Popcorn Frights Unveils Its Second Wave of Programming For Hybrid

The second wave features six world premieres.

Popcorn Frights’ second wave of programming features 36 film premieres, embracing 20 countries. Running August 11-21, this year’s cinematic mayhem is unleashed both online across the US and in-theater through South Florida.

As the Southeast United States largest gathering of genre films and fans, Popcorn Frights is all about provocative genre cinema. First up is the world premiere of the made-in-Miami, gory shocker DO NOT DISTURB. It opens the Festival’s inaugural “ALTER Screening Room” at the O Cinema South Beach, located right across from Ocean Drive. 

More than 20 films are receiving their world premieres at Popcorn Frights, including Lucky McKee’s mysterious thriller OLD MAN starring Stephen Lang, the throwback retro slashers TIME’S UP with Felicia Rose, and THE BARN: PART II with Linnea Quigley, the audacious and subversive BAD GIRL BOOGEY with Bill Moseley, and the made-in-Florida fever dream BREATHING HAPPY, which will be complemented with a mind-melting live magic show by director Shane Bradley.

Other festival highlights include the Icelandic visual marvel FANGA that reimagines the classic fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast,” the North American Premiere of the claustrophobic nerve-wrecker THE EYES BELOW, the US Premiere of the splatter comedy ALL JACKED UP AND FULL OF WORMS, the one-of-a-kind experimental remix of Stephen King’s The Langoliers, THE TIMEKEEPERS OF ETERNITY, and the darkly funny serial killer mockumentary WHEN THE SCREAMING STARTS.

Closing Popcorn Frights’ in-theater film program is the 35th anniversary of the made-in-Florida, MIAMI CONNECTION, accompanied by a live commentary.

Notable features exclusively playing as part of Popcorn Frights’ virtual program comprised of 22 feature films. These include the snow-streaked Northern Gothic heist thriller PEPPERGRASS, the found footage thriller MALIBU HORROR STORY that was ten years in the making, and the black magic horror PRESENCE.

In tribute to Hollywood icon Bruce Willis and his legendary onscreen career, Popcorn Frights will host a special 25th anniversary, under-the-stars presentation of the sci-fi masterpiece THE FIFTH ELEMENT on Ocean Drive.

The eighth edition of the Popcorn Frights Film Festival is made possible with the support of its generous sponsors, including ALTER, The Betsy, Fangoria, Giggster, O Cinema, Savor Cinema, Screambox, Slasher Energy, Tubi, and its loyal fans. For more info about Popcorn Frights, visit PopcornFrights.com

Popcorn Frights Feature Film Lineup

Miami Connection (35th Anniversary Presentation, Closing Night)

United States | 1987 | 87 Min. | Dirs. Woo-sang Park, Y.K. Kim

*Event features live commentary

*In-Theater ExclusiveA martial arts rock band goes up against a band of motorcycle ninjas who have tightened their grip on Florida’s narcotics trade.

All Jacked Up and Full of Worms (US Premiere)

United States | 2022 | 72 Min. | Dir. Alex Phillips

A maintenance man for a seedy motel discovers a hidden stash of powerful hallucinogenic worms that leads him to a path of self-destruction, sex, and violence.

Bad Girl Boogey (World Premiere)

Australia | 2022 | 95 Min. | Dir. Alice Maio Mackay

A group of teens must fight their fears to stop a killer wearing a parasitic mask cursed with black magic and bigotry, before he, or it, slaughters everyone they hold dear.

The Barn: Part II (World Premiere)

United States | 2022 | 85 Min. | Dir. Justin M. Seaman

Takes place three years after the events of the first film, the sorority girls of Gamma Tau Psi place the original final girl Michelle in charge of their annual haunted house. Unfortunately for Michelle, some uninvited trick-or-treaters from her past come knocking…

Breathing Happy (Theatrical World Premiere)

United Stated | 2022 | 93 Min. | Dir. Shane Brady

In this mind-bending drama, a recovering drug addict can achieve one year of sobriety alone on Christmas day, but his demons tempt him to relapse.

Do Not Disturb (World Premiere)

United States-Canada | 2022 | 93 Min. | Dir. John Ainslie

A honeymooning couple in Miami takes a peyote trip to strengthen their marriage which quickly turns into a narcotic nightmare.

The Eyes Below (North American Premiere)

France | 2022 | 77 Min. | Dir. Alexis Bruchon

Everything is calm and silent in the house as a man falls asleep, until he feels something creep up his legs, stomach, and then his chest, and soon realizes that the night won’t be as peaceful as he thought.

Fanga (East Coast Premiere)

Iceland | 2022 | 94 Min. | Dir. Max Gold

A farm girl becomes prisoner to a flesh-eating beast to cure her father’s illness in this reimagining of the classic fairy tale “Beauty and the Beast.”

The Fifth Element (25th Anniversary Presentation)

France-UK | 1997 | 126 Min. | Dir. Luc Besson

In the colorful future, a cab driver (Bruce Willis) unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep evil at bay.

Malibu Horror Story (Florida Premiere)

United States | 2021 | 93 Min. | Dir. Scott Slone

In this found footage film that was ten years in the making, a team of paranormal investigators search a sacred Native American cave for clues in the unsolved disappearance of four local teens.

Old Man (World Premiere)

United States | 2022 | 97 Min. | Dir. Lucky McKee

Set deep in the woods, the story follows a lost hiker (Marc Senter) who stumbles upon the cabin of an erratic and reclusive Old Man (Stephen Lang). What starts off as cordial conversation soon turns dangerous as it becomes clear that one or both of them might be hiding a terrifying secret.

Peppergrass (East Coast Premiere)

Canada | 2022 | 98 Min. | Dir. Steven Garbas, Chantelle Han

In this stirring crime thriller, a pregnant restaurateur plans to steal a priceless truffle from a reclusive veteran.

Presence (East Coast Premiere)

United States | 2022 | 98 Min. | Dir. Christian Schultz

After joining a weeklong yachting voyage with a potential investor, Jennifer begins to have strange dreams, and it becomes clear that she may have unknowingly brought something else with her.

The Timekeepers of Eternity (Florida Premiere)

Greece-UK | 2021 | 64 Min. | Dir. Aristotelis Maragkos

Stephen King’s television movie The Langoliers is compressed and transformed through hypnotic black and white collage animation that meticulously reconstructs and reshapes its supernatural drama to an eerie and profound effect.

Time’s Up (World Premiere)

United States | 2022 | 82 Min. | Dir. L. C. Holt

At a New Year’s Eve party, a group of teachers from an idyllic high school still reeling from the suicide of a bullied student suddenly find themselves stalked by an assailant disguised as the holiday figure Father Time.

When the Screaming Starts (East Coast Premiere)

UK | 2021 | 89 Min. | Dir. Conor Boru

When a struggling journalist is invited into the home of an aspiring serial killer, he believes he has the subject for the documentary that will make his career.

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