Grindhouse Nights Film Festival is much more than a typical film festival. We strive to combine the best in independent horror films with top-rate live entertainment, all in an environment where filmmakers, fans and performers can mix, mingle and network.
This is just a brief history of our event, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2022.
This is just a brief history of our event, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2022.
While the first "official" Grindhouse Nights Film Festival didn't happen until July of 2012, the seed for the event was planted long before that in the form of "The PA/NJ Horror Film Club."
The PA/NJ Horror Film Club was started by horror personality and good friend Rob Dimension, and it consisted of a bunch of horror nerds watching independent films in the back of a comic book store and then discussing them afterwards. It was an awesome way for like minded people to get together and discuss the films that we loved.
Skip forward to 2010 or 2011 sometime at Cafe Z, a restaurant/lounge in Union, NJ owned by a very dear friend of mine. I'm there with a bunch of friends celebrating my birthday, and one of them suggests that the lounge would be a great place to screen horror films. The place felt like an old-time speakeasy, but with flat screen TVs on every wall, so we made a plan to show a film called "The Turnpike Killer" at Cafe Z in July of 2012.
I figured maybe, at best, a handful of people would show up but, much to my surprise, we had about 25 people show up! This was for an event that was not promoted as well as it could have been and relied on word of mouth. We had an awesome time and I decided that this thing could work, and Grindhouse Nights Film Festival was born.
The PA/NJ Horror Film Club was started by horror personality and good friend Rob Dimension, and it consisted of a bunch of horror nerds watching independent films in the back of a comic book store and then discussing them afterwards. It was an awesome way for like minded people to get together and discuss the films that we loved.
Skip forward to 2010 or 2011 sometime at Cafe Z, a restaurant/lounge in Union, NJ owned by a very dear friend of mine. I'm there with a bunch of friends celebrating my birthday, and one of them suggests that the lounge would be a great place to screen horror films. The place felt like an old-time speakeasy, but with flat screen TVs on every wall, so we made a plan to show a film called "The Turnpike Killer" at Cafe Z in July of 2012.
I figured maybe, at best, a handful of people would show up but, much to my surprise, we had about 25 people show up! This was for an event that was not promoted as well as it could have been and relied on word of mouth. We had an awesome time and I decided that this thing could work, and Grindhouse Nights Film Festival was born.
Over the next few years, we hosted several successful nighttime screenings, and the event became so popular that we expanded to a full day horror "mini-con" with not only film screenings, but also live entertainment, vendors and costumed performers. We continued to have several hugely popular events, with word continuing to spread that we had created something unique. There were a lot of great film festivals out there, but we were the only event that combined this with live entertainment such as burlesque, magic, rock vocalists, etc.) and other horror-related activities.
Eventually, the event became so popular that we outgrew Cafe Z, which had been our home for six years. In May of 2018, we moved to a larger venue, Roxy & Dukes Roadhouse in Dunellen, NJ. This represented a HUGE leap forward. We had a much larger venue, with a true stage for our performers and a professional grade sound system.
We had several amazing events at Roxy & Dukes, including a huge show in February of 2019, and then the nightmare of Covid-19 forced the whole world to shut down, and we went on hiatus.
Sadly, as of May 2021, we were informed that Roxy & Dukes would be closing for good, and that we had lost our venue. Jim Parks and the staff at Roxy's were amazing to us. We're sad to see them go, and we wish them nothing but the best in all of their future endeavors.
As of June 2021, we are happy to announce that we have found a new venue! The new home of Grindhouse Nights Film Festival will be The Crossroads at Garwood in Garwood, NJ. Crossroads is a great venue, with a long history of amazing live entertainment, and we are thrilled to be partnering with them for our 10th Anniversary extravaganza! This TWO-DAY event is coming in Spring of 2022, and it's going to be our biggest and best show yet!
I am grateful to everyone who has helped me grow this event over the years. I could not have done any of this without them, and huge thanks to all of the amazing fans who have supported and attended the event over the years. I appreciate you more than you know, and I look forward to whatever the future holds!
Todd S.
The Horror Nerd
Sadly, as of May 2021, we were informed that Roxy & Dukes would be closing for good, and that we had lost our venue. Jim Parks and the staff at Roxy's were amazing to us. We're sad to see them go, and we wish them nothing but the best in all of their future endeavors.
As of June 2021, we are happy to announce that we have found a new venue! The new home of Grindhouse Nights Film Festival will be The Crossroads at Garwood in Garwood, NJ. Crossroads is a great venue, with a long history of amazing live entertainment, and we are thrilled to be partnering with them for our 10th Anniversary extravaganza! This TWO-DAY event is coming in Spring of 2022, and it's going to be our biggest and best show yet!
I am grateful to everyone who has helped me grow this event over the years. I could not have done any of this without them, and huge thanks to all of the amazing fans who have supported and attended the event over the years. I appreciate you more than you know, and I look forward to whatever the future holds!
Todd S.
The Horror Nerd