Queer Zombies, Haunted Classics and Secret Films Await at Celluloid Screams 2025

 The horror faithful of Sheffield are in for a treat this October as Celluloid Screams: Sheffield Horror Film Festival returns for its 17th edition. Running from 23 to 26 October at the Showroom Cinema, the festival’s line-up is packed with premieres, cult classics, drag shows and chilling surprises.

Opening night sets the tone with the UK premiere of Queens of the Dead, written and directed by Tina Romero, daughter of George A. Romero. The film gives her father’s legacy a queer twist, with drag queens and club kids fighting off zombies during a Brooklyn outbreak. After the screening, Sheffield’s Cryptid Queers take to the stage with Night of the Living Drag, before a 40th anniversary showing of Return of the Living Dead closes the evening.

That is just the beginning of eight feature premieres. The festival hosts the European premiere of Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fuelled Karma, and UK premieres including Silver Screamers (a documentary), Head Like a Hole (anti-corporate satire), Deathstalker (a remake of an 80s fantasy cult classic by Steven Kostanski) and It Ends, a mind-bender of horror and concept. From overseas come Confession, a Japanese suspense thriller about two friends trapped in a snowstorm and dark secrets, and Noise, a South Korean chiller in which a hearing-impaired woman is haunted by ominous sounds.

The festival’s closing film on Sunday is Alpha by Julia Ducournau, celebrated director of Raw and Titane. The story follows a teenager whose life is upended in one moment, when she returns home from school with a tattoo that sets off a cascade of events.

A decades-old tradition returns as well: on Friday the 24th, the Secret Film screening takes place. The title remains unrevealed until showtime. Past secret films have included Paranormal Activity, The Autopsy of Jane Doe, Barbarian and last year’s The Rule of Jenny Pen.

Other feature selections include Mother of Flies by indie filmmakers John Adams and Lulu Adams; Man Finds Tape, a fresh take on found-footage horror; Descendent, a UFO thriller; and The Occupant of the Room by Kier-La Janisse, who will attend with a Q&A. Short films are curated by Polly Allen and bring work from global names including Mattie Do and Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead, alongside a strong showing of UK talent.

Retrospective screenings deepen the festival’s roots with restored classics: Martyrs in 4K, Tales from the Crypt in Amicus style, a 35mm grindhouse session, Scared Safe: Volume 2 of macabre public information films, plus fringe screenings of Return to Oz and An American Werewolf in London.

Full festival and day passes are still available from the Showroom Cinema. Individual tickets for screenings will go on sale from Friday 26 October.

For more information and tickets, visit: celluloidscreams.com/