Check out the first wave of films for The Overlook Film Festival 2024.

From the Press Release

Our initial line-up includes 45 films (22 features and 23 shorts) from 11 countries, as well as four live presentations and five immersive experiences, with still more to come…

Plus our good friends at Super Yaki are coming back to design all new Overlook merch to be sold exclusively onsite at the festival this year. Stay tuned for the design drop – and beware what they have in store!

2024 MASTER OF HORROR

Celebrate as the one and only Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep, The Haunting of Hill House) receives the Master of Horror Award at a screening of his breakout film Oculus in honor of its 10th anniversary! Flanagan joins such past recipients as Roger Corman, Mick Garris, Stuart Gordon, and Joe Dante.

LIVE AND IMMERSIVE EVENTS

Take the terror beyond the screen by jumping into the Overlook’s live and one-of-a-kind immersive programming!

• Horror royalty Barbara Crampton will host a live recording of the podcast Scream Dreams: The Nightmares That Shaped Us, presented by AMP, alongside host Catherine Corcoran

• A look back at Over the Garden Wall, a 10th anniversary celebration of the beloved animated favorite Over the Garden Wall, featuring creator Patrick McHale.

• The Academy of Magical Arts returns with three mysterious world premiere experiences, along with a Dark Séance. Behind those meetings are secret encounters for those who know where to look. A series of tests and rituals will guide you toward the person who holds the keys to this world and the next.

FRIGHTS FROM THE PAST

We’re shivering in anticipation of our expanded retrospective screenings, with some of our faves joining us in person!

• The legendary Paul Williams joins us for a very special 50th anniversary screening of Phantom Of The Paradise hosted by the Swan Archives and presented by FANGORIA!

• We’re…beyond…excited to host the world premiere screening of the brand new 4K restoration of the 1981 New Orleans-shot giallo classic The Beyond from Italian horror master, Lucio Fulci

• This year’s festival will feature the 70th anniversary 3-D screening of 1954’s Creature from the Black Lagoon in 35mm and a 100th anniversary showing of the silent film classic The Hands of Orlac, accompanied by a live score from New Orleans’ own, Think Less, Hear More.

2024 EVENTS

The 2024 Overlook Film Festival will take place April 4th-7th. The first wave of events is below. Additional films and events will be announced on March 20th.

The Academy of Magical Arts will present three mysterious world premieres. Behind those meetings are secret encounters for those who know where to look. A series of tests and rituals will guide you toward the person who holds the keys to this world and the next.

Our 2024 film lineup can be found here. Badges can be purchased here. Single tickets will be available on March 20th.

All Live Shows Are Presented by The Texas Chain Saw Massacre

THE DARK SÉANCE

Immersive Performance

Presented by The Academy of Magical Arts

Requires Separate Ticket

Creator: Zabrecky

Stray into the darkness with notorious séance medium Zabrecky: he will attempt to part the veil and manifest the dead, whose messages may bring solace, silence, or terrifying signals from unknown reaches. Success is not guaranteed, but there is one simple rule to the séance: if you believe, you will receive.

FASTERPIECE THEATER

Live Show

Presented By Museum of Home Video

Creator/Host: Bret Berg

What if you could binge-watch a weekend’s worth of wild vintage horror movies all at the same time? You’ll know the feeling once you step into Fasterpiece Theater: a service of found footage livestream channel Museum of Home Video, airing every Tuesday. Made with modern attention spans in mind, as well as the cult movie canon’s sheer depth, this tightly-edited blast of horrors past serves up ten feature films you’ve never heard of, sautéed and shattered ’til only the spicy parts remain, all guided by Museum of Home Video VJ Bret Berg.

A FREAK ENCOUNTER

Immersive Performance

World Premiere

Presented by The Academy of Magical Arts

Requires Separate Ticket

Creator: Todd Robbins

After decades of misfortune, the Delaporte Family has finally regained possession of their ancestral home and the family archivists have wasted no time digging up the darkest, deepest mysteries from the family’s storied past. To celebrate this victory, the mansion’s Grand Hall will be previewed to guests for the first time in over a century. We invite you to join us for a self-directed journey of your choosing. Explore the halls, uncover secrets, and help the family find truths once lost to time.

