And with that, we wave adieu to the 2026 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards. This was one of the most competitive years in recent memory, and we thank everyone who made their voices heard and cast their ballots. At a minimum, you all made sure that Curry Barker and Kane Parsons would need to reinforce the shelves in their homes where they keep trophies.
Barker's Obsession led the 2026 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards with five wins, including Best Wide Release Movie, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. The film also earned Best Lead Performance for Inde Navarrette and the coveted write-in category for Best Kill. Backrooms followed with three wins, including Best First Feature, Best Cinematography for Jeremy Cox, and Best Score for Kane Parsons and Edo Van Breemen. But there was plenty of room to honor plenty of other titles that contributed to this year's achievements in horror film, television, and gaming.
Michael Varrati wrote and directed the ceremony, and Armen Aghaeian, Tara Ansley, and Abhi Goel executive produced it, with Amanda Grace Collins as lead producer and Phil Nobile Jr. and Varrati as producers.
Here is the full list of our 2026 Chainsaw Awards winners, hosted by living horror icon Devon Sawa. Thanks again for voting and tuning in to join us in the cornfields; we'll see you next year! Missed the live show? Don't worry, you can still catch the 2026 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards on Shudder and YouTube.
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BEST WIDE RELEASE MOVIE: Obsession
- 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Backrooms
- The Bride!
- Faces of Death
- Forbidden Fruits
- Hokum
- Leviticus
- Obsession
- Send Help
- Weapons
BEST LIMITED RELEASE MOVIE: Dust Bunny
- Dust Bunny
- Mārama
- Queens of the Dead
- The Serpent's Skin
- Touch Me
BEST STREAMING PREMIERE: V/H/S/Halloween
- I Am Frankelda
- Influencers
- Mother of Flies
- Reflection in a Dead Diamond
- V/H/S/Halloween
BEST INTERNATIONAL MOVIE: Exit 8
- Alpha
- Exit 8
- Mārama
- Reflection in a Dead Diamond
- The Wailing
BEST FIRST FEATURE: Backrooms
- Backrooms
- Buffet Infinity
- Dust Bunny
- Iron Lung
- Queens of the Dead
BEST SERIES: Widow's Bay
- Alien: Earth
- The Creep Tapes
- Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen
- The Vampire Lestat
- Widow’s Bay
BEST LEAD PERFORMANCE: Indie Navarrette, Obsession
- Zazie Beetz, They Will Kill You
- Jessie Buckley, The Bride!
- Peter Dinklage, The Toxic Avenger
- Chiwetel Ejiofor, Backrooms
- Ralph Fiennes, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Rachel McAdams, Send Help
- Inde Navarette, Obsession
- Toby Poser, Mother of Flies
- Adam Scott, Hokum
- Sophie Sloan, Dust Bunny
BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMANCE: Amy Madigan, Weapons
- Stacy Clausen, Leviticus
- Jacob Elordi, Frankenstein
- Elle Fanning, Predator: Badlands
- Regina Hall, Scary Movie
- David Jonsson, The Long Walk
- Amy Madigan, Weapons
- Mads Mikkelsen, Dust Bunny
- Dacre Montgomery, Faces of Death
- Jack O'Connell, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Sigourney Weaver, Dust Bunny
BEST DIRECTOR: Curry Barker, Obsession
- Curry Barker, Obsession
- Zach Cregger, Weapons
- Nia DaCosta, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Bryan Fuller, Dust Bunny
- Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Bride!
BEST SCREENPLAY: Curry Barker, Obsession
- Curry Barker, Obsession
- Zach Cregger, Weapons
- Alex Garland, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Isa Mazzei and Daniel Goldhaber, Faces of Death
- Damian McCarthy, Hokum
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY: Jeremy Cox, Backrooms
- Sean Bobbitt, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Jeremy Cox, Backrooms
- Andrew Droz Palermo & Rina Yang, Mother Mary
- Nicole Hirsch Whitaker, Dust Bunny
- Colm Hogan, Hokum
This award was presented by Blackmagic Design.
BEST SCORE: Kane Parsons and Edo Van Breemen, Backrooms
- Gavin Brivik, Faces of Death
- Alexandre Desplat, Frankenstein
- Hildur Guðnadóttir, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Daniel Hart, Mother Mary
- Kane Parsons & Edo Van Breemen, Backrooms
BEST COSTUME DESIGN: Kate Hawley, Frankenstein
- Olivier Bériot & Catherine Leterrier, Dust Bunny
- Kate Hawley, Frankenstein
- Carson McColl & Gareth Pugh, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Sandy Powell, The Bride!
- David Tabbert, Queens of the Dead
BEST MAKEUP FX: Mike Hill, Frankenstein
- Olivier Bériot & Catherine Leterrier, Dust Bunny
- Kate Hawley, Frankenstein
- Carson McColl & Gareth Pugh, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple
- Sandy Powell, The Bride!
- David Tabbert, Queens of the Dead
BEST CREATURE FX: Jim Henson's Creature Shop, Five Nights at Freddy's 2
- Legacy Effects, Dust Bunny
- Studio Gillis and Wētā Workshop, Predator: Badlands
- Millennium FX, Primate
- Werner Pretorius and Amazing Ape Productions, Backrooms
- Jim Henson's Creature Shop, Five Nights at Freddy's 2
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE: In Search of Darkness: 1995–1999
- 1000 Women in Horror
- Chain Reactions
- In Search of Darkness: 1995-1999
- The Last Sacrifice
- Strange Journey: The Story of Rocky Horror
BEST NON-FICTION SERIES: The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs
- The Boulet Brothers' Dragula: Titans
- Grave Conversations
- The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs
- Monstrum
- Svengoolie
BEST VIDEO GAME: Resident Evil: Requiem
- Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly Remake
- Little Nightmares III
- No, I’m Not A Human
- Resident Evil: Requiem
- Silent Hill f
BEST KILL: Obsession, Brick Kill
- This is a write-in category.
EDITOR'S EYEBALL AWARD: Joe Bird
- FANGORIA Editor-in-Chief Phil Nobile Jr. presented the Editor's Eyeball Award to rising star Joe Bird (Talk to Me, Leviticus), recognizing his early achievements and promising future in horror.
EDITOR'S EYEBALL AWARD: James A. Janisse and Chelsea Rebecca, Dead Meat
- Phil Nobile Jr. then surprised co-presenter James A. Janisse with a second Editor's Eyeball Award, honoring Janisse and Chelsea Rebecca, the creators of Dead Meat, for their contributions to horror fandom and for introducing a new generation to the genre.
CHAINSAW AWARD FOR GOODEST BOY: Indy, Good Boy
- Cujo star Dee Wallace presented Indy, the canine star of Good Boy, with the Chainsaw Award for Goodest Boy. Indy appeared alongside director Ben Leonberg to accept the honor after earning enthusiastic write-in support from fans during the nomination process.
Thank you to our sponsors for making this year's show possible!
- FANGORIA Creative Director Jason Kauzlarich created all of our winner graphics.
- We'll see you next year!
BJ Colangelo
Digital Managing Editor, since 2013
BJ Colangelo is a green-haired Mouthy Midwest Broad in L.A. who works as an entertainment journalist, film theorist, media analyst, author, podcaster, sensitivity reader, host, interviewer, and consistent contributor to physical media releases because none of us are allowed to have one job anymore.
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