Lost in the Bush: Dead Eyes Brings POV Horror Back From the Dead

April 1, 2026

There is something feral in the water down in Australia right now. One genre banger after another keeps surfacing, and Dead Eyes is yet another reminder that the Aussies understand how to make horror feel mean, immediate, and deeply uncomfortable. Premiering at SXSW, Richard E. Williams’ Dead Eyes wastes absolutely no time getting weird.

High on Drugs, Low on Responsibility: Pizza Movie Is Top Tier Nonsense

April 1, 2026

Taking drugs and trying to get pizza should not be a full cinematic journey, and yet Pizza Movie commits so hard to that premise that it somehow becomes one. Premiering at SXSW, the latest BriTANicK joint feels like the spiritual lovechild of Superbad, Dude Where’s My Car, and Harold & Kumar, filtered through a sleep-deprived college brain and then fed hallucinogens.

American Dollhouse Is the Meanest Indie Slasher in Years

April 1, 2026

There is something deeply special about watching an Austin-made horror film premiere at SXSW, especially when it feels truly of the city. American Dollhouse, the sophomore feature from writer-director John Valley, is exactly that kind of film. It is grimy, intimate, patient, and mean in a way that only an indie slasher with a clear vision can be.

Crying on the Internet Until Someone Bleeds: Our Hero, Balthazar

April 1, 2026

Our Hero, Balthazar is one of those movies that immediately puts you on edge, not because it’s loud or flashy, but because it feels too real. Like you’re watching something you shouldn’t be watching. Like a reenactment recorded on a phone that later becomes evidence.

Crash Land Finds Real Pain Beneath the Bruises

March 31, 2026

There’s a very specific kind of magic that happens when a movie understands how stupid you were, how stupid you maybe still are, and loves you for it anyway. Crash Land, which premiered at SXSW 2026, taps directly into that energy. It feels like the spiritual grandson of Jackass, raised on lo-fi cameras, bad ideas, bruised egos, and the kind of friendships that only survive because they probably shouldn’t.

It Follows You Because You’re Gay: Leviticus Absolutely Wrecked Me

March 31, 2026

The opening stinger hits immediately, not with a jump scare but with intention. From the first seconds, Leviticus makes it clear this is not a normal horror story. It is patient, confident, and deeply uncomfortable in a way that feels deliberate rather than indulgent.

The Woods Remember: Rock Springs Is Horror Built on Grief

March 31, 2026

Rock Springs is one of those SXSW discoveries that feels like it crawled out of the woods behind the theater and followed you home. It is quiet, strange, often uncomfortable, and soaked in grief. It is also deeply ambitious.

Echoes in the Hallway: Hokum Is Chilling Until You’ve Seen It All Before

March 31, 2026

Damian McCarthy’s Hokum made its world premiere in SXSW’s Midnighter lineup, and from the jump, it announces itself as a horror film deeply committed to vibe. From its opening moments, the film settles into an eerie, funereal atmosphere that never fully lifts, even when the movie briefly pretends it might. This is a haunted hotel story soaked in shadow, dread, and folkloric menace, one that wants to crawl under your skin before yanking the floor out from under you.

Mostly a True Story and Fully Unhinged: Chili Finger Is a SXSW Standout

March 30, 2026

Chili Finger opens with a title card informing you that what you are about to see is “mostly a true story,” which immediately sets the tone for what follows. This is a film deeply invested in the idea that reality is often stranger, dumber, and funnier than anything we could fabricate. From its first moments at SXSW, the movie announces itself as a small-town crime story with big personalities and a wickedly patient sense of escalation.

Drag Is an Unhinged, Winch-Inducing Crowd Pleaser

March 30, 2026

Drag is exactly the kind of movie that makes SXSW feel electric. It is laugh-out-loud funny, deeply uncomfortable, and so physically brutal that you start wincing in anticipation rather than reacting in the moment. You know that feeling when you see someone get hit in the nuts, and your whole body reacts in sympathy?

Snake Oil and Blood Money: Monsters of God Slithers Into SXSW

March 30, 2026

Monsters of God, Eric Goode’s latest descent into obsession and ego rot, feels like the natural next mutation after Tiger King and Chimp Crazy, only colder, darker, and more quietly unhinged. Premiering at SXSW with its first two episodes, the HBO and A24-backed docuseries wastes no time letting you know this is not a quirky animal story. This is about power, fixation, and a black-market ecosystem so normalized that even the people enforcing the law seem confused about why any of it is wrong.

