Fantastic Fest is officially back, and its 2026 lineup is absolutely stacked.
The legendary genre festival has unveiled the complete feature film lineup for its 21st edition, taking over Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, Texas, from September 17 through September 24, 2026.
This year’s festival will feature 73 feature films and episodic presentations, including 35 World Premieres, 21 International and North American Premieres, and 14 U.S. Premieres. From massive studio horror releases to slashers, creature features, supernatural nightmares, restorations and some truly bizarre discoveries, there’s a little bit of everything heading to Austin.
‘Beware Boiúna’ and ‘Resident Evil’ Kick Off Fantastic Fest
Opening night will feature the World Premiere of Beware Boiúna, the new creature feature from director Mike P. Nelson (Silent Night, Deadly Night). Set deep in the Amazon, the film follows a medical mission that becomes a fight for survival after Boiúna, a colossal ancient predator known as “the mother of the waters,” awakens to reclaim her domain. The cast includes Kiana Madeira, Jessica Rothe and Logan Marshall-Green.
As if a giant snake movie wasn’t enough to make opening night a must-see, Fantastic Fest will also host a gala screening of Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil. Cregger, the filmmaker behind Barbarian and Weapons, is bringing the iconic survival-horror franchise back to the big screen with an entirely new story starring Austin Abrams as Bryan, a medical courier who becomes trapped in an increasingly horrifying fight for survival as one night descends into complete chaos.
Resident Evil hits theaters on September 18, 2026.
Mike Flanagan’s ‘Carrie’ Is Coming to Fantastic Fest
One of the biggest television projects appearing at the festival is Mike Flanagan’s Carrie.
Fantastic Fest will host the U.S. Premiere of the first two episodes of the upcoming Prime Video series. The new adaptation follows Carrie after the sudden death of her father forces her into the brutal world of public high school. Along with dealing with a viral bullying scandal and the pressures of growing up in the social-media era, Carrie begins discovering mysterious telekinetic abilities.
Mike Flanagan taking on Stephen King’s Carrie already makes this one of the most intriguing horror projects on the horizon, and Fantastic Fest audiences will be among the first in the country to see what he has in store.
‘River’ Brings a Brutal New Slasher to Austin
Fantastic Fest is also hosting the U.S. Premiere of River, the upcoming film from director Joshua Giuliano and Independent Film Company & Shudder.
The film follows three estranged siblings who reunite following their father’s death and travel to a remote river to scatter his ashes. When their boat breaks down, the trip quickly turns into a waking nightmare.
‘Victorian Psycho,’ ‘Bloody Tennis’ and More Major Premieres
Maika Monroe leads Victorian Psycho, which will have its North American Premiere at the festival. Directed by Zachary Wigon, the period horror film follows an eccentric governess who arrives at a remote gothic manor in Victorian England, where strange happenings begin raising suspicions that she may not be what she seems.
Shudder’s Bloody Tennis will also make its North American debut. Directed by Nikias Chryssos, the film follows Sophie as she attends a summer tennis academy where her coming-of-age experience gets considerably stranger — and bloodier — than expected.
Other major titles include Pathetic Fallacy, starring Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi and Jessica Rothe; Godmother, starring horror icon Dee Wallace; Death of a Yellow Bird, from the team behind Undertone; and Martin McDonagh’s Wild Horse Nine.
Then there’s What Happened to Doris?, based on the terrifying true story that inspired The Entity, and Red Snow, which features a vampire posing as Santa Claus. Fantastic Fest truly has something for every kind of genre fan this year.
‘The Swallow’ Will Close Fantastic Fest 2026
Directors Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer will close out Fantastic Fest with the World Premiere of The Swallow.
The effects-forward survival horror film follows a group of young people terrorized by a sentient, quicksand-like sludge after entering a fenced-off area of the woods.
Starring Grace Van Dien, it sounds like exactly the kind of bizarre, effects-driven creature feature that should absolutely kill with a Fantastic Fest crowd.
This will mark my fourth Fantastic Fest, and based on this lineup alone, it’s already shaping up to be the biggest and potentially best one yet.
The Complete Fantastic Fest 2026 Feature Film Lineup
Here is every feature film and episodic presentation announced for Fantastic Fest 2026:
3 WEEKS AFTER
North American Premiere | Serbia, Bulgaria, Italy, Croatia, Luxembourg | 94 min
Director: Miroslav Terzić
Three weeks after his friend’s suicide, a teenager joins his classmates on a school trip. As bullying escalates and tensions boil over, the truth begins to come out.
