Genre film is having a bit of a moment. On the heels of one of the most profitable years for horror in 2017, this year has served up an exceptional wave of genre films, from crowd-pleasing fare likeA Quiet PlaceandHalloweento hardcore head trips likeAnnihilation,HereditaryandSuspiria, and streaming gems likeThe Ritualand pretty much every Shudder exclusive fromRevengetoThe Witch in the Window. It’s been areallygood year for creative genre cinema across the board, but there are a whole lot of festival films that made the rounds this year and haven’t even made it to screens yet.
With 2019 on the horizon, I wanted to single out some of the most exciting, odd and unusual films I saw this year that you should put on your radar. Sure, we’re all looking forward toIT Chapter Two, but there’s a lot of lowkey brilliant movies headed your way too. I was lucky enough to attend three excellent genre festivals this year – Fantasia International Film Festival, North Bend Film Fest, and Fantastic Fest – which means I got to see a lot of below-the-radar movies you’re going to want to keep an eye out for next year.
Can 2019 live up to the standards of genre cinema we saw in the last 2 years? Only time will tell, but if these movies are any indication, there’s a whole lot of exciting, unusual and occasionally downright brilliant movies coming your way.
One Cut of the Dead
Pom! The good buzz onOne Cut of the Deadfollows this little genre gem wherever it goes. I first caught wind of the found footage-esque zombie comedy out of Fantasia, where everyone I knew who saw it simply raved andIndiewirecalled it the “best zombie comedy sinceShaun of the Dead.” That trend continued at Fantastic Fest, whereOne Cut of the Deadscooped up the Audience Award and left crowd after crowd in stitches. Since then, the workshop film has become a blockbuster success in Japan, and boy, let me tell you, it is worth every bit of the hype.
Set in an abandoned warehouse where a frantic crew attempts to shoot a low-budget zombie film in the midst of what may be a real zombie outbreak,One Cut of the Deadunfolds with some of the most clever structuring and laugh-out-loud-until-you’re-literally-crying comedic payoff I’ve seen in ages. The first third of the film, which unfolds in an extended single take, is a bit of a patience-tester at time, but lord have mercy is the payoff worth it, especially for anyone who’s ever suffered for the love of filmmaking. The film doesn’t have a US release date yet, but you’re gonna want to get this gem in front of your eyes as soon as possible, and preferably with the largest crowd you can find.
Nicolas Pesce’sThe Eyes of My Motherwas a gorgeously-shot, somewhat divisive horror throwback that demonstrated a spectacular knack for technical execution and disturbing imagery from the debut feature director. For his sophomore filmPiercing,Pesce leaves behind the black-and-white Hitchcokian vibes in favor of a lush, stylish giallo throwback with one seriously twisted romance at its core. The film starsChristopher Abbotas an Average Joe husband and father who’s just absolutely desperate to kill someone. When he stages a business trip to purge himself of his dark desires, he orders a hooker (Mia Wasikowskain her best performance yet), who has some deviant desires of her own. Surreal and strangely sexy with a surprising amount of humor and tenderness beneath the depravity,Piercingis a surprising and impressive followup for the filmmaker that will make you even more curious what he’s going to do withThe Grudge.
Universal Pictures Content Group will releasePiercingin Theaters, on VOD and Digital HD on June 09, 2025.
Buffalo Boys
If your tastes veer more towards action, than keep an eye out forBuffalo Boysa ballistic, polished Neo-Western that transplants the tropes of the Wild West to Indonesia, where two brothers of royal blood look to reclaim their land from the brutal colonist Captain Van Trach. The film has some silly moments of forced drama and an unfortunate reliance on sexual assault as a narrative shorthand, but overallBuffalo Boysis a rousing, thrilling action-packed Western with a refreshing infusion of international culture. As the brothers,Yoshi SudarsoandArio Bayumake for a charismatic and commanding duo, and they sure know how to handle an action scene. Thankfully, so does debut directorMike Wiluan(who producedCrazy Rich AsiansandHeadshot), and he gives them plenty of rollicking, explosive sequences to show off their skills.
