Horror Stars Lead Packed Line-Up at Grimmfest 2025

Manchester’s genre showcase Grimmfest has unveiled its complete programme for 2025, confirming twenty-one new features across four days at the Odeon Great Northern. Running from 9 to 12 October, the festival will host an extensive slate of world, international, European, UK and Northern premieres, alongside appearances from high-profile actors including Dev Patel, Jeremy Piven, Pixie Lott, Aneurin Barnard, Jon Heder, Tim McInnerny, Rosy McEwen, Richard Roxburgh, Shawnee Smith, Torry Hanson and Thomas Lennon.

World premieres form the backbone of the event. Among them is Past Life, directed by Grimmfest co-founders Simeon Halligan and Rachel Richardson-Jones, a Manchester-made psychological thriller about regression therapy and unresolved crimes from the 1980s. Tom Botchii follows his earlier feature Artik with Syphon, a violent cat-and-mouse revenge story about a hacker who finds himself hunted. Manu Herrera offers Lily’s Ritual, a supernatural tale of witchcraft and demonic vengeance, while Tim Connery’s anthology feature The Driftless delivers interconnected horror stories tied to Midwestern folklore.

International premieres include Remington Smith’s Landlord, which pits a bounty hunter against a vampire in a rundown apartment complex, and Jacob Lees Johnson’s I See the Demon, starring Jon Heder, in which a birthday party descends into psychedelic horror. Dan Asma’s Tribe blends found footage and cosmic dread, Gille Klabin’s Weekend at the End of the World uses comedy to frame the apocalypse, and Sergio Pinheiro’s Wormtown employs body horror as a critique of religious fundamentalism. Bari Kang presents Itch!, a siege thriller set in a discount store during a mysterious outbreak, while Kenichi Ugana delivers Incomplete Chairs, a splatter satire centred on an obsessive furniture maker.

Among European premieres is Jordana Stott’s Forgive Us All, a post-apocalyptic western starring Lily Sullivan and Richard Roxburgh. Pierre Tsigaridis returns to Grimmfest with Frankie, Maniac Woman, a sharp critique of misogyny in the entertainment industry.

UK premieres feature Abel Ferry’s Squealers, a violent clash between activists and slaughterhouse workers, Paul Etheredge’s The Other, a domestic horror centred on adoption, Kiah Roache-Turner’s survival thriller Beast of War, Emilio Portes’ supernatural comedy Don’t Leave the Kids Alone, and Bryn Chainey’s folk horror Rabbit Trap, starring Dev Patel and Rosy McEwen.

Northern premieres complete the line-up with Daniel M. Caneiro’s twisted Christmas-set Deviant, Dawid Torrone’s giallo-inspired Dead by Dawn, and Jake Myers’ corporate horror satire Kombucha.

Across four days, Grimmfest 2025 will combine premieres with filmmaker appearances, discussions and genre celebration, reinforcing its place as a central event in the UK horror calendar.

For more information about the event, tickets, and details on how you could use a special code to get discounted accommodation during the event, visit: grimmfest.com/