Images
Three Genre Surprises In the SXSW Film Festival Announcement!
While we won’t get the full list of horror films playing at this year’s SXSW Film Festival this coming March in Austin, Texasuntil next week, we did identify three genre offerings that warrant our attention.
First, and most notably, is Snakes On a Plane and Gothika writer Sebastian Gutierrez‘s Elizabeth Harvest, which hails out of the UK. Pictured above, “Elizabeth Harvest is a science fiction reimagining of the French folktale of Bluebeard, in which a violent nobleman in the habit of murdering his wives is confronted by a new wife trying to avoid the fate of her predecessors.” It stars Abbey Lee, Ciaran Hinds, Carla Gugino, Matthew Beard, and Dylan Baker.
Then there’s Septian director Michael Tully‘s Don’t Leave Home, starring Anna Margaret Hollyman, Lalor Roddy, Helena Bereen, David McSavage, and Karrie Cox. In the film set to World Premiere, “An American artist’s obsession with a disturbing urban legend leads her to an investigation of the story’s origins at the crumbling estate of a reclusive painter in Ireland.”
Another interesting find is Nightwatch and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter director Timur Bekmambetov‘s Profile, which looks inspired by the secretly-filmed Unfriended sequel. In the film, “Looking to investigate recruitment techniques of ISIS to lure women into Syria, Amy Whitaker, a journalist, creates a Facebook profile of a Muslim convert. When an ISIS recruiter contacts her online character, she experiences the process first hand.” Having its North American Premiere at the festival, it stars Valene Kane, Shazad Latif, Christine Adams, Morgan Watkins, and Amir Rahimzadeh.
We have an exclusive first look at A Man in the Woods With an Axe, a blood-soaked, genre-twisting homage to 1980s slasher films.
Spanning four decades, A Man in the Woods With an Axe begins in the summer of 1987 before pushing into the modern era, weaving together timelines and perspectives in a way that builds both dread and intrigue.
Drawing inspiration from genre standouts like Tucker and Dale vs. Evil, Hatchet, and The Cabin in the Woods, the film blends visceral horror with moments of dark humor, creating a uniquely balanced experience that honors tradition while carving its own identity.
Writer-director Dillon Brown (Primal Darkness) aims to deliver everything fans crave from a slasher while boldly subverting expectations with a mid-film twist that redefines the story.
“This is an unapologetic love letter to the films that made me fall in love with horror,” Brown tells Bloody Disgusting. “But I didn’t just want to recreate that feeling; I wanted to challenge it. About halfway through, the film takes a turn that completely changes how you view not only this story, but the genre itself.”
Brown describes the vintage-inspired production as “far and away the bloodiest film I’ve ever made,” with practical effects helmed by Cody Ruch (The Mill, Pig Hill), an instructor at Tom Savini’s Special Make-Up Effects Program.
From Horror Dadz Productions, A Man in the Woods With an Axe is currently in production and targeting an early 2027 release.
You must be logged in to post a comment.