Popcorn Frights Film Festival returns for its ninth edition of sun-soaked, blood-splattered cinematic scares this August in South Florida, and Festival Directors Igor Shteyrenberg & Marc Ferman have once again curated a killer lineup of must-see screenings and virtual streamings for horror fans to enjoy.
Featuring 25 films, the festival’s first wave of programming includes world premiere in-theater screenings of Crus Ennis and Lee Roy Kunz’s Deliver Us, Erynn Dalton’s Big Easy Queens, and Brandon Christensen’s The Puppetman, as well as virtual showcases of Alice Maio Mackay’s T Blockers and Saint Drogo (from directors Michael J. Ahern, Ryan Miller, and Brandon Perras-Sanchez), and Popcorn Frights is also bringing immersive frights to life with their retro lineup that includes 3-D screenings of Friday the 13th Part III, Jaws 3-D, and Parasite!
As previously announced, this year’s Popcorn Frights Film Festival will run August 10th–20th, with screenings taking place at Fort Lauderdale’s historic Savor Cinema and “The Horror Collective Screening Room” at Miami Beach’s O Cinema South Beach (as part of a special partnership between Popcorn Frights and Entertainment Squad’s The Horror Collective).
Below, we have a look at the full first wave of programming for this year’s Popcorn Frights Film Festival. Stay tuned to Daily Dead for more updates in the coming weeks, check out our event report from last year’s amazing festival, and be sure to visit Popcorn Frights’ official website!
Press Release: June 29, 2023 // – Popcorn Frights is leaping off the screen in full stereoscopic 3-D glory for its ninth edition, unleashing a wicked lineup of 25 films that delve into the darkest corners of international genre cinema, including seven world premieres, and with many more macabre delights and film premieres yet to be revealed!
Summoning darkness on opening night is the world premiere of DELIVER US, a sinister and dread-soaked tale that unveils an ancient prophecy where a nun defies the laws of nature and gives birth to both the messiah and the antichrist. Audiences will need to brace themselves for the unhinged chaos that will be released within the eerie confines of Savor Cinema, a state-of-the-art theater that was once a Methodist Church in the 1940s, yet still echoes with the whispers of its haunting past.
Running August 10-20, Popcorn Frights’ first wave of films is headlined by a special spotlight on made-in-Florida films featuring the world premieres of the glam horror queer celebration BIG EASY QUEENS with original musical numbers, voodoo, zombies, Drag Queens, and campy neo-giallo delight soaked in blood, gristle, and glitter, oh my! Complementing the premiere will be a 4-piece band performance and live show featuring the BIG EASY QUEENS stars themselves! Also premiering is the gruesome slice of made-in-Miami mayhem SANTASTEIN, a holiday slasher that puts the axe back in Xmas! Fans will need to buckle in for some bloody holiday cheer that will leave them having a ho-ho-whole lot of fun!
Brimming with mad, macabre, and just downright bizarre as the first-ever splatter movie, Herschell Gordon Lewis’ shot in Miami Beach gore-fest masterpiece BLOOD FEAST will receive a one-night-only immersive presentation. Swoon at the violence in this unhinged, gore-soaked extravaganza as we celebrate its 60th anniversary with the special accompaniment of a live original score performance by Miami artist Richard Vergez.
Scream and dive into a mind-blowing ’80s time warp as Popcorn Frights presents the ultimate 3-D extravaganza with its “1983-D” revival showcase, featuring 3-D screenings of FRIDAY THE 13TH PART III, Demi Moore’s haunting film debut PARASITE 3-D, the underseen over-the-top slasher SILENT MADNESS 3-D, and the monstrously fun Florida-made sequel JAWS 3-D, celebrating its 40th anniversary in all its severed-limb-and-head-floating and shark-exploding 3-D gory… er glory!
Worldwide, weird, and wonderful genre films return with a selection of titles that defy categorization, featuring unmissable highlights such as the world premiere of Brandon Christensen’s curse-laden creation THE PUPPETMAN; the US premiere of the gripping underwater thriller THE DIVE, the cannabis-infused chiller TRIM SEASON; and Jennifer Reeder’s coming-of-age high-school body-horror PERPETRATOR, starring an unforgettable Alicia Silverstone as a suburban auntie from hell.
Recognized as the largest genre film event in the Southeast U.S. and one of “The World’s 50 Best Genre Festivals” by MovieMaker Magazine, Popcorn Frights will complement its in-theater festival program with an online virtual component, granting audiences across the entire United States the opportunity to immerse themselves in the heart-pounding, adrenaline-fueled experience of the festival, no matter where they are.
Popcorn Frights’ virtual program is set to unleash an “Australian Invasion” featuring the world premieres of the found-footage nightmare PUZZLE BOX and the stylishly gloomy tour-de-force PSYCHOSIS, as well as Alice Maio Mackay’s utterly defiant genre-bender T BLOCKERS. The festival’s virtual program also includes world premieres of the mind-bending thriller QUANTUM SUICIDE and the hair-raising tale SORRY, CHARLIE, about a malevolent stranger who lures unsuspecting women with a haunting recording of a crying baby.
