The FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards return this October, and we have your official list of nominees featuring 35 of the best new horror movies nominated across 14 categories, plus the best horror series and video games released in the last year.
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple and Dusty Bunny lead the pack with nine nominations each, followed by this year’s box office-breaking Backrooms with six nominations. Frankenstein, Hokum, and The Bride! each landed five nominations, and Curry Barker’s mega-hit Obsession is nominated across four categories, including the Best Director category for Barker and a Best Lead Performance nod for Inde Navarrette.
The nominees were selected by a nominating body of industry tastemakers, creators, and professionals and cover releases between July 2025 and June 2026.
“If there’s a theme to be found in this year’s crop of nominations, it’s that horror lovers do not and will not abide by what mainstream box office numbers decide the ‘winners’ are. The big horror hits are here, of course, but so too are fiercely independent visions that, for one reason or another, have yet to find the audience they deserve. If we can get more eyeballs on these genre gems by celebrating them at the Chainsaw Awards, that’s a win for all of us,” said FANGORIA Editor-in-Chief Phil Nobile Jr.
“One of the most rewarding parts of putting the Chainsaw Awards together every year is seeing the passion and fervor of the fans. Ultimately, they’re the ones who rally behind the nominees and make the final call,” said Michael Varrati, writer and director of the FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards. “This year’s nominees reflect a wide range of diverse stories, titles, and creatives whom horror enthusiasts have championed since our last show. I encourage fans to get out and vote, because it may well be their voice and love of fright that changes the course of horror history.”
Believe me when I say your one vote could be the difference between your top pick taking home the trophy and coming in second place (we have seen it happen!). So get in there and make your voice heard.
Without further ado, we are proud to present the official 2026 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards nominees. Check out the full list of nominees below. The polls are now officially open and will close on July 15 at 11:59 PM PST. The fate of the awards is now in your hands.
Vote for the 2026 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards
Be sure to tune in when the winners are revealed on October 25th during the FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards broadcast on Shudder.
Congratulations to all the nominees, and thank you for an incredible year of horror. Happy voting!
Nominees are presented alphabetically within each category.
What an incredible crop of nominees, we’re going to have one hell of a bountiful harvest this October. The polls are now open and will close on July 15 at 11:59 PM PST. Vote for the 2026 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards now.
Web Editor
Angel Melanson is the Digital Editor of FANGORIA.com. When she’s not running the website, you can find her acting as Fango’s resident online creep in various hosting capacities and occasionally writing for the magazine. A true nightmare come true.
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Angel Melanson
Web Editor, since 2021
Angel Melanson is the Digital Editor of FANGORIA.com. When she’s not running the website, you can find her acting as Fango’s resident online creep in various hosting capacities and occasionally writing for the magazine. A true nightmare come true.
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