Skip to main content

South by Southwest · 2024

South by Southwest 2024

Midnighters

Programme

8 films · 6 reviews

Jump to a film

Azrael

Review preview for Azrael

We get demonstrations of skill, from the weaving of a bracelet to the use of herbs to treat a wound, and these elements reinforce the idea that this is a real society which has developed organically over time.

Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
Many years following the apocalypse, a devout cult of mute zealots hunts down a young woman who has escaped her imprisonment.

(Country: Estonia, US; Year: 2024; Director: EL Katz; Writer: Simon Barrett; Stars: Samara Weaving, Vic Carmen Sonne, Katariina Unt, Nathan Stewart-Jarrett)

Full review

Family

Watching her sick father decline, 11-year-old Johanna makes a call for a good spirit to save him, but something else comes instead.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Benjamin Finkel; Writer: Benjamin Finkel; Stars: Ruth Wilson, Ben Chaplin, Lucinda Lee Dawson Gray, Allan Corduner)

Hood Witch

Review preview for Hood Witch

It’s the acting that carries it, and naturally Farahani, one of the finest talents of her generation, does not disappoint.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A woman earns a living by smuggling exotic animals and illegal goods, developing a mobile app that links users with mystical marabout healers, but one of the user's consultations takes a tragic turn, preciptitaing a violent backlash.

(Country: Iran, France; Year: 2023; Director: Saïd Belktibia; Writer: Saïd Belktibia, Louis Penicaut; Stars: Golshifteh Farahani, Denis Lavant, Jérémy Ferrari, Mathieu Espagnet)

Full review

Hunting Daze

Review preview for Hunting Daze

Condensed and symbolic in its approach, sometimes to the point where it becomes surreal, Hunting Daze uses a small story to address big subjects.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A young, tempestuous woman, is taken in by a group of hunters in a remote cabin. In the midst of this tough, yet endearing, male microsociety, she feels like she finally belongs. A mysterious stranger’s arrival disrupts her newfound haven.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2024; Director: Annick Blanc; Writer: Annick Blanc; Stars: Nahéma Ricci, Bruno Marcil, Frédéric Millaire-Zouvi, Marc Beaupré, Alexandre Landry, Maxime Genois, Noubi Ndiaye, Mack, Maya)

Full review See: Interview with Annick Blanc about Hunting Daze (Jour De Chasse)

It's What's Inside

A pre-wedding party descends into an existential nightmare when an estranged friend shows up with a mysterious suitcase.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Greg Jardin; Writer: Greg Jardin; Stars: Brittany O'Grady, James Morosini, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Devon Terrell, Gavin Leatherwood, Reina Hardesty, Nina Bloomgarden, David Thompson)

Kryptic

Review preview for Kryptic

Full of invention and not so tight on construction.

Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
A psychothriller about a woman’s search for a missing monster hunter and her growing realisation that she is inescapably linked to the creature being pursued.

(Country: Canada, UK; Year: 2024; Director: Kourtney Roy; Writer: Paul Bromley; Stars: Chloe Pirrie, Jeff Gladstone, Jason Deline, Ali Rusu-Tahir, Christina Meredith Lewall, Patti Allen, Pam Kearns, Jennifer Copping)

Full review See: Interview with Kourtney Roy and Chloe Pirrie about Kryptic

Oddity

Review preview for Oddity

It is a rare thing to come across a tale as carefully constructed as this one.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A blind medium uncovers the truth behind her sister's death with the help of a frightening wooden mannequin.

(Country: Ireland; Year: 2024; Director: Damian Mc Carthy; Writer: Damian Mc Carthy; Stars: Gwilym Lee, Carolyn Bracken, Tadhg Murphy, Caroline Menton, Steve Wall, Jonathan French, Joe Rooney)

Full review

Things Will Be Different

Review preview for Things Will Be Different

Where other such tales have become overly enmeshed in their own structural entanglements, Felker has the good sense to focus on character.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
In order to escape police after a robbery, two estranged siblings lay low in a metaphysical farmhouse that hides them away in a different time. There they reckon with a mysterious force that pushes their familial bonds to unnatural breaking points.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Michael Felker; Writer: Michael Felker; Stars: Adam David Thompson, Riley Dandy, Chloe Skoczen, Justin Benson, Sarah Bolger, Jori Lynn Felker)

Full review See: Interview with Michael Felker about Things Will Be Different