5 MORE MINUTES
International Premiere | Spain | 93 min
Director: Javier Ruiz Caldera
A husband and wife struggling with their marriage discover that actions really do have consequences in a darkly comedic spin on the time-loop movie.
ADULT SUPERVISION
World Premiere | Sweden | 108 min
Director: Alex Schulman
Three fathers volunteer to chaperone their teenage daughters’ school trip, only for the seemingly idyllic getaway to expose brutal social dynamics that leave the dads completely out of their depth.
ATTACK ON PARADISE
U.S. Premiere | Belgium, The Netherlands | 99 min
Director: Bob Colaers
After seven years of sleeplessness, grief and nightmares, Suleyman finally reunites with his mother in Paradise — until henchmen, cops and a disastrous raid drag him back into hell.
BEWARE BOIÚNA
World Premiere | USA | 104 min
Director: Mike P. Nelson
Deep in the Amazon, a medical mission turns into a desperate fight for survival when the colossal ancient predator Boiúna awakens to reclaim her domain.
THE BIRTHDAY PARTY
North American Premiere | France | 114 min
Director: Léa Mysius
Nora’s 40th birthday takes an unexpected turn when three uninvited guests arrive claiming she isn’t who she says she is, threatening to unravel the life she has carefully constructed.
THE BLOOD COUNTESS
North American Premiere | Austria, Germany, Luxembourg | 119 min
Director: Ulrike Ottinger
A recently reawakened vampire Elizabeth Báthory searches present-day Austria for an ancient artifact capable of destroying her family.
BLOOD FEAST
World Premiere of the 4K Restoration | USA | 67 min
Director: Herschell Gordon Lewis
AGFA and Something Weird present a new 4K restoration of the groundbreaking 1963 splatter film.
BLOODY TENNIS
North American Premiere | Germany | 90 min
Director: Nikias Chryssos
Sophie’s coming-of-age experience gets considerably sweatier and bloodier when she enters a summer tennis academy where even the blood-red morning smoothie isn’t the strangest thing happening.
CARRIE
U.S. Premiere | Canada/USA | Two Episodes, 101 min
Director: Mike Flanagan
Following her father’s sudden death, Carrie enters the unforgiving ecosystem of public high school, where viral bullying, social-media cruelty and adolescence collide with the awakening of her mysterious telekinetic abilities.
CINEMA RECOMPOSED: SILENT MONSTERS
World Premiere | 65 min
A live string quartet performs brand-new scores created by seven young composers for seven classic silent horror shorts, including Frankenstein, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and selections from Häxan.
COMPLIANCE
North American Premiere | USA | 104 min
Director: Kyle Mangione-Smith
A corporate client relations representative pulls at a loose thread and begins unraveling a massive conspiracy in this found-footage nightmare.
CORPUS
U.S. Premiere | USA | 102 min
Director: Corrin Evans
Three friends abandon the club scene for an exclusive party at a remote estate, only to become victims of increasingly erotic and violent supernatural attacks.
THE CYCLE
World Premiere | USA | 111 min
Director: Jordan Downey
When the body of a man missing for 36 years is discovered at the scene of a horrific crime, his estranged daughter begins uncovering the secrets of his dark past.
DEATH HAS NO MASTER
North American Premiere | Venezuela, Canada, Italy, Luxembourg | 106 min
Director: Jorge Thielen Armand
Following her father’s death, Caro travels to Venezuela to sell the family’s cacao plantation but finds it occupied by a mother who refuses to leave, setting off a devastating chain of violence.
DEATH OF A YELLOW BIRD
World Premiere | Canada | 93 min
Director: Cody Calahan
A dying man returns to his childhood home to record messages for his son, only to discover a supernatural presence haunting the isolated cabin.
DOG GOD
International Premiere | Thailand | 110 min
Director: Ing K
After being banned in Thailand for nearly 30 years, the elusive 1997 film emerges as an anarchic critique of blind faith.
DONKEY PRINCESS
North American Premiere | Chile, France, Netherlands, Uruguay, Germany | 90 min
Directors: Cristóbal León & Joaquín Cociña
In a kingdom where love has been declared a plague, a princess travels across different realities in search of love while confronting grief and her own identity.
EXTREME PREJUDICE
Special Presentation | USA | 105 min
Director: Walter Hill
Nick Nolte stars as a Texas Ranger facing off against his former childhood friend turned drug kingpin, played by Powers Boothe, in Walter Hill’s classic neo-Western action thriller.
