Fantastic Fest XVIII: Full Line-Up Includes Studio Selects, Genre Delights, Fantasy, Action, Horror And Docs to Exicite This Year’s Audience

I just spent the last ten minutes feeling restless as all hell after getting a quick glimpse of the line-up for this year’s edition of Fantastic Fest.

I’m looking at listings for the new martial arts drama 100 Yards, South Korean delights like Cobweb, Concrete Utopia, and the spriteful Killing Romance which also opened this summer for NYAFF, Yudai Yamaguchi’s One Perecenter and the long-awaited Baby Assassins 2 which just screened in Montreal, RKSS’s We Are Zombies, Jamie Childs’ Jackdaw which first took off earlier this year at EFM, Thomas Negovan’s latest presentation of 1980’s Caligula, Soviet-Era action comedy The Invisible Fight which was just picked up by LevelK for world sales out of Locarno, Macon Blair’s Toxic Avenger and Richard Somes’ Triggered (Topakk) which will also have its day in the UK for the 24th edition of FrightFest this month…

And these are just some of the selections worth getting riled up for as Fantastic Fest revs up its 18th installment, and frankly, I don’t know where to start, but granted I get to cover this festival for a second year in a row, I’m starting somewhere! Hit the play button in the player above for this year’s exciting sizzle reel of what’s to come, and read on for the full announcement:

***FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE***

FANTASTIC FEST ANNOUNCES A SINFULLY GOOD 2023 LINEUP, OPENING THE FEST WITH THE WORLD PREMIERE OF LEGENDARY PICTURES’ OUTRAGEOUS ‘THE TOXIC AVENGER’ AND

THE WORLD PREMIERE OF PRIME VIDEO AND BLUMHOUSE’S TIME-TRAVELING SLASHER ‘TOTALLY KILLER’ AS CLOSING NIGHT FILM

Paramount+’s PET SEMATARY: BLOODLINES, 20th Century Studios’ THE CREATOR, NEON’s EILEEN, Netflix’s THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, HBO’s 30 COINS, Bleecker Street’s THE ORIGIN, and Shudder’s V/H/S/85 join the 2023 lineup, plus monumental Opening and Closing Night Parties, unforgettable events, and much more at Alamo Drafthouse’s epic film festival.

AUSTIN, TX — August 15, 2023 — Take a trip to the dark side and indulge your taste for wild films, outrageous events, and shocking surprises all under one roof. World-famous genre festival Fantastic Fest is back for its eighteenth edition featuring 29 World Premieres, 24 North American Premieres, and 18 U.S. Premieres. The festival will once again possess Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, TX from September 21st – 28th. Badges are available now at FantasticFest.com.

“The Fantastic Fest team is ready to take you on a journey you won’t ever forget. We’ve taken the best week of the year and supercharged it: more movies, more parties, more fun,” says Festival Director Lisa Dreyer. “If you want to see the best new movies from around the world first with the best audience, Fantastic Fest is the place to be.”

The opening night film for Fantastic Fest 2023 is the world premiere of Legendary Pictures’ THE TOXIC AVENGER, a hilarious and action-packed reimagining of the classic Troma film from director Macon Blair that features an all-star cast including Peter Dinklage who will pick up the infamous mop to become the toxic hero that no one knew they needed (or wanted) as well as Jacob Tremblay and Taylour Paige with Elijah Wood and Kevin Bacon.

Fantastic Fest is also honored to present one of Angus Cloud’s final performances in the world premiere of the thriller YOUR LUCKY DAY. Cloud gives an incredible performance as a charismatic and opportunistic criminal in the tense debut feature from Dan Brown.

“The Fantastic Fest team was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Angus Cloud. His performance in YOUR LUCKY DAY immediately won over our team, and we want to pay tribute to his talents and life at the festival,” says Director of Programming Annick Mahnert.

