Colorado Festival of Horror 2026

is proud to announce

Reel Horrors Film Fest accepted shorts

Reel Horrors Film Festival was founded on the belief that we ALL have the capacity to fall in love with horror. As a one-day celebration of short-form terror, we aim to make the horror genre accessible to everyone— satisfying the diehard fans who have sustained the genre for decades, welcoming newcomers with fresh voices and diverse perspectives, and attracting cinema lovers who appreciate films that push stylistic and thematic boundaries.

Join us for our second program from this grassroots film festival with a lot of heart (and a little blood) Saturday September 18! From monsters to mind-benders, we have a killer line up showcasing filmmakers with creativity, craft, and chills - check it out below!

Awards & Prizes
  • Best Short Film
  • Best International Short
  • Best Colorado Short
  • Best Debut Short
  • Special Jury Awards - TBA

28 Kegs Later

Synopsis: During the zombie apocalypse, two unsuspecting heroes discover the secret to not getting bit: You have to get drunk. They throw the biggest party in town to save as many people as they can. Starring Dave Anthony (Maron) and Gareth Reynolds (New Girl).

  • Director:Preston Tompkins
  • Screenwriter:Preston Tompkins
  • Producer:Manuel Contreras
  • Cast: Dave Anthony, Gareth Reynolds, Ben Bryant
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

80% of Home Invasions Happen During the Day

Logline: After drinking hallucinogenic tea to escape her overbearing parents, a moody teenage girl is tormented by a masked serial killer who may or may not be real...

  • Director:Dylan Yang
  • Screenwriter:Roberto A. Romero & Dylan Yang
  • Producer:Roberto A. Romero
  • Cast:Jersey Venoa - Jessica Reid Schmidt - Howard Shannon Mac - Olivia James Ruggero - Killer
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

AAAH-CHOO!

Synopsis:After sneezing himself into a different form of existence, a man takes the worst possible advice to fix the problem.

  • Director:Vincent Viñas
  • Screenwriter:Vincent Viñas
  • Producer:Vincent Viñas
  • Cast: Brian McKenna, Megan Carrillo, Vincent Viñas, Leia
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

After Link

Synopsis: At the peak of summer, Marta and David drive alone to the mountains, where a strange phenomenon calls into question whether a menacing algorithm conceals the whispers of spirits; circuits intertwine with consciousness, blurring the boundary between technology and their ethereal existence.

  • Director:Catarina De Cèzanne
  • Screenwriter:Catarina De Cèzanne
  • Producer:Frank Kallenberg, Staffan Tranaeus, Catarina De Cèzanne
  • Cast: Sofia Vilar Nazariy Koval Carolina Manfredi (voice) Ana Maria de Sousa (voice)
  • Language:Portuguese, English
  • Country:Portugal

Appetite of a Nobody

Logline: Gerald is a raw meat eating socially inept guy who wants nothing more than to make friends but when he follows the steps of a self help video things take a blood curdling turn.

  • Director:Amanda Kaye
  • Screenwriter:Amanda Kaye
  • Producer:Amanda Kaye
  • Cast: Kai Smythe - Gerald Shanay De Marco - Jill Liam Wallis - Oliver Tim Mager - Elijah
  • Language:English
  • Country:Australia

Bleeding of the Cow

Synopsis: A man tries to survives in a world were all hope is lost and most of the population dead. Through his day to day scavaging and hunting for food, with the landscape devoid of wildlife, it pushes him to the next level of survival.

  • Director:Andrew Kenny & Shane Kenny
  • Screenwriter:Andrew Kenny & Shane Kenny
  • Producer:Tree Kitty Productions
  • Cast: Michael Cloke, Summer Venn, Keane Cameron, Allan Barry, Murphy Andrew, Kenny Sr, Geraldine Kenny
  • Language:English
  • Country:Ireland

Bouncer Boots

Synopsis: After betraying his fellow shoes to serve a sadistic human nightclub owner, a pair of boots must decide whether to stay loyal to the humans or lead a bloody uprising to free his own kind. Bouncer Boots is a horror-comedy film created in Colorado and shot at the Sexploratorium sex museum. The film features extensive puppeteering and practical effects, bringing over 20 shoes to life as puppets.

