Screamfest® Horror Film Festival, the largest and longest-running horror film festival in the United States, is excited to announce its opening and closing night events as well as additional features. Taking place from October 8 to 17, 2024, at the TCL Chinese Theater, Screamfest® will kick off the festival with award-winning filmmaker Joseph Kahn’s (Bodied), sci-fi/horror satire ICK, which will have its West Coast premiere with a red-carpet gala screening on Tuesday, October 8.
ICK follows ex-jock turned science teacher Hank (Brandon Routh) who is stuck in his hometown, dreaming of a life as a professional athlete. While teaching chemistry, he reconnects with his high school crush’s daughter, Grace (Malina Weissman). When a mysterious substance called the “Ick” begins to spread through Eastbrook, Hank and his disillusioned students must band together to combat this gooey menace. Their comedic journey turns into a wild battle for survival, testing their courage and complicating their personal connections.
To conclude this year’s festival on October 17th, Screamfest will honor legendary cinematographer Dean Cundey (Jurassic Park, Apollo 13) with a Lifetime Achievement Award. This prestigious honor will be presented by a special guest and will be accompanied by a double-feature screening of Dean’s iconic works The Thing and Halloween.
Additional features include the world premiere of Body Language, a thriller directed by Cory Miller and starring Christina Milian (Step Up High Water) and Steven Strait (The Expanse). In Body Language Mariana (Milian) returns home to find Dylan (Strait), her fiancé Nick’s college friend, preparing an engagement dinner. As the evening unfolds and Nick fails to arrive, Mariana becomes increasingly uneasy about Dylan, turning what should have been a celebration into a night of terror.
Making its West Coast premiere after debuting at SXSW is Cold Wallet, directed by Cutter Hodierne. This gripping thriller follows a ragtag team of vigilante Redditors who, after losing everything in a cryptocurrency scam, attempt to kidnap the kingpin who deceived them. However, their home invasion spirals out of control, trapping them in a sadistic game.
Other exciting additions to the lineup include Drive Back, directed by Cody Ashford, In the Name of God from Sweden, directed by Ludvig Gür, and Witte Wieven (Heresy) from the Netherlands, directed by Didier Konings.
This year’s festival features a variety of exciting events, including a writing panel with Conjuring screenwriters Carey Hayes and Chad Hayes. Additionally, the Birns & Sawyer panel will showcase industry veterans such as Michael Goi (American Horror Story), Mark Irwin (The Fly, Scream), Roy Wagner (Nightmare on Elm Street), Dan Pearl (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), and Andrzej Bartkowiak (Species). A legal panel led by entertainment attorney Larry Zerner will provide valuable insights into the industry. Finally, Screamfest will introduce a Horror Nerd Standup Comedy event, offering audiences a chance to enjoy laughs with friends, family, and fellow horror enthusiasts!
Formed in August 2001 by film producer Rachel Belofsky, Screamfest® Horror Film Festival is a female-run 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that gives filmmakers and screenwriters in the horror and science fiction genres a venue to have their work showcased in the film industry.
Tickets are on sale and can be purchased via the festival website: https://screamfestla.com/
SECOND WAVE LINEUP FEATURES:
ICK (US, 2024) – West Coast Premiere
Directed by Joseph Kahn
Written by Joseph Kahn, Dan Koontz, and Samuel Laskey
Produced by Steven Schneider, Joseph Kahn, Joe Heath, David Kang Adi Shankar
Cast: Brandon Routh, Mena Suvari, Malina Weissman, Harrison Cone, Taia Sophia, Zeke Donovan Jones, Debra Wilson and Jeff Fahey
Ex-jock turned science teacher Hank (Brandon Routh) is stuck in his hometown, always wondering what life would be like if he had become a professional athlete. Now, he spends his days teaching chemistry, where he reunites with his high school crush’s daughter Grace (Malina Weissman). Things take a drastic turn when a mysterious dormant substance known as the ‘Ick’, begins to spread rapidly throughout the town of Eastbrook. As the gooey menace spreads, Hank and his disillusioned students join forces to combat the spread.
