OPENING NIGHT FILM!

WISCONSIN PREMIERE

1 hour 34 min

Dir: Stimson Snead

Cast: Samuel Dunning, Felicia Day, Danny Trejo, Keith David, Joel McHale

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It is called the Time Travelers Paradox. In which a scientist creates a Time Machine and kills their younger self. So now a man who should not exist, somehow does. That is the Paradox, and Paradoxes are impossible.

And the man who has created it, is Tim Travers: a reclusive, mad scientist. In the course of his adventure, Travers will take on the mercenary gang whose stolen plutonium powers his machine, challenge a conspiracy podcaster to a battle of wits, create a black hole, meet the one woman alive crazier than him, clone himself, destroy the universe, make a new one, and maybe - just maybe - learn to love himself at last.

Screens with shorts and music videos:

HATMAN

Dir: Andrew Ducky Dutkiewicz/USA/4:22 min

A music video for the song "HATMAN" by Capital Vice out of Austin, Texas. It celebrates the many aspects of horror cinema by crafting a balance of sly b-movie humor and unique shivers.

STAIRCASE STOMP

Dir: Aaron Louis/USA/3:28 min

Stop-motion music video for the song "Staircase Stomp" by punk/new wave band The Clamor. The music video tells the story of a man grappling with his inner turmoil, represented by a haunting female figure in a storm-battered cabin. Through surreal stop-motion animation, the video explores themes of identity, psychological conflict, and self-reconciliation, blurring the lines between external chaos and internal struggles.

LAB RATS

Dir: Stimson Snead/USA/18:30 min

From the director of TIM TRAVERS: A man finds himself in cage, like a lab rat. The most recent abductee of a prolonged alien invasion. There he joins a woman, a day-one abductee, long consigned to the mind altering drugs given to her by their alien overlords. Together, they must decide whether or not to succumb to being pets or face the absurd horror of their reality and find a way to escape the lab.

FOLLOWED BY OPENING NIGHT AFTER PARTY! (21+ only)

Includes complimentary drink + finger food at the official bar of the festival THE MOUSETRAP TAVERN!

FIRST EVER SCREENING OF THIS FILM

Dir: Mystery Festival Alumnus

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This is the first EVER screening of a brand new horror feature film, from a well known festival alum. His previous films have screened at both A Night of Horror, MidWest WeirdFest, and dozens of other top genre film festivals around the planet.

He was about to do this test screening in Hollywood, but decided (with a little arm twistng) to do it here with us instead: With you, and the rest of the audience of real horror fans.

It’s still not the final cut of the movie. But he’ll be at the fest in person. He wants to hear your feedback!

Do not miss this very unique cinema experience!

And if you come, please keep it a secret!

MIDWEST PREMIERE

1 hour 22 min

Dir: Nick Wernham

Cast: Anthony Grant, Benjamin Sutherland, Ron Lea, Linden Porco

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Assembled by XPU$HER and made available through the Black-Torrent Release Group, The Lost Episode offers a raw and unsettling look at unaired footage captured during a police ride-along on Halloween night, 2004. The film follows officers Paul Massaro and Terrence Williams as they navigate the sleepy streets of Franklin, uncovering a chain of horrifying events and a disturbing conspiracy rooted in the heart of the small town they swore to protect.

Screens with short films:

FOLLOW YOU

Dir: Alexandre Mullen/CAN/3:18 min

Even with a serial killer on her heels, Flora knows how to seize an opportunity.

TINKERHELL

Dir: Noah Sterling/USA/4:50 min

A young girl learns the consequences, after she incites the wrath of a very small and very deadly entity.

PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS!

The Lost Episode to be intro’d and Q&A’d by the film’s director NicK Wernham, tech supervisor Adam Hunt, and star Anthony Grant!

US PREMIERE

1 hour 21 min

Dir: Jayden Creighton

Cast: Kate Logan, Juliette Greenfield, Andy Sparnon, Riley Channells, Claire Weller Price, William Tarrant

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A thirteen year old girl kills her addict mom's abusive boyfriend in self defense, and is subsequently terrorized by her own mother.

Australian writer/director Jayden Creighton explodes onto the horror scene with this feature debut, with the type of raw and visceral potency that Australia's top genre filmmakers deliver better than anyone on the planet.

Brings to mind the debuts of Creighton's legendary fellow country men, from George Miller and Geoffrey Wright to Greg McLean and Steven Kastrissios. Do not miss.

