In Dreams Are Monsters

A season of horror films – in cinemas across the UK and on BFI Player.

This autumn, we embark on a journey into the monstrous as we celebrate horror on film. Radical and provocative, horror has provided a community for those excluded from the mainstream since the inception of cinema, forcing audiences to confront their darkest thoughts and offering a platform to marginalised voices.

Our season of films will focus on the creatures that linger long after the closing credits, which have haunted our screens and dreams for over a century.

Explore the full programme below.

All UK screenings

BFI Southbank programme

Join us at our home in BFI Southbank from 17 October for a monstrous season of classics and world cinema.

Browse the programme

Across the UK

In Dreams Are Monsters will play out across the UK, find the screenings and events near you.

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BFI Player – In Dreams Are Monsters subscription collection

Subscribe now for a selection of horrific highlights from the season.

Explore the collection

ICO tour

Be part of the season by booking a film as part for the ICO tour.

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Partner festivals

Mayhem Film Festival

Mayhem Film Festival presents Night of the Cat, a double bill exploring the mythology of the Bakeneko (monster-cat), with a live score screening of Kaneto Shindo’s Kuroneko and an anniversary screening of Stephen King’s Sleepwalker.

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Celluloid Screams

Celluloid Screams (Sheffield) will be working with immersive cinema pioneers Live Cinema UK to present a 30th anniversary live cinema experience of Ghostwatch, in Sheffield and at BFI Southbank.

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Abertoir and Bristol Black Horror Club

Abertoir, Wales’ International Horror Festival, and Bristol Black Horror Club, collaborate for the first time to celebrate blaxploitation horror and the 50th anniversary of Blacula in Aberystwyth and across the UK.

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Grimmfest

Monsters and Movies, co-hosted by the MMU Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies will consist of a series of film screenings, in-depth Q&As and talks with some of the most important creative minds behind a host of iconic monster movies.

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