‘Obsession’ Dominates the 2026 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards

Obsession emerged as the clear favorite at the 2026 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards, collecting five prizes during the fan-voted celebration of horror movies, television and games.

A five-award sweep

Curry Barker’s film won Best Wide Release Movie, Best Director and Best Screenplay. Inde Navarrette received Best Lead Performance, while the movie also claimed the write-in award for Best Kill. The result gave Obsession the largest haul of the night and placed both its filmmaker and lead performer at the center of the ceremony.

Backrooms finished with the second-highest total, earning three awards. Kane Parsons’ feature was recognized as Best First Feature, Jeremy Cox won for cinematography, and the score by Parsons and Edo Van Breemen also received a prize. The results highlighted two relatively young filmmaking voices in a ceremony designed to reflect horror fans’ choices rather than a traditional industry academy.

Horror beyond the two leaders

The awards did not stop with the night’s two most decorated films. Widow’s Bay was named Best Series, while Resident Evil: Requiem won Best Video Game. The dog Indy, the canine star of Good Boy, received the event’s Goodest Boy honor, adding the sort of playful category that distinguishes the Chainsaw Awards from more formal ceremonies.

Devon Sawa hosted the program, which premiered Sunday on Shudder. Horror veterans Lin Shaye and Dee Wallace were among the presenters. The production was written and directed by Michael Varrati, with Armen Aghaeian, Tara Ansley and Abhi Goel serving as executive producers.

The outcome gives Obsession a major audience-driven endorsement after a year in which horror releases ranged from studio titles to filmmaker-led breakouts. For Navarrette, the lead-performance win adds an individual honor to the movie’s broader sweep. For Barker, victories in directing, writing and the top film category amount to an unusually complete recognition of one project’s creative identity.