In its 18th year, the Screamfest Horror Film Festival has just announced its first wave of titles screening from Oct. 9-18, 2018 at the TCL Chinese 6 Theaters in Hollywood.

Actress Lin Shaye, the star of the successful horror franchise Insidious and other popular horror films including A Nightmare On Elm Street, Dead End, 2001 Maniacs, and the soon-to-be-released reboot, Grudge, will serve as this year’s festival ambassador.

“Screaming is good for the soul,” said Shaye.

“I am extremely excited and honored to serve as this year’s Screamfest ambassador and scream with all of you! I’m thrilled to support and celebrate a space where filmmakers, actors and fans can unveil their hard work, and celebrate the horror genre.”

The festival is best known for discovering Paranormal Activity in 2007. Other past premieres include Tragedy Girls, Tigers Are Not Afraid, Trick ‘r Treat, 30 Days of Night, Let the Right One In, The Grudge, The Collection, The Human Centipede and Diary of the Dead. Wes Craven, John Carpenter, Sam Raimi, Clive Barker, Eli Roth, James Wan, Zack Snyder, William Friedkin and John Landis are just some of the filmmakers who have supported the festival year after year.

Film festival badges are currently on sale at www.ScreamfestLA.com and individual film tickets will be available end of September 2018. All screenings are open to the general public. Winners will receive a 24 karat gold dipped skull trophy designed by the legendary, Academy Award-winning special make-up effects creator, Stan Winston, who partnered with the festival until his passing.

Here’s the first wave of films announced:

SPLINTER-VERSARY– 10-year anniversary screening of SPLINTER
***Splinter premiered at Screamfest 2008 and took home six awards that year. ***
A couple retreats to the wilderness for the weekend but are car-jacked by an escaped convict and his girlfriend on the run from the police. As they travel the backroads, they find themselves in deeper trouble. A parasitic creature has taken over the woods, and the two couples are now in its sights. Finding shelter at a gas station, they must use their wits and every weapon at their disposal to stave off the onslaught, not only from the insatiable creature, but also each other.
Directed by: Toby Wilkins
Produced by: Kai Barry & Ted Kroeber
Executive Producer(s): Graham Begg, Chad Burris, Jamie Carmichael, Mark Cuban
Written by: Ian Shorr, Kai Barry
Main Cast: Shea Whigham, Paulo Costanzo & Jill Wagner

AMITYVILLE MURDERS: (US) – 2018
Directed by Daniel Farrands
Written by Daniel Farrands
Cast: John Robinson, Chelsea Ricketts, Paul Ben-Victor, Diane Franklin, Burt Young, Lainie Kazan
Produced by Eric Brenner and Lucas Jarach
On the night of November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo, Jr. took a high-powered rifle and murdered his entire family as they slept. At his trial, DeFeo claimed that “voices” in the house commanded him to kill. This is their story.
World Premiere

DEMENTIA II (US) – 2018
Directed by Matt Mercer and Mike Testin
Written by Matt Mercer and Mike Testin
Cast: Suzanne Voss, Matt Mercer, Najarra Townsend, Graham Skipper
Produced by Matt Mercer and Mike Testin
Suzanne wasn’t always this confused. She wasn’t always DEAD either… When an ex-con takes a job as a handyman for an unstable elderly woman to avoid a parole violation, it becomes a choice he may regret.
West Coast Premiere

DISCARNATE (US) – 2018
Directed by Mario Sorrenti
Written by Mario Miscione, Marcella Ochoa
Cast: Thomas Kretschmann, Nadine Velazquez, Josh Stewart, Chris Coy, Bex Taylor-Klaus
Produced by Harald Kloser (Independence Day: Resurgence.White House Down, 2012), Marcella Ochoa, Co-produced by John Michael Elfers
A neuroscientist’s obsession with a drug that expands the human mind inadvertently unleashes a deadly supernatural force on his team.
World Premiere

DRAUG (Sweden) 2018
Directed by Klas Persson and Karin Engman
Written by Klas Persson and Karin Engman
Cast: Elna Karlsson Thomas Hedengran Nina Filimoshkina Ralf Beck Urban Bergsten Matti Boustedt
Produced by Klas Persson and Karin Engman
In the 11th century a missionary goes missing somewhere in the huge forests bordering the northern parts of Sweden. Among the rescue party chosen to find him is Nanna, a young woman on her first real mission and her first return to the part of the country where she was born. But what they will find deep inside those woods is something else entirely. Something dark. Something ancient. Something evil.
World Premiere

