Popcorn Frights Announces The First Wave Of Its 2023 Festival Lineup
Popcorn Frights is back and in 3-D! You read that right, for its ninth edition running from August 10 to August 20, the Miami-based genre festival is unleashing a lineup of 25 films that delve into the darkest corners of international genre cinema, including seven world premieres, and some eye-popping retrospective screenings.
Popcorn Frights’ first wave of films is headlined by a special spotlight on made-in-Florida films. This includes the world premieres of the glam horror queer celebration Big Easy Queens and holiday slasher Santastein.
But the festival isn’t just showing the best in new genre cinema. This year, they’re doing the time warp again with its “1983-D” revival showcase. It’ll feature 3-D screenings of Friday The 13th Part III, Demi Moore’s haunting film debut Parasite 3-D, the underseen slasher Silent Madness 3-D, and Florida-made sequel Jaws 3-D.
A second wave of Popcorn Frights 2023 titles with more than two dozen additional feature film premieres for in-theater and virtual programming will be announced in the coming weeks.
This year’s Popcorn Frights official poster was created by South Florida artist Kent Hernandez. He previously crafted imagery for the event in 2022, and has designed a new original poster for the festival.
POPCORN FRIGHTS IN-THEATER FEATURE FILM LINEUP
Deliver Us
Opening Night, World Premiere
United States | 2023 | 104 Min. | Dirs. Crus Ennis, Lee Roy Kunz
An ancient prophecy is fulfilled when a nun immaculately conceives twins: one is the Messiah and the other the Anti-Christ.
Big Easy Queens
World Premiere
United States | 2023 | 80 Min. | Dir. Erynn Dalton
Set in the seamy underworld, this glam horror musical follows Minnie Bouvèé, Mob Queen of the Quarter, and her rivalry with her arch-nemesis, Poodles Makenzie.
The Dive
US Premiere
Germany | 2023 | 91 Min. | Dir. Maximilian Erlenwein
A dive at one of the world’s most remote spots becomes a fight for survival for two sisters when a landslide sends rocks tumbling into the sea, trapping one in the depths and forcing the other to make life-and-death decisions with no outside help in sight.
Perpetrator
Southeast US Premiere
United States | 2023 | 100 Min. | Dir. Jennifer Reeder
A coming-of-age high-school body-horror tale about a wild and impulsive teenage girl living precariously in a town where young women continue to go missing, and the power she’s forced to unlock to survive.
The Puppetman
World Premiere
United States | 2023 | 96 Min. | Dir. Brandon Christensen
The Puppetman, a convicted killer on death row always maintained his innocence and that it was an evil force controlling his body as he slaughtered his victims. Now the killer’s daughter begins to suspect that there may be some truth to her father’s claim when those around her begin to die in brutal ways. She must try and break the curse of The Puppetman before all her loved ones are killed.
Santastein
World Premiere
United States | 2023 | 87 Min. | Dirs. Benjamin Edelman & Manuel Camilion
A holiday slasher about a young man that resurrects Santa after accidentally killing him years earlier, but who soon realizes that the creature he has raised is a bloodthirsty killer.
Trim Season
Florida Premiere
United States | 2023 | 100 Min. | Dir. Ariel Vida
A group of young people goes to a remote marijuana farm where they hope to make quick cash, but they discover the location’s dark secrets and now must try to escape the mountain on which they are trapped.
POPCORN FRIGHTS VIRTUAL FEATURE FILM LINEUP
Abruptio
Southeast US Premiere
United States | 2023 | 94 Min. | Dir. Evan Marlowe
Featuring the voices of Robert Englund, Jordan Peele, and the late Sid Haig, this puppet horror tale follows a down-on-his-luck man who one day wakes up to find an explosive device has been implanted in his neck.
The Banality
Florida Premiere
United States | 2023 | 78 Min. | Dirs. Michael Stevantoni, Strack Azar
A troubled small-town priest attempts to counsel the family of a boy involved in a sudden and mysterious death while wrestling with his own recurring nightmares.
Brightwood
Southeast US Premiere
United States | 2023 | 84 Min. | Dir. Dane Elcar
In this twisted and mind-bending time loop horror tale a couple find themselves trapped while on a run around a pond.
