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Chattanooga Film Fest's Chris Dortch takes over ✍🏻, 'Livestream' rocks our world 🤳, & more!

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Hi! My name is Chris Dortch, and I’m the festival director and lead film programmer for the Chattanooga Film Festival. Bee and Brett were kind enough to ask me to write the intro for this week’s newsletter, because it concerns a topic I know a little something about. As a person with social anxiety, just about any large event can seem pretty horrifying to me. So horror films where folks attend events or God forbid throw events themselves are among the films that put the anxiety screws to me the most.

That said, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t love them for this. I suspect this is because I run an event myself and I cannot overstate the number of nightmares I’ve woken up from related to any of the 12 million moving parts that go into staging our festival, and this is without the whole potentially being murdered problem. 

It gives me sympathy for the young folks in a film like 1986’s KILLER PARTY. These kids just want to attend a college party and get the shit hazed out of themselves so they can join a sorority! Normal college stuff. But no one’s ever counting on a bloodthirsty demonic entity or in my case, filmmaker Uwe Boll—who I once had the genius idea of staging a retirement party for as part of our festival.

To make a long story short, even fire dancers and a goddamn parade in his honor weren’t enough to spark joy in the man who gave us HOUSE OF THE DEAD (an event horror film itself featuring footage seemingly captured from a poorly functioning Sega Dreamcast). All this to say that whether it’s time to gear up for a MURDER PARTY or just to rewatch PROM NIGHT’s awkwardly hypnotic disco sequence—or better still pick up MARY LOU in PART TWO—I’m completely on board. At all times, I’m ready to sympathize with even the dumbest decisions our protagonists make, unless we’re talking about attending the blood rave at the beginning of BLADE, which was preceded by a seemingly adequate number of red flags, each one screaming to stay the hell away.

As even concert films like GIMME SHELTER can show us, crowds can be awfully scary, let alone what those crowds might do if you just happen to be vacationing on SUMMER ISLE. It’s almost enough to lead you gently over the precipice into the gentle embrace of agoraphobia if you think about it hard enough, huh? So maybe it’s best not to think and just pop on NIGHT OF THE CREEPS, because the good news is your date is here. The bad news is your date is dead. Big thanks to the whole team at Horrorverse and from one scaredy-cat to another, we hope to see you this June at our festival! Enjoy the rest of this RAD newsletter!

The Chattanooga Film Festival makes its triumphant return to the Chattanooga Theatre Center for the 12th edition of what MovieMaker Magazine calls one of The 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World! It all goes down in-person June 20-22 with the virtual side of the festival continuing through the 28th.

By Brett Petersel | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd | X

Game Over! Sad, if true, but reports from both Fangoria and MovieWeb are coming out that the 11th installment of the Saw franchise, SAW XI, is no longer happening.

Is Darren Aronofsky directing the new Cujo film for Netflix? The Hollywood Reporter thinks so.

With Scary Movie 6 officially happening, will Regina Hall and Anna Ferris return? [VIDEO via Entertainment Tonight]

With St. Patrick's Day now past us, it would only seem right to hear that a new Leprechaun film, directed by Felipe Vargas, will be happening. Let's hope it doesn't go the Jeepers Creepers: Reborn route!

No one asked for a Single White Female remake. No one.

Bloody Disgusting shared the first five minutes of Popeye the Slayer Man on their X (fka Twitter) account. The film will be in theaters and available on VOD beginning today.

Bee Delores | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd and Brett Petersel | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd | X 

Since Samuel L. Jackson isn't in this, I knew Monster on a Plane was going to be a real shit-show (and I was right). There are many bad (and funny) things about this film, including what looks like a Jaguar (car) with front-positioned police lights that looked like they were added in with Microsoft Paint, or maybe it was the Predator-like thermal scenes that would make for an incredible acid trip. I wouldn't make my worst enemy watch this. I think Letterboxd user JoshStarks wrote the perfect review. [written by Brett]

Grief lies at the heart of DW Medoff's I Will Never Leave You Alone. The writer/director guides the audience through a haunted house tale about newly-released mute convict Richard (Kenneth Trujillo). As part of his parole, he must spend six nights in a decrepit house to clear out all evil spirits. Things start off innocuous enough, of course, but as each day transpires, a ghouls begins tormenting him, as he also experiences hallucinations of his late wife. Is what he's experiencing real? Or just long-buried trauma he's never properly dealt with? Medoff delights in strange bumps in the night, a barrage of jump scares, and images of the demon that you'll never get out of your head. With its standard presentation, I Will Never Leave You Alone speaks to grief and how sometimes you just can not recover - all wrapped up in a scary campfire story. [written by Bee]

