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South by Southwest · 2026

South by Southwest 2026

Narrative Features

Programme

69 films · 14 reviews

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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)

And Her Body Was Never Found

A film made on a camping trip.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Polaris Banks; Writer: Polaris Banks, Mor Cohen; Stars: Mor Cohen, Polaris Banks, Grae Drake)

Anima

After being let go from her robotic companion start-up, an anti-social engineer finds herself in a new company claiming to preserve a person's consciousness inside a cloud system. Her first assignment: drive the company's most valuable client, a lonely button manufacturer, to his final appointment.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Brian Tetsuro Ivie; Writer: Brian Tetsuro Ivie; Stars: Sydney Chandler, Takehiro Hira, Marin Ireland, Lili Taylor, Maria Dizzia, Tom McCarthy, Emil Wakim, Maximilian Lee Piazza)

Bagworm

Carroll’s worldview is dominated by the threat of catastrophe and the decline of morality in the face of human extinction. Then he steps on a rusty nail.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Oliver Bernsen; Writer: Henry Bernsen; Stars: Peter Falls, Michelle Ortiz, Robbie Arnett, Corbin Bernsen, Stephen Borrello, Jessy Morner-Ritt, Sydney Winbush, Francesca Galassi)

Basic

After Gloria and Nick break up, Gloria takes us through Nick's dating history, untangling his web of ex-girlfriends through details she can find online. But when she discovers Kaylinn, the hottest most basic ex-girlfriend to ever exist, Gloria not only loses herself, she loses control of the story she's been telling.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Chelsea Devantez; Writer: Chelsea Devantez; Stars: Ashley Park, Leighton Meester, Taylor John Smith, Nelson Franklin, Kandy Muse, Ashley Nicole Black, Kenzie Elizabeth, Amber Ruffin, Jon Gabrus, Georgia Mishak)

Beast Race (Corrida Dos Bichos)

Sometime in the future, Rio de Janeiro lies in ruins—its society fractured by class warfare, its people consumed by a brutal spectacle known as the Beast Race. In this high-stakes competition, masked runners tear through a devastated city while the elite wager on their lives. Every runner must pledge a collateral: a human life condemned to the mysterious, dreaded Coast of Hell if they lose.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2026; Director: Ernesto Solis, Rodrigo Pesavento, Fernando Meirelles; Writer: Ernesto Solis, Rodrigo Lages, Eva Klaver, Marco Abujamra; Stars: Matheus Abreu, Rodrigo Santoro, Isis Valverde, Bruno Gagliasso, Thainá Duarte, Seu Jorge, Silvero Pereira, João Guilherme, Grazi Massafera, Anitta)

Big Girls Don't Cry

Over one transformative summer in rural New Zealand in 2006, 14-year-old Sid Bookman discovers desire, identity, and the internet as she imitates the people she longs to be loved by.

(Year: 2026; Director: Paloma Schneideman; Writer: Paloma Schneideman; Stars: Ani Palmer, Rain Spencer, Noah Taylor)

Brian

It sucks to be Brian. He’s smart, funny, and capable, but his mental health issues make it hard for anyone to see it - especially when compared to his effortlessly cool older brother. But he wants to impress a girl, so he's going to run for class president.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Will Ropp; Writer: Mike Scollins; Stars: Ben Wang, William H Macy, Edi Patterson, Randall Park, Natalie Morales, Joshua Colley, Sophia Macy, Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Thomas Barbusca, Jacob Moskovitz)

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)

Campéon Gabacho

The story of Liborio, an endearing and mischievous young migrant whose only talent is taking punches. He crosses the Rio Grande to escape a harsh reality in Mexico, looking for a better life in the United States, and settles in a Latino barrio in New York City.

