The 2022 Overlook Film Festival took place June 2 – 5, 2022.
FILMS
The festival opened with the North American premiere of Ana Lily Amirpour’s Mona Lisa and the Blood Moon, and closed with Universal Picture’s and Blumhouse’s The Black Phone. View the 2022 festival lineup below.
Opening Night – MONA LISA AND THE BLOOD MOON
North American Premiere
Presented By Louisiana Entertainment
Filmmakers in Person
Ana Lily Amirpour | 2022 | USA | 106 min
The pulsating, raucous, vibrant new fantasy from auteur Ana Lily Amirpour (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, The Bad Batch) sees a mental asylum escapee with unusual powers setting off on a thrilling adventure through the NOLA streets as she tries to make it on her own while on the run from the cops. An incredible cast including Jeon Jong-soo, Kate Hudson and Craig Robinson make this violent, surreal, homegrown crowd-pleaser glow with the character of the city.
Closing Night – THE BLACK PHONE
Scott Derrickson | 2022 | USA | 102 min
The minds behind Sinister and Dr. Strange return to horror with this terrifying tale of a shy 13-year-old boy (Mason Thames), abducted and trapped in a soundproof basement by a sadistic killer (Ethan Hawke), who begins to receive mysterious calls, on a dead telephone, from the killer’s previous victims.
Centerpiece Film – RESURRECTION
Andrew Semans | 2022 | USA | 103 min
Rebecca Hall and Tim Roth turn in career defining performances in this blistering tale of a successful business woman whose peaceful and disciplined life with her daughter takes a turn for the very, very dark, when a man carrying the secrets of their past returns to confront her.
BELA LUGOSI MEETS A BROOKLYN GORILLA
70th Anniversary screening
Presented By Nightmare On Film Street
With special video introduction by Leonard & Jessie Maltin
William Beaudine | 1952 | USA | 94 min
Marvel at the thrilling adventure that Martin Landau is said to have once called “so bad that it made Ed Wood’s films look like Gone with the Wind.” Swoon over the knock-off Martin & Lewis act of Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo, whose impersonation is thought to have caused Jerry Lewis to demand the film’s destruction. Gaze in wonder at a motion picture shot in 7 days on a budget of less than $50,000 by a director famous for filming only one take. Don’t miss the experience Leonard Maltin has promised “will only cost viewers an hour and a quarter of their lives, but once seen, it will never be forgotten”.
THE COW
Eli Horowitz | 2022 | USA | 90 min
Kath (Winona Ryder) and her boyfriend Max (John Gallagher Jr.) head off to the Redwoods for a getaway, only to discover that their Airbnb has been double booked by another couple. Out of viable options, the four decide to the share the house for the night. When Kath wakes up in the morning, only to find Max has disappeared, it sends her on a dangerous and surreal journey in this creepy, twisty thriller.
DEADSTREAM
Filmmakers in Person
Joseph Winter, Vanessa Winter | 2022 | USA | 87 min
This go-for-broke gorefest sees an arrogant, stunt-driven video blogger, on the verge of social cancellation, who gets exactly what he bargained for when he faces his craziest challenge yet – spending a night in an actual haunted house.
FLUX GOURMET
Peter Strickland | 2022 | UK/USA/Hungary | 111 min
Peter Strickland (In Fabric, The Duke of Burgundy), the master of oddities, is back with his latest tale, a portrait of an institute devoted to culinary and alimentary performances where power struggles, bizarre fetishes, gastro-intestinal issues and revenge abound.
GOOD MADAM
Jenna Cato Bass | 2021 | South Africa | 92 min
South African director Jenna Bass ingeniously riffs on the haunted house and folk horror tropes in the chilling tale of a woman who begins to discover oppressive, supernatural echoes from the Apartheid era when she is forced to move in with her mother, a live-in servant at an affluent Cape Town estate.
HÄXAN: WITCHCRAFT THROUGH THE AGES
100th Anniversary screening
Presented By Daily Dead
With live score by Think Less, Hear More
Benjamin Christensen | 1922 | Sweden | 74 min
The legendary, groundbreaking silent classic featuring graphic depictions of torture, demonic orgies, and an appearance by Satan himself remains one of cinema’s boldest artistic achievements. Celebrate the centennial of this pioneer hybrid documentary in horror history with an all new live score from NOLA favorites Think Less, Hear More.
