Last Updated on March 11, 2025 by Angel Melanson
The 2025 edition of the Overlook Film Festival kicks off from April 3 – April 6 in New Orleans, Louisiana at the Prytania Theatres, with a staggering first wave lineup released today of 47 films (25 features and 22 shorts) from 10 countries.
Overlooks' Opening Night film will be Universal Pictures’ upcoming techno thriller Drop from Blumhouse and Platinum Dunes, with director Christopher Landon on hand, returning to New Orleans where he shot Happy Death Day and We Have a Ghost.
Other highlights of the lineup include David Cronenberg's latest body horror exploration The Shrouds, Babak Anvari's pulse-pounding thriller Hallow Road, post-apocalyptic genre blend 40 Acres from R.T. Thorne and starring Danielle Deadwyler, and Shudder and Eli Craig's upcoming slasher Clown in a Cornfield.
Speaking of Shudder, Overlook is also hosting a 10-year anniversary celebration for the horror streamer, that will kick off with a horror-infused second line and will include some very special guest performances.
Flying Lotus (Kuso, Ash) serves as Overlook's inaugural Guest Curator, programming an additional retro film section of personal favorites and genre classics with in-person introductions. Flying Lotus' programme includes Neil Marshall's The Descent, Robert Zemeckis’ camp classic Death Becomes Her, David Lynch’s surreal neo-noir masterpiece Lost Highway and a special screening of FlyLo's latest sci-fi nightmare, Ash.
Live events at this year's festival include A Conversation with Joe Hill, a wide-ranging discussion with the acclaimed horror author of works such as Horns, NOS4A2 and The Fireman as he dives into the inner-workings and inspirations of his spine-tingling oeuvre. Plus, Museum of Home Video VJ Bret Berg returns to the festival for a third time with Danger Stories and Everything IsTerrible’s Memory Hole presents their latest anti-humanity work, “Animals Are Over.” There's alsoWitchcraft For Wayward Girls – Live!, a journey with bestselling author Grady Hendrix to celebrate his latest book and investigate the world of witchcraft in books and movies.
Director Ernest Dickerson will be on hand to receive the festival’s Master of Horror Award, and to celebrate, there will be a 30th Anniversary screening of Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight. Further rep screenings include Ignite Films and Eagle Rock Pictures' brand new 4K restoration of Stuart Gordon's Re-Animator, as well as a 100th anniversary screening of 1925’s monumental The Phantom of the Opera which will be accompanied by a live score from New Orleans’ own Think Less, Hear More.
Landon Zakheim, co-founder and executive director of the Overlook Film Festival had this to say about this year's celebrations:
“No matter how many years this festival runs, every time we get to re-open the gates of our spectral summer camp feels like a miracle. For all wayward souls and monster kids who gravitate to the macabre, we have something to satisfy your ghoulish cravings thanks to the brilliance of our artists, the passion of our tireless team, our incredible partners and this beautiful haunted city. Hell, we even have our first audio-animatronic this year.”
Michael Lerman, co-founder and director of film programming of The Overlook Film Festival, adds:
“I feel like we are standing at the crossroads of horror history… This year really showcases the old and new guard coming together. We have astounding debuts from exciting newcomers. We have veteran masters that keep reinventing themselves with new work. And we’re just getting started so stay tuned for more.”
Read on below for Overlook's Feature Film Presentations, and For the full first wave including shorts (we couldn't fit everything here!), head over to the official site for ticket and lineup info.Look out for further updates as we get them!
Feature Film Presentations
International Titles Presented by MUBI
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.
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.
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.
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 thelocal 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).
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 iswilling 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.
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.