(Country: Mexico; Year: 2025; Director: Jonás Cuarón; Writer: Jonás Cuarón, Aura Xilonen; Stars: Juan Daniel García Treviño, Leslie Grace, Rubén Blades, Eddie Marsan, Rosario Dawson, Cheech Marin, Marvin Jones III, Carlos Carrasco, Dolores Heredia)

Chasing Summer

After losing both her job and boyfriend, Jamie retreats to her small Texas hometown, where friends and flings from a fateful high school summer turn her life upside down.

(Country: US, Israel; Year: 2026; Director: Josephine Decker; Writer: Iliza Shlesinger; Stars: Iliza Shlesinger, Garrett Wareing, Lola Tung, Cassidy Freeman, Tom Welling, Megan Mullally, Jeff Perry, Joe Anselm, Elliott Campbell, Zachary Scott Clark, Samuel P. Espinoza, Aimee Garcia, Alexa Maria Huerta, Lindsey Moore, Jaynelle Veloso)

Chili Finger

When a woman discovers a severed human finger in her bowl of chili, she recognises an opportunity to seize control of her stagnating life. She blackmails the regionally-beloved fast-food chain for $100,000 in return for her silence.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Edd Benda, Stephen Helstad; Writer: Stephen Helstad; Stars: Judy Greer, Sean Astin, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Madeline Wise, Paul Stanko, Sarah Herrman, Sara Sevigny, Dann Florek, Shaya Harris)

Crash Land

Review preview for Crash Land

There’s a considerable sensitivity and intelligence to this film, underlying its glorious stupidity.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Three friends have spent their childhoods drinking, wreaking havoc, and filming crude stunts in their small town. Everyone hates them. Wanting to finally prove their lives have meaning, they decide to make a 'real movie'.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2026; Director: Dempsey Bryk; Writer: Dempsey Bryk; Stars: Gabriel LaBelle, Finn Wolfhard, Billy Bryk, Noah Parker, Abby Quinn)

Full review

Dead Deer High

A team of high school slam poets and their English teacher prepare for a national poetry competition one year after a tragedy changed their lives forever.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Jo Rochelle; Writer: Joshua Roark; Stars: Zack Kozlow, Holden Goyette, Kyla Brown, Christian Cruz, Ayanna Berkshire, Joseph Bertót, Madelyn Grace, Aaron Cammack, Julia Prud'homme, Audrey Kennedy Kozlow)

Dead Eyes

Accompanied by his fiancée, a man enters a remote forest in search of his missing father, and encounters the cannibalistic creatures his father has made while endeavouring to resurrect his little sister.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2025; Director: Richard E Williams; Writer: Richard E Williams; Stars: Ana Thu-Nguyen, Mischa Heywood, Rijen Laine, Charles Cottier, Alea O'Shea, Stephen Phillips, Freya Callaghan)

Downbeat

A drumming busker falls out with the sister whose couch is his only home.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Danny Madden; Writer: Danny Madden; Stars: Daniel Rashid, Addie Weyrich, Arkira Chantaratananond, Terence Nance, Will Madden, Francesca Blanchard, Dakota Loesch, Dustin Hahn, Skyler Bible)

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)

Dreamquil

In the not so distant future when poor air quality leads to people living mostly virtually lives, a dissatisfied mother worried about her relationship signs up for an avant-garde digital wellness retreat, only to return home to find her family living with a robot version of her.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Alex Prager; Writer: Alex Prager, Vanessa Prager; Stars: Elizabeth Banks, John C Reilly, Juliette Lewis, Sofia Boutella, Kathryn Newton, Lamorne Morris, Toby Larsen, Anna Marie Dobbins)

Edie Arnold Is A Loser

Review preview for Edie Arnold Is A Loser

Making a band work isn’t easy when your mother gives you a strict curfew, your headmistress thinks punk is Satanic, and you don’t have any instruments.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A timid dork accidentally takes the spotlight when she starts a punk band with her fellow 'turds', becoming an icon to the rest of the losers at her all-girls Catholic school while managing to piss off the hot girls, the nuns, and a horny altar boy.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Megan Rico, Kade Atwood; Writer: Megan Rico; Stars: Adi Madden Cabrera, McKenna Tuckett, Cherish Rodriguez, Niki Rahimi, Alexa Paige, Luseane Pasa, Star Herrmann, Alana Mei Kern, Gabe Root, Lucas Van Orden)