Other highlights playing as part of the festival’s virtual experience include the audacious puppet horror ABRUPTIO, the fiercely haunting THE BANALITY, the twisted time loop horror BRIGHTWOOD, the Lovecraftian horror musical ELDRITCH, USA, the engrossingly disturbing GHOSTS OF THE VOID, the chillingly dystopian NO MORE TIME, the whimsical horror comedy THE LAST MOVIE EVER MADE, and the unapologetically queer folk horror SAINT DROGO.
A second wave of Popcorn Frights 2023 titles with more than two dozen additional feature film premieres for in-theater and virtual programming will be announced in the coming weeks.
Access to the in-theater experience will be available through individual tickets or an all-access badge, which will provide an all-inclusive experience for films and special events hosted at the Savor Cinema Fort Lauderdale and O Cinema South Beach (“The Horror Collective Screening Room”), Popcorn Frights official host venues this year. Separate virtual passes are also available and will provide access to every film streaming in the festival’s virtual program. To order an In-Theater All-Access Badge, click here, to order a Virtual All-Access Pass, click here.
This year’s Popcorn Frights official poster was created by South Florida artist Kent Hernandez, who previously crafted imagery for the event in 2022, and has designed a new original poster for the festival.
Submissions to the ninth annual Popcorn Frights Film Festival are still open via Film Freeway with the final deadline set for July 10. Shorts, features, documentaries, animation, film and video — all are welcome and can be submitted at the link: https://filmfreeway.com/popcornfrightsfilmfestival
The ninth edition of the Popcorn Frights Film Festival is made possible with the support of its generous sponsors, including 88 Films, AGFA, ALTER, The Betsy, Daily Dead, Bloody Disgusting, Dread Central, Fangoria, Fright Rags, The Horror Collective, Kino Cult, MVD, O Cinema, Savor Cinema, Severin Films, and its loyal fans. For more info about Popcorn Frights, visit PopcornFrights.com
IN-THEATER FEATURE FILM LINEUP
OPENING NIGHT
Deliver Us
World Premiere
United States | 2023 | 104 Min. | Dirs. Crus Ennis, Lee Roy Kunz
*Directors Cru Ennis & Lee Roy Kunz, producer Isaac Bauman, and actress Maria Vera Ratti expected in person
An ancient prophecy is fulfilled when a nun immaculately conceives twins: one is the Messiah and the other the Anti-Christ.
Big Easy Queens
World Premiere
United States | 2023 | 80 Min. | Dir. Erynn Dalton
*Director Erynn Dalton and actors Miss Bouvèé, Jennifer McClain, Matthew Darren, and Benjamin Shaevitz expected in person
Set in the seamy underworld, this glam horror musical follows Minnie Bouvèé, Mob Queen of the Quarter, and her rivalry with her arch-nemesis, Poodles Makenzie.
The Dive
US Premiere
Germany | 2023 | 91 Min. | Dir. Maximilian Erlenwein
A dive at one of the world’s most remote spots becomes a fight for survival for two sisters when a landslide sends rocks tumbling into the sea, trapping one in the depths and forcing the other to make life-and-death decisions with no outside help in sight.
Perpetrator
Southeast US Premiere
United States | 2023 | 100 Min. | Dir. Jennifer Reeder
A coming-of-age high-school body-horror tale about a wild and impulsive teenage girl living precariously in a town where young women continue to go missing, and the power she’s forced to unlock to survive.
The Puppetman
World Premiere
United States | 2023 | 96 Min. | Dir. Brandon Christensen
*Director Brandon Christensen expected in person
The Puppetman, a convicted killer on death row always maintained his innocence and that it was an evil force controlling his body as he slaughtered his victims. Now the killer’s daughter begins to suspect that there may be some truth to her father’s claim when those around her begin to die in brutal ways. She must try and break the curse of The Puppetman before all her loved ones are killed.
Santastein
World Premiere
United States | 2023 | 87 Min. | Dirs. Benjamin Edelman & Manuel Camilion
*Directors Benjamin Edelman & Manuel Camilion, producer Vasisth Sukul, and actors Jared Korotskin, Makenzie Rivera, Kaylie Heyner, and Fernando Morales expected in person
A holiday slasher about a young man that resurrects Santa after accidentally killing him years earlier, but who soon realizes that the creature he has raised is a bloodthirsty killer.
Trim Season
Florida Premiere
United States | 2023 | 100 Min. | Dir. Ariel Vida
A group of young people go to a remote marijuana farm where they hope to make quick cash, but they discover the location’s dark secrets and now must try to escape the mountain on which they are trapped.
VIRTUAL FEATURE FILM LINEUP
Abruptio
Southeast US Premiere
United States | 2023 | 94 Min. | Dir. Evan Marlowe
Featuring the voices of Robert Englund, Jordan Peele, and the late Sid Haig, this puppet horror tale follows a down on his luck man who one day wakes up to find an explosive device has been implanted in his neck.