Samuel Goldwyn Films will releaseBuffalo Boysin theaters on June 18, 2025.
Look, you walk into aGaspar Noefilm and you more or less know what you’re going to get – saturated colors, disorienting camera work, truly depraved humor, and grisly violence. It’s what he does. And his latest provocation, the kinetically-charged dance horrorClimax, has all those qualities, but it’s also one of the most accessible and most enjoyable (?) movies he’s ever made. The bonkers film follows a prestigious troupe of diverse and sexy young dancers to a warehouse where they settle in to rehearse and party. Problem is, someone spiked the sangria with a bad dose of LSD, and it’s not long before the dance-offs and sexual dynamic boil over into an outright hellish nightmare. Led by one hell of a performance fromSofia Boutella, who continues to find new ways to put her impressive physical skills to use in film, Climax is a strange brew that is alternately invigorating and exhausting, delicious and disgusting. It’s sexy and sinister with a pitch black streak of humor, but it is never ever boring and it will keep your anxiety flowing from the first sip of Sangria until the sun, mercifully, rises on this parade into hell.
A24 acquiredClimaxout of Cannes and will release the film in 2019.
Nightmare Cinema
RememberMasters of Horror? Do ya missMasters of Horror? Of course you do. Well, good news becauseMick Garrisreunited a batch of some of the horror greats for the new horror anthologyNightmare Cinema, which seesJoe Dante,David Slade,Alejandro Brugués,Ryûhei Kitamura, and Garris himself each direct a segment envisioning unique spins on a the subgenres of horror. Set in the titular nightmare cinema, the film follows five people who walk into the theater where a sinister projectionist (Mickey Rourke) transports them into their nightmares. Like all anthologies, some segments are stronger than others, but this one’s got a pretty good batting average with two knockout sequences – Slade’s descent into a surreal black-and-white hellscape and Brugués clever spin on the well-worn slasher tropes – and solid craftsmanship across the board. Dante’s Twilight Zone-inspired yarn is well worth the cost of admission as well, and Kitamura’s piece offers some of the most insane possession action out there. As with almost all anthologies,Nighmare Cinemais an imperfect creation, but horror fans will find a lot to love.
Nightmare Cinemapremiered at Fantasia Film Festival in 2018. Cranked Up Films and Shudder hold the North American rights for a planned 2019 release.
Timur Bekmambetovwasn’t the first person to make movies using the so-called ScreenLife format – a film where everything is told from the perspective of a device screen – but he’s certainly become the champion of the new cinematic language, producing theUnfriendedfilms andSearchingamong many many other ScreenLife films in development. His company even created a Beta program that allows you to make ScreenLife films on your own computer. WithProfile, theWanteddirector tries his hand at the format, turning to a true-life story for inspiration and harvesting a relentless stream of tension as a result.Valene Kane(The Fall) stars as a British journalist desperate for her big story, who goes undercover in the world of online ISIS recruiting and soon finds the lines between her realities blurring beyond recognition. As the #1 supporter of ScreenLife (you can why he loves it so much in our extendedWitching Hour interview), Bekmambetov has a lot of ideas for how to use the screen as a framing device for thrills and revelations, and he makes fine work of it, constructing a vice around his audience and slowly tightening his grip. The first hour of the film is some of the most breathless tension I’ve seen on screen this year, and while the finale can’t quite match, it’s an impressive pulse-pounder all the way through.
Profilepremiered at the 68th Annual Berlin Film Festival and does not yet have a release date.
