After showcasing 36 movies and 77 short films at their eighth film festival (in case you missed it, read my event report), Popcorn Frights has even more treats in store for horror fans this October with their annual Wicked Weekend.
Taking place September 28th–October 2nd at Savor Cinema in Fort Lauderdale, this year's Wicked Weekend will celebrate horror films both old and new, including Smile, Scare Package II: Rad Chad's Revenge, Terrifier 2, Spirit Halloween: The Movie, as well as anniversary screenings of Near Dark and I Know What You Did Last Summer.
Wicked Weekend will also feature a screening of The Crow and a double feature of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers and Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers.
We have the official press release with full details below, and to learn more, visit:
Press Release: MIAMI, FL – Just in time for the spooky season, Popcorn Frights is thrilled to announce its annual Wicked Weekend program celebrating all the eerie, weird, wild, and strange things that go bump in the night! The event, running September 28 through October 2, will feature nine film events plus a host of filmmakers, restorations, and special screenings.
Everything kicks off with the opening night debut of SMILE, the disturbing new horror from Paramount Pictures starring Sosie Bacon (13 Reasons Why) as a doctor whose life unravels as increasingly bizarre forces drag her to the edge of sanity.
Wicked Weekend is also headlined by the North American Premiere of the fun and fantastically splatter-packed love letter to horror anthologies and the VHS era of yesteryear SCARE PACKAGE II: RAD CHAD’S REVENGE, as well as the hotly anticipated sequel to the cult-favorite slasher TERRIFIER 2 featuring the demonic killer Art the Clown who is up to his old tricks once again.
Other highlights include the 35th anniversary of Kathryn Bigelow’s ultra-violent triumph NEAR DARK starring the late-great Bill Paxton and the 25th anniversary of the Kevin Williamson penned (Scream) 90s slasher I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER starring Jennifer Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, and Freddie Prinze Jr.
This year’s Wicked Weekend will feature one hell of a family reunion with a special double-bill presentation of HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS and HALLOWEEN 5: THE REVENGE OF MICHAEL MYERS, which will include a Michael Myers & Jamie Lloyd costume contest with special prizes and giveaways.
Rounding out the program is the Florida Premiere of SPIRIT HALLOWEEN: THE MOVIE starring Christopher Lloyd & Rachel Leigh Cook in a Nickelodeon meets The Goonies diabolical coming-of-age thriller, as well as a celebration of Alex Proyas’ gloriously gothic and brutal revenge tale THE CROW starring Brandon Lee as a badass antihero in his final electric performance.
Celebrated as one of “The World’s 50 Best Genre Festivals” by MovieMaker Magazine, Popcorn Frights recently wrapped its eighth edition this past August with more than 10,000 filmgoers and industry professionals attending its summer week of wicked films, events, and parties. The ninth annual Popcorn Frights Film Festival will take place August 10-20, 2023 across South Florida with submissions now open via Film Freeway. Shorts, features, documentaries, animation, film and video — all are welcome and can be submitted at the link: https://filmfreeway.com/popcornfrightsfilmfestival
Popcorn Frights showcases features and shorts by filmmakers from around the world to an audience of horror lovers and filmmakers, industry, and journalists. Amongst others, Lucile Hadzihalilovic, Scott Beck & Bryan Woods, Issa Lopez, Jenn Wexler, Leigh Whannel, Justin Long, Jennifer Reeder, Adam Egypt Mortimer, Natasha Kermani, Joe Lynch, and horror legend Chuck Russell have attended, participated, and premiered their films at the Popcorn Frights Film Festival.
WICKED WEEKEND FILM LINEUP
OPENING NIGHT
Smile
United States | 2022 | 116 Min. | Dir. Parker Finn
After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter (Sosie Bacon) starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can’t explain. As an overwhelming terror begins taking over her life, Rose must confront her troubling past in order to survive and escape her horrifying new reality.
The Crow
United States | 1994 | 102 Min. | Dir. Alex Proyas
A man brutally murdered comes back to life as an undead avenger of his and his fiancée’s murder in Alex Proyas’ gothic revenge tale starring the late-great Brandon Lee.
Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers
1988 | 88 Min. | Dir. Dwight H. Little
Ten years after his original massacre, Michael Myers awakens on Halloween Eve and returns to Haddonfield to kill his seven-year-old niece.
Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers
1989 | 96 Min. | Dir. Dominique Othenin-Girard
One year after the events of Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, the Shape returns to Haddonfield once again in an attempt to kill his now-mute niece.
I Know What You Did Last Summer
25th Anniversary Presentation
1997 | 101 Min. | Dir. Jim Gillespie
In screenwriter Kevin Williamson’s iconic 90s thriller, four young friends bound by a tragic accident are reunited when they find themselves being stalked by a hook-wielding maniac in their small seaside town.
Near Dark
35th Anniversary Presentation
1987 | 94 Min. | Dir. Kathryn Bigelow
A small-town farmer’s son reluctantly joins a traveling group of vampires after he is bitten by a beautiful drifter in Kathryn Bigelow’s ultra-violent genre triumph starring Bill Paxton, Jenny Wright, and Lance Henriksen.
Scare Package II: Rad Chad’s Revenge
North American Premiere
2022 | 98 Min. | Dirs. Aaron B. Koontz, Alexandra Barreto, Anthony Cousins, Jed Shepherd, Rachele Wiggins
When horror guru Rad Chad Buckley's funeral turns into an elaborate series of hilarious death traps, the guests must band together and use the rules of horror to survive the bloody game.
Spirit Halloween: The Movie
Florida Premiere
2022 | 87 Min. | Dir. David Poag
When a Halloween store opens in a deserted strip-mall, three friends, thinking they've outgrown trick or treating, decide to spend the night locked inside. But their night of spook-filled fun soon turns to outlandish survival in this coming-of-age thriller starring Christopher Lloyd and Rachel Leigh Cook.
Terrifier 2
Florida Premiere
2022 | 137 Min. | Dir. Damien Leone
Resurrected by occult forces, Art the Clown returns to wreak bloody havoc on the residents of Miles County, targeting a frazzled mother and her kids.
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For all further details please visit www.popcornfrights.com
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facebook.com/popcornfrightsABOUT POPCORN FRIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL
Popcorn Frights Film Festival presents the best of contemporary genre cinema from across the world as it celebrates the art of horror. The ten-day festival is Southeast U.S.' largest genre film festival and prides itself on premiering films from emerging and established filmmakers, enabling the industry and general audiences to experience the power of storytelling through genre film.
Poster art by Miami artist Jason Sheppard:
Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.
When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.
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