by Avery Coffey, Staff Writer

As a former Floridian, imagine my surprise when I found that a horror film festival had always been right under my nose. Celebrating their 10 year mark this year, this genre fest has earned several accolades with “best” in the name. Igor Shteyrenberg & Marc Ferman have watched their 5-film showcase transform into a space for the horror community and industry professionals to celebrate their passions together. Some of our favorite recent watches, such as Terrifier 2 and Smile, had their Florida premieres at Popcorn Fright Fest.

While they’ve made a name for themselves in our expansive community, they’ve also gained a charitable reputation for the way that the festival gives back to its local community. In years prior, they’ve donated portions of their proceeds to address natural disasters and anti-LGBTQ+ legislation in the sunshine state. The in-theater experience is offered for free this year with a suggested donation: made possible by Nightmare Weekend Miami. Their newly adopted hybrid model will allow out-of-state horror nerds to tune in and financially support their initiatives!

If I could talk about every single film in their program, I graciously would. It would take me several days, though, with how stacked it is! A total of 131 films are set to premiere both in-theater and virtually, including 22 World Premieres and 83 short films beginning August 8 until August 18. They’ll take what you know of the genre, twist it, bend it, bop it, and serve it to you on a fresh plate with a palette cleanser. That can very well be said about the below selections from the program.

Features

Videoteka
Directed by Luka Bursac
North American Premiere August 9

There’s something about the use of VHS tapes in movies, ala The Ring, that I’m always drawn to. This homage to horror lovers takes place in an old video store with a thief on the run. The electric tone of the trailer drew me in: deep bass, neon lights, and the eroticism. We can agree that these are the three pillars to a schlocky horror VHS, right? The thief uses his time camping out to explore the movie options. He might be on the run, but I respect a cinephile when I see one. Each movie he pops into the VCR builds out this Swedish anthology that I’ll be buckled up for!

BIRTHRITE
Directed by Ross Partridge
North American Premiere August 11

I look for two things when browsing the selections of a film festival program, one of which being queer representation. Ross Partridge’s fifth directorial project focuses on a pregnant woman (Alice Kremelberg) and her girlfriend as they settle into their new home outside of the city. The livelihood of their unborn child is threatened by a karmic debt that uncovered deeper secrets of the town’s history. Perhaps we’re in for some parallelism to Rosemary’s Baby!

Scared to Death
Directed by Paul Boyd
North American Premiere August 11

Every now and then, I need a horror flick with low stakes and high energy! The familiar faces of Lin Shaye and Bill Moseley star in this horror comedy following the cast and crew of a horror film in production. Our protagonist persuades his boss into having a field trip to an abandoned children’s shelter for a seance in the name of research purposes. Any Lin Shaye fan can call this a bad plan. I believe the production utilized some practical effects from Legacy FX, who is known for their work on GODZILLA X KONG and Alien: Romulus.

There’s a Zombie Outside
Directed by Michael Varrati
North American Premiere August 11

Last Christmas, I decided to watch a random holiday anthology movie on Peacock. Some of those shorts were intended to be scary… but one stood out. Michael Varrati’s approach to horror seems to be inspired by the camp within the genre: horror gays THIRST for camp. In his newest directorial project, a struggling queer artist loses himself in his passion for cult cinema. Matters do, in fact, get worse when the monster of his films seeps into his reality. It’s described to be meta-horror, so I’m looking forward to the fun quips and jabs!

The one thing I admire most about horror film festivals is the magic in the air (cue the Nicole Kidman ad). The films mentioned, and the other 100+ in the program, show a love for the genre and those that paved the way for the filmmakers behind the stories. Popcorn Fright Film Fest celebrates the past, present, and future. With the showing of The Activated Man and premiere of The Bunker, attendees will celebrate the black horror legacy of Tony Todd. This is the first year they’ve awarded the Golden Skull to honor the horror legends that have made their mark. If you’re really quiet, you can hear all Black horror fans crying happy tears.

Summerween has been all of the talk since April! The crew behind the festival aren’t new to the spooky celebrations, though. When asked about the festival being in August, Igor said, “Evil loves to party”. New films aren’t the only presentations creeping into town. That’s like only adding new songs to your party playlist. You need some throwbacks: the crowd pleasers! This year’s highlight, for me at least, is the Up All Night with Freddy marathon on the very last night of the festival to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Elm Street franchise. The Florida premiere of Bollywood’s Krueger-inspired horror musical MAHAKAAL will round it out and mark the end of another frightful feat!

No matter where you’re at, you can tune in from August 8th-August 18th: get your virtual passes here!