The southern Florida horror community will receive a very special treat this year for Halloween. October 1st will launch the first ever horror film festival for Miami, Florida. They have called it Popcorn Frights.

Popcorn Frights looks to focus on all the best non-studio made horror films that were made this year. The line-up reads as a who’s who of independent horror. With most horror films today being made an incredibly low budgets, these festivals are great opportunities for Fear Makers to really show their craft. The most expensive horror film out this year so far was the remake of Poltergeist (which our opinion on is pretty obvious). Popcorn Frights looks to scare movie goers with all original content from all around the world.

Some highlights of films that are showing include their opening night screening which is a Florida

premiere of, you guessed it, Tales of Halloween. It is important to understand that Tales of Halloween is the essence of independent horror film making today and there is a reason it is opening and closing festivals around the world. Other films include the Thanksgiving home invasion short film Invaders, North American premiere of monster flick Howl, the buzzing ghost story Hush, the campy and fun soon to be midnight classic Crow Hand!!!, among much much more. Check out below for information on all of Popcorn Frights main features for the weekend. Although only four features are being presented, the shorts certainly will leave the horror fanatic satisfied.

Popcorn Frights comes from the masterminds of Marc Ferman, who has been screening cult classics and horror films in the south Florida area since 2012 and Igor Shteyrenberg who is the director of the Miami Jewish Film Festival. As much as they enjoys the classics, they wanted to focus on looking ahead to the future of newer filmmakers that are making waves within this confusing time for the horror industry. Shteyrenberg is quoted “We’re not making a buck out of this. We hope it’ll be one of those experiences that brings people together to share something they love: Horror films.”

With festivals like Popcorn Frights popping up all over the country, it is difficult to deny the success and need for original, creative horror. Horror, like any genre, goes through cycles and currently the cycle of the indie horror is rising. Studios are not successful on their expensive horror films, but they are willing to pick up little small budget indie films and release them to the world; such as It Follows. Even if you are not able to attend this festival, certainly be on the look out for all these films as they are independent and original and would certainly love your support.

The Popcorn Frights Film Festival runs Thursday October 1st through Oct. 4 at O Cinema Wynwood, 90 NW 29th St., Miami. Tickets are $12 per screening or you can get yourself a festival badge which is good for all shows for only $45. For more information, visit www.popcornfrights.comor call 305-571-9970. For more up to date information follow Popcorn Frights HERE

The Current Line Up For Popcorn Frights Film Festival

FEATURES ‘Tales of Halloween‘ – FLORIDA PREMIERE. Ten tales of terror unfold in a sleepy suburb on All Hallows Eve as ghouls, imps, aliens, goblins, demons, axe murders, and serial killers roam the witching hour. Join our celebration of all things Halloween with a host of dreaded nightmares directed by the cream of the scream industry crop, including Darren Lynn Bousman, Axelle Carolyn, Adam Gierasch, Andrew Kasch, Neil Marshall, Lucky McKee, Mike Mendez, Dave Parker, Ryan Schifrin, John Skipp, and Paul Solet.

‘The Diabolical‘ – FLORIDA PREMIERE. Ali Larter (Final Destination, Resident Evil: Extinction) stars in this genre-bending supernatural shocker as a single mother trying to protect her two young children from an increasingly strange and intense presence tormenting their quiet suburban home. Seeking help from her boyfriend, they embark on a hunt to destroy the violent spirit that paranormal experts are too scared to confront.

‘Howl‘ – NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE. Make-up effects master Paul Hyett (Dog Soldiers, The Descent) creates a lycanthropic horror tale about a group of passengers on a midnight train who find themselves under attack by a terrifying pack of werewolves. As his effects background might imply, Hyett completely eschews CGI beasts and takes a more American Werewolf-inspired practical approach that is unlike anything the silver screen has seen before.

‘Bone Tomahawk‘ – FLORIDA PREMIERE. Kurt Russell stars in this character driven and horrific Western about a group of men (including Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, and Richard Jenkins) who set out to rescue a local woman and a young deputy who have been kidnapped by a tribe of cannibalistic troglodytes. This is a men-on-a-mission Western full of all the genre staples we love, but with the added joys of brutal horror such that, by the end of the film, you will understand how the west was truly won…against savage cannibals! Shorts Invaders – It’s Thanksgiving and two would-be robbers are planning a quick heist. But they might get more than they bargained for.

The Shutterbug Man – An all-out stop motion horror short that’s heavy on shadows and atmosphere and narrated by the queen of horror Barbara Steele.

Hush– A young college graduate babysits an 8 year old girl during a terrible storm, only to realize their house is possessed by a malevolent entity.

Bad Guy #2– This outrageously gory comedy follows a struggling hitman whose upward mobility lands him at the dreaded position of Bad Guy #2 – a prominent but ultimately expendable character in the bad guy pantheon – leaving him no choice but to up his game or die violently at the hands of his emotionally erratic boss.

Night of the Slasher– Every slasher has rules for selecting his prey. But tonight’s prey might have the upper hand.

Crow Hand!!!– The title says it all!

We will leave you with some trailers that we have not shown you and a few photos that caught our eye.