HYPOCHONDRIAC
Filmmakers in Person
Addison Heimann | 2022 | USA | 96 min
The life of a young, gay potter begins to spin out of control when he realizes he’s losing control of his bodily functions while being haunted by an unknown presence tied to his past in this blistering, erotic spookfest.
JETHICA
Filmmakers in Person
Pete Ohs | 2022 | USA | 70 min
When Jessica’s stalker follows her to a remote area of New Mexico, her and her estranged high school friend must enlist spectral assistance in this thoughtful, often comedic ghost story that skewers toxic masculinity in modern dating.
MAD GOD
Phil Tippet | 2021 | USA | 84 min
Legendary animator and VFX wizard Phil Tippett makes his long awaited feature directorial debut with a stop-motion, Miltonesque fever dream that follows an assassin into a labyrinthian city full of monster and creeps.
PIGGY
Carlota Pereda | 2022 | Spain / France | 90 min
An awkward teenager’s uncomfortable existence of being picked on daily is thrown into ethical turmoil when a mysterious stranger begins to kidnap and kill her bullies in brutal Spanish morality tale.
ROGER CORMAN, THE POPE OF POP CINEMA
Bertrand Tessier | 2021 | France | 52 min
Told with all the heart and bluster of one of his own films, this loving documentary about the trailblazer and 2017 Overlook honoree himself bursts with endearing, incredible stories from both on and off set.
Plays with DIGITAL VIDEO EDITING WITH ADOBE PREMIERE PRO: THE REAL-WORLD GUIDE TO SET UP AND WORKFLOW Dir. Seong-Yoon Hong | 2020 | South Korea
SALOUM
Jean Luc Herbulot | 2021 | Senegal | 84 min
When a group of mercenaries transporting both a fugitive and a bounty they stole find themselves stranded in a remote region of Senegal, they begin to realize there a much more potent fears out in the unknown in this action-packed, twisty genre bender.
SHAKY SHIVERS
World Premiere
Sung Kang | 2022 | USA | 92 min
By turns charming and creepy, this pitch perfect directorial debut from actor Sung Kang (the Fast & Furious franchise) is a hilarious spoof of 80s monster movies about two best friends who travel to an abandoned cabin in the woods with a book of magical spells hoping to escape a mysterious curse.
SHE WILL
Charlotte Colbert | 2021 | UK | 95 min
Already garnering awards internationally, this psychological (and often psychedelic), existential horror film follows an aging actress who, having undergone a double mastectomy, journeys to a rural Scottish healing retreat, a place where women were once burned for witchcraft. It is there that she learns the power to enact revenge in her dreams…
SISSY
Filmmakers in Person
Hannah Barlow, Kane Senes | 2021 | Australia | 102 min
When successful social media influencer Cecilia gets invited to a destination bachelorette party by her childhood best friend, she finds herself face to face with her high school bully in this grisly, inventive slasher.
SLEEPWALKERS
30th Anniversary screening
Presented By THE KINGCAST
Filmmakers in Person
Mick Garris | 1992 | USA | 91 min
Behold the first of many collaborations between Stephen King, in his first original story written explicitly for the screen no less, and master of horror – and 2020 festival honoree – Mick Garris. Come for the finely-aged cult classic of a shape-shifting, cat-fearing, blood-sucking, incest-loving mother and son’s run in with Mädchen Amick and a slew of genre hero cameos. Stay for the live recording of THE KINGCAST with director Mick Garris immediately following the screening.
THE SUMMONED
World Premiere
Filmmakers in Person
Mark Meir | 2022 | USA | 86 min
Two high profile couples learn the true price of success and inheritance when they discover just how exclusive the self-help seminar they’ve attended is in this nasty piece of evil business from newcomer Mark Meir.
SWALLOWED
World Premiere
Filmmakers in Person
Carter Smith | 2022 | USA | 92 min
From Carter Smith, the Director of The Ruins, comes a pulse-pounding tale of two best friends on what might be their final night together. A drug deal gone wrong finds them at the center of a chilling queer body horror full of shocking violations.