THE FINAL WISH (US) 2018
Directed by Timothy Woodward Jr.
Written by Jeffrey Reddick, Jonathan Doyle, William Halfon
Cast: Lin Shaye ( Insidious franchise, Ouija franchise) Michael Welch (Twilight franchise, All The Boys Love Mandy Lane) Tony Todd (Final Destination, Hell Fest, Candyman) Spencer Locke (Insidious: The Last Key, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Resident Evil: Extinction)
Produced by Jeffrey Reddick, Lauren De Normandie, Timothy Woodward Jr, Johnny Cleveland, Thommy Hutson
From the creator of the Final Destination franchise comes a new tale of death. Following the passing of his father, Aaron Hammond (MICHAEL WELCH) returns to his hometown to help his devastated mother (LIN SHAYE) and to confront his past demons. Shifting through his father’s belongings, Aaron comes upon a mysterious item that is far more than it seems.
World Premiere

THE GOLEM (Israel) 2018
Directed by Doron Paz and Yoav Paz
Written by Ariel Cohen
Cast: Alex Tritenko, Brynie Furstenberg, Hani Furstenberg, Ishai Golan, Lenny Ravich
Produced by Ariel Cohen, Doron Pazm Shalom Eisenbach, Yoav Paz
In this re-imagining of the old mystical folklore, when a woman’s tight-knit Jewish community is besieged by foreign invaders, she conjures a dangerous creature to protect them but it may be eviler than she ever imagined. THE GOLEM is the third feature for co-directed by Doron and Yoav Paz.
North America Premiere

THE HAUNTED (UK ) 2018
Directed by:
David Holroyd
Written by David Holroyd
Cast:
Sophie Stevens, Nick Bayly, Ray Macallan, Maggie Daniles, Kirstie Steele, Virginia Denham
Produced by:
Crispin Manson, Matthew Stradling
In a rambling, isolated house, Emily’s first night-shift as carrier to an elderly dementia patient turns into a nightmare as she is tormented by a vengeful spirit and uncovers the house’s dark secrets.
World Premiere

LOST IN APOCALYPSE (China) 2018
Directed by Sky Wang
Written by Sky Wang, Baiying Wu
Cast: Martin Yang, Mingyi Yang, E’Naan Zhang, Ray Wang, Fengzhu Jia, Qianhua Chen, Simpson Tang, Man Yang
Produced by Iris Liu
A group of seemingly unrelated individuals fight their way out of a virus-infested hotel, only to find themselves at a worse place than before.
West Coast Premiere

OPEN 24 HOURS (US) 2018
Directed by Padraig Reynolds
Written by Padraig Reynolds
Cast: Emily Tennant, Brendan Fletcher, Vanessa Grasse
Produced by
A paranoid delusional woman, Mary White (Vanessa Grasse), has just been released from a mental hospital for setting her serial killer boyfriend on fire. Her boyfriend, James Lincoln Fields is brutal serial killer known as The Rain Ripper. After being released from the Hospital, Mary’s vulnerable demeanor aids her in obtaining employment at an all-night petrol station. However, left alone to her own devices, her paranoia and hallucinations return with furious consequences. Customers and friends suddenly start turning up dead, mutilated, all around her. Is The Rain Ripper back to finish her off?
West Coast Premiere

PLEDGE (US) 2018
Directed by Daniel Robbins
Written by Zack Weiner
Cast: Zachery Byrd, Aaron Dalla Villa, Cameron Cowperthwaite, Phillip Andre Botello, Jesse Pimentel, Erica Boozer, Joe Gallagher, Zack Weiner, Jean-Louis Droulers
Produced by Mark Rapaport, Keaton Heinrichs, Akiva Nemetsky
A group of college freshmen pledge an exclusive fraternity but soon realize there’s more at stake than they could have ever imagined.
US Premiere

TUMBBAD (India) 2018
Directed by Rahi Anil Barve, Anand Gandhi
Written by Mitesh Shah, Adesh Prasad, Rahi Anil Barve, Anand Gandhi
Cast: Sohum Shah, Harish Khannaa, Anita Date, Mohd Samad, Jyoti Malshe, Deepak Damle, Dhundiraj Prabhakar Jogalekar
Produced by Amita Shah, Mukesh Shah, Sohum Shah
A greedy village boy, in 19th century India, pursues a cursed Ancestral treasure, guarded by the devil himself. TUMBBAD opened the Venice’ Film Festival’s Critic’s Week 2018.
West Coast Premiere

YOU DIE (Italy) 2018
Directed by Alessandro Antonaci, Stefano Mandalà, Daniel Lascar
Written by Alessandro Antonaci, Stefano Mandalà, Daniel Lascar
Cast: Erica Landolfi, Simone Moretto, Micol Damilano, Rocco Marazzita, Alice Piano, Simone Valentino, Carola Cudemo, Ja’Michael Darnell, Daniele Marmi
Produced by Daniel Lascar, Simone Offredo, Francesco Scrufari
US Premiere