Being the horror-loving night owl that I am, I’ve been waiting for South By Southwest (SXSW) to announce their Midnighter lineup since day one. Sure, the true feature roster has plenty of titles worth getting excited over, whether you’re a Veronica Mars fan or just can’t wait to see Zac Efron play a fratty party-addict in Neighbors, but since I’ll probably be catching up on my sleep during those releases, the Midnighters are my bread and butter – and now I finally know what to expect.
Released today is the official slate of midnight movies that are sure to have genre fans buying their tickets to Texas, spanning a vast array of subgenres. Since I didn’t make it to Sundance this year, I’m a smidgen bummed that movies like Cooties and Dead Snow: Red Vs. Dead aren’t making the trip, but one Sundance selection I’ve been drooling over will in fact show its face – Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett’s The Guest. Getting a favorable review from our very own Dominic Mill, I can’t wait to give this tantalizing thriller a peep.
Among the other notable selections are Eduardo Sánchez’s Exists, his Bigfoot themed horror story, Mike Flanagan’s Oculus, already a fan favorite out of Toronto, and Among The Living – a collaborative effort between the creators of Inside and Livid.
The great news here is that eight out of the ten selections are all World Premieres, so you can expect a lot of fresh reviews coming your way when I storm Austin with fellow WGTC writers Matt Joseph, Alex Lowe, Perri Nemiroff and Justine Browning – although I have a feeling Perri and I will have these Midnighters on lockdown.
Check out the full list of Midnighters playing at SXSW 2014 on the following page and let us know which ones you’re looking forward to seeing. Be sure to stay tuned as we’ll have coverage for you once the festival kicks off.
