The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival wraps on October 25, and with the event in its final days, it has announced the jury awards for its 2025 incarnation. The awards are split into three categories: Dark Matter, Head Trip, and Shorts, each of which has subcategories like Best Feature, Best Director, and Best Cinematography.

Dark Matter Jury Awards

Don’t Leave the Kids Alone

The following were the winners in the Dark Matter category, which was juried by MPI Media’s Greg Newman, Fangoria’s Kimberly Leszak, and IndieWire’s Alison Foreman.

Best Feature – “Don’t Leave the Kids Alone”

Best Director – Paolo Strippoli, “The Holy Boy”

Best Performance – Olivia Taylor Dudley, “Abigail Before Beatrice”

Best Screenplay – Aleksandar Radivojevic, “Karmadonna”

Best Cinematography -Cristiano Di Nicola, “The Holy Boy”

Best Practical FX – Mio Chiba and Tokihiko Endo, “Incomplete Chairs”

“On behalf of everyone at Don’t Leave the Kids Alone, we would like to thank the jury of the Dark Matter section, Matt Barone, and everyone who make the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival possible, and everyone who took the time to attend the screenings,” said “Dont’ Leave the Kids Alone” director Emilio Portes following his film’s Best Feature win. “Thanks for inviting the film, fighting for the theatrical experience, nurturing horror audiences, bringing together international films, and colleagues of the forbidden genres. And last but not least… ¡Viva Brooklyn Horror Fest y el Cine de Terror!”

Head Trip Jury Awards

Actor Tipper Newton & Director Mickey Reece, Every Heavy Thing

The Head Trip Jury Awards, juried by Horror Press’s James-Michael Fleites, Vinegar Syndrome’s Justin LaLiberty, and Horror Mangaka Creator Gigi Murakami, awarded the following:

Best Feature – “Every Heavy Thing”

Best Director – Yûta Shimotsu, “New Group”

Best Screenplay – Avalon Fast, “CAMP”

Best Performance – Tipper Newton, “Every Heavy Thing”

Best Editing – Simon Glassman, “Buffet Infinity”

Best Cinematography – Eily Sprungman, “CAMP”

Best Sound Design – Johnny Blerot, “Buffet Infinity”

“What an honor. It’s been my lifelong goal to buck the formula of every kind of movie, so it’s galvanizing to receive this award, which celebrates just that,” said Mickey Reece, director of “Every Heavy Thing,” in response to the film’s Best Feature win.

Shorts Competition Jury Awards

Last Call

The short films competition was juried by Alter’s Shannon Wiedemeyer, film critic Katie Rife, and Kailey Marsh of Brillstein Entertainment Partners, who awarded the following:

Best Short – “Last Call”

Best Director – Kylie Aoibheann, “The Dysphoria”

Best Performance – Nicole Elliot, “Jeff”

Best Special FX – Sharp FX, “The Dysphoria”

Best Screenplay – Louise Flaherty & Neil Christopher, “The Gnawer of Rocks”

Best Sound Design – Jack Goodman, “Eonian”

Best Art Direction – Danny Christopher & Sarah Ball, “The Gnawer of Rocks”

Best Editing – Marcus Fahey, “Daddy is a Hunter”

Home Invasion Award – “Rebrand”

Special Jury Mention for Filmmaker to Watch – Nathan Ginter, “Overgrown”

The Best Short Award comes with a prize package from post-production house Cut and Measure. Winnie Cheung, the director of “Last Call,” which received the award, said, “I’m grateful to the festival, the jurors, and everyone who embraced the shadows of this film. This honor belongs to the cast and crew, whose artistry and devotion brought to life the strange, the unsettling, and the hauntingly beautiful metamorphosis of ‘becoming.”

Brooklyn Horror Film Festival also hands out the Leviathan Award each year. It’s the festival’s first and only tribute award, which honors the luminaries of horror and acknowledges their contributions to the genre. This year, the award was presented to multitalented Ernest Dickerson (“Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight”), whose prolific career as a cinematographer and director has given horror fans a surplus of greatness on screens both big and small. With his trailblazing run of feature films and TV show episodes dating back to the 1980s and spanning to the present day, Ernest Dickerson has helped to pave the way for the likes of Jordan Peele and Nia DaCosta by showing that horror cinema knows no color lines nor cultural barriers.

Leviathan Award Winner Ernest Dickerson

The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival concludes on Saturday. The full schedule of remaining screenings and events is available at BrooklynHorrorFest.com.