Starring: Blu Hunt, Ben Smith-Petersen, Katherine Hughes
US Premiere
Alex (Blu Hunt, The New Mutants) is ready to give up on finding love, due to an endless string of meaningless sex, when she hooks up with the charming Kyle. The next morning, though, he’s gone. As she tries to reconnect with him, Alex discovers that Kyle isn’t like other guys-he’s something much more dangerous. With this directorial debut, podcast all-star Elric Kane (co-host of Pure Cinema and FANGORIA’s All the Colors of the Dark) envelops a haunting story of loneliness and yearning within an air of ethereal unease and supernatural mystery. -Matt Barone
Shot on the same sets as Tod Browning’s Dracula and released in the same year, Universal’s Spanish-language take on Bram Stoker’s novel is, in some circles, considered to be the superior film. Carlos Villaraas gives Bela Lugosi a run for his money as the iconic bloodsucker in a Stoker adaptation that’s more sexually charged than its English-language counterpart. Join Brooklyn Horror for a special screening of this largely overlooked film featuring a live score from BHFF mainstays The Flushing Remonstrance. -Matt Barone
Starring: Damian Maffei, Yvonne Emilie Thälker, Marc Romeo, Scott Fowler, Kate Kiddo
NYC Premiere
A man is hired by an AI company to test out their prototype for a BDSM sex doll that bleeds and bruises just like a human. As he spends more time with the doll he is forced to reckon with his own morality and the ethical implications of this technology. Scooter McCrae crafts a complicated story in which tone and theme often clash. This is sure to lead to some fascinating discussions for those who see it. – Tori Potenza
Starring: Bo-Lin Chen, Sandrine Pinna, Gingle Wang, Yi Ti Yao, Bai Bai, Soso Tseng
New York Premiere
After dying a mediocre death and the totem that keeps her among the living being badly damaged, a ghost will have to step her haunting game up in order to avoid getting kicked out of the underworld. To compete with all the top ghosts she joins a small haunting talent agency, literally the only one that would give her a shot. Together with her agent and his only successful client, the legendary but washed-up ghost diva Catherine, she sets out to become the scariest urban legend of them all. John Hsu (2020 Brooklyn Horror selection DETENTION) presents a wonderfully clever fully realized world, filled to the brim with boundless wit and magic. -Joseph Hernandez
Sleep no more after witnessing the terror on display in this chilling block of purely scary horror, complete with Ouija board mishaps, techie ghouls, and cult rituals gone awry.
Dream Creep, dir. Carlos A.F. Lopez (USA); Pop, dir. Josh Jones (USA); Agonist, dir. Annie Marie Elliot (USA); Cease to Exist, dir. Taylor Nodrick (Canada); The Awakening, dir. Al Campbell (UK); Taboo, dir. Almog Avidan Antonir (USA); Inked, dir. Kelsey Bollig (USA); Mr. Static, dir. Mike Williamson (USA); Transylvanie, dir. Rodrigue Huart (France)
East Coast Premiere
On Valentine’s Day of 1945, English farmer Charles Walton was found brutally murdered on the outskirts of his property, triggering a decades-long investigation with ties to witchcraft, vampirism and the occult. Fascinating the entire country of England, the enigmatic homicide inspired classic films like The Wicker Man and, more generally, the rise of British folk horror. Through talking-heads insight and a surplus of film clips, Rupert Russell examines Walton’s death as both a true crime puzzle box and the catalyst for some of the England’s best and most influential horror films. -Matt Barone
