Fangoria Chainsaw Awards


The Fangoria Chainsaw Awards is an award ceremony focused on horror and thriller films run by Fangoria, an American horror film fan magazine. Beginning in 1992, the awards were expanded and an annual ceremony was inaugurated to give out the awards. As of 2015, Fangoria also delivers awards to television series.

Categories

Film

  • Best Wide Release Film - since 1992
  • Best Limited Release Film - since 1992
  • Best Streaming Premiere Film - since 2019
  • Best International Film - since 2019
  • Best Documentary Film - since 2022
  • Best First Film - since 2019
  • Best Director - since 2019
  • Best Lead Performance - since 2021
  • Best Supporting Performance - since 2021
  • Best Screenplay - since 1992
  • Best Score - since 1992
  • Best Cinematography - since 2023
  • Best Makeup FX - since 1992
  • Best Creature FX - since 2019
  • Best Costume Design - since 2022
  • Best Documentary Feature
  • Best Kill - since 2019

Television

  • Best TV Series
  • Best Nonfiction Series or Miniseries

Other

  • Best Video Game
  • Best Public Domain ResurrectionFangoria Horror Hall of FameFangoria Lifetime Achievement Award
  • The Editor's Eyeball Award

Discontinued awards

Ceremonies

Winners and nominees

2025

  • List of winners: TBA
  • List of nominees:
  • Announced on: July 9, 2025
  • Presented on: October 19, 2025

2024

2023

2022

List of winners:

2021

List of winners:

2020

List of winners:

2019

2018

The Fangoria Chainsaw Awards were not held in 2018.

2017

List of winners:

2016

Best FilmBest Limited Release/Direct-to-Video Film

  • *What We Do in the Shadows, dir. Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi
  • *Anguish, dir. Sonny Mallhi
  • *The Final Girls, dir. Todd Strauss-Schulson
  • *Some Kind of Hate, dir. Adam Egypt Mortimer
  • *We Are Still Here, dir. Ted Geoghegan
    • Best Foreign Language FilmBest Makeup/Creature FX
  • Goodnight Mommy, dir. Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala
  • *Cub, dir. Jonas Govaerts
  • *Der Samurai, dir. Till Kleinert
  • *When Animals Dream, dir. Jonas Alexander Arnby
  • *Alleluia, dir. Fabrice Du Welz
  • Weta Workshop, Krampus
  • *Marcus Koch, We Are Still Here
  • *Roger Murray, Andrew Beattie, Vanessa Hurley, Storm McCracken, and Tim Wells, Deathgasm
  • *John Nolan, The Hallow
  • *Hugo Villasenor, Bone Tomahawk
    • Best ActorBest Actress
  • Kurt Russell, Bone Tomahawk as Sheriff Franklin Hunt
  • *Mark Duplass, Creep as Josef
  • *Tom Hiddleston, Crimson Peak as Thomas Sharpe
  • *Lou Taylor Pucci, Spring as Evan Russell
  • *Henry Rollins, He Never Died as Jack
  • Maika Monroe, It Follows as Jaime "Jay" Height
  • *Abigail Breslin, Maggie as Marguerite “Maggie” Vogel
  • *Barbara Crampton, We Are Still Here as Anne Sacchetti
  • *Ryan Simpkins, Anguish as Tess
  • *Susanne Wuest, Goodnight Mommy as Mother
    • Best Supporting ActorBest Supporting Actress
  • Joel Edgerton, The Gift as Gordo
  • *Pit Bukowski, Der Samurai as Der Samurai
  • *Larry Fessenden, We Are Still Here as Jacob Lewis
  • *Richard Jenkins, Bone Tomahawk as Deputy Chicory
  • *Rainn Wilson, The Boy as William Colby
  • Jessica Chastain, Crimson Peak as Lucille Sharpe
  • *Malin Åkerman, The Final Girls as Nancy/Amanda Cartwright
  • *Deanna Dunagan, The Visit as Marja Bella "Nana" Jamison
  • *Kate Greenhouse, He Never Died as Cara
  • *Krista Stadler, Trash Fire as "Omi" Engel
    • Best ScreenplayBest Score
  • Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi, What We Do in the Shadows
  • *Joel Edgerton, The Gift
  • *M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller, The Final Girls
  • *Sonny Mallhi, Anguish
  • *Sarah Adina Smith, The Midnight Swim
  • Disasterpeace, It Follows
  • *Hauschka, The Boy
  • *Wojciech Golczewski, We Are Still Here
  • *Claudio Simonetti, Carpenter Brut, Brian Wiacek, and Jeremy Gillespie, The Editor
  • *Fernando Velázquez, Crimson Peak
    • Best TV SeriesBest TV Makeup/Creature FX
  • Ash vs Evil Dead
  • *Hannibal
  • *Penny Dreadful
  • *Salem
  • *The Walking Dead
  • Greg Nicotero and Howard Berger, The Walking Dead
  • *François Dagenais, Hannibal
  • *Eryn Krueger Mekash and David LeRoy Anderson, American Horror Story: Hotel
  • *Matthew Mungle and Clinton Wayne, Salem
  • *Steve Newburn and Sean Samson,The Strain
    • Best TV ActorBest TV Actress
  • Bruce Campbell, Ash vs Evil Dead as Ashley "Ash" Williams
  • *Hugh Dancy, Hannibal as Will Graham
  • *Josh Hartnett, Penny Dreadful as Ethan Chandler
  • *Mads Mikkelsen, Hannibal as [Hannibal Lecter|Dr. Hannibal Lecter]
  • *Matt Ryan, Constantine as John Constantine
  • Eva Green, Penny Dreadful as Vanessa Ives
  • *Caroline Dhavernas, Hannibal as Dr. Alana Bloom
  • *Vera Farmiga, Bates Motel as Norma Louise Bates
  • *Lady Gaga, American Horror Story: Hotel as The Countess
  • *Janet Montgomery, Salem as Mary Walcott
    • Best TV Supporting ActorBest TV Supporting Actress
  • Richard Armitage, Hannibal as Francis Dolarhyde
  • *Seth Gabel, Salem as Cotton Mather
  • *Lennie James, The Walking Dead as Morgan Jones
  • *Rory Kinnear, Penny Dreadful as The Creature
  • *Evan Peters, American Horror Story: Hotel as James Patrick March
  • Gillian Anderson, Hannibal as Dr. Bedelia Du Maurier
  • *Jamie Lee Curtis, Scream Queens as Dean Cathy Munsch
  • *Dana DeLorenzo, Ash vs Evil Dead as Kelly Maxwell
  • *Lucy Lawless, Salem as Countess Palatine Ingrid von Marburg
  • *Billie Piper, Penny Dreadful as Brona Croft
    • Fangoria Hall of FameWorst Film
  • Kurt Russell
  • Barbara Crampton
  • Poltergeist, dir. Gil Kenan
  • *Paranormal Activity: The Ghost Dimension, dir. Gregory Plotkin
  • *The [Human Centipede 3 (Final Sequence)], dir. Tom Six
  • *The Gallows dir. Chris Lofing and Travis Cluff
  • *The Visit, dir. M. Night Shyamalan
    • List of winners:

