"Dark Carnival is swiftly becoming the Sundance of horror!"

CULTUREWEEK Magazine

"One of the Top 25 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee!"

MovieMaker Magazine

"I had a great time at the festival and in Bloomington and I would like to thank you for screening my film and putting on a great show.

If there is another festival next year, I plan to make the trip again."

Thanks again!

Sincerely, Steven Cerritos Toronto, Ontario Canada


We had an AMAZING time at the incredible Dark Carnival Film Festival!

The event was extremely well organized and the venue was absolutely fantastic.

We met so many talented people and the audience reception to W.O.R.M. was overwhelming.

Anthony Sumner
Chicago, IL


I just wanted to say thank you for showing "The Drifter" again for my benefit. I really appreciated that!

What a great crowd you were able to gather on the last day of the first year of a new film festival! And on college move-in weekend!

Congratulations to you and the whole staff there. It was an honor to be in the festival, and I wish you the best of luck in the years moving forward with it!

I hope we have something new to submit in the next few years. My feeling is that we will. And when we do, we will submit it to your festival for sure!

Thanks again! Take care.

Perry Harovas
Chair, Visual Effects and Animation Department Flashpoint, The Academy of Media Arts and Sciences
Chicago, IL


Forget so-called 'film festivals' that show movies on a tiny screen in a cheesy hotel conference room. Dark Carnival is a week-long celebration of horror, featuring live entertainment, merchandise vendors, special guests and more. But most of all, we're all about the movies!

We screen the best indie horror films from all over the world in the best possible venues - a vintage 1930s era movie theater that features state-of-the-art sound and projection equipment, on a 30 by 20 foot screen.

Dark Carnival is held in Bloomington, Indiana (home of Indiana University- just an hour south of Indianapolis) and this year's fest will run November 19-21, 2010 - with pre-show events happening all week long!

This year we're pleased to welcome reknowned film critic, actor, and horror host Joe Bob Briggs as our Master of Ceremonies!

Joe Bob had this to say about Dark Carnival:
"After being kicked out of every other film festival in America, I've been asked to come to Bloomington, Indiana, in the dead of November (average low temperature 35) to host Dark Carnival, and pending clearance with my parole officer I'll be there for the whole three days--Officer Prendergast, if you're Googling this, that's seven days in horror-movie-host terminology given the difficult traveling conditions in southern Indiana in the winter and the fact that Greyhound makes you transfer twice, in Nashville and Indianapolis, for a total of 26 hours sore-ass time from Grapevine, Texas at that time of year, plus the difficulties passing through two counties in which unpaid child support and/or DUI arrearage could become issues--but, as I was saying, Dark Carnival is the world's greatest horror film festival and the only one I would ever consider hosting."

- Joe Bob Briggs


We've gotten rave reviews from horror fans and filmmakers alike (check out our PRESS page) and now it's time to gear up for the next Dark Carnival. We're looking for the best indie horror films from all over the world for our 2010 fest. Check out the online submission form HERE.

We are pleased to announce our 2009 Award Winning Films!
Click HERE to find out more!