The Overlook Film Festival is back for another year, this time with 40 new films and a new location. Taking place in New Orleans April 19-22, the festival boasts 23 feature lengths (including some highly anticipated genre releases) and 17 shorts. Unfriended: Dark Web and Hereditary, standouts from SXSW, are opening and closing the fest, respectively. Other highlights include Ghost Stories (starring Martin Freeman), the world premiere of Puppet Master: the Littlest Reich (the latest in the franchise), and L. Gustavo Cooper’s recent short, Amy.
Leigh Whannell is slated to this year’s recipient of the festival’s Visionary Award for his notable work on the Saw and Insidious franchises. His latest film, Upgrade, will also screen at the festival.
Presale passes are currently available at overlookfilmfest.com, with a note that there will be individual film passes (although limited) released in early April.
Opening, Centerpiece, and Closing Night Presentations
Opening Night Film:
Unfriended: Dark Web
Director: Stephen Susco
Cast: Colin Woodell, Betty Gabriel, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Andrew Lees, Connor del Rio, Stephanie Nogueras, Savira Windyani
United States, 2018
Preparing for his weekly Skype game night with his friends, a cyber café attendant borrows a laptop from the lost and found, only to find that the previous owner will stop at nothing to retrieve it. A sequel in name only, UNFRIENDED: DARK WEB borrows key cinematic elements from the original UNFRIENDED while telling its own edge-of-your-seat sadistic tale full of shocks and surprises that will make you think twice about who’s watching when you log on.
Centerpiece Film:
St. Agatha (World Premiere)
Director: Darren Lynn Bousman
Cast: Sabrina Kern, Carolyn Hennesy, Courtney Halverson
United States, 2018
Horror film impresario Darren Lynn Bousman, director of SAW II, III and IV, modern experiments REPO! A GENETIC OPERA and THE DEVIL’S CARNIVAL, not to mention the groundbreaking ongoing immersive property The Tension Experience, brings to life his latest vision, a period piece concerning a troubled woman running from her past who finds herself kept hostage by a coven of vicious nuns.
Closing Night Film:
Hereditary
Director: Ari Aster
Cast: Toni Collette, Alex Wolff, Milly Shapiro, Ann Dowd, Gabriel Byrne
United States, 2018
When their reclusive grandmother passes away, the Graham family is slowly taken hold by a cursed terror, one that won’t let go. A cavalcade of gifted performers led by Toni Collete star in filmmaker Ari Aster’s astounding debut feature, which has deservedly become one of the most anticipated horror films of the year since it’s electrifying debut at the Sundance Film Festival.
Feature Film Presentations
Arizona
Director: Jonathan Watson
Cast: Danny McBride, Rosemarie DeWitt, Luke Wilson, Lolli Sorenson, Elizabeth Gillies, Kaitlin Olson
United States, 2017
This wickedly inventive comedic thriller that sharply utilizes the true life economic turmoil of the housing crisis as its backdrop, casts Danny Mcbride as an unhinged homeowner who attempts to take out his frustrations on a scrupulous relator (Rosemarie Dewitt) with a rampage that grows increasingly murderous.
Beast
Director: Michael Pearce
Cast: Jessie Buckley, Johnny Flynn, Trystan Gravelle,Geraldine James
United Kingdom, 2017
In this brutal, sexy, critically acclaimed debut thriller from UK director Michael Pearce, a disturbed woman finds herself caught between her oppressive family’s demands and her animalistic attraction to an alluring stranger who’s arrival in her life is suspiciously timed with a series of vicious murders in their isolated community.
Blood Fest
Director: Owen Egerton
Cast: Robbie Kay, Jacob Batalon, Seychelle Gabriel, Tate Donovan, Barbara Dunkelman, Nick Rutherford, Zachary Levi
United States, 2018
When the most exciting horror festival in the country turns the tables on its zealous fan base by trapping them on the grounds and murdering them en masse, a group of teens armed with the knowledge of a thousand horror movies must fight their way through the bloodbath in this hilarious send-up of horror culture.
