Popcorn Frights is going hybrid for this years film festival
This summer, it’s bigger, bloodier, and bolder than ever as the 12th Annual Popcorn Frights Film Festival returns August 6-16 for an electrifying 11-day takeover of South Florida.
As the Southeast’s largest genre celebration, Popcorn Frights is unleashing its most thrilling program yet with the reveal of its highly anticipated First Wave lineup—featuring 14 film premieres and 7 special presentations + live immersive events that bring together horror royalty and live events for a cinematic experience with the volume cranked all the way up.
The festival will kick off with an Opening Night Zombie-Charged Double-Bill from master filmmaker Yeon Sang-ho, who will present the premiere of COLONY, the adrenaline-fueled zombie nightmare that shocked audiences at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Paired with the premiere is a celebration of the 10th anniversary of TRAIN TO BUSAN, as Yeon Sang-ho’s genre-defining masterpiece returns in a breathtaking new 4K restoration.
Popcorn Frights also rolls out the blood-red carpet for horror royalty with the arrival of legendary actor Stephen Lang. First, he’ll introduce the gloriously over-the-top, neon-soaked Miami cult classic BAND OF THE HAND, the unapologetically explosive ‘80s action fever dream produced by Michael Mann and starring an all-star ensemble including Laurence Fishburne, Lauren Holly, and John Cameron Mitchell. Then steel your nerves for the 10th anniversary of DON’T BREATHE, one of the most intense theatrical horror experiences of the last decade that transformed a simple home invasion into pure cinematic terror. Capping off the celebration is the premiere of REMAINS, the latest film from his son, Noah Lang, making this a one-of-a-kind family affair celebrating two generations of fearless filmmaking.
But wait... there’s more! Prepare for a psychic showdown that will Blow. Your. Mind. as Popcorn Frights celebrates the 45th anniversary of David Cronenberg’s SCANNERS with legendary actor Michael Ironside in attendance. Come for the exploding heads. Stay for the mind-melting psychic combat. Leave questioning the limits of the human mind. Ironside also blasts into Popcorn Frights for the 4K restoration of Paul Verhoeven’s sci-fi masterpiece TOTAL RECALL, where audiences can experience one of the greatest sci-fi action films ever made exactly as intended: louder, bigger, and with a crowd!
Things only get weirder from here. Dare to experience the Pope of Trash, the People’s Pervert, the Duke of Dirt, John Waters’ most gloriously grotesque film POLYESTER in sensational odorama for its 45th anniversary! Scratch. Sniff. Regret. Repeat. From stomach-turning stenches to hilariously specific suburban aromas, this is moviegoing that engages every sense.
Yes—you’ll smell the filth. Yes—you’ll question your life choices. And yes—you’ll laugh anyway!
Then warm up those vocal cords, practice your best “Suddenly, Seymour,” and remember one golden rule: Whatever you do… don’t feed the plants! Popcorn Frights presents a monstrously fun 40th anniversary celebration of LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS featuring a full interactive LIVE SHADOWCAST by Infinite Abyss Productions! Watch performers bring Seymour, Audrey, Orin Scrivello, and the insatiable Audrey II to life right before your eyes, transforming the beloved cult classic into a wildly interactive theatrical event.
Staying true to its South Florida roots, the festival’s beloved Florida Focus program once again shines a spotlight on homegrown horror with two made-in-Florida world premieres. First, sink your teeth into GATOR FACE, writer-director Padraig Reynolds’ ferocious Southern Gothic nightmare—a blood-soaked love letter to gritty ‘70s horror shot deep in Florida’s unforgiving swamps using real alligators, jaw-dropping practical effects, and absolutely zero CGI or AI.
Then discover BEST SERVED COLD: HOW A REVENGE FILM WAS BURIED FOR DECADES, the stranger-than-fiction story behind the long-lost cult revenge thriller THE FARMER. Equal parts comedy, mystery, and trainwreck you can’t look away from, it’s the kind of unbelievable story that leaves audiences asking, “How is this real?” Somehow, every outrageous moment actually happened.
Continuing its tradition of championing bold new voices, Popcorn Frights showcases a thrilling slate of premieres from festival alumni-turned-breakout feature filmmakers. Russell Goldman’s SENDER boasts an extraordinary cast led by SEVERANCE breakout Britt Lower alongside PLURIBUS star Rhea Seehorn, joined by horror favorite David Dastmalchian and legendary scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis in one of the year’s most inventive and deeply unsettling psychological thrillers. Meanwhile, after winning Popcorn Frights’ Scariest Short Film Award, writer-director Caleb Phillips returns with his gripping feature debut IMPOSTERS, a nerve-rattling psychological nightmare driven by relentless suspense and emotional devastation.
The festival also hosts the world premiere of MARROW, starring genre favorites Michael Ironside and Danielle Harris, a razor-sharp descent into viral obsession, internet fame, and the horrors lurking behind every screen. And proving Halloween never dies, HEREDITARY breakout Milly Shapiro stars in HALLOWARRIOR as a Halloween-obsessed survivor navigating the ashes of the apocalypse—a ferocious love letter to horror’s favorite holiday where every day is Halloween, even after the end of the world.
And for horror fans across the country, Popcorn Frights’ acclaimed virtual program returns with more than 20 streaming films, headlined by the U.S. premiere of the darkly comic supernatural road trip ARMAGEDDON ROAD, the visceral Kiwi body-horror nightmare BROKEN BEAK, the blood-soaked anthology IF IT BLEEDS featuring Doug Jones, Dee Wallace, Krsy Fox, and Catherine Corcoran, the nerve-rattling thriller INCUBATION, the haunting psychological chiller MARY KWON, MARY KWON, the emotionally devastating nightmare VARIATIONS OF VIOLENCE, and the monstrous thriller WOOZY starring Emile Hirsch—each pushing the genre envelope in thrilling new directions and designed to blow your genre-loving mind.
Individual tickets and All-Access Badges for the in-theater experience—hosted at Savor Cinema Fort Lauderdale and Classic Gateway Theater—are now available. Virtual All-Access Passes can also be purchased for streaming access to the full digital lineup.
