Shudder and Fangoria Studios are partnering to premiere the 2023 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards on Sunday, May 21st at 9pm ET, exclusively on AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thrillers, and the supernatural.
The ceremony, which recognizes outstanding achievements in horror film and television, will be hosted for the third year in a row by actor and writer David Dastmalchian (“Boston Strangler,” “Dune”), this time joined by co-host Peaches Christ (“All About Evil,” the “Midnight Mass” podcast). Presenters scheduled to appear include Jamie Clayton (“Hellraiser”), Mason Thames and Madeleine McGraw (“The Black Phone”), and Akela Cooper (“Malignant,” “M3GAN”) among its presenters.
This year’s nominees, first announced Jan. 23, include Jordan Peele’s “Nope,” Ti West’s “X” and “Pearl,” Dan Trachtenberg’s “Prey,” Scott Derrickson’s “The Black Phone,” Noah Segan’s “Blood Relatives,” the Duffer brothers’ Netflix series “Stranger Things,” Bryan Fuller’s “Queer for Fear,” Zach Cregger’s “Barbarian” and Damien Leone’s “Terrifier 2.”
“2022 is going to go down in history as one of the greatest years in horror entertainment. It honestly feels like a new Golden Age for the genre, and we definitely felt the pressure to do the moment justice with this year’s show,” said producer and Fangoria editor-in-chief Phil Nobile Jr.
Nobile and Armen Aghaeian produced the special, which is written and directed by Michael Varrati. Producer Tara Ansley and serial entrepreneur Abhi Goel, who acquired Fangoria (along with sister brands Starlog and Gorezone) in 2020, are executive producing.
At a time when horror is more popular than ever, the awards show offers validation otherwise largely absent for genre projects, their creators and their fans.
“The broad range of nominees for this year’s Chainsaws really showcase the places horror can go and the multi-faceted reach of storytelling,” says show writer/director Michael Varrati. “In constructing this year’s award ceremony, we not only wanted to honor this genre we all adore, but throw one big spooky party celebrating all the wonderful things fright can be. This isn’t just a night for the nominees and recipients, but a love letter to the fans who keep horror…and all its tendrils…alive all year long.”
“We’re thrilled to once again partner with FANGORIA and be the home of the ultimate celebration of the best in horror, as voted on by the fans,” adds Samuel Zimmerman, VP of Programming at Shudder. “We can’t wait to take part in revealing outstanding achievements in the genre that delivered the year’s darkest nightmares and supreme scares.”
Around this year’s ceremony, which will premiere Sunday, May 21st at 9pm ET on Shudder TV, Shudder’s in-app programming feed, additional pre- and post-shows will stream via Fango’s social media accounts. The Chainsaw Awards will be available on Shudder on-demand across all platforms, partners and territories beginning Monday, May 22nd.