The closing night film will be the world premiere of Director Nahnatchka Khan’s slasher-comedy from Prime Video and Blumhouse Television, TOTALLY KILLER. Starring Kiernan Shipka as a time-traveling teen out to stop the infamous “Sweet Sixteen Killer,” TOTALLY KILLER is equal parts comedic charm and tense thrills. Shocking kills will keep the Fantastic Fest audience on their toes, and the outrageous 1980s setting will be a fitting lead-in to the closing night festivities. 

Other major studio films include NEON’s noir thriller EILEEN, director William Oldroyd’s pitch-perfect adaptation of Ottessa Moshfegh’s acclaimed novel, starring Thomasin McKenzie and Anne Hathaway, 20th Century Studios’ sci-fi epic THE CREATOR from FF alumnus Gareth Edwards, Paramount+’s PET SEMATARY: BLOODLINES, a prequel to the iconic Stephen King novel, and Bleeker Street’s stone age thriller THE ORIGIN.

Fantastic Fest is also proud to present the World Premieres of two highly anticipated limited series: the second season of HBO’s 30 COINS, from renowned Spanish director Álex de la Iglesia, and Netflix’s THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER from genre maestro Mike Flanagan.

Other World Premieres include:

Director JT Mollner’s STRANGE DARLING, starring Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner. Shot on gorgeous 35mm film by Giovanni Ribisi in his feature debut as Cinematographer.
JACKDAW, an outrageously entertaining action film from Jamie Childs (The Sandman and His Dark Materials).
A brand new installment of our favorite found footage horror anthology V/H/S/85 from Shudder.

“We took 24 hours off after last year and dove straight into planning this year’s gonzo adventure; it’s going to be outrageous,” says Alamo Drafthouse Cinema and Fantastic Fest founder Tim League. “First-timers to the festival, I suggest setting an annual reminder for the end of September for the rest of your life. Once you’ve tasted Fantastic Fest, you are family. We’ll see you at this year’s reunion.”

The Parties

Fantastic Fest has something to tempt everyone this year. 

Celebrated Austin indietronica band The Octopus Project will provide an immersive, sonically sinister opening night performance.
Live events throughout the week with Maltin On Movies, Horror Queers, The Kingcast, The Diesel System, a Ghoulish Book Fair and more!
Chicago’s Deadly Prey Gallery will transform The Highball with a display of original movie art from Ghanaian artists, including a special Fantastic Fest commission. 
Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher of The Found Footage Festival fame return with a new mixtape of video oddities to confuse and delight. 
And finally, Fantastic Fest essentials like 100 Best Kills, the Fantastic Feud, the Fantastic Debates and an epic Closing Night Party will round out the week.

Inglorious Critters & Glorious Restorations

This year’s repertory sidebar is dedicated to creepy crawlies. Centered around the North American Premiere of the spider-infested horror film VERMIN, Fantastic Fest programmers in partnership with the American Genre Film Archive are bringing you a trio of critters to haunt your nightmares, with THE NEST, BUGGED!, and CENTIPEDE HORROR. Our friends at AGFA are also bringing two newly restored 35mm prints to the fest: the artful nightmare MESSIAH OF EVIL, and THE CULT OF AGFA TRAILER SHOW.

Formed in 2009, the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit dedicated to preserving the legacy of genre movies through collection, conservation, and distribution.

Other notable restorations at the fest include the 2k restoration of Paul Vecchiali’s Giallo thriller THE STRANGLER, Bleeding Skull’s new preservation of the infamous underground queer crime movie BLONDE DEATH, and a gorgeous 4k restoration of Gregg Araki’s NOWHERE from Strand Releasing.

We’re also bringing back Burnt Ends, our sidebar dedicated to micro-budget outlier cinema. With esoteric World Premieres like Kenichi Ugana’s splatterific VISITORS (COMPLETE EDITION) and Nate Wilson’s kaleidoscopic THE ALL GOLDEN, this idiosyncratic sidebar also includes the Texas Premiere of Vera Drew’s acclaimed and infamous THE PEOPLE’S JOKER (for real this time!).