THE FACE OF HORROR
U.S. Premiere | UK | 120 min
Director: Anna Biller
A vain knight, an inconvenient wife and a marriage built on murder collide in Anna Biller’s lurid new ghost story.
FLAPJAX
World Premiere | USA/Canada | 98 min
Director: Rocko Zevenbergen
An endlessly optimistic fast-food manager is tasked with bringing back a long-dormant menu item called Flapjax, refusing to let mysterious warnings and disappearances stop him.
FRISK
North American Premiere of the 4K Restoration | USA | 89 min
Director: Todd Verow
A newly restored presentation of Todd Verow’s controversial 1995 serial-killer film.
FULL PHIL
World Premiere | France/USA | 78 min
Director: Quentin Dupieux
Quentin Dupieux’s first English-language feature arrives in a brand-new cut starring Kristen Stewart and Woody Harrelson.
FUTURE TENSE
U.S. Premiere | South Africa/Australia | 98 min
Director: Jenna Cato Bass
A young couple clashes while taking a time-traveling vacation through a dystopian future.
GAME MASTER
International Premiere | France | 89 min
Director: Éric Judor
A celebration of imagination, awkward parenthood and play set within the wonderfully eccentric world of live-action role-playing.
GHOST IN THE CELL
North American Premiere | Indonesia | 106 min
Director: Joko Anwar
Joko Anwar combines supernatural horror, prison thriller, martial arts action and pitch-black political satire in a bloody new genre mashup.
GIMME TRUTH
U.S. Premiere | Canada | 84 min
Directors: Brad Abrahams & Simon Ennis
A documentary exploring the world of conspiracy theories across North America.
GIRL IN THE NIGHT
World Premiere | Slovenia | 94 min
Director: Luka Marčetić
A lonely man desperate for human connection steals a bicycle from his town’s self-appointed vigilante and unexpectedly finds himself joining her nightly adventures.
THE GLORIOUS DEAD
U.S. Premiere | USA | 81 min
Directors: John Adams & Toby Poser
A sheriff and deputy awaken to a transformed world where bloody chasms have erupted from the earth, flesh-born creatures roam the land and the dead are rising.
GODMOTHER
World Premiere | USA | 85 min
Director: John Veron
A carefully planned couples’ vacation in the desert becomes a nightmare when family tensions collide with mysterious hosts harboring sinister intentions.
HALF
International Premiere | India | 111 min
Director: Samjad
Two half-human, half-vampire siblings are run off the road and left for dead by scavengers — and they’re coming back for revenge.
HELL HOUSE
World Premiere of the Restoration | USA | 86 min
Director: George Ratliff
AGFA presents a restoration of the acclaimed Y2K-era documentary, with director George Ratliff appearing in person.
HENRY: PORTRAIT OF A SERIAL KILLER
World Premiere of the 35mm Print | USA | 83 min
Director: John McNaughton
A brand-new 35mm print celebrates the 40th anniversary of John McNaughton’s disturbing classic featuring Michael Rooker’s career-defining performance.
THE HERETIKS
World Premiere | USA | 89 min
Director: Gregg Bishop
When a coven of witches marks her younger sister for sacrifice as part of a plan to unleash the apocalypse, Ada teams with a renegade witch to save her.
I HAVE PROOF
World Premiere | USA | 76 min
Director: James Cullen Bressack
A Burnt Ends selection centered around a man named Alex who has proof — and wants you to see it.
INTO THE SKY
World Premiere | USA | 97 min
Directors: Evan Wolf Buxbaum & Drew Mylrea
A man’s attempt to win back his estranged wife is complicated by an extraterrestrial force that repeatedly snatches him away from Earth.
JANUR IRENG: SEWU DINO THE PREQUEL
North American Premiere | Indonesia | 94 min
Director: Kimo Stamboel
Two desperate siblings stumble into a centuries-old satanic ritual orchestrated by their wealthy relatives in Kimo Stamboel’s demonic prequel to Sewu Dino.
JIM QUEEN
U.S. Premiere | France | 84 min
Directors: Marco Nguyen & Nicolas Athane
When a virus that turns gay people straight begins sweeping the world, Jim Perfect and his biggest fan embark on a journey across Paris to find the cure in this animated comedy.
JOLLYFACE
World Premiere | USA | 77 min
Director: Justin Floyd
A woman investigates the violent murder of her fiancé, only to find herself hunted through her apartment complex by a killer determined to keep the truth buried.
KICK ON
U.S. Premiere | Australia | 89 min
Director: Nick Kozakis
Four friends determined to keep their late-night bender alive end up at the apartment of a reckless mobster, where their afterparty rapidly turns into a violent rager.
