HorrorBuzz and Midsummer Scream are very excited to announce the lineup for this year’s Screaming Room Film Festival.

Since 2017, HorrorBuzz has been proud to curate the Screaming Room Film Festival, an annual collection of incredible horror short films from around the world. For this year, the HorrorBuzz programing team watched and rated 200 films and completed the difficult task of reducing that number to the 76 films selected. The films will be presented, in 15 themed blocks, across all three days of Midsummer Scream (July 26-28 at the Long Beach Convention center.) The festival screenings are included with your Midsummer Scream admission.

Below is the schedule of screenings. (Please note: Films may not be appropriate for all ages)

Friday July 26, 2024

6:00pm – 2024 SCREAMING ROOM FILM FESTIVAL AT MIDSUMMER SCREAM PREVIEW

Get ready for a full weekend of cinematic frights as the Screaming room fills you in on all of the details. We roll out the black carpet and let you know what to expect during Midsummer Scream 2024.

7:00pm – A CAPTIVE AUDIENCE

Sloppy Seconds dir. Ryan Shovey

A charming date gone deadly to a fight against eternal evil, these chilling shorts explore the terror of being trapped by those closest to you, unseen forces, and even desperate circumstances.

Every Other Animal dir. Olia Oparina; How To dir. Chloe Dykstra; Sloppy Seconds dir. Ryan Shovey; Thirst Trap dir. Steve Flavin; Three Baths dir. Rafael De Leon Jr.

8:00pm – TALES OF THE OCCULT

The Poem dir. Andrea D’Amario

Prepare to be shaken by tales where religious rituals go wrong, childhood fears become monstrous realities, and the boundaries blur between reality and the unseen on the dark side of belief.

Alicia dir. Tony Morales; Bitch Horror dir. Louie Duran; Disciple dir. Boston Enderle; The Poem dir. Andrea D’Amario; Relic dir. Brian Arsic, Tyler Jolley

9:00pm – FANTASTIC WORLDS

Day of the Cyclops dir. Justin Edwards

Prepare to face the consequences of meddling with the supernatural in films exploring the dangers and rewards of forbidden deals, technological hauntings, and mythical monstrosities.

The Accomplices dir. Alberto Evangelio; Analog Exorcism dir. Jim Shashaty; Day of the Cyclops dir. Justin Edwards

Saturday July 27, 2024

11:30am – DIE LAUGHING

Gone Bad dir. Kat Iossa

This side-splitting horror comedy collection blends chills and chuckles with telemarketing terror, monstrous fruit, a very wacky race, and more. Don’t be scared to scream… with laughter!

Beyond the Bleed Limit dir. Michael Dorfman, Emmett Dorfman, Maxwell Dorfman; Donation dir. Logan Shaw; Gone Bad dir. Kat Iossa; Halloween Store (Andy Shauf) dir. Margaret Bialis, Vera Haddad; Middle Age Caring Bear dir. Ramon Gutierrez.; Script dir. Piero Cannata; The Thing I Have to Do in That Place dir.  Jacob Shelton; Under the Bed dir. Jeremy Sladdin

12:30pm – Dark Dimensions

Toggle dir. Alex Grybauskas

Mind-bending encounters to out-of-body experiences and dimensional shifts, these chilling sci-fi shorts explore the terrifying possibilities beyond our world.

And We’ve Called Them dir. Buğra Mert Alkayalar; Telek dir. Noah Pinnt; Toggle dir. Alex Grybauskas; Voyager dir. Pablo Pagán; Whispers in the Static dir. Heather Humpleman

1:30pm – WAKING NIGHTMARES

Somniphobia dir. Ian Thomas Kent

Brace yourself for hidden fears, suffocating control, and unseen horrors in these psychologically terrifying films that unveil the darkness within.

Bâba dir. Pablo Otero; Bathtime dir. Angel Peavey; Korpus dir. Sinhué F. Benavides, Alexa De Hoyos; Somniphobia dir. Ian Thomas Kent; Unscarfed dir. Anita Bruneburg

2:30pm – Drawn to Horror

The Skin dir. José Casas

From creepy rabbits to haunted playgrounds, mysterious medical conditions to unsettling childhood memories, these animated films will leave you both terrified and strangely captivated.

Cut from the Dead dir. Elif Dönmez, Deniz Koçyiğit; Impossible Maladies dir. Stefano Tambellini, Alice Tambellini; Les Bêtes dir. Michael Granberry; Madeline’s House dir. Eliska Dvorackova; Nobody to Play With dir. Annabel Howe; The Skin dir. José Casas; Whittled Down dir. Olly Glenn

4:00pm – ANTHOLOGY OF TERROR

The Spaghetti Man dir. Jerry S Gonzalez

Five twisted tales, reminiscent of classic shows like Tales from the Crypt or The Twilight Zone, deliver chilling horror with shocking twists, dark humor, and cautionary morals.

Late for Fate dir. Brandon Winfrey; Mistletoe dir. Andrea Schmitz, Andrea Sparacio; One for the Road dir. Daniel Carsenty; The Spaghetti Man dir. Jerry S Gonzalez; Your Virtual Assistant dir. Nate Myers

5:00pm – Splattertown

Turno de Noche: The Wrong Place dir. Juanjo Avi

This gore-soaked trio of shorts explores the grotesque depths of bodily fluids. Witness a monstrous metamorphosis with a heavy price, a junkyard encounter gone wrong, and a  man’s obsessive battle against a backyard creature with a taste for the messy. 

