The Vancouver Horror Show (VHS) is a film festival that showcases horror movies. It normally happens in October in time for Halloween.

In 2024, films show in theatres on select days between October 18th and 27th. On the first weekend the films happen at Metrotown in Burnaby. On the second weekend they are at the cinema at International Village Mall in Vancouver.

The Vancouver Horror Show is one of the many parts of the Burnaby Halloween Festival! The festival offers up over 25 different events and attractions in the City of Burnaby each year. If you’re a horror enthusiast, Burnaby has so much to offer!

For tickets and full details about the festival, see the Vancouver Horror Show website.

This article includes the following information about the Vancouver Horror Show:

Festival Details | Prices | Film Festival Schedule | Other Information

The Vancouver Horror Show 2024

The Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival celebrates its seventh year in 2024. It’s a registered Canadian charity. It has grown from running just 12 films in its first year to nearly 50 films last year.

The festival mostly screens short films but also displays a small number of feature films too. Although VHS focuses a lot on Canadian cinema, it showcases works from other countries too. This makes VHS an inclusive event that helps promote filmmakers from around the world.

For tickets and the festival’s official website, visit vancouverhorrorshow.com.

Vancouver’s Horror Movie Film Festival

There are ticketed in-person screenings from October 18th to 20th, 2024, at Metrotown‘s Cineplex theatre in Burnaby. The next weekend, there are more screenings at Cineplex International Village in Vancouver from October 25th to 27th.

There are more than 50 films at the 2024 festival. eight of them are feature films while nearly all of the rest are short films. The movies screened are from different countries so there are some unique and scary foreign cinema to enjoy!

Festival Prices

Tickets to the various screenings in 2024 start at about $20 each. For the most part, feature films are shown separately whereas short films are combined into groups.

2024’s festival also includes a series of VHS Talks Panel in both Burnaby and Vancouver. Tickets for these events are pay-what-you-can with a $1 minimum.

Special passes are available in 2024. The Vancouver Weekend Pass includes access to all in-person screenings from October 25th to 27th. It costs around $115. The Burnaby Weekend Pass costs the same and includes access to all screenings between October 18th and 20th. The Full Festival Pass includes access to all of the weekend’s events and costs around $210 per person.

For full details see the official Vancouver Horror Show website.

Film Festival Schedule

Below is the schedule of in-person screenings and events at the 2024 Vancouver Horror Show Film Festival.

The events on the first weekend are all held at Cineplex Cinemas Metropolis at 4700 Kingsway in Burnaby. Events on the second weekend take place at International Village Mall in Vancouver at 88 West Pender Street.

Friday, October 18th, 2024 (Burnaby)

The opening night of the festival features a screening of Carved. The movie follows a group of people who are trapped in a creepy old village on Halloween and attacked by an evil, living pumpkin. The movie begins at 7:00 pm. There is also a short film screening before the feature presentation, and a Q&A with its filmmaker after the screening.

This is a licensed event for those ages 19 and above.

For details about this film, click Carved.

Saturday, October 19th, 2024 (Burnaby)

There are a series of events at Metrotown on this day. First there’s a Horror Writers VHS Talks Panel at noon, followed by the Shorts Program 1 which features ten short films at 2:00 pm.

Afterwards at 5:00 pm there’s a screening of three episodes of the Tales From the Void anthology series, and then finally the Canadian premiere of the feature film The Daemon at 7:30 pm.

Sunday, October 20th, 2024 (Burnaby)

The structure for the final day of the first weekend is very similar to the previous one. There’s another VHS Talks panel at noon, this time with Horror Producers. The Shorts Program 2 at 2:00 pm has the tagline “bloody hell” and features 11 short films.

In the evening there are two feature film presentations. The first is a futurist, post-apocalyptic horror called Finality of Dusk at 5:00 pm, followed at 8:00 pm by the mockumentary Strange Harvest: Occult Murder in the Inland Empire.

For full details see the official Vancouver Horror Show website.

Friday, October 25th, 2024 (Vancouver)

The Vancouver portion of the festival kicks off with a special night of fun that includes a screening of Never Hike Alone 2, which is an indie film and unofficial sequel to Friday the 13th Part 6.

Before the movie there’s also a live-taping of CBC’s Let’s Make a Horror podcast. The podcast is hosted by a trio of comedians who have set out to learn as much as possible about what it takes to make a good horror film.

This double bill of entertainment begins at 6:00 pm at International Village. The event is licensed and is only for those ages 19 and up.

HALLOWEEN MOVIES & MOVIE SCENES

If you like horror movies and haunted houses, then also be sure to check out Brinkworth Dungeon. The Langley-based haunted attraction has wax museum-style scenes from a whole bunch of classic horror movies. And most of what you’ll see there has been handmade by a professional artist!

Also if you like Halloween and movies, but kid-friendly films, then check out HowlOver Canada at FlyOver Canada. It’s a great family-friendly Halloween-themed multi-dimensional show.

Saturday, October 26th, 2024 (Vancouver)

There are four events taking place this day. The first is a VHS Talks panel featuring Horror Directors talking about how they pick their projects and bring their ideas to the screen. That event begins at noon, followed by the Shorts Program 3 at 2:00 pm which features eight films all about the dead or undead.

There are then two feature film presentations at 5:30 and 8:30 pm. The first is All the Lost Ones which is set in a near future civil war sparked by backlash to government climate change measures. The second is Scared Shitless, the story of a plumber who has to try and save the residents of an apartment complex from a terrifying monster.

Sunday, October 27th, 2024 (Vancouver)

The closing day of the festival in the Lower Mainland features an Indigenous them.. This day’s VHS Talks panel is called Indigenous Voices in Horror and focuses on Indigenous representation in the genre. It’s followed by Indigenous Horror Shorts at 2:00 pm which includes seven short films.

The final feature film presentation is Altona, which is a true crime documentary about a horrific murder case in Manitoba where two teenagers were tortured and left to die in a burning home. The screening begins at 5:30 pm and is only for those who are 19+.

Afterwards, at 8:15 pm there’s the official VHS Wrap Party and Awards. This event is admission by donation and celebrates the best movies from this year’s festival. It’s also age restricted to those who are ages 19 and older.