The newest edition of the SXSW Film & TV Festival arrives this week, and I’m excited to toss some must-see movies out for your reading pleasure! Check out my picks after the jump…
DEAD EYES
For admirers of found footage—and first-person survival horror video games—Dead Eyes is an absolute must-see. The entire film unfolds through the eyes of Sean (Rijen Laine), desperately searching the forest for his missing father. Along for the ride are his fiancée, Grace (Ana Thu Nguyen), their obnoxious pal, Eric (Charles Cottier) and his girlfriend, Kate (Alea O’Shea). The setup is surprisingly simple, with a breezy runtime that leaves no room for pesky filler. Disturbing, mean-spirited, and deliciously twisted, Dead Eyes delivers heart-stopping horror at maximum speed.
HE BLED NEON
The grungy 90s-style action thriller comes back with a vengeance in SXSW’s He Bled Neon. Starring a diverse ensemble of talent—including Joe Cole, Rita Ora, Marshawn Lynch, Paul Wesley, and Josh Holloway—the debut feature for director Drew Kirsch taps into a vibrant style punctuated by its zippy Las Vegas setting. Ethan (Cole) returns to the city he left behind after learning that his brother, Darren (Wesley), has suffered a tragic overdose. But Darren’s death was no mere accident—Darren was murdered, and now Ethan will do whatever it takes to unearth his brother’s killer. As we follow Ethan down a destructive path revisiting old stomping grounds, He Bled Neon leans into the absurdities of its dark world.
MANHOOD
Prepare for a riveting deep-dive into men’s mental health, masculine ideals, and… penile enhancement. From World of Wonder, producers of the Drag Race franchise, searing doc Manhood hits below the belt. Utilizing multiple players to tell its overarching narrative, Dallas aesthetics ambassador Bill strives to make his girth-enhancing penile injections as widespread as Botox. We get the viewpoint of married father Ruben and OnlyFans star David to approach varying angles of unique body enhancement. The graphic imagery manages to provide a thoughtful compliment for this tender expose of male body image.
MY BROTHER’S KILLER
Director Rachel Mason (2020’s engaging Circus of Books) returns to the documentary fray with My Brother’s Killer. This dramatic and shocking exploration of an unsolved mystery turns the clock back to late 80s/early 90s Los Angeles. When gay bashings and homophobic tensions were at a fever pitch, the unthinkable happened. The severed head of blonde porn star, Billy London, was found in a dumpster. No one knew who was responsible, and with Billy’s wide network of connections, who even made their way onto the suspect list? As the mystery unravels, My Brother’s Killer leaves no stone unturned in discovering the disturbing truth.
NEVER AFTER DARK
The delightfully creepy Never After Dark brings unique horror flavor to SXSW with the flare of House of Ninjas showrunner Dave Boyle on board as writer/director/producer. Its elegant mystery unfolds slowly, bookended by the eerie glow of a melting candle. Medium Airi (Moeka Hoshi) wanders with one specific mission in mind. When a person dies obsessed with something worldly, they become trapped in a temporal loop, stuck at a single moment. Airi’s role is to “unstick” them. However, Airi refuses to work after dark—at night, she warns, the veil between worlds becomes dangerously thin. For fans of the Insidious films, Never After Dark plunges viewers straight into a shadow realm, akin to The Further.
PRETTY LETHAL
The cast alone for this eye-popping action/thriller from Amazon MGM should warrant a closer look—up-and-comers Lana Condor, Iris Apatow, Millicent Simmonds, and Maddie Zielger are lorded over by a ferocious Uma Thurman, promising the ultimate in girl power brutality. A troupe of ballerinas struggle for survival after their bus breaks down near the forest en route for a competition. The women take shelter at a remote inn, where nothing is as it appears. Forced to draw on their own physicality as dancers, they must set aside petty grievances if they are to have any hope of making it out alive.
A SAFE DISTANCE
When Alex (Bethany Brown) and her longtime boyfriend, Joey (Chris McNally), head deep into the wilderness for a romantic getaway, all seems to go according to plan. After he abandons her in the woods, Alex crosses paths with passionate, off-the-grid young couple Kianna (Tandia Mercedes) and Matt (Cody Kearsley). If at first Kianna and Matt seem a bit unusual, it takes little time for Alex to realize that they are the very same people that have been in the news over and over again: a set of bank robbers whose own notoriety balloons by the minute. Director Gloria Mercer and screenwriter Aidan West explore gender dynamics and decaying relationships as they play in the erotic thriller sandbox with a beautiful woodsy backdrop.
For more information about this year’s exciting iteration of the SXSW Film Festival, including ticketing and the entire lineup, please head over to the official festival website for full details.