Join Our Cult

A variety of badges are available for purchase to attend the festival. CULT MEMBER badge purchasers will receive 3 free months of Alamo Season Pass, in addition to exclusive merchandise and events.

We are proud to present 94 feature films and episodics, as well as a variety of short film selections to be announced at a later date — all showcasing World, North American, U.S. and Regional Premieres. See below for the full lineup of feature film programming at this year’s festival.

FILM LINEUP BELOW:

30 COINS (Season 2, Episodes 1 & 2)

Produced in Spain for HBO Europe, 2023

World Premiere, 110 min

Director – Álex de la Iglesia

Welcome to hell.



100 YARDS

China, 2023

US Premiere, 108 min

Directors – Xu Haofeng & Xu Junfeng

Shen An wages war on the streets of Tianjin after losing control of his martial arts academy in a humiliating duel with his father’s apprentice.



ACID

France, 2023

North American Premiere, 99 min

Director – Just Philippot 

In a world messed up by climate change, a girl and her divorced parents must cross a devastated France under strange clouds pouring acid rain.



THE ALL GOLDEN

Canada, 2023

World Premiere, 64 min

Director – Nate Wilson

In veteran Fantastic Fest filmmaker Nate Wilson’s kaleidoscopic and labyrinthine deconstructionist satire, a laid-up polyamorous bicycle courier discovers that her older, scholarly boyfriend has been keeping a sinister secret in his closet.



THE ALTMAN METHOD

Israel, 2022

North American Premiere, 101 min

Director – Nadav Aronowicz

A struggling actress questions her husband’s account of a brutal act of heroism that has won him national recognition and saved his failing business.



THE ANIMAL KINGDOM

France, 2023

North American Premiere, 130 min

Director – Thomas Cailley

Emile’s dad moves him to southern France, where his mom is held in a facility for patients afflicted with an illness that mutates them into animals.



ANIMALIA

France, Morocco, Qatar, 2023

Texas Premiere, 91 min

Director – Sofia Alaoui

Separated from her husband during a state of emergency, pregnant Itto is stranded in a village, where she starts to experience mysterious phenomena.



BABY ASSASSINS 2

Japan, 2023

US Premiere, 101 min

Director – Hugo Sakamoto

The Baby Assassins have been suspended from the Assassin Guild and it’s hard to find a new job when you’ve got a fanboy assassin duo out to kill you.



BARK

Germany, 2023

World Premiere, 90 min

Director – Marc Schölermann

A businessman tied to a tree deep in the woods struggles to convince an outdoorsman to cut him free after the hunter sets up camp to watch him die.



BLONDE DEATH (Presented by Bleeding Skull)

USA, 1984

World Premiere of Restoration, 98 min

Director – James Dillinger aka James Robert Baker

Bleeding Skull presents a tale of death, drugs, and Disneyland in James Robert Baker’s essential chapter of queer cinema history.



BLOOD DINER

USA, 1987

90 min

Director – Jackie Kong

A brain in a jar orders his cannibal nephews to dismember call girls in their diner’s kitchen to patch together a perfect body for an ancient goddess.



THE BOOK OF SOLUTIONS

France, 2023

North American Premiere, 102 min

Director – Michel Gondry

Michel Gondry returns with a tongue-in-cheek satire about an idiosyncratic filmmaker who will do anything to execute his vision.



BUGGED! (Presented by AGFA and Troma)

USA, 1996

82 min 

Director – Ronald K. Armstrong

Following a freak lab accident, a woman hires the Dead and Buried Exterminators to rid her house of some overgrown crickets but they all soon realize the bugs are radioactive beasties with a lust for blood!



CALIGULA: THE ULTIMATE CUT

USA, Italy, 1980

North American Premiere, 173 min

Art historian Thomas Negovan offers a new cut of one of the most decadent movies ever made, using outtakes to reconcile the film to its original script.



CENTIPEDE HORROR (Presented by AGFA and Error 4444)

Hong Kong, 1982

94 min

Director – Keith Li

After his sister dies under mysterious circumstances while on vacation, Wai Lun decides to take matters into his own hands. Soon enough, he discovers a family curse, battling wizards, and centipedes.