WATCHER
Chloe Okuno | 2022 | USA | 91 min
One of the most exciting new voices in horror this year, Chloe Okuno, makes her solo feature debut with this homage to 70s tales of paranoia about a young woman who moves to foreign country with her fiancée and can’t shake the feeling that she is being constantly monitored by an unseen figure in an adjacent building.
WHO INVITED THEM
World Premiere
Filmmakers in Person
Duncan Birmingham | 2022 | USA | 80 min
Reminiscent of Michael Haneke’s Funny Games, Duncan Birmingham’s first feature follows a young married couple who, after a successful housewarming party, discover that their charming new neighbors have crashed. Hoping to prove themselves to be hospitable, they keep the drinks flowing, only to realize there might be sinister intent in the air.
ZALAVA
Arsalan Amiri | 2021 | Iran | 93 min
A military official’s skepticism gets a rude awakening when he travels to a rural village reportedly possessed by a demon in this chilling, critically acclaimed Iranian tale of the line between faith and paranoia.
2022 SHORTS PROGRAM 1
Presented By ALTER
ITCH Dir. Susannah Farrugia | 2021 | Malta
DAY TRIPPERS Dir. Erin Broussard | 2021 | USA
HUELLA Dir. Gabriela Ortega | 2021 | USA
EVERYBODY GOES TO THE HOSPITAL Dir. Tiffany Kimmel | 2021 | USA
WHITE DEVIL Dir. Mariama Diallo, Benjamin Dickinson | 2021 | USA
UNDER THE ICE Dir. Alvaro Rodriguez Areny | 2021 | Spain
SMILE Dir. Joanna Tsanis | 2021 | Canada / USA
LOVE YOU, MAMA Dir. Alexandra Magistro | 2022 | Canada
2022 SHORTS PROGRAM 2
Presented By ALTER
THEY’RE HERE Dir. Sid Zanforlin | 2021 | Canada
CHAPERONE Dir. Sam Max | 2022 | USA
DYSTOPIA Dir. Laura Ugolini | 2020 | Norway
WHILE MORTALS SLEEP Dir. Alex Fofonoff | 2022 | USA
FREEBIRTH Dir. Juan Avella | 2021 | USA
THEY SEE YOU Dir. Jared Januschka | 2022 | USA
SWALLOW THE UNIVERSE Dir. Luis Nieto | 2021 | France
BREATHE Dir. Stephen Kang | 2021 | New Zealand
2022 SHORTS PROGRAM 3
Presented By ALTER
SPA DAY Dir. Kevin Armento, Jaki Bradley | 2021 | USA
EXPECTANCY Dir. Juho Fossi | 2020 | Finland
WILD BITCH Dir. Rebekka Johnson, Kate Nash | 2022 | USA
RED IS THE COLOR OF BEAUTY Dir. Beck Kitsis | 2021 | USA
SWEPT UNDER Dir. Ethan Soo | 2022 | USA
YOU’VE NEVER BEEN COMPLETELY HONEST Dir. Joey Izzo | 2022 | USA
RATED R Dir. Reid Antin | 2021 | USA
TISTLEBU Dir. Simon Matthew Valentine | 2022 | Norway
2021 SHORTS PROGRAM
Presented By ALTER
EXCUSE ME, MISS, MISS, MISS Dir. Sonny Calvento | 2020 | The Philippines
THE VANDAL Dir. Eddie Alcazar | 2021 | USA
GUTS Dir. Chris McInroy | 2021 | USA
MUNKIE Dir. Steven Chow | 2021 | New Zealand
GHOST DOGS Dir. Joe Cappa | 2021 | USA
INHERITANCE Dir. Annalise Lockhart | 2021 | USA
2020 SHORTS PROGRAM 1
Presented By ALTER
LILI Dir. Yfke van Berckelaer | 2019 | The Netherlands
SNOWFLAKES Dir. Faye Jackson | 2019 | UK
BAKEMONO Dir. Sumire Takamatsu, Jorge Lucas | 2019 | USA
PULSIÓN Dir. Pedro Casavecchia | 2019 | Argentina / France
PLACE Dir. Jason Gudasz | 2019 | USA
THE ROUGAROU Dir. Lorraine Caffery | 2019 | USA
REGRET Dir. Santiago Menghini | 2020 | Canada
WOOD CHILD AND HIDDEN FOREST MOTHER Dir. Stephen Irwin | 2020 | UK
2020 SHORTS PROGRAM 2
Presented By ALTER
BENEVOLENT BA Dir. Diffan Sina Norman | 2020 | Malaysia / USA