Blue My Mind
Director: Lisa Brühlmann
Cast: Luna Wedler, Zoë Pastelle Holthuizen
Switzerland, 2017
During the process of moving cities with her parents and trying to start over with a new group of friends, 15-year-old Mia begins to discover unexpected changes to her body that she dare not speak about to anyone. In spite of her radical attempts to halt the process, Mia is forced to face the horrifying reality of who she truly is. Equal parts tender, surreal, and grotesque, actor-turned-director Lisa Brühlmann’s first feature is a worth addition to the adolescent body horror canon.
Caniba
Director: Véréna Paravel & Lucien Castaing-Taylor
Cast: Issei Sagawa, Jun Sagawa
France, 2017
Sensory ethnography documentarians Lucien Castaign-Taylor and Véréna Paravel turn their cameras on notorious Japanese cannibal cum manga author, pornography director, and sushi critic, Issei Sagawa. In an unprecedented and shocking interview, Sagawa reveals gruesome details about his life and crimes, as well as a peak into his fraught relationship with his mysterious brother.
Don’t Leave Home
Director: Michael Tully
Cast: Anna Margaret Hollyman, Lalor Roddy, Helena Bereen, David McSavage, Karrie Cox
Ireland, 2018
An American artist accepts a strange invitation to a secluded Irish manor to construct an original sculpture for a priestly painter whose work has been shrouded in a sinister urban legend involving the disappearance of an 8-year-old girl in this creepy, offbeat cinematic discovery from indie stalwart Michael Tully (SEPTIEN).
Downrange
Director: Ryuhei Kitamura
Cast: Kelly Connaire, Stephanie Pearson, Alexa Yeames, Jason Tobias
United States, 2017
Macabre mastermind Ryuhei Kitamura (VERSUS, MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN) comes crashing back with a frenetic new film of murder and mayhem. Stranded by the side of the road in the middle of nowhere from a tire blowout, a group of carpoolers become suddenly besieged by flying bullets from an unseen shooter with incredible precision and a savage will.
The Farm (World Premiere)
Director: Hans Stjernswärd
Cast: Nora Yessayan, Alec Gaylord, Ken Volok, Rob Tisdale
United States, 2018
The classic horror tale of a young couple who takes a wrong turn and stumbles into a small town full of people with nefarious intentions is turned on its head in this disturbing manifesto about food production. Seeping with eerie atmosphere, this unnerving first feature from newcomer Hans Stjernswärd finds as much fear in its silences as it does in its sickening, insidious images.
Ghost Stories
Director: Jeremy Dyson & Andy Nyman
Cast: Martin Freeman, Alex Lawther, Andy Nyman, Paul Whitehouse
United Kingdom, 2017
After stumbling across a long-lost folder of material from his childhood hero, Goodman, a TV investigator known for debunking psychic hoaxes, digs deep into three cases of ghoulish hauntings. Determined to find rational explanations, Goodman quickly realizes he’s in over his head. Featuring Martin Freeman, this spine-tingling anthology, adapted from the hit stage play, tells enough tales to keep you up for nights to come.
Good Manners
Director: Juliana Rojas & Marco Dutra
Cast: Isabél Zuaa, Marjorie Estiano, Miguel Lobo
Brazil/France, 2017
A surprising, imaginative and engaging twist on classic genre stories told with a sophisticated cinematic technique, GOOD MANNERS begins unassumingly with a near destitute nurse becoming the caretaker for a wealthy, isolated pregnant woman exhibiting strange behavior. But soon her habits turn into a sleeping hunger that changes both of their lives forever.
Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich (World Premiere)
Director: Sonny Laguna & Tommy Wiklund
Cast: Thomas Lennon, Michael Paré, Barbara Crampton, Udo Kier
United Kingdom / United States, 2018
During a roadtrip to a convention for the 30th Anniversary of the infamous Toulon Murders, a comic book nerd, his new girlfriend and his best friend come face to face with a set of sadistic nazi puppets out for blood. A reimagining of the Charles Band classic, this uproarious horror comedy starring Thomas Lennon, Udo Kier, Barbara Crampton, Nelson Franklin, and Charlene Yi pays homage to the Full Moon features of the late 80s, early 90s.
The Ranger
Director: Jenn Wexler
Cast: Chloë Levine, Granit Lahu, Jeremy Pope, Bubba Weiler, Amanda Grace Benitez, Jeremy Holm, Larry Fessenden
United States, 2018
A band of punks on the run from trouble with the local law hide out in the woods, only to stumble onto the radar of a deranged park ranger with a malicious approach to justice and a mysterious connection to a member of their group. Longtime indie horror producer Jenn Wexler makes her directorial debut with this manic, punk-rock take on the traditional slasher flick.
Revenge
Director: Coralie Fargeat
Cast: Matilda Lutz, Kevin Janssens, Vincent Colombe, Guillaume Bouchede, Jean-Louis Tribes
France, 2017
First time filmmaker Coralie Fargeat subverts expectations of the exploitative rape-revenge film tropes from the grind house age for this explosively shocking assault on misogynistic culture that stunned unsuspecting audiences at both the Toronto and Sundance film festivals. Don’t miss one of the most intense debuts of the year.
Satan’s Slaves
Director: Joko Anwar
Cast: Tara Basro, Bront Palarae, Dimas Aditya, Endy Arfian, Nasar Annuz, Ayu Laksmi, Egy Fedly
Indonesia, 2017
When Mawarni, a famous Indonesian singer, dies of a mysterious illness, her husband and four children are left behind to pick up the pieces, only to discover that they are being haunted by a pack of rabid spirits headed by Mawarni herself. Technically billed as a remake of the 1982 Indonesian remake of Don Coscarelli’s PHANTASM, celebrated director Joko Anwar’s SATAN’S SLAVES is its own chilling throwback to 70s supernatural thrillers, packed to the brim with jump scares and iconic imagery.
Sex Madness Revealed (World Premiere)
Director: Tim Kirk
Cast: Patton Oswalt, Rob Zabrecky
United States, 2018
Notorious comedian Patton Oswalt and renowned magician Rob Zabrecky star in Tim Kirk’s (DIRECTOR’S COMMENTARY) latest experiment in how to tell tales of terror. Taking the form of an audio commentary that plays out over the little known 1938 STD propaganda film SEX MADNESS, the voice of a persnickety film blogger interviews the descendant of the original motion picture’s director who harbors a nefarious secret.
Tigers Are Not Afraid
Director: Issa López
Cast: Paola Lara, Juan Ramón López, Ianis Guerrero, Rodrigo Cortés, Hanssel Casillas
Mexico, 2017
In one of the most imaginative (and award winning!) features traveling the genre festival circuit in recent months, a young girl with a missing mother joins a band of street misfits in effort to survive amidst rampant cartel violence in modern-day Mexico City. Populated with fairy tale imagery, TIGERS is at turns harshly real and terrifyingly surreal, reminiscent of films like THE DEVIL’S BACKBONE and CITY OF GOD as it details a tragic and engulfing nightmare.
Upgrade
Director: Leigh Whannell
Cast: Logan Marshall-Green, Betty Gabriel, Harrison Gilbertson, Benedict Hardie
Australia, 2017
Fan favorite Leigh Whannell, whose work on the SAW and INSIDIOUS franchises have made him a modern genre icon, thrills and delights with this gory and action-packed foray into a science-fiction dystopia. An experimental procedure infuses a sentient computer chip into the body and mind of paralyzed Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green), fueling a spiraling mission for vengeance that leads to a terrifying endgame.
