Broadway Cinema's Mayhem festival brings horror and cult film to Hockley

October nights in Hockley have a particular flavour, and much of it comes from Broadway Cinema. The independent cinema on Broad Street has just hosted Mayhem Film Festival, four days of horror, science fiction and cult film that ran from 15 to 18 October 2026.

Mayhem began in 2005 as a one-off showcase of horror shorts created by filmmakers Steven Sheil and Chris Cooke. It now runs for four days, usually in mid-October, and is curated and produced by Chris Cooke, Steven Sheil and Melissa Gueneau with support from the Broadway team. Expect premieres, previews, masterclasses, international guests and live cinema events, with screenings through the rest of the year too.

This year's programme ranged from the UK premiere of No Way Down to Guy Maddin's Careful, Joko Anwar's Ghost in the Cell, Gustavo Hernández's The Whisper and John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness, plus Mārama with a Q&A.

Broadway itself has a fascinating story. The building at 14 to 18 Broad Street began life as a Wesleyan chapel built from 1839, and William Booth, later founder of the Salvation Army, found faith there in 1844. The cinema opened on 31 August 1990 with a screening of Enemies: A Love Story, with Adrian Wootton as its first director.

A redevelopment in 2006 expanded Broadway to four screens, and Screen 4 is named the Sir Paul Smith screen. Filmmaker Shane Meadows worked from the venue for many years and still supports it, while visitors over the years have included Quentin Tarantino, John Woo, Ian McKellen, Bella Ramsey and Vicky McClure. In 2009 Total Film magazine rated it among the best cinemas in the world.

Broadway is a registered charity and is serious about its future too, reporting a 35 per cent cut in emissions between 2015 to 2016 and 2024 to 2025. It is also lead organisation for Film Hub Midlands.

It is a hub for Nottingham's creative community as much as a cinema, and this weekend it is also the place to swap tickets for Hockley Hustle wristbands.

Films, events and membership details are on the Broadway website.