Knoxville Horror Film Fest
Teams of area creatives. A genre pulled draft-style at kickoff. Two weeks to shoot a fake movie trailer and the finished work screens at the Parkway Drive-In Theater during the Knoxville Horror Film Fest.
Thank you for your interest in Knoxville's wildest filmmaking competition! The Grindhouse Grind-out tasks teams of area creatives with creating a fake movie trailer inspired by a film genre (some legitimate, some invented) selected draft-style at our kickoff event at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, September 23 at Central Cinema (1205 N Central in Knoxville).
Teams then have two weeks to produce a trailer spotlighting the best parts of their imaginary feature film, turning in the finished product by 7:00 PM Wednesday, October 7.
This year's films will screen as part of the 2026 Knoxville Horror Film Festival's Friday, October 23 program at Maryville's Parkway Drive-In, paired with some of this year's most outré touring shorts and a double feature of 1987's Hellraiser and Prince of Darkness.
Each registered team, whether they complete their film or not, gets one complimentary admission to Friday's Parkway event, a $25 value. Prizes and other specifics are TBA.
Genres are not announced prior to kickoff, but in keeping with KHFF 2026's theme, you can be sure this year's will lean heavy into the realm of faith and mythology. Previous GG editions included Sharksploitation, Spaghetti Western, Classic TV, Folkloresploitation, Lifetime Movie, Safety Video, Splatter Film, Anthology Film, Biopic, Rock Opera, Afterschool Special.
We obviously encourage teams to find their own creative spark with regards to how their trailer plays, but if you'd like a better idea of how teams leverage the contest's core inspiration, 60s & 70s exploitation film trailers for movies typically run at shabby grindhouse cinemas, we recommend Dr. Moon Rat's 2021 Grind-out awards juggernaut The Ass That Wouldn't Quit.
The entire point of the Grindhouse Grind-Out is to produce imperfect, handmade art with friends. As such we do not support or allow the use of generative AI in the creation of audiovisual elements for your trailer. Entries found to have used these tools may still be screened but will not be awards eligible, and may be actively clowned on for cheating!
Please also note that we discourage the use of footage from pre-existing works: a few seconds of stock video here and there for comedic effect is OK, but the vast majority of your entry should be self-produced.
Further details, such as submission specs, will be shared around Kickoff.
Fill out the form below to secure your spot in the 2026 Grindhouse Grind-out.