Curious Refuge is offering cash prizes for AI-made horror films submitted before Halloween 2026
The fourth annual AI Horror Film Competition from Curious Refuge opens 1 September 2026 and closes 20 October, with a cash prize pool described as exceeding $9,000 historically.
Curious Refuge has run its AI Horror Film Competition every year since its founding, and the fourth edition arrives with what the organisers describe as the biggest cash pool yet. Films screened during Halloween week, judged by a combination of community vote and jury panel, and past winners have gone on to collaborate with Curious Refuge on longer-form features. The whole thing is free to enter and open to filmmakers anywhere in the world.
The competition sits at an interesting moment for AI filmmaking: organisers explicitly welcome fully AI-generated work, hybrid productions that blend AI with live footage or traditional techniques, and anything in between. Voice generation is specifically encouraged, which is a broader stance than many festivals currently take. If you have a horror short that has been sitting on your hard drive waiting for the right showcase, this is a reasonable target to aim for before the leaves fall.
What you submit
Entrants submit a short horror film. The page does not state a maximum runtime, so contact the organisers at curiousrefuge.com for clarification before shooting to a length you later need to trim. Any AI tool is permitted. Submissions open 1 September 2026 and the deadline is 20 October 2026. No cutoff time is published, so treat the end of 19 October as your working deadline to leave a day in hand. The Halloween-week screening event is scheduled for 31 October 2026.
Prize structure
Cash prizes are awarded to top-placing films. The page describes the historical pool as approximately $9,000 or more but does not break down individual tier amounts for this year's edition. Winners also receive a feature placement on the Curious Refuge platform and exposure to its filmmaking community. No credits-only prizes are listed; the prizes described are cash.
Terms worth reading
Entry is free, which is straightforwardly creator-friendly on cost. The competition is global with no stated nationality or residency restriction. Judging is split between community voting and a jury, so both popular appeal and craft are relevant factors. The official page does not publish detailed terms covering intellectual property or licensing of submitted films. Before entering, review the full ruleset at curiousrefuge.com/ai-filmmaking-competitions to confirm what rights, if any, you grant to Curious Refuge upon submission. If you cannot locate a terms document there, send a direct query to the organisers so you have a written record of the licence conditions before your film goes in.
The full contest listing and application link is tracked daily by AI Film Contests.
Source: AI Film Contests, Curious Refuge AI Horror Film Competition 2026