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South by Southwest · 2022

South by Southwest 2022

Midnighters

Programme

8 films · 6 reviews

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Bitch Ass

On a gang initiation night, a group of kids enter a house where a kid left for death after his own initiation, many years earlier, is waiting for them with his own set of deadly games to be played.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Bill Posley,; Writer: Bill Posley, Jonathan Colomb; Stars: Sheaun McKinney, Tunde Laleye, Me'Lisa Sellers, Teon Kelly, Tony Todd)

The Cellar

Review preview for The Cellar

Familiar tropes create a certain level of comfort in a horror audience and Muldowney uses that to create a false sense of control.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
When her daughter mysteriously vanishes in the cellar of their new house, a woman uncovers dark secrets and a puzzle which keeps drawing her further in.

(Country: Ireland; Year: 2022; Director: Brendan Muldowney; Writer: Brendan Muldowney; Stars: Elisha Cuthbert, Eoin Macken, Dylan Fitzmaurice Brady, Abby Fitz, Aaron Monaghan)

Full review See: Interview with Brendan Muldowney about The Cellar

Deadstream

Review preview for Deadstream

Comedy and horror are well balanced in a film which demonstrates a sharp understanding of social media but is also ready to deliver on the more explicitly gruesome side of the bargain

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A washed up internet personality tries to win back his followers by livestreaming himself spending one night alone in an abandoned haunted house.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Vanessa Winter, Joseph Winter; Writer: Vanessa Winter, Joseph Winter; Stars: Joseph Winter, Melanie Stone)

Full review

Hypochondriac

Review preview for Hypochondriac

The struggle which follows is, in places, difficult to watch, especially for viewers who have been affected by such issues in their own lives, so Heimann sensibly leavens it with humour.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
When his bipolar mother walks back into his life, a young gay man is forced to contend with his family history of mental illness.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Addison Heimann; Writer: Addison Heimann; Stars: Zach Villa, Devon Graye, Madeline Zima, Yumarie Morales, Marlene Forte, Chris Doubek, Paget Brewster, Adam Busch, Michael Cassidy, Peter Mensah, Debra Wilson)

Full review See: Interview with Addison Heimann about Hypochondriac

No Looking Back (Otorvi i vybros)

After a woman is released from prison following a sentence for stabbing her partner in the eye, she tries to reconnect with her daughter, going so far as to kidnap her... with the girl's grandma in hot pursuit.

(Year: 2021; Director: Kirill Sokolov; Writer: Kirill Sokolov; Stars: Anna Mikhalkova, Victoria Korotkova, Sofia Krugova, Alexander Yatsenko, Olga Lapshina)

Sissy

Review preview for Sissy

Barlow and Senes let the situation simmer, with plenty going on to keep viewers entertained.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Travelling to a remote location to celebrate the hen night of her childhood best friend, a woman re-encounters her childhood bully, who is once again determined to make her suffer.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2022; Director: Hannah Barlow, Kane Senes; Writer: Hannah Barlow, Kane Senes; Stars: Aisha Dee, Hannah Barlow, Emily De Margheriti, Daniel Monks, Yerin Ha, Lucy Barrett, Shaun Martindale, Amelia Lule, April Blasdall, Camille Cumpston)

Full review See: Interview with Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes about Sissy

Watcher

Review preview for Watcher

Through this lens, through this empowered performance, familiar material feels very different.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A young woman moves into a new apartment with her fiancé and is tormented by the feeling that she is being stalked by an unseen watcher in an adjacent building.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Chloe Okuno; Writer: Zack Ford; Stars: Maika Monroe, Burn Gorman, Karl Glusman, Daniel Nuta, Ciubuciu Bogdan Alexandru)

Full review

X

Review preview for X

This isn't a remake but feels like one.

Andrew Robertson · 2 out of 5
In 1979, a group of young filmmakers set out to make an adult film in rural Texas, but when their reclusive, elderly hosts catch them in the act, the cast find themselves fighting for their lives.

(Country: US; Year: 2022; Director: Ti West; Writer: Ti West; Stars: Mia Goth, Jenna Ortega, Martin Henderson, Brittany Snow, Owen Campbell, Stephen Ure, Scott Mescudi)

Full review