The Overlook Film Festival, the annual celebration of all things horror, announced today the first wave of the lineup for its 2025 edition. Taking place April 3, 2025, to April 6, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Prytania Theatres, the horror festival will welcome audiences back to America’s most haunted city with a terrifying selection of new and classic films as well as an extensive offscreen offering of interactive events, live performances, immersive programming and special guests!
“No matter how many years this festival runs, every time we get to re-open the gates of our spectral summer camp feels like a miracle,” said Landon Zakheim, co-founder and executive director of the Overlook Film Festival. “For all wayward souls and monster kids who gravitate to the macabre, we have something to satisfy your ghoulish cravings thanks to the brilliance of our artists, the passion of our tireless team, our incredible partners, and this beautiful haunted city. Hell, we even have our first audio-animatronic this year.”
This wide-ranging first-wave festival lineup includes 47 films (25 features and 22 shorts) from 10 countries, as well as five live presentations and three immersive experiences, with many more exciting surprises to be announced as the festival approaches.
“I feel like we are standing at the crossroads of horror history,” said Michael Lerman, co-founder and director of film programming of The Overlook Film Festival. “This year really showcases the old and new guard coming together. We have astounding debuts from exciting newcomers. We have veteran masters who keep reinventing themselves with new work. And we’re just getting started so stay tuned for more.”
As a celebration of horror’s history, as well as its future, the festival will once again feature a selection of retro screenings of classic films. Those include a 30th Anniversary screening of Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight, from director Ernest Dickerson, who will be on hand to receive the festival’s Master of Horror Award. Past recipients of this award include Roger Corman, Mick Garris, Mike Flanagan, Stuart Gordon, and Joe Dante.
As the Overlook Film Festival’s inaugural Guest Curator, Flying Lotus, filmmaker and Grammy-winning musician, will be programming an additional retrospective of his personal favorites and genre classics. This unique program, which will include in-person introductions from FlyLo himself, will be made up of The Descent, Death Becomes Her, and, in tribute to the recently departed auteur, David Lynch’s Lost Highway. The section will be rounded out with a special screening of Flying Lotus’ own film, Ash!
In addition to the films and special guests, the Overlook Film Festival will once again be packed with the live presentations and signature immersive programming it is known for. From a conversation with Joe Hill to three interactive experiences, the festival is bringing you horror from all angles!
Check out the current lineup of films below, and learn more about the live events here.
Opening Night Film
Drop (dir. Christopher Landon)
A widowed mother, on her first date in years, arrives at an upscale restaurant where she meets her handsome suitor. But their chemistry begins to curdle when she is terrorized by a series of anonymous drops to her phone.
Feature Film Presentations
International Titles Presented by MUBI
40 Acres (dir. R.T. Thorne)
Danielle Deadwyler anchors this heart-pounding post-apocalyptic genre-blender as Hailey Freeman, a ferocious matriarch and former soldier hellbent on protecting her family and their farmland from a band of marauding cannibals in a world ravaged by plague and famine. Thriving in survival mode, the Freemans must draw blood to secure their future and preserve the legacy of their past.
Abraham’s Boys (dir. Natasha Kermani)
WORLD PREMIERE
Following the events of Dracula, Abraham van Helsing moves his two sons, Max and Rudy, to the US in an attempt to escape their past. It does not work. Based on the spine-tingling story by Joe Hill, fest alum Natasha Kermani (Lucky, Nightstream ‘20) directs a terrifying continuation of a classic tale.
Chain Reactions (dir. Alexandre O. Philippe)
For fifty years, Tobe Hooper’s The Texas Chain Saw Massacre has terrified audiences by worming its way into their subconscious. In this documentary analyzing its profound lasting influence, director Alexandre O. Philippe (78/52, Overlook ‘17) dives into the memory palaces of five iconic artists whose lives were forever altered by seeing it: Patton Oswalt, Takashi Mike, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Stephen King, and Karyn Kusama.
Clown in a Cornfield (dir. Eli Craig)
The residents of Kettle Springs can’t catch a break. Nothing has ever been the same since the treasured Baypen Corn Syrup Factory burned down and now a mysterious, grinning figure has emerged from the cornfields to cleanse the town of its burdens, one bloody victim at a time. In Eli Craig’s (Tucker & Dale vs Evil) newest outing, the real fun starts when Frendo the Clown comes out to play.
Dead Lover (dir. Grace Glowicki)
True, poetic, eternal love conquers all—a gravedigger’s stench, a tragic shipwreck, even death! With only a severed finger as remembrance, a heartbroken romantic embarks on a madcap mission to reanimate the love of her life. Co-written, directed, and audaciously performed by Grace Glowicki, this peculiar tale is, in equal measure, grotesque and delightful, raunchy and surreal.
