2025 PROGRAM

Opening Night – DROP

Director Christopher Landon in attendance

Christopher Landon | 2025 | USA | 95 min

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.

Cast: Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane, Jacob Robinson, Reed Diamond, Gabrielle Ryan, Jeffery Self, Ed Weeks, Travis Nelson

Closing Night – CLOWN IN A CORNFIELD

Filmmaker in attendance

Eli Craig | 2024 | USA | 96 min

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.

Cast: Katie Douglas, Aaron Abrams, Carson MacCormac, Vincent Muller, Kevin Durand, Will Sasso

Centerpiece – THE UGLY STEPSISTER

Filmmaker in attendance

Emilie Blichfeldt | 2024 | Norway | 105 min

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.

Cast: Lea Myren, Thea Sofie Loch Næss, Ane Dahl Torp, Flo Fagerli, Isac Calmroth, Malte Gårdinge

13 GHOSTS in ILLUSION-O!

65th Anniversary Screening

William Castle | 1960 | USA | 85 min

13 times the thrills! 13 times the screams! 13 times the fun! See the ghosts in ectoplasmic color in gimmick king William Castle’s original ILLUSION-O! Yes, 13 times the entertainment when you use the new ghost viewer provided to you by this very theater!

Cast: Charles Herbert, Jo Morrow, Rosemary DeCamp, Margaret Hamilton, Donald Woods

Preceded by Phantom Follies with Zabrecky: A Midnight Spook Show & Film Spectacular

40 ACRES

R.T. Thorne | 2024 | Canada | 113 min

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.

Cast: Danielle Deadwyler, Michael Greyeyes, Kataem O’Connor, Leenah Robinson

ABRAHAM’S BOYS

Filmmaker in attendance

World Premiere

Natasha Kermani | 2025 | USA | 89 min

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. 

Cast: Titus Welliver, Jocelin Donahue, Judah Mackey, Aurora Perineau, Brady Hepner

ASH

Special Screening

Director Flying Lotus in Person

Flying Lotus | 2024 | USA | 95 min

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.

Cast: Eiza González, Aaron Paul, Iko Uwais, Kate Elliott, Beulah Koale, Flying Lotus

BEST WISHES TO ALL

Yûta Shimotsu | 2024 | Japan | 89 min

A young nursing student gets an unexpectedly twisted dose of reality when she visits her grandparents in the countryside, only to uncover the secrets to their exceedingly happy life. Director Yûta Shimotsu’s unsettling debut draws from classics like Audition and The Wicker Man to create a wholly unique vision. 

Cast: Kotone Furukawa

CHAIN REACTIONS

Filmmaker in attendance

Alexandre Philippe | 2024 | USA | 103 min

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.

Featuring: Patton Oswalt, Takashi Miike, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Stephen King, Karyn Kusama

CLOUD

Kiyoshi Kurosawa | 2024 | Japan | 124 min

Japanese horror legend Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Cure, Pulse) returns to his trademark discomfort zone in this unpredictable psychological genre-bending, screw-turner following an online reseller whose bogus products land him in the crosshairs of mysterious violent threats which reach increasingly close to home.

Cast: Masaki Suda, Kotone Furukawa, Daiken Okudaira

DEAD LOVER

Grace Glowicki | 2025 | Canada | 79 min

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.

Cast: Grace Glowicki, Ben Petrie, Leah Doz, Lowen Morrow

DEATH BECOMES HER

Introduction by Guest Curator Flying Lotus

Robert Zemeckis | 1992 | USA | 104 min

Some people will go to any lengths to stay young forever.

Cast: Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis, Goldie Hawn, Isabella Rossellini

THE DESCENT

20th Anniversary Screening

Introduction by Guest Curator Flying Lotus

Neil Marshall | 2005 | United Kingdom | 99 min

The scariest movie in Earth.

Cast: Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, Nora-Jane Noone, MyAnna Buring

FREWAKA

Aislinn Clarke | 2024 | Ireland | 103 min

Irish folkloric terror awaits in this remarkably atmospheric bone-chiller about a care worker who, after suffering a personal tragedy, leaves her Dublin home for a remote assignment in the north country to look after an elderly shut-in… Deep inside her new abode, she finds a portal to something far more sinister.