THE GRAND HALL

Immersive Performance

Sneak Preview

Presented by Escape My Room

Requires Separate Ticket

Creators: Cyrus Cooper, Rachel Dunphy, Sam Moodey, Andrew Preble, Kali Russell

After decades of misfortune, the Delaporte Family has finally regained possession of their ancestral home and the family archivists have wasted no time digging up the darkest, deepest mysteries from the family’s storied past. To celebrate this victory, the mansion’s Grand Hall will be previewed to guests for the first time in over a century. We invite you to join us for a self-directed journey of your choosing. Explore the halls, uncover secrets, and help the family find truths once lost to time.

LOOKING OVER THE GARDEN WALL: A 10TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION

Live Show

Panelists: Patrick McHale, Nick Cross

Ten years ago this fall, the world was introduced to two travelers who became lost in the unknown on Halloween night, and embarked on a series of adventures both wonderful and strange. Join Patrick McHale (co-writer of Guillermo Del Toro’s Pinocchio), the creator of gateway horror-tinged animated miniseries Over The Garden Wall, along with art director Nick Cross, for a look back on the creation of this modern cult classic that will include screenings of behind-the-scenes rarities and some of their own shorts that inspired this stunning accomplishment. That’s a rock fact!

THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA

Immersive Performance

World Premiere

Presented by The Academy of Magical Arts

Requires Separate Ticket

Creator: Mark Calabrese

An unforgettable meeting with the greatest card cheat in America. You’ll find a questionable character who will simultaneously expose some of his secret scams and cons, while taking from you what you never wanted to give up.

REGRETS FROM THE DEAD

Immersive Performance

World Premiere

Presented by The Academy of Magical Arts

Requires Separate Ticket

Creator: Jared Kopf

A necessary encounter for the dead. We carry around ghosts: our past, our regrets, and all our forgotten selves. The Oracle, an ambiguously friendly guide — and a person you have unsuspectingly met many, many times over — will assist you in coming to terms with the final step of the experience in a decision that will change the course of your life or death.

SCREAM DREAMS: THE NIGHTMARES THAT SHAPED US

Live Show

Presented By AMP

Hosts: Catherine Corcoran, Barbara Crampton
Creators: Catherine Corcoran, James A Janisse, Barbara Crampton

Venture into the shadows with Catherine Corcoran and Barbara Crampton as they dive into the real nightmares of the best minds in genre entertainment in this special live episode recording of the Scream Dreams podcast where the subconscious of a festival filmmaker will be revealed. You have been warned!

THE SWAN ARCHIVES

Live Show

Presented By FANGORIA

Host: Ari Kahan

Join Ari Kahan, Principal Archivist at the Swan Archives, as he takes you on a wild and fascinating journey through the tumultuous history behind the making and release of Brian De Palma’s iconic collaboration with Paul Williams that resulted in the creation of one of horror’s most exalted works. This presentation will precede a 50th anniversary screening of Phantom Of The Paradise.

OPENING AND CLOSING NIGHT FILMS

Tilman Singer’s Cuckoo opens the festival whilst Radio Silence’s (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett) Abigail closes out the festival.

and, just to tease you a bit…

Sundance breakout hit, I Saw the TV Glow, Jane Schoenbrun’s story of an awkward teenager whose suburban life is rattled when his classmate introduces him to a strangely absorbing, supernatural TV show.

Blackout, directed by horror icon, Larry Fessenden, and featuring the legendary Barbara Crampton – who will both be at the fest!

Shudder’s slasher film, In a Violent Nature, directed by Chris Nash.

The 2024 Overlook Film Festival will take place April 4th-7th. The first wave of films is below. Additional films and events will be announced on March 20th.

The 2024 Special Events lineup can be found here. Badges can be purchased here. Single tickets will be available on March 20th.