Good Boy (dir. Ben Leonberg)
Indy is a good boy; a faithful dog, he is always by his human Todd’s side. When Todd seeks quiet in an empty family home in the countryside, Indy finds there is a strange, malevolent presence lurking in the shadows — an evil that only he can sense. Shot entirely from Indy’s perspective, Ben Leonberg’s first feature balances bark with bite
Hallow Road (dir. Babak Anvari)
Rosamund Pike and Matthew Rhys shine as distraught parents in a race against time as they speed through the night to reach their daughter after a distressing phone call. Lauded director Babak Anvari (Under the Shadow, Wounds) lends his signature tension to this disturbing pulse-pounder.
Ick (dir. Joseph Kahn)
Has-been science teacher Hank (Brandon Routh) is the only one suspicious of the “ick,” a pervasive gooey growth that has permeated through his town. It is seemingly harmless, until now. Teaming up with student Grace, Hank must fight to stop this parasitic alien and the apathy of the town it is absorbing. Laced with 2000s emo and pop-punk hits, Joseph Kahn (Bodied) brings frenetic energy to this sci-fi/horror satire.
It Ends (dir. Alexander Ullom)
Four recent college grads, out for an innocent late-night drive, find themselves trapped in a seemingly never-ending hellscape where they are being haunted by mysterious forces. Questions of friendship and existentialism are explored in director Alexander Ullom’s genre-bending first feature, equal parts terrifying and thought-provoking.
Monster Island (Orang Ikan) (dir. Mike Wiluan)
In 1942—deep in the Pacific theater of World War II—a Japanese soldier and British prisoner-of-war find themselves washed ashore on a dangerous deserted island. As these sworn enemies soon discover…they are not alone, as a fanged amphibious creature called the Orang Ikan wishes to kill them even more than they wish to kill each other.
Redux Redux (dir. Kevin McManus, Matthew McManus)
Revenge is hard. Doing it again and again is harder. Emmy-nominated brothers Kevin and Matthew McManus (American Vandal, Cobra Kai) present a gritty sci-fi thriller that follows a mother on a warpath through parallel universes in a desperate attempt to quench her desire for vengeance.
The Shrouds (dir. David Cronenberg)
All hail! The reigning king of body horror returns with another tale of corruption, greed, conspiracy, and technology. Vincent Cassel stars as a grieving widower who develops a device that allows the bereaved to connect with their deceased loved ones in David Cronenberg’s most personal film to date.
The Spirit of Halloweentown (dir. Brett Whitcomb, Bradford Thomason)
What does it mean to live in a place known for Halloween? Set in St. Helens, OR, the filming site of the 1998 Disney Channel movie, Halloweentown, this heartfelt documentary follows the local residents and the impact that the movie has had on their lives and traditions. Steeped in often hilarious communal disagreements and spooky imagery, Spirit of Halloweentown is a colorful love letter to the town’s legacy and dedication to our favorite holiday.
Touch Me (dir. Addison Heimann)
In Addison Heimann’s (Hypochondriac, Overlook ‘22) wild and absurd new feature, intergalactic polyamory and one very codependent friendship collide when stoner roommates Craig and Joey have to suddenly move out of their apartment and decide to shack up with Joey’s toxic ex who happens to be a horny, narcissistic alien from outer space. Tale as old as time.
The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick (dir. Pete Ohs)
Zoe Chao (The Afterparty) stars as Yvonne, a woman reeling from a tragedy, who takes some much-needed time away with a group of friends at their home in the countryside. After a walk through the woods, what seems like an innocuous tick bite has grotesquely unexpected consequences in this creepy little shocker from fest alum Pete Ohs (Jethica, Overlook ‘22).
The Ugly Stepsister (dir. Emilie Blichfeldt)
In this warped, sinister spin on a Cinderella story, the lens shifts to plain-faced Elvira, who is willing to do whatever it takes to compete with her enchantingly beautiful stepsister Agnes, and win the prince’s heart. No procedure is too gruesome, too bloody, or too painful to achieve her happily ever after, in this visceral body horror from Norway.
Zodiac Killer Project (dir. Charlie Shackleton)
When a passion project completely disintegrates, most filmmakers give up, move on, and mourn their masterpiece that got away. But Charlie Shackleton is not most filmmakers. The wreckage of his derailed attempt at a zodiac killer documentary rises from the dead in Shackleton’s devilish grip as a wry, eerie, post-modern commentary on our cultural fascination with true crime and collective bloodlust.
Guest Curator Presentations
Ash (dir. Flying Lotus)
Special Screening, director Flying Lotus in Person
Mind-shredding multi-hyphenate Flying Lotus pours the psychedelic contents of his galaxy brain into this sci-fi nightmare starring Eiza González as a sole surviving astronaut awaking to discover her crew has been murdered mysteriously in the night. Psychological space terror ensues, as does a cryptic arrival by Aaron Paul, as they work to survive the neon-splattered horrors of the cosmic unknown.
Death Becomes Her (dir. Robert Zemeckis)
Introduction by Guest Curator Flying Lotus
Some people will go to any lengths to stay young forever.
The Descent (dir. Neil Marshall)
Introduction by Guest Curator Flying Lotus
The scariest movie on Earth.
Lost Highway (dir. David Lynch)
Introduction by Guest Curator Flying Lotus
Dick Laurent is dead.