  • Director:Jake Allgeier
  • Screenwriter:Jake Allgeier
  • Producer:Jake Allgeier
  • Cast: Benjamin Wesley Feliciano, Bradley Haag, Brody Hartmann, Isaiah Lucero, Lauren Todd, Delilah Danger, Melanie McCoy, Natasha Olson, Ryan Olson, Sarah Batchelor, Tyler Thibeau, Dr. Otto Marxhausen, JD Minnick Jr., Captain Calcium
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

Dawn

Synopsis: Dawn finds herself in the living room of Rich, her ex high-school sweetheart from back in the day. Now, this would be a perfectly normal situation if one of them wasn’t stuck in the same body they had in high school.

  • Director:Violet Dempsey
  • Screenwriter:Violet Dempsey
  • Producer:Kayla Larson
  • Cast: Bronwyn Henry, Shawn Young
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

Dead Zone

Logline: After stumbling into an abandoned woodland trapped in a deadly time loop, the only surviving teenager must outsmart a shapeshifting creature to rewrite the past and save their friends from a horrific fate.

  • Director:Lauren Marshall
  • Screenwriter:Lauren Marshall
  • Producer:Jake Marshall
  • Cast: Jessie: Lauren Marshall Dusty: Jude Connery - Charlie: Grady Braggins - Susie: Korina Kiriakos - Blake: Camryn Harrington - Cassie: Elli Auker - Bee: Kate Chase - May: Mckenna Wind - Female Driver: Sophie Delgado
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

El Nieto - The Grandson

Synopsis: On her deathbed, a grandmother asks her grandson to deliver a mysterious book. He will travel to fulfill her wish.

  • Director:Juan Ernesto Cil Mansilla
  • Screenwriter:Juan Ernesto Cil Mansilla
  • Producer:Juan Ernesto Cil Mansilla
  • Cast: Milay Garcia
  • Language:Espanish, subtitule english
  • Country:Argentina

Ethel

Synopsis: Ethel Berkowitz wants to have a quiet afternoon setting up Halloween decorations in preparation for the holiday, but when she is interrupted by her unhinged neighbor she is forced into a tense exchange which promises to push both of them to their limits.

  • Director:Micah Schultz
  • Screenwriter:Micah Schultz
  • Producer:Pokey Spears
  • Cast: Maya Knell, Steve Crawford
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

Followed

Synopsis: Dick Star, a double faced internet influencer pulls up to the store late one night to get some snacks, maybe beer, or maybe just to flex on everyone just so he can feel better about himself. But this night his past comes to haunt him in these strange surreal encounters eventually tarring away everything from him that he values or is it just a crazy fan and some dumb kids...

  • Director:Joey Thompson
  • Screenwriter:Joey Thompson & Jerrel Reyes
  • Producer:Joey Thompson, Wil Francis, Victor Romanik
  • Cast: Elijah Haywood, Sofia Fischer, Jeremiah Soderstrom, Montrell Howell, Jerrel Reyes, Kayla Sliter, Monica Busekrus, and Dizaon Phifer
  • Language:Espanish, subtitule english
  • Country:Argentina

Hide

Synopsis: Still reeling from an incredible loss, a father and daughter cling to a bedtime routine keeping them safe in a town where an unfathomable horror visits its inhabitants night after night.

  • Director:Brenden Hubbard
  • Screenwriter:Brian Barnes
  • Producer:Mylissa Fitzsimmons, Damon Russell
  • Cast: Ionie Olivia-Nieves, Alejandro Rose-Garcia
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

Just Being Nice

Synopsis: Late at night, a woman stops at an almost empty gas station. What begins as a brief, ordinary interaction slowly turns unsettling as a man’s presence reshapes the space. Through silence, proximity, and small gestures, Just Being Nice explores how behavior often framed as harmless can become threatening, revealing how fear can emerge without explicit violence, simply through presence.

  • Director:Jeronimo Geldart
  • Screenwriter:Jeronimo Geldart and Valeria Peraza
  • Producer:Francisco Piczman
  • Cast: Valeria Peraza, Francisco Piczman
  • Language:Spanish
  • Country:Argentina

Love, Mike!

Synopsis: On her deathbed, a grandmother asks her grandson to deliver a mysterious book. He will travel to fulfill her wish.

  • Director:Isaac Ingle
  • Screenwriter:Isaac Ingle
  • Producer:Ben Evory
  • Cast: Isaac Ingle as Dunty - AJ Breslin as The Pineapple
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

Lucy and the Devil

Synopsis: In this 1950s sitcom turned horror short: Lucy has an established relationship with The Devil, performing small acts of mischief for him from time to time in order to maintain a perfect life. In this weeks "episode", The Devil asks Lucy to assist him in procuring a soul.