COBWEB

South Korea, 2023

US Premiere, 135 min

Director – Kim Jee-woon

Director Kim Jee-woon’s ravishing and raucous tale of a director trying to finish his magnum opus in the censorship-prone 1970s Korean film industry.



THE COFFEE TABLE

Spain, 2022

North American Premiere, 90 min

Director – Caye Casas

Sometimes a gaudy coffee table is just a coffee table, and sometimes it’s the catalyst for a nightmarish descent into ruination.



CONANN

France, Luxembourg, Belgium, 2023

US Premiere, 105 min

Director – Bertrand Mandico

Fantastic Fest favorite Bertrand Mandico is back with his uniquely beautiful and bizarre time-traveling spin on the myth of Conan the Barbarian.



CONCRETE UTOPIA

South Korea, 2023

Texas Premiere, 130 min

Director – Um Tae-hwa

A magnetic Lee Byung-hun and Park Seo-joon lead this dark, high-stakes disaster parable of Korea’s fevered obsession with real estate and class forms.



THE CREATOR

USA, 2023

Texas Premiere, 133 min

Director – Gareth Edwards

From director/co-writer Gareth Edwards (ROGUE ONE, GODZILLA) comes an epic sci-fi action thriller

set amidst a future war between the human race and the forces of artificial intelligence.



CRUMB CATCHER

USA, 2023

World Premiere, 103 min

Director – Chris Skotchdopole

An anxiety-inducing chamber piece that will make you fondly remember the worst high-pressure sales pitch you’ve ever delivered (or endured).



THE CULT OF AGFA TRAILER SHOW (Presented by AGFA)

USA, 2023

World Premiere of 35mm Restoration, 77 min

Director – Joseph A. Ziemba & Bret Berg

The world premiere 35mm screening of AGFA’s wildest mixtape yet.



THE DEEP DARK

France, 2023

International Premiere, 100 min

Director – Mathieu Turi

A group of coal miners unintentionally free a bloodthirsty creature after accompanying a professor down to a hidden crypt discovered deep in the mine.



DIVINITY

USA, 2023

Texas Premiere, 88 min

Director – Eddie Alcazar

A mad scientist’s serum grants perfect bodies and immortality, but at a cost: rampant infertility leads to an undying society based only on pleasure.



DOOR

Japan, 1988

North American Premiere, 94 min

Director – Banmei Takahashi

A lonely housewife is held hostage in her own apartment by an increasingly deranged door-to-door salesman in this forgotten home invasion masterpiece.



EILEEN

USA, 2023

Texas Premiere, 97 min

Director – William Oldroyd

Set during a bitter 1964 Massachusetts winter, young secretary Eileen becomes enchanted by the glamorous new counselor at the prison where she works. Their budding friendship takes a twisted turn when Rebecca reveals a dark secret — throwing Eileen onto a sinister path.



ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE

USA, 2023

Texas Premiere, 94 min

Director – David Gregory

In the wake of Bruce Lee’s sudden death, film studios rushed to capitalize on the irreplaceable icon, and a new subgenre was born — Bruceploitation.



THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER (Episodes 1 & 2)

USA, 2023

World Premiere, 120 min

Director – Mike Flanagan

Roderick Usher, CEO of a corrupt pharmaceutical company, must face his past when brutal and mysterious incidents start affecting his family.



FALLING STARS

USA, 2023

North American Premiere, 80 min

Directors – Richard Karpala & Gabriel Bienczycki

Three brothers set out on the first night of Harvest to check out the desiccated remains of the witch that their friend has buried in the desert.



THE FANTASTIC GOLEM AFFAIRS

Spain, 2023

US Premiere, 97 min

Directors – Burnin’ Percebes

After his best friend falls to his death and shatters into pottery shards, Juan uncovers a secret world of living golems in this offbeat comedy.



