The Overlook Film Festival 2025 Announces Horror Trivia Presented by Daily Dead, Additional Films, Live Events, and Immersive Programming!

With this year's Overlook Film Festival lurking around the corner in New Orleans April 3rd–6th, the festival has announced its anticipated full schedule, including free horror trivia that Daily Dead is proud to sponsor for the third year in a row!

Hosted by Shudder's Sam Zimmerman and once again taking place at B Mac's, horror trivia will kick off at 4:30pm on Friday, April 4th, and we look forward to having Daily Dead readers join us at the scary good event!

Other additional programming includes the short films of David Lynch, the return of the immersive experience Undersigned, and Phantom Follies with Zabrecky: A Midnight Spook Show & Film Spectacular followed by a 65th anniversary screening of William Castle's 13 Ghosts in ILLUSION-O!

We have the official press release with complete details on the full schedule below, be sure to visit Overlook Film Festival's official website for more information, and stay tuned to Daily Dead in the coming weeks for our coverage of all the thrills and chills to be found at this year's Overlook!

Press Release: March 19, 2025 | New Orleans, LA – The Overlook Film Festival, the annual celebration of all things horror, announced today the full schedule for its 2025 edition, including some surprise new films and live events. Taking place April 3 – April 6 in America’s most haunted city, New Orleans, Louisiana at the Prytania Theatres, the horror festival announced nine additional films to its lineup, as well as new immersive events, presentations and parties. The full festival schedule can be found at overlookfilmfest.com/schedule.

"This year’s giant lineup brings into focus all of the ways we love to be scared, regardless of what flavor of spooky is your jam" said Sheryl Santacruz, festival director of The Overlook Film Festival. "We can’t wait to join with the greatest, most dedicated genre fans in the world to celebrate this sensation that we all love in ways that we never imagined possible, all thanks to these brilliant artists."

The new additions to the lineup bring the festival total to 56 films (34 features and 22 shorts) from 15 countries, as well as twelve live events and four immersive experiences, making this the largest Overlook lineup in the festival’s nine year history.

Highlighting these additions to the film lineup are Cloud, the latest work from Japanese horror legend Kiyoshi Kurosawa (Cure, Pulse), which follows an online reseller whose bogus products lead to a series of violent threats which reach increasingly close to home; The Home, in which a man caring for his mother struggling with dementia must confront the ghosts of their past; Rosario, where a grief-stricken woman must withstand supernatural forces as she spends the night with the body of her departed grandmother; LifeHack, 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; Frewaka, where a care worker leaves her Dublin home for a remote assignment to look after an elderly shut-in whose house may or may not be a portal to the occult; Best Wishes to All, in which a young nursing student gets an unexpectedly twisted dose of reality when she visits her grandparents; and Predators, an acclaimed documentary from David Osit which examines the ethics and legacy of the hit show To Catch a Predator.

In addition to these features, two new retrospective screenings were announced. As part of the Overlook’s Tribute to David Lynch, a collection of his short films spanning back to his art school days before the making of Eraserhead will be screened; and a 65th anniversary screening of 13 Ghosts, directed by the legendary showman William Castle, will be presented in it’s original intended form of ILLUSION-O! Audience members will be given exclusive “ghost viewers” and get to choose whether or not they’re brave enough to see the terrifying spirits as they watch the film.

Of course it wouldn’t be the Overlook without live events as well. Preceding the screening of 13 Ghosts will be Phantom Follies with Zabrecky: A Midnight Spook Show & Film Spectacular. Presented by the Academy of Magical Arts, this one-of-a-kind midnight experience features Zabrecky, a six-time Magic Castle award-winning magician and master of theatrical séances, bringing his unique brand of Spook Show magic to the recreation of a classic yet forgotten part of horror lore at the historic Prytania Uptown Theater. Zebrecky will also separately present The Late Great Midnite Spook Show: A Multimedia Illustrated Talk, where the magic historian takes viewers through the history of this unique artform. Other added live events and presentations include a Horror Trivia competition hosted by Daily Dead, a 16MM Camera Workshop, the panel DIY Until You Die: True Indie Horror, where this year’s filmmakers take the audience through the ins and outs of creating independent horror and a live recording of an Immersion Nation Podcast, featuring an interview with horror filmmaker and immersive maverick Darren Lynn Bousman.