All International Titles are Presented By MUBI

Opening Night – CUCKOO

Tilman Singer | 2024 | Germany | 102 min

When 17-year-old Gretchen (Hunter Schaffer) reluctantly moves with her family to a resort in the German Alps, she finds herself the subject of terrifying visions and aggressive stalking by a mysterious woman who may or may not be linked to the town’s past. Featuring audacious performances from Dan Stevens and Jessica Henwick, this beautiful and terrifying Giallo-esque nightmare is sure to make you think twice about going into the woods at night.

Cast: Hunter Schafer, Dan Stevens, Jessica Henwick.

Closing Night – ABIGAIL

World Premiere
Radio Silence In Person

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett | 2024 | USA | 110 min

From the minds behind Ready or Not, Scream (2022) and Scream VI comes a deliciously sinister story about a group of criminals who get more than they bargained for when they kidnap the daughter of a powerful underworld figure and are forced watch her in her isolated mansion overnight, only to discover that they may be no match for her bloodlust.

Cast: Kathryn Newton, Dan Stevens, Giancarlo Esposito, Kevin Durand, Melissa Barrera.

ALL YOU NEED IS DEATH

Paul Duane | 2023 | Ireland | 93 min

Set in the world of Irish folk ballads and brimming with lore, this creepy tale follows a young couple who collect rare songs. Hired by a mysterious man to track down and translate an ancient, taboo tune, they unlock something that was best left undisturbed.

Cast: Simone Collins, Charlie Maher, Olwen Fouéré, Gary Whelan.

AZRAEL

E.L. Katz | 2024 | USA | 88 min

Survivalist horror is alive and well in this pulse-pounding, dialog-less, post-apocalyptic vision from director E.L. Katz (Cheap Thrills) and writer Simon Barrett (You’re Next) that follows Azrael (Samara Weaving), a desperate woman who is being hunted by a tenacious cult of mutes determined to use her in a sadistic ritual.

Cast: Samara Weaving, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett, Sebastian Bull, Vic Carmen Sonne, Katariina Unt, Eero Milonoff.

THE BEYOND

World Premiere of 4K Restoration

Lucio Fulci | 1981 | Italy | 80 min

Lucio Fulci, the Giallo maestro himself, sets his sights on the bayou with his propulsive, brain-melting nightmare of psychedelia. Shot entirely in and around New Orleans, and driven by one of the all-time great Fabio Frizzi scores, Grindhouse Releasing’s brand new restoration is mandatory big-screen viewing.

Cast: Katherine MacColl, David Warbeck, Sarah Keller, Antoine Saint-John, Veronica Lazar

BIRDEATER

Jack Clark, Jim Weir | 2023 | Australia | 113 min

Engaged couple Louie and Irene are as close as two people could be. So close, in fact, that Irene is attending Louie’s bachelor party, all set for a night of fun and debauchery. But, as uncomfortable details about their relationship start to come to the surface, it becomes clear that Louie’s friends may have other plans in this unnerving and shockingly unforgettable first feature.

Cast: Mackenzie Fearnley, Shabana Azeez.

BLACKOUT

Larry Fessenden | 2023 | USA | 103 min

Not your typical werewolf story, Blackout follows a painter, haunted by guilt, who becomes convinced that he is transforming at night and wreaking havoc in his small town in this genre-bending and often hilarious portrait from the legendary Larry Fessenden (Habit, Wendigo).

Cast: Alex Hurt, Addison Timlin, Motell Gyn Foster, Joseph Castillo-Midyett, John Speredakos.

CREATURE FROM THE BLACK LAGOON 3-D

70th Anniversary in 35mm

Jack Arnold | 1954 | USA | 80 min

Not since the beginning of time has the world known terror like this. Science couldn’t explain it, but there it was: the last of the great Universal movie monsters. An inspiration to countless generations of fans and filmmakers, don’t miss this absolute classic as it was meant to be seen, in its original 3-D and on 35mm!

Cast: Richard Carlson, Julie Adams, Richard Denning, Antonio Morano, Nestor Paiva.