Michael Madsen’s Final Lesson: Mr. Wonderful and the Weight of Legacy

March 16, 2026

Mr. Wonderful is the kind of indie drama that sneaks up on you. It looks modest on the surface, almost disarmingly casual, but beneath that low-key presentation is a bruised, profane, deeply human portrait of family, failure, and the quiet terror of getting older without having figured anything out. The film tracks three generations of men orbiting the same emotional black hole.

Review

The Legend of Van Dorn A Civil War Drama That Finds the Man Behind the Myth

Historical dramas often succeed or fail based on whether they can make familiar events feel fresh. The Legend of Van Dorn, directed by Shane Stanley, takes a different route by focusing on a fascinating Civil War figure who remains largely unknown outside history circles. The result is an engaging period drama that blends military strategy, romance, ambition, and tragedy into a story that feels both intimate and consequential.

The Benefactress: The Dirtiest Mirror in the Room

I'll be honest: The Benefactress is not the kind of film I would normally gravitate toward. Had director Guerrilla Metropolitana not personally reached out and asked for an honest, open-minded opinion, it's likely this would have remained outside my radar. After watching it, however, I found myself unable to dismiss it.

Pure Scum Is a Relentless Descent Into Privilege, Panic, and Self-Destruction

From the moment Pure Scum begins, it wraps you in a cloud of dread. There is an immediate sense of discomfort and uncertainty hanging over every scene, as though something terrible is always waiting just around the corner. That feeling never really lets up. Instead, writer-director Gideon Aroni's debut feature keeps tightening the screws, building constant rising action that leaves you wondering not if things will get worse, but how much worse they possibly can.

Lockjaw Is the Most Awkward Hangout Movie You’ll See This Year

There's a version of reality where Lockjaw becomes one of those beloved cult indies everyone swears they discovered first. The kind of movie that would have had its trailer playing before every Miramax release in the late '90s until it slowly wormed its way into the consciousness of a certain type of film fan. Watching Sabrina Greco's debut feature, it's hard not to imagine it existing in that timeline.

High Body Count, Low Ambition: The Boy from Below

Horror fans of a certain age will immediately understand what The Boy from Below is trying to do. Set largely on Halloween night in 1997, the film follows video store clerk Quinn Curtis as a masked killer begins turning slasher movies into reality. Director Tory Jones has described the project as a tribute to the video store era and the classic slashers that shaped his love of filmmaking, and that passion is evident from the opening frame.

Big Baby: Spider One and Krsy Fox Continue Their Horror Evolution

There are interviews you look forward to, and then there are interviews that feel surreal. Sitting down with Spider One and Krsy Fox to discuss Big Baby was firmly in the latter category for me. Long before Spider One was building horror films through OneFox Productions, he was fronting Powerman 5000.

Malcolm Kelner Is the Face of Obsession, Whether the Rest of the Cast Likes It or Not

Every great film has that one performance audiences can't stop talking about. For Obsession, the viral thriller from director Curry Barker, that performance belongs, unquestionably, to Malcolm Kelner's bartender. What began as a brief appearance in the film's opening moments has somehow evolved into one of the internet's favorite running jokes, spawning memes, fan theories, social media discourse, and a level of celebrity that Kelner has embraced with remarkable confidence.

Chasing More Than Storms: Ken Cole and Reed Timmer Find the Heart Behind Never Stop Chasing

There are few people more synonymous with storm chasing than Reed Timmer. For decades, audiences have watched him barrel toward some of nature's most violent phenomena in pursuit of science, understanding, and, admittedly, a little adrenaline. But Never Stop Chasing isn't simply another film about tornadoes.

Nat Boltt Brings Heart, Humor, and Humanity to Holy Days

There are filmmakers who make movies because they love storytelling, and then there are filmmakers who seem genuinely in love with the medium itself. After speaking with Nat Boltt about her feature directorial debut, Holy Days, it quickly became clear that she falls into the latter category. Known to many audiences as the unforgettable Penelope Blossom from Riverdale and for her work in films like District 9, Boltt has spent decades in front of the camera.

Aging Legend, Wild Stories: James Faulkner Looks Back on Zulu Dawn

Sometimes you go into an interview with a plan. You’ve got your notes, your bullet points, your angles about the new 4K restoration of Zulu Dawn. And then sometimes you get James Faulkner on the line and you just… let him go. That’s exactly what happened here.

Over Coffee Creations Wins Award in Accolade Global Film Competition

Jeff Stirling, of Over Coffee Creations, has won a prestigious Award of Recognition from The Accolade Global Film Competition. The award was given for Jeff Stirling’s exciting web cartoon, Soulbound, which aims to platform new talent and create a unique artistic experience that lifts up the little guy in global online production. Soulbound features exceptional animation, character writing, sharp dialogue, densely-packed storytelling, colors, art direction, and innovation that could only emerge from a small indie film sphere.