After a long stint away from my favorite film (and TV) festival — thanks, pandemic — I was finally able to return to Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas this year. For those who haven’t heard of the event, Fantastic Fest is the largest genre festival in the US, known for its horror and action offerings. (John Wick had its world premiere there!)
The fest is in a little bit of a growth period as it finds its way on the other side of quarantine, virtual festivals, and corporate changes at the Alamo Drafthouse. With that comes the obvious growing pains, several of which were felt in 2023’s iteration of the festival. Still, BBQ was had, much Topo Chico was consumed, friends were hugged, and oh-so-many movies were watched. Not all of those are going to head to streaming immediately, but I’ve got a handy list of what you can check out immediately (or soon) if you weren’t able to attend the festival yourself!
V/H/S/85
Watch on: Shudder
Release Date: October 6, 2023
The anthology found footage phenomenon continues with V/H/S/85, featuring segments from creators like David Bruckner (Hellraiser, The Night House) Scott Derrickson and C. Robert Cargill (Sinister, Doctor Strange), Gigi Saul Guerrero (Satanic Hispanics, Bingo Hell) and more! If you’re a fan of the franchise, you’re going to love this year’s newest installment. The segments include Guerrero’s God of Death, Mike P. Nelson’s No Wake, Natasha Kermani’s TKNOGD, Derrickson’s Dreamkill, and the anthology’s wraparound is by Bruckner himself.
When Evil Lurks
Watch on: Shudder
Release Date: October 6, 2023
Without a doubt, the two buzziest films of Fantastic Fest 2023 were When Evil Lurks and Kill. I’ll catch you up on how to watch Kill — a perfect murder-fest that has been likened to The Raid on a train — just as soon as we know more, but you’ll be able to watch When Evil Lurks in all of its mean, violent, horrific glory on Shudder before the week’s out. The film follows two brothers in a rural village as they deal with all of the horrors that come along with demonic possession. There’s, uh, some animal violence in this one, just so you’re prepared.
Totally Killer
Watch on: Prime Video
Release Date: October 6, 2023
Totally Killer was, like, totally for me. It’s Scream meets Disney Channel Original Movie — a venn diagram of which I sit squarely in the center of. If that appeals to you too, you’re going to have a grand time with director Nahnatchka Khan’s first horror flick. Kiernan Shipka is doing what she does best here — extremely annoyed teen who will also stab you if necessary — and Lochlyn Munro returns to his standard role of vaguely suspicious dad who may-or-may-not be the killer in a mini Archieverse reunion. It’s a time travel movie! It’s a slasher movie! It’s a totally killer time.
Pet Semetary: Bloodlines
Watch on: Paramount +
Release Date: October 6, 2023
Look, Pet Semetary: Bloodlines finds itself in a little bit of a prequel trap with Jud Crandall. There’s just very little that you can do to an early version of the character that doesn’t make it absolutely unhinged that he puts Church the cat in the pet semetary later on in his life. Still, series newcomers Manny and Donna (played by Forrest Goodluck and Isabella LaBlanc respectively) bring enough life here to carry the story through, and the sound design is killer.
Since it’s a prequel, there’s not a lot to break down here! It’s Pet Semetary in the Vietnam war era, and it’ll give you a better picture of how the regular burial ground became the cursed burial ground.
The Fall of the House of Usher
Watch on: Netflix
Release Date: October 12, 2023
Mike Flanagan’s ode to Edgar Allan Poe was my first 10/10 review since starting at IGN two years ago. I’m obsessed with this series, and I’m going to be real here — I’m going to keep making that everyone else’s problem for the foreseeable future. It’s the only thing I want to talk about and I cannot wait for everyone to get to see it when it releases on Netflix later in the month. You have no idea what you’re in for, but it’s a real (bloody) treat from start to finish.
All you need to know for now is that this is not a straight adaptation of The Fall of the House of Usher. Instead, that story is used as the wraparound narrative for several additional Poe retellings, all of which tie together in, well… the fall of the house of Usher.
Suitable Flesh
Watch on: Shudder
Release Date: October 27, 2023
In the interest of transparency, this one really wasn’t for me. It utilizes too many shaky/spinny techniques that I find grating, and I didn’t connect with the story the way I’d hoped. But it may be for you — “horny Lovecraftian horror” is a hell of a logline, after all — and Judah Lewis is having the absolute time of his life.
You’ll Never Find Me
Watch on: Shudder
Release Date: 2024
Regrettably, I didn’t have a chance to catch You’ll Never Find Me at the festival. It was most certainly on my list of things to check out, but it turns out running an event like State of Streaming and catching all the movies you want at the film festival you’re covering in tandem doesn’t always pan out. Still, we can all check it out on Shudder soon(ish), as 2024 is right around the corner.
It’s been described as both claustrophobic and tense, featuring two characters trapped together during a storm. Each is questioning the other’s motives and apparently there are quite a few surprises before the end.
Infested
Watch on: Shudder
Release Date: 2024
If you watched Arachnophobia and thought “this is great but it should go harder,” well, Infested is probably for you. A lonely dude named Kaleb finds a venomous spider in a bazaar and brings it home. It then wreaks havoc, and it is most certainly not the only arachnid in the bunch. Shudder actually purchased this one before it completed its festival run, snapping it up right out of the Venice Film Festival prior to its screenings at Fantastic Fest in Austin.
Stopmotion
Watch on: Shudder
Release Date: 2024
Every festival, there’s always a bit of a sleeper hit. Not everyone sees it in the first round (there are two halves to the festival, with almost everything seeing a second screening in the latter half), but by the next one everyone is clamoring to get tickets. Stopmotion was one such film. It was also another one that I was unfortunately unable to check out on the big screen, but that also means it’s another one that we can watch together when it hits streaming sometime in 2024.
The Sacrifice Game
Watch on: Shudder
Release Date: TBA
Ok, ok. So we don’t know when this one’s going to be released yet. But, it’s already been picked up by Shudder and it’s a fun one so I wanted to put it on your radar anyway. If “1970s Christmas Slasher” is a phrase that piques your interest, you’re going to want to check out Jenn Wexler’s The Sacrifice Game when it hits the streamer. Given the setting, it seems perfectly possible that Shudder sneaks it in their lineup for the holiday season.
