The Popcorn Frights Film Festival is back this year, both in-person and virtually, from August 8-18. They’ve unleashed the first wave of programming, indicating that the fest is going big for its tenth anniversary celebration with new premieres, virtual screenings, and exciting retro showings including the “Lost First Cut” of Brian Yuzna‘s Return of the Living Dead 3.

To add to the pure mayhem of its anniversary celebration, Popcorn Frights 2024’s in-theater experience will be offered free and open to the public, as a gift back to the community for ten years of their dedicated support and moviegoing love. Popcorn Frights’ free festival is made possible by the generous support of Nightmare Weekend Miami.

Highlights include the 35th anniversary presentation of Brian Yuzna’s spectacularly insane masterpiece Society, one of the ickiest, sweatiest, gloopiest, horniest, and most original body horror shockers of all time. The master of horror will also attend the first screening of the “Lost First Cut” of Return of the Living Dead 3, featuring ten minutes of uncovered footage that Brian Yuzna himself hasn’t seen! This exclusive screening event is made possible by filmmakers Dustin Ferguson and Chris MacGibbon, who unearthed this previously unknown cut of the film — a testament to their efforts in uncovering this hidden gem of horror cinema. Legendary directors William Lustig and Adam Rifkin are set to join Popcorn Frights for two special double-bill events.

Brimming with encroaching dread, the festival is also unleashing the supernatural horror film The Grudge with a special 20th anniversary screening attended by writer Stephen Susco. Before the screening, a Masters of Horror Panel will be moderated by Bloody Disgusting and will feature Brian Yuzna, William Lustig, Adam Rifkin, and Stephen Susco. That doesn’t even touch on the brand new premieres and virtual screenings, including a special presentation of IFC Films’ beauty revenge thriller Skincare starring Elizabeth Banks.

The fun doesn’t stop there; a second wave of Popcorn Frights 2024 titles with more than two dozen additional feature film premieres for in-theater and virtual programming will be announced next week.

In the meantime, read on for the packed first wave of Popcorn Frights 2024 programming:

IN THEATER FEATURE FILM LINEUP

OPENING NIGHT DOUBLE-BILL

Beezel

World Premiere

United States | 2024 | 81 Min. | Dir. Aaron Fradkin

A horrifying incident involving a child reveals the malevolent presence of an ancient witch residing within the basement walls.

OPENING NIGHT DOUBLE-BILL

Strange Darling

Florida Premiere

United States | 2023 | 96 Min. | Dir. JT Mollner

Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, and Barbara Hershey star in this acclaimed cat-and-mouse thriller where nothing is what it seems when a twisted one-night stand spirals into a serial killer’s vicious murder spree.

Birthrite

World Premiere

United States | 2024 | 100 Min. | Dir. Ross Partridge

*Director Ross Partridge and actress Jennifer Lafleaur expected in person

When a pregnant woman inherits a home from an estranged aunt, she and her girlfriend leave the city to start anew, only to face a karmic debt that endangers their unborn child and reveals their link to the town’s cursed history.

The Bunker

World Premiere
United States | 2024 | 91 Min. | Dir. Brian Hanson

*Director Brian Hanson expected in person

 When mysterious alien ships appear in the sky, a scientist is sealed in an underground bunker and must create a bio-weapon to stop the unknown visitors, but paranoia and isolation cause her to question the true intention of her mission. Starring Chelsea Edmundson, Tony Todd, and Tobin Bell.

The Demon Disorder

International Premiere

Australia | 2024 | 85 Min. | Dir. Steven Boyle

Three estranged brothers discover a family secret that transforms their deceased father’s garage into a site of supernatural revenge.

Drive Back

World Premiere

United States | 2024 | 94 Min. | Dir. Cody Ashford

*Director Cody Ashford, actors Whit Kunschik and Madonna Magee, producer Orlando J. Gomez, and composer Richard Breakspear expected in person

A couple returning from their engagement party must escape a sinister and seemingly endless road.

The Funeral

East Coast Premiere

Turkey | 2023 | 109 Min. | Dir. Orcun Behram

A hearse driver is secretly tasked with transporting a young girl’s body, only to hear eerie groans from the back of the truck despite her lack of a pulse.

