If this is a Nightmare, horror fans won’t want to wake up.

Columbus, Ohio’s Nightmares Film Festival has always packed its schedule chock full of the grossest of the gross and creepiest of the terrifying. 2019’s upcoming festival proves to be no different. This year’s lineup, which will pack 190 of the best features and shorts from around the world into the four-day event, Oct. 24 to 27.

“We are so honored the world’s best genre creators trust us to present their work,” said co-founder and programmer Jason Tostevin. “This year, we have assembled more ‘better horror’ for our Nightmares audience than ever before.”

Leading the lineup are 24 features from both beloved horror filmmakers and important new voices in genre film. Included are Hammer Films’ The Lodge, from the makers of Goodnight Mommy; Daniel Isn’t Real, from the producers of Mandy and The Greasy Strangler; VFW, from the director of Almost Human; Eat Brains Love, adapted from the popular novel; and closing night film Z, from the creators of It Stains the Sand Red and Still/Born.

Scare Package

The fest will also present a screening of Jörg Buttgereit‘s infamously banned necrophilic exploitation film Nekromantik, Austin’s indie sensation Paper Street Pictures’ (The Pale Door) brand new horror comedy anthology Scare Package, She Never Died, the sequel to the 2015 Henry Rollins action-horror film He Never Died, the Carpenter Brut-scored Blood Machines, the world premiere of FX artist Marcus Koch’s (We Are Still Here) doc on the history of extreme cinema, Beyond Horror, and the world premiere of Tommy Faircloth’s (Dollface) newest film, A Nun’s Curse.

One of Nightmares’s best known traditions, the Late Night Mind Fuck — called “one of the most dangerous and challenging blocks of programming at any festival” (The Film Coterie), returns this year with two world premieres. First is The Obsessed from Italian extreme director Domiziano Christopharo (previous NFF winner Torment), a body horror freak-out based on the manic descent of Bjork’s stalker. And at 2 a.m. is the dark, harrowing and sexually explicit 29 Needles.

Daniel Isn’t Real

The festival’s reputation for presenting the best curated shorts blocks on the planet continues with a lineup of 150+ horror, thriller, midnight and horror comedy short films, including dozens of world premieres. Its Recurring Nightmares blocks are also back, highlighting NFF audience favorites returning with new work, and its Ohio shorts blocks will offer up some of the best locally made films.

Nightmares has also named the 13 finalists in its short and feature screenplay contests. These screenwriters will be given the chance to connect with selected filmmakers to explore production of their scripts through the NFF FinaLIST matching service.

All selected competition films and screenplays vie for a coveted Night Mare statuette, representing the dark horses of genre. The Night Mare is sculpted and painted by renowned toy and figure creator Tony Simione (Marvel, Star Wars, Godzilla, Alien).

For more information, check out the Nightmares Film Fest website.

Want to make the pilgrimage to Nightmares this year? Some passes are still available, though they always sell out.

Nightmares Film Festival has been called one of the world’s best horror film festivals by every major genre outlet. It has maintained its position as the world’s top-rated genre festival on the submission platform FilmFreeway for 35 consecutive months.