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Overlook Film Festival · 2026

Overlook Film Festival 2026

Second Wave

Programme

15 films · 7 reviews

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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?

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: BT Meza; Writer: BT Meza; Stars: Jessica Rothe, Joseph Cross, Julianna Layne)

Full review

American Dollhouse

A woman inherits her childhood home, seeking solace from a chaotic city life marked by addiction and debt. Unbeknownst to her, a psychotic neighbour becomes disturbingly obsessed with her due to a haunting resemblance to the neighbour’s deceased mother.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: John Valley; Writer: John Valley; Stars: Hailley Lauren, Kelsey Pribilski, Tinus Seaux, Danielle Evon Ploeger, Richard C Jones)

Buddy

A brave girl and her friends must escape a kids' television show.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Casper Kelly; Writer: Casper Kelly, Jamie King; Stars: Cristin Milioti, Delaney Quinn, Topher Grace, Keegan-Michael Key, Michael Shannon, Patton Oswalt)

Buffet Infinity

Review preview for Buffet Infinity

Just like those familiar experiences of watching late night ads, Buffet Infinity casts a spell over the viewer.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Late night local television adverts reveal the sinister tale of two restaurants battling it out in the town of Westridge County.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Simon Glassman; Writer: Allison Bench, Simon Glassman, Elisia Snyder; Stars: Kevin Singh, Ahmed Ahmed, Brandon Vanderwall, Ben Bauce, Claire Thibeault)

Full review

Capturing Bigfoot

On October 20, 1967, Roger Patterson captured 59 seconds of film showing a creature walking through the Northern California woods—footage that became the most analysed and debated in history. 57 years later, a reel of 16mm film discovered in a safe changes everything.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Marq Evans; Stars: Clint Patterson, Bob Gimlin, Bob Heironimus, Larry Lund, Greg Long, Vaile Thompson, Sandy Collier, Bill Munns)

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.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Brooke H Cellars; Writer: Brooke H Cellars; Stars: Lauren Kitchen, Martini Bear, Jared Bankens, Wicken Taylor, Michelle Malentina, Jude Douces, Halie Madison, Sylvia Grace Crim)

Full review See: Interview with Brooke H Cellars about The Cramps: A Period Piece

Demon Lover Diary

Jeff, a documentary filmmaker, is shooting a low-budget horror film for Don and Jerry, two Michigan factory workers. Jeff’s girlfriend Joel tags along, making a diary film. What could possibly go wrong?

(Country: US; Year: 1980; Director: Joel DeMott; Stars: Joel DeMott, Jeff Kreines, Donald G. Jackson, Jerry Younkins)

Flush

Review preview for Flush

Set almost entirely within a single toilet stall, this is low budget filmmaking par excellence.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Finding his ex in the nightclub where she works and convincing her to come back and live with him should be doable, correct? Losing the dealer and the bar owner who left him for dead in the restroom for trying to steal their stash is still within his capabilities. However, removing his head stuck in the toilet bowl is not a given.

(Country: France; Year: 2025; Director: Grégory Morin; Stars: Jonathan Lambert, ​Élodie Navarre, Elliot Jenicot, Rémy Adriaens)

Full review

The Furious

A father fights fiercely against ruthless kidnappers to save his abducted daughter.

(Country: Hong Kong, China; Year: 2025; Director: Kenji Tanigaki; Writer: Frank Hui, Zhilong Lei, Tin Shu Mak; Stars: Joe Taslim, Sahajak Boonthanakit, Yayan Ruhian, JeeJa Yanin, Miao Xe, Brian Le, Enyou Yang)

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.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Brea Grant, Ed Dougherty, Chelsea Stardust; Writer: Brea Grant, Ed Dougherty; Stars: Rob Huebel, Barbara Crampton, Vinny Thomas, Jessika Van, Christopher Rodriguez-Marquette, James Urbaniak, Courtney Pauroso, James Paxton, Ify Nwadiwe, Aubrey Shea)

Full review See: Interview with Brea Grant, Ed Dougherty and Chelsea Stardust about Grind , Interview with Barbara Crampton about Grind

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.

(Country: New Zealand/Aotearoa; Year: 2025; Director: Taratoa Stappard; Writer: Taratoa Stappard; Stars: Ariana Osborne, Toby Stephens, Umi Myers, Evelyn Towersey, Errol Shand)

Full review See: Interview with Taratoa Stappard about Marama, part 2 , Interview with Taratoa Stappard about Marama

Normal

The story of a temporary small-town sheriff who uncovers dark mysteries after a local bank robbery.

(Country: Canada, US; Year: 2025; Director: Ben Wheatley; Writer: Derek Kolstad, Bob Odenkirk; Stars: Bob Odenkirk, Lena Headey, Henry Winkler, Brenda Fletcher, Summer H Howell)

Over Your Dead Body

Jealousies swirl around a beautiful young theatre actress starring in a classic ghost story, with bloody consequences.

(Year: 2014; Director: Takashi Miike; Stars: Ko Shibasaki, Ebizo Ichikawa, Miho Nakanishi, Hideaki Ito, Hitomi Katayama)

The Restoration At Grayson Manor

Review preview for The Restoration At Grayson Manor

Director/co-writer Glenn McQuaid uses larger than life cinematic tropes as a means of getting at his subject effectively.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
After losing both hands in an accident, Boyd Grayson becomes the prime candidate for an experimental replacement procedure in this queer, campy, erotic horror.

(Country: Ireland; Year: 2025; Director: Glenn McQuaid; Writer: Clay McLeod Chapman, Glenn McQuaid; Stars: Chris Colfer, Alice Krige, Daniel Adegboyega, Dedclan Reynolds, Gabriela Garcia Vargas, Matthew McMahon)

Full review See: Interview with Glenn McQuaid and Alice Krige about The Restoration At Grayson Manor

Suffocation

A group of elite high school swimmers find themselves cursed by a mysterious evil after releasing a video that exposes a teacher-student relationship.

(Country: Taiwan; Year: 2026; Director: Louis Chan, Stone Chang; Stars: Yao Ai Ning, Wang Yu Ping, Chu Meng Syuan, Julia Huang, Rainie Dun, Helen Wang, Chun Hong)