Beyond Fest lineup: ‘Saint Maud, ‘Freaky,’ ‘The Wolf of Snow Hollow’ and more
Robert Forster (center) in his final film performance, THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW (courtesy of Orion Pictures)
Beyond Fest announces the first physical genre festival of the year with week-long drive-in residence October 2-8, including world premieres of Christopher Landon’s from Blumhouse FREAKY, Adam Egypt Mortimer’s ARCHENEMY, and Jim Cummings’ THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW
Beyond Fest, the highest-attended genre film festival in the US, has announced its complete slate of 2020 programming comprising of seven nights of double-bill features including three world premieres, one North American Premiere, and two US premieres of unadulterated cinematic excess. Following a sold-out Summer residence with the American Cinematheque at the Mission Tiki Drive-In, Beyond Fest returns to the socially-distanced safety of the drive-in Friday, October 2nd – Thursday, October 8th to generate funds for the 501c3 non-profit film institution.
With a diverse slate celebrating all corners of genre cinema, Beyond Fest is proud to open with a double-barreled-double-bill curated by director Jim Cummings including the World Premiere of his electric werewolf tale, THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW, paired with Joe Dante’s classic, THE BURBS. Closing night honors are bestowed upon Blumhouse and Beyond Fest alumni Christopher Landon for the World Premiere of their gloriously outrageous body-swap-slasher FREAKY, billed with a special rep screening of TUCKER & DALE VS. EVIL selected by the director himself.
Festival alumni are celebrated as agitator-extraordinaire Adam Egypt Mortimer returns to conquer Beyond Fest with the World Premiere of his newest Spectrevision mindmelt, ARCHENEMY, Steven Kostanski blasts his OTT midnight vibes with the North American Premiere of PSYCHO GOREMAN, and Bryan Bertino brings the terror, unleashing THE DARK AND THE WICKED for its US theatrical bow.
“We covet the theatrical experience above all and following the overwhelming success of our drive-in program we never hesitated in keeping Beyond Fest a physical experience” said Beyond Fest Co-Founder, Christian Parkes. “We specifically wanted to give COVID-19 a resilient middle finger and provide a safe, communal respite for filmmakers and film fans to celebrate the best genre cinema on the biggest screens possible.”
Other hotly anticipated titles making their West Coast debuts include Rose Glass’ stunning first feature SAINT MAUD, alongside her selection of Rob Reiner’s MISERY, Moorhead and Benson’s latest genre-melting, time-bending, head trip SYNCHRONIC, Justin Simien’s satirical Sundance stunner BAD HAIR, and the US Premiere of medieval-gothic-horror, THE RECKONING, from longtime agent provocateur, Neil Marshall.
A timely dissolution of the American Dream is given center stage as the Maestro David Lynch is saluted with a triple bill consisting of three of his finest features: BLUE VELVET, LOST HIGHWAY, and MULHOLLAND DR.
“In a year that has seen the world turn upside-down, it’s good to see some things never change” Head Programmer Evrim Ersoy added. “Beyond Fest stands tall with an eclectic slate of programming that will challenge audiences and transform the drive-in experience into something never before done.”
Finally, Beyond Fest celebrates Brandon Cronenberg with a special pre-festival event featuring the West Coast Premiere of his stunning body-horror, POSSESSOR UNCUT, paired with John Frakenheimer’s sci-fi classic SECONDS as picked by Brandon himself. This special warm-up event is scheduled the week before the festival opens on Thursday September 24th, 2020.
See below for the full lineup of newly announced feature film titles for Beyond Fest 2020. Tickets will be on sale via Eventbrite on September 18th at 9 AM PST. Visit BeyondFest.com and the American Cinematheque for details.
9.24 SPECIAL EVENT
POSSESSOR UNCUT
West Coast Premiere
Director: Brandon Cronenberg
Country: USA
Runtime: 103 minutes
Year: 2020
+
SECONDS
Repertory Screening
Director: John Frankenheimer
Country: USA
Runtime: 106 minutes
Year: 1966
——————————
10.2
THE WOLF OF SNOW HOLLOW
World Premiere
Director: Jim Cummings
Country: USA
Runtime: 83 minutes
Year: 2020
+
THE BURBS
Repertory Screening
Director: Joe Dante
Country: USA
Runtime: 103 minutes
Year: 1989
——————————–
10.3
BLUE VELVET
Repertory Screening
Director: David Lynch
Country: USA
Runtime: 120 minutes
Year: 1986
+
MULHOLLAND DR
Repertory Screening
Director: David Lynch
Country: France, USA
Runtime: 147 minutes
Year: 2001
+
LOST HIGHWAY
Repertory Screening
Director: David Lynch
Country:France, USA
Runtime: 134 minutes
Year: 1997
————————————
10.4
SAINT MAUD
West Coast Premiere
Director: Rose Glass
Country: UK
Runtime: 84 minutes
Year: 2019
+
MISERY
Repertory Screening
Director: Rob Reiner
Country: USA
Runtime: 107 minutes
Year: 1990
———————————
10.5
SYNCHRONIC
West Coast Premiere
Directors: Aaron Moorhead and Justin Benson
Country: USA
Runtime: 96 minutes
Year: 2019
+
BAD HAIR
West Coast Premiere
Director: Justin Simien
Country: USA
Runtime: 115 minutes
Year: 2020
———————————–
10.6
THE DARK AND THE WICKED
US Premiere
Director: Bryan Bertino
Country: USA
Runtime: 95 minutes
Year: 2020
+
THE RECKONING
US Premiere
Director: Neil Marshall
Country: UK
Runtime: 110 minutes
Year: 2020
——————————
10.7
ARCHENEMY
World Premiere
Director: Adam Egypt Mortimer
Country: USA
Runtime: 90 minutes
Year: 2020
+
PSYCHO GOREMAN
International Premiere
Director: Steven Kostanski
Country: Canada
Runtime: 92 minutes
Year: 2020
—————————
10.8
FREAKY
World Premiere – Free screening
Director: Christopher Landon
Country: USA
Runtime: 101 minutes
Year: 2020
+
TUCKER & DALE vs EVIL
Repertory Screening
Director: Eli Craig
Country: Canada
Runtime: 89 minutes
Year: 2010
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Attend Beyond Fest:
Tickets will be on sale via Eventbrite on September 17th at 10 AM PST. Visit BeyondFest.com and the American Cinematheque for details.
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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