The 2026 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards are nearly upon us! It’s time for you to make your voice heard, dear reader, and cast your vote for the best in horror over the past year. Voting is live right now and we have well over a dozen different categories for you to weigh in on.
You can check out the full list of nominees in every category right here but we’re going to highlight the big one right now; Best Wide Release. Horror is as hot as it’s ever been, but which movie that made its way to the masses in a theater near you was the best of the best? Did you enjoy watching Sam Raimi back in the horror realm? Did you love Aunt Gladys doing messed up witchy stuff in suburbia? Pick your favorite and make your voice heard. Let’s run down the nominees…
28 Years Later: The Bone Temple – Directed by Nia DaCosta
Danny Boyle and Alex Garland finally revisited the zombie saga they started in the early 2000s with 28 Years Later in 2025. Fortunately, they didn’t make us wait very long for the next installment, which arrived in the form of the absolutely bonkers 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple. Directed by Nia DaCosta, it’s a sequel that goes harder in every single way. A sequel that Fango’s own Amber T called “A terrifying horror movie sequel for the ages.”
With a script by Garland and a cast led by Jack O’Connell, Alfie Williams, Erin Kellyman and Ralph Fiennes, it’s one heck of a ride. It’s the kind of movie that feels hard to imagine a big studio like Sony would make. And yet here we are.
Backrooms – Directed by Kane Parsons
There is (almost) no story bigger in the world of horror this year than that of Backrooms. Released by A24 and directed by Kane Parsons, it took the viral videos he made based on the popular internet creepypasta and turned it into a bonafide, inventive blockbuster full of liminal terror. One that became a downright box office sensation. Even more impressive? Parsons just celebrated his 21st birthday.
Working from a script by Will Soodik with a cast that includes the likes of Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve, this is one of the unexpected, feel-good horror stories of the year. This probably won’t be the last we’ve seen of Parsons around these parts.
THE BRIDE! – Directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal
The Frankenstein mythos has been tackled many, many times over the years, but never quite like this. Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride! is the wildest Frankenstein film in years, delivering a spectacle the likes of which almost defies comparison. One part Bonnie and Clyde, one part The Bride of Frankenstein, all resulting in something wholly unique. Warner Bros. was wild for this one.
Gyllenhaal penned the script based on Mary Shelley’s iconic text, with a cast led by Jessie Buckley, Christian Bale, Annette Bening, Penelope Cruz and Peter Sarsgaard. If there’s a polar opposite of run-of-the-mill in the realm of horror, this is it.
Faces of Death – Directed by Daniel Goldhaber
The original Faces of Death is legendary in horror circles. It felt legitimately scary in a real-world sort of way. But how does one make something feel that dangerous in the modern world? Enter director Daniel Goldhaber’s Faces of Death remake. Focusing on a content moderator who encounters what appear to be re-enactments of murders from the original film, it takes the concept and spins in on its head for modern audiences.
Goldhaber co-wrote the script alongside Isa Mazzei, with a cast led by Barbie Ferreira, Darce Montgomery and pop star Charlie XCX, this is a remake that truly sets itself apart from the original.
Forbidden Fruits – Directed by Meredith Alloway
Writing for Fango, Lindsay Traves called Forbidden Fruits “an inspired slice of cinema that makes you wonder, is this real witchcraft or is it girlie games? Or are those things one and the same?” It’s a witchy movie for the new generation. Directed by Meredith Alloway with an all-star cast, this movie about a coven working together at a mall feels destined for cult status.
Alloway wrote the script alongside Lily Houghton with a cast led by Lily Reinhart, Victoria Pedretti, Alexandra Shipp and Lola Tung. Before Houghton’s feature debut becomes a future cult favorite, it’s contending for Fango’s biggest prize of the year.
Hokum – Directed by Damian McCarthy
Horror fans in the know were very aware of one Mr. Damian McCarthy, as Oddity was too scary and too good to be ignored. But McCarthy further asserted himself as one of the genre directors we need to watch with Hokum, another truly scary, inventive and fun ride. It sees a horror writer visit an Irish inn to scatter his parents' ashes. Spooky shit ensues. It’s a simple premise, but one that McCarthy more than makes the most of.
McCarthy also penned the screenplay for his latest, with Adam Scott in the lead role. The supporting cast includes Peter Coonan, David Wilmot and Florence Ordesh. NEON has developed a reputation for quality in recent years. It makes every bit of sense that they would hitch their wagon to this one, giving it the spotlight it deserved.
Leviticus – Directed by Adrian Chiarella
One of the most recent releases to make the cut, Leviticus was one of the international horror movies that demanded a spot on your watchlist in June. So much so that it’s now nominated for the top prize at this year’s Chainsaw Awards. Director Adrian Chiarella’s supernatural feature focuses on two teenage boys who must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most – each other.
Chiarella also penned the screenplay, with a cast led by Joe Bird, Stacy Clausen and Tyallah Bullock once again, NEON proving that they know ball and know a damn good horror movie when they see one.
Obsession – Directed by Curry Barker
Come what may when it comes to awards, there is no bigger story in horror this year than Obsession. The biggest surprise box office hit of 2026 is also leading the charge with a new crop of young talent that is emerging from YouTube. Curry Barker has made his mark not just on horror, but with cinema in general thanks to his twisted wish-gone-wrong romance flick. Oh and, not for nothing, he made the movie for less than $1 million.
Barker also penned the screenplay for his feature debut, with a cast led by Michael Johnston, Inde Navarrette, Cooper Tomlinson and Megan Lawless. Win or lose this particular award, nobody can deny that Obsession is a big winner this year.
Send Help – Directed by Sam Raimi
Sam Raimi is an unquestioned master of his craft dating back to The Evil Dead. Raimi spent several years making big ass blockbusters, including Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but he finally decided to head back to his horror roots with Send Help. A delightfully twisted take on the whole people stranded on an island after a plane crash setup, it was executed in the way only Raimi could.
Working from a script by Damian Shannon and Mark Swift, the cast is led by Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien. Simple yet remarkably effective, it just feels right to have Raimi back in the realm of horror.
Weapons – Directed by Zach Cregger
Zach Cregger burst onto the scene in 2022 with Barbarian and from the second Justin Long busted out that tape measure, we know the man had the goods. Cregger went bigger and crazier with his follow-up, Weapons, which went on to become an Oscar-winning sensation. Taking place after all but one child from the same class mysteriously vanishes on the same night at exactly the same time, it’s a wild ride. Aunt Gladys became an instant horror icon and this category simply wouldn’t feel right without this movie in it.
Cregger also penned the screenplay, with a cast that includes Julia Garner, Josh Brolin, Alden Ehrenreich, Benedict Wong and Amy Madigan, who made her permanent mark on the genre as Aunt Gladys.
The polls are now officially open and close on July 15 at 11:59 PM PST. Vote now, horror fans! The FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards will be broadcast October 25 on Shudder, so be sure to tune in.
