Rondo Awards administrator David Colton announced the 2025 Rondo Award winners on May 4.

The Rondo Awards, named after Rondo Hatton, an obscure B-movie villain of the 1940s, honor the best in classic horror research, creativity and film preservation.

More than 4,500 fans voted. A Rondo Awards Ceremony will be held May 31 at the WonderFest Convention in Louisville, Kentucky.

Robert Eggers‘ Nosferatu took Best Movie of 2024

A critical study by Robert Curti of the trailblazing Italian gothic, I, Vampiri, was voted Book of the Year.

In individual categories, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, whose books and commentaries reveal the feminist underpinnings of the horror genre, was picked as Writer of the Year while Mark Maddox was once again voted Best Artist.  Dan Gallagher was voted Best Fan Artist and shared honors with writer Sam Irvin on  their Captain Samouflage graphic novel.

Three Special Recognition Rondos were awarded: To the staff of the British magazine We Belong Dead, for an exhaustive two-issue examination of all aspects of Japanese horror films; to Scotsman Lawrie Brewster for efforts to restore the  Amicus film studio; and to JR Spooky Shack, owner of an extensive horror collectible shop in Massachusetts.

The second winner of the David J. Skal Research Award, named after the late horror scholar, was Greg Kulon for his work on a definitive new biography of Willis O’Brien, the man who animated the original King Kong in 1933.

The Rondo Monster Kid of the Year award went to Eric Grayson, for his successful six-year effort to restore the almost lost silent/sound serial, King of the Kongo, which featured Boris Karloff in 1929.

Newest inductees to Rondo’s Monster Kid Hall of Fame were Dark Shadows actress Kathryn Leigh Scott; director and film entrepreneur Fred Olen Ray; Nashville horror host Dr. Gangrene for his work honoring past horror personalities;  Bob Michelucci, creator of an influential guidebook to monster magazines in 1977; and Victoria Price, who has kept her father Vincent Price’s legacy alive.

The Rondos also inducted two men who passed away in 2024, Australian film scholar Lee Gambin, and John Brunas, who with his brother Michael Brunas (also inducted), helped shape horror scholarship by dissecting with Tom Weaver every Universal horror film from the mid-century.

The complete list of winners follows the jump.

BEST FILM OF 2024

• NOSFERATU, directed by Robert Eggers

2) BEST TV PRESENTATION

• WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS

3) BEST BLU-RAY

• INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956; 4K; Kino)

4) BEST BLU-RAY COLLECTION

• THE MUMMY COLLECTION (1932-1944) (Via Vision)

5) BEST RESTORATION OR UPGRADE

• INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956; Kino)

6) BEST BLU-RAY EXTRAS

• TRICK OR TREAT (1986; Synapse) ‘Rock and Shock’ documentary by Red Shirt

7) FAVORITE COMMENTATOR OF 2024

• TOM WEAVER and contributors GREG MANK, LARRY BLAMIRE, and RON ADAMS (various projects)

8) BEST INDEPENDENT FILM

• LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL, directed by Cameron and Colin Cairnes

9) BEST SHORT FILM

• GRAVES FROM THE BLACK LAGOON, directed by Arthur Dark

10) BEST DOCUMENTARY

• ALIENS EXPANDED, directed by Ian Nathan

11) BOOK OF THE YEAR

• I, VAMPIRI, by Roberto Curti

12) BEST CLASSIC MONSTER FICTION

• ED WOOD’S WARM ANGORA WISHES AND RUBBER OCTOPUS DREAMS, edited by Kurt McCoy

13) BEST MAGAZINE (modern)

• FANGORIA

14) BEST MAGAZINE (classic)

• CLASSIC MONSTERS OF THE MOVIES

15) BEST ARTICLE

• ‘Army of Darkness: A HorrorHound Retrospective,’ by Ernie Rockelman, HORRORHOUND #102.

16) BEST INTERVIEW

• Bruce Campbell interviewed by Antony Earnshaw, THE DARK SIDE #261

17) BEST COLUMN

• HEARD BUT NOT SEEN: Adventures in Voice-Acting, by Bill Timoney (Videoscope)

18 )  BEST COVER

• CASTLE OF FRANKENSTEIN #40, by Scott Jackson

19) BEST WEBSITE

• BLOODY DISGUSTING

20) BEST PODCAST

• Penny Dreadful’s TERROR AT COLLINWOOD

21) FAVORITE HORROR HOST OF 2024

• SVENGOOLIE

22) BEST EVENT

• TWILIGHT ZONE STATUE OF ROD SERLING DEDICATED IN BINGHAMTON, NY

23) BEST GRAPHIC NOVEL OR COLLECTION

• CAPTAIN SAMOUFLAGE AND THE FRANKENSAM SCAM! The Queerdo Superhero Parody for Grownup Monster Kids!, by Sam Irvin and Dan Gallagher

INDIVIDUAL RONDO AWARDS

WRITER OF THE YEAR

• ALEXANDRA HELLER-NICHOLAS

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

• MARK MADDOX

FAN ARTIST OF THE YEAR

• DAN GALLAGHER

MONSTER KID OF THE YEAR

• ERIC GRAYSON

SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD

• WE BELONG DEAD #41 and 42

SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD

• LAWRIE BREWSTER

SPECIAL RECOGNITION AWARD

• JR SPOOKY SHACK

THE DAVID J. SKAL RESEARCH AWARD

• Greg Kulon

THE MONSTER KID HALL OF FAME

New inductees

• KATHRYN LEIGH SCOTT
• BOB MICHELUCCI
• LARRY UNDERWOOD (DR. GANGRENE)
• VICTORIA PRICE
• FRED OLEN RAY
• LEE GAMBIN
• JOHN and MICHAEL BRUNAS

[Based on a press release.]