KUNG FU DEADLY
World Premiere | Ireland/Australia | 96 min
Director: Fergal Costello
Two irresponsible friends discover they may be humanity’s final defense against an ancient Chinese evil in a buddy comedy combining martial arts and supernatural horror.
KYLGOR IN THE GRISLY ABYSS
World Premiere | Canada | 74 min
Director: Mason Jeffrey Newton-DeRushie
Grimdark fantasy, an epic quest, buckets of blood — and it’s all performed with puppets.
LITTLE DOORS
U.S. Premiere | USA | 79 min
Director: Anthony Oberbeck
Two socially awkward people find love in a barren post-apocalyptic world before discovering a mysterious wooden door embedded in the side of her body.
MAGICK MTN.
World Premiere | USA | 80 min
Directors: Hana Mae Lee & Hal Satin
Ghosts, goblins, Crowley and rock and roll collide in an occult fairytale set deep within Laurel Canyon.
MR. CREAMJEANS’ HIDEY HOLE
World Premiere | USA | 70 min
Director: Heath Benfield
A Burnt Ends anthology made up of raunchy, horrifying and darkly comedic vignettes.
NO REST FOR THE WICKED
U.S. Premiere | Denmark | 103 min
Director: Kasper Kalle
After being rescued from drowning by a handsome whaler, Baldur begins a passionate romance that requires sacrifices to an Elder God to survive.
NO WAY DOWN
World Premiere | France | 91 min
Directors: Mohamed Chabane & Théo Jourdain
Fresh out of prison, Idriss enters the derelict Kraken apartment complex searching for his ex-girlfriend’s brother and becomes pulled back into the violent past he hoped to escape.
OGROFF
World Premiere of the Restoration | France | 89 min
Director: Norbert Moutier
Bleeding Skull presents a restoration of the underground 1983 French slasher.
THE ONES WHO GRIEVE
North American Premiere | France | 116 min
Director: Quarxx
As a mysterious plague spreads through the countryside at the end of the 19th century, a young woman living under her deeply religious father’s control fights to reclaim her freedom.
PATHETIC FALLACY
World Premiere | USA | 98 min
Director: Adam Egypt Mortimer
After losing his wife, a grieving man embarks on a surreal journey in an attempt to bring her back.
PHREAKER
World Premiere | Canada | 98 min
Director: Adam Yorke
A blind and lonely teenager becomes a new breed of telecom criminal in a dial-up thriller.
PLATYPUS
World Premiere | Canada | 85 min
Director: Joshua Gratton
Kimberly’s recurring dreams about a masked killer murdering young people around town begin getting frighteningly close to reality.
PLAY HOUSE
World Premiere | USA | 85 min
Director: Nicolas Jon Curcio
While renovating a rundown house in hopes of winning back his ex, Elliot discovers VHS tapes containing an unaired children’s television show whose dark history begins bleeding into his life.
POSTHUMOUS
World Premiere | Australia | 110 min
Director: Josh Tanner
Zoe returns home to her estranged father and begins watching VHS birthday recordings left by her deceased mother, leading her to an occult ritual that changes everything she believed about her mother’s death.
A PRAYER FOR THE DYING
North American Premiere | Norway, Greece, UK, Sweden | 95 min
Director: Dara Van Dusen
In 1870 Wisconsin, a Civil War-haunted sheriff is pushed to his psychological limits as a deadly plague sweeps through his town while wildfires close in.
RED SNOW
World Premiere | Finland, Estonia, Sweden | 92 min
Director: Ilja Rautsi
A vampire disguised as Santa Claus invades a family’s home, but their rebellious teenage daughter has an unusual Christmas wish of her own: she wants to become a vampire.
RESIDENT EVIL
Gala Screening | USA | 93 min
Director: Zach Cregger
Zach Cregger reinvents the iconic franchise with an original story following Bryan, a medical courier played by Austin Abrams, whose ordinary night collapses into an action-packed fight for survival.
RIVER
U.S. Premiere | USA | 92 min
Director: Joshua Giuliano
Three estranged siblings reunite after their father’s death and head down a remote river to scatter his ashes. When their boat breaks down, the trip becomes a waking nightmare.
ROMA ELASTICA
North American Premiere | France/Italy | 107 min
Director: Bertrand Mandico
Bertrand Mandico and Marion Cotillard deliver a hyper-pulp transmission inspired by 1980s Italian cinema.