IMAGINE A WORLD Dir. Joanna Tsanis | 2019 | Canada
FARCE Dir. Robin Jensen | 2019 | Norway
ABRACITOS Dir. Tony Morales| 2020 | Spain
THE DOE Dir. Jennifer Lumbroso | 2020 | France
CHANGELING Dir. Faye Jackson | 2019 | UK
THE DEVIL’S HARMONY Dir. Dylan Holmes Williams | 2019 | UK
2020 SHORTS PROGRAM 3
Presented By ALTER
DECAPITATO Dir. Sydney Brafman | 2020 | USA
THE THREE MEN YOU MEET AT NIGHT Dir. Beck Kitsis | 2020 | USA
STUCCO Dir. Janina Gavankar, Russo Schelling | 2019 | USA
NO I DON’T WANT TO DANCE Dir. Andrea Vinciguerra | 2019 | UK
FATALE COLLECTIVE: BLEED Dir. Lola Blanc, Megan Rosati, Danin Jacquay, Francesca Maldonado, Natasha Halevi, Linda Chen | 2019 | USA
THE DEEPEST HOLE Dir. Matt McCormick | 2020 | USA
NOM Dir. Angel Hernández | 2019 | Spain
A STRANGE CALM Dir. Austin Rourke | 2020 | USA
BAD HAIR Dir. Oskar Lehemaa | 2019 | Estonia
SPECIAL EVENTS
The Overlook’s signature live and special event programming came back in 2022 for the festival’s first in-person event since 2019.
ACCURSED ARRANGEMENT: THE OVERLOOK IMMERSIVE GAME
Available to all passholders
Creators: Escape My Room
A staple of the festival since its inception, this year’s re-imagined weekend long immersive storytelling experience offers a gripping story told through text messages, phone calls and real world investigations that can be played at your convenience throughout the fest, in groups or alone, in and around the festival hub. A local music historian who has uncovered a demonic connection between a series of unexplained deaths summons you to discover the truth. Will you be able to put a rest to the chaos? Or will discord continue to ring out?
THE KINGCAST PRESENTED BY FANGORIA
Creators & Hosts: Eric Vespe, Scott Wampler
Since 2020, the FANGORIA Podcast Network’s THE KINGCAST has brought together some of the biggest Since 2020, the FANGORIA Podcast Network’s THE KINGCAST has brought together some of the biggest filmmakers, authors, comedians, and pop culture commentators to obsess over Stephen King’s ever-expanding library of stories, novels, TV miniseries, and feature film adaptations for a series of conversations that are hilarious as often as they are heartwarming and unexpected. Co-hosted by veteran film bloggers Eric Vespe and Scott Wampler, THE KINGCAST boys are honored and excited to be bringing their particular set of horror-podcasting skills to this year’s Overlook Film Festival, where they’ll be screening a film that deserves to be seen on a very big screen with a very rowdy crowd. Buckle up.
HALLOWEEN IN JUNE
It’s no trick! Everyone deserves an excellent Halloween. We lost out on our most sacred holiday in 2020, so this year we’re making it up in style with a second one in June. Costumes are mandatory: bring your masks, hoard all the candy, make contact with the beyond, watch out for pranks, and dance the night away to your favorite spooky tunes to keep the spirits at bay at this fiendish immersive gathering. Hey, it’s All Hallows Eve somewhere.
HORROR TRIVIA PRESENTED BY SHUDDER
Free Event
Test your fright. Filmmaker Ted Geoghegan, director of WE ARE STILL HERE and Shudder’s upcoming BROOKLYN 45, hosts Overlook’s annual bout of horror trivia. 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.
