POPCORN FRIGHTS ANNOUNCES FIRST WAVE OF PROGRAMMING TO CELEBRATE ITS 10TH ANNIVERSARY FEATURING A FREE IN-THEATER FESTIVAL EXPERIENCE

Highlights include the World Premiere of BEEZEL as well as STRANGE DARLING starring Kyle Gallner on Opening Night; ten feature film World Premieres including SCARED TO DEATH starring Lin Shaye; a 35th Anniversary Presentation of SOCIETY and the First Showing of the “Lost First Cut” of RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 3 with director Brian Yuzna; a Right “2” Remain Silent Double-Bill of MANIAC COP 2 and PSYCHO COP RETURNS with William Lustig and Adam Rifkin; a 25th Anniversary Presentation of Martin Scorsese’s BRINGING OUT THE DEAD; and a Special Presentation of IFC Films’ SKINCARE starring Elizabeth Banks

The Tenth Annual Popcorn Frights Film Festival will be a hybrid experience presenting both in-theater and virtual film offerings from August 8-18, 2024

Popcorn Frights celebrates its 10th anniversary with a first wave announcement headlined by 24 boundary-pushing and mind-enhancing feature films, including eleven world premieres as well as a stacked cult classics lineup that pays homage to horror’s titans, and with many more screams, surprises, delights, and film premieres, yet to come!

To add to the pure mayhem of its anniversary celebration, Popcorn Frights’ in-theater experience will be largely offered free with a suggested admission, 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.

Opening Popcorn Frights with a scream is a special double-bill featuring the world premiere of Epic Pictures’ BEEZEL, an unforgiving and utterly frightening morality tale about a cursed home and the sinister secret dwelling beneath its floors — an eternal witch with an insatiable thirst for the souls of the living. The festival will also host the Florida Premiere of the acclaimed cat-and-mouse serial killer thriller STRANGE DARLING starring Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, and Barbara Hershey. Audiences will need to brace themselves for the unhinged chaos that will be released within the eerie confines of Savor Cinema, a state-of-the-art theater that was once a Methodist Church in the 1940s.

Running August 8-18, Popcorn Frights’ first wave of films features horror legends celebrating the festival’s anniversary with special screenings of their iconic works. 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. One program, titled “Right ‘2’ Remain Silent,” will feature MANIAC COP 2 and PSYCHO COP RETURNS, two of the deadliest, outrageously gory, and completely insane film sequels from the 90s. Helping audiences rediscover the maniac inside them, the filmmakers will also host a “Big Sleaze” double-bill showcasing their gruesome and fun-as-hell cult classics THE INVISIBLE MANIAC and MANIAC. As part of the special night celebrating all things “maniac,” they will engage in an extended sit-down conversation with each other about their work in the slasher genre.

Popcorn Frights will take audiences on a Dantean journey across nocturnal Manhattan in Martin Scorsese’s last film set in contemporary New York City — and his last collaboration with TAXI DRIVER screenwriter Paul Schrader — in a special presentation of their out-of-its-mind-horror-comedy BRINGING OUT THE DEAD for its 25th anniversary. A frightening meditation on the fragility of life starring Nicholas Cage as a night-shift paramedic who, in the course of one long dusk-to-dawn voyage, travels through a litany of ghoulish and gristly encounters in a fumbling quest for redemption.

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 Meagan Navarro of Bloody Disgusting and will feature Brian Yuzna, William Lustig, Adam Rifkin, and Stephen Susco.

A macabre summer pilgrimage for genre lovers from all over where past and present merge, this year’s Popcorn Frights is proudly unveiling eleven feature film world premieres as part of its selection of wild, weird, and badass genre titles that defy categorization. Among the unmissable highlights are the horror comedy SCARED TO DEATH starring Lin Shaye and Bill Mosely with creature creations by Legacy FX, the maestros best known for GODZILLA X KONG, AVATAR, THE SHAPE OF WATER, and ALIEN: ROMULUS.

Additional films receiving world premieres at the festival are the sci-fi thriller THE BUNKER starring Tony Todd, Tobin Bell, and Chelsea Edmundson; the wild descent into a psychedelic Lovecraft nightmare VOIDCALLER; the darkly twisted DRIVE BACK that puts a fresh spin on slasher conventions; the demonically frightening BIRTHRITE about a mother’s ultimate sacrifice; and the mystery riddled LIZZIE LAZARUS, which follows two strangers carrying a corpse through the woods looking for a mythical zone.

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.

Recognized as the largest genre film event in the Southeast U.S. and one of “The World’s 50 Best Genre Festivals” by MovieMaker Magazine, Popcorn Frights will complement its in-theater festival program with an online virtual component, granting audiences across the entire United States the opportunity to immerse themselves in the heart-pounding, adrenaline-fueled experience of the festival, no matter where they are. The festival’s virtual program will be ticketed and virtual passes will also be available offering streaming access to the entire online lineup.

