Six Horror Films You Can’t Miss at Raindance Film Festival 2026

The countdown is almost over. From 17-26 June, the Raindance Film Festival returns to central London for its 34th edition, bringing together some of the most exciting independent filmmaking talent from across the globe.

As the UK’s largest independent film festival, Raindance has built a reputation for discovering emerging voices and showcasing bold, innovative cinema. Alongside its acclaimed programme of features, shorts, talks, networking events and immersive experiences, the festival once again offers horror fans a dedicated strand packed with premieres, debut features and genre-bending nightmares.

This year, Love Horror is proud to be supporting the Raindance Horror Thread alongside our friends at The Hollywood News and the Independent Horror Society. Across the festival, audiences will be treated to everything from supernatural chillers and folk horror to slashers, creature features, dark comedies and psychological terror.

Highlights include Rhys Frake-Waterfield’s Pinocchio: Unstrung, influencer nightmare The Troll, demonic tech horror Modem, supernatural mystery Broken Beak, and the haunting Swedish chiller The Home.

To help horror fans navigate the packed programme, we asked two of the people presenting films during the festival to share the titles they’re most excited to see.

Kat Hughes’ Picks

Kat Hughes is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, freelance journalist, moderator and essayist specialising in horror. A familiar face on the genre festival circuit, she writes primarily for The Hollywood News and has also contributed to outlets including Dread Central, Film Stories, Arrow Video and Second Sight. Kat will be hosting a quartet of horror screenings during the festival on 20 and 21 June.

Here are her top picks from this year’s horror strand:

“My first pick would be Mattias Johansson Skoglund’s The Home. I initially caught The Home when it screened at SXSW and found it to be a super effective chiller that embraces the mantra that less is more.

One film I’m yet to see that I’m looking forward to catching at Raindance is The Troll. I’m a sucker for anything influencer-focussed and discovering first time filmmakers, so I can’t wait to see what writer, director, and star Brianna Lee has cooked up.

Finally, Pinocchio: Unstrung is the latest entry in the Twisted Childhood series, and introduces a nightmarish vision of Geppetto’s creation. I’ll be hosting the screening at Raindance and have been lucky enough to have a sneaky peek. I can confirm that Pinocchio: Unstrung is a fun mix of M3GAN and Child’s Play, and is one not to miss with a crowd.

In addition to covering Pinocchio: Unstrung you’ll find me looking after another couple of movies across the Saturday and Sunday evenings. So grab your tickets and come enjoy the frightful delights that Raindance has carefully compiled just for us.”

Chris Nials’ Picks

Chris Nials is the founder of the Independent Horror Society, a community dedicated to bringing horror creators and fans closer together while championing independent genre filmmaking. Through film showcases, networking opportunities and the IHS Creators Fund, Chris and the team continue to support emerging horror talent across the UK.

Here are the films he’s most eager to discover this year:

“I’m really pleased to be back at Raindance this year, hosting another couple of blocks of awesome indie horror features. Last year, this festival uncovered some wonderful films (including Charlie Robb and Doug Tawn’s Loner) and I can’t wait to see what’s in store this time.

As someone who loves found footage, slow-burn folk horror, and the gloriously schlocky and fun side of the genre, there are three films in this year’s strand that I’m particularly excited to see. Modem looks set to push my found-footage buttons, taking an everyday piece of equipment and turning it into the source of genuine creepiness.

The Devil Whispered My Name appears to be firmly in my wheelhouse too, combining psychological trauma, oppressive atmosphere, and folk horror elements in a way that I hope brings a slow, unsettling descent into darkness.

And then there’s Friday the 69th – a film that, from the off, appears to wear its love of exploitation cinema proudly on its sleeve. I’m expecting a gloriously campy gore-fest that I’m hoping will bring the house down when it closes out Friday’s proceedings!”

A Horror Strand Packed with Premieres

The horror line-up at Raindance 2026 is particularly impressive, featuring a host of world, international, UK and European premieres from filmmakers around the world.

Audiences can experience the supernatural mystery of Broken Beak, the disturbing family nightmare of Child, vampire romance with a twist in Life for Beginners, the sinister AI thriller Serena, and the atmospheric queer ghost story Shadows of Willow Cabin.

Those looking for suspense-driven storytelling can check out Jackalope, in which a quiet weekend retreat spirals into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, while Japanese thriller Nameless centres on a baffling murder that defies explanation. The Killing Moon promises a tense battle for control when a mysterious wounded stranger interrupts a wealthy couple’s lakeside getaway.

Elsewhere, Corporate Retreat offers blood-soaked workplace satire featuring a cast that includes Odeya Rush, Sasha Lane, Alan Ruck and Rosanna Arquette. South African period horror The Trek blends historical drama with supernatural terror as settlers crossing the Kalahari encounter something far older and more dangerous than the desert itself, while Mexican chiller Sacrificios explores the terrible cost of defying forces beyond human understanding.

Taken together, the Horror Thread showcases the remarkable variety currently thriving within the genre. From supernatural hauntings and psychological horror to dark comedy, slashers, creature features and folk terror, there is something here for every type of horror fan.

Book Your Tickets

The 34th Raindance Film Festival runs from 17-26 June 2026 in the heart of London’s West End.

If any of these films have caught your eye, now is the time to secure your seats. Better still, Love Horror readers can save 20% on tickets by using the discount code:

HORROR26

Head to the Raindance website, browse the full programme, and prepare for ten days packed with scares, surprises and some of the most exciting independent horror cinema from around the world: raindance.org/festival/

Whether you’re attending a screening hosted by Kat Hughes, joining Chris Nials for one of his presentations, or simply exploring the strand for yourself, this year’s Horror Thread looks set to be one of the highlights of the festival.