  • Director:Adam Raynes
  • Screenwriter:Adam Raynes
  • Producer:Adam Raynes & Daniel Lingamfelter (Six Feet Under)
  • Cast: Merlynda Sol as Lucy Nathan Connolly - Stuart Jeffrey Bigger as The Devil Chantel Turner - Gail Lorraine Huck as The Devil's Assistant
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

Red Velvet

Logline: A woman takes herself apart piece by piece to make a cake.

  • Director:Kendra Nelson
  • Screenwriter:Kendra Nelson
  • Producer:Jennilee Steinmann
  • Cast: Kendra Nelson
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

Silver String

Synopsis: In 1985, the last year of the Brazilian dictatorship. Brilhante, a contemporary slave catcher, has fun with his victim before the mercy shot...

  • Director:Getulio Ribeiro
  • Screenwriter:Getulio Ribeiro
  • Producer:Louise Teixeira
  • Cast: Luciano Braga, Tawan Pietro, Jairo Souza, Francisco Salgado
  • Language:Portuguese
  • Country:Brazil

Simon Says So

Synopsis: An inspiring ventriloquist begins to crack under the pressure of his first performance.

  • Director:Raymond Cara
  • Screenwriter:Raymond Cara
  • Producer:Asif Limbada
  • Cast: Jesse LaPointe as James - Artemis Lupercalia as Simon
  • Language:English
  • Country:Canada

The Black Vampire

Synopsis: A vampire returns to his dying wife after time apart and discovers that he possesses the power to save her by consuming the disease killing her. Knowing it may cost him his own existence, he makes the ultimate sacrifice.

  • Director:Jesús Mendoza
  • Screenwriter:Jesús Mendoza
  • Producer:Jesús Mendoza
  • Cast: Jesús Mendoza and Diana Mendoza
  • Language:English (silent movie)
  • Country:United States

The Boy and the Glimmerkin

Synopsis: Running away from home, Connor finds himself in a hostile forest controlled by ancient creatures, the Glimmerkin, that don't want him there. The Runt, one of the Glimmerkin, tries to prove his worth by getting Connor to leave, only to sympathize with the teen and risk both their lives in the process.

  • Director:Linken Ryan
  • Screenwriter:Linken Ryan
  • Producer:Linken Ryan
  • Cast: Joey Beall as Connor - Grayson Marchi as The Runt - Jacob Williams as The Narrator - Rylee Thomsen as The Sister - Hank Thomsen as The Brother
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

The Depths

Logline: After many sleepless nights, a young painter's portrait begins to feel more alive as she experiences a series of haunting experiences that mirror her subject's fatal end.

  • Director:Tiggy Agok
  • Screenwriter:Tiggy Agok
  • Producer:KC VanDoren
  • Cast: Raleigh McCready as Salem - Stuart Sophii Sherman as Maxine Murphy
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

The Hog Queen

Logline: A disgruntled bartender's plans to skip town are disrupted when feral hogs attack a small-town Texas gay bar during a drag show, and everyone inside scrambles to survive the hogs... and each other.

  • Director:Katherine Craft
  • Screenwriter:Katherine Craft
  • Producer:Shelby Hadden, Katherine Craft, Richie Siegel, Olivia Handrahan, Marisa Torelli-Pedevska
  • Cast: Amber: Skyler Davenport - Ian: Christian Zamudio - Monica: Marissa Bode - Travis: Garrett Coffey - Hunter/Hog Fest Announcer: Richard Robichaux
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

The Lingering

Synopsis: An amateur exorcist tries to help a man rid his house of a ghost, only to find that his client’s relationship to the tormenting spirit is more familiar and complicated than he expected. Featuring Taylor Nichols (PEN15).

  • Director:Gabe Reiss
  • Screenwriter:Eli Jarmel
  • Producer:Mel Sanchez
  • Cast: Taylor Nichols, Avery McClure, Miju Kim, Pascual Shannon Morrissey
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

THE LOST ONES

Logline: After the death of her husband, a grieving woman turns to the occult in a desperate attempt to speak with him one last time. As the line between hope and obsession blurs, she learns that grief can summon more than just memories.