Screens with short films:

NEW FOLLOWERS

Dir: Guy Pigden/NZ/13:34 min

Four travel Influencers embark on New Zealand’s most famous hike, the Milford Track. Found footage reveals rivalry and jealousy turns to desperation and fear when they discover they are part of someone else’s film.

STALKER

Dir: David Cholewa/FRA/20:15 min

After a vicious assault at a party, a young woman flees the scene. And as she walks back home on a gloomy and threatening Paris night, she can't shake the feeling that she's being followed. As she gets closer to her residence, the presence becomes more and more bold and aggressive. And it is only by confronting her deepest inner fears that she will be able to survive the ominous threat.

WORLD PREMIERE

1 hour 26 min

Dir: Stephen King Simmons

Cast: Danny James, Emily Anne Ashby Martin, Bastian Jesus Carrasco Betemps, Liam Foehl, Tara Berrett, Derek Boone

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Horror writer/director ‘Stephen King Simmons’, of the critically acclaimed and award winning feature THE PARKER SESSIONS, returns with his sophomore nightmare.

Flashback to 1997, for a period coming-of-age horror film about two brothers visiting their recently divorced and estranged father during summer vacation. With plenty of bumps, twists, and terrifying turns along the way, LEAD BELLY keeps the audience guessing until the final frame, and then leaves them shattered.

We are honored to present the world premiere of this incredible film at A Night of Horror 2025. Do not miss it!

Screens with shorts and music video:

CRUCIFIER

Dir: Nalbeat Kwon/USA/2:50 min

A domestic dispute between parents is hell on earth for a child. A surreal portrait of a domestic hell using virtual production technologies.

RABBIT

Dir: Nathan Catucci/USA/2 min

A child unleashes a malevolent force as his mother prepares dinner.

SKINWALKER

Dir: Dylan Bradshaw/USA/15:30 min

Two strangers must unite to hunt down an ancient, forest-dwelling monster that lures victims into the woods by mimicking the voices of their loved ones.

A PRAYER FOR MY FATHER

Dir: Sarah London/USA/10:01min

Decades after she and her late father found an unspeakable horror in the woods, Lola receives a package of his ashes, and along with it the ghost of their shared trauma.

2 hours

Genres: Horror, Sci-Fi, Comedy, Experimental, Underground, Animation

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A Night of Horror and MidWest WeirdFest are proud to present a collaborative program! Prepare to indulge in a weird and bloody crop of short films - made in the speculative and underground genres - by filmmakers based in the Midwest.

DESERT LIMINAL - SWEET WILLIAM

Dir: Nick Rohr/Illinois/7 min

Lovers on the run can never afford to slow down.

GRILLEDCHEESE

Dir: Lucas A Falkavage/Wisconsin/3:51 min

Flirting couldn't go more wrong.

THE GHOST OF D. B. COOPER

Dir: Nick Harkins/Wisconsin/13:33 min

On November 24th 1971, a young boy and comic book enthusiast encounters a mysterious stranger in his home.

ILLUMINATUS!

Dir: Chris Kalis/Illinois/7 min

A young reporter is recruited by a mad genius and his anarchist followers aboard a giant yellow submarine. Their plans to foil the nefarious plots of the Illuminati seem about as unbelievable as the hidden underwater city of Atlantis, where they happen to be going next. This work is based on Robert Shea and Robert Anton WIlson's cult classic novels "The Illuminatus! Trilogy".

THE EVENTS OF THAT NIGHT, AS BEST I CAN REMEMBER

Dir: Brian L Bieber/Iowa/9:10 min

On her way home from a housewarming party, Elise (Dessa) observes—and is observed by—something bizarre, inexplicable, and familiar in the night sky. She leaves the experience shaken, only to find that it has just begun.

Inspired by the type of paranormal experiences too odd to categorize neatly, THE EVENTS OF THAT NIGHT, AS BEST I CAN REMEMBER falls somewhere between traditional genre conventions, under the multifaceted umbrella phenomena referred to by experiencers and researchers as High Strangeness.

THE SKY, THE CANVAS, AND EAU CLAIRE

Dir: Ian Steven/Wisconsin/6 min

A short news piece about an artist who, as a teenager, saw a UFO in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The image of the UFO stayed with her for decades, haunting her until she finally painted it and shared her story with the world.

DAGZILLA

Dir: Ben Brunell/STATE/USA/4:28 min

Dagzilla! A Hodag parody of the hit single GODZILLA by Blue Oyster Cult. A Hodag Store and Inspire Digital Studios Production. Filmed in 2022 in downtown Rhinelander, Wisconsin

Home of the Hodag!