Pests dir. Sean Cruser; The Spider dir. Andy Chen; Turno de Noche: The Wrong Place dir. Juanjo Avi

6:00 –  STALKERS & SLASHERS

Strangers on the A Train dir. Rachel Kerry

A collection of chilling shorts from a twisted world where holiday traditions become deadly, commutes turn nightmarish, auditions become auditions for survival, and even haunted houses take on a terrifyingly literal meaning. 

Casting Kill dir. Mark J. Parker; Grandma’s Cookies dir. Michael J Coulombe; K-Bar Killer dir. Daniel Oh, VWC Productions; Strangers on the A Train dir. Rachel Kerry

Sunday July 28, 2024

11:30am – WTF???

Wiggler dir. Dan Schmatz

A mind-bending collection of bizarre shorts that throws everything but the kitchen sink at you. From a homicidal mom and a singing killer clown to a whole lot of orange juice, prepare to be shocked, disturbed, and left saying “what the…?”

Ancient Evil: Frankencock dir. Ryan McDonald; Do You Stay Home? dir. Luis Adán Espinoza; Fish Juice dir. Will Geare; Orange Like Me dir. Suzannah Samuel; Over the Rainbow dir. Jib Jib the Clown; Space Brain dir. Scott Bryan; Wiggler dir. Dan Schmatz

12:30pm – HAPPY HALLOWEEN

There’s Someone at Your Door dir. Jacob Ewing

Unwrap a basket of spooky delights with this collection of Halloween shorts. From a monstrous NYC bash to a famous slasher in therapy, these tales offer a terrifying treat for every trick-or-treater.

Dracula’s Super Scary Halloween dir. Kevin Maher, Joe Dator; A Nightcare on Elm Street dir. Michael Marie, Anthony Légal; NYC Halloween Parade dir. Maximilliano Guillen; A Prayer for My Father dir. Sarah London; The Phantom Ship dir. Gabe Moreno; There’s Someone at Your Door dir. Jacob Ewing

1:30pm – CRIMES & PASSIONS

I Want You dir. Joe Greening

This trio of unsettling shorts explores forbidden romance alongside criminal thrills, where the lines between love and violence, seduction and danger, become terrifyingly blurred.

Goldilocks dir. Hermann Swaiss; I Want You dir. Joe Greening; Silence dir. Hermann Swaiss

2:30pm – ART HOUSE HORROR

The Job dir. Abner Maximus Fernando & Armstrong Fernando

From unsettling domesticity to voyeuristic encounters, immerse yourself in the beauty of films that grapple with existential dread and the ethereal boundaries between reality and nightmare.

Cellar Door dir. SLEEPINFEAR; Crossroads dir. Quille Cecil Ronning; I Drew You dir. Harry Valentine; The Job dir. Abner Maximus Fernando Armstrong Fernando; Saint-Sacrifice dir. Jean-Claude Leblanc

3:30pm – CREATURES OF THE NIGHT

Sempre Avanti dir. Matthew Barber & Nathaniel Barber

From classic beasts to the terrors lurking just beneath the surface of the ordinary, these films explore the unsettling presence of creatures that stalk the night, haunt your thoughts, and rise from the unknown.

Bookworm dir.  Javier Yañez Sanz; Sempre Avanti dir. Matthew Barber, Nathaniel Barber; Strange Creatures dir. Nicholas Payne Santos; This Feeling Will Pass dir. Neil Willoughby; Werewolf Margarita dir. Jax Deerman Kinlaw

4:30pm – 2024 SREAMING ROOM FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS

All of the screams come down to this, the Screaming Room 2024 Awards. We announce the winners of audience wards for each programming block. The event culminates in announcing the winners of the Jack-O-Lantern Award, the Mary Shelley Award, and the Palme D’Gore.

JURY AWARD NOMINEES

We would also like to congratulations the 19 films that have been nominated for this year’s Jury Awards. One film is selected from each block, along with a few others held in high regard, by the programming team to be nominated for consideration by our jury of horror/Halloween industry professionals for one of three awards:

Palme d’Gore: Presented to the film that is deemed to be the best overall

Jack-O-Lantern: Presented to the film that is deemed to best represent the spirit of Halloween

Mary Shelley Award: Presented to the film that is deemed to be most creative/ingenuitive

This year’s Jury Awards nominees are:

The Accomplices dir. Alberto Evangelo

The Accomplices

Alicia

Bookworm

Do You Stay Home?

I Drew You

Nobody to Play With dir. Annabel Howe

Les Bêtes

A Nightcare on Elm Street

Nobody to Play With

One for the Road

Sempre Avanti

Silence dir. Hermann Swaiss

The Skin

Silence

Sloppy Seconds

Strangers on the A Train

The Thing I have to Do in That Place

Unscarfed dir. Anita Bruneburg

Turno de Noche: The Wrong Place

Unscarfed

Voyager

Your Virtual Assistant

All films in the festival are eligible to win an audience award for their specific block. Winners will be announced at the convention during the Screaming Room Film Festival Awards on Sunday July 28th.

Check back to HorrorBuzz.com soon for this year’s digital program where you can learn more about each film. Passes for Midsummer Scream are available here.