Cast: Clare Monnelly, Bríd Ní Neachtain, Aleksandra Bystrzhitskaya

GOOD BOY

Filmmaker in attendance

Ben Leonberg | 2024 | USA | 73 min

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.

Cast: Indy, Shane Jensen, Larry Fessenden, Arielle Friedman, Stuart Rudin, Anya Krawcheck, Hunter Goetz, Max

HALLOW ROAD

Filmmaker in attendance

Babak Anvari | 2025 | United Kingdom | 80 min

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.

Cast: Rosamund Pike, Matthew Rhys

THE HOME

Mattias J Skoglund | 2025 | Sweden, Estonia, Iceland | 87 min

Terrified of facing the scars from his past, alcoholic and drug-addict Joel returns to his small town to move his dementia-ridden mother Monica out of her elderly care facility to look after her himself. When he starts to experience strange visions, he realizes she might have brought something else back with her.

Cast: Philip Oros, Anki Lidén, Gizem Erdogan, Malin Levanon, Peter Jankert, Lottie Ejenbrant, Ayan Ahmed, Bengt CW Carlsson

ICK

Filmmaker in attendance

Joseph Kahn | 2024 | USA | 92 min

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. 

Cast: Brandon Routh, Malina Weissman, Harrison Cone, Taia Sophia, Zeke Donovan Jones, Debra Wilson, Mena Suvari, Jeff Fahey

Preceded by THE ALL-AMERICAN REJECTS: SANDBOX Dir. JOSEPH KAHN | 2025 | USA

IT ENDS

Filmmaker in attendance

Alexander Ullom | 2024 | USA | 87 min

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.

Cast: Phinehas Yoon, Akira Jackson, Noah Toth, Mitchell Cole

LIFEHACK

Filmmaker in attendance

Ronan Corrigan | 2025 | United Kingdom | 97 min

From the producers of former Overlook opener Unfriended: Dark Web comes a non-stop, high tension thriller following four slacker teens as they descend into the darkest corners of the internet to plan one of the greatest cyberheists of all time.

Cast: Georgie Farmer, Yasmin Finney, Roman Hayeck-Green, James Scholz, Jessica Reynolds, Charlie Creed-Milesa

LOST HIGHWAY

Introduction by Guest Curator Flying Lotus

Tribute to David Lynch

David Lynch | 1997 | USA | 134 min

Dick Laurent is dead.

Cast: Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty, Robert Blake, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Gary Busey, Robert Loggia

MONSTER ISLAND

Mike Wiluan | 2024 | Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, United Kingdom | 83 min

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.

Cast: Dean Fujioka, Callum Woodhouse

THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA

100^th Anniversary Screening

Live Music Accompaniment by Think Less, Hear More

Rupert Julian | 1925 | USA | 92 min

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.

Cast: Lon Chaney, Norman Kerry, Mary Philbin, Arthur Edmund Carewe, Gibson Gowland, Snitz Edwards, Bernard Seigel

PREDATORS

David Osit | 2025 | USA | 96 min

Director David Osit’s unnerving, intricate examination of the once lauded To Catch a Predator delves deep into the real life horrors of how far one tv show will go to turn disturbing crimes, and disturbed people, into entertainment. As heartbreaking as it is chilling, this shocking documentary explores the thin line between “monster” and human.

RE-ANIMATOR

40^th Anniversary Screening

4K UHD Restoration

Presented by FANGORIA

Actress Barbara Crampton in Person

Stuart Gordon | 1985 | USA | 84 min

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.

Cast: Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, David Gale, Robert Sampson

REDUX REDUX

Filmmaker in attendance

Kevin McManus, Matthew McManus | 2024 | USA | 108 min

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. 

Cast: Michaela McManus, Stella Marcus, Jeremy Holm

ROSARIO

Felipe Vargas | 2025 | Colombia, USA | 88 min

When the grief-stricken young Rosario is forced to wait overnight with the body of her deceased grandmother until an ambulance can get to her through a severe snowfall, she falls prey to ghoulish attacks from supernatural possessors determined to wreak havoc on her.

Cast: Emeraude Toubia, David Dastmalchian, Paul Ben-Victor, José Zúñiga, Diana Lein

THE SHROUDS

David Cronenberg | 2024 | France, Canada | 119 min

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.

Cast: Vincent Cassel, Diane Kruger, Guy Pearce, Sandrine Holt

THE SPIRIT OF HALLOWEENTOWN

Brett Whitcomb & Bradford Thomason | 2024 | USA | 91 min

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. 