Full review

Erupcja

Bethany travels along with her boyfriend, Rob, from London to Warsaw, where she meets her old crush, Nel, and decides to dump him in order to party with her during the weekend. However, every time the two girls hang out, a volcano – quite literally – erupts somewhere on the planet and this time, it is Etna’s turn.

(Country: US, Poland; Year: 2025; Director: Pete Ohs; Writer: Pete Ohs, Charli xcx, Luke Arreguin, Jeremy O. Harris, Josh Godfrey; Stars: Charli xcx, Lena Góra, Will Madden, Jeremy O. Harris, Agata Trzebuchowska, Maja Michnacka, Jan Lubaczewski)

Family Movie

The Smiths have gathered once again on their quaint family farm to make the latest in a string of low-budget horror movies, but their children are working up the courage to quit.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Kevin Bacon; Writer: Dan Beers; Stars: Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Sosie Bacon, Travis Bacon, Liza Koshy, John Carroll Lynch, Jackie Earle Haley, Andrea Savage, Austin Amelio, Scoot McNairy)

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

Forbidden Fruits

At a mall store, Apple leads a secret witch cult with coworkers Cherry and Fig. New hire Pumpkin questions their sisterhood, forcing them to confront inner darkness or meet violent ends.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Meredith Alloway; Writer: Meredith Alloway, Lily Houghton; Stars: Lili Reinhart, Lola Tung, Victoria Pedretti, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Chamberlain, Gabrielle Union)

The Fox

The affable heir to a wealthy rural landowner discovers that his fiancée is cheating on him and wants nothing more than to just fix the problem. One night, he captures a rogue Fox, and she offers him a trade-off: if Nick lets her live, the Fox will help him save his relationship.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2025; Director: Dario Russo; Writer: Dario Russo; Stars: Jai Courtney, Emily Browning, Damon Herriman, Claudia Doumit, Sam Neill, Miranda Otto, Olivia Colman)

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

He Bled Neon

After learning that his brother’s death may be murder, Ethan returns to Las Vegas to uncover the truth, and confront the violent past he buried.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Drew Kirsch; Writer: Tim Cairo, Jake Gibson; Stars: Joe Cole, Rita Ora, Marshawn 'Beast Mode' Lynch, Ismael Cruz Cordova, Paul Wesley, Josh Holloway)

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)

I Love Boosters

Review preview for I Love Boosters

I suspected there'd be ideas introduced that lesser films would attempt to spin out while this grabbed another and another and another, and so it came to pass.

Andrew Robertson · 4.5 out of 5
A crew of professional shoplifters takes aim at a cutthroat fashion maven.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Boots Riley; Writer: Boots Riley; Stars: Keke Palmer, Naomi Ackie, Taylour Paige, Poppy Liu, Eiza González, LaKeith Stanfield, Will Poulter, Demi Moore)

Full review

Kill Me

Review preview for Kill Me

The story goes to some difficult places and is by no means all about laughs, but its comedic elements will likely appeal most strongly to those with lived experience.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Jimmy wakes up in a bathtub filled with his own blood, his wrists slit and his life rapidly nearing completion. This would be a textbook failed suicide attempt, but he's pretty sure he didn't do it.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Peter Warren; Writer: Peter Warren; Stars: Charlie Day, Allison Williams, Giancarlo Esposito, Aya Cash, Jessica Harper, David Krumholtz, Tony Cavalero)

Full review See: Interview with Peter Warren about Kill Me

Leviticus

Two star-crossed teenage boys must escape a violent entity that takes the form of the person they desire most — each other.

