October is Halloween month. It’s fun how the first beginnings of fall end up being so synonymous with both pumpkins and crispy leaves, but also supernatural creatures and gory murders. The duality of the season! Everything is dying, and so are the characters in scary movies. 

With that in mind, the Vancouver Horror Show (VHS) Film Festival has been presenting stories that’ll make your blood run cold since 2018. The 2023 edition is bringing six features and 41 shorts to the big screen across its various iterations for a smorgasbord of scares that can’t be found anywhere else. 

“What scares us is what unites us, and what unites us is powerful,” says VHS artistic director Meghan Hemingway in a statement. 

Horror, as a genre, can be home to pretty groundbreaking stuff. VHS has had at least half its films created by women directors or filmmakers since 2020, and this year has dedicated itself to pushing for 50 per cent of its programming coming from marginalized groups such as LGBTQ2S+ and/or BIPOC people. 

The event isn’t just limited to Vancouver, where it’ll be taking over the Scotiabank Theatre between October 13 to 15: there’s a whole road show this year, too. A week after the Vancouver iteration, VHS will be at the Cineplex Metropolis in Burnaby (October 20 to 22) for an all-ages edition with fresh programming, as well as heading north to Terrace (October 24 to 28) and east to Grand Forks (October 26 to 27) with adjusted slates of films.   

Starting with the Canadian premiere of feminist killer clown flick Faceless After Dark on October 13, the flagship event’s programming will then air 25 shorts across different blocks, and cap off with the Canadian premiere of creepy mountain movie-making-movie Anacoreta on October 15. 

Tickets are $20 per event, with savings on multi-program bundles, city weekend passes for $80, and full access to both Vancouver and Burnaby festivals for $150. 

Which all sounds very nice…for a festival that promises to be even scarier than getting lost in Metrotown. 

Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival

When: October 13 to 15, various times (Vancouver) / October 20 to 22, various times (Burnaby)

Where: Scotiabank Theatre, 900 Burrard Street, Vancouver / Cineplex Metropolis, 4700 Kingsway, Burnaby 

Admission: From $20, tickets here