Skip to main content

South by Southwest · 2026

South by Southwest 2026

Midnighters

Programme

8 films · 3 reviews

Jump to a film

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)

Drag

Two sisters with a contentious relationship decide to rob a rural home in upstate New York. The simple robbery turns into a nightmare when one of them throws out her back and becomes immobilised on the second floor. The night spirals out of control as they embark on a painful journey to make it out before the homeowner returns.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Raviv Ullman, Greg Yagolnitzer; Writer: Greg Yagolnitzer, Raviv Ullman; Stars: Lizzy Caplan, Lucy DeVito, John Stamos, Christine Ko)

Fifteen

Review preview for Fifteen

Ricardo Álvarez Canales and Andrzej Rattinger’s dialogue is wonderfully observed and the two leads give lively, fresh performances which make them feel like real 14-year-old girls, looking at the world in a way most adults forget.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A reimagining of the quinceañera as a chaotic mix of comedy and creature horror.

(Country: Argentina, Mexico; Year: 2026; Director: Jack Zagha, Yossy Zagha; Writer: Andrzej Rattinger, Ricardo Álvarez Canales; Stars: Greta Marti, Macarena Oz, Aminta Ireta, Martha Claudia Moreno, Enrique Arreola, Mercedes Hernández, Malena Sandy, Cloe Juresa Furgan, Andre Fajardo, Silvia Villazur)

Full review

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

Hokum

When a novelist retreats to a remote inn to scatter his parents’ ashes, he is consumed by tales of a witch haunting the honeymoon suite. Disturbing visions and a shocking disappearance forces him to confront dark corners of his past.

(Country: US, Ireland; Year: 2026; Director: Damian McCarthy; Writer: Damian McCarthy; Stars: Adam Scott, Peter Coonan, David Wilmot, Florence Ordesh, Will O'Connell, Michael Patric, Siox C, Brendan Conroy, Austin Amelio, Ezra Carlisle)

Imposters

After a couple’s baby boy is taken, the desperate mother learns of a way to bring him back. However, her husband begins to suspect that what she has returned with isn't their son.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Caleb Phillips; Writer: Caleb Phillips; Stars: Jessica Rothe, Charlie Barnett, Yul Vazquez, Bates Wilder, Luisina Quarleri, Thomas Parobek, Ian Lyons, Taylor Karin, Lee Bennett, Declan Bennett)

Monitor

When a content moderator blocks a cryptic video uploaded by an anonymous user, she and her team begin to be hunted by an insidious entity that haunts them through every screen in their lives.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Matt Black, Ryan Polly; Writer: Matt Black, Ryan Polly; Stars: Brittany O'Grady, Taz Skylar, Viveik Karla, Ines Høysæter Asserson, Gunner Willis, Sara Alexander, Camila Bejarano Wahlgren)

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.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2025; Director: Dave Boyle; Writer: Dave Boyle; Stars: Moeka Hoshi, Kento Kaku, Kurumi Inagaki, Mutsuo Yoshioka, Bokuzo Masana, Tae Kimura)

Full review