It's time for Outfest '23! Here are five of the horror offerings from this year's lineup, serving up lesbian werewolves, queer vampires (aren't they all?), Jennifer Reeder's latest, Alice Maio Mackay's take on Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and a horrific shorts block. Outfest aims to "give artists, filmmakers and entertainment professionals the opportunity to discover their voice, provide the pathways to the visibility of their work by all members of the public, and assure that their legacy will live on for generations to come." And we obviously support the hell out of that.
Outfest LA runs through July 23rd, get all the venue and ticketing details on the official website and check out the horror offerings below!
Perpetrator - July 14
Kicking off the fest is Jennifer Reeder's gory coming-of-age tale. Jonny Baptiste (Kiah McKirnan) is an uncontrollable teen sent by her ailing father to live with her Aunt Hildie (Alicia Silverstone). On her 18th birthday, she experiences a metamorphosis: a family spell that redefines her called Forevering. When several teen girls go missing at her new school, Jonny tries to figure out what is happening, and a humorous and gory coming-of-age story ensues. Bubbling with the horror of America’s school shooter drills, Reeder has crafted an uncanny, bloody, queer-feminist film for the ages. More info here.
T Blockers - July 15
Rising teen director Alice Maio Mackay's (Bad Girl Boogey) queer unapologetic take on Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Hate comes to small-town Australia, where a young struggling trans filmmaker, Sophie, is the only one who can sense that something is very wrong. Bigotry spreads like a virus following an earthquake that unleashes a parasite that latches onto people, making them increasingly violent. With the help of her friends, Sophie must overpower the parasites and its hosts to keep her and her community out of harm’s way. Get your tickets here.
My Animal - July 15
In this Sundance Midnight favorite, Jacqueline Castel brings a romantic, sexy, dark, and highly stylized energy to a classic monster tale with all the blood, lust, and bloodlust we want from a queer horror film. In a desolate northern Canadian town, wannabe hockey goalie Heather (Bobbi Salvör Menuez) is an outcast living a painfully small existence. Like most teenagers, she has a curfew — but one that is urgent, unsettling, and leaves her imprisoned at home each full moon. When figure skater Jonny (Amandla Stenberg) first bumps into Heather in the grocery store and later on the ice, Heather falls hard for her and believes with a ferocious aching that she has found her soulmate.Tickets.
Anhell69 - July 16
A young director tells the story of his past in his violent and conservative city. He cast the youth of the queer scene of Medellín, Colombia in his first movie, a vampire film, but the main protagonist dies of a heroin overdose at age 21, like many of his friends. The film explores the dreams, doubts, and fears of an annihilated generation torn about by drugs and suicide in a city defined by violence. Tickets and more info.
Shorts: Scary Monsters And Super Creeps - July 20
Don't sleep on the shorts, gang! The OutFest website describes this block as so: Imagine, if you will, a world where people are demonized for the people they sleep with or what they do with their bodies. Imagine a world where the lives of queer people were made materially more difficult by the hatred and closed-mindedness of the world around them. It seems too silly to be true, too overwrought — and yet these short films explore the ways queer people, queer stories, and queerness itself can inspire the fantastical, the otherworldly, and the nightmarish. From a ghost out to ruin a couple’s domestic bliss, to a terrifying tale based on a monster from Dominican folklore, to a sex doll who takes more than it can give, this collection of films stretch the limits of what queer stories can be. Check out the full title lineup and get your tickets.
