Culture 3 min read By Mason Emerson
Obsession and Backrooms dominate Fangoria Chainsaw Awards
Curry Barker's horror film Obsession won five awards at the fan-voted Fangoria Chainsaw Awards, while Backrooms also took major honors at the Shudder-broadcast ceremony.
Obsession led this year's Fangoria Chainsaw Awards with the most wins of any title, taking home five awards, including Best Director for Curry Barker and Best Lead Performance for Inde Navarrette. The fan-voted ceremony recognizes achievements across horror film, television and gaming, and this year's edition premiered Sunday on Shudder.
The broadcast was hosted by Devon Sawa, whose genre credits include Final Destination and Chucky. Backrooms also had a strong night, winning several of the awards presented during the ceremony, and it stood alongside Obsession as one of the evening's most decorated productions. The two titles together accounted for a large share of the honors handed out across the show's categories.
Barker's directing win places him among the standout names recognized this year, and Navarrette's lead performance award highlights the strength of the film's central role. Because the Chainsaw Awards are decided by fan votes rather than by an industry jury, the results reflect the response of horror audiences rather than critics or studio campaigns. That distinction is central to the ceremony's identity, since it has always been built around the preferences of genre fans who follow films, series and games closely.
The Chainsaw Awards have long served as a showcase for genre work that often receives less attention from mainstream awards bodies. By spanning film, television and gaming, the ceremony gives fans a single venue to celebrate the horror projects they followed over the past year. The wide range of categories means that success in one medium does not limit recognition in others, and this year's results show how strongly audiences responded to both Obsession and Backrooms across different parts of the genre.
The win total for Obsession also underscores how a single production can dominate a fan-driven field when its core creative contributions connect with viewers. Five awards across directing and acting categories indicate that the film's appeal was not confined to one element. For Barker, the directing honor marks a notable moment in a ceremony that has increasingly highlighted emerging filmmakers alongside established names.
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