FOUND FOOTAGE FESTIVAL VOL. 10

USA, 2023

Texas Premiere, 85 min

Directors – Joe Pickett & Nick Prueher

Joe Pickett (THE ONION) and Nick Prueher (LATE SHOW) take you on a guided tour through their latest and greatest VHS finds.



FOUR’S A CROWD

Spain, 2022

Texas Premiere, 100 min

Director – Álex de la Iglesia

Two unexpected passengers complicate an Uber driver’s plan to declare his feelings for one of his regular customers during a 300 km drive to Madrid.



A GUIDE TO BECOMING AN ELM TREE

Ireland, 2023

North American Premiere, 75 min

Directors – Skye & Adam Mann

Padraig (James O Healy) is pulled into a dark world of Irish Mythology and magic as he struggles to deal with his past actions.



I’LL CRUSH Y’ALL

Spain, 2023

World Premiere, 92 min

Director – Kike Narcea

A retired boxing champion and his dog must defend his family’s country farm from wave after wave of gangsters in this bloody, bare-knuckle brawler.



IN MY MOTHER’S SKIN

Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, 2023

Texas Premiere, 97 min

Director – Kenneth Dagatan

A Filipino girl living under Japanese occupation learns the tragic consequences of making deals when a fairy’s gifts extract pounds of flesh.



THE INVISIBLE FIGHT

Estonia, Latvia, Greece, Finland, 2023

North American Premiere, 115 min

Director – Rainer Sarnet

After martial artists take out his Soviet post on the China border, a mechanic seeks kung fu mastery at a monastery in this wuxia-inspired comedy.



JACKDAW

UK, 2023

World Premiere, 97 min

Director – Jamie Childs

Former motocross champion Jack Dawson embarks on a dark odyssey through his decaying Rust Belt town after being double-crossed by the local kingpin.



THE JAR (CHARON)

USA, 1984

World Premiere of Restoration, 85 min

Director – Bruce Tuscano

After hitting an old man with his car, Paul is left with a jar holding a demonic creature that opens a portal to strange worlds and psychotic visions.



KENNEDY

India, 2023

US Premiere, 144 min

Director – Anurag Kashyap

Kennedy works as a contract killer for a corrupt police commissioner with the hope of exacting vengeance on the man who murdered his son.



KILL DOLLY KILL

USA, 2023

World Premiere, 79 min

Director – Heidi Moore

Dolly Deadly is out to win Serial Killer of the Year, and she’ll violate all sense of good taste to snatch the crown and look fabulous while doing it.



KILLING ROMANCE

South Korea, 2023

Texas Premiere, 107 min

Director – Lee Won-suk

A toxic masculinity-bashing karaoke musical phantasmagoria from the magical mind of LEE Won-suk, KILLING ROMANCE will stick in your head for months.



KIM’S VIDEO

USA, UK, France, 2023

Texas Premiere, 86 min

Directors – David Redmon & Ashley Sabin

An aspiring filmmaker with fond memories of browsing the shelves of a defunct NY video store attempts to rescue its singular collection of VHS tapes.



THE LAST STOP IN YUMA COUNTY

USA, 2023

World Premiere, 90 min

Director – Francis Galluppi

A traveling salesman and a waitress face down two murderous bank robbers while waiting for gas at the last pump before a hundred miles of desert.



THE LAST VIDEO STORE

Canada, 2023

World Premiere, 83 min

Directors – Cody Kennedy & Tim Rutherford

Blaster Video’s only employee teams up with his best customer’s daughter to fight off an onslaught of B-movie baddies made real by a VHS necronomicon.



LETTERS TO THE POSTMAN

UK, England, 2022

US Premiere, 61 min

Director – Felix Dembinski

A naive postman finds himself corresponding with a mysterious woman in Felix Dembinski’s auspicious and bewitching folk fable.



MANCUNIAN MAN: THE LEGENDARY LIFE OF CLIFF TWEMLOW

UK, 2023

North American Premiere, 124 min

Director – Jake West

A hilarious, action-packed documentary chronicling the fascinating life of indie filmmaker Cliff Twemlow and the industry he built in Manchester, UK.



