Overlook Film Festival Announces Surprise Films, Immersive Presentations & Parties

New Additions to the Already Packed Film Lineup Include Cloud, LifeHack and Rosario,Making this the Largest Overlook Lineup Ever

The Horror Celebration Gets Even Bigger with Splatterday Night Closing Night Party and Boulet Brothers Joining for Shudder’s 10th Anniversary Blowout

[New Orleans, LA — March 19, 2025] The Overlook Film Festival, the annual celebration of all things horror, announced today the full schedule for its 2025 edition, including some surprise new films and live events. Taking place April 3 — April 6 in America’s most haunted city, New Orleans, Louisiana at the Prytania Theatres, the horror festival announced nine additional films to its lineup, as well as new immersive events, presentations and parties. The full festival schedule can be found at overlookfilmfest.com/schedule.

“This year’s giant lineup brings into focus all of the ways we love to be scared, regardless of what flavor of spooky is your jam” said Sheryl Santacruz, festival director of The Overlook Film Festival. “We can’t wait to join with the greatest, most dedicated genre fans in the world to celebrate this sensation that we all love in ways that we never imagined possible, all thanks to these brilliant artists.”

The new additions to the lineup bring the festival total to 56 films (34 features and 22 shorts) from 15 countries, as well as twelve live events and four immersive experiences, making this the largest Overlook lineup in the festival’s nine year history.

Highlighting these additions to the film lineup are Cloud, the latest work from Japanese horror legend Kiyoshi Kurosawa ( Cure, Pulse), which follows an online reseller whose bogus products lead to a series of violent threats which reach increasingly close to home; The Home, in which a man caring for his mother struggling with dementia must confront the ghosts of their past; Rosario, where a grief-stricken woman must withstand supernatural forces as she spends the night with the body of her departed grandmother; LifeHack, a non-stop, high tension thriller following four slacker teens as they descend into the darkest corners of the internet to plan one of the greatest cyberheists of all time; Frewaka, where a care worker leaves her Dublin home for a remote assignment to look after an elderly shut-in whose house may or may not be a portal to the occult; Best Wishes to All, in which a young nursing student gets an unexpectedly twisted dose of reality when she visits her grandparents; and Predators, an acclaimed documentary from David Osit which examines the ethics and legacy of the hit show To Catch a Predator.

In addition to these features, two new retrospective screenings were announced. As part of the Overlook’s Tribute to David Lynch, a collection of his short films spanning back to his art school days before the making of Eraserhead will be screened; and a 65th anniversary screening of 13 Ghosts, directed by the legendary showman William Castle, will be presented in it’s original intended form of ILLUSION-O! Audience members will be given exclusive “ghost viewers” and get to choose whether or not they’re brave enough to see the terrifying spirits as they watch the film.

Of course it wouldn’t be the Overlook without live events as well. Preceding the screening of 13 Ghosts will be Phantom Follies with Zabrecky: A Midnight Spook Show & Film Spectacular. Presented by the Academy of Magical Arts, this one-of-a-kind midnight experience features Zabrecky, a six-time Magic Castle award-winning magician and master of theatrical séances, bringing his unique brand of Spook Show magic to the recreation of a classic yet forgotten part of horror lore at the historic Prytania Uptown Theater. Zebrecky will also separately present The Late Great Midnite Spook Show: A Multimedia Illustrated Talk, where the magic historian takes viewers through the history of this unique artform. Other added live events and presentations include a Horror Trivia competition hosted by Daily Dead, a 16MM Camera Workshop, the panel DIY Until You Die: True Indie Horror, where this year’s filmmakers take the audience through the ins and outs of creating independent horror and a live recording of an Immersion Nation Podcast, featuring an interview with horror filmmaker and immersive maverick Darren Lynn Bousman.

The festival’s acclaimed immersive program, presented by American Immersion Theater, has expanded with a remounted edition of a past favorite: Undersigned, is returning for a new group of brave participants. A psychological thriller for an audience of one where your choices completely change the experience, this program will involve an invocation, a blindfold and a pointed discussion based on your input. You can answer any way you choose but boldness is recommended!

The party schedule of the festival has also grown, as it was announced that the Overlook was bringing one of New Orleans’ most popular goth nights to the Toulouse Theater with Splatterday Night at Overlook Film Fest. This Closing Night Party will be hosted and curated by electronic artist Destryur, leading a synthwave celebration sure to keep you up all night. And finally, adding to the festivities even more, it was revealed that the previously announced Opening Night Party celebrating the tenth anniversary of Shudder will include as special guests the queens of horror and stars of Shudder’s Dragula, the Boulet Brothers. Each party is open to all festival pass holders to join in the celebration.

The festival is programmed by Co-Founders Landon Zakheim & Michael Lerman; Programming Manager Daniel Crooke; Short Film Programmer Katie Rife; and Festival Director Sheryl Santacruz.

The full lineup of films, experiences, live events and immersive content is included below, with additional programming to be announced as the festival approaches.

For more details visit the Overlook Film Festival website, and follow us here for more coverage and be sure to follow us here for our reviews from this year’s festival.

Originally published at http://behindtherabbitproductions.wordpress.com on March 20, 2025.