Cast: Chris Cannard, Colleen Ohler, Saydra Manning, Darrin Scholl, Holcombe Waller

TALES FROM THE CRYPT: DEMON KNIGHT

30^th Anniversary Screening

Director Ernest Dickerson in Person

Ernest R. Dickerson | 1995 | USA | 92 min

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.

Cast: Billy Zane, William Sadler, Jada Pinkett Smith, Brenda Bakke, CCH Pounder, Dick Miller, Thomas Haden Church

Preceding the screening, Ernest Dickerson will receive the 2025 Master Of Horror Award

TOUCH ME

Filmmaker in attendance

Addison Heimann | 2024 | USA | 100 min

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. 

Cast: Olivia Taylor Dudley, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jordan Gavaris, Marlene Forte, and Paget Brewster

THE TRUE BEAUTY OF BEING BITTEN BY A TICK

Filmmaker in attendance

Pete Ohs | 2025 | USA | 82 min

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). 

Cast: Zoë Chao, Callie Hernandez, Jeremy O. Harris, James Cusati-Moyer

ZODIAC KILLER PROJECT

Charlie Shackleton | 2023 | United States, United Kingdom | 92 min

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.

Featuring: Charlie Shackleton, Guy Robbins, Lee Nicholas Harris

THE SHORT FILMS OF DAVID LYNCH

Tribute to David Lynch

David Lynch lives forever in this disturbing collection of formative nightmares, showcasing his short-form roots spanning back to his art school days years before and during the making of Eraserhead.

SICK MEN GETTING SICK Dir. David Lynch | 1967 | USA

THE ALPHABET Dir. David Lynch | 1968 | USA

THE GRANDMOTHER Dir. David Lynch | 1970 | USA

THE AMPUTEE VERSION 1 AND VERSION 2 Dir. David Lynch | 1974 | USA 

PREMONITIONS FOLLOWING AN EVIL DEED Dir. David Lynch | 1995 | USA 

97 min

SHORTS PROGRAM 1: APOCALYPSE PRETTY SOON

Filmmakers in attendance

JUST WAIT Dir. Blaine Morris | 2024 | USA

VINES Dir. Luke Zwanziger | 2024 | USA 

LOS MUCHACHOS Dir. Alejandro Arties | 2025 | Spain

LAST TO LEAVE Dir. Mary Elizabeth Ellis | 2023 | USA 

THEY COME HOME TO DIE Dir. Zeke Farrow | 2024 | USA

ENDZGIVING Dir. Tina Carbone | 2024 | USA

THE FLACALTA EFFECT Dir. Rocheé Jeffrey | 2024 | USA

83 Min

SHORTS PROGRAM 2: THE FURIES

Filmmakers in attendance

CALL EARL Dir. Jordan Pfeifer | 2024 | USA

CRUELTY Dir. Sam Das | 2024 | USA 

SLUSH Dir. Ashley George | 2024 | USA

DESTROYER Dir. Judd Myers | 2023 | USA

THE BEGUILING Dir. Ishkwaazhe Shane McSauby | 2024 | USA 

AWAY WITH THE FAIRIES Dir. René Brar | 2024 | Canada 

BRAND NEW CADILLAC Dir. Stacy Haiduk & Sophia Tatum | 2024 | USA

100 Min

SHORTS PROGRAM 3: FREAKY

Filmmakers in attendance

MR. STATIC Dir. Mike Williamson | 2024 | USA

BOY BAND Dir. Benedict Chiu | 2023 | USA

ARSON Dir. Erin Broussard | 2024 | USA

DEADLY DUELS XII Dir. Justine Beed | 2024 | USA 

THE TRAVELLER AND THE TROLL Dir. Adam Murray | 2024 | USA 

EASYBAKE Dir. Sasha Duncan | 2024 | Canada

DRY JANUARY Dir. C.J. Arellano | 2024 | USA

CATARATAS Dir. Francisco Bendomir | 2024 | Argentina

92 Min

AMERICAN PSYCHO

25th Anniversary

Mary Heron | 2000 | USA, Canada | 102 min

I think my mask of sanity is about to slip.