  • Director:Jesse Livingston
  • Screenwriter:Jesse Livingston
  • Cast: Eryn McGarry, Nick Ellingson, Clara Camacho
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

The Masks We Wear

Logline: Gabe, a shut-in, attempts to eat dinner when a strange rhythmic thumping sound pierces through the house. Gabe becomes psychologically tormented by a phantom of his past. After reaching his breaking point, his mask comes off and he finds the phantom that was tormenting him.

  • Director:Timothy Sharoykin
  • Screenwriter:Timothy Sharoykin
  • Cast: Chris DeLeon, Abgail Espinoza, Timothy Sharoykin
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

The Staked Girls

Logline: After four boy-eating college demon girls take a hunt too far, they must find a way to trust again, or risk being staked… by each other.

  • Director:Audrey Brittain
  • Screenwriter:Audrey Brittain
  • Producer:Abby McDonald
  • Cast: Danielle Schwarz, Brie Musser, Allyson Hackworth, Tinasha Mushonga, Ryland Deegan, Mark Anthony Grabador, Peter McDonald, Daniel Salamé
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

The Stars are Screaming

Synopsis: THE STARS ARE SCREAMING is a analog horror mockumentary where Issac, a grieving brother, retells his encounter of an alien phenomenon in the depths of an ominous lake that’s linked to his younger brother’s disappearance .

  • Director:Savion Mitchell
  • Screenwriter:Savion Mitchell
  • Producer:Matt Sandoval, Ann Allsopp, Kuthumi Cannon
  • Cast: Andre Jones Jr., Ameen Mohammed, Shana Stokes, Kayla Sliter
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

UN-DEAD

Synopsis: Jane thought the most awkward part of her first day at a new job would be working for her dad. Then a zombie outbreak really ruined everything. In the middle of the chaos and heartbreak Jane does something desperate and crazy that changes everything in funny and unexpected ways

  • Director:Bo Webb
  • Screenwriter:Mack Webb, Bo Webb
  • Producer:Tyler Zibaie, Genie Mason
  • Cast: Kelley Pereira, Brian Huskey, Anthony Reynolds, Katelyn Sparks, Chad Hsu
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

Voyeur

Synopsis: A deranged man stalks a strange woman. Little does he know she is a cold blooded killer. Predator becomes prey in Voyeur.

  • Director:Jacob Perkins
  • Screenwriter:Jacob Perkins
  • Producer:Jacob Perkins
  • Cast: Danielle Schwartz: Cedar - Jessica Shepherd: Grandmother - Kenneth Peterson: Voyeur - Lola Basile: Library Victim - Stephanie Zellner: French Victim
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

Wall Udder

Synopsis: A dissatisfied woman confronts repressed feelings of malaise after her partner comes home smelling like milk.

  • Director:Alexandra Hayden
  • Screenwriter:Alexandra Hayden
  • Producer:Alexandra Hayden, Frank Hegyi
  • Cast: Kevin Grady, Sawyer Fuller, Bries Vannon
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States

With the Skin

Logline: When an infantilized woman sheltered by her overprotective mother is drawn to the outside world by a budding attraction to her charismatic neighbor, she must choose between the safety of the life she knew and the allure of the unknown.

  • Director:Saroja Manickam
  • Screenwriter:Saroja Manickam
  • Producer:Saroja Manickam & Lauren Baiza
  • Cast: Ines - Melanie Mason Evelyn - Ann Randolph Blair Wendy - Malea Kinnison Johnny - Rob Page
  • Language:English
  • Country:United States
Get Tickets

Reel Horrors Film Festival Event Schedule

    • Day 02

      Sept 19, 2026

    10AM-10:50AM

    Reel Horrors

    Block 1: The Space Between

    Reality isn't always as fixed as we think. These stories inhabit liminal spaces where the boundaries between past and present,
    the living and the dead, and the physical and the unseen begin to blur. Whether caught
    in a fractured timeline, carrying out a final wish, or confronting a phenomenon that
    defies explanation, these characters must navigate the uncertain space between what
    was, what is, and what might be.
    After Link
    El Nieto
    Dead Zone (in person)
    Film Time: 50:24

    11AM-11:50AM

    Ty Bradford and Todd Debreceni

    Reel Horrors

    BLOOD, GUTS & BUDGETS: Making Practical Horror Effects Work on an Indie Production

    The filmmakers behind the upcoming indie horror film UCK share their tips and tricks for creating great practical effects on a limited budget. Filmaker Ty Bradford and Filmmaker and Veteran Makeup Effects Artist Todd Debreceni in person!

