competition · online
2026 AI Horror Film Competition (4th Annual)
When it actually closes
rules page
- Stated
- “October 9th, 2026, at 11:59 PM PST”
- Printed zone
- PST
- IANA zone
- America/Los_Angeles
- UTC
- 2026-10-10T06:59:00Z
- Your time
- Sat Oct 10, 6:59 AM UTC (loading your time zone…)
Safe cutoff
Easypromos promotion end_entry is Oct 3, 10:00 PM Los Angeles
- Stated
- “Easypromos promotion end_entry is Oct 3, 10:00 PM Los Angeles”
- UTC
- 2026-10-04T05:00:00Z
- Your time
- Sun Oct 4, 5:00 AM UTC (loading your time zone…)
The trap: Labelled PST, but Pacific clocks are on PDT until Nov 1, so the rules-page deadline is 06:59 UTC Oct 10, not 07:59 UTC. The Easypromos entry portal's own config ends entries earlier, Oct 3, 10:00 PM Los Angeles (05:00 UTC Oct 4). That is the safe cutoff.
Prizes
$12,000 cash · 3 slots
Judged cash prizes: 1st $7,000 USD, 2nd $3,000 USD, 3rd $2,000 USD. Each also gets free enrollment in a Curious Refuge course, a social shout-out, an AI Filmmaking sweatshirt and an "Optional Creative Partnership Membership / Discount" (that last item appears on the rules page only). The Audience Favorite award has no cash: course enrollment, a T-shirt and the optional partnership/discount. There are no separate sponsor or track prizes.
1st place
cash
$7,000
2nd place
cash
$3,000
3rd place
cash
$2,000
Audience Favorite
other
Non-cash: course enrollment, T-shirt, optional partnership/discount
Eligibility
Individuals: eligible
The rules have no eligibility clause. The closest line is "You may collaborate with others to create the film." There is no country, age or residency limit.
Checked for one adult entering alone from Nevada, USA. Rules can differ by country, so read the rule quoted here for where you live.
Entry cost
Free to enter
Payout
unknown
unknown
Rights — what you give up
entrant-keeps
No transfer of ownership is stated; you keep your film. You grant usage rights: Epidemic Sound and Curious Refuge may use submissions as marketing material (social posts and winner posts), always with credit.
Gotchas
- There are no formal legal terms. The Easypromos 'toc' (terms and conditions) field is an unfilled Spanish template ('[COMPLETA ESTA PLANTILLA DE BASES LEGALES...]' with blank company, residency and age fields).
- Payout method and timing are never stated. Expect US tax reporting (a W-9 or 1099) on a US cash prize of $600 or more.
- An Epidemic Sound account is mandatory. The free 30-day trial, or code curious1 for a free month, avoids cost, but a trial may require a payment method and auto-renew, so cancel before it bills.
- The Easypromos promotion-level config shows end_entry 2026-10-03 22:00 PT, earlier than the stage deadline of 2026-10-09 23:59 PT. The live page shows the upload stage open with 12 days left, but submitting before Oct 3 removes any risk.