2024 PROGRAM

Opening Night – CUCKOO

Tilman Singer | 2024 | Germany | 102 min

When 17-year-old Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) 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 Attendance

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

Filmmaker in attendance

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

ARCADIAN

Benjamin Brewer | 2024 | USA | 92 min

Nicolas Cage stars as a father desperately trying to take care of his two sons in an equally heartfelt and innovatively terrifying post-apocalyptic vision from director and lauded visual effects artist Benjamin Brewer (The Trust, Everything Everywhere All At Once, Save Yourselves).

Cast: Nicolas Cage, Jaeden Martell, Maxwell Jenkins, and Sadie Soverall

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 | 96 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

Filmmaker in attendance

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

Filmmaker in attendance

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, on 35mm

Live Introduction by Dr. Fearless (as played by David Dastmalchian)

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

DEAD MAIL

Filmmaker in attendance

Joe DeBoer, Kyle McConagh | 2024 | USA | 106 min

A dead letter investigator gets in over his head when tracking down the origin of a mysterious blood message sent through the mail in this quirky, twisty, grimey, genre-blending, indie thriller that worms its way under your skin.

Cast: Sterling Macer Jr., John Fleck, Susan Priver, Micki Jackson, Nick Heyman, Tomas Boykin

EXHUMA

Jang Jae-Hyun | 2024 | South Korea | 96 min

When a mysterious curse threatens a prominent family’s newborn baby, a ragtag group featuring two shamans, a feng shui master, and an undertaker are hired to dig up ancestral remains in the hope of lifting the spell, but what they uncover is something far worse… This box office smash hit from Korea, reverberating with the legacy of imperialism, is a truly thrilling creeper.

Cast: Choi Min-Sik, Kim Go-Eun, Yoo Hai-Jin, and Lee Do-Hyun

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

HOOD WITCH

Saïd Balktibia | 2023 | France | 96 min

Struggling to build a better life for her son, an exotic items dealer develops an app to connect mystical healers with potential clients. When one consultation goes horribly awry, she finds herself the subject of a literal witch hunt, racing against time to escape her Persian urban complex before an angry mob reaches her.

Cast: Goldshifteh Farahani, Denis Lavant, Jérémy Ferrari

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 DON’T UNDERSTAND YOU

Brian Crano, David Craig | 2023 | USA | 96 min

Nick Kroll and Andrew Rannells shine as a couple on the verge of adopting a baby who find themselves on an Italian vacation from hell in this hilarious horror comedy. When they find themselves trapped in a rural area late one night in the middle of downpour, things go from bad to worse and accidents can’t seem to stop occurring.

Cast: Nick Kroll, Andrew Rannells, Nunzia Schiano, Morgan Spector, Eleonora Romandini

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 canceled.

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

IN A VIOLENT NATURE

Filmmaker in attendance

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

Filmmakers in attendance

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

Filmmaker in attendance

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

Filmmaker in attendance

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 Attendance

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 Attendance

Conversation Moderated By John Cameron Mitchell

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

REALM OF SATAN

Filmmaker in attendance

Scott Cummings | 2024 | USA | 80 min

Visionary filmmaker Scott Cummings makes his feature debut with this eerie and poignant portrait of modern day Satanists in a fight to preserve their customs and their individualism.

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

Filmmaker in attendance

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

Filmmakers in attendance

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

Filmmakers in attendance

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

Filmmakers in attendance

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

16MM CAMERA WORKSHOP

Workshop

Presented by Kodak

Horror filmmakers, fans and enthusiasts have long embraced the medium of celluloid as a choice to ramp up tension, serve up scares, and capture a feeling that’s all too important to the tone of genre filmmaking. Thanks to our friends at Kodak, 15 lucky registrants will be able to participate in this special 16mm demo and workshop to learn to capture the stories of moving images of tomorrow on film today!

CLOSING NIGHT HALLOWEEN PARTY

Party

Hosted by Generations Hall

With Boyfriend ft. members of The Revivalists

Embrace the spirit of All Hallow’s Eve at The Overlook Film Festival’s 3rd Annual Halloween bash! Don your most terrifying costume and become part of this macabre celebration with surprises around every corner. Haunting performances from The Unnaturals and NOLA’s own Boyfriend, songwriter (Charli XCX, Slayyyter), producer (Rebecca Black, Jon Batiste), and performer (featured with Pussy Riot, Big Freedia, Lil Wayne) will inject the night with her signature blend of rap and cabaret and a spine-tingling twist of spooky flair. COSTUME CONTEST!

