Grimmfest 2026: NEVER AFTER DARK, CRAWLERS, and STRONGER THAN THE DEVIL Lead the Grimm Reaper Award Winners

GRIMMFEST 2026 “GRIMM REAPER” AWARD WINNERS ANNOUNCED.

 

NEVER AFTER DARK takes Best Feature Film, CRAWLERS wins the Audience Award, and genre icons Adrienne Barbeau and Steve Pink are honoured.

 

GRIMMFEST, Manchester’s International Festival of Fantastic Film, has announced the winners of its 2026 Grimm Reaper Awards, celebrating outstanding achievements in horror, fantasy and genre cinema. Marking the festival’s 18th anniversary, this year’s event brought four ferocious, fear-filled days of genre film to the Odeon Great Northern in Manchester, from 8–11 October, showcasing an international programme packed with World, International and UK premieres.

 

The awards recognised an impressive range of films and filmmakers from around the world, celebrating everything from terrifying performances and innovative practical effects to bold directorial visions and resourceful independent production.

 

This year’s jury comprised director, screenwriter and actor Jennifer Trudrung (THE NEST, THE VIRGINS); Tim Scaping, production and marketing head at Trinity Content Partners; Manchester Metropolitan University academic and author Dr Xavier Aldana Reyes; and Tom Atkinson, genre cinema journalist and head of LOVE HORROR.

 

The festival team extends its thanks to the jury for their dedication, discernment and diplomacy. The task of choosing the winners was, as ever, a formidable one, but the jurors reached a final consensus with remarkably little bloodshed.

 

BEST FEATURE FILM: NEVER AFTER DARK

 

Dave Boyles’ mesmerising Japanese horror film NEVER AFTER DARK took the festival’s top award. Masterfully written and built around an exceptionally crafted, old-school atmosphere, the film makes striking use of sound, space and shadow to create a creeping sense of disquiet, anchored by a powerful lead performance from Moeka Hoshi. The jury also singled out its unforgettable “scraping fingernails scene” when awarding the film joint Best Scare, alongside THE WHISPER.

 

THE WHISPER also left a lasting impression on the jury, particularly through the unsettling delivery of its major reveal and a truly nightmarish baby sequence. Special mentions for Best Scare went to CRAWLERS, for its chilling final scene, and UNDER YOUR FEET, for one of the year’s most effective jump-scares.

 

The Audience Award went to CRAWLERS following a closely fought vote, with only a handful of votes separating the top three films. MARAMA finished as runner-up, with NEVER AFTER DARK in third place. MARAMA also received a special mention in the Best Feature Film category.

 

ACTING AWARDS: OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES ACROSS THE GENRES

 

The Best Actor award went to Thierry Frémont for THE ONES WHO GRIEVE. His ferocious portrayal of Jacob creates a truly monstrous character, blending religious fanaticism with absolute, unwavering control. Special mentions went to Ayan Utepburgen for SICKO and Melvil Poupaud for STRONGER THAN THE DEVIL.

 

Best Actress was shared by Ariāna Osborne for MARAMA and Margarita Zachariou for MOTHERWITCH. Osborne delivers a compelling physical embodiment of Māori ancestral rage, balanced by the quiet tension of Victorian Gothic horror. Zachariou gives a raw, operatic portrayal of maternal grief, balancing sympathy and terror while keeping her character profoundly human. Special mentions went to Toby Poser for THE GLORIOUS DEAD and Alyssa Sutherland for THE ROOM BELOW.

 

The Best Supporting Actor award went to Toby Stephens for MARAMA. Stephens subverts the conventional romantic lead, creating a chillingly polite, sociopathic colonial antagonist whose apparent admiration for Māori culture conceals a manipulative and disturbing obsession. Nahuel Pérez Biscayart received a special mention for STRONGER THAN THE DEVIL.

 

Best Supporting Actress was a joint award for two genre icons: Adrienne Barbeau for ODDITIES and Asia Argento for STRONGER THAN THE DEVIL. Barbeau delivers a masterful transformation from warm, welcoming shopkeeper to chillingly unhinged villain, in one of her most menacing roles in years. Argento brings fierce, unpredictable energy to the role of Mila, combining raw physical menace with razor-sharp dark humour. Claudia Salas received a special mention for DISFORIA.