THE LAST WITCH IN WISCONSIN

Dir: Daniel Wheeler/Wisconsin/12:43 min

Two men are lured to a Wisconsin farmhouse where they hear the disturbing tale of Margaret Shaw.

MIDNIGHT SNACK

Dir: Andrew Gibbs/Illinois/1:27 min

A woman’s visit to her kitchen, for a midnight snackm goes terrifyingly wrong.

BAGGAGE

Dir: Peter House/Illinois-Ohio/8:49 min

An overly attentive host messaging a guy at a cabin rental.

BUSH

Dir: Emma Mazurek/ILLINOIS/14:28 min

Alma is meeting her boyfriend's parents for the first time -- at their pool party. She is tense about their opinions of her, but once they start mentioning body hair, her anxiety about her appearance and a sudden strange hair growth force her to shave compulsively.

HOUSE FLY

Dir: Steve Chappell/Wisconsin/3:29 min

It’s a movie that just sort’a unfolded on its own. Started one day when I was sitting in that room, in the film, staring at the pictures on the wall. Pictures that I see all the time, every day. Gears started turning in my head... What do they say to each other when no one is here? If only I were a fly on the wall. Then I would know.

OVERWRITE

Dir: Blake Miller/Illinois/7:41 min

In May of 1987, Colgate Creek's Debra Pierce vanishes without a trace. As the weeks drown on at Colgate High and her friends become increasingly worried, they start to notice the peculiar habits of their student teacher Mr. Travers. One by one and without the others' knowledge, they're invited over to his basement under auspicious means for class, and it's there that they find out what truly happened to Debra Pierce.

DEAD ASTRONAUT: THE SWAN AND THE CRAB

Dir: Benjamin Darvey Hinz/Wisconsin/8:32 min

A skeletal astronaut who has recently earned his freedom from The Company is cruising the galaxy in search of new body parts. On a seemingly peaceful world he encounters shady Company Men, and something truly horrid in the water.

TERMINAL EMULATOR

Dir: Benjamin Capps/Illinois/15:22 min

When a sexually abusive tryst in outer space ends by bloodshed, a distraught corporate executive faces demons after her lover provides a psychedelic, designer drug.

WISCONSIN PREMIERE

1 hour 35 min

Dir: Eric Huskisson and P.J. Starks

Cast: Lily-Claire Harvey, Turner Vaughn, Matthew Tichenor, Jay Woolston, Alyssa Rhoads, Sonya Delormier, Sonya Delormier

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Three best friends involuntarily prepare for a corporate New Year's Eve party. Soon the party turns deadly when a masked murderer sets his sights on them.

A side-splitting and gore-spilling horror comedy, that grabs the slasher sub-genre by the throat and bleeds it dry. Don't miss what is already a cult hit on the fest circuit.

PLUS SPECIAL QUESTS:

Film’s directors Eric Huskisson and P.J. Starks to intro and Q&A!

MIDWEST PREMIERE

1 hour 48 min

Dir: Florian Frerichs

Cast: Nikolai Kinski, Laurine Price, Detlev Buck, Nora Islei, Bruno Eyron, Sharon Kovacs

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A potent adaptation of Arthur Schnitzler's novel of the same title (the inspiration for Stanley Kubrick's EYES WIDE SHUT). Equal parts erotic and disturbing, a woman tells her husband that she has fantasies about other men, triggering a desire for his own sexual adventures.

Set in modern, kinky Berlin, the film is much more than a mere reboot of Kubrick's last film.

Screens with short film:

EVERYTHING THERE IS TO KNOW ABOUT ME

Dir: Yael Grunseit/AUS/9:40 min

Miriam is participating in a scientific trial aiming to teach a humanoid robot named Austin how to best sexually pleasure women. All of Miriam’s memories are implanted into Austin to enhance their connection. For the trial to succeed, Miriam has to lay bare her deepest desires by confronting memories of her past and her mother, the rabbi.

US PREMIERE

1 hour 41 min

Dir: Alejandro G. Alegre

Cast: Tania Niebla, Karina Lechuga, Sebastián Ladrón Mikel, Paola Díaz Izquierdo, Micho Camacho, Blanca Ferreyra

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A paranormal radio show host and self-proclaimed witchcraft expert, meets a group of 20-somethings when she stops at a rural motel during a road trip.

Soon, they will be murdered, one by one, to bring an evil spirit back from the dead.