(Country: Australia, US; Year: 2026; Director: Adrian Chiarella; Writer: Adrian Chiarella; Stars: Joe Bird, Stacy Clausen, Mia Wasikowska, Jeremy Blewitt, Ewen Leslie, Davida McKenzie)

Love Language

An aspiring author who pays the bills by writing social media copy for a tortilla chip company, falls into a side hustle writing wedding vows for other people. When she reconnects with her college best-friend and long-time crush, she is shocked to find he is the fiancé of one of her clients.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Joey Power; Writer: Joey Power; Stars: Chloë Grace Moretz, Anthony Ramos, Manny Jacinto, Isabel May, Lukas Gage, Billie Lourd, Chloe Fineman, Zach Zucker, Morgan Jay, Bobbi Althoff, Marchánt Davis, Dan Perrault)

Mallory's Ghost

A woman becomes obsessed with her playwright boyfriend's glamorous ex, until she comes to believe that she is being haunted by her.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Arabella Oz; Writer: Arabella Oz; Stars: Arabella Oz, Nick Canellakis, Anjelica Bosboom, Delphi Harrington, Shahjehan Khan, Evangeline Beasley)

Mam

After falling in love with Vietnamese cuisine during a life-changing trip abroad, a self-taught chef from small-town Texas arrives in New York City with one goal: to open his own restaurant. When he meets a sharp-witted Vietnamese waitress, their unlikely alliance sparks a bold culinary journey.

(Country: France; Year: 2026; Director: Nan Feix; Writer: Nan Feix, Marine Garnier; Stars: Jerald Head, Nhung Dao Head, Tuan Bui, Henry Wong, Linh Phan, Lang A Nguyen, Maxence Victor, Kim Hoang, Naoto Ono, An Nguyen Xuan)

Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice

Two gangsters and the woman they love try to survive the most dangerous night of their lives, with a time machine.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: BenDavid Grabinski; Writer: BenDavid Grabinski; Stars: Vince Vaughn, James Marsden, Eiza González, Keith David, Jimmy Tatro, Stephen Root, Lewis Tan, Ben Schwartz, Emily Hampshire, Arturo Castro)

Mile End Kicks

A 24-year-old music critic gets romantically involved with members of an indie band she decides to publicise, in a story set against Montreal's indie music scene in 2011.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2025; Director: Chandler Levack; Writer: Chandler Levack; Stars: Devon Bostick, Jay Baruchel, Barbie Ferreira, Juliette Gariépy, Stanley Simons, Robert Naylor)

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

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)

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.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Curry Barker; Writer: Curry Barker; Stars: Inde Navarrette, Andy Richter, Chloe Breen, Michael Johnston, Darin Toonder, Megan Lawless)

Full review

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)

Perfect

In a world devastated by a contaminated water supply, a woman living out of her car embarks on a passionate relationship with a wealthy pregnant woman living out an escapist fantasy.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Millicent Hailes; Writer: Millicent Hailes, Kendra Miller; Stars: Julia Fox, Ashley Moore, Lío Mehiel, Micaela Wittman, Ryder McLaughlin, Kate Moennig, Creed Bratton)

The Peril At Pincer Point

Review preview for The Peril At Pincer Point

Joseph Field Eccles and Nick Smyth’s sound design...is magnificent from start to finish, and full of playful touches.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A lazy sound designer is sent to the remote island where a film was shot to capture a sound powerful enough to elevate its finale. Once there, eerie local fables surface: for years, ambitious and headstrong youth have lost their souls to a ghostly sea captain for his spectral crew.