#MANHOLE

Japan, 2023

Texas Premiere, 99 min

Director – Kazuyoshi Kumakiri

The premise is a simple one: After a night of hard drinking on the night before his wedding, a man falls into an open manhole. How will he escape?



MESSIAH OF EVIL (Presented by AGFA and Radiance Films)

USA, 1974

World Premiere of 35mm Restoration, 90 min

Directors – Gloria Katz & Willard Huyck

AGFA and Radiance Films present a brand new, restored 35mm print of Willard Huyck and Gloria Katz’ artful nightmare.



MUSHROOMS

Poland, 2023

World Premiere, 75 min

Director – Paweł Borowski

An old lady stumbles upon a lost couple while picking mushrooms. They beg for help getting out of the forest, but she senses that something is off.



THE NEST (Presented by AGFA and Shout! Factory)

USA, 1988

89 min

Director – Terence H. Winkless

Roaches have never tasted flesh… Until now.



NOWHERE

USA, 1997

Texas Premiere of 4K Restoration, 83 min

Director – Gregg Araki

A bunch of LA teens realize they’re witnessing the apocalypse as they seek out a wild party in this 4K restoration of Gregg Araki’s cult classic.



ONE-PERCENTER

Japan, 2023

North American Premiere, 85 min

Director – Yûdai Yamaguchi

An aging stuntman caught in a brutal feud between yakuza gangs finally shoots the pure action thriller he’s been obsessing over his entire career.



THE ORIGIN

UK, 2023

North American Premiere, 87 min

Director – Andrew Cumming

A group fights for survival against an unknown adversary in this stone age thriller.



THE OTHER LAURENS

Belgium, France, 2023

North American Premiere, 117 min

Director – Claude Schmitz

When his niece shows up at his door looking for help, shaggy-dog P.I. Gabriel Laurens is unwittingly drawn into his twin’s shady criminal underworld.



THE PEOPLE’S JOKER

USA, 2022

Texas Premiere, 92 min

Director – Vera Drew

The Joker finds new purpose in Gotham City after transitioning and opening an illegal comedy club in Vera Drew’s handcrafted superhero genre parody.



PET SEMATARY: BLOODLINES

USA, Canada, 2023

World Premiere, 87 min

Director – Lindsey Anderson Beer

In 1969, a young Jud Crandall and his childhood friends band together to confront an ancient evil that has gripped their hometown. PET SEMATARY: BLOODLINES is a terrifying prequel based on chapters from Stephen King’s novel “Pet Sematary.”



PROJECT SILENCE

South Korea, 2023

North American Premiere, 101 min

Director – Tae-gon Kim

A car pileup on a foggy bridge pits survivors against a pack of vicious dogs in this satirical horror pitched between THE HOST and TRAIN TO BUSAN.



PROPERTY

Brazil, 2022

North American Premiere, 101 min

Director – Daniel Bandeire

A gang of disenfranchised farmhands traps a traumatized woman in her armored car in Daniel Bandeira’s Brazilian take on the home invasion.



RAGE

Mexico, 2023

North American Premiere, 93 min

Director – Jorge Michel Grau

The only child in a rundown gated community mourns his mother’s death as suspicious events lead him to suspect that his father may be a werewolf.



RESTORE POINT

Czech Republic, 2023

North American Premiere, 108 min

Director – Robert Hloz

A detective investigates a double homicide in a near-future world where technology allows those who die violently to be rebooted from a data backup.



RIDDLE OF FIRE

USA, 2023

US Premiere, 113 min

Director – Weston Razooli

Three children go on an epic quest to uncover the password for their TV, finding themselves in their own video game-like adventure in the real world.



RIVER

Japan, 2023

US Premiere, 86 min

Director – Junta Yamaguchi

Kikaku Theater Group, the team behind our 2021 Audience Award winner BEYOND THE INFINITE TWO MINUTES, returns with more two-minute time loop hijinks.