Lizzie Lazarus

World Premiere

United States | 2024 | 91 Min. | Dir. Aviv Rubinstien

*Director Aviv Rubinstien and actors Omar Maskati and Lianne O’Shea expected in person

On the Summer Solstice in 1990, two strangers carry a corpse through the woods in search of a mythical zone they believe can resurrect the dead, only to uncover hidden secrets.

Scared to Death

World Premiere

United States | 2024 | 98 Min. | Dir. Paul Boyd

*Director Paul Boyd, producer Eric Barrett, and actor Kurt Deimer expected in person

A group of filmmakers attend a seance at an abandoned children’s orphanage in order to do research for a movie… that’s their first mistake. Starring Lin Shaye, Bill Moseley, and Kurt Deimer.

Skincare

Special Presentation

United States | 2024 | 97 Min. | Dir. Austin Peters

Famed aesthetician Hope Goldman’s skincare business faces sabotage when rival Angel Vergara opens a boutique across the street. Aided by friend Jordan, Hope seeks to uncover who’s trying to ruin her reputation. Starring Elizabeth Banks and Nathan Fillion.

Voidcaller

World Premiere

Sweden | 2024 | 85 Min. | Dir. Nils Alatalo

A woman waking up with amnesia realizes she may have been involved in something sinister on a cosmic scale.

VIRTUAL FEATURE FILM LINEUP

Chateau

World Premiere

United States | 2024 | 83 Min. | Dir. Luke Genton

While on a French vacation funded by odd jobs, an aspiring influencer covertly films a vlog in a reportedly haunted chateau she’s been hired to clean.

The Darkside of Society

North American Premiere

United States | 2023 | 85 Min. | Dir. Larry Wade Carrell

Screenwriter Zeph E. Daniel, formerly known as Woody Keith, steps out of his closet-of-dark-secrets and tells the incredible story behind the subversive oddity of his cult film, SOCIETY.

The Night Is Young

World Premiere

United States | 2024 | 76 Min. | Dir. Patrick Rea

An influencer filming her failed dates with her brother finds herself on a date with a vampire, leading them to become targets of murderous vampire hunters.

There’s A Zombie Outside

World Premiere

United States | 2024 | 74 Min. | Dir. Michael Varrati

A struggling artist becomes entangled in the world of cult cinema, blurring his identity with his dark creations as the monster from his films invades his reality, leaving him unable to distinguish fact from fiction.

Videoteka

World Premiere

United States | 2024 | 112 Min. | Dir. Luka Bursac

Running from the police, a small-time thief finds refuge in an abandoned video store and, forced to spend the night there, decides to watch three horror films.

IN THEATER RETRO LINEUP

Bringing Out the Dead

25th Anniversary Presentation

United States | 1999 | 121 Min. | Dir. Martin Scorsese

Haunted by the patients he failed to save, a monumentally burned-out Manhattan ambulance paramedic fights to maintain his sanity over three increasingly turbulent nights.

The Grudge

20th Anniversary Presentation

United States | 2004 | 91 Min. | Dir. Takashi Shimizu

*Writer Stephen Susco expected in person

An American nurse living and working in Tokyo is exposed to a mysterious supernatural curse, one that locks a person in a powerful rage before claiming their life and spreading to another victim.

The Invisible Maniac

The Big Sleaze Double-Bill Event

United States | 1990 | 86 Min. | Dir. Adam Rifkin

*Director Adam Rifkin expected in person

An invisible scientist escapes from an asylum and teaches high-school physics to nubile teens.

Maniac

The Big Sleaze Double-Bill Event

United States | 1980 | 87 Min. | Dir. William Lustig

*Director William Lustig expected in person

A psychopathic man goes on a killing and mutilation spree in New York City.

Maniac Cop 2

Right “2” Remain Silent Double-Bill Event

United States | 1990 | 90 Min. | Dir. William Lustig

*Director William Lustig expected in person

A supernatural, maniac killer cop teams up with a Times Square serial killer.

Psycho Cop Returns

Right “2” Remain Silent Double-Bill Event

United States | 1993 | 80 Min. | Dir. Adam Rifkin

*Director Adam Rifkin expected in person

A psychopath cop decides to kill everyone who he thinks has broken the law.