(Country: UK; Year: 2025; Director: Jake Kuhn, Noah Stratton-Twine; Writer: Jake Kuhn, Noah Stratton-Twine; Stars: Jack Redmayne, Alyth Ross, Os Leanse, Mike Mackenzie, Dashiell Upton, Jason Hogan, Mat Wright, Noah Stratton-Twine, Isobel Laidler, Oliver Woolf)

Full review

The Pirate King

A returning US soldier struggles to hold down work due to his condition and trauma from his time in Afghanistan . When his ex-wife sues for custody of his beloved daughter, he hits rock bottom. In an effort to impress his case appointed judge, he joins a pirate re-enactment crew that his daughter is fond of.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Josh Plasse; Writer: Josh Plasse, Brev Moss; Stars: Rob Riggle, Jordana Brewster, Matt Barr, Elizabeth Tulloch, Billie Lourd, Nichole Sakura, Leander Suleiman, Adele Abinante, Annabeth Gish, Brett Cullen)

Pizza Movie

Review preview for Pizza Movie

It’s an uneven film, emerging as a series of comedy skits before gradually melding them into a coherent story.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
It’s a Friday night and two college students plan to do drugs and order pizza. But when the home-made drug they ingest turns out to be wilder than expected, the simple journey down two flights of stairs becomes a mind-bogglingly transformative quest.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Brian McElhaney, Nick Kocher; Writer: Brian McElhaney, Nick Kocher; Stars: Gaten Matarazzo, Sean Giambrone, Lulu Wilson, Jack Martin, Peyton Elizabeth Lee, Marcus Scribner, Caleb Hearon, Sarah Sherman, Miguel-Andres Garcia, Justin Cooley)

Full review

Plantman & Blondie: A Dress Up Gang Film

A lonely, doomscrolling thirtysomething meets a rogue horticultural crusader armed with a mysterious dossier of negligent plant owners.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Robb Boardman; Writer: Robb Boardman, Cory Loykasek, Donny Divanian, Frankie Quinones; Stars: Cory Loykasek, Donny Divanian, Frankie Quinones, Kate Berlant, Blake Anderson, Kirk Fox, Brent Weinbach, Jamar Neighbors, Christian Duguay, Kevin Camia)

Poetic License

Two inseparable best friends, Sam and Ari, start to unravel as they compete for the affection of Liz, the middle-aged mom auditing their college poetry workshop.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Maude Apatow; Writer: Raffi Donatich; Stars: Nico Parker, Leslie Mann, Cooper Hoffman, Method Man, Andrew Barth Feldman, Maisy Stella)

Power Ballad

Review preview for Power Ballad

Taking care of business is rarely as emotional, but it's part of Power Ballad's exploration of authenticity.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
When a past-his-prime wedding singer meets a fading boy-band star during a gig, the two bond over music and a late-night jam session, but then the former star turns one of the wedding singer’s songs into the hit that reignites his career.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: John Carney; Writer: John Carney, Peter McDonald; Stars: Paul Rudd, Nick Jonas, Peter McDonald, Marcella Plunkett, Havana Rose Liu, Jack Reynor)

Full review

Pretty Lethal

Five ballerinas, stranded in a remote forest, take shelter at an unsettling roadside inn. They must weaponise years of brutal training, turning grace, discipline, and even pointe shoes into tools for survival.

(Country: UK; Year: 2026; Director: Vicky Jewson; Writer: Kate Freund; Stars: Iris Apatow, Lana Condor, Millicent Simmonds, Avantika, Maddie Ziegler, Uma Thurman)

Ready Or Not 2: Here I Come

Moments after surviving an all-out attack from the Le Domas family, Grace discovers she’s reached the next level of the nightmarish game — and this time with her estranged sister Faith at her side. Grace has one chance to survive, keep her sister alive, and claim the High Seat of the Council that controls the world. Four rival families are hunting her for the throne.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett; Writer: Guy Busick, R Christopher Murphy; Stars: Samara Weaving, Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Néstor Carbonell, David Cronenberg, Elijah Wood)