Visit official costume partner, Nikki’s French Quarter Halloween Store, where passholders get 10% off all spooky delights!

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.

Runtime: Approx. 45 minutes. Participants: up to 8 per slot. Cost: $40

FASTERPIECE THEATER

Screening

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.

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.

Runtime: Approx. 30 minutes. Participants: up to 4 per slot. Cost: $14

HORROR TRIVIA

FREE EVENT

Presented by Daily Dead

Hosted by B Mac’s

Test your fright – if you dare. Join local film scholar and trivia host extraordinaire Mike Miley for our annual horror trivia night. 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.

IN ANOTHER ROOM

Immersive Performance

World Premiere

Presented by The Murder Mystery Company & Wildkat Sports

Requires Separate Ticket

E3W Productions returns to Overlook for their 4th year of intimate immersive horror with an all new never-before-seen chapter! It’s the turn of the century and Madame Eleanor, one of New Orleans’ most popular (and fraudulent) mediums, has just set up shop in a notoriously haunted building in the French Quarter. She invites you to help her in conducting a private reading for an unsuspecting guest. But not all is as it seems in Madame Eleanor’s parlor, and tonight the spirits she purports to invoke may actually answer her call…

Runtime: Approx. 25 minutes. Participants: up to 5 per slot. Cost: $20

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!

ME

Screening

Festival Premiere

Filmmaker in attendance

Director: Don Hertzfeldt USA, 2024

A mysterious new musical from two-time Academy Award nominee Don Hertzfeldt (It’s Such a Beautiful Day, Rejected, and the World of Tomorrow series).

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.

Please Note: This performance makes use of sharp objects. Runtime: Approx. 20 minutes. Participants: up to 3 per slot. Cost: $27.77

NIGHT OF THE LIVING ART MARKET: A SPOOKY SWAP MEET

FREE EVENT

Presented by The Dark Art Market and Cottage Magick

Hosted by Rahm Haus Ice Cream and Courtyard Brewery

Overlook’s bizarre bazaar is back with even more ghoulish delights, vintage VHS, intoxicating elixirs, paperback horror novels, handmade art, and other creepy collectibles. Relax with a pint from Courtyard Brewery and sample the sweets of cult-favorite confectioners Rahm Haus Ice Cream. You never know what you might find. Or what might find you.

Participating Vendors include: Cottage Magick, Tubby & Coo’s Traveling Book Shop, Future Shock Video, Planchette, Gothlight Collective, PaperSnapDragon, JLH Illustration, and more!

OPENING NIGHT VAMPIRE PARTY

Party

Presented by Boutique Du Vampyre

Hosted by Generations Hall

A vampire-themed party that will haunt your dreams honoring the 30th anniversary of the film Interview With The Vampire! Dance with the undead, sip on blood-red cocktails, and embrace the seductive allure of the endless night. Mainstage performance by monster dubstep fixture Figure.

REEL RESET: OVERLOOK EDITION™

FREE EVENT

Presented by NOVAC

Hosted by NOVAC

Sunday Scaries need not apply! Wind down from Overlook ‘24 with a bewitching edition of REEL Reset, an after-hours haunt, hosted by our film family at NOVAC. Come in for a spell and enjoy haunting beats by DJ 2Ready, immersive installations, and a chance to reach out to the other side at this chill house party in the heart of the New Orleans community.

REEL Reset is produced by NOVAC with support from Film New Orleans.

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.

Runtime: Approx. 25 minutes. Participants: 1 per slot. Cost: Those who first both meet the most dangerous man and enter the dark séance will be offered a chance to regret.

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

Guest: David Dastmalchian

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 guest David Dastmalchian 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.

TALES BY CANDLELIGHT: THE SCENT OF FEAR

Immersive Performance

Presented By Time Will Tell

Requires Separate Ticket

Creator: Spencer Milone Williams Performers: Steve N Bradford, Katelyn Schiller

From Walk The Night productions, discover a tale you didn’t know you’ve always known. A portal within you holds an unexpected truth, waiting to be found. Combining scented oils, effects and mentalism to tell bespoke stories tailored to each session attendee, this is a collaborative experience anyone can participate in through their own sense of smell. Bring an open mind willing to explore beyond the expected; leave with a fragrance card that holds the key to your story.

Runtime: Approx. 30 minutes. Participants: 1-2 per slot. Ticket bearer may bring a guest. Cost: $35