    2015

    Best Wide-Release Film
    Best Limited-Release/Direct-to-Video Film
    Best Foreign-Language Film
    Best Actor
    Best Actress
    Best Supporting Actor
    Best Supporting Actress
    Best Screenplay
    Best Score
    Best Makeup/Creature FX
    Worst Film
    Best TV Series
    Best TV Actor
    Best TV Actress
    Best TV Supporting Actor
    Best TV Supporting Actress
    Best TV Makeup/Creature FX

    2014

    Best Wide-Release Film
    Best Limited-Release/Direct-to-Video Film
    Best Foreign-Language Film
    Best Actor
    Best Actress
    Best Supporting Actor
    Best Supporting Actress
    Best Screenplay
    Best Score
    Best Makeup/Creature FX

    2002

    The 11th Annual Fangoria Chainsaw Awards:
    Best Wide-Release FilmJeepers CreepersThe Others
    Best Limited-Release Film/Direct-to-Video FilmGinger SnapsThe Convent
    Best ActorAnthony Hopkins - Hannibal
    Best ActressNicole Kidman - The Others
    Best Supporting ActorJonathan Breck - Jeepers Creepers
    Best Supporting ActressAdrienne Barbeau - The Convent
    Best ScreenplayKaren Walton - Ginger Snaps
    Best ScoreHans Zimmer - Hannibal
    Best Makeup/Creature FXKNB EFX - Thirteen Ghosts
    Worst FilmValentineHannibal, The Mummy Returns, Thirteen Ghosts
    Fangoria Hall of Fame

    Films with multiple wins

    Films with 4 and more wins.
    WinsFilms
    6Bram Stoker’s Dracula
    6Hereditary
    5Midsommar
    5Army of Darkness
    5Black Swan
    4The Babadook
    4Evil Dead Rise
    4The Cabin in the Woods
    4Insidious
    4Let the Right One In
    4Scream
    4Shaun of the Dead
    4The [Silence of the Lambs (film)|The Silence of the Lambs]
    4Sinners
    4The Sixth Sense

    Best Wide Release Film

    Multiple wins

    Best Limited Release Film

    Multiple wins