Rock Springs

After the death of her father, a grieving young girl moves to an isolated house in a new town with her mother and grandmother, only to discover there is something monstrous hidden in the town’s history and the woods behind their new home.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Vera Miao; Writer: Vera Miao; Stars: Kelly Marie Tran, Benedict Wong, Jimmy O. Yang, Aria Kim, Fiona Fu)

A Safe Distance

Review preview for A Safe Distance

An accomplished first feature for director Gloria Mercer.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A woman abandoned in the woods by her boyfriend after she turns down his marriage proposal is taken in by a mysterious couple.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2026; Director: Gloria Mercer; Writer: Aidan West; Stars: Bethany Brown, Tandia Mercedes, Cody Kearsley, Chris McNally)

Full review See: Interview with Gloria Mercer and Bethany Brown about A Safe Distance

Same Same But Different

When Rana’s visa application is denied, she faces the reality of returning home to Iran. That is, until Adam – her wealthy boss’s son and her summer fling – proposes a green card wedding.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Lauren Noll; Writer: Dalia Rooni; Stars: Medalion Rahimi, Logan Miller, Layla Mohammadi, Dalia Rooni, Richie Moriarty, Michael Baszler, Danielle Pinnock, Lauren Noll, Nicholas Coombe, Kevin Nealon, Joey Lauren Adams)

The Saviors

A suburban couple about to divorce rent their guest house to a quiet Middle Eastern brother and sister, but when bizarre occurrences begin to add up – mysterious lights, missing animals, glimpses of unexplainable tech – in the days before the President’s upcoming visit to town, their guests' strange behaviour starts to seem suspicious and potentially dangerous.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Kevin Hamedani; Writer: Kevin Hamedani, Travis Betz; Stars: Adam Scott, Danielle Deadwyler, Theo Rossi, Kate Berlant, Nazanin Boniadi, Daveed Diggs, Ron Perlman, Colleen Camp, Greg Kinnear)

Seahorse

After a brutal Friday night shift, a sous chef searching for stability crashes her bike and wakes to find her estranged father, Cyrus, now unhoused, standing over her.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2026; Director: Aisha Evelyna; Writer: Aisha Evelyna; Stars: Aisha Evelyna, Ruth Goodwin, Brett Donahue, Joseph Marcell, Alden Adair)

Seekers Of Infinite Love

An author who struggles with emotional connection, a lawyer who dreams of being a folk singer, and a graphic novelist addicted to gambling and pills meet to discuss their younger sister who has joined a cult in Kentucky.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Victoria Strouse; Writer: Victoria Strouse; Stars: Hannah Einbinder, Justin Theroux, John Paul Reynolds, Griffin Gluck, Justine Lupe, Greg Kinnear)

See You When I See You

With the help of his family, a comedy writer battles PTSD after the tragic death of his sister.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Jay Duplass; Writer: Adam Cayton-Holland; Stars: Cooper Raiff, David Duchovny, Kaitlyn Dever, Hope Davis, Lucy Boynton, Ariela Barer, Gabrielle Byndloss, Asher Alexander, Skyler Bible, Gena Shaw, Savanna Gann, Gillian Rabin, Billie Roy, Andrew Bassett, Brad Worch II)

Sender

When packages she didn’t order start showing up at a woman's door — a blender, a corkscrew, her signature shade of lipstick — they feel so unnervingly tied to her past that it starts to feel like someone is watching her.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Russell Goldman; Writer: Russell Goldman; Stars: Britt Lower, Rhea Seehorn, Jamie Lee Curtis, Anna Baryshnikov, David Dastmalchian, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Mike Mitchell, Edward Torres, Alyssa Limperis, Inger Stratton)

The Shitheads

When two unqualified bozos are hired to transfer a rich teen to rehab, their straightforward gig quickly spirals into dangerous mayhem.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Macon Blair; Writer: Macon Blair; Stars: Dave Franco, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Mason Thames, Kiernan Shipka, Nicholas Braun, Peter Dinklage)