Vampire Clay
Director: Soichi Umezawa
Cast: Kyoka Takeda, Momoka Sugimoto, Ena Fujita, Yuyu Makihara, Asuka Kurosawa
Japan, 2017
A group of unwitting art school students find themselves in a brutal showdown against a pack of evil of modeling clay in this campy, inventive, practical effects extravaganza from Japanese FX artist turned filmmaker Soichi Umezawa.
What Keeps You Alive
Director: Colin Minihan
Cast: Hannah Emily Anderson, Brittany Allen, Martha Macisaac, Joey Klein, Charlotte Lindsay Marron
Canada, 2018
For their first wedding anniversary, Jackie and Jules retreat to a cozy cabin near a beautiful lake. The sudden appearance of Jackie’s childhood best friend sets off a chain of unlikely events that turn a quiet vacation into the deadliest game of cat and mouse in Overlook Alum Colin Minihan’s (writer of STILL/BORN) claustrophobic survivalist thriller.
Wolfman’s Got Nards: A Documentary
Director: André Gower
Cast: Fred Dekker, Shane Black, Seth Green, Adam F. Goldberg, Ryan Lambert, Ashley Bank, Adam Green, Joe Lynch, Chuck Russell, Heather Langenkamp
United States, 2018
August 14, 1987 saw the release of what has become one of the strangest, scariest and most iconic kids film to ever grace the silver screen – THE MONSTER SQUAD. In this endearing documentary, director Andre Gower takes us not only behind the scenes on the production, but also into the heart of the fandom surrounding the movie and the magic that made it such a defining cinematic experience for so many in the genre community.
Virtual Reality Presentations:
Campfire Creepers: The Skull of Sam
Director: Alexandre Aja
From master of horror Alexandre Aja, the director of films such as The Hills Have Eyes, Piranha, and Horns, comes an original anthology series that brings classic campfire stories to life in stunning Virtual Reality. Produced by Oculus and Future Lighthouse and distributed by Dark Corner, Campfire Creepers invites viewers to join the fire circle at a summer camp called Camp Coyote as a group of kids take turns telling spooky tales. Inspired by cult classics like Creepshow and Tales from the Crypt, every episode of Campfire Creepers is a wild ride that will have you laughing and screaming in equal measure.
Delusion: Lies Within (World Premiere)
Director: Jon Braver
Set in the 1940’s American South, beloved author Elena Fitzgerald goes missing before releasing the final novel in her epic dark fantasy that has captivated fans Daniel and Virginia. As many believe her to be dead, Daniel and Virginia must leave their grim reality behind to save Fitzgerald from her own literary nightmare. The VR series from Skybound Entertainment is a fully immersive, 360 degrees episodic story. Delusion is based off Jon Braver’s 2014 immersive theatrical performance in Los Angeles.
Masters Of The Sun
Director: will.i.am
This interactive comic book series from Oculus Studios, born from the mind of will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas), is a retro futuristic B-boy zombie thriller about a hip-hop group from East LA that must battle an ancient god who is turning black drug dealers and gangsters into zombies. This epic journey, spanning 13 episodes, explores gang culture, hip-hop origins, and cloaked conspiracy theories—from ancient Egypt to the streets of LA. Starring Queen Latifah, Rakim, Jamie Foxx, Ice-T, and KRS-One.
Night Night
Director: Guy Shelmerdine
It’s time to drift off to dreamland…but first your mom is going to read you a short bedtime story. Take a journey into your childhood nightmares with Dark Corner’s sense-stunning immersive experience. Produced by Dark Corner and MPC VR.
Wolves In The Walls (Chapter 1)
Director: Pete Billington
Eight-year-old Lucy suspects that wolves live in the walls of her family’s home. She has no one to believe her … but you. Forging a groundbreaking blend of film, theatre, audience agency, and sleight of hand, this exquisitely crafted animated experience, adapted from material by Neil Gaiman and choreographed by immersive theater company Third Rail Projects, casts you as an active performer in a narrative where you interact, have a relationship with, and go on a quest with the central character in ways that leave your mark on the experience.
