The 7th edition of Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, presented by Shudder, takes place at Nitehawk Cinema Williamsburg and Williamsburg Cinemas from October 13th–20th, 2022, and the lineup is a doozy! New and premiere features and shorts from around the world are on offer, as well as some fine repertory screenings. Expect monsters, murderers, and mayhem of many varieties! Here are six slices of fright-fare from the fest that we here at The Scariest Things are itching to see. Descriptions from the festival’s official press information follow. You can check out full listings and ticket information at https://brooklynhorror.eventive.org/welcome.

NOCEBO

OPENING NIGHT FILM

East Coast Premiere

Ireland | 2022 | 97 Min. | Dir. Lorcan Finnegan

Successful fashion designer Christine (Eva Green, Penny Dreadful) is plagued by a baffling ailment that causes a myriad of issues including paralyzing muscle spasms, memory loss and terrible hallucinations. Much to her surprise, a mysterious Filipino caretaker named Diana arrives on her doorstep claiming Christine hired her to help with the house. When Diana begins to use traditional folk remedies to heal Christine, she causes a rift between her and her husband Felix (Mark Strong, 1917, THE KINGSMAN franchise) and slowly unravels the disturbing truth behind Christine’s illness. Brooklyn Horror is proud to welcome back Lorcan Finnegan to the fest, director of eco-horror WITHOUT NAME (BHFF 2016 Best Feature winner) and psychological thriller VIVARIUM. Based on the Nocebo Effect—the idea that negative thinking will lead to negative results—NOCEBO is a mind-bending folk horror stunner with haunting real-world implications.

Falcon Lake

Centerpiece Film

East Coast Premiere

Canada, France | 2022 | 99 Min. | Dir. Charlotte Le Bon

Caught between childhood and adulthood, Bastien and Chloè spend their summer vacation with their families at a haunted lake cabin in rural Quebec. Tropes of drowning, ghosts, and death linger throughout the assured debut by actor turned director Charlotte Le Bon that follows two teens whose few days together will ultimately change them forever.

Evil Eye

East Coast Premiere

Mexico | 2022 | 100 Min | Dir. Isaac Ezban

With all hope seemingly lost, and needing time to themselves to find the best medical care, a critically sick young girl’s parents leave her and her older sister at grandma’s house, where bedtime stories about a demonic shapeshifter turn out to be more than fiction.

Summoners

World Premiere

USA | 2022 | 88 Min. | Dir. Terence Krey

Former witch Jessica Whitman hasn’t casted a spell in almost ten years. When her childhood friend Alana Wheeler desperately seeks her help in performing a dark spell, Jessica is plunged back into a world of witchcraft more dangerous and powerful than ever before. Terence Krey and Christine Nyland, the filmmaking team behind 2020’s indie gem AN UNQUIET GRAVE, followed their witchy hearts with this deeply humanistic chiller co-starring indie icon Larry Fessenden. 

Year of the Shark 

East Coast Premiere

France | 2022 | 84 Min | Dir. Ludovic Boukherma, Zoran Boukherma

Tough and humorless maritime cop Maja is finally ready for well-deserved retirement when bodies begin washing up on the shore. As she becomes hell-bent on proving it’s all a bloodthirsty shark’s doing, the community shrugs off her warnings. 

Mother, May I?

World Premiere

USA | 2022 | 99 Min. | Dir. Laurence Vannicelli

Emmett (Kyle Gallner, JENNIFER’S BODY, DINNER IN AMERICA) enters into a nightmarish game of therapy with his wife Anya (Holland Roden, Teen Wolf, Channel Zero) who has inexplicably taken on the persona of his estranged and recently-deceased mother. Bizarre and creepy in equal doses, this psychological thriller from director Laurence Vannicelli (co-writer/EP of 2019’s PORNO) will keep you guessing if this is truly possession or just a twisted battle of wills?