Influencer horror isn't a new concept. From Influencer to Superhost and Deadstream, influencers have been plopped down in terrifying circumstances. They must survive while also streaming for their millions of fans. Writer/director Victor Soares places a bid for one of the genre's best with Livestream, which follows an influencer named Mia (Sarah Moliski) and her friends when they take a sponsored trip to a secluded house in the woods. When Mia meets an obsessed fan (Savannah Schakett), the livestream quickly takes a dark turn, setting off a series of deadly consequences. What's most interesting about the film is its incisive exploration of para-social relationships between fans and celebrity. In real life, many superstars have had to ward off super fans stalkers, often leading to restraining orders and jail time. While it's not necessarily reinventing the genre, the ensemble piece exposes the slimy underbelly of the industry. Livestream is thrilling, bloody, and should scratch that found footage itch. [written by Bee]

The importance of technology in wartime can not be overstated. Eva Strelnikova's Stay Online, a war/thriller filmed during the ongoing Russian invasion, strikes a harrowing, resonant chord. The story follows a volunteer who receives a laptop and finds herself helping a young boy find his father. With bombs going off in the distance and frequent air radar alarms, the film arrives as one of the most compelling and necessary films of 2025. It's decidedly a hard watch, but to understand what's going on, everyone needs a glimpse behind news headlines and wartime propaganda. The Ukrainian people are nothing short of brave, that's to be sure. Strelnikova doesn't skimp on the graphic nature of events, often showing dead bodies and relentlessly exposing the stakes for those ion the front lines. It'll make you think very differently about the war. [written by Bee]

Alan Scott Neal's indie slasher Last Straw snuck into 2024 like a fox. It flew under the radar for most of us (although, it'd bee on my list for some time) but proves to a be thrilling and bloody good time. Set in a diner, a young woman comes face-to-face to a group of intruders and must fight for her survival. The story shifts mid-way through to offer a different perspective of events, and it's not what you might expect. Neal's understanding of genre delightfully plays out on screen, allowing the audience to go along for the ride. Other critics may have misunderstood the film's assignment, as it's a fun little slasher with plenty to offer. Tune in for the premise, and stay for the carnage candy. You'll be glad you did. [written by Bee]

If you take Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon and make it young and gay, you'd have Matthew John Lawrence's Bloody Axe Wound. While it dropped on VOD late last year, it finally finds its way onto Shudder this week. Telling the tale about a serial killer and his daughter, the film balances between humorous and serious - mostly fulfilling that promise. As Abbie (Sari Arambulo) steps out on her own, following her father's footsteps, she falls in love with one of her targets, leading to questions of morality and generational occupation. Many parts don't quite live up to others, leading to many viewers feeling deflated from the story, and yet, it carries a charm all its own. Stepping into the boots of Behind the Mask is a high order, and Bloody Axe Wound mostly succeeds in carrying the mantel. [written by Bee]

Bee Delores | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd and Brett Petersel | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd | X

There's nothing more satisfying than watching a film where a person or group of people are expecting to have the best day of their lives (or just a normal day without any distractions) and then all hell breaks loose, resulting in a bloodbath of sorts. Check out our Favorite Event Horror films on Letterboxd here.

Bee Delores | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd and Brett Petersel | Bluesky | Instagram | Letterboxd | X

Why do the text cards remind me of The Substance? The official trailer for The Ugly Stepsister is here, and it's a doozy. One review claims it's a mix of Cinderella and Cronenberg, which, I mean - yes, take my money! In taking a classic story seriously (unlike many other fairy tale reimaginings), it allows for something darker, more sinister, and altogether deliciously devilish. By the looks of things, that's exactly what we'll get. Watch the trailer. [written by Bee]

In a brand new (incredibly brief) clip for Final Destination: Bloodlines, viewers are taken back to the second film with the infamous log truck. While the visual is short and sweet, it gives further insight into the film. Can we expect a ton of easter eggs? Probably. That seems to be the trend these days. Regardless, I'm hyped af. Watch the trailer. [written by Bee]

Give Alison Brie the world. That was my first thought after watching the Together teaser trailer. Co-starring Dave Franco, the film sets up a classic premise: a couple moves into a new home. Then, things quickly go off the rails. In the clip, there's some bizarre imagery as the idyllic suburban home crumbles and reveals a much darker presence. I'm not sure what'll happen, but that's the thing about good trailers: they leave much to the imagination. Watch the trailer. [written by Bee]

There's nothing like going to a place or event, thinking for the best, and then it all goes to shit. Such is the case with 2015’s Green Room. They just wanted to play a concert and leave. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, and the same goes for many of the films on this Letterboxd list.

Cleanup on aisle 5. The Toxic Avenger mops its way into theaters on August 29, 2025.

Josh Ruben's Heart Eyes slashes its way to Blu-ray and DVD on April 15th. The Blu-ray will include deleted and extended scenes, as well as gag reels and the making of the film.

David Cronenberg's latest, The Shrouds, premieres in New York and Los Angeles on April 18th, and then nationwide (U.S.) on April 25th.

Fresh off his latest Terrifier 3 run, David Howard Thornton is back on the big screen as Steamboat Willie in Screamboat. The film crawls into theaters on April 2, 2025.

With the success of The Substance, we’re getting another body horror film, this time from NEON. Together will play exclusively in theaters on August 1, 2025

Zach Cregger’s new Resident Evil (reboot!) film will be released in theaters on September 18, 2026.

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