HANDS OF ORLAC

100th Anniversary

With new Live Score By Think Less, Hear More

Robert Wiene | 1924 | Austria | 90 min

From the director of The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari comes this expressionist-tinted pulp tale of the macabre starring the sinister somnambulist himself, Conrad Veidt (The Man Who Laughs). Watch in horror as a concert pianist’s hands are replaced by those of a murderer and hear the all new score by returning NOLA artists Think Less, Hear More.

Cast: Conrad Veidt, Alexandra Sorina, Fritz Kortner, Carmen Cartellieri

HUMANIST VAMPIRE SEEKING CONSENTING SUICIDAL PERSON

Ariane Louis-Seize | 2023 | Canada | 90 min

Struggling with her own personal ethics, a teenage vampire makes a pact with a suicidal boy after her family cuts off her blood supply in this sweet and touching tale of friendship and loyalty.

Cast: Sara Montpetit, Félix-Antoine Bénard, Steve Laplante.

I SAW THE TV GLOW

Jane Schoenbrun | 2023 | USA | 100 min

Filmmaker Jane Schoenbrun (We’re All Going to the World’s Fair) returns with a searingly beautiful and evocative story of an awkward teenager whose suburban life is rattled when his classmate introduces him to a strangely absorbing, supernatural TV show that is abruptly cancelled.

Cast: Justice Smith, Brigette Lundy-Paine, Ian Foreman, Helena Howard, with Fred Durst and Danielle Deadwyler.

IN A VIOLENT NATURE

Chris Nash | 2024 | Canada | 94 min

The story is familiar: a savage, undead monster stalks a group of unsuspecting teenagers in the woods. But filmmaker Chris Nash turns this brutal slasher on its head, following the creature in his relentless pursuit.

Cast: Ry Barrett, Andrea Pavlovic, Cameron Love, Reece Presley, Liam Leone, Charlotte Creaghan, Lea Rose Sebastianis, Sam Roulston, Alexander Oliver, Lauren Taylor.

INFESTED

Sébastien Vanicek | 2023 | France | 106 min

Packed full of jump scares and sure to be every arachnophobes’ worst nightmare, this spine-tingling chiller sees the residents in the French projects go to war with a group of deadly spiders who are rapidly reproducing through each floor of their apartment building.

Cast: Théo Christine, Sofia Lesaffre, Jérôme Niel, Lisa Nyarko, Finnegan Oldfield, Marie-Philomène Nga, Mahamadou Sangaré, Abdellah Moundy

KILL YOUR LOVER

Alix Austin, Keir Siewert | 2023 | United Kingdom | 77 min

Breaking up is hard to do, but when Dakota finally decides to end her relationship with Axel, the toxicity she is trying to escape begins to manifest in insidious ways, threatening to consume her as well, in this devastatingly relatable monster movie that highlights the struggle between love and destruction.

Cast: Paige Gilmour, Shane Quigley Murphy, May Kelly, Chloe Wigmore, Joshua Whincup

LOOK INTO MY EYES

Lana Wilson | 2024 | USA | 108 min

The intimate relationship between psychics, their clients, and the loved ones they are trying to contact from the beyond is explored in this hilarious and heartbreaking new documentary from filmmaker Lana Wilson.

NEW LIFE

John Rosman | 2023 | USA | 84 min

A tense game of cat-and-mouse unfolds as a young woman flees a mysterious facility, evading a savvy agent with nothing to lose, as the stakes rise to apocalyptic proportions in this nasty, genre-bending, and surprisingly intimate thriller.

Cast: Sonya Walger, Hayley Erin, Tony Amendola

OCULUS

10th Anniversary

Filmmaker Mike Flanagan In Person

Mike Flanagan | 2014 | USA | 103 min

Before he took on Hill House, Bly Manor, the House of Usher and the halls of King, there was the supernatural thrawl of the Lasser Glass. Adapted from his own short film of the same name, auteur Mike Flanagan cemented his reputation as a modern master of the art of the scare with his breakthrough second film. Preceding the screening, Mike Flanagan will receive the 2024 Master Of Horror Award

Cast: Karen Gillan, Brenton Thwaites, Katee Sackhoff, Rory Chochrane

ODDITY

Damian McCarthy | 2024 | Ireland | 98 min

A blind medium resorts to desperate measures in an effort to find out the truth behind what happened to her sister in this mystical, terrifying creepfest that will burn its lasting, nightmarish imagery into your brain.