Return of the Living Dead 3

“Lost First Cut”

United States | 1993 | 105 Min. | Dir. Brian Yuzna

*Director Brian Yuzna expected in person

 Having recently witnessed the horrific results of a top secret project to bring the dead back to life, a distraught youth performs the operation on his girlfriend after she’s killed in a motorcycle accident.

Society

35th Anniversary Presentation

United States | 1989 | 99 Min. | Dir. Brian Yuzna

*Director Brian Yuzna expected in person

 An ordinary teenage boy discovers his family is part of a gruesome orgy cult for the social elite.

Access to the in-theater experience is free and open to the public on a first come first served basis, but a limited number of In-Theater All-Access VIP Badges will be available for guests who would like an all-inclusive experience with reserved seating for all films and special events hosted at the Savor Cinema Fort Lauderdale and Paradigm Cinema’s Gateway Theater, Popcorn Frights’ official host venues. Separate virtual passes are also available and will provide access to every film streaming in the festival’s virtual program. To order an In-Theater All-Access VIP Badge, click here, to order a Virtual All-Access Pass, click here.

The post Popcorn Frights Film Festival 2024’s First Wave Includes “Lost First Cut” of ‘Return of the Living Dead 3’ and More appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

A psychological thriller directed by Lorcan Finnegan (Vivarium, Nocebo), The Surfer has been acquired for early 2025 theatrical release by Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions.

Check out a first-look image above and expect more soon.

In The Surfer, when a man (Nicolas Cage) returns to his beachside hometown in Australia, many years since building a life for himself in the U.S., he is humiliated in front of his teenage son by a local gang of surfers who claim strict ownership over the secluded beach of his childhood.

Wounded, “The Surfer” decides to remain at the beach, declaring war against those in control of the bay. But as the conflict escalates, the stakes spin wildly out of control, taking “The Surfer” to the edge of his sanity.

Julian McMahon, Nic Cassim, Miranda Tapsell, Alexander Bertrand, Justin Rosniak, Rahel Romahn, Finn Little and Charlotte Maggi star alongside Nicolas Cage in the upcoming film.

“Lorcan’s movie is a stunning visual experience with an incredible palette, coupled with Nicolas Cage at his absolute best,” Lionsgate’s Lauren Bixby said in a statement this week.

Thomas Martin wrote the screenplay for The Surfer.

The post Nicolas Cage Beach Thriller ‘The Surfer’ Releasing in 2025 appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Iconic Events Releasing will bring Stream to theaters nationwide on August 21, 2024, and Variety reports today that Bill Moseley (The Devil’s Rejects) has joined the cast.

The film’s cast is stacked with familiar faces and fellow horror icons including Tony Todd (Candyman), Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator / Would You Rather), Danielle Harris (Halloween 4, 5 / Hatchet 2), Tim Reid (Stephen King’s IT / WKRP Cincinnati), Dee Wallace (E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial / The Howling), Mark Holton (Leprechaun), Felissa Rose (Sleepaway Camp / A Nun’s Curse), Daniel Roebuck (The Fugitive / Final Destination), Dave Sheridan (Scary Movie / The Devil’s Rejects), Terry Alexander (Day of the Dead / Night of the Living Dead II), David Howard Thornton (Terrifier / Terrifier 2), Charles Edwin Powell (Exorcist III/Screamers), Bob Adrian (The Conjuring 2), Sydney Malakeh (Cheer Camp Killer), Wesley Holloway (Terrifier 2), and Damian Maffei (The Strangers: Prey at Night).

Director Michael Leavy‘s Stream comes from Fuzz on the Lens Productions with the film’s makeup FX being handled by Terrifier and Terrifier 2 director Damien Leone!

You can watch the previously released official theatrical trailer below…

“Stream is a modernized slasher made by horror fans for horror fans and we are extremely excited and honored to be bringing this movie to the big screen for audiences to enjoy together,” Leavy tells Variety. “We have an incredible cast of genre greats who deliver stellar performances, and of course having Terrifier’s Damien Leone and Phil Falcone heading the gore FX we made sure we delivered the goods for our incredible fanbase, but something we are most proud of is its story and arching character development.”

In the film, “As the Keenan’s try to bring their family closer together, they unwittingly enter themselves into a game of life or death. With four deranged killers patrolling the halls of their hotel and competing for the most creative kills, the odds are definitely stacked against them.”