 

The Best Ensemble Cast award went to STRONGER THAN THE DEVIL, which sets Melvil Poupaud’s charismatic, manic energy and Asia Argento’s gritty menace against Marine Vacth and Harpo Guit’s straight-faced descent into criminal chaos. Special mentions went to TERRESTRIAL and ITHAQUA.

 

The award for Best Child Performance was presented jointly to Sofía Otero and Ibai Atanes for UNDER YOUR FEET. Their performances combine psychological realism with instinctive sibling chemistry, providing a compelling emotional anchor for the film’s eerie terror. Special mentions went to Gilbert Bradman and Alistair Bradman for THE ROOM BELOW, and Marcelo Michinaux for THE WHISPER.

 

DIRECTING AND SCREENWRITING: BOLD VISIONS AND BITING SATIRE

 

The Best Director award went to Aitore Zholdaskali for SICKO, a stylish, ultra-violent thriller that seamlessly blends pitch-black comedy, social drama and full-blown horror. Beneath its visceral genre thrills lies a biting satire of financial desperation and the indignities of late-stage capitalism. Taratoa Stappard received a special mention for MARAMA.

 

Graham Guit won Best Screenplay for STRONGER THAN THE DEVIL. His script transforms what begins as a quiet family reunion into a chaotic, pitch-black horror comedy, driven by sharp, absurd dialogue and a shocking, genre-shifting descent into extreme violence. Special mentions went to GRIND, ODDITIES and SICKO.

 

CRAFT AWARDS: FROM PRACTICAL GORE TO ATMOSPHERIC CINEMATOGRAPHY

 

The Best SFX award was shared by THE GLORIOUS DEAD and BOX CUTTER, two films demonstrating the enduring power of practical, hands-on effects.

 

THE GLORIOUS DEAD impressed with its home-crafted effects, created by “The Adams Family”, a four-person DIY filmmaking collective that builds practical gore directly into the DNA of its work. BOX CUTTER, meanwhile, uses meticulously hand-crafted practical effects and low-budget ingenuity to achieve visceral, authentic gore that intensifies its emotional drama. Special mentions went to THE ONES WHO GRIEVE for its plague victims and SICKO for the bone-crunching injury effects in its fight sequence.

 

Best Creature Design went to THE ROOM BELOW, whose physical monster was created by award-winning studio Make Up Effects Group (MEG). The creature serves as a visceral metaphor for the grief experienced by the film’s protagonist, played by Alyssa Sutherland. Special mentions went to THE GLORIOUS DEAD and GRIND.

 

The Best VFX award went to CRAWLERS, which masterfully blends live-spider footage, practical animatronics and highly detailed digital models into the shadow-drenched environments of its apartment block.

 

For Best Cinematography, the jury recognised Antoine Carpentier for THE ONES WHO GRIEVE. Painterly compositions, naturalistic lighting and period-accurate framing create a thick, oppressive atmosphere, capturing the raw misery of the film’s alternate vision of the late 19th century. Special mentions went to Jack McDonald for MOTHERWITCH and Bryn McCashin for ITHAQUA.

 

The Best Score award went to Alberto Torres for DISFORIA. His music combines abrasive dissonance, psychoacoustic elements and stark emotional contrasts, transforming the protagonist’s mental breakdown into a visceral and deeply unsettling sensory experience. Special mentions went to SICKO, CRAWLERS and STRONGER THAN THE DEVIL.

 

Best Editing went to Ben Lee Allan and Damien Fannon for IVAN, a tense, slow-burn psychological drama whose masterful pacing builds seamlessly towards a chaotic, multi-layered tech-horror climax. Special mentions went to CRAWLERS and NEVER AFTER DARK.

 

The Best Art Direction award went to Nick William for MARAMA. The film transforms a Victorian Yorkshire manor into a dark, oppressive living mausoleum, using atmospheric interiors, shadows and minimalist excess to reflect the horrors of colonial history. ITHAQUA received a special mention.