The festival’s acclaimed immersive program, presented by American Immersion Theater, has expanded with a remounted edition of a past favorite: Undersigned, is returning for a new group of brave participants. A psychological thriller for an audience of one where your choices completely change the experience, this program will involve an invocation, a blindfold and a pointed discussion based on your input. You can answer any way you choose but boldness is recommended!

The party schedule of the festival has also grown, as it was announced that the Overlook was bringing one of New Orleans' most popular goth nights to the Toulouse Theater with Splatterday Night at Overlook Film Fest. This Closing Night Party will be hosted and curated by electronic artist Destryur, leading a synthwave celebration sure to keep you up all night. And finally, adding to the festivities even more, it was revealed that the previously announced Opening Night Party celebrating the tenth anniversary of Shudder will include as special guests the queens of horror and stars of Shudder’s Dragula, the Boulet Brothers. Each party is open to all festival pass holders to join in the celebration.

The festival is programmed by Co-Founders Landon Zakheim & Michael Lerman; Programming Manager Daniel Crooke; Short Film Programmer Katie Rife; and Festival Director Sheryl Santacruz.

The full lineup of films, experiences, live events and immersive content is included below, with additional programming to be announced as the festival approaches.

NEW ADDITIONS

Feature Film Presentations
International Titles Presented by MUBI

Best Wishes to All
Director: Yûta Shimotsu
Cast: Kotone Furukawa
Japan, 2024
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.

Cloud
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Cast: Masaki Suda, Kotone Furukawa, Daiken Okudaira, Amane Okayama, Yoshiyoshi Arakawa, Masataka Kubota
Japan, 2024
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.

Frewaka
Director: Aislinn Clarke
Cast: Clare Monnelly, Bríd Ní Neachtain, Aleksandra Bystrzhitskaya
Ireland, 2024
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.

The Home
Director: Mattias J Skoglund
Cast: Philip Oros, Anki Lidén, Gizem Erdogan, Malin Levanon, Peter Jankert, Lottie Ejenbrant, Ayan Ahmed, Bengt CW Carlsson
Estonia, Iceland, Sweden, 2025
Terrified of facing the scars from his past, alcoholic 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 begins to realize she might have brought something else with her.

LifeHack
Director: Ronan Corrigan
Cast: Georgie Farmer, Yasmin Finney, Roman Hayeck-Green, James Scholz, Jessica Reynolds, Charlie Creed-Miles
United Kingdom, 2025
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.

Predators
Director: David Osit
United States, 2025
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.

Rosario
Director: Felipe Vargas
Cast: Emeraude Toubia, David Dastmalchian, Paul Ben-Victor, José Zúñiga, Diana Lein United States and Columbia, 2025
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.

Additional Retrospective Film Presentations

13 Ghosts in ILLUSION-O!
65th Anniversary Screening
Presented by The Academy Of Magical Arts
Director: William Castle
Cast: Charles Herbert, Jo Morrow, Rosemary DeCamp, Margaret Hamilton, Donald Woods United States, 1960
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!

The Short Films of David Lynch
Tribute to David Lynch
Director: David Lynch
United States, 1967-1995
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 and beyond. Is it future or is it past?

Live Events and Special Presentations
Panels presented by SAGIndie

16MM Camera 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!

DIY Until You Die: True Indie Horror
Presented by SAGIndie
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.

Horror Trivia
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
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.

The Late Great Midnite Spook Show with Zabrecky: A Multimedia Illustrated Talk
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.

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

Splatterday Night at the Overlook Film Fest
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.

Immersive Presentations
Presented by American Immersion Theater
The festival’s unique interactive live theatrical horror experiences for small audiences return with fresh offerings for the brave and mysterious.

Undersigned

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.

PREVIOUSLY ANNOUNCED LINEUP

Opening Night Film
Drop
Director: Christopher Landon
Cast: Meghann Fahy, Brandon Sklenar, Violett Beane, Jacob Robinson, Reed Diamond, Gabrielle Ryan, Jeffery Self, Ed Weeks, Travis Nelson
United States, 2025
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.

Centerpiece Film
The Ugly Stepsister
Director: Emilie Blichfeldt
Cast: Lea Myren, Thea Sofie Loch Næss, Ane Dahl Torp, Flo Fagerli, Isac Calmroth, Malte Gårdinger
Norway, 2024
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.