Sinner Supper Club

Relations between a group of friends begin to disintegrate at a gathering one hot night.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Daisy Rosato, Nora Kaye; Writer: Nora Kaye, Daisy Rosato; Stars: Ashil Lee, Elise Kibler, Genevieve Simon, Jayae Riley Jr, Nora Kaye, Sophie Sagan-Gutherz, Daisy Rosato)

The Snake

Review preview for The Snake

Although it’s dealing with potentially grim situations – homelessness, codependency, petty crime – the film is consistently entertaining.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
When an ungovernable fortysomething wild child collides with her venomous mother, her life blows up spectacularly, leaving her evicted and single.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2025; Director: Jenna MacMillan; Writer: Susan Kent; Stars: Susan Kent, Robin Duke, Jonathan Torrens, Emma Hunter, Daniel Petronijevic, Jimbo, Kim Roberts, Kenny Robinson, Jacqueline Robbins, Joyce Robbins)

Full review

Sparks

A newcomer to Sparks, Nevada discovers a cigarette vending machine which inexplicably produces a book on Jean-Luc Godard.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Fergus Campbell; Writer: Fergus Campbell; Stars: Elsie Fisher, Charlie B Foster, Denny McAuliffe, Madison Hu, Simon Downes Toney, Thomas Deen Baker, Julia D'Angelo)

Stages

A musician embarking on his solo first tour after the collapse of his band is unsettled when his support act suddenly becomes much more famous.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Ryan Booth; Writer: Bradley Jackson, Dan Steele; Stars: David Ramirez, Leslie Grace, Jolene, Jake McMullen, Rafael Casal, Abner Ramirez, Amanda Sudano Ramirez, Jerry Ferrara, Marc Menchaca, David Strathairn)

The Sun Never Sets

A woman taking a break from her relationship becomes re-entangled with her ex.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Joe Swanberg; Writer: Joe Swanberg; Stars: Dakota Fanning, Jake Johnson, Cory Michael Smith, Debby Ryan, Anna Konkle, Lamorne Morris, Karley Sciortino)

Thanks For Nothing

When a teenager plans to kill herself, her flatmates try to prevent it but also to keep it secret, not wanting to lose their shared home.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2025; Director: Stella Marie Markert; Writer: Stella Marie Markert; Stars: Lea Drinda, Sonja Weißer, Safinaz Sattar, Zoe Stein, Jan Bülow)

Their Town

Review preview for Their Town

Astutely observed and sensitively performed.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
When Abby’s boyfriend drops out of the high school play, she finds herself helping a school outlier step into the role opposite her. They spend a long night wandering around their town, examining their futures and unearthing surprises from their past.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Katie Aselton; Writer: Mark Duplass; Stars: Ora Duplass, Chosen Jacobs, Will Parker, Kim Shaw, Jeffery Self, Daveed Diggs, Leonardo Nam, Annie Henk, Brad LaBree)

Full review

They Will Kill You

A young woman must survive the night at the Virgil, a demonic cult's lair.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Kirill Sokolov; Writer: Kirill Sokolov, Alex Litvak; Stars: Zazie Beetz, Myha'La, Paterson Joseph, Tom Felton, Heather Graham, Patricia Arquette)

Ugly Cry

An actor becomes obsessed with her character after learning that producers think she has an ugly cry.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Emily Robinson; Writer: Emily Robinson; Stars: Emily Robinson, Ryan Simpkins, Aaron Dominguez, Robin Tunney)

Wishful Thinking

A game designer and a struggling musician are persuaded to attend a couples therapy seminar run by twin healers who claim to fix relationships through energy work. The session triggers a karmic universal system that makes the state of their relationship affect the world around them.

(Country: US; Year: 2026; Director: Graham Parkes; Writer: Graham Parkes; Stars: Lewis Pullman, Maya Hawke, Randall Park, Jake Shane, Kate Berlant, Amita Rao, Eric Rahill)