Outer Banks Halloween Film Festival Schedule Unveiled, Tickets on Sale Now
Halloween Daily News and OBX Entertainment are resurrecting the Halloween International Film Festival this October on the historic and haunted Outer Banks, North Carolina, where the town of Manteo is transforming into “Halloween Island,” and our 2025 Official Selections have been unveiled, including five features and more than 20 shorts.
The festival features three days of independent horror and Halloween-themed films from around the world, as well as networking opportunities and extensive media exposure, all taking place as the kickoff event for the town of Manteo’s Halloween Island festivities, during which area restaurants, bars, and businesses transform into Halloween popups for October.
Films selected for the festival this year will be shown on the big screen at the legendary Pioneer Theater in Manteo, NC, including Q&A sessions with attending filmmakers, nightly meet and greets, photo ops on our Orange Carpet, an outdoor Halloween vendor market, and numerous Halloween Island festivities happening each day in easy walking distance throughout Downtown Manteo. Our iconic host venue dates back to 1918, originally showing silent films in the earliest days of moviemaking, later opening its current location in 1934, and is a truly independent cinematic landmark in itself.
A portion of proceeds from this year’s festival will be donated to A Pathway Forward, a locally based nonprofit charity that supports veterans.
Highlights of this year’s feature film selections include the World Premiere of the screenlife horror movie Groupchat from the U.K. with director Dan Brownlie and producer Mel Morley in attendance on Thursday, Oct. 2, the North Carolina premieres of Haunted House of Pancakes with director Nate Dalton and Haunt Season Uncensored with director Jake Jarvi both in attendance for Q&As on Friday, Oct. 3, and the fantasy horror of Curse of Crom 2 and extreme gore of Devour with director, producer, and select cast in attendance on Saturday, Oct. 4.
Among the 22 officially selected funsize shorts, the Halloween section is particularly robust this year, totally nine films in all, including the North Carolina premiere of meta slasher Rough Cut from HIFF alum Mitchell Slan (Balloon), a journey through Halloweens and horror aesthetics of the past in Horror Spell, a wicked Devil’s Night deal in Grandma, May I, and much more.
The festival will showcase films made in North Carolina with six shorts over two blocks screening on Thursday, Oct. 2, and Saturday, Oct. 4, both with panel discussions to follow.
The Halloween International Film Festival is happening October 2-4, 2025 at The Pioneer Theater, in Manteo, on North Carolina’s Outer Banks, presented by Halloween Daily News, sponsored by the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, Four Sea-Sons Beach Cottage Vacation Rental, Gallop Funeral Services, Haunted Hill Farm, Toxic Coffin, Haunted Pamlico, Let’s Talk Terror, Weird Darkness, Lake Hickory Haunts, Fright-Rags, Halloween Island, and the 12th Annual Outer Banks Halloween Parade.
THURSDAY 10/2
3:00 p.m. – Shorts Block #1 – Road Trip to Hell
- SCRATCH (dir. Michael Trainotti / U.S. / 24min) – From HIFF alum and two-time HIFF award winner Michael Trainotti. – A Father/Son weekend adventure becomes a terrifying fight for survival.
- COW (dir. Carlos R. Tkacz / U.S. / 23min) [N.C. PREMIERE] – On their dream adventure, Sam and Kyle are attacked by a mysterious killer wearing a cow skull mask and have to fight to survive.
4:00 p.m. – Shorts Block #2 – Twisted NC
- THE FIVE STAGES OF… (dir. Glenn L. Lissner / U.S. / 6min) – As a husband copes with loss, he soon realizes that things are rapidly going from tragic to worse.
- BOBBY CAME HOME (dir. Dave Harlequin / U.S. / 8min) with director in attendance – After being missing for several months, a woman’s husband suddenly returns home with no memory of where he’s been.
- THE ENSUING (dir. Daljit Kalsi / S. / 16min) with writer/actor/producer in attendance – A group of hikers are invited to go check out an urban legend at an abandoned tunnel by Terri, their guide. They agree to go check it out but along the way things go terribly wrong.
- THE TALK (dir. Cameron Voris / U.S. / 14min) – A young girl prepares for her “first time” and shares a heart to heart with her mother. Meanwhile, her father is left to attend to his daughter’s date for the evening. Needless to say, the night gets a little intense.
5:00 p.m. – NC Fear in Film Q&A Panel
6:00 p.m. – Meet & Greet, Orange Carpet Photo Ops
7:00 p.m. – GROUPCHAT (dir. Dan Brownlie / U.K. / 1hr 22min) [WORLD PREMIERE] with director Dan Brownlie and producer Mel Morley Q&A panel – A grieving game master’s new online role-playing adventure spirals into a deadly reality, trapping players in a supernatural fight for survival. Featuring Debbie Rochon.
9:00 p.m. – [Special Screening TBA]
FRIDAY 10/3
3:00 p.m. – Shorts Block #3 – Scary Funny
- LOOKING FOR MICHAEL (dir. Walker MacDonald / Canada / 17min) [U.S. PREMIERE] – A Halloween super fan travels to Illinois in search of Haddonfield, the town where it all began.
- THE LITTERBUG (dir. Jesse Womack / U.S. / 9min) with director in attendance – Park Ranger Charlie and her young recruit Ranger Casey track down a serial litterer, the Litterbug.
- THE PARCEL (dir. Jared Tipton / U.S. / 9min) [N.C. PREMIERE] Chad’s first day on a new job takes a gut wrenching turn. Starring special FX legend Alec Gillis.
