Event PickBeyond Fest, the popular dark genre film festival based in Los Angeles, is back and it’s larger and weirder than ever. Celebrating a decade of freaky cinema, this year’s slate has 63 full length features including ten world premieres and three US premieres, plus 25 West Coast debut screenings. Running now thru October 11th, the event shares a partnership with the American Cinematheque, and will pop up at locales throughout L.A. – from the IMAX theater at the TCL Chinese to the Hollywood Legion Theatre to the Aero and the Los Feliz 3.

It deserves noting:  horror, supernatural and out of the box cinema is more appreciated than ever these days, so much so films of eerie ilks make up a big part of the mainstream box office as well as streaming viewership  Beyond Fest has become a big part of promo and push for these kinds of movies.

The interest in films like X and its prequel Pearl, Barbarian, Resurrection, Nope, etc. has gone, yes, “beyond” niche fandom. This year’s festival has some big titles that should join those movies in popularity– in theaters and ultimately on our TV screens. From Parker Finn’s much-anticipated Smile (starring Kevin Bacon’s daughter Soosie Bacon), to Halloween Ends (the final chapter in the Michael Myers/Jaime Lee Curtis saga… yes really!) to My Best Friend’s Exorcism (pictured) to David Bruckner’s new take on Hellraiser (which will end up on Hulu just in time for Halloween), a lot of creepy stuff is coming. There’s wackier fare to look forward to too, such as Eric Appel Weird: The Al Yankovic Story (this will be the U.S. premiere) paired with the classic Yankovic vehicle UHF.

Speaking of Halloween, we’re especially excited for a screening of Trick ‘R Treat at the Hollywood Legion Theatre, which marks the film’s first-ever theatrical release. This free screening will have director Michael Dougherty and a Q&A.

Also look for panels (William Friedkin discusses his the queer classic Cruising) and retrospective celebrations at the fest, including a look at the work of Park Chan-wook (who gets a movie marathon ending with his latest Decision To Leave) and William Shatner, who gets a triple-feature of his 70’s genre work (he’ll be on hand for a Q&A as well). The Beyond – Composer’s Cut featuring an all-new score from Fabio Frizzi also premieres.

A lot of Beyond Fest’s programming is free, including movies at the Los Feliz 3 Theatre (courtesy of horror streamer Shudder). The fest also aims to give back with the help of Final Draft, who will be part of a shorts presentation and a “Big Break Screenwriting Contest.” (All festival screenings are vaccinated-only).

More info and tickets at beyondfest.com.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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