Luzstarted picking up positive word of mouth right away out of Fantasia, where the bizarre and immersive little possession thriller made its North American debut earlier this year before going on to Fantastic Fest and Sitges. The experimental arthouse horror movie was shot on 16mm as directorTilman Singer’s thesis film, and the final product is a peculiar mix of throwback cinematic technique and innovative storytelling that manages to build a whole world and mythology through the power of performances and wow-worthy clever staging. A labyrinthine and ambiguous film,Luzleaves a lot up to the viewer, but never frustrates for lack of answers – Singer gives you all the pieces to his otherworldly puzzle, they’re just not the kind of pieces we’re used to playing with. Smart and stylish as hell,Luzis an exciting feature debut that will leave you pondering the world it creates and dying to know what Singer will do next.
The newly-founded genre banner Yellow Veil Pictures acquiredLuzout of Berlinale. The film does not yet have. US release date.
I caughtBraidat the inaugural North Bend Film Fest and walked out of the theater thinking “I have no idea what that was, or what just happened, but I know I liked it.“Mitzi Peroine’s feature directing debut is an enigmatic, often insane trip down a wild and colorful rabbit hole where fantasy and reality collide in a nightmarish game of make believe. Old friends Tilda (Sarah Hay) and Petula (Imogen Waterhouse) are a conniving pair of criminals on the run after they loose a fortune’s worth of drugs in a police raid. Desperate to get the money they owe, they travel back to their psychotic and loaded childhood friend’s (Madeline Brewer) mansion in hopes of cleaning out her family safe, but to get inside, they have to participate in a seriously fucked up game of make believe. This movie is insane. It often makes no sense. But I kind of love it, and there’s no denying it’s one wildly immersive experience. This one’s also interesting because it’s the first ever feature film fully funded by cryptocurrency.
Braid premiered in the Midnight section of Tribecca Film Festival this year and was acquired by Blue Fox Entertainment for an early 2019 release.
We’ve seena lotof dystopian sci-fi in recent years, but few have been so tightly contained and impressively executed asLevel 16. Canadian filmmaker Daniskha Esterhazy offers a unique spin on the familiar subgenre by taking us inside the walls of a mysterious institution where young girls are raised to uphold the virtues of femininity; things like cleanliness, obedience, and humility – aka the traditionalist values that forced women into subservience for centuries – and when the young girls fail to uphold their standards, even for a second, harsh punishments rain down fast. There’s a realHandmaid’s Talevibe to the tale, which is some of the smartest YA dystopian storytelling this side ofThe Hunger Games, butLevel 16isn’t a cheap imitator, it’s got horrors all its own up its sleeves, and a strong sense of cinematic style that drags you into the nightmare and locks you up in the dreary world alongside the young women. A poignant tale of friendship and the power in female solidarity,Level 16is a timely bit of storytelling with a whole lot to say.
Level 16premiered at Fantastic Fest in 2018 and does not yet have a US release date.
The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then The Bigfoot
With a name likeThe Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot, you would think you know what kind of movie you’re walking into. You would be wrong. Far removed from the camp and exploitation elements the title suggests,The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfootis a surprisingly serious, poetic meditation on regret and mortality led by the always extraordinarySam Elliott. Elliott has been one of the best in the biz for decades, and while it’s been a joy to watch him tap into the spotlight this year with his fantastic supporting performance inA Star Is Born, if you’ve been waiting for a drama to put legendary actor front and center,The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfootis surprisingly the movie you’ve been waiting for. Elliott stars as, you guessed it, the man who killed Hitler and then the Bigfoot, but he’s no self-satisfied hero. Instead, Elliott portrays a man filled with regret, loathe to take a life under any circumstances, who lives in the shadow of his deeds without ever taking joy in them. It’s deep stuff, well-executed by debut directorRobert D. Krzykowski, just know what you’re walking into and don’t come for Bigfoot action. Come for Sam Elliott doing his best weary badass, and definitely come for the sight of him kicking ass to the sound ofBill Withers’Use Me.
RLJE Films AcquiredThe Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfootand will release the film in theaters, on VOD, and Digital HD in early 2019.
