Grimmfest 2025 Reveals Surprise Feature GOOD BOY & Unveils Shorts Programmes

Grimmfest 2025 Reveals Surprise Feature GOOD BOY & Unveils Shorts Programmes

Manchester’s International Festival of Fantastic Film is about to go full throttle. Grimmfest returns to the Odeon Great Northern from October 9–12, 2025, packing four days of ferocious genre cinema into its fifteenth edition.

The big reveal? The festival’s “surprise” feature has been confirmed as a special preview screening of GOOD BOY, Ben Leonberg’s much-anticipated tale of canine loyalty tested against a house full of malevolent forces. Fans have been buzzing about Leonberg’s feature, and its presence at Grimmfest sets the tone for what’s shaping up to be a boundary-pushing program.

But that’s not all. This year’s shorts slate is a monster in its own right: six international premieres, ten UK premieres, and three themed showcases that promise to unsettle and delight in equal measure.

PROGRAMME ONE: 

Family Values

Blood ties turn twisted in this selection of body horror, folk terror, and psychological unease. Highlights include Jorge Sermini’s DAUGHTER with practical FX by Steven Kostanski (Psycho Goreman), Javier Méndez Cañada’s grotesque folk nightmare MU, and Ryan Couldrey’s dementia-fueled chiller TIME EATER.

PROGRAMME TWO: 

Awkward

From performance anxiety to dangerous social faux pas, this block mines the horrors of everyday interactions. Expect Sam Fox’s sultry “Jazz Horror” OPEN WIDE, Emily Bennett’s wry one-woman AFFIRMATION, Jordan Pfeifer’s sinister party-game descent CALL EARL, and James P. Gleason’s sadistic dental nightmare BABY BLUES – GOING DARK.

PROGRAMME THREE: 

The Crawling Chaos

Lovecraftian dread and cosmic horror fuel this lineup. Paolo Gaudio reimagines DAGON in stop-motion, Guilherme Daniel twists Pickman’s Model into CANTO, and Joseph Diaz’s TRIANGLE spans dimensions with Ezquiel Rodriguez and Jaume Balagueró in tow. Other standouts include UNDER THE ICE, IMPOSTER SYNDROME, and Polly Schattel’s AFTER THE FALL.

Two shorts are paired with features: Tamás Rolfesz’s animated Lovecraftian homage MISSING PARTS (screening with TRIBE), and Adam Azimov’s chilling LOUD (screening with Rabbit Trap).

With GOOD BOY leading the way and the shorts stacked with premieres, Grimmfest 2025 looks set to push genre boundaries across the board.

🎟️ Passes and tickets are on sale now at grimmfest.com/festival.