ROY FROM SPACE
World Premiere of the Restoration | Mexico | 64 min
Director: Héctor López Carmona
One of Mexico’s first fully animated features returns in a new restoration, following an evil space emperor’s attempt to conquer Earth.
SCREAMPLAY
World Premiere of the 4K Restoration | USA | 93 min
Director: Rufus Butler Seder
The 1984 queer horror film returns in a newly restored 4K presentation.
SICK
World Premiere | Poland | 90 min
Director: Agata Trzebuchowska
Two siblings are tasked with caring for their ailing grandmother, and things quickly begin spiraling out of control.
THE SPIRAL
U.S. Premiere | Italy, France, Belgium | 115 min
Director: Paolo Strippoli
Alice’s estranged mother arrives with a confession about a bargain made 20 years earlier, revealing that the miracle that once saved Alice came with a debt that’s finally due.
THE SQUIRREL
International Premiere | Finland, Germany, The Netherlands, Sweden | 92 min
Director: Markus Lehmusruusu
In a sterile future where nature has disappeared and emotions are forbidden, a designer of robotic companion dogs rescues an injured squirrel and begins questioning everything about his society.
THE SWALLOW
World Premiere | USA | 82 min
Directors: Kevin Kölsch & Dennis Widmyer
A sentient, quicksand-like sludge terrorizes a group of young people in an effects-forward creature feature that will close Fantastic Fest 2026.
TOO MANY BEASTS
North American Premiere | France | 96 min
Director: Sarah Arnold
A disgraced cop transferred to the French countryside investigates tensions between local farmers and hunters and discovers corruption far deeper than the damage caused by the region’s exploding wild boar population.
UPIRO
World Premiere | Spain | 106 min
Director: Óscar Martín
During the Age of Enlightenment, Ana is sent to a remote monastery to atone for her sins and discovers a mysterious blood disease connected to a supernatural being known as the upyr.
ÜREI
World Premiere | Kazakhstan | 80 min
Director: Yerkezhan Baizhan
A young girl is left with her aging grandmother in rural Kazakhstan, where an ordinary act of familial care becomes an unsettling descent into the unknown.
VERTIGINOUS
U.S. Premiere | France | 67 min
Director: Quentin Dupieux
Quentin Dupieux tackles the simulation hypothesis through early-Y2K graphics and his signature absurdist deadpan humor.
VICTORIAN PSYCHO
North American Premiere | USA | 102 min
Director: Zachary Wigon
Set in Victorian England, the film follows an eccentric governess who arrives at a remote gothic manor, where increasingly strange events raise questions about who — or what — she really is.
WELCOME TO DOLLY’S HOUSE
North American Premiere | Taiwan | 86 min
Directors: Seven Ych, Rady Fu & Tree Muta
Taiwan’s first major rotoscoped 2D animated feature follows a ghost-debunking influencer whose understanding of her own identity begins unraveling after entering the mansion of a reclusive doll-maker.
WHAT HAPPENED TO DORIS?
World Premiere | USA | 92 min
Director: Nick Simon
Based on the terrifying true story that inspired The Entity, the film follows a single mother whose violent encounters with an unseen force draw UCLA investigators into one of America’s most infamous paranormal cases.
WILD HORSE NINE
Texas Premiere | UK, USA, Chile | 118 min
Director: Martin McDonagh
A CIA mission to Easter Island begins unraveling amid conspiracies, secrets and the looming Chilean coup.
More Than Just the Movies
Fantastic Fest will also honor legendary director Walter Hill with a special award celebrating his contributions to genre cinema, followed by a screening of Extreme Prejudice and a conversation with the filmmaker.
The festival’s special events include an opening night party featuring synthpunk band Drakulas, an Evil Laugh Competition, live recordings of Doug Loves Movies and The Kingcast, Fresh Frights with Rotten Tomatoes, and a closing night concert from GWAR.
Fantastic Pitches will also return for its second edition, with six filmmaking teams presenting projects live at the festival and the winner receiving $100,000 in financing, distribution and sales support.
Fantastic Fest Returns September 17
Fantastic Fest’s 21st edition takes place September 17-24, 2026 at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, Texas.
Between Resident Evil, Carrie, River, Beware Boiúna, The Swallow, Victorian Psycho, Bloody Tennis and dozens of international discoveries, restorations and World Premieres, this year’s lineup is shaping up to be another massive celebration of genre filmmaking.
According to Seth will be on the ground covering Fantastic Fest 2026 from Austin, so stay tuned for reviews, reactions, interviews and plenty more throughout the festival.
