedic Horror, Best Animated Horror, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Score and Music, Best Game of the Year, Best Audio Design, Best AR/VR, and more.
Over the years, the festival has screened films such as the Faisal Hasmi-directed Wicken, the Peter "Drago" Tiemann-directed The Stairs, and Puppet Killer, which starred Aleks Paunovic, Lee Majdoub, Lisa Durupt, and Richard Harmon.
This year's festival will be live in New York City from Oct. 5 to Oct. 8 and will contain virtual components. The grand prize winner will receive the Grim Reaper Award, recognizing them as "the overall best in the fest."
Main category winners will be awarded electronic certificates, laurels, a Looks Creepy Cool Studios merchandise item, and a review on IMDb.
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Eligible projects include U.S. and internationally-produced content. Filmmakers and game developers can submit their submissions by visiting hauntedhousefearfest.com or filmfreeway.com/HauntedHouseFearFest.
