The latest edition of the Popcorn Frights Film Festival is underway, unleashing movie premieres, repertory screenings, and horror celebrations with much more still to come.
Opening weekend kicked off with a variety of repertory screenings of Psycho Cop Returns, Maniac Cop 2, Maniac, Society, the “lost” cut of Return of the Living Dead 3, and more with the filmmakers in attendance. It also came with a slew of brand new premieres from emerging filmmakers.
Here’s a round-up of some of Popcorn Frights 2024’s feature offerings so far…
Beezel
Director Aaron Fradkin explores the enduring, grisly horrors lurking within the bowels of a New England home via an experimental triptych. Co-written with Victoria Fratz, Beezel begins with an appropriately gnarly child death in the ’60s, shot on Super 8, kicking off three different experiences with witchy terror stretched over six decades. Fradkin puts heavy emphasis on scare-crafting, ensuring every second of screen time is dedicated to the build-up or release of a scare, including all the familiar tactics you’d expect. The magic in Beezel isn’t in its bid to induce chills, though that’s commendable, but rather in its unique narrative structure.
Fradkin seamlessly connects three distinct perspectives and stories through technology in a seamless way. Super 8 grit fades into VHS static as the ’60s jump to the ’80s to close out an era of witchy torment. The transition from analog to digital is particularly inspired, though it heralds in the longest and most unfulfilling story of the three, which sees Fratz step in front of the camera as the unlikeable wife of the home’s latest heir. While Fradkin packs this segment full of lore and nightmarish freak-outs, it’s not enough to mask the narrative and budgetary constraints, further unhelped by the central couple’s lack of chemistry or logic.
Beezel wisely keeps its mythology shrouded in mystery, never overexplaining its hand. Early teases never pan out in the obvious or expected path, and the deaths can be delightfully gory. The rough acting and jump scare tactics can distract, but it’s the innovative narrative structure that sets this gory witch tale apart.
Chateau
Writer/Director Luke Genton‘s screenlife influencer horror movie calls found footage hits like Hell House LLC and Deadstream to mind. Cathy Marks stars as James, an aspiring YouTuber who rents a haunted French chateau on the advice of her best pal Dash (Coltron Tran) in the hopes of going viral. James covertly gets hired as Chateau’s housekeeper, planning to vlog her time there in secret from the homeowner. Of course, the longer James stays, the more she uncovers the truth behind the place: those who die on the property are doomed to linger there in the afterlife.
The friendship between James and Dash is endearing, offsetting some of the pitfalls that come with influencer horror. Specifically, it goes far in humanizing a self-serving protagonist. Genton attempts to further overcome that hurdle by introducing familial trauma, something that factors into James’ arc in the back half, though it’s handled in a familiar, superficial way. Of course, Genton’s aim is simply to deliver a fun, frightful, good time, not reinvent the found footage format. Those who come looking for just that may find it here, largely thanks to the beguiling Chateau itself and the inventive camera setups Genton employs to make this haunted house a character itself. But those tired of the subgenre won’t be moved by the familiar trappings of the found footage format, motion sickness inducing shaky cam in parts and all.
Strange Darling
One of the best genre films of the year, writer/director JT Mollner’s Strange Darling screened in-person at the fest ahead of its release next week on August 23. It’s the type of film that’s best going in blind, packed with narrative turns and unexpected detours, so just know this: the plot follows the exploits of a serial killer who may have met their match. Mollner boldly tells their story nonlinearly, a risky move that pays off in spades thanks to a tremendous pair of lead performances, stunning 35mm cinematography by Giovanni Ribisi (yes, that one), and endless style.
Willa Fitzgerald and Kyle Gallner embark on a violent, thrilling cat-and-mouse game that takes no prisoners- including the audience. Told in six chapters and presented out of order, Strange Darling is a surprising crowd-pleaser that’s meticulously plotted and richly acted. Mollner was recently announced as the screenwriter behind The Long Walk, and it’s not hard to see why with Strange Darling. It’s violent, twisty, and thrilling, so don’t miss it when it releases next week.
There’s a Zombie Outside
Multihyphenate writer/director/producer Michael Varrati goes meta with hyper specificity in There’s a Zombie Outside. Ben Bauer takes on a dual role, sort of, as the star of a cult zombie movie and the actor who plays him. When the film’s horny zombie bleeds over into the real world and begins invading Ben’s LA life, fact and fiction blur and Ben is thrown into an existential nightmare. Varrati explores the crossroads of identity through his lead actor, torn between the distinctly separate worlds of horror and the Los Angeles gay community, deepening the meta layers further by appearing in a voiceover capacity as the cult film’s director.
There’s a Zombie Outside stacks the horror side of the equation full of notable stalwarts, including Tiffany Shepis as Officer Findlay, Peaches Christ, and the voices of Lori Cardille (George Romero’s Day of the Dead) and Elizabeth Coffey (John Waters’ Pink Flamingos and Female Trouble). The stalking zombie is also appropriately great, with a particular make out scene that makes you eager to see the original cult feature nestled within the overarching meta-story. But There’s a Zombie Outside, for all its dizzying bending of reality, is less a horror movie and more an inward meditation on identity. That it spends more time grappling with the industry side of filmmaking and Ben’s Los Angeles friend group diminishes its accessibility to a wider audience. It’s a personal story told with hyperspecificity and an eroding grip on reality, which makes it all the more disorienting for Ben and the viewer.
Stay tuned for additional dispatches from Popcorn Frights.