 

SHORT FILMS AND DEBUT FEATURES: NEW TALENT, FRESH PERSPECTIVES

 

The Best Short award went to HARVEST, written, directed by and starring Paton Ashbrook. Ashbrook delivers an emotionally raw performance at the heart of a terrifyingly grounded, near-future science-fiction nightmare about technology exploiting human isolation. IMPRINT received a special mention.

 

The Méliès Best European Short award went to Fabio Langella’s QUI INSIEME, an unsettling moral parable that brilliantly subverts an interdimensional science-fiction romance into psychological horror, exploring the destructive dynamics of toxic, obsessive relationships. Special mention went to François Choquene’s THE HIRING PROTOCOL, a sourly satirical and unexpectedly moving exploration of the emotional and psychological challenges of searching for employment in an increasingly computerised corporate world.

 

The Debut Feature Award went to THEY ALWAYS COME AT NIGHT, a mature first feature from Victor Catalá and Carlos Camba Tomé. Its entirely convincing ensemble portrays a family under supernatural threat from the Santa Compaña, drawing effectively on real Galician legend to create a deeply unsettling tale.

 

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AND PRODUCTION AWARDS

 

Jacob Santana received a Special Achievement Award for EVIL DRESS and REVERSION. Shooting two strikingly different debut features back to back is a formidable undertaking, yet Santana has delivered films with exceptional production values and high-end Spanish casts. Together, they mark an impressive achievement by a remarkable new talent.

 

A second Special Achievement Award went to BOX CUTTER. Lucky Cerutti’s no-holds-barred film is a masterclass in raw, character-driven low-budget filmmaking, delivering nail-biting tension through resourcefulness, conviction and an uncompromising approach.

 

The Achievement in Production Award was shared by THE GLORIOUS DEAD and ITHAQUA, two snow-bound films whose production circumstances were extraordinary in very different ways.

 

It is remarkable that the four-person family team behind THE GLORIOUS DEAD created such a captivating apocalyptic horror. Meanwhile, Casey Walker’s frontier survival horror ITHAQUA was shot in brutal temperatures of -38°C by day and -52°C at night. Both productions stand as testament to the grit, ingenuity and commitment required to bring ambitious independent films to the screen.

 

COMEDY AND LEGACY: GENRE CINEMA WITH SOMETHING TO SAY

 

The Best Comedy award went to GRIND, an anthology that translates the soul-crushing anxieties of modern corporate life and the gig economy into a bloody, brilliantly acted and hilariously unhinged experience. The work of three distinctive genre directors and a terrific ensemble cast, the film manages to be both outrageous entertainment and a pointed reflection on late-stage capitalism. STRONGER THAN THE DEVIL received a special mention.

 

The Legacy Award was presented to Steve Pink, recognising an impressive body of work spanning TERRESTRIAL, GROSSE POINTE BLANK, HIGH FIDELITY, HOT TUB TIME MACHINE and many more.

 

A special mention went to Gustavo Hernández, whose genre career stretches from SILENT HOUSE through VIRUS-32 to THE WHISPER. His distinctive contribution to genre cinema has established him as a filmmaker of considerable standing.

 

LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD: ADRIENNE BARBEAU

 

The Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Adrienne Barbeau, honouring an outstanding career spanning decades of genre cinema, from her iconic role in THE FOG to her recent appearance in ODDITIES.

 

Her work has helped shape horror cinema across generations, and her contribution to this year’s festival was celebrated both through her performance and through this recognition of her enduring legacy.

 

GRIMMFEST 2026: CELEBRATING INDEPENDENT GENRE CINEMA

 

GRIMMFEST Festival Director Simeon Halligan said:

 

“So that’s it for another year. An incredible line-up of wonderful new genre movies graced our screens, and we are so proud to offer the jury’s carefully considered selection of awards. So many truly original, independently made movies hailing from all corners of the globe. We thank them all for their wonderful cinematic creations and for trusting us to give them the big-screen exposure they deserve.”

 

The 2026 Grimm Reaper Awards celebrate the imagination, ambition and determination of filmmakers working across the fantastic genres. From established genre icons and ambitious new directors to resourceful independent productions and boundary-pushing shorts, this year’s winners reflect the breadth, originality and continuing vitality of contemporary genre cinema.