By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The ninth edition of the Southeast U.S.’ largest genre-film fest will be a hybrid event.
The Popcorn Frights team have announced that this year’s edition will offer both in-theater and virtual screenings, including world premieres and spotlights on 3D fright fare, made-in-Florida features and movies from Australia.
The in-theater titles are:
DELIVER US
Opening Night; World Premiere
United States | 2023 | 104 Min. | Dirs. Crus Ennis, Lee Roy Kunz
An ancient prophecy is fulfilled when a nun immaculately conceives twins: one is the Messiah and the other the Antichrist. (Directors Cru Ennis & Lee Roy Kunz, producer Isaac Bauman and actress Maria Vera Ratti expected in person)
BIG EASY QUEENS (pictured above)
World Premiere
United States | 2023 | 80 Min. | Dir. Erynn Dalton
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. (Director Erynn Dalton and actors Miss Bouvèé, Jennifer McClain, Matthew Darren and Benjamin Shaevitz expected in person)
THE DIVE
U.S. 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 U.S. 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
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. (Director Brandon Christensen expected in person)
SANTASTEIN
World Premiere
United States | 2023 | 87 Min. | Dirs. Benjamin Edelman & Manuel Camilion
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. (Directors Benjamin Edelman & Manuel Camilion, producer Vasisth Sukul, and actors Jared Korotskin, Makenzie Rivera, Kaylie Heyner, and Fernando Morales expected in person)
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.
The virtual feature films are:
ABRUPTIO
Southeast U.S. 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 counsel the family of a boy involved in a sudden and mysterious death while wrestling with his own recurring nightmares.
BRIGHTWOOD
Southeast U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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 U.S. 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.
The retro movies, including the 3D offerings, are:
BLOOD FEAST
60th Anniversary Presentation
United States | 1963 | 67 Min. | Dir. Herschell Gordon Lewis
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. With a live original score by Miami artist Richard Vergez.
FRIDAY THE 13TH PART III
1983-D Special Event
United States | 1982 | 95 Min. | Dir. Steve Miner
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
A giant 35-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
1983-D Special Event
United States | 1982 | 85 Min. | Dir. Charles Band
In a postapocalyptic 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
1983-D Special Event
United States | 1984 | 93 Min. | Dir. Simon Nuchtern
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.
The second wave of programming will be announced in the coming weeks. In-Theater All-Access Badges can now be ordered here, and Virtual All-Access Passes are available here. For more info on the fest, head over to its official website.
