Another year, another Overlook Film Festival, one of the premier genre festivals in the country. Unfortunately, this year, the main players of The Scariest Things were unable to attend the festival in person. Eric was able to get some of the films to stream, but, as is the norm, remote screeners were limited and did not include the showcase films. Fortunately for us, one of our loyal Patreon Contributors, Robin Marcotte, was in attendance again, and she helped fill in the gaps we missed. This year, there were a number of good films, and according to Robin, one GREAT film. This year, we watched fourteen films and thirty shorts. Give our recap a listen to hear our thoughts on the 2026 Overlook presentation.
It pains me not to attend Overlook. It is one of my favorite events every year, but this doldrums economy forced me to be cautious with my funds, so I resorted to reviewing their films remotely. The pandemic spoiled stay-at-home movie critics, as nobody could attend festivals in person. All the films were remote. The times have reverted back, however, and one of the poorly held secrets is that film festivals rarely ever make their centerpiece films available for remote review. SXSW, Sundance, Overlook… the bigger films just don’t get the distributor go-ahead. However, some independent films were made available, and that was true for 2026.
Fortunately for us, one of our valued Patreon patrons, Robyn Marcotte, was, as usual, in attendance, as she is a New Orleans local. Shockingly, many of the releases with known quantity actors and/or directors failed to connect with Robyn. Proof positive that The Scariest Things is not a shill for festival darling films! Still, there were a number of gems worth watching.
Films we were able to cover:
- Obsession, directed by Curry Barker
- Hokum, directed by Damian McCarthy
- Leviticus, directed by Adrian Chiarella
- American Dollhouse, directed by John Valley
- Buffet Infinity, directed by Simon Glassman
- Chili Finger, directed by Edd Benda and Stephen Helstad
- Cramps! A Period Piece, directed by Brooke H. Cellars
- Never After Dark, directed by Dave Boyle
- New Group, directed by Yuta Shimotsu
- Normal, directed by Ben Wheatley
- Parasomnia, directed by James Ross II
- Suffocation directed by Louis Chan and Stone Chang
- Ugly Cry, directed by Emily Robinson
So, plenty of new material to find out about!
Standout Short Films include:
- “The Dysphoria” (AUS), directed by Kylie Aoibheann
- “Hot Water” (USA), directed by Myles Gunter and Cassie Cramer
- “Scissors” (USA), directed by Hannah Aline
- “Man Eating Pussy” (Canada), directed by Lee Lawson
- “Carousel” (USA), directed by Christopher Kosakowski
- “Haint” (USA), directed by Jahmil Eady
- “Breeder” (USA), directed by Sapphire Sandalo
- “House Cat (USA), directed by Kyle Spleiss
- “Steak Dinner” (USA), directed by Nathan Mark Ginter
- “Darkroom” (USA), directed by Matthew Black
Here is the link to Episode 211: The Overlook Festival Recap
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