Additional Retrospective Film Presentations
The Phantom of the Opera (dir. Rupert Julian)
100th Anniversary Screening with Live Music Accompaniment by Think Less, Hear More
Feast your eyes! Glut your soul on my accursed ugliness! The man of a thousand faces anoints this seminal work of cinema that foretold the age of Universal monsters.
Re-Animator (dir. Stuart Gordon)
40th Anniversary 4K UHD Restoration; Actress Barbara Crampton in Person
Herbert West Has A Very Good Head On His Shoulders… And Another One In A Dish On His Desk in this all-time classic from former Master of Horror recipient and founding festival advisory board member Stuart Gordon.
Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight (dir. Ernest Dickerson)
30th Anniversary Screening
2025 Master of Horror Award Recipient Ernest Dickerson in Person
Fasten your drool cups, and ready your vomit bags! We’re going to the movies! Frights, camera, action! It’s time for the full horror debut of the legendary Ernest Dickerson.
Short Film Presentations
Short films will be presented in three themed programs: Apocalypse Pretty Soon, The Furies, and Freaky.
Arson, Dir. Erin Broussard, United States, 2024, WORLD PREMIERE
An aging boy band decides to sell their souls for fame and fortune. Unfortunately, not reading the fine print could prove disastrous.
Away with the Fairies, Dir. René Brar, Canada, 2024
Three exhausted sisters attempt to euthanize their violently ill mother on a remote island.
The Beguiling, Dir. ishkwaazhe Shane McSauby, United States, 2024
A burgeoning romance between two Natives takes a sinister turn as one grows suspicious of the other’s Indigenous heritage in this darkly comedic nightmare.
Boy Band, Dir. Benedict Chiu, United States, 2023
A member of a famous K-Pop boy band whose face has been disfigured by an accident must undergo surgery to repair his fracturing image.
Brand New Cadillac, Dir. Stacy Haiduk & Sophia Tatum, United States, 2024 Lana and Strode, a mother and daughter, take to the road for a five-day killing spree.
Call Earl, Dir. Jordan Pfeifer, United States, 2024, WORLD PREMIERE
Eager to make new friends, Kate attends a slumber party, but the night takes a sinister turn when the girls decide to play a strange party game.
Cataratas, Dir. Francisco Bendomir, Argentina, 2024, WORLD PREMIERE It’s New Year’s Eve, and Catalina is waiting for her girlfriend to pick her up when an unusual incident with a firework threatens to ruin their vacation.
Cruelty, Dir. Sam Das, United States, 2024
A young trans woman is chased into a junkyard while being followed home late at night. There, she must outwit her predator and summon the strength of a goddess.
Deadly Duels XII, Dir. Justine Beed, United States, 2024, WORLD PREMIERE A deeply religious child suspects that his big sister is possessed, and goes to extreme lengths to save her.
Destroyer, Dir. Judd Myers, United States, 2023
An insecure man’s compulsion to know his partner’s secrets leads him on an underworld descent where he makes contact with something non-human.
Dry January, Dir. C.J. Arellano, United States, 2024, WORLD PREMIERE When Maya commits to a month of sobriety and takes up sculpting as a hobby, her crab sculptures terrorize her former drinking buddy — her brother Toby.
Easybake, Dir. Sasha Duncan, Canada, 2024
After consuming a clay sculpture, an insecure teen wakes with the ability to sculpt her own body, leading to an obsessive pursuit of “perfection.”
Endzgiving, Dir. Tina Carbone, United States, 2024
This is gonna be Will’s last Friendsgiving.
The Flacalta Effect, Dir. Rochée Jeffrey, United States, 2024
After a drug with anti-aging properties has apocalyptic consequences, two Black sisters fight for their lives—and looks—in this satirical take on toxic beauty culture.
Just Wait (dir. Blaine Morris)
A young wife fights to be heard by her husband as a hurricane rages outside their house and danger lurks inside.
Last to Leave (dir. Mary Elizabeth Ellis)
Last to Leave addresses the pandemic of loneliness, our primal need as humans for connection, and a reckoning with the way we treat our home planet.
Mr. Static (dir. Mike Williamson)
A woman must watch a live video stream of household murders that are mysteriously broadcast to an old television, or face dire consequences.
Los Muchachos (dir. Alejandro Artiles)
Through a mobile phone and isolated in the La Palma observatory, Fran must face the last thing any parent wants to hear.
Slush (dir. Ashley George)
Frankie reunites with her toxic community and must tap into her dark side to survive unscathed.
They Come Home to Die (dir. Zeke Farrow)
It’s 2021. Ten years into the pandemic, Zeke makes a documentary about life in quarantine with Mom.
The Traveler & The Troll (dir. Adam Murray)
A traveler stops to rest in a clearing of a haunted forest. Son, they learn they have stumbled upon the lair of a terrifying troll who demands gifts for passage.
Vines (dir. Luke Zwanziger)
A mad botanist experiments on an unwilling human subject to give plants a fighting chance against climate change.
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