Jerod Neece, one of the masterminds behind the wildly-successful-and-constantly-metastasizing SXSW Film Festival, just tweeted the full line up of midnight movies. I think there was a certain poetry to the way he put it:
SXSW Midnighters: 9 Premieres. 2 Festival Faves. 11 films that won't scare you, they'll fuck you up 4 life! #SXSWFilm https://t.co/PJAuwL8Bhh
– jarod neece (@jneece) February 10, 2015
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Ahhhhh, Jerod, you silver-tongued devil. What do you have up your sleeve?
I mean, it's not like you really have to do much to bait the hook. There are some amazing things already announced for SXSW this year. “Ex-Machina” will be there, as will “BRAND,” Ondi Timoner's documentary about Russell Brand, Paul Feig's “Spy,” the Will Ferrell/Kevin Hart film “Get Hard,” and, screening as a work in progress, Judd Apatow's “Trainwreck,” written by and starring Amy Schumer.
I'm also pretty excited that on March 16th, I'll be hosting a screening of “The Road Warrior,” and then doing a little Q&A with none other than Dr. George Miller. I am not exaggerating when I call him one of my five favorite living filmmakers, and I'm going to do everything in my power not to hug him a lot and cry when we're talking. I promise nothing.
Today, though, the big announcement was about the Midnighters, the line-up of the craziest features the fest has to offer, all screening in my favorite time slot. They describe the Midnighters as “Scary, funny, sexy, controversial – provocative after-dark features for night owls and the terminally curious.” Here's what Neece and his team have put together for us this time:
“The Corpse of Anna Fritz” (Spain)
Director: Hèctor Hernández Vicens
Screenwriters: Hèctor Hernándes Vicens, Isaac P. Creus
Anna Fritz, a famous and beautiful actress, has died recently. Three young men sneak into the morgue to see her naked. Fascinated by her beauty, they decide to become the last people to have sex with her.
Cast: Alba Ribas, Cristian Valencia, Bernat Saumell, Albert Carbó (World Premiere)
“Deathgasm” (New Zealand)
Director/Screenwriter: Jason Lei Howden
New kid in town Brodie and bad-boy Zakk quickly bond over their mutual admiration of heavy metal. But when these two metal thrashing losers unwittingly summon malevolent forces, their dreams of stardom may just have to be put on hold.
Cast: Milo Cawthorne, James Blake, Kimberley Crossman, Stephen Ure (World Premiere)
“The Diabolical”
Director: Alistair Legrand
Screenwriters: Alistair Legrand, Luke Harvis
When a single mother and her two young children are tormented by an increasingly strange and intense presence, she turns to her science teacher boyfriend to help take on the violent forces that paranormal experts are too frightening to face.
Cast: Ali Larter, Arjun Gupta, Max Rose, Merrin Dungey, Chloe Perrin, Kurt Carley, Patrick Fischler, Wilmer Calderon, Tom Wright, Laura Margolis (World Premiere)
“Excess Flesh”
Director: Patrick Kennelly
Screenwriters: Sigrid Gilmer, Patrick Kennelly
Obsessed with her sexy roommate, Jill violently imprisons Jennifer in their apartment in a twisted attempt to bring them closer together.
Cast: Bethany Orr, Mary Loveless, Wes McGee, Sheresade Poblet, Jill Jacobson, Dana L. Wilson, Kristin Minter, Robert Maffia, Jules Bruff, Juan Riedinger (World Premiere)
“HANGMAN”
Director: Adam Mason
Screenwriters: Adam Mason, Simon Boyes
Returning from vacation, the Miller family find their home has been broken into. After cleaning up the mess they continue with their lives, shaking off the feeling of being violated. But little do they know the nightmare has just begun.
Cast: Jeremy Sisto, Kate Ashfield, Ty Simpkins, Ryan Simpkins, Amy Smart, Ross Partridge, Vince Ventresca, Bruno Acalinas, Ethan Harris-Riggs, Jamie Lee (World Premiere)
“He Never Died”
Director/Screenwriter: Jason Krawczyk
Jack is a man battling his eternal struggle with cannibalism. There are very few reasons to live when you can't die.
Cast: Henry Rollins, Steven Ogg, Kate Greenhouse, BooBoo Stewart, Jordan Todosey (World Premiere)
“The Invitation”
Director: Karyn Kusama
Screenwriters: Phil Hay, Matt Manfredi
While attending a dinner party at his former home, a man thinks his ex-wife and her new husband have sinister intention for their guests.
Cast: Logan Marshall-Green, Tammy Blanchard, Michiel Huisman, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Lindsay Burdge, John Carroll Lynch, Mike Doyle, Michelle Krusiec, Karl Yune, Jordi Vilasuso (World Premiere)
“The Nightmare”
Director: Rodney Ascher
The Nightmare is an original horror documentary from the Oscar winning producer of Undefeated, the producer of Jiro Dreams of Sushi, and the producer of The Pact and is directed by Rodney Ascher, the acclaimed director of the Room 237.
“Pod”
Director/Screenwriter: Mickey Keating
A family intervention goes horrifically awry within the snowy confines of an isolated lake house.
Cast: Lauren Ashley Carter, Dean Cates, Brian Morvant, Larry Fessenden, John Weselcouch (World Premiere)
“Turbo Kid” (Canada / New Zealand)
Director/Screenwriter: RKSS Collective
In a post-apocalyptic future, The Kid, a young solitary scavenger obsessed with comic books must face his fears and become a hero when he meets a mysterious girl named APPLE.
Cast: Michael Ironside, Munro Chambers, Laurence Leboeuf, Edwin Wright, Aaron Jeffrey
“We Are Still Here”
Director/Screenwriter: Ted Geoghegan
In the cold, winter fields of New England, there sits a house that wakes up every 30 years and demands a sacrifice.
Cast: Barbara Crampton, Andrew Sensenig, Larry Fesseden, Lisa Marie, Monte Markham (World Premiere)
Of those, I've seen one movie. “Turbo Kid.” And it is a blast. I'll write it up before SXSW to try to convince those of you attending to make one of the public screenings. It's exactly the kind of film you're going to want to see with as big a crowd as possible. It's a party. It's absurd. It's grand.
I love that I know basically nothing about the rest of that line-up. That leaves a lot of room for discovery, and I love discovery. It's the best thing about film festivals, that feeling of finding something you know nothing about and falling in love with it.
We'll have much more about SXSW as we gear up for the festival, and I think we'll have some great stuff for your when the fest actually begins.
The SXSW Film Festival runs from March 13-21 in Austin, TX.