FANGORIA and Shudder Announce Presenters for the 2021 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards

Written by John Edward Betancourt

When one thinks about television and movie themed award shows, some pretty baseline images come into mind. Such as red carpets, and glamorous photo shoots and of course, uplifting speeches about the wonder of being at the top of one’s game when a prestigious award is accepted. But what you don’t think about in regard to these shows, are horror stories winning some kind of award. Because for some reason, a great deal of horror films and shows aren’t taken seriously enough by those who dole out recognition and that’s just silly. For they are indeed as much art as anything else created in the industry. 

But while the vast majority of awards organizations ignore this important genre, there are others who understand that those who work in the genre to produce artful nightmares that blow us away… deserve recognition for their hard work. Which is why the FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards are a thing, so that the best horror stories and the people behind them, receive the accolades that they deserve, and it just so happens, that we are drawing near the time for this fantastic award show to air on Shudder. In fact, we are so close to airtime (April 18) that earlier today, both FANGORIA and Shudder released a joint announcement, as to who will be presenting at this prestigious event and here are the details on those presenters, per FANGORIA and Shudder.

Shudder and FANGORIA announced today presenters at the 2021 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards, premiering Sunday, April 18 at 8pm ET/5pm PT exclusively on Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural.  The ceremony, which recognizes outstanding achievement in horror film and television, will be hosted by actor and writer David Dastmalchian (‘Ant-Man and the Wasp’) and feature Jamie Lee Curtis (‘Halloween’), Keith David (‘The Thing’), Gigi Saul Guerrero (director, ‘Culture Shock’), Issa Lopez (director, ‘Tigers Are Not Afraid’), Kevin Smith (‘Clerks’), Tananarive Due (‘Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror’), Blumhouse founder and CEO Jason Blum, James Jude Courtney (‘Halloween’), Doug Jones (‘The Shape of Water’) and drag artist and The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula season two winner Biqtch Puddin’ as presenters.  This year’s nominated films include The Invisible Man, Freaky, The Dark and the Wicked, Host and Possessor as well as actors Vince Vaughn, Kathryn Newton, Clancy Brown and Elisabeth Moss.

“We’re thrilled to partner with our friends at FANGORIA, a horror institution, to present their annual Chainsaw Awards, televised for the first time in years.  We hope to bring Shudder members and horror fans together for a vibrant celebration of the genre we love so much,” said Craig Engler, GM for Shudder.

“The Chainsaw Awards are an institution in horror, having existed in the magazine since 1992. Bringing them back as an actual event has been a dream, and airing them on Shudder is something we’ve been working toward since we resurrected the magazine,” said FANGORIA editor Phil Nobile Jr.
This year's ceremony will be filmed and hosted virtually with pre- and post-show on socials. The ceremony will premier exclusively on the “Shudder TV” feed – available only on Shudder’s TV and mobile apps and online at Shudder.com – airing simultaneously in the US, Canada, UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, marking the first time the Chainsaw Awards have been televised globally. The ceremony will also be released via FANGORIA’s online and social platforms after the Shudder premiere.

Since 1992, the Chainsaw Awards have honored top achievements in the horror genre, with past recipients including Jonathan Demme, Sam Raimi, Robert Eggers, Toni Collette and George Romero.
The Chainsaw Awards are executive produced by Tara Ansley, Abhi Goel, Phil Nobile Jr. and produced by Armen Aghaeian and Rebekah McKendry.

So, as you can see, quite the incredible and diverse lineup of presenters has been assembled for this magnificent event and that should make this show quite the engaging and entertaining watch. And if you're as eager as we are to see which horror movies and shows and actors will take home this prestigious award, then make sure you tune into Shudder on April 18, 2021 at 8pm ET / 5pm PT. 

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