Our Most Anticipated Horror Movies at the 2026 Overlook Film Festival
From festival hit Obsession to Italian religious horror The Holy Boy
by Alex Kaan 7 April 2026
Neon
Kicking off April 9th in New Orleans, the Overlook Film Festival returns with another fright-filled line-up of indie hits, horror documentaries, and anniversary screenings. Any genre heads will be spoilt for choice, but we’ve chosen 10 films that you simply can’t miss, from witchy Irish chiller Hokum to the thrilling Faces of Death reboot.
Hokum
Neon
After a reclusive novelist (Adam Scott) checks into a remote Irish hotel to spread his parents’ ashes, he grows fixated on breaking into a room kept under lock and key: the honeymoon suite supposedly haunted by a witch. The folk horror thriller marks the third film from Oddity writer-director Damian McCarthy. Read our review here
Leviticus
Neon
When two teenage boys in a deeply religious Australian town are subjected to a strange ritual by a deliverance healer, they start being stalked by a mysterious entity that takes the form of who they desire most: each other. A hit at Sundance, the buzzy queer horror film comes from the producers of Talk to Me. Read our review here
Faces of Death
IFC and Shudder
In this meta reboot, Barbie Ferreira plays a content moderator investigating videos inspired by the 1978 cult classic of the same name, a faux documentary presenting a series of supposedly real deaths. Dacre Montgomery and Charli xcx also star. Read our review here
The Holy Boy
Fandango
When a grief-stricken teacher accepts a job at an Italian mountain village, dubbed “The Valley of Smiles” by locals, he discovers the strange secret to the community’s cheerful demeanour: a lonely teen can rid them of their pain with a single hug. Blending Carrie and The Wicker Man, the queer horror film was a hit at Venice last year. Read our review here
Boorman and the Devil
Warner Bros.
A hilarious and heartfelt exploration of failure, David Kittredge’s documentary unpacks the unbelievably disastrous story of the making of famed Hollywood flop Exorcist II: The Heretic, a production which almost killed director John Boorman—amongst others. Read our review here
Buffet Infinity
Yellow Veil Pictures
Unfolding entirely over a series of hazy low-budget TV ads, this surreal cosmic horror comedy follows a rivalry between two small-town restaurants that escalates into a sinister tale of cults, sinkholes, and apocalyptic consequences.
Obsession
Focus Features
A hopeless romantic uses a novelty toy, the “One Wish Willow”, to get his crush to fall in love with him. His wish is granted, but, as you might guess, terrible consequences follow in this harrowing festival favourite from Curry Barker, director of the viral found footage film Milk and Serial. Read our review here
Ugly Cry
Yellow Veil Pictures
When an actress loses her dream role because she has an “ugly cry”, the rejection sends her down a dark path towards perfection in this genre-bending blend of body horror, comedy, and psychological thriller from writer-director-actor Emily Robinson. Robin Tunney (The Craft also stars).
Cramps! A Period Piece
Warped Witch Cinema
In a 1960s Technicolour town filled with duelling beauty salons and drag queens, a shampoo girl’s menstrual cramps manifest themselves as a murderous gelatinous monster in this bloody, campy film that plays like a John Waters body horror slasher.
New Group
Kadokawa Corporation
After winning Overlook’s Scariest Feature Award last year, Japanese director Yûta Shimotsu returns with an uncanny film about a cult-like high school which forces its students to participate in a series of increasingly disturbing tasks under threat of violence.