Raindance horror | Love Horror film reviews and news

The 34th Raindance Film Festival is preparing to descend on London this June with a programme that spans urgent documentaries, emerging independent cinema, immersive experiences and a growing horror strand that promises everything from supernatural hauntings to blood-soaked slasher comedy. Running from 17 to 26 June at Vue Piccadilly, this year’s edition features 85 narrative and documentary features alongside 112 short films, with more than half of the feature programme coming from first-time filmmakers. For genre fans, however, the spotlight is firmly on Raindance Horror, which returns with one of the festival’s strongest collections of dark cinema to date. The strand arrives at a significant moment for the festival, which has introduced a new Best Horror Feature award for 2026, recognising the increasing prominence of horror within independent filmmaking. Audiences looking to explore the entire horror selection can purchase the Horror Features Pass, while individual tickets are currently available with a 20% discount using the code HORROR26. With many screenings taking place at Vue Piccadilly across a concentrated eight-day period, the offer presents an accessible route into one of the festival’s most talked-about sections. Among the headline titles is Swedish supernatural horror The Home, directed by Mattias J. Skoglund. The film follows Joel as he returns to care for his mother after she suffers a devastating stroke. Having been clinically dead for several minutes, she returns profoundly changed, leading Joel to suspect that something followed her back from beyond death. The film screens on 21 June and again on 26 June. At the opposite end of the tonal spectrum sits Friday the 69th, Alex Montilla’s irreverent slasher comedy. Shot entirely on iPhones, the film transports audiences to 1981, where a group of adult filmmakers attempt to cash in on the popularity of slasher cinema by producing their own low-budget horror picture. Their production centres on college students stalked by a murderous beekeeper, creating a knowingly absurd tribute to the exploitation cinema of the era. The UK premiere takes place on 19 June. The film is also part of the official Raindance Horror competition line-up. Psychological tension takes centre stage in Bryce Hirschberg’s Jackalope. What begins as a quiet retreat between two brothers gradually deteriorates after the arrival of a mysterious woman whose presence forces long-buried questions and resentments into the open. The film screens twice during the festival, on 21 and 25 June. Argentina brings occult horror to the programme through The Devil Whispered My Name, directed by Emilia Cotella and John Mathis. The story follows Carla, who returns to her hometown a decade after witnessing the death of her best friend during an Ayahuasca ceremony. As she reconnects with former friends, she uncovers secrets tied to ancient malevolent forces that continue to haunt the community. The film is another title featured in the official Raindance Horror competition. Daniel Bogran’s The Killing Moon offers a more seductive form of horror. Set around an isolated luxury lakeside retreat, the story begins when a wounded stranger arrives unexpectedly at a wealthy couple’s cabin. Their decision to help him unleashes a volatile struggle shaped by manipulation, desire and increasingly dangerous power dynamics. Mythology and grief collide in Sacrificios, directed by Mauricio Chernovetzky. The film follows a father who makes an impossible discovery when he retrieves his dead son from the sea, alive and breathing. What follows is described as a dark fairy tale drawing upon both Aztec mythology and Catholic traditions while exploring the devastating consequences of loss. The strand also embraces horror comedy through Life for Beginners, directed by Pawel Podolski. The film centres on Monia, a shy vampire attempting to convince Mirek, a suicidal vampire she inadvertently created, that immortality might be worth embracing after all. The unusual premise mixes supernatural themes with black humour and existential reflection. The wider Raindance Horror section extends beyond these selections. The official competition line-up also includes Aaron Fisher’s corporate survival satire Corporate Retreat, Christian Carroll’s supernatural thriller Broken Beak, Cyrus Neshvad’s Child, Rob Alicea’s AI-themed psychological horror Serena, and Rhys Frake-Waterfield’s Pinocchio: Unstrung, starring horror icon Robert Englund. Outside the horror strand, Raindance continues its long-standing mission of championing independent voices. Festival founder Elliot Grove has described this year’s programme through the banner “Some Films Can’t Wait”, reflecting a selection that ranges from stories about global conflict and environmental crises to innovative genre filmmaking and experimental immersive projects. For horror fans, though, June’s destination is clear. Whether your preference is supernatural terror, psychological breakdowns, folklore, vampires, cults, slashers or dark comedy, the Raindance Horror programme offers a packed schedule of discoveries from around the world. Tickets are on sale now, and attendees can receive 20% off screenings using the code HORROR26, or opt for the Horror Features Pass to gain access across the full horror strand before the festival opens on 17 June. Grab your passes here, before they're gone: raindance.eventive.org/passes/buy

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