For some, the arrival of fall means things like apple picking, pumpkin spice and admiring the colourful foliage. But for us, it means it’s time to binge on horror movies.

Fortunately, October is home to many a horror festival, including the third annual Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. Taking place from 11 to 18 October, the fest has premieres, retrospectives, parties, live podcast tapings and more. You can check out the full program here, or scroll down and check out our picks for the must-see films of the 2018 festival.

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Party Hard, Die Young

If the trailer for Party Hard, Die Young is anything to go by, we might have a new classic teen slasher on our hands. The Austrian film sees a group of recent grads partying on an island when suddenly their friends start disappearing. They’re trapped on the island, there’s a man in a strange mask and chaos ensues in a Spring Breakers meets Scream kind of way.
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Ghost Mask: Scar

A Japanese/Korean thriller that revolves around plastic surgery is a solid bet if you’re looking for something gory and bloody. Director Takeshi Stone follows a young Japanese woman to South Korea to look for her missing sister, but finds a brilliant young plastic surgeon and becomes tangled in her life. Reviews out of Asia promise an extreme, blood-filled finale.
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Blood Harvest (Restoration)

It’s not all about finding new films! Revisiting old gems is just as important, and for that, Brooklyn Horror Fest will be screening the world premiere of Blood Harvest‘s new restoration. The bonkers 80s slasher starring Tiny Tim (yes, that Tiny Tim) is the kind of cult classic that’s best enjoyed with a crowd.
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Secret Screening

Who doesn’t like surprises? Brooklyn Horror Festival’s first ever secret screening could be anything from an old classic to a new, undiscovered release. Guessing is half the fun, so start making your predictions now!
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Antrum: The Deadliest Film Ever Made

In the spirit of Grave Encounters comes Antrum, a horror mockumentary about a cursed film. Antrum, the film within the film, is a 70s occult horror that caused the select few who watched it to die, and this documentary crew is talking to historians and film critics about its impact and dangers before playing the cursed film itself.
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Knife + Heart

The opening film for the fest is Knife + Heart, a French thriller from director Yann Gonzalez (You and the Night). Vanessa Paradis stars as a gay porn producer whose actors are being targeted by a serial killer. The film sounds like a retro-lovers dream on 35mm with a synth soundtrack from M83.
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Piercing

Nicolas Pesce’s The Eyes of My Mother was stylish and disturbing, so we’re obviously excited for his follow-up. Piercing is an S&M black comedy about a new dad who plans the perfect murder as a way to deal with the stresses of parenthood, and the cat-and-mouse game he enters with his would-be victim (Mia Wasikowska, who’s always worth watching).
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Wolfman’s Got Nards

First things first: that’s one hell of a title. Wolfman’s Got Nards is a documentary about the beloved cult classic Monster Squad, directed by star Andre Gower. It talks to fans and those involved with the film about why it’s still a hit 30 years on.
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Welcome to Mercy

Religious horror Welcome to Mercy follows an American woman visiting her dying father in Latvia when she’s hit with what appears to be stigmata but is actually something more sinister. There’s a lot of potential for scares here, and hopefully Welcome to Mercy will deliver.
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Level 16

Just in case real life isn’t dystopian enough these days, Level 16 goes just that little bit further. The thriller is set in Vestalis Academy, where teen girls are trained into being the perfect woman but, based on the teaser trailer, it comes at a price.
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Brooklyn Horror Film Festival runs from 11 to 18 October in Brooklyn, New York. Individual tickets to screenings are $16 USD.