Eldritch, USA
East Coast Premiere
United States | 2023 | 108 Min. | Dirs. Ryan Smith, Tyler Foreman
In this Lovecraftian horror musical a backwoods cult unleashes forces beyond its control in a quiet Midwestern town.
Ghosts of the Void
Southeast US Premiere
United States | 2023 | 98 Min. | Dir. Jason Miller
Spending the night in her car, a newly homeless woman wrestles with exhaustion, her crumbling marriage, and the threat of mysterious, masked strangers.
The Last Movie Ever Made
Florida Premiere
United States | 2023 | 95 Min. | Dir. Nathan Blackwell
With the world about to end, a man convinces a group of friends and strangers to help finish the sci-fi movie he abandoned in high school.
No More Time
Southeast US Premiere
United States | 2022 | 82 Min. | Dir. Dalila Droege
A couple seeks refuge in a remote mountain town to escape a mysterious viral disease that makes people disappear or turn into murderers. As messengers emerge from the forest, the couple must decide who to trust and what to do to survive.
Psychosis
World Premiere
Australia | 2023 | 98 Min. | Dir. Pirie Martin
A criminal fixer who experiences auditory hallucinations must confront old demons when a mysterious contract drags him into a surreal maelstrom of mind-altering drugs, delusional vigilantes, and a sadistic hypnotist who seems more monster than man.
Puzzle Box
World Premiere
Australia | 2023 | 73 Min. | Dir. Jack Dignan
An addict flees to a house in the woods to self-rehabilitate, where her sister joins to document the process, but the house’s layout begins to change, trapping them inside an inescapable puzzle box.
Quantum Suicide
World Premiere
Canada | 2023 | 87 Min. | Dir. Gerrit Van Woudenberg
A lone physicist builds a particle accelerator in his garage and embarks on a quest to understand the nature of reality.
Saint Drogo
Southeast US Premiere
United States | 2023 | 87 Min. | Dirs. Michael J. Ahern, Ryan Miller, Brandon Perras-Sanchez
A folk-horror tale about a gay couple who take an impromptu trip to Providence, Rhode Island in the winter and confront a secret society corrupted by arcane forces.
Sorry, Charlie
World Premiere
United States | 2023 | 75 Min. | Dir. Colton Tran
A remote helpline volunteer is targeted by a stranger who lures women from their homes with a recording of a crying baby.
T Blockers
Southeast US Premiere
Australia | 2023 | 74 Min. | Dir. Alice Maio Mackay
Ancient parasites rise from a small town, taking the most fearful and susceptible hosts. A young filmmaker finds herself as the only one who can sense the possessed resistance before the horror escapes and spreads.
RETRO LINEUP
Blood Feast
60th Anniversary Presentation
United States | 1963 | 67 Min. | Dir. Hershell Gordon Lewis
*Live Performance
An Egyptian caterer kills various women in Miami Beach to use their body parts to revive a dormant Egyptian goddess while a police detective tries to track him down.
Friday the 13th Part III 3-D
1983-D Special Event
United States | 1982 | 95 Min. | Dir. Steve Miner
Jason Voorhees stalks a group of friends who just arrived to spend the weekend at a cabin near Crystal Lake.
Jaws 3-D
40th Anniversary Presentation
United States | 1983 | 109 Min. | Dir. Joe Alves
A giant thirty-five-foot shark becomes trapped in Orlando’s SeaWorld theme park and it’s up to the sons of police chief Brody to rescue everyone.
Parasite 3-D
1983-D Special Event
United States | 1982 | 85 Min. | Dir. Charles Band
In a post-apocalyptic USA, a doctor/scientist infected with a new strain of parasite ends up in a small desert town, trying to find a cure.
Silent Madness 3-D
1983-D Special Event
United States | 1984 | 93 Min. | Dir. Simon Nuchtern
A psychologist goes undercover as a sorority sister when a serial killer in a mental hospital is freed by a computer glitch and returns to kill again.
Learn more about Popcorn Frights and buy your badges here.
Submissions to the ninth annual Popcorn Frights Film Festival are still open via Film Freeway with the final deadline set for July 10.
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