Popcorn Frights’ virtual program is headlined by the world premieres of the found footage anthology film VIDEOTEKA featuring creative, grisly, and chaotic terrors to feed gore-hungry souls; the meta-horror tale THERE’S A ZOMBIE OUTSIDE; the haunted house scarefest CHATEAU; and the found footage-style LGBTQ vampire tale THE NIGHT IS YOUNG; as well as the North American premiere of THE DARK SIDE OF SOCIETY, the incredible story behind director Brian Yuzna and screenwriter Zeph E. Daniel’s subversive cult classic, SOCIETY.

Other highlights playing as part of the festival in-theater program include the international premiere of the new Shudder original THE DEMON DISORDER; the East Coast premiere of the Turkish zombie love story THE FUNERAL; and a special presentation of IFC Films’ beauty revenge thriller SKINCARE starring Elizabeth Banks.

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.

This year’s Popcorn Frights official poster was created by South Florida artist Kent Hernandez, who previously crafted imagery for the event in 2022 and 2023, and has designed a new original poster for the festival.

The tenth edition of the Popcorn Frights Film Festival is made possible with the support of its generous sponsors, including AGFA, Dark Sky Films, Epic Pictures, Fangoria, Flick Direct, Kino Cult, MVD, Nightmare Weekend Miami, Paradigm Cinemas, Paramount Scares, Savor Cinema, and its loyal fans.

IN-THEATER FEATURE FILM LINEUP
(First Wave):

OPENING NIGHT DOUBLE-BILL
Beezel
World Premiere
USA | 2024 | Dir. Aaron Fradkin

OPENING NIGHT DOUBLE-BILL
Strange Darling
Florida Premiere
USA | 2023 | Dir. JT Mollner

Birthrite
World Premiere
USA | 2024 | Dir. Ross Partridge
*Director Ross Partridge and actress Jennifer Lafleaur expected in person

The Bunker
World Premiere
USA | 2024 | Dir. Brian Hanson
*Director Brian Hanson expected in person

The Demon Disorder
International Premiere
Australia | 2023 | Dir. Steven Boyle

Drive Back
World Premiere
USA | 2024 | Dir. Cody Ashford
*Directors Cody Ashford, actors Whit Kunschik and Madonna Magee, producer Orlando J. Gomez, and composer Richard Breadspear expected in person

The Funeral
East Coast Premiere
Turkey | 2023 | Dir. Orcun Behram

Lizzie Lazarus
World Premiere
USA | 2024 | Dir. Aviv Rubinstien
*Director Aviv Rubinstien and actors Omar Maskati and Lianne O’Shea expected in person

Scared to Death
World Premiere
USA | 2024 | Dir. Paul Boyd
*Director Paul Boyd, producer Eric Barrett, and actor Kurt Deimer expected in person

Skincare
Special Presentation
USA | 2024 | Dir. Austin Peters

Voidcaller
World Premiere
Sweden | 2024 | Dir. Nils Alatalo

VIRTUAL FEATURE FILM LINEUP
(First Wave):

Chateau
World Premiere
USA | 2024 | Dir. Luke Genton

The Darkside of Society
North American Premiere
USA | 2023 | Dir. Larry Wade Carrell

The Night Is Young
World Premiere
USA | 2024 | Dir. Patrick Rea

There’s A Zombie Outside
World Premiere
USA | 2024 | Dir. Michael Varrati

Videoteka
World Premiere
USA | 2024 | Dir. Luka Bursac

RETRO FILM LINEUP
(First Wave):

Bringing Out the Dead
25th Anniversary Presentation
USA | 1999 | Dir. Martin Scorsese

The Grudge
20th Anniversary Presentation
USA | 2004 | Dir. Takashi Shimizu
*Writer Stephen Susco expected in person

The Invisible Maniac
The Big Sleaze Double-Bill Event
USA | 1990 | Dir. Adam Rifkin
*Director Adam Rifkin expected in person

Maniac
The Big Sleaze Double-Bill Event
USA | 1980 | Dir. William Lustig
*Director William Lustig expected in person

Maniac Cop 2
Right “2” Remain Silent Double-Bill Event
USA | 1990 | Dir. William Lustig
*Director William Lustig expected in person

Psycho Cop Returns
Right “2” Remain Silent Double-Bill Event
USA | 1993 | Dir. Adam Rifkin
*Director Adam Rifkin expected in person

Return of the Living Dead 3
“Lost Final Cut”
USA | 1993 | Dir. Brian Yuzna
*Director Brian Yuzna expected in person

Society
35th Anniversary Presentation
USA | 1989 | Dir. Brian Yuzna
*Director Brian Yuzna expected in person