Cast: Christian Bale, Willem Dafoe, Jared Leto, Josh Lucas, Samantha Mathi

HOUSE OF USHER

65th Anniversary

Tribute to Roger Corman

Roger Corman | 1960 | USA | 79 min

Edgar Allen Poe’s overwhelming tale of EVIL & TORMENT.

Cast: Vincent Price, Mark Damon, Myrna Fahey, Harry Ellerbe

STRAIT-JACKET

William Castle | 1964 | USA | 93 min

WARNING! ‘Strait-Jacket’ vividly depicts axe murders!

Cast: Joan Crawford, Diane Baker, Leif Erickson, Howard St. John

16MM KODAK WORKSHOP

Workshop

Presented by Kodak

The sold out sensation is back! Horror filmmakers, fans and enthusiasts have long embraced the medium of celluloid as a choice to ramp up tension, serve up scares, and capture a feeling that’s all too important to the tone of genre filmmaking. Thanks to our friends at Kodak, 15 lucky registrants will be able to participate in this special 16mm demo and workshop to learn to capture the stories of moving images of tomorrow on film today!

A CONVERSATION WITH JOE HILL

Panel

Beloved bestselling horror author Joe Hill (King Sorrow) checks in to the Overlook for a wide-ranging career conversation to discuss the methods behind the madness which animate his exquisite body of work. Across novels, comic book series, and short stories — many of which have been memorably adapted from page to screen including Horns, Locke & Key, The Black Phone and this year’s Abraham’s Boys — Hill’s unique blend of horror, dark fantasy, and science fiction has cemented his status as a contemporary master of the macabre. We are delighted to host this award-winning literary great as he dives into the inner-workings and inspirations of his spine-tingling oeuvre.

ADAM CESARE BOOK SIGNING

Signing

Join Adam Cesare, author of Clown in a Cornfield for a signing of their work at festival partner, and a personal favorite of Anne Rice’s, the one and only Garden District Bookshop

BEHIND THE BLACK VEIL: THE MAKING OF DRAGULA

Panel

Presented by SAGIndie

A behind-the-scenes look at The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula, with juicy behind-the-scenes stories, design secrets, and what it takes to build a horror empire in stilettos.

DANGER STORIES: A WORD SALAD SYMPHONY

Screening

Creator/Host: Bret Berg, Museum of Home Video

Museum of Home Video is a weekly found-footage remix livestream for stoners, seekers, archivists and drinkers. For his third Overlook appearance, Museum VJ Bret Berg presents two deliriously jagged archival disasterpieces on the subject of “personal danger”. First is Danger Stories: A Word Salad Symphony, created by Bret for the American Genre Film Archive. This frantic ode to culture jammers like Negativland and Bruce Conner takes 30+ hours of twentieth-century health and safety “scare films” and mixes them into 30 minutes of mirthful musical terror. The program’s second half hits cruising altitude with Bret’s montage of highlights from the Aughties’ cringiest cable-TV show ever. Special thanks to Something Weird Video for the Word Salad Symphony’s raw material.

DIY UNTIL YOU DIE: TRUE INDIE HORROR

Panel

Whether it’s The Blair Witch Project, Skinamarink, or The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, the DIY spirit of horror filmmaking has never required a studio budget in order to deliver unforgettable scares. Join us for a panel discussion featuring filmmakers from this year’s program to discuss the thrills, spills, and chills of making nightmare fuel on a dime.

PANELISTS

Addison Heimann (Director, Touch Me)

Natasha Kermani (Director, Abraham’s Boys)

Alex Ullom (Director, It Ends)

MODERATOR

Brian Collins (Writer and Horror Film Historian)

HORROR TRIVIA

FREE EVENT

Presented by Daily Dead

Hosted by B Mac’s

Test your fright — if you dare. Join Shudder’s senior curator,  trivia host extraordinaire Sam Zimmerman, for our annual horror trivia night. Prizes, drinks, and four ghoulish rounds of only mildly obscure nuggets you’ll definitely know, and all of those sequel subtitles you’ll definitely wish you didn’t. Scare yourself with how much you actually know about horror.

IMMERSION NATION PODCAST

Panel

Presented by American Immersion Theater

Join Immersion Nation hosts Emma Sheridan and Scott Cramton as they discover how immersive entertainment is changing our culture, the way we interact, and the way we play. For this special Overlook Film Festival edition, they welcome horror filmmaker and immersive maverick Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II – IV, Repo! The Genetic Opera, St. Agatha which premiered at Overlook 2019) the deranged mind behind iconic Los Angeles theater events The Tension Experience, The Lust Experience, Theatre Macabre, and most recently, the secretive EXILED: Crooked Rose Woods which took place in Kansas City last spooky season.

