MONSTER FEST 2026 AWARDS
With Monster Fest 2026 having wrapped at Cinema Nova on Saturday night, the gates of Hell have officially closed on another nine days of horror, cult cinema and assorted cinematic blasphemy. As we bring this year’s Melbourne flagship festival to a close, we’re thrilled to reveal the recipients of the Monster Fest 2026 Awards!
A huge thank you to this year’s feature film jury, Emma Westwood, Simon Foster, Stephen A. Russell and Sally Christie, for generously giving their time, expertise and enthusiasm to the difficult task of selecting our Monster Fest 2026 Award Winners.
Monster Fest remains a champion of daring, inventive and boundary-pushing genre cinema, and this year’s festival was a testament to the extraordinary talent and imagination of the filmmakers who bring it to life.
BEST STUDENT SHORT FILM
VOX
Written & Directed by Sean Benton
Produced by Elizabeth Krilova
Griffith Film School
BEST AUSTRALIAN SHORT FILM
PAYBACK PIE
Written & Directed by Maxine Gatt
Produced by Maxine Gatt, Danaë Grieef, Hook Stowers, Richard De Silva
BEST INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM
FEED THE DARK
Written & Directed by Rob Himebaugh
Produced by Rob Himebaugh and Lucas Taccardi
“Thank you so much, Monster Fest team! We’re so honored to have made a film that connected with so many horror fans, and so grateful to Monster Fest for providing such an awesome platform for new and emerging horror filmmakers to get their work seen. Many thanks, and see you at the movies!!“
Rob Himebaugh
BEST SHORT FILM
COSMOPOLITAN
Written & Directed by Rhys Sherring
Produced by Vikki Blinks and Kerry Glennon
BEST FEATURE DOCUMENTARY
BOORMAN AND THE DEVIL
Written & Directed by David Kittredge
Produced by David Kettredge, Jim Fall and Travis Stevens
Film Source: WTFilms
JUDGES CITATION
Film history is the lifeblood of our industry, both in term of preserving the gold, but also unpicking the unravelling of forgotten or even reviled films, reframing them through a curious lens that’s willing to reassess from a distance. When that work is done so generously and forthrightly by the filmmaking team, form the director to the cast and crew, the results can be magnificent. So it is with the jury’s documentary pick. A love letter to cinema itself, it is rich with incredible insights into how and why this film was made, with remarkable behind-the-scenes footage and richly layered information. It also talks candidly about what went wrong and why, how the film nearly destroyed the filmmaker and how its poor reception has impacted the team through the years. But perhaps most gloriously of all, it is also a clarion call for a long-overdue reassessment, and a champion for a misunderstood masterpiece.
BEST AUSTRALIAN FEATURE FILM
THE ONLY ONE
Directed by Michael Schwarz
Written By Martyn Pedler and Marek Polgar
Produced by John Schwarz
Film Source: Umbrella Entertainment
JUDGES CITATION
The jury was instantly intrigued by this killer premise. One that weaponizes the mistakes of our hero’s past, points the finger directly at them, then opens up an Agatha Christie’s worth of potential villains, twisting the knife into a savagely slippery narrative. Hung on a rockstar central performance that’s anchored by an outstanding ensemble, this film looks and sounds spectacular, with a spunky score, soundtrack and slick cinematography. Making the most of its Australian lingo and location, filming in a less well-known corner of a very well-known city, it also champions practical effects and has a magnificent monster design, reminding us that so-called happily ever afters can very easily turn into your worst nightmare.
BEST INTERNATIONAL FEATURE FILM
THE GLORIOUS DEAD
Written & Directed by John Adams and Toby Poser
Produced by Toby Poser
Film Source: Yellow Veil Pictures
“We are just blown away by this award and wish we could thank the festival and jury in person and give them a squeeze that would explode their bones, that’s how happy we are and how wonderful this award feels. We loved making The Glorious Dead, particularly for this moment in time for where we live and work and breathe, and that it has been received so well across the oceans makes it all the more rewarding. We can’t wait to join you as soon as we can. Until then, lots of love and blood from all of us and monstrous thanks, Monster Fest!”
The Adams Family
JUDGES CITATION
Some of the scariest shit ever happens without us every fully understanding what went down. The dread-filled terror is amplified by the agonising mystery. That’s what the jury’s favourite international film achieves with its inexorably ominous escalation that starts with a very bad morning spiralling into an Armageddon scenario before you’ve even had your coffee. Again, carried by a rock-solid central turn and with fantastic back-up, we also loved the spot-on location work we could feel like a chill to the skin, the snappy dialogue and truly sick-making creature design and attendant puddles of gore. That the filmmakers were bold enough to build this world without indulging in a dumbed-down exposition dump, letting it speak for itself on a grandly apocalyptic scale is commendable.
THE GOLDEN MONSTER FOR BEST FILM
I LOVE PARIS
Directed by NIcky Murphy
Written by NIcky Murphy and Aminata Thiboult
Produced by Nicky Murphy and Carla Tulinski
Film Source: RareAmazing
JUDGES CITATION
It’s not easy to slip into a storytelling form and a spooky subject that, on paper, has a very clear antecedent, a film so beloved by audiences it inspired a similarly adored TV show. But this Australian-produced, international set and shot gem takes he bones of that idea and works dark magic transforming them into something else entirely. In harnessing the music of the night, our cursed fascination with being terminally online and the perversion of the Warholian 15 minutes of fame curse to creates monsters who are all about the like, share and comment currency of our social media and influencer reach obsession, the creative team has worked a kind of mercurial genius. A glimmering vision bristling with explosive originality, shot with a visceral presence and performed with an uncanny eye for the lived truth of our mad world, it rose above the pack like. Dark-winged beast of terrifyingly funny and sharp-toothed brilliance.
Once again, Monster Fest has brought together an extraordinary assortment of Australian and international genre cinema, showcasing filmmakers determined to push boundaries, challenge expectations and occasionally offend good taste. And although we’ve bid farewell to Melbourne for another year, Monster Fest 2026 is far from finished, with the festival heading to Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth at the end of October.