US Premiere
Jayro Bustamante follows up his incredible ghost story, La Llorona, with this fairy tale-like nightmare. Bustamante excels at blending genres and using horror to depict systematic violence towards marginalized people. While tonally different the story feels akin to Sucker Punch. While the content in Rita can be hard to grapple with, it is beautifully put together and it’s easy to become invested in Rita and her friends as they try to escape real world horrors.
Hatched
The Soul Eater
Starring: Virginie Ledoyen, Paul Hamy, Sandrine Bonnaire
East Coast Premiere
Jump-started by a perplexing murder scene of absolute carnage and a group of missing children, two investigators from different departments are sent down the same dark and unforgiving trail. As the bodies continue to pile up and another child disappears, all clues lead to the local legend of The Soul Eater. A chilling crime procedural with plenty of gore to spare from directing team and horror genre mainstays Julien Maury and Alejandre Bustillo (Inside and Livid). -Joseph Hernandez
The Rule of Jenny Pen
East Coast Premiere
After suffering a stroke in the courtroom, a curmudgeonly judge (the great Geoffrey Rush) is forced to live in a nursing home. As if that’s not bad enough, a psychotic fellow resident (John Lithgow in pure beast mode) pays him nightly visits where he terrorizes him both physically and via devious mind games. Who will win the ensuing battle of wits? We, the viewers, definitely win in James Ashcroft’s brilliantly acted and altogether excellent sophomore feature, adding unhinged black comedy to the nihilism seen in his Sundance-premiering 2021 debut, Coming Home in the Dark. -Matt Barone
Fear in Focus: Spain
Presented by Arrow Video
Brooklyn Horror is proud to dedicate this year’s Fear in Focus sidebar to the amazing genre films of Spain. This special shorts program of new Spanish frights includes tales of merciless revenge, spine-chilling supernatural terrors and gut-wrenching body horror.
Be Right Back, dir. Lucas Paulino, Gabe Ibáñez; Apotemnofilia, dir. Jano Pita; Nap, dir. Javier Chavanel; The Visitor, dir. Tony Morales; Don’t Talk to Strangers, dir. Imanol Ortiz López; Voyager, dir. Pablo Pagán; Berta, dir. Lucía Forner Segarra
Psychonaut
Starring: Julia Batelaan, Fiona Dourif, Yasmin Blake, Lloydd Hamwijk
World Premiere
A futuristic healing machine capable of piercing into one’s dreams is Maxime’s only hope to save her dying girlfriend. Along with the help of the machine’s creator, her mother Samantha (played by a wonderful Fiona Dourif), Max must traverse into the dark recesses of her lover’s mind in order to locate the “essential memory” that could save her life. Indie sci-fi done right, Psychonaut boasts an eye-catching visual flair as it impressively oscillates between genres. -Joseph Hernandez
Generation Terror
Starring: Adam Wingard, James Wong, Rob & Sheri Moon Zombie, Neil Marshall, Joe Lynch, Xavier Gens, Srdjan Spasojevic
North American Premiere
The turn of the millennium was marked by distinct social upheaval that had a profound effect on the kinds of horror films being released. With diverse horror experts and filmmakers, Generation Terror takes a look at the late 90s through the 2000s and examines the mark it left on global horror film history. While many of these films were panned for their extreme violence, the documentary utilizes an analytical lens to show the value in these films. – Tori Potenza
Somnium
Starring: Chloe Levine, Will Peltz, Peter Vack, Clarissa Thibeaux, Grace Van Dien, Gillian White, with Draya Michele and Johnathon Schaech
NY Premiere
Gemma moves to LA, hoping to become an actress. She takes an overnight gig at a sleep clinic that promises to make their clients’ dreams come true. But the longer she spends there, the more it becomes clear that something sinister is going on. Somnium joins the growing movement of “Jungian” horror that taps into our unconscious mind and secrets and terrors it has waiting to be discovered. – Tori Potenza
Bone Lake
Starring: Alex Roe, Maddie Hasson, Marco Pigossi, Andra Nechita
New York Premiere
Diego and Sage plan a romantic weekend away to alleviate their domestic strife. When they find another couple has rented the same place as them they agree to share the space. As the couples spend more time together tensions mount and begins to seem that the other couple may have their own intentions for the weekend. From the director of A Spoonful of Sugar, Bone Lake will constantly have you wondering what kind of film you are watching. – Tori Potenza
Exorcismo
New York Premiere
After the death of General Franco in 1975, Spain experienced a cultural shift that rippled through their film industry. Stripped of the conservative chains and sexual repression of the Franco dictatorship, Spanish filmmakers were finally allowed to put their wildest erotic thoughts on screen and this especially found its way into the horror and genre cinema of the time. EXORCISMO dives into these influential years dubbed the Transition era that gave birth to one of the most inspired film movements in all of genre cinema. Narrated by Iggy Pop. -Joseph Hernandez
Gazer
Starring: Ariella Mastroianni
NYC Premiere
Suffering from dyschronometria, which affects her ability to no how much time has passed, Frankie is struggling to keep the job needed to provide for her daughter. When an opportunity to make a lot of money, albeit illegally, presents itself, Frankie can’t say no, but accepting the job leads to a downward spiral of psychological destruction, crime and death. A knockout example of DIY filmmaking at its best, New Jersey native Ryan J. Sloan’s Cannes selection cleverly and uniquely taps into the unease of 1970s paranoid thrillers with bursts of early Cronenberg body horror. -Matt Barone
