SALEM HORROR FEST: Five Films We're Excited For

Held in the Halloween capital of the world, Salem Horror Fest is entering its fifth year of screening horror premieres. The festival will also host Romero Lives!, a retrospective of the life and work of horror pioneer George A. Romero. It will include special programs and screenings, including a marathon of Night of the Living Dead that will benefit Texas Abortion Funds. The festival is queer-run and is known for its focus on marginalized horror fans. The virtual festival runs from October 22 to 31, and the in-person festival (with mandatory COVID safety protocols) will feature content throughout October.

Here are five of the film’s we’re most excited to see at Salem Horror Fest this year. Keep an eye out for Film Cred’s coverage of the festival.

All synopses are courtesy of press materials

A still from If She Screams. A woman lies on the ground looking terrified. A person holds her down with a large blade to her throat.

If She Screams, dir. Stephen Garnett

Kassi’s friend takes her to a marijuana farm, up in the hills of Northern California, but when all hell breaks loose, she will be put through a gauntlet of terror, and fight to make it off the mountain alive.

A still from Parallel Minds. A person with long, crimped brown hair and black facial markings holds a piece of technology made of metal and wires and looks off to the side, perplexed.

Parallel Minds, dir. Benjamin Ross Hayden

In the near future, the A.I. “URM” is investigated by a detective and lab researcher on the verge of releasing a contact lens with the power to record what the eye can see to recreate memories.

A still from Wicked Games. Two people exit a large house and walk down a tiled path flanked by shrubs. It is dark and raining.

Wicked Games, dir. Teddy Grennan

When Harley joins her new boyfriend for a long Halloween weekend at his country estate, they’re invaded by a band of masked freaks and forced to play a Wicked Game. To the intruders’ unpleasant surprise, Harley’s hard-boiled history has endowed her with some old tricks of her own which gives the game a surprise ending.

A still from I Need You Dead. A cheeseburger puppet with large teeth and eyes rests on a person's hand. It stares with its mouth open in front of a black console.

I Need You Dead, dir. Rocko Zevenbergen

A young punk births a strange fleshy creature… it mocks him, hurts him, and takes over his whole world!

A still from Alone with You. A woman is seen in a kitchen through a doorway so that only part of her face is visible. She looks up in alarm.

Alone with You, dir. Emily Bennett and Justin Brooks

As she waits for her girlfriend to return home for their anniversary, Charlie discovers she’s trapped inside her apartment with an evil entity, and must fight for survival as nightmarish visions descend and a voice in the wall guides her towards a way out.

Learn more about Salem Horror Fest, purchase passes, and see the full lineup on the festival’s website.