Produced by Steven Della Salla (Terrifier 2, Abnormal Attraction), Jason Leavy (Terrifier 2, Abnormal Attraction), Michael Leavy (Terrifier 2, Abnormal Attraction, Pennywise The Story of IT), Marcus Slabine (Dark Offerings, Island of the Dead), Damien Leone (Terrifier, Terrifier 2), Phil Falcone (Terrifier, Terrifier 2, Joes War) and George Steuber (Terrifier, Terrifier 2).

The post Bill Moseley Joins Multiple Fellow Horror Icons in ‘Stream’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The Black Phone star Mason Thames is gearing up for a Monster Summer, a spooky family adventure from director David Henrie (“Wizards of Waverly Place”). A brand new trailer debuted today, introducing a supernatural coming-of-age story.

Monster Summer arrives in theaters on October 4, 2024.

In the film, “When a mysterious force begins to disrupt their big summer fun, Noah and his friends team up with a retired police detective to embark on a monstrous adventure to save their island.”

The new trailer below leans into the nostalgia of childhood summers with a suspenseful twist, while giving nothing away. It’s also packed with familiar faces.

Lorraine Bracco (Goodfellas, “The Sopranos”), Nora Zehetner (“The Right Stuff”), Noah Cottrell (“The Spiderwick Chronicles), Abby James Witherspoon (Secret Headquarters), Lilah Pate (“Outer Banks”), Julian Lerner (“The Wonder Years”), Patrick Renna (The Sandlot), and Mel Gibson also stars.

The spooky family adventure movie, formerly titled Boys of Summer, was written by Cornelius Uliano and Bryan Schulz (The Peanuts Movie).

“Historically, fairy tales used monsters to personify our deepest fears while empowering young people to overcome them. Now more than ever, we need narratives that inspire courage in the face of darkness. Boys of Summer is a throwback story that conjures up the magic and nostalgia of childhood as its heroes fight monsters old and new,” David Henrie previously told Deadline.

Produced by John Blanford and Dan McDonough of Pastime Pictures, Mark Fasano of Nickel City Pictures, and James Henrie of Novo Media Group.

The post ‘Monster Summer’ Trailer – Mason Thames Takes on Parents and Monsters in Spooky Family Adventure appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Coming this Halloween from the Paramount+ streaming service, Apartment 7A is a brand new prequel to the Roman Polanski horror classic Rosemary’s Baby (1968).

Julia Garner stars in the upcoming horror prequel, and a Vanity Fair preview piece this afternoon is loaded with fresh insights as well as first-look images from the film.

Apartment 7A debuts exclusively on Paramount+ on September 27, 2024. Check out a few new images below and head over to Vanity Fair to see more and learn more.

From director Natalie Erika James (Relic), Apartment 7A will be taking us back to the iconic location for a new story that takes place before Rosemary’s Baby in NYC 1965.

The outlet explains the connection, “Julia Garner’s character, Terry (played in the original by Angela Dorian) is a young woman who crosses paths with Rosemary in the basement laundry room of The Bramford. Terry explains that the Castevets rescued her from homelessness and drug abuse, taking her into their lives and giving her free room and board.”

In Apartment 7A, “When a struggling, young dancer (Julia Garner) suffers a devastating injury, she finds herself drawn in by dark forces when a peculiar, well-connected, older couple promises her a shot at fame.”

“Apartment 7A is the perfect way to kick off the Halloween season,” said Jeff Grossman, Executive Vice President, Programming, Paramount+. “Director Natalie Erika James and the prodigious creative team have crafted a chilling and clever new entry into the genre.”

The psychological thriller is a Paramount+ original movie in association with Paramount Pictures and is based on the novel Rosemary’s Baby by Ira Levin. Directed by James, with a screen story by Skylar James and a script by Natalie Erika James & Christian White and Skylar James, the film is executive produced by Vicki Dee Rock and Alexa Ginsburg, and is produced by John Krasinski, Allyson Seeger, p.g.a, Michael Bay, Andrew Form, p.g.a, and Brad Fuller.

The film from Paramount has been rated “R” for “Some violent content and drug use.”

The post ‘Apartment 7A’ – First Images of Julia Garner in the ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ Prequel appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.