Last week, South by Southwest announced their features lineup for this year’s festival, which runs from March 13-21. Absent from the slew of films were the Midnighters and the Shorts. Today, SXSW released the titles of 11 Midnight features and 106 short films for their various programs.
I will not spend too much time on the shorts. There are so many of them, and there is a very high probability I will not see any of them, unless they play before a feature. The Midnighters, on the other hand, can make for some really entertaining movies. Last year’s program included the terrific The Guest and the fairly good Honeymoon, so even if it ends up being only one or two good ones, it is usually a fun time to stay up late and see some thrillers or horror films.
The short synopsis for The Corpse of Anna Fritz jumped out at me:
Anna Fritz, a famous and beautiful actress, has died recently. Three young men sneak into themorgue to see her naked. Fascinated by her beauty, they decide to become the last people to have sex with her.
I mean, come on. That sounds like it could be really messed up (in the best way). The title Deathgasm also caught my attention, obviously. Other titles of interest include Excess Flesh and We Are Still Here.
You can check out the full Midnighters slate below, and if you want to see the full lineup, you can do so here. Next week, they will announce a few more titles, the full Conference lineup, and release the schedule. Then I will be able to finally break down what I will be seeing. I cannot wait!
Midnighters
- The Corpse of Anna Fritz (dir. Hèctor Hernández Vicens)
Anna Fritz, a famous and beautiful actress, has died recently. Three young men sneak into themorgue to see her naked. Fascinated by her beauty, they decide to become the last people to have sex with her. - Deathgasm (dir. Jason Lei Howden)
New kid in town Brodie and bad-boy Zakk quickly bond over their mutual admiration of heavymetal. But when these two metal thrashing losers unwittingly summon malevolent forces, their dreams of stardom may just have to be put on hold. - The Diabolical (dir. Alistair Legrand)
When a single mother and her two young children are tormented by an increasingly strange and intense presence, she turns to her science teacher boyfriend to help take on the violent forces that paranormal experts are too frightening to face. - Excess Flesh (dir. Patrick Kennelly)
Obsessed with her sexy roommate, Jill violently imprisons Jennifer in their apartment in a twisted attempt to bring them closer together. - HANGMAN (dir. Adam Mason)
Returning from vacation, the Miller family find their home has been broken into. After cleaning up the mess they continue with their lives, shaking off the feeling of being violated. But little do they know the nightmare has just begun. - He Never Died (dir. Jason Krawczyk)
Jack is a man battling his eternal struggle with cannibalism. There are very few reasons to live when you can’t die. - The Invitation (dir. Karyn Kusama)
While attending a dinner party at his former home, a man thinks his ex-wife and her new husband have sinister intention for their guests. - The Nightmare (dir. Rodney Ascher)
The Nightmare is an original horror documentary from the Oscar winning producer of Undefeated, the producer of Jiro Dreams of Sushi, and the producer of The Pact and is directed by Rodney Ascher, the acclaimed director of the Room 237. - Pod (dir. Mickey Keating)
A family intervention goes horrifically awry within the snowy confines of an isolated lake house. - Turbo Kid (dir. RKSS Collective)
In a post-apocalyptic future, The Kid, a young solitary scavenger obsessed with comic books must face his fears and become a hero when he meets a mysterious girl named APPLE. - We Are Still Here (dir. Ted Geoghegan)
In the cold, winter fields of New England, there sits a house that wakes up every 30 years and demands a sacrifice.
