Grimmfest isn’t done with 2025 yet. The festival returns 5–8 December with a UK-only online edition, giving home audiences a chance to catch thirteen titles from this year’s live lineup, including several we loved.
Chief among them from our view is Bad Haircut, playing here in its international premiere. Kyle Misak’s deliriously confident horror-comedy turns a barbershop visit into a full-blown nightmare. It’s a film that knows exactly how to orchestrate chaos and mayhem: from the rhythm of the script to the commitment of its cast. Frankie Ray’s unhinged barber is pure showmanship, and Spencer Levin’s hapless customer gives the film its humanity. We called it one of the year’s standout debuts – we reckon it’s the online festival’s must-see.
The wider slate covers everything from underground terror (Where Darkness Dwells) to meta menace (Content) and liminal romance (Shadows of Willow Cabin), with UK premieres of Don’t Hang Up, Adorable Humans and The Treehouse, plus new work from Gabriel Carrer and Matt Stuertz.
For anyone who missed the Manchester screenings, this digital encore is a sharp reminder of why Grimmfest remains one of the UK’s most reliable genre curators – and why Bad Haircut deserves a wider audience.
Grimmfest Part 2: The Online Edition runs 5–8 December 2025, UK only.
Tickets and info: https://www.grimmfest.com/grimmfest-online
Full list of films and press release:
THE FILMS
BAD HAIRCUT, director Kyle Misak (International premiere)
A young man’s desire for a cool new haircut, backfires spectacularly when he finds himself confronted by a flamboyantly psychopathic barber.
WHERE DARKNESS DWELLS, director Michael May (International premiere)
A young reporter’s search for a missing girl leads her into subterranean terrors and her own dark past.
CONTENT, director Adam Meilech (International premiere)
A psychopathic wannabe filmmaker catfishes ambitious would-be actors into an increasingly dangerous “real life” movie.
SHADOWS OF WILLOW CABIN, director Joe Fria (International premiere)
Two damaged men in search of love find themselves trapped within a limbo of their own past traumas.
THE HAVEN, director Mike Clarke (International premiere)
A desperate woman seeking sanctuary from a viral outbreak finds that the real threat may be closer to home.
DON’T HANG UP, director Alex Herron (UK premiere)
A young woman’s late-night call for help becomes a terrifying descent into guilt, grief, and supernatural retribution.
ADORABLE HUMANS, director Michelle Garza Cervera (UK premiere)
A collection of modern fairy tales exploring desire, delusion, and the monstrous side of love.
THE TREEHOUSE, director Thomas Sainsbury (UK premiere)
A woman investigating her sister’s mysterious death uncovers a secret that challenges her grip on reality.
DEATH CYCLE, director Gabriel Carrer (Northern UK premiere)
An ex-biker drawn back into a violent world of revenge and ritual finds that the road never truly ends.
IT NEEDS EYES, directors Zack Ogle & Aaron Pagniano (Northern UK premiere)
A teenage voyeur becomes obsessed with a series of disappearances that mirror his own dark fantasies.
HUMAN, director Matt Stuertz (Northern UK premiere)
A twisted experiment in survival pits man against machine in a delirious, blood-splattered feedback loop.
THE DRIFTLESS, director Tim Connery (Audience favourite)
A haunting Midwestern portmanteau about people trying, and failing, to find peace in the spaces between.
FRANKIE, MANIAC WOMAN, director Pierre Tsigaridis (Audience favourite)
A feverish portrait of artistic obsession and psychic collapse, where the performance never ends.
GRIMMFEST 2025 – PART 2 – ONLINE EDITION
The UK’s leading festival of horror, dark fantasy and genre cinema returns for an extra slice of the action.
To celebrate its 17th anniversary year, Grimmfest presents an online edition running 5–8 December 2025, featuring thirteen feature films hand-picked from the 2025 programme.
Five international premieres, three UK premieres, three Northern UK premieres and two returning audience favourites will be available to stream exclusively within the UK.
Curated to extend Grimmfest’s mission of bringing cutting-edge genre cinema to as many viewers as possible, this second chapter gives audiences a chance to catch up on acclaimed premieres and discover new work from emerging international filmmakers.
Dates: 5–8 December 2025
Access: UK only
More info and tickets: https://www.grimmfest.com/grimmfest-online
Whitlock&Pope 