Live Event Presentations:
BLACKOUT (World Premiere)
Creators: Kristjan Thor and Josh Randall
In 2009, an underground immersive horror experience swept through the NYC art scene and began a path that would transform the international theater community. BLACKOUT, the X-rated fear experience designed for adults over 18 to walk through completely alone. Created by directors Kristjan Thor and Josh Randall, BLACKOUT has had productions in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. Now at the Overlook Film Festival, BLACKOUT presents the world premiere of a rare and unique opportunity for the adventurous to make their way through what the NEW YORK TIMES has called the “most extreme theater event of the year.” WARNING: This is considered an extreme experience and is exclusively for pass holders. Participants are required to sign a waiver. Slots will be made available exclusively for all-access pass holders.
The Canon Podcast Live
Host: Amy Nicholson
What films should be included in the list of all-time greats? Film critic Amy Nicholson and a guest debate, discuss and sometimes harmoniously agree about whether a film should be Canon-ized. Ultimately, the decision is yours. Cast your vote, and decide the legacy of each movie forevermore. No pressure.
In Another Room
Directors: Austin and Aaron Keeling
Last summer, E3W Productions’ surprise hit ‘In Another Room’ invited guests to explore the richly storied rooms of a notoriously haunted house in Los Angeles, introducing audience members to the inhabitants who lived and died within its walls. Now, E3W Productions is pleased to offer exclusive access to one of the rooms from their debut show, transported to the Bourbon Orleans Hotel for the duration of the Overlook Film Festival. Audiences of three will be invited to step inside this room, where they will meet a previous inhabitant and learn of the tragedies that befell them. ‘In Another Room’ sold out in just three days upon its initial run, and this excerpt promises a haunting, moving, and extremely intimate experience. We invite those of you most attuned to the psychic and supernatural to join us for a once in a lifetime opportunity to come face to face with the unknown. Slots will be made available exclusively for all-access pass holders.
Infinitely Dinner Society: Midnight Snacks
Creator, Director: Annie Lesser
Infinitely Dinner Society’s Midnight Snacks presents Bananas Foster. IDS Midnight Snacks are late night pairings of food and art with the math and science behind infinity. Previous snacks have included donuts paired with the infinite points of a circle, cheese cubes paired with hypercubes and oyster shooters paired with the intangible nature of infinity. Each snack features food sourced from local bakers, shop owners and farmers markets. For the Overlook Film Festival, creator Annie Lesser has designed a piece based on the cosmic horror of the multiverse featuring Bananas Foster made from Louisiana cane sugar and rum. News about Infinitely Dinner Society and the IDS MidnightSnacks can be found Instagram @infinitelydinnersociety. Slots will be made available exclusively for all-access pass holders.
The Overlook Immersive Game
Producer: Mali Elfman
For the signature event of the Overlook Film Festival, 2018 introduces a new alternate reality game and welcomes this year’s experience designers Scott Gillies and Nick Tierce, whose credits include a range of projects with companies such as Electronic Arts, Disney, Microsoft, Niantic Labs, and Google. Throughout the entire weekend, uncover an interactive horror mystery that permeates the festival, featuring live actors inhabiting unique locations, hidden clues, tactile puzzles, and surprising twists that each player can engage with at their own level of comfort and curiosity. Follow the clues to become the protagonist of an engaging and thrilling narrative that no two players will experience in exactly the same way. Details of the game’s story will remain locked away until the festival begins, but you may wish to seek out the celestial raven, instantly. The game is available exclusively to festival pass holders, with active player registration limited to 100 available spots. All registered players must attend a game orientation upon festival check-in. Over the course of the game, curious players may receive invitations to engage further for additional immersive depth, which they may opt-in for when the opportunity is presented.
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