Per usual, 2023’s Overlook Film Festival features several horror gems that viewers will need to put on their radar in the year to come. Check out our full coverage of the festival after the jump, including titles from the lineup that we have previously reviewed at other fests!
Films
ABBERANCE
SXSW Midnighters are often host to some of my favorite movies at the festival; last year, Hypochondriac, Sissy, Watcher, and X all emerged from this category. Thus, my expectations for Mongolian import Aberrance were rather high indeed. A middle-aged couple settling down in a cabin deep out in the wilderness almost instantly meet their friendly neighbor. Strange behavior begins occurring, particularly at the behest of the nurturing husband Erkhme (Erkhembayar Ganbat), helpless to what may be happening to his artistic wife, Selenge (Selenge Chadraabal). Selenge’s health seems to be waning as she slams her head against walls and has jarring breakdowns. An axe is always tantalizingly close to the action. At only seventy-five minutes in length, one would expect the film to be rather fast-paced in nature. This could not be further from the truth, as Aberrance saves its only nasty bits for the final ten minutes, attempting to pack on multiple twists to make up for its obvious narrative shortcomings. An erratic filmmaking style and inconsistent performances add to a relatively underwhelming whole.
ACCUSED
Accused is a captivating thriller that places toxic cancel culture and doxxing at center stage, amplifying blatant racism we see on the regular in places like Twitter and Facebook. After a horrifying bombing at London’s central station goes viral as Harri (Sex Education’s Chaneil Kular) commutes to his parent’s home, his girlfriend, Chloe (Lauryn Ajufo), video chats him. The prime suspect looks an awful lot like Harri; in fact, he could be Harri’s doppelgänger. We are forced to watch as news of Harri’s alleged involvement in the #LondonBombing spreads like wildfire, all over a classmate revealing his identity online and similarities to the perpetrator. Harri’s Facebook practically implodes, inundated with messages and friend requests. Before long, the film devolves into a basic home invasion gone awry as it spirals wildly out of control. While Accused mainly excels at being a surface-level propulsive thriller, its timely focus on one man’s harrowing experience definitely leaves a bloody mark. Beware: dead dog alert.
APPENDAGE
Previously reviewed for SXSW Film Festival.
CLOCK
Full review at the link.
LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL
Full review at the link.
MY ANIMAL
Part of the Midnights selection at Sundance and already picked up by Paramount for global distribution, horror/romance/drama My Animal is an easy film to recommend. A lesbian-charged werewolf movie unlike any other, director Jacqueline Castel brings an erotic, surrealistic touch to the proceedings. Heather (Bobbi Salvor Menuez) has a complicated home life to put it mildly—this includes attempting to manage her raging alcoholic mother, and Heather’s own lycanthropic tendencies at the approach of each full moon. Complicated figure skater Jonny (Amandla Stenberg) enters Heather’s life at just the right time. Both women have bruises and scratches, whether physical or mental. Rippling with rich chemistry between Bobbi and Amandla, My Animal is a dark and stylish find that could be a future LGBT favorite for many.
TRIM SEASON
As a self-proclaimed connoisseur of the medicinal properties in cannabis, I was very excited for a little horror movie called Trim Season. It certainly starts interestingly enough—a gory opening sequence that results in two girls completely mutilating one another against their will using thick scissors is quite nasty indeed. Next, we follow Emma, freshly fired from a diner job and looking for a way to make up her three-months-past-due rent. Good thing it is bud trimming season, in which the lucky few can make big bucks simply curing and trimming weed for consumption. With the prospect of making as much as $5,000 for simply two weeks of work, Emma and a batch of others head to “The Hollow,” deep out in “Cannabis Country” lorded over by the intimidating Mona. While the setup of Trim Season drew me in, it is quickly let down by shoddy effects, spotty acting, nonsensical supernatural elements, and a final act worthy of major eye rolls. Stick with David Arquette’s deliciously oddball slasher The Tripper or even 2007’s ultra-silly Shrooms the next time an itch for the psychedelic crops up.
My favorite new film of the fest was definitely Late Night with the Devil. We hope to revisit this epic festival again next year, regardless of what spooky delights it will hold!