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Festival coverage

Overlook Film Festival

9 April – 12 April 2026

There's lots to look forward to at the latest edition of the Overlook Film Festival, which opens with Carry Barker's sinister Obsession and closes with Hokum. A partnership with MUBI has allowed the festival to significantly expand the range and quality of its international films. With a second wave of films yet to be announced, watch this space.

The festival runs from 9 to 12 April.

Other years (3)

Box office and information

Latest reviews

  • Faces Of Death
    Review preview for Faces Of Death

    It’s rare to find a character this well developed in a slasher film, but Goldhaber pays equal attention to the smaller roles.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    A moderator at a social media platform gets thrown face-first into a macabre mystery when she uncovers a series of visceral snuff videos bearing resemblance to a mythical 1978 cult film.
  • Grind
    Review preview for Grind

    We move from one subject and set of characters to another, but the pacing, energy, horror and humour are perfectly in key, and the whole is a perfect delight.

    Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
    A horror anthology tackling the modern work landscape through four timely perspectives – the hustle culture of an MLM, the endless repetitiveness of a food delivery driver, the online horrors of a content moderator, and the unionisation of a coffee shop.
  • Obsession
    Review preview for Obsession

    Obsession is not just a real indicator of talent but an absolute treat.

    Andrew Robertson · 4.5 out of 5
    A desperate wish for love goes terribly wrong.
  • Saccharine
    Review preview for Saccharine

    The complex interaction of desire and disgust is expressed through the textures of indulgent, luxurious foods juxtaposed with similarly textured body parts in a way that is both sensual and grotesque.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    A lovelorn medical student is terrorised by a hungry ghost after taking part in an obscure weight loss craze: eating human ashes.
  • Marama
    Review preview for Marama

    One of the most impressive films of the year to date.

    Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
    A young Māori woman travels to Victorian England after receiving a letter promising information about her birth parents. As she peels back the layers of colonial deceit, she is driven to avenge her shattered ancestry.
  • The Cramps: A Period Piece
    Review preview for The Cramps: A Period Piece

    The film’s general campiness does not diminish the points it’s making.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    A vibrant collision of horror, comedy, and aching personal truth as seen through the eyes of a young woman dealing with the pain of her menstrual cramps.
  • Trauma Or, Monsters All
    Review preview for Trauma Or, Monsters All

    Characters who belong to a fairy tale or folkloric world struggle to contain themselves in flesh, edged out by the existence of mere mortals who, despite their vulnerability, forever push them to the edges of the narrative.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    An aspiring author gets more than she bargained for when she writes an article for the local paper about her small town’s dark history, prompting unwanted speculation on what monsters may lie within.
  • Boorman And The Devil
    Review preview for Boorman And The Devil

    Boorman has an extraordinary openness about him which would make him a compelling subject even if he’d never made a film in his life.

    Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
    After directing Point Blank and Deliverance, John Boorman was offered to direct The Exorcist II. The film became a massive failure, nearly ending his career. Years later, cast and filmmakers discuss its ambition and artistic value.
  • Never After Dark
    Review preview for Never After Dark

    Like all the best supernatural tales, it keeps the rules simple but still manages to wrongfoot viewers.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    A wandering medium, Airi spends her life guiding restless spirits out of the world of the living. Summoned to an isolated country house, she comes face to face with a grotesque apparition with powers that defy her experience - but the biggest danger she faces comes from the living.
  • Affection
    Review preview for Affection

    There’s a lot of interesting stuff to explore here and it’s a shame that we don’t get into it in more depth.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    Ellie is stuck in a cyclical nightmare grappling with a medical condition that erratically resets her memory. Left unable to remember her loving husband or young daughter, each reset leaves her disoriented and haunted with vivid memories and scattered recollections of an unfamiliar life she’s never lived. What is the cause of her rare illness, and can her husband really help cope with her affliction?

A–Z of Overlook Film Festival 2026 reviews

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