The Overlook Film Fest's first wave of programming includes Hokum, Leviticus, and Obsession
- Brian Fanelli
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
As far as film festivals go for horror fans, few top The Overlook Film Festival.
The New Orleans-based fest will occur from April 9-12 this year, and like previous installments, it's set to feature some of the buzziest upcoming horror movies. The first wave of programming includes Focus Features' Obsession, directed by Curry Barker, NEON's Hokum, directed by Damien McCarthy (Oddity, Caveat), and NEON's Leviticus, which just played Sundance.
The festival will also present the Master of Horror Award to special effects legend Rick Baker. His effects can be seen in everything from An American Werewolf in London to Men in Black. Meanwhile, Obsession is the opening night film. Leviticus is the centerpiece film, and Hokum will close out the festival. Here are the other films announced.
Boorman and the Devil
Director: David Kittredge
Featuring: John Boorman, Louise Fletcher, Karyn Kusama, Mike Flanagan, Joe Dante
United States, 2025
Hot off the success of his genre defining film, Deliverance, John Boorman takes on his biggest challenge yet – a sequel to one of the most successful horror movies in history, The Exorcist. What could go wrong? This insightful documentary delves deep into the making of one of the biggest bombs in horror history.
Chili Finger
Directors: Edd Benda, Stephen Helstad
Cast: Judy Greer, Sean Astin, Bryan Cranston, John Goodman, Madeline Wise, Paul Stanko, Sarah Herrman, Sara Sevigny, Dann Florek
United States, 2025
When a down on their luck couple find a gruesome surprise at their favorite fast-food chain, they hatch a simple blackmail plot that quickly spins their lives out of control in this bloody, Coen Brothers-esque thriller featuring an all-star cast.
Exit 8
Director: Genki Kawamura
Cast: Kazunari Ninomiya, Yamato Kochi, Naru Asanuma, Kotone Hanase, Nana Komatsu
Japan, 2026
Based on the global hit video game, a man trapped in an endless sterile subway passageway sets out to find Exit 8. The rules of his quest are simple: do not overlook anything out of the ordinary. If you discover an anomaly, turn back immediately. If you don’t, carry on. Then leave from Exit 8. But even a single oversight will send him back to the beginning. Will he ever reach his goal and escape this infinite corridor?
Faces of Death
Director: Daniel Goldhaber
Cast: Barbie Ferreira, Dacre Montgomery, Josie Totah, Charli XCX
United States, 2026
A moderator at a social media platform gets thrown face-first into a macabre mystery when she uncovers a series of visceral snuff videos bearing resemblance to a mythical 1978 cult film. Starring Barbie Ferreira, this New Orleans shot slasher is a thrilling twist on the modern remake.
Goody Goody
WORLD PREMIERE
Director: Raymond Creamer
Cast: Colleen Foy, Samantha Robinson, Zoe Renee, Coby Hollman
United States, 2026
Lulled into a necessary sense of comfort during a long home birth process, expecting parents and their midwife begin to realize that something may be horribly wrong. As labor complications ensue, a blizzard rages outside trapping the family in their home - sitting ducks for whatever sinister presence might be in there with them.
The Holy Boy
Director: Paolo Strippoli
Cast: Michele Riondino, Giulio Feltri
Italy, 2026
Deep in the Italian mountains lives a village of some of the happiest people on earth. Their serenity is about to be broken by the arrival of the new PE teacher who is haunted by his past and determined to uncover the secret of how all of the townspeople are healed weekly by the touch of a 15-year-old boy with special powers.
Never After Dark
Director: Dave Boyle
Cast: Moeka Hoshi, Kento Kaku, Kurumi Inagaki, Mutsuo Yoshioka, Bokuzo Masana, Tae Kimura
Japan, 2025
A medium for hire, assisted by the spirit of her deceased sister, takes on the case of a grotesque apparition that haunts an isolated country home. As she peels back the layers of the spine-tingling investigation, she realizes that the greatest threats don’t lie in the world of the dead, but rather in with the living people around her.
New Group
Directors: Yûta Shimotsu
Cast: Yuzu Aoki, Pierre Taki
Japan, 2026
From the director of the Overlook 2025 winner for Scariest Feature, Best Wishes to All, comes a terrifying new vision of youth, conformity, and authoritarianism as the students inside a modern high school are violently forced to become part of increasingly disturbing, physically demanding and surreal tasks in order to assimilate.
Parasomnia
Directors: James Ross II
Cast: Jasmine Mathews, RJ Brown, Sally Stewart, Stephen Barrington, Danny Brown, Simon Longnight
United States, 2025
When one of her closest friends goes missing, Riley, a young woman haunted by a lifelong battle with debilitating night terrors, must come to terms with the fact that the demonic entity that’s been stalking her dreams since childhood may have followed her home into the real world.
Saccharine
Director: Natalie Erika James
Cast: Midori Francis, Danielle Macdonald, Madeleine Madden
Australia, 2026
Looking for a quick weight loss fix, a medical student accepts a mysterious drug, setting her off on a path of unwanted transformation in this goopy, sickening, violent body-horror from the director of Relic.
Trauma, or Monsters All
WORLD PREMIERE
Director: Larry Fessenden
Cast: Alex Breaux, Joseph Castillo-Midyett, Barbara Crampton, Aitana Doyle, Larry Fessenden, Rigo Garay, Steve Heller, Laetitia Hollard, Alex Hurt, Cody Kostro, James Le Gros
United States, 2026
An aspiring author gets more than she bargained for when she writes an article for the local paper about her small town’s dark history, prompting unwanted speculation on what monsters may lie within. Overlook mainstay Larry Fessenden returns with the thrilling conclusion to his quadrilogy, a thoughtful and fiercely independent monster mash that can be enjoyed on its own or marathoned with his three origin stories – Habit, Depraved and Blackout.
Ugly Cry
Director: Emily Robinson
Cast: Emily Robinson, Ryan Simpkins, Aaron Domínguez, Robin Tunney, Andrew Leeds, Heather Morris, Chalia La Tour, Ray Abruzzo, Sophie Von Haselberg, Josh Ruben, and Melinda McGraw
United States, 2026
An actor's desperate determination to break in Hollywood leads her down a frightening spiral of obsession, delusion and augmentation in this darkly comedic, Repulsion-esque thriller from first time writer-director and star Emily Robinson.
Additional 2026 Overlook Film Fest highlights
Overlook's massive first wave of programming also includes retrospective film presentations of An American Werewolf in London and a number of Larry Fessenden movies, including Blackout, Depraved, and Habit. There will also be a 100th anniversary screening of A Page of Madness, with a live score composed by Jeff Pagano.
For more information about the fest, including tickets, visit the Overlook's website.
For more horror news, commentary, and reviews, be sure to follow The Horror Lounge on Facebook, Twitter/X (@TheHorrorLounge), and Bluesky (@TheHorrorLounge).
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