GRIMMFEST 2025

The annual Grimmfest film festival takes place annually, at the Odeon Great Northern in Manchester UK. The dates for 2025 are October 9th– 12th.

Yes. 2025 Full festival passes are available now. Right Here.

The festival runs as a live event across four days with numerous film premieres to watch on the big screen and other associated activities that horror and genre cinemas fans can attend. If you want to attend the full festival, you’ll need to come to the Odeon Great Northern in Manchester.

Yes. Grimmfest is open for submissions most of the year round. Submissions should be made via Film Freeway, where you will also find all of the necessary information about the submission process, the kinds of films we are looking for, and any spec requirements. Short and feature films with a focus on the fearsome, the fantastic, or the blackly comic are all welcome.

Manchester has a great many hotels, hostels, aparthotels, and other places to stay. Grimmfest generally has discount deals available, with hotel sponsors. Go here for more info. 

Grimmfest has been running since 2009 and is now considered one of the most prestigious festivals of fantastic film in Europe.

We pride ourselves on presenting the very best in independnet genre cinema and host a broad selection of movie premieres on the big screen. As most of the films we screen are yet to be released in the UK, attending Grimmfest allows you to see them first before they get released to the general public.

We cram as many premieres as we can into the four day fest, so be prepared for many hours of movie watching. But we suspect you may well discover your new favorite film. You’ll also get the chance to rate each film you watch, allowing the Grimmfest team to identify the Audience favorite, which is presented with an award.

Grimmfest is a very welcoming film festival with many regular attendees as well as returning guests. There is no sense of “Us and Them”.  We pride ourselves on our approachability, and on creating an inclusive, almost family atmosphere. If you are new to Grimmfest, you’ll definitely quickly make new friends from within the attendees and the extended Grimmfest team and volunteers.  We are all members of the Horror Community, and this is a chance to get together, swap stories, experience the best of contemporary genre cinema, and socialise. Everyone is keen to discuss the selected films, often over a beer or food.

Please note: Grimmfest 2025 is primarily a ‘Live’ festival event. Grimmfest Online was launched during the Pandemic Lockdown, and moving forward we may offer content online as well as at the physical festival in the future. As far as possible, we strive to ensure that as much of the festival content is available on the big screen. We occasionally screen additional material online that is not available at the live event.

Outside of watching movie premieres and rereleased genre classics on the big screen, you can also attend film maker and film star Q&As, exclusive parties, meet the film makers, and attend autograph signings. It’s also a chance to network, and socialise with film makers and fellow film enthusiasts. You might also fancy perusing our festival hub where you can buy Grimmfest merchandise or pick up a bargain from one of the many stalls, which sell a whole variety of horror and cinema related goods, many of which are hand crafted.