Closing Night Film
Clown in a Cornfield
Director: Eli Craig
Cast: Katie Douglas, Carson MacCormac, Aaron Abrams, Cassandra Potenza, Verity Marks, Vincent Muller, Will Sasso, Kevin Durand, Ayo Solanke, Alexandre Martin Deakin
United States, 2025
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.

Feature Film Presentations
International Titles Presented by MUBI

40 Acres
Director: R.T. Thorne
Cast: Danielle Deadwyler, Michael Greyeyes, Kataem O'Connor, Leenah Robinson
United States, 2024
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
WORLD PREMIERE
Director: Natasha Kermani
Cast: Titus Welliver, Jocelin Donahue, Judah Mackey, Aurora Perrineau, Brady Hepner
United States, 2025
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
Director: Alexandre O. Philippe
Featuring: Patton Oswalt, Takashi Miike, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Stephen King, Karyn Kusama
United States, 2024
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.

Dead Lover
Director: Grace Glowicki
Cast: Grace Glowicki, Ben Petrie, Leah Doz, Lowen Morrow Canada, 2025
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
Director: Ben Leonberg
Cast: Indy, Shane Jensen, Larry Fessenden, Arielle Friedman, Stuart Rudin, Anya Krawcheck, Hunter Goetz, Max
United States, 2024
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
Director: Babak Anvari
Cast: Rosamund Pike, Matthew Rhys, Paul Tylak, Stephen Jones, Megan McDonnell
United Kingdom, 2025
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
Director: Joseph Kahn
Cast: Mena Suvari, Brandon Routh, Malina Pauli Weissman, Mariann Gavelo, Cory Hart United States, 2023
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
Director: Alexander Ullom
Cast: Phinehas Yoon, Akira Jackson, Noah Toth, Mitchell Cole United States, 2024
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)
Director: Mike Wiluan
Cast: Dean Fujioka, Callum Woodhouse, Alan Maxson
Singapore, Indonesia, Japan, United Kingdom, 2024
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
Director: Kevin McManus, Matthew McManus
Cast: Michaela McManus, Stella Marcus, Jeremy Holm, Jim Cummings, Grace Van Dien, Taylor Misiak, Dendrie Taylor
United States, 2025
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
Directors: David Cronenberg
Cast: Vincent Cassel, Diane Kruger, Guy Pearce, Sandrine Holt
France, Canada, 2024
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
Directors: Brett Whitcomb, Bradford Thomason
Cast: Chris Cannard, Colleen Ohler, Saydra Manning, Darrin Scholl, Holcombe Waller
United States, 2024
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
Directors: Addison Heimann
Cast: Olivia Taylor Dudley, Lou Taylor Pucci, Jordan Gavaris, Marlene Forte, Paget Brewster United States, 2024
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
Director: Pete Ohs
Cast: Zoë Chao, Callie Hernandez, Jeremy O. Harris, James Cusati-Moyer
United States, 2025
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).

Zodiac Killer Project
Director: Charlie Shackleton
United States, United Kingdom, 2025
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
Special Screening
Director Flying Lotus in Person
Director: Flying Lotus
Cast: Eiza González, Aaron Paul, Iko Uwais, Kate Elliott, Beulah Koale, Flying Lotus United States, 2024
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
Introduction by Guest Curator Flying Lotus
Director: Robert Zemeckis
Cast: Meryl Streep, Bruce Willis, Goldie Hawn, Isabella Rossellini United States, 1992
Some people will go to any lengths to stay young forever.

The Descent
Introduction by Guest Curator Flying Lotus
Director: Neil Marshall
Cast: Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder, Nora-Jane Noone, MyAnna Buring
United Kingdom, 2005
The scariest movie in Earth.

Lost Highway
Introduction by Guest Curator Flying Lotus
Tribute to David Lynch
Director: David Lynch
Cast: Bill Pullman, Patricia Arquette, Balthazar Getty, Robert Blake, Natasha Gregson Wagner, Gary Busey, Robert Loggia
United States, 1997 Dick Laurent is dead.