A taut, haunting, and violent offering from writer/director Alejandro G. Alegre (THE DEVIL TOLD ME WHAT TO DO, ÁNIMA), which cements his place as one of the most talented genre filmmakers in the Spanish speaking world.

Screens with short film:

TURNO DE NOCHE: THE WRONG PLACE

Dir: Juanjo Avi/ESP/15 min

J, the Scrap Yard Watchman, is on duty one more night, accompanied by El Jefe, when a serial killer, and the victim he clumsily let escape, arrive at his humble junkyard.

MIDWEST PREMIERE

1 hour 22 min

Dir: Bari Kang

Cast: Bari Kang, Olivia Kang, Maria Ventura Lucas, Patrick Michael Valley, Rew Starr, Douglas Stirling, Ximena Uribe

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In this gripping tale of survival, a horrific outbreak known as the ITCH! spreads like wildfire, turning its victims into frenzied, self-destructive shells of their former selves.

Jay, a widower grappling with grief and desperation, seeks refuge in a seemingly safe department store alongside his estranged young daughter, Olivia. However, the sanctuary they believed would protect them becomes a nightmarish trap, revealing that the true danger lurks among them.

With the infection closing in and paranoia escalating within the group, Jay and Olivia are forced into a harrowing battle—not just against the outbreak outside, but against the darkness within human hearts when faced with survival.

With every decision bearing the weight of life and death, they must confront their fractured bond and make brutal choices to stay alive, leading to an unimaginable climax that will leave you questioning what it truly means to protect those we love.

Screens with short film and music video:

RELEASE THE HOUNDS

Dir: Bil Richardson/USA/2:43min

Contamination. Infection. Zombification. All to a dark and catchy pop tune from MIchael Shynes & Letra.

WEEKEND DAD: HALLOWEEN

Dir: Nick Rohr/USA/4:50 min

Is it a mute ghost or a shy trick or treater? Whichever the case may be, this Halloween party just got a little spookier!

PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS!

Bari King, writer/director/star to introduce his feature film ITCH! And then to partake in a Q&A following the screening.

Animator and director Nick Rohr to introduce his short WEEKEND DAD: HALLOWEEN.

WISCONSIN PREMIERE

1 hour 34 min

Dir: Stuart Ortiz

Cast: Peter Zizzo, Terri Apple

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A faux true-crime documentary about two detectives pursuit of an infamous serial killer named Mr. Shiny, who terrorized Southern California for almost two decades.

The latest horror hit from award winning writer, director, producer and editor, Stuart Ortiz, which DREAD CENTRAL calls “a pitch perfect found footage film”.

Ortiz co-wrote and co-directed the 2011 cult horror film, GRAVE ENCOUNTERS, as well as GRAVE ENCOUNTERS 2 (2012) and EXTRATERRESTRIAL (2014).

1 hour 57 min

Genres: Horror, Sci-Fi, Comedy, Underground

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Claw into a terrifying buffet of the season’s best in bite-sized and blood-drenched, cinematic gems!

CHEAT MEAL

Dir: Drew Bierut/USA/16:42 min

Suspicious that his girlfriend is cheating on him with her new personal trainer, Owen decides to take matters into his own hands. What he discovers is far more difficult to digest.

SLAVE 4 LOVE

Dir: Michael Shlain/USA/7:14 min

When Mattie comes home with Alis, she learns that some people will do anything for love. Unfolding in one continuous shot, SLAVE 4 LOVE examines the dark side of desire, control and the limits we'll go to for connection.

I AM NEARING THE END OF MY LIFE ONCE AGAIN

Dir: Miles Cohen/USA/14:58 min

A man dying in secret tells his girlfriend a story about his childhood pet.

GRANDMA, MAY I

Dir: Gage Zanghi/USA/13:31min

An ancient, cunning spirit posing as a kindly grandmother offers solace and dark wishes to lonely children on Mischief Night. When a heartbroken boy stumbles into her grasp, she sees the perfect opportunity to fulfill his deepest desires—but at a chilling cost that will bind him to her forever.

TERROR BY NIGHT

Dir: Dean Butler/AUS/15 min

An astral traveller and a detective risk everything to save a child from the clutches of a rogue demon.

FOREVER YOURS

Dir: Elliott Louis McKee/DEU/15:30 min

Following a devastating accident that leaves the love of her life, Sebastian, paralysed, Valeria becomes his dedicated caretaker. Yet, beneath the surface of unwavering devotion, a disturbing obsession begins to emerge.