JOE HILL BOOK SIGNING

Signing

Join Joe Hill, author of Abraham’s Boys for a signing of their work at festival partner, and a personal favorite of Anne Rice’s, the one and only Garden District Bookshop

THE LATE GREAT MIDNITE SPOOK SHOW WITH ZABRECKY: A MULTIMEDIA ILLUSTRATED TALK

Panel

Presented by The Academy of Magical Arts

From the 1930s to the 1960s, macabre-themed magic shows, known as Spook Shows, were presented alongside horror films in movie theaters across the United States. These late-night spectacles combined live magic, comedy, hypnosis, and Grand Guignol theater with a horror film finale. Spook Shows became a unique form of immersive theater, captivating audiences with séance-themed performances and eerie thrills. Though their popularity faded, they influenced later midnight cult films like Rocky Horror Picture Show and inspired iconic TV hosts such as Vampira and Elvira. In “The Late Great Midnite Spook Show” Zabrecky explores this forgotten cultural phenomenon, sharing its origins, impact, and legacy through slides, film excerpts, and analysis.

THE MANIKINS: A WORK IN PROGRESS

Immersive Performance

US Premiere

Presented by Bywater Wonderland

Requires Separate Ticket, Extremely Limited Availability

Creators: Deadweight Theatre

An interactive performance for a single audience member. A psychedelic thriller where dream and reality collide. Step into the office of Dr. Ligotti, where you will navigate the hidden agendas and supernatural techniques of the enigmatic psychiatric staff. If you have ever wanted to do more than just read or watch a story, but truly enter inside it, be consumed by it, then this experience is for you. You will not know where reality ends and the play begins – and by the end it will all feel like a dream.

Runtime: Approx. 90 minutes. Participants: 1 per slot. Cost: $140

MEMORY HOLE

Screening & Live Show

Creator: Everything is Terrible

Stare deep into the soul of this decaying country with Memory Hole, the enigmatic video collective spun off from Everything is Terrible! A surreal, anti-humanity performance that unfolds in a mind-melting spectacle you’ll never forget (no matter how much you wish you could). Composed entirely of found footage, it’s an uncanny blend of art, horror, hilarity, and sadness. The experience will have you giggling in terror, all while wondering if there’s a monster lurking just behind you. Memory Hole proudly presents their latest work “Animals Are Over,” interwoven with a live performance/score, plus previously unseen clips from their 11-year archive of madness.

This piece contains depictions of violence towards animals.

OPENING NIGHT 10TH ANNIVERSARY SHUDDER PARTY

Party

Presented by Shudder

Enter all who dare to an unmissable party celebrating both the start of the festival and the tenth anniversary of the existence of Shudder, the iconic horror curation and streaming service. This one-of-a-kind event will kick off with a horror-infused second line, include special guest performances, and feature many surprises from the Shudder’s extensive horror catalogue.

PHANTOM FOLLIES WITH ZABRECKY: A MIDNITE SPOOK SHOW & FILM SPECTACULAR

Live Show

Presented by The Academy of Magical Arts

Creator: Zabrecky

Step into the eerie and enchanting world of “Phantom Follies with Zabrecky,” where the supernatural meets showmanship in a thrilling, one-of-a-kind midnight experience magic performance and film screening. Zabrecky, a six-time Magic Castle award-winning magician and master of theatrical séances, brings his unique brand of Spook Show magic to the historic Prytania Uptown Theater. This spine-chilling event pairs mind-bending magic and audience interaction with William Castle’s 1960 supernatural horror classic 13 Ghosts, creating an unforgettable evening of haunted spectacle and cinematic terror.

SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK: TODAY’S HORROR AUTHORS

Panel

Presented by SAGIndie

Calling all book-loving guests of the Overlook: Join us as we commune a panel of literary luminaries from the world of horror fiction to crack open the secrets of their spine-tingling page-turners. Reader beware — you’re in for a scare!