    NOON-12:50AM

    Reel Horrors

    Block 2: Under Pressure

    There’s only so much pressure a person can take. As a performer faces the terror of stepping into the spotlight, a shut-in is pushed to
    confront the torment lurking within himself, and an internet influencer finds his carefully
    curated persona unraveling under the toxicity of life online, each is driven closer to the
    breaking point. But when the cracks begin to show, what lies beneath the masks we
    wear may be even more frightening.
    Simon Says So
    The Masks We Wear (in person)
    Followed (in person)
    Film Time: 45:01

    1PM-1:50PM

    Reel Horrors

    Block 3: Unrequited

    Not every connection is meant to be mutual. From ghosts that refuse to let go and lovers who demand too much to obsessive
    attention and unwanted advances, these stories explore the darker side of desire,
    where longing becomes fixation and connection becomes control. Sometimes the
    scariest thing isn't being alone; it's being wanted by someone you never wanted back.
    The Lingering
    Voyeur
    Love, Mike!
    Just Being Nice
    Film Time: 47:56

    2PM-2:50PM

    Lauren Marshall, Bobby Mendoza, Kendra Nelson, Joey Thompson & Bo Webb

    Reel Horros

    How the Hell Did You Make That?!

    Reel Horrors filmmakers take us behind the scenes to share what worked, what went wrong, and how they pulled it off.

    3PM-3:50PM

    Reel Horrors

    Block 4 : What Goes Around…

    Some wrongs demand to be answered. From deeply personal grudges to the ghosts of historical violence and a very angry
    force of nature, these stories turn past trauma into a reckoning… whether cosmic,
    political, or deeply personal, every debt eventually comes due.
    Silver String
    The Hog Queen
    Ethel
    Film Time: 40:16

    4PM-4:50PM

    Reel Horrors

    Block 5: Rotten to the Core

    One bite is all it takes. From disease and decay to toxic desires and the brutal necessities of survival, these
    stories find their characters face-to-face with the grotesque, forcing them to consume,
    sacrifice, or embrace that which repulses them. After all, sometimes the rot goes deeper
    than you think.
    The Black Vampire (in person)
    Bleeding the Cow
    Appetite of a Nobody
    UN-DEAD (in person)
    Film Time: 42:56

    5PM-5:50PM

    Scott Vandiver

    Reel Horrors

    THE FUTURE OF INDEPENDENT HORROR DISTRIBUTION

    Go behind the screen with our official festival sponsors at SHIVER Vertical for a conversation about the rapidly evolving world of vertical filmmaking and new horror distribution models. What opportunities does this emerging format offer independent horror filmmakers...and could the future of horror already be sitting in the palm of your hand?
    Presented by SHIVER Vertical!

    6PM-6:50PM

    Reel Horrors

    Block 6: Home Body

    There’s no place like home… Home is supposed to be where we feel safest, but what happens when the familiar turns
    strange? A bizarre piece of decor, a nightly ritual, a very personal recipe, and an
    intruder at the door turn the comforts of home into something far more sinister. Because
    sometimes the most frightening thing in the house isn't what's knocking at the door, it’s
    what's already inside.
    Wall Udder
    Hide
    Red Velvet (in person)
    80% of Home Invasions Happen During the Day (in person)
    Film Time: 42:10

    7PM-8:50PM

    Reel Horrors

    Awards Ceremony & Filmmaker Mixer!

    Our signature event! Celebrate the year's best films and filmmakers as we hand out awards in several categories, meet the filmmakers behind them, and mingle with fellow horror fans and industry professionals as we toast another unforgettable year of independent horror cinema.

    9PM-9:50PM

    Reel Horrors

    Do You Like Scary Movies? Live Podcast

    Join the hosts of the Do You Like Scary Movies Podcast Byran Bonner and Bob Lewis as they wrap up the main competition with live interviews of our winning filmmakers, festival programmers, and festivalgoers alike!

    10PM-10:50PM

    Reel Horrors

    Irreverent PowerPoint!

    One projector. Unlimited bad ideas. Because every horror fan has at least one hill they're willing to die on. Special festival guests take the stage with five-minute PowerPoint presentations defending horror's most outrageous, controversial, and surprisingly persuasive opinions.

The Colorado Festival of Horror (COFOH) is brought to you by COFOH Entertainment and will be a highlight for the horror genre and all that it bleeds. COFOH is a platform for the community to unite over the love of horror and everything that creeps in the night!

Where & When?

September 18 - 20, 2026
Denver Marriott Tech Center