The Banality
Florida Premiere
United States | 2023 | 78 Min. | Dirs. Michael Stevantoni, Strack Azar
A troubled small town priest attempts to council the family of a boy involved in a sudden and mysterious death while wrestling with his own recurring nightmares.
Brightwood
Southeast US Premiere
United States | 2023 | 84 Min. | Dir. Dane Elcar
In this twisted and mind-bending time loop horror tale a couple find themselves trapped while on a run around a pond.
Eldritch, USA
East Coast Premiere
United States | 2023 | 108 Min. | Dirs. Ryan Smith, Tyler Foreman
In this Lovecraftian horror musical a backwoods cult unleashes forces beyond its control in a quiet Midwestern town.
Ghosts of the Void
Southeast US Premiere
United States | 2023 | 98 Min. | Dir. Jason Miller
Spending the night in her car, a newly homeless woman wrestles with exhaustion, her crumbling marriage, and the threat of mysterious, masked strangers.
The Last Movie Ever Made
Florida Premiere
United States | 2023 | 95 Min. | Dir. Nathan Blackwell
With the world about to end, a man convinces a group of friends and strangers to help finish the sci-fi movie he abandoned in high school.
No More Time
Southeast US Premiere
United States | 2022 | 82 Min. | Dir. Dalila Droege
A couple seeks refuge in a remote mountain town to escape a mysterious viral disease that makes people disappear or turn into murderers. As messengers emerge from the forest, the couple must decide who to trust and what to do to survive.
Psychosis
World Premiere
Australia | 2023 | 98 Min. | Dir. Pirie Martin
A criminal fixer who experiences auditory hallucinations must confront old demons when a mysterious contract drags him into a surreal maelstrom of mind-altering drugs, delusional vigilantes, and a sadistic hypnotist who seems more monster than man.
Puzzle Box
World Premiere
Australia | 2023 | 73 Min. | Dir. Jack Dignan
An addict flees to a house in the woods to self-rehabilitate, where her sister joins to document the process, but the house’s layout begins to change, trapping them inside an inescapable puzzle box.
Quantum Suicide
World Premiere
Canada | 2023 | 87 Min. | Dir. Gerrit Van Woudenberg
A lone physicist builds a particle accelerator in his garage and embarks on a quest to understand the nature of reality.
Saint Drogo
Southeast US Premiere
United States | 2023 | 87 Min. | Dirs. Michael J. Ahern, Ryan Miller, Brandon Perras-Sanchez
A folk-horror tale about a gay couple who take an impromptu trip to Cape Cod in the winter and confront a secret society corrupted by arcane forces.
Sorry, Charlie
World Premiere
United States | 2023 | 75 Min. | Dir. Colton Tran
A remote helpline volunteer is targeted by a stranger who lures women from their homes with a recording of a crying baby.
T Blockers
Southeast US Premiere
Australia | 2023 | 74 Min. | Dir. Alice Maio Mackay
Ancient parasites rise from a small town, taking the most fearful and susceptible hosts. A young filmmaker finds herself as the only one who can sense the possessed resistance before the horror escapes and spreads.
RETRO LINEUP
Blood Feast
60th Anniversary Presentation
United States | 1963 | 67 Min. | Dir. Hershell Gordon Lewis
*Live Performance
An Egyptian caterer kills various women in Miami Beach to use their body parts to revive a dormant Egyptian goddess while a police detective tries to track him down.
Friday the 13th Part III 3-D
1983-D Special Event
United States | 1982 | 95 Min. | Dir. Steve Miner
*3-D Screening
Jason Voorhees stalks a group of friends who just arrived to spend the weekend at a cabin near Crystal Lake.
Jaws 3-D
40th Anniversary Presentation
United States | 1983 | 109 Min. | Dir. Joe Alves
*3-D Screening
A giant thirty-five-foot shark becomes trapped in Orlando’s SeaWorld theme park and it’s up to the sons of police chief Brody to rescue everyone.
Parasite 3-D
1983-D Special Event
United States | 1982 | 85 Min. | Dir. Charles Band
*3-D Screening
In a post-apocalyptic USA, a doctor/scientist infected with a new strain of parasite ends up in a small desert town, trying to find a cure.
Silent Madness 3-D
1983-D Special Event
United States | 1984 | 93 Min. | Dir. Simon Nuchtern
*3-D Screening
A psychologist goes undercover as a sorority sister when a serial killer in a mental hospital is freed by a computer glitch and returns to kill again.
For all further details please visit www.popcornfrights.com
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ABOUT POPCORN FRIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL
Popcorn Frights Film Festival is the ultimate summer celebration of the art of horror, showcasing the finest contemporary genre cinema from around the world. As the largest genre film festival in the Southeast U.S., this ten-day event takes pride in premiering works from both emerging and established filmmakers. By offering a platform for these artists, the festival aims to provide an immersive experience that highlights the captivating power of storytelling through genre film.
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