THE SACRIFICE GAME

USA/CANADA, 2023

US Premiere, 100 min

Director – Jenn Wexler

Disillusioned demon worshipers end a string of grisly murders by interrupting a boarding school’s quiet Christmas in this ‘70s-era Satanic Panic romp.



SALEM

France, 2023

International Premiere, 115 min

Director – Jean-Bernard Marlin

A former gang member begins to believe that his daughter will be their slum’s new messiah after a rival curses the neighborhood with his dying breath.



SCALA!!! 

UK, 2023

North American Premiere, 96 min

Directors – Jane Giles & Ali Catterall

The story behind London’s legendary Scala Cinema, which screened the most outrageous movies before it was sued and shuttered for showing A CLOCKWORK ORANGE.



SLEEP

South Korea, 2023

US Premiere, 95 min

Director – Jason Yu

Somnambulism takes on a frightful new meaning in this clever, claustrophobic Korean chiller from former Bong Joon-ho assistant director Jason Yu.



SO UNREAL

USA, 2023

World Premiere, 95 min

Director – Amanda Kramer

Amanda Kramer’s documentary collage looks back at the subgenre of films concerned with cyberspace, hackers, and the first days of the internet.



SPOOKTACULAR!

USA, 2023

World Premiere, 105 min

Director – Quinn Monahan

A new documentary tells the warts-and-all story behind America’s first horror theme park, Spooky World.



SRI ASIH: THE WARRIOR

Indonesia, 2022

North American Premiere, 133 min

Director – Upi Avianto

An aspiring boxer discovers she’s a reincarnation of the goddess Asih in this Indonesian superhero movie focused on punching terrible men in the face.



STOPMOTION

UK, 2023

World Premiere, 93 min

Director – Robert Morgan

A stop-motion animator puts up with her overbearing, sick mother in Robert Morgan’s haunting debut.



STRANGE DARLING

USA, 2023

World Premiere, 96 min

Director – JT Mollner

One day in the life of a serial killer.



THE STRANGLER

France, 1970

US Premiere of 2K Restoration, 95 min

Director – Paul Vecchiali

A killer and a detective cross paths as they hunt for an answer to their respective feelings of loneliness in the world premiere of the restoration of this 1970 Giallo.



SUBURBAN TALE

India, 2023

World Premiere, 89 min

Director – Stephen Alexander

A young woman reluctantly returns home for her estranged sister’s wedding only to discover that her family is hiding a possessed boy in their home.



SUITABLE FLESH

USA, 2023

Texas Premiere, 100 min

Director – Joe Lynch

A casual, intimate encounter with a patient leads a psychologist into the cosmic, kinky world of Lovecraftian horror headlined by Barbara Crampton and Heather Graham.



THERE’S SOMETHING IN THE BARN

Norway, 2023

World Premiere, 96 min

Director – Magnus Martens

After inheriting an old cabin in Norway, an American family moves there with the intention of turning the adjoining barn into a bed and breakfast. They end up disturbing a barn elf who will go to deadly lengths to drive the family away.



TIGER STRIPES

Malaysia, Taiwan, France, Germany, Netherlands, Indonesia, 2023

US Premiere, 95 min

Director – Amanda Nell Eu

A dreamy horror fairy tale about a teenage girl who notices strange, transformative changes in her body soon after getting her first period.



TOTALLY KILLER

USA, 2023

World Premiere, 106 min

Director – Nahnatchka Khan

When the infamous “Sweet Sixteen Killer” returns 35 years after his first murder spree to claim another victim, 17-year-old Jamie (Kiernan Shipka) accidentally travels back in time to 1987, determined to stop the killer before he can start.



THE TOXIC AVENGER

USA, 2023

World Premiere, 102 min

Director – Macon Blair

A horrible toxic accident transforms downtrodden janitor Winston Gooze into a new evolution of hero: THE TOXIC AVENGER! 



