Horror’s long-running Hollywood festival is back. Screamfest, now in its 26th year, runs October 6 to 15, 2026, at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres inside Ovation Hollywood. Ten days of feature premieres, short film blocks, a free outdoor Ghostbusters night, and a Michael Dougherty screening of Trick ‘r Treat with a fan Q&A.
Opening night belongs to The Night Driver, a road-stalker thriller with Josh Lucas, Alyssa Milano, and David Arquette, playing as a world premiere. Here is what has been announced so far, pulled from Screamfest’s official site and its first-wave lineup announcement as of September 28, 2026.
The quick version
| When | Tuesday, October 6, through Thursday, October 15, 2026 |
| Where | TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, third floor of Ovation Hollywood, 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028 |
| Opening night | The Night Driver (world premiere), followed by the Opening Night Party |
| Highlights | Trick ‘r Treat with Michael Dougherty, free outdoor Ghostbusters, Peter Deming Career Achievement Award |
| Badges | $50 to $300 plus fees |
| Tickets | Single tickets on sale through Eventive |
| Parking | $3 for up to 4 hours with theater validation at Ovation Hollywood |
| Official site | screamfestla.com |
What’s screening
Opening night: The Night Driver
Jeremy Weiss directs this world premiere about a traveling pharmaceutical salesman whose run-in on the highway turns into a fight to survive. Josh Lucas plays the salesman, Alyssa Milano plays his wife, and David Arquette plays the detective on the case. Friday the 13th director Sean S. Cunningham is a producer. The film page lists a live Q&A with Milano, Arquette, and Weiss, and the screening is followed by the Opening Night Party with cocktails and bites. A combined film and party ticket is sold separately.
Special screenings
- Trick ‘r Treat with Michael Dougherty. The writer and director hosts his 2007 Halloween anthology, paired with a new 4K restoration of Season’s Greetings, the animated short that introduced Sam and won at Screamfest in 2003. A fan Q&A and a graphic novel signing follow.
- Free outdoor Ghostbusters. The 1984 original plays in the Ovation Courtyard on Friday, October 9, at 7 p.m. Admission is free.
- Evil Dead II. Sam Raimi’s 1987 sequel is in this year’s film guide. Its cinematographer, Peter Deming, receives Screamfest’s Career Achievement Award this year. His credits also include Mulholland Drive, Drag Me to Hell, The Cabin in the Woods, and several Scream sequels.
Feature competition
The first wave counts 8 world premieres, 6 North American premieres, 1 U.S. premiere, and 3 West Coast premieres. The features announced so far:
| Film | Country | Director | Premiere |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Caged | UK | Jeffrey Scott Collins | World |
| The Exit State | USA | Gabriela Ledesma | World |
| Grow | USA | Brian Gottlieb | World |
| Insecta | Uruguay | Martin Florio | World |
| Postmortem | Colombia | Andres Beltran | World |
| Processing Charlie | USA | David Harari | World |
| Wounds | USA | Ron Krauss | World |
| 213 Bones | USA | Jeffrey Primm | North American |
| Abandoned | UK | Joby Stephens | North American |
| Nervous | South Korea / UK | Abner Pastoll | North American |
| Once Upon a Time in a Horror Movie | USA | Ashley Cahill | North American |
| Slay | USA | Kyra Gardner | North American |
| Valley View Motel | USA | Nick Psinakis and Kevin Ignatius | North American |
| Apocalypse Z: A New World | Spain | Carles Torrens | U.S. |
| NINE | France | Luis Bujeau, Sabine Crossen, Jeremy Guetta | West Coast |
| Serena | USA | Rob Alicea | West Coast |
| Still Ohio | USA | Kaylin Allshouse | West Coast |
Shorts, students, and Tubi
The film guide also sorts dozens of titles into short films, student shorts, and animated shorts. Tubi brings Bite Size Terror, its original horror anthology series built on work from emerging filmmakers. New this year, a ScareScore award goes to the film that draws the biggest biometric scare response, measured through the ScareScore app.
Industry Days
October 7 and 8 are set aside for Industry Days, with panels and mentorship on financing, distribution, and marketing for filmmakers. Winners for Best Picture, Director, Screenplay, and Short also receive four-day badges to the American Film Market.
Pick your night
| If you want… | Go for |
|---|---|
| Premiere energy and a party | Opening night, Tuesday, October 6: The Night Driver plus the Opening Night Party |
| Free and outdoors | Friday, October 9, 7 p.m.: Ghostbusters in the Ovation Courtyard |
| A full weekend of horror | Weekend of Screams badge, October 9 to 11 |
| Just one day | Saturday Nightmares (October 10) or Bloody Sunday (October 11) badge |
Passes and tickets
Badges get priority admission, and all prices are before service fees, per the festival’s badge page:
- Full Festival Badge, $300: every screening over the 10 days, plus opening and closing night films and parties.
- All Movie Badge, $200: every movie screening over the 10 days.
- Weekend of Screams Badge, $125: all films Friday, October 9, through Sunday, October 11.
- Saturday Nightmares Badge, $50: all films on Saturday, October 10.
- Bloody Sunday Badge, $50: all films on Sunday, October 11.
Single tickets and the Opening Night Film and Party combo are sold through Screamfest’s Eventive page, which also has the day-by-day screening schedule.
Venue and getting there
Screenings are at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres on the third floor of Ovation Hollywood, 6801 Hollywood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90028, next to the TCL Chinese Theatre and the Walk of Fame.
- Parking: The Ovation Hollywood garage runs 24 hours, with entrances on Highland Avenue and Orange Drive. With validation from the TCL Chinese Theatre or the Chinese 6, parking is $3 for up to 4 hours, with a $20 daily maximum. Valet is $8 extra. If you come in on Orange Drive, make sure you are in the Ovation Hollywood lot and not the Madame Tussauds lot.
- Street parking: Metered spaces line Hollywood Boulevard and nearby streets. The festival notes free parking on Selma Avenue and other side streets after 5 p.m.
- Metro: The festival’s directions point to the Hollywood/Highland station on the Metro B Line (listed on the festival site under its old name, the Red Line), steps from the theater.
- Hotels: Screamfest lists discounts at selected hotels on its accommodations page.
Accessibility
Screamfest has not posted accessibility details for 2026. For questions about seating or access, contact the festival office at info@screamfestla.com or (310) 358-3273.
A little history
Rachel Belofsky founded Screamfest in 2001, and 2026 is its 26th edition. Michael Dougherty’s return this year closes a loop: his Season’s Greetings won at the festival in 2003, four years before Trick ‘r Treat brought the character Sam back.
Still to come
The closing night film, the awards night date, the date of the Trick ‘r Treat screening, the rest of the lineup, and single-ticket prices have not been posted on the festival’s own site. The opening night start time is listed as 7 p.m. on the film’s page and 7:30 p.m. on the homepage, so confirm on your ticket. The 824 Journal will update this guide as details are released.
Sources
- Screamfest, official site
- Screamfest: Festival badges
- Screamfest: Directions and parking
- Screamfest: 2026 film guide
- Screamfest: Free Ghostbusters outdoor screening
- Screamfest: The Night Driver
- Horror Society: Screamfest announces first wave 2026 lineup (September 16, 2026)
- iHorror: The Night Driver opens Screamfest
- Daily Dead: Horror Highlights
Featured photo: Chris English via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0
