Festival dossier

Independent Horror Movie Awards

United States · Est. 2014 · Multiple structural red flags — exercise caution before submitting

WarningWatchlist
United States
30
Legitimacy Score

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Warning-tier means structural red flags in our data — not a confirmed scam, but submit only with eyes open.

  • Name follows 'award mill' pattern (ends in 'Awards')
  • No physical screenings
  • 1 documented risk signal

Overview

The Independent Horror Movie Awards is an online U.S. horror competition dedicated to indie horror films rather than a public screening festival. It is notable for its large set of genre-specific and craft awards—such as Best Kill, Best Gore, and Best Scare—which it uses to highlight overlooked independent horror work and recognize achievements across features, shorts, and technical categories.[3]

Last updated Oct 4, 2026

Legitimacy Analysis

Positive Indicators (+16 pts)

  • 12 years of verifiable history
  • 3 verified pro signals

Red Flags (-36 pts)

  • Name follows 'award mill' pattern (ends in 'Awards')
  • No physical screenings
  • 1 documented risk signal
  • On watchlist — negative reputation signals detected

Trust Signals

Risk Flags

  • AWARD_MILL_NAME

Positive Signals

  • FilmFreeway Gold festival
  • Has FilmFreeway community ratings
  • Documented history with archived programs

Festival Details

Founded

2014

Visit Festival Website

FilmFreeway communityGold festival

Avg. rating

4.8/ 5

Reviews

198

Synced 4 days ago

  • Fabricio Estevam MiraJan 2023

    A festival that does what most other festivals should do: Judge your film as a whole without charging extra for each letter written. For those who really like horror cinema. I recommend.

  • Guillermo OrtizJan 2023

    Awesome Fest! Thanks for the nomination

  • Fabrizio Byron RampottiJan 2023

    We were honored to win Best Music for our short film "The Witch and Herman" . We hope to submit more work in the future.

  • Seth JarrettJan 2023

    Thank you for nominating my script NIGHTMARE for Best Short Script! Look forward to being part of your future festivals

  • John McCoolJan 2023

    Seriously an awesome experience. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to show my screenplay. I look forward to submitting again in the future!

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At a glance

Legitimacy Score30/100
Reviews0
Community Reports0
FilmFreeway4.8★ · 198

How scoring works

Scores are calculated from structural indicators: accreditations, physical screenings, award category count, submission frequency, and acceptance rate. Higher scores reflect more verifiable legitimacy signals.

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