Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival 2026
The Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival returns, bringing audiences, filmmakers, and industry professionals together for five unforgettable days of premieres, filmmaker Q&As, industry events, and the very best in independent horror cinema
Date/Time: Nov 18 2026, 12:00 am to 10:30 pm
Vancouver, Cineplex Cinemas International VillageITE 88 West Pender, 3rd Floor
From emerging Canadian voices to international genre programming, VHS is built around bold films, engaged audiences, and meaningful connections between filmmakers and the horror fans who support their work.
Leading the festival’s special presentations is a 19th anniversary screening of Trick ’r Treat with acclaimed writer and director Michael Dougherty (Krampus, Godzilla: King of the Monsters) in attendance. The screening event will feature an all-new 4K restoration of Season’s Greetings, Dougherty’s original animated short film that first introduced audiences to Sam, the mysterious trick-or-treater who would later become the modern horror icon at the centre of Trick ’r Treat.
The first-wave feature lineup includes the World Premiere of Encryption, an inventive sci-fi mystery from award-winning filmmaker Brayden DeMorest-Purdy, the Western Canadian Premiere of Sleep No More, an Indonesian body-horror nightmare from acclaimed filmmaker Edwin and British Columbia premieres of Ithaqua, Hammer Films’ chilling return to creature horror starring Luke Hemsworth, and The Glorious Dead, the latest apocalyptic vision from celebrated DIY filmmaking team the Adams Family.
The first wave also includes four creator-focused events bringing established filmmakers and industry professionals together with emerging talent: an in-depth In Conversation with Michael Dougherty about building a career from original genre filmmaking to major studio franchises; The First Five Minutes of Horror, featuring filmmakers Zach Lipovsky (Final Destination Bloodlines, Freaks), Eli Craig (Clown in a Cornfield, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil) and Rachel Talalay (Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare, Tank Girl, YAGA) and editor Greg Ng (Backrooms, Longlegs); Indie Horror Distribution: From Festival Buzz to Theatrical Release, featuring producers Sean Harris Oliver (Hunting Matthew Nichols) and Kurtis David Harder (Influencer, Influencers); as well as the return of VHS’s Live Table Read Series, with Karen Lam (Armageddon Road) and Dennis Heaton (Murder in a Small Town) among the participating industry panelists.
Expect a variety of panels featuring industry insiders, as well as the VHS Table Read Series that gives emerging writers the opportunity to hear their scripts performed live by professional actors in front of an audience and a panel of established screenwriters and filmmakers.
More info