- HALLOWEEN HEADLINERS (dir. Chris Carter, John Simpson, Christopher Miniaci / U.S. / 14min) – At a remote campground, longtime drag rivals Elvirus and Betty Whitecastle face off as co-headliners of a Halloween show destined to be unforgettable. But when the lights go down, the night takes a deadly turn… and the battle for the spotlight becomes a fight for survival.
4:00 p.m. – HAUNTED HOUSE OF PANCAKES (dir. Nate Dalton / U.S. / 1hr 27min) with director Nate Dalton Q&A – On Halloween Night, a demonic possession takes over a diner, transforming the food into bloodthirsty creatures out for revenge.
6:00 p.m. – Meet & Greet, Orange Carpet Photo Ops
7:00 p.m. – Shorts Block #4 – Wicked World
- THE BLOOD WITCH (dir. Austin Torres / U.S. / 9min) – Trying to impress his new girlfriend, Aaron tells Kelly the “legend” of The Blood Witch, not realizing he may be summoning the wrath of a bloodthirsty being.
- A FRIENDLY REFERRAL (dir. Edward Mizner / U.S. / 13min) with director in attendance – A babysitter discovers an evil secret about the family she’s working for.
- GRANDMA, MAY I (dir. Gage Zanghi / U.S. / 14min) [N.C. PREMIERE] with director in attendance – 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.
- WHITCH (dir. Hoku Uchiyama / U.S. / 6min) – After putting her daughter to bed, Aura finds that an elderly woman has broken into her house. The intruder, who acts strangely familiar, begins a ritual, summoning something dark into the living room.
8:00 p.m. – Horrors of Indie Filmmaking Q&A Panel
9:00 p.m. – HAUNT SEASON (UNCENSORED) (dir. Jake Jarvi / U.S. / 1hr 21min) [EAST COAST PREMIERE] with writer/director Jake Jarvi Q&A – On Halloween Night, a masked killer unleashes a whirlwind of violence on anyone visiting a local haunt, bringing the terrifying sacrificial origins of All Hallows’ Eve into the modern-day.
SATURDAY 10/4
3:00 p.m. – Shorts Block #5 (38min) – Twisted NC Part 2
- MOUSESHROOMS (dir. Shalia Fuentes-Matthews / U.S. / 9min) – A psychedelic experience in an abandoned warehouse is interrupted by a building inspector and a talking rat.
- PRETTY POLLY (dir. Roman Leary / U.S. / 29min) – A ghostly modern spin on a classic 18th-century murder ballad.
3:40 p.m. – NC Fear in Film Q&A Panel
4:00 p.m. – CURSE OF CROM 2 (dir. Rob York / U.S., Ireland / 1hr 42min) – When Irish demon Crom abducts Mary Eldritch during Halloween season, her stepdad teams with her deadbeat ex-boyfriend on a quest for Mary that will take them all the way to Ireland and the ancient tomb of Crom himself.
6:00 p.m. – Meet & Greet, Orange Carpet Photo Ops
7:00 p.m. – Shorts Block #6 – Hallowed Horror
- GRIN (dir. J.P. Hoffman / U.S. / 6min) – Beneath his mask, a haunters twisted smile turns deadly-tonight the screams are real.
- SLASH-O-LANTERN PART II (dir. Taylor McManus, Matthew McManus / U.S. / 9min) – Kevin and James deal with the aftermath of their brush with death on Halloween night. As Hazel Falls P.D. arrive on the scene, they quickly realize the nightmare isn’t over just yet.
- JACK’S LANTERN (dir. Michael R. Ciminna / U.S. / 25min) [N.C. PREMIERE] with director/cast in attendance (pending) – A lonely boy, who believes his jack-o-lanterns come to life, is drawn to carve a pumpkin on Halloween night. While his mother tries to shield him from the scary truth.
- JUST STAY IN (dir. Noah J. Welter / U.S. / 15min) – It’s Halloween in 2003. All that Jeremy wants to do is go trick-or-treating but his overbearing parents won’t let him go. So, he decides to sneak out with his friends. Some nights, it’s better to just stay in.
- ROUGH CUT (dir. Mitchell Slan / U.S. / 8min) [N.C. PREMIERE] with director/producer in attendance – On Halloween Night, a video editor cuts a horror movie shot by Mr. Cackle… LIVE.
- HORROR SPELL (dir. Daniel Ziegler / U.S. / 22min) [N.C. PREMIERE] – One year after witnessing her roommate’s murder, college student Haven joins friends for a Halloween horror marathon. Still haunted by her past and desperate to move on, she unintentionally unleashes a reality-altering spell from a mysterious book that brings the movies to life.
8:30 p.m. – Halloween in Horror Q&A Panel
9:00 p.m. – DEVOUR (dir. Scott Hansen / U.S. / 1hr 55min) [N.C. PREMIERE] with director Scott Hansen, producer Desiree Hansen, and select cast Q&A panel, including J. Gaven Wilde (The Righteous Gemstones, The Black Phone, Halloween Kills) – A female metal band of vampires face a group of cannibals headed by an infamous warlock in this Halloween-set extreme gore-fest bleeding with insane practical monsters and visceral carnage.
NOTE: All films are unrated and uncensored, often featuring violence, blood, extreme gore, nudity, and disturbing themes, and should be considered for mature audiences only. Anyone under 17 must be accompanied by an adult.
*Schedule subject to change.
RSVP on the official Facebook event page.
Additional sponsorship opportunities are available here.
