From ‘Friday the 13th’ to ‘Society’ HORRHIFFIC Goes All Out

The Romford Horror International Film Festival, a.k.a. HORRHIFFIC, returns to Lumiere Cinema in Romford from 19 to 22 February 2026, spreading its genre mayhem across three screens for four days of old-school shocks and boundary-pushing independent cinema.

While the festival has built its reputation on championing emerging filmmakers, the 2026 edition is placing a particularly strong spotlight on its retro programme, curated to celebrate the big-screen impact of horror’s most influential titles. Body horror takes pride of place with David Cronenberg’s Rabid and Scanners, two landmark works that still feel confrontational decades after release. Clive Barker’s dark fantasia is also in focus with Hellraiser and Hellbound: Hellraiser II, bringing the Cenobites back to theatrical life for audiences eager to revisit their baroque vision of pain and desire.

The retro line-up stretches further into cult and international territory. Brian Yuzna’s satirical shocker Society joins Fred Dekker’s monster-loving favourite The Monster Squad, while Italian genre fans can dive into The Visitor and Pupi Avati’s Zeder. Australian cinema gets its due with the feral creature chaos of Razorback and the apocalyptic mysticism of The Last Wave. Elsewhere, giallo devotees can revisit What Have You Done to Solange? and Sergio Martino’s All the Colours of the Dark, while the weekend also revisits slasher royalty with Friday the 13th and cult oddity Troll 2, primed for a lively late-night crowd.

Festival director Spencer Hawken has described the retro strand as central to the communal experience HorRHIFFic champions, offering audiences the chance to see titles such as The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane, Cannibal Man and Holocaust 2000 in the setting they were made for.

Alongside the classics, HorRHIFFic continues to platform a broad range of new independent features from across the globe. This year’s programme includes UK genre entries such as The House on Lidderman Street, Charlie Shaw’s Revenge, Manor of Darkness, Hang, Road Kill, The Watch Killer and They Wait In Shadows. International selections add further variety, from the psychological intensity of Erica and Delirio Cremisi to the survival dread of Severed Road and the cult-tinged paranoia of The Observance.

Elsewhere, audiences can discover boundary-blurring projects such as Spoiling You, Mr. Whispers and Black Chariot, ensuring the festival remains as forward-looking as it is nostalgic. With over 100 films screening across the four days, the event once again positions Romford as a February hotspot for horror fans seeking both rediscovery and revelation.

Day passes are priced at £16 for Thursday and Friday, and £18 for Saturday and Sunday, with a full festival pass available for £50. Get yours from romfordhorrorfestival.com/