PANELISTS

Alys Arden (Author, The Casquettee Girls, Zantanna: The Jewel of Gravesend)

Adam Cesare (Author, Clown in a Cornfield)

Grady Hendrix (Author, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls)

Alex Jennings (Author, The Ballad of Perilous Graves)

MODERATOR

Mike Miley (Author, David Lynch’s American Dreamscape)

THE SEVERANCE THEORY: WELCOME TO RESPITE

Immersive Performance & Virtual Reality

Presented by Welcome Villain, in conjunction with the University of New Orleans

Requires Separate Ticket

Creator: Odyssey Adventure Co. and Ferryman Collective

Upon visiting your family’s home after your mom’s passing, you are whisked into a forgotten childhood memory. Each interaction is as meaningful as it is fascinating when you rediscover your past and delight in the simplicities of being a child once again. However, something is not quite right — perhaps it’s the masked tension between your parents, maybe you are hearing voices that seem to be only in your mind, it could even be that there is a monster hiding in your closet. After all, respite is only temporary when you are at the whim of your own mind.

Runtime: Approx 60 minutes. Participants: Up to 4 per slot. Cost: Between $35 – $55

SHUDDER SECOND LINE PARADE

FREE EVENT

Parade

Presented by Shudder

The quintessential New Orleans art form gets spookified just in time for Shudder’s 10th Anniversary. Make your way to the anniversary party on opening night in style with your favorite streamer’s reverie strutting through the French Quarter behind a brass band playing some familiar scores, creepy characters, and you.

SPLATTERDAY NIGHT AT THE OVERLOOKFILM FEST

Party

Host and Curator: Destryur

Mix and mingle with the creatures of the night as we bring one of New Orleans’ most popular goth nights to the Toulouse Theater with Splatterday Night at Overlook Film Fest. Give us your best Robert Smith or Siouxsie Sioux and come dance the fright away at our Closing Night party. Hosted and curated by electronic artist Destryur, Splatterday Night is a Synthwave party that will keep you up at night, and a must-see for fans of Kavinsky, Carpenter Brut, Dance With The Dead, Power Glove, Perturbator, GosT, 80’s movie soundtracks, and all things synth.

SPOOKY TALES WITH COWBOY DALE

Immersive Performance

World Premiere

Requires Separate Ticket

Creator: Jason Woliner

Gather round, partners, for a chat that’ll put the giddy-up back in your get-along. This is an up-close sit-down with the cordial-est cowpoke in the West. But don’t let his creaky joints fool ya: ol’ Dale’s got stories galore, spun from the dusty trails of the frontier days… and a few of ’em might just send a shiver right on down yer spine. Yee haw!

Runtime: Approx 20 minutes. Participants: 1 per slot. Cost: $25

UNDERSIGNED

Immersive Performance

Requires Separate Ticket, Extremely Limited Availability

Creator: Yannick Trapman-O’Brien

The most popular, limited edition, impossible to get into show of Overlook 2023 is back by special arrangement for an all new audience (Remember the rules: no one who goes through this show is ever allowed to do it again!) Undersigned is a psychological thriller for an audience of one. Depending on your choices, it will last between 45-55 minutes. Your participation will involve an invocation, a blindfold and a pointed discussion. The topics of this discussion will vary based on your input, and may include — but are not limited to — Money, Power, Sex, Pleasure, Violence, Blood, Body Horror, Moral Horror, Economic Horror, Wild Conjecture and the Occult. A waiver is required for participation, and boldness is recommended; you stand to gain as much as you are willing to venture. 

Runtime: Approx. 45-55 minutes. Participants: 1 per slot. Cost: $90

WITCHCRAFT FOR WAYWARD GIRLS – LIVE!

Live Show

Presented by Magnolia Pictures

Host: Grady Hendrix

Are witches old ladies who live in candy houses and eat children? Are they naked maidens dancing in a circle and celebrating the moon? Are they riding broomsticks to a black mass where they’ll worship Satan, or being dragged to a gallows where they’ll be hung after false accusations? Join bestselling author Grady Hendrix to celebrate his latest book, Witchcraft for Wayward Girls, by taking a wild flight into the blackest night as we investigate the world of witchcraft in books and movies and witness an army of broomstick-brandishing, curse-hurling, penis-stealing, baby-eating, world-renouncing, unkillable, unstoppable, unbeatable witches!

Book signing to follow outside of the panel space courtesy of Garden District Book Shop.