A LITTLE FRIGHT MUSIC
CANCELLED DUE TO SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION
Free Event
Performer: Ace Marcellin
Come and see one of New Orleans’ most storied musicians, Ace Marcellin, as the world-famous yet reclusive artist plays numbers from his 1967 classic album of Horror theme reimaginings for the PoBoMoMu opening! No tubular bells here, just Ace and his clarinet taking you on a haunting jaunt down Memory Lane at the Po Boy Music Museum. For more information text (833) 451-3067.
NORCO
Available only to passholders. Advance Registration Required.
Developer: Geography of Robots
“A masterpiece of interactive storytelling”, developers Geography of Robots and indie publisher Raw Fury present NORCO: a Southern Gothic point & click narrative adventure that immerses the player in the sinking suburbs and verdant industrial swamps of a distorted South Louisiana. In the hopes of finding your missing brother, you must follow a fugitive security android through the refineries, strip malls, and drainage ditches of suburban New Orleans. Play a demo of the winner of the Tribeca 2021 Games Award, that the LA Times has already called “the video game of 2022.”
NOSFERA2
Free Screening
Artists in Person
Creators: Dream Video Division
One hundred years ago, F.W. Murnau created an unauthorized and unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker’s 1897 novel Dracula. Today, the alternative media art collective Dream Video Division creates an unauthorized and unofficial adaptation of Nosferatu (1922). A mix of a live screening and online stream, be ready to chat as we bring this viewing experience into the 21st century. Join us for a once-in-a-century unique live event of a remixed, reinterpreted, remastered feature-length version of the original silent horror classic: Nosfera2
THE PUMPKIN PIE SHOW PRESENTED BY QUIRK BOOKS
Creator, Writer, Performer: Clay McLeod Chapman
The Pumpkin Pie Show rises from the dead once more! A staple of the festival since its inception, Author/performer Clay McLeod Chapman returns to the Overlook with his depraved brand of storytelling, offering an intimate look into the hearts of monsters, murderers and madmen.
OPENING NIGHT FT. QUINTRON PRESENTED BY CRESCENT CANNA
Quintron performs impressionistic, instrumental organ music on a cache of classic keyboards combined with some homemade electronics from his shop in 9th Ward, New Orleans. Expect his patented Drum Buddy, a light-activated coffee-can drum machine, to be a part of the setup. At the heart of this music are taped orchestra loops, created for the Chamberlin company in Wisconsin in the 1940s. In Quintron’s hands, these faraway sounds provide a soft bed for some acidic, Crème-Light Exotica – best enjoyed with your back turned; this is music made to be IGNORED!
SHARPER TEETH CATALOG
Immersive Installation
Creators: Dream Video Division
Tired all the time? Up all night? Sun blinding your eyes? Garlic revolting? We’re here to help. Dream Video Division presents The Sharper Teeth Catalog, a cure-all multi-media installation displaying the latest in self-help products with a vampiric twist. Customers can step right up and use a special filter from the @dreamvideodivision Instagram account to scan various objects using the latest AR technology to reveal the truth behind their bloodlust.
WELCOME HOME
Reservations for passholders only. Boxes will cost $50 and each box can be played anytime with between 1-6 people. Additional players do not have to be pass holders.
SOLD OUT
Creators: Shine On Collective
Welcome to your new home! The moving van has just pulled away and a friendly welcome package from your neighbors is waiting on your front porch. But there is something ominous about this place. Someone needs your help. Journey into a ghost story as you unravel secrets, solve mysteries and listen in on phone conversations with this carefully crafted at-home immersive story box experience through letters, audio and found objects.
WHISPER DOWN THE LANE : CLAY MCLEOD CHAPMAN BOOK SIGNING PRESENTED BY THE GARDEN DISTRICT BOOK SHOP AND QUIRK BOOKS
The Garden District Book Shop will host renowned horror author, Clay McLeod Chapman for a reading and book signing of his book Whisper Down the Lane: A Novel on June 3 at 5:00 PM. Whisper Down the Lane is the pulse-pounding, true-crime-based horror novel inspired by the McMartin preschool trial and Satanic Panic of the ’80s. Chapman will read a selection from his book for guests and be available for a signing afterwards. The event is open to the public and books can be purchased at The Garden District Book Shop.