TRIGGERED

Philippines, 2023

North American Premiere, 113 min

Director – Richard V. Somes

Procuring a job as a night watchman as a re-entry back into civilian life, ex-soldier Miguel finds himself caught in a gun battle between a drug cartel and a corrupt police unit.



UFO SWEDEN

Sweden, 2022

North American Premiere, 115 min

Director – Victor Danell

A rebellious teenager seeks out the help of a disgraced meteorologist’s ufology society to locate her father years after he vanished into thin air.



THE UNCLE

Croatia, Serbia, 2022

US Premiere, 104 min

Directors – David Kapac & Andrija Mardešić

A family prepares for their uncle’s Christmas visit, but the festivities are dampened by the fact that he’ll return in a few days to celebrate again.



V/H/S/85

USA, 2023

World Premiere, 110 min

Directors – David Bruckner, Gigi Saul Guerrero, Natasha Kermani, Mike Nelson, & Scott Derrickson

The iconic found footage series returns with an array of explosive, bloody scares set in a decade obsessed with serial killers and the Satanic Panic.



VERMIN

France, 2023

North American Premiere, 100 min

Director – Sébastien Vaniček

A critter collector’s purchase of a venomous spider turns his entire apartment building into a death trap after it escapes from its shoebox enclosure.



VISITORS (COMPLETE EDITION)

Japan, 2023

World Premiere, 61 min

Director – Kenichi Ugana

A rock ‘n’ roll band drop in unannounced on a friend and find themselves plummeting into a wackadoo reverie of monsters and mayhem.



THE WAIT

Spain, 2023

North American Premiere, 99 min

Director – F. Javier Gutiérrez

The gamekeeper of a wealthy man’s rural hunting grounds accepts a bribe from the local hunting guide, which spirals downward into dire consequences.



WAKE UP

France, 2023

World Premiere, 90 min

Directors – RKSS

Gen Z activists are violently picked off by a deranged night watchman after sneaking into an environmentally destructive big-box furniture store.



WE ARE ZOMBIES

France, Canada, 2023

International Premiere, 80 min

Directors – RKSS

Canadian filmmaker collective RKSS returns with a hilarious, violent take on a post-apocalyptic world where zombies are misunderstood, unalive citizens.



WHAT YOU WISH FOR

USA, 2023

US Premiere, 101 min

Director – Nicholas Tomnay

A down-and-out sous-chef gets more than he bargained for when he steps into the life of an old culinary school pal, a private chef for the über-rich.



WHEN EVIL LURKS

Argentina, Uruguay, 2023

US Premiere, 99 min

Director – Demián Rugna

Two brothers uncover a deadly secret festering in their village and are soon in a race to contain a demon threatening to extinguish their community.



WHERE THE DEVIL ROAMS

USA, 2023

US Premiere, 92 min

Directors – John Adams, Zelda Adams, & Toby Poser

After a fatal trespassing incident, Eve steals a terrifying artifact from a fellow carnival performer in the hope of bringing her parents back.



YOU’LL NEVER FIND ME

Australia, 2023

Texas Premiere, 96 min

Directors – Josiah Allen & Indianna Bell

A strange woman desperate for shelter from a harrowing storm picks the wrong trailer to seek refuge… or did she choose exactly right?



YOU’RE NOT ME

Spain, 2023

World Premiere, 98 min

Directors – Marisa Crespo & Moisés Romera

Aitana shows up at her estranged parents’ home for a surprise Christmas visit and discovers they’ve replaced her with a strange live-in caretaker.



YOUR LUCKY DAY

USA, 2023

World Premiere, 89 min

Director – Dan Brown

After a dispute over a winning lottery ticket turns into a deadly hostage situation, the witnesses must decide exactly how far they’ll go—and how much blood they’re willing to spill—for a cut of the $156 million.



ATTEND:



CULT MEMBER, FAN, and 2ND HALF Badges for Fantastic Fest 2023 are available for purchase here.

Lee B. Golden III

filmcombatsyndicate@gmail.com | Web

Native New Yorker. Been writing for a long time now, and I enjoy what I do. Be nice to me!