YOUR PARASITE AND YOU

Dir: Jamie Gower/USA/6:02min

Hosting a parasite is a special time for you and your body. We'll show you how to be the best host ever!

blurb

APOCALYPSE IMMORTAL

Dir: Fabrice Hourlier/FRA/9:12 min

Paul is a war reporter, embarking on a quest to find the Immortal, a legendary hero praised by soldiers, while also searching for his brother, who has gone missing on the front. Through this journey of self-discovery, Paul overcomes his fears and realizes that the Immortal is not a superhuman, but a symbol of hope, an idea.

DEMONS IN THE CLOSET

Dir: James Smith/DEU/1:21 min

A resident is challenged by demons from another realm in his closet.

THE NEIGHBOURHOOD AT THE END OF THE WORLD

Dir: Shane Day/CAN/17:40min

Convinced that her husband has been abducted and replaced by a doppelgänger, Abby Aimes, with the help of her young son, Jetson, take this imposter hostage in order to force him to confess.

The Neighbourhood at the End of the World is a horror film with a fascinating inquest into the darker side of identity and family values.

MIDWEST PREMIERE

1 hour 25 min

Dir: Vivian Kerr

Cast: Scottie Thompson, Jilon VanOver, Connor Paolo,Vivian Kerr

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In 1892 California, a Victorian woman contemplating adultery is forced to take refuge from a storm at the home of her first husband and his unstable wife, who claims to be haunted by their dead child. A pitch-perfect four person ensemble cast, haunting cinematography, and a mounting atmosphere of paranormal dread mixed with shocking twists and turns, makes this sophomore feature from writer/director Vivian Kerr (who also co-stars) the must see supernatural chiller of the year.

Screens with shorts:

A MOTHER’S LOVE

Dir: Lisa Ovies/CAN/2:29 min

A young girl deals with the consequences of trusting someone online.

UMBRA

Dir: Pablo Otero/ESP/10 min

Adriana, a twelve-year-old girl, waits while her mother recovers after giving birth, but the night is long and a hospital holds many secrets and countless doors to open.

SPEAK WITH THE DEAD

Dir: /Stephanie Paris/USA/12:12 min

In 1850 The Fox sisters hold a seance for a wealthy couple who want to call on their deceased son's spirit to give them closure. When the girls' parlor tricks backfire, the audience begins to catch on.

MIDWEST PREMIERE

1 hour 23 min

Dir: Michael Turney

Cast: Andrea Figliomeni, Chrystal Peterson, Shelley Valfer

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Kibby (Andrea Figliomeni) works in a junk-laddened digitizing studio, transferring analog media to modern formats. But on the cusp of a new romantic relationship, her life and body begin to transform, when she unwittingly unlocks an alternative dark dimension, through an old VCR, and unleashes Dr. Analog. Turney has painstakingly crafted a retro-tech, horror-romance that evokes and homages 80s horror, while remaining grounded in the present. The result is one of the most effective, and unique, horror films you'll ever see.

Screens with short films:

HAMMER, WRENCH & SCREWDRIVER

Dir: Gabriel Vilandré/CAN/13 min

Jonathan Cammuso, aged 16, returns to a hardware store to return stolen tools. However, events do not unfold as expected.

THE LAST WORD

Dir: Alejandro Moreno/ESP/15 min

A girl visits her grandmother, whom she hasn't seen in years. But what she finds will not be exactly what she expected.

CLOSING NIGHT FILM!

WORLD PREMIERE

1 hour 34 min

Dir: Chad Ferrin

Cast: Brandon Kirk, Susan Priver, Brinke Stevens

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An unflinching if eerily sympathetic portrayal of the life of American serial killer Edmund Kemper, who murdered his grandparents at age 15.

Then, years later, after being paroled for that crime, killed eight women in 1972 and 1973, including his own mother.

Chad Ferrin - fest alum and modern master of horror - delivers what might just be his most compelling, and his most disturbing, film yet. Sure to become a staple of the serial-killer sub-genre, it's a must see for anyone with an interest in true crime and real-life horror stories.

Screens with short films:

THE MILK SITUATION

Dir: John Ferrer/UK/5 min

In a world overrun with monsters, Pip and Po's clean up service is the only thing that stands between good and evil.

SUGAR TITS

Dir: Heath Benfield/USA/8:11 min

A teeth-obsessed killer kidnaps a new victim to complete his deranged masterpiece.

FOLLOWED BY CLOSING NIGHT AFTER PARTY! (21+ event)

Ticket purchase to the World Premiere of ED KEMPER Includes complimentary drink at the official bar of the festival THE MOUSETRAP TAVERN!