Cast: Gwilym Lee, Carolyn Bracken, Tadhg Murphy, Caroline Menton, Steve Wall, Johnny French, Joe Rooney, Shane Whisker, Ivan de Wergifosse

PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE

50th Anniversary

Star and Composer Paul Williams in person

Hosted by The Swan Archives

Brian De Palma | 1974 | USA | 91 min

The Swan Archives and its Principal Archivist Ari Kahan will introduce a very special screening of Brian De Palma’s Faustian, fantastical opera of rock and roll composed by, and starring, the legendary Paul Williams (The Muppet Movie, Bugsy Malone) that has rightfully taken its place as one of the genre’s finest cult masterpieces. See it as you never have before!

Cast: Paul Williams, William Finley, Jessica Harper

Presented by FANGORIA

RED ROOMS

Pascal Plante | 2023 | Canada | 118 min

Canadian auteur-in-the-making Pascal Plante presents a disturbingly engaging tale of a model’s obsession with a child murderer who is on trial and her dark web search for evidence of his innocence.

Cast: Juliette Gariépy

SLEEP

Jason Yu | 2023 | South Korea | 94 mins

An expectant wife desperately tries to break her loving husband from his deranged sleepwalking patterns in this cleverly scripted, razor-edged thriller from Bong Joon-ho’s protégé, Jason Yu.

Cast: JUNG Yu-mi, LEE Sun-kyun

THINGS WILL BE DIFFERENT

Michael Felker | 2024 | USA | 102 min

Executive produced by veteran filmmakers Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead, this twisty time travel story that follows two siblings, fresh off a robbery, who hide out on a remote farm in a different time period than their own, only to find themselves reckoning with a mysterious entity that does not like them being there.

Cast: Adam David Thompson, Riley Dandy, Chloe Skoczen, Justin Benson, Sarah Bolger

SHORTS PROGRAM 1: RISE AND GRIND

HYPOXIA Dir. Brian Imakura | 2023 | USA

THE RED ROOM Dir. Alex Liu | 2023 | New Zealand 

KOMBUCHA! Dir. Jake Myers | 2023 | USA

ZIT Dir. Amber Neukum | 2024 | USA 

CHOMP Dir. Cricket Arrison & Suki-Rose | 2023 | USA

NAP Dir. Alicia Albares | 2023 | Spain

MLM Dir. Brea Grant | 2024 | USA

THE INFLUENCER Dir. Lael Rogers | 2023 | USA

92 Min

SHORTS PROGRAM 2: HAUNTED

DREAM FACTORY Dir. Alex Matraxia | 2023 | United Kingdom

BOOKWORM Dir. Javier Yanez Sanz | 2023 | Spain 

POWDER Dir. Ham Tran | 2023 | Vietnam

THREE BATHS Dir. Rafael De Leon Jr. | 2023 | USA 

HEVEL Dir. David Grace | 2023 | USA 

BENEDICTION Dir. Zandashé Brown | 2022 | USA

SOULING Dir. Jacquelyn Ferguson | 2023 | USA

THE LOOMING Dir. Masha Ko | 2023 | USA

92 Min

SHORTS PROGRAM 3: MIDNIGHT SNACKS

DARK MOMMY Dir. Courtney Eck | 2023 | USA

SPOOKY CREW Dir. Erin Broussard | 2023 | USA

DREAM CREEP Dir. Carlos A.F. Lopez | 2024 | USA

I COULD JUST DIE, AND THAT WOULD BE ALL RIGHT Dir. A.K. Espada | 2023 | USA 

BITS Dir. Lilliya Scarlett Reid | 2023 | USA 

SOME DAY ALL THIS WILL BE YOURS Dir. Cricket Arrison | 2023 | USA

MOSQUITO LADY Dir. Kristine Gerolaga | 2023 | USA

104 Min