Additional Retrospective Film Presentations

The Phantom of the Opera
100th Anniversary Screening with Live Music Accompaniment by Think Less, Hear More
Director: Rupert Julian
Cast: Lon Chaney, Norman Kerry, Mary Philbin, Arthur Edmund Carewe, Gibson Gowland, Snitz Edwards, Bernard Seigel
United States, 1925
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
40th Anniversary 4K UHD Restoration Presented by FANGORIA
Actress Barbara Crampton in Person Director: Stuart Gordon
Cast: Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton, David Gale, Robert Sampson United States, 1985
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
30th Anniversary Screening
2025 Master of Horror Award Recipient Ernest Dickerson in Person
Director: Ernest Dickerson
Cast: Billy Zane, William Sadler, Jada Pinkett Smith, Brenda Bakke, CCH Pounder, Dick Miller, Thomas Haden Church
United States, 1995
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.

Live Events and Special Presentations

A CONVERSATION WITH JOE HILL
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.

DANGER STORIES: A WORD SALAD SYMPHONY
Creator: 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.

MEMORY HOLE
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.

SHUDDER SECOND LINE 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.

WITCHCRAFT FOR WAYWARD GIRLS - LIVE!
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!

Immersive Presentations
Presented by American Immersion Theater
The festival’s unique interactive live theatrical horror experiences for small audiences return with fresh offerings for the brave and mysterious.

SPOOKY TALES WITH COWBOY DALE
WORLD PREMIERE
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!

THE SEVERANCE THEORY: WELCOME TO RESPITE
Presented by Welcome Villain, in conjunction with the University of New Orleans
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.

THE MANIKINS: A WORK IN PROGRESS
Presented by Bywater Wonderland
US PREMIERE
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.

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, United States, 2024
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, United States, 2023
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, United States, 2024
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, Spain, 2025, WORLD PREMIERE
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, United States, 2024
Frankie reunites with her toxic community and must tap into her dark side to survive unscathed.

They Come Home to Die, Dir. Zeke Farrow, United States, 2024
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, United States, WORLD PREMIERE
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, United States, 2024
A mad botanist experiments on an unwilling human subject to give plants a fighting chance against climate change.

Important Dates
March 19th: Schedule Goes Live; Advance Reservations Begin For Final Girl Pass Holders March 22: Advance Reservations Begin For Camper Pass Holders
March 25: Individual tickets on sale
April 3 : Festival Begins
April 6: Festival Ends
April 7-8: Bonus Locals Days

To keep up to date with The Overlook Film Festival, visit overlookfilmfest.com.

2025 Overlook Film Festival partners include OFFICIAL SPONSORS Academy of Magical Arts, American Immersion Theater, IFC Films, Shudder PREMIERE SPONSORS Bywater Wonderland, MUBI; SIGNATURE SPONSORS Dark Sky Films, Film New Orleans, SAGIndie; PATRON SPONSORS Kodak, FANGORIA, Louisiana Office of Tourism, Magnolia Pictures, Vinegar Syndrome; EVENT SPONSORS Daily Dead, Welcome Villain, University of New Orleans; VENUE SPONSORS Prytania Theatres, Westin New Orleans; SIGNATURE HOTEL SPONSOR International Hotel House; MEDIA SPONSORS Antigravity, Gambit, Where Y’At. Additional sponsors can be found on our website.

Passes on sale now at overlookfilmfest.com

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About The Overlook Film Festival

The Overlook Film Festival is a 4-day celebration of all things horror held in haunted, historic & iconic venues throughout New Orleans. Presenting superior film programming with an expanded focus on experiential events, the festival showcases exciting work in new and classic horror cinema alongside the latest in interactive and live shows for a fully immersive weekend. As a summer camp for genre fans, The Overlook is a community event bringing the best of horror storytelling to an enthusiastic and appreciative audience within an intimate and inspirational environment. Evoking the spirit of the Overlook hotel, horror’s most infamous fictional haunt, the 2025 Overlook Film Festival runs from April 3 - April 6, headquartered at the Prytania Theatres at Canal Place in Downtown New Orleans and Prytania Theatres Uptown. The festival advisory board includes Joe Dante (Filmmaker - Gremlins, The Howling), Karyn Kusama (Filmmaker - Jennifer’s Body, The Invitation), Ryan Turek (VP of Feature Film Development, Blumhouse Productions), Leigh Whannell (Actor / Writer / Filmmaker - Saw, Insidious), Diana Williams (CEO & Co-Founder, Kinetic Energy Entertainment), Elijah Wood (Founding Partner, SpectreVision), and more.