Grimmfest 2025 Reveals Full Lineup of Premieres and International Horror
- Horror Movies Uncut
- Aug 18
- 3 min read
As horror fans prepare for this year’s Fantastic Fest in Austin, Grimmfest has released its full slate for 2025, offering a wide-ranging selection of premieres from across the genre spectrum. The Manchester-based festival, known for its sharp curation and international scope, will run from October 9–12 at the Odeon Great Northern.
Festival co-director Simeon Halligan will open the event with the world premiere of Past Life, a psychological thriller set in the 1980s, starring Jeremy Piven, Pixie Lott, Aneurin Barnard, and Tim McInnerny. The film explores themes of repressed memory and regression therapy through the lens of unsolved murder.
This year’s lineup includes over 20 new feature films, many making their world, international, European, or UK premieres. Several films recently featured in industry conversations—such as Rabbit Trap—are included, alongside new work from established voices and emerging talent. Among them is Incomplete Chairs, a new splatter satire from Japanese filmmaker Kenichi Ugana.
World Premieres
Past Life
Directed by Simeon Halligan and Rachel Richardson-Jones, this Manchester-set thriller follows a therapist navigating a twisted murder mystery rooted in the 1980s.
Syphon
Tom Botchii (ARTIK) returns with a brutal revenge story centered on a hacker who learns the consequences of his digital crimes.
Lily’s Ritual
A group of young witches confront deadly consequences in Manu Herrera’s homage to ’80s and ’90s occult horror.
The Driftless
A horror anthology set in the American Midwest, where each antique in a local shop comes with its own sinister tale. Directed by Tim Connery.
International Premieres
Landlord
A Black bounty hunter encounters a vampire operating out of an apartment complex in Remington Smith’s neo-realist genre hybrid.
I See the Demon
A surprise birthday spirals into psychedelic horror in Jacob Lees Johnson’s latest, starring Jon Heder and Alexis Zollicoffer.
Tribe
Found footage meets cosmic horror in Dan Asma’s story of memory loss and conspiracy.
Weekend at the End of the World
A dark comedy involving two drunk friends who find themselves central to the fate of the universe. Directed by Gille Klabin.
Wormtown
Parasitic organisms meet religious extremism in Sergio Pinheiro’s allegorical body horror.
Itch!
A father and daughter are trapped inside their 99-cent store while a violent outbreak unfolds outside. Directed by Bari Kang.
Incomplete Chairs
Kenichi Ugana’s satire centers on a perfectionist furniture designer who takes his craft to deadly extremes.
European Premieres
Forgive Us All
A widow embarks on a journey of survival and redemption in this post-apocalyptic Western from Jordana Stott, starring Lily Sullivan and Richard Roxburgh.
Frankie, Maniac Woman
Director Pierre Tsigaridis returns with a scathing examination of misogyny in the entertainment industry.
UK Premieres
Squealers
Animal rights activists are hunted by slaughterhouse workers in Abel Ferry’s brutal survival horror.
The Other
A white couple adopts a traumatized Black child in Paul Etheredge’s sociopolitical take on the “demon child” subgenre.
Beast of War
ANZAC soldiers stranded in shark-infested waters struggle to survive in Kiah Roache-Turner’s latest thriller.
Don’t Leave the Kids Alone
A pair of brothers realize they’re not alone in the house in Emilio Portes’ supernatural dark comedy.
Northern Premieres
Rabbit Trap
Dev Patel and Rosy McEwen star as a musician couple confronting the supernatural in Bryn Chainey’s folk horror set in rural England.
Deviant
A Tinder user falls into a nightmare Christmas scenario in Daniel M. Caneiro’s twisted holiday entry.
Dead by Dawn
A troupe of actors discovers their latest performance is part of a ritual sacrifice in Dawid Torrone’s giallo-inspired thriller.
Kombucha
A new employee at a bizarre workplace begins to question the reality around him in Jake Myers’ satire of corporate life and creative exploitation.
Festival Details
Grimmfest 2025 will be held from Thursday, October 9 to Sunday, October 12 at the Odeon Great Northern in Manchester, UK. Full festival passes, day tickets, and additional programming information are currently available on the festival’s official website.
Additional announcements—including virtual screening access and livestream events—are expected in the coming weeks.
For tickets and full schedule: grimmfest.com
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