Their journey to defeat grotesque ‘Ick’ turns into a comedic and untamed battle for survival not only testing their courage but also navigating the chaos of their complex personal connection.
Body Language (US, 2024) – World Premiere
Directed by Cory Miller
Written by Robert Belushi and Cory Miller
Produced by Mandy Jane Turpin
Executive Producers by Carey Hayes and Chad Hayes (The Conjuring)
Cast: Christina Milian, Steven Strait, Annie Gonzalez
Mariana comes home to find Dylan, her fiancé Nick’s college buddy, cooking an engagement dinner for them. However, as the night unfolds, and Nick is no where to be found, Mariana begins to suspect something is deeply troubling about Dylan. What she thought would be an evening of celebration turns into a night of terror.
Cold Wallet (US, 2024) – West Coast Premiere
Directed by Cutter Hodierne
Written by John Hibey
Produced by John Hibey, Benjamin Wiessner, Cutter Hodierne
Cast: Raul Castillo, Melonie Diaz, Tony Cavalero, Josh Brener, Zoe Winters
After losing everything in a cryptocurrency scam, a ragtag team of vigilante Redditors attempt to kidnap the kingpin who screwed them over. But when the home invasion takes a turn for the worst, they become victims in a sadistic game.
Drive Back (US, 2024) – West Coast Premiere
Directed by Cody Ashford
Written by Jon Sarro
Produced by Chris Lofing, Travis Cluff
Cast: Whit Kunschik, Zack Gold, Robert Lewis Stephenson
Struggling artist Reid and his pregnant fiancée, Olivia, celebrate their new engagement, happily surrounded by family and friends. After a cryptic warning from Reid’s father, a car accident leaves them lost in the woods. Searching for directions leads to a rundown store run by a creepy older couple, who suggest the best way home is by taking an old shortcut through dark backroads. But after violent visions, lost memories, a troubling hitchhiker encounter, and an inability to escape the road itself, their car breaks down, and they discover a terrifying killer is hunting their every move.
In the Name of God (Sweden, 2024) – LA Premiere
Directed and written by Ludvig Gür
Produced by Daniel Lägersten, Daniel Berntsson, Kristofer Hultén
Cast: Linus Wahlgren, Lisa Henni, Vilhelm Blomgren, Thomas Hanzon, Isabelle Grill, Charlie Gustafsson
40-year-old priest, Theodor stands by in horror as his wife falls seriously ill. His world crumbles around him and he seeks guidance from his old mentor who convinces him that he has been chosen by God to rid the world of sinners in order to bring new life to true believers. With trembling hands, he commits his first murder, convinced that it is a necessary sacrifice in service of his divine mission. Miraculously, at the moment of the murder, his wife’s health improves and the congregation starts referring to him as the “miracle priest”, knowing nothing of his horrible act. But lurking in the shadows is a disbelieving man who begins to uncover the bloody traces of the priest’s unholy deeds.
Witte Wieven (Heresy) (Netherlands, 2024) – LA Premiere
Directed by Didier Konings
Written by Marc S. Nollkaemper
Produced by Monique van Kessel
Cast: Anneke Sluiters, Len Leo Vincent, Reinout Bussemaker, Leon van Waas
In a small Dutch village in the Dark Ages, Frieda carries the blame for her struggle to conceive a child with her husband. She believes God is her only hope and seeks help from the village priest. But when the local butcher attempts to take advantage of Frieda, chasing her into the forest, he mysteriously disappears. Frieda comes back unscathed, the first to ever return from the unknown dangers outside of the village. The community becomes suspicious that it was not God who brought her back safely but a dark force cloaked in fog beyond the edge of the woods. Frieda becomes suspicious as well, but her doubts begin to form a new faith within her; a faith in the ones that linger in the darkness.
