Beyond Fest, the highest-attended genre film festival in the US, is excited to announce its slate of 2019 programming, comprised of 39 features including 3 world premieres, 2 US premieres and 17 West Coast premieres of cinematic excess. Beyond Fest returns to Hollywood’s famed Egyptian Theatre for 14 days of cinematic splendor spanning Wednesday, September 25th - Tuesday, October 8th to generate funds for the nonprofit 501c3 American Cinematheque.
With a diverse slate celebrating cinema from all corners of the globe, Beyond Fest is proud to open with a double-barrelled-double-bill from LA provocateurs Spectrevision, featuringColor Out of Space, with director Richard Stanley in person, and Adam Egypt Mortimer’sDaniel Isn’t Real. Other hotly anticipated titles making their West Coast debuts include two stunning social satires; this year’s transcendent Palme d’Or winner,Parasite, with writer/director Bong Joon-Ho in person, and Taika Waititi’s brilliantly provocative and timely tale,JoJo Rabbit. Eddie Murphy returns in bombastic fashion in Craig Brewer’sDolemite is My Name, which is paired with Rudy Ray Moore’s original 1975 Blaxploitation classicDolemite, Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala’s Sundance sensation,The Lodge, delivers supremely chilling scares, director Ant Timpson will be joined by star Elijah Wood as he presents his electrifying directorial debut,Come To Daddy, and festival sensationLittle Monsterstears up the big screen courtesy of Beyond Fest alumnus Abe Forsythe.
World premieres also take center stage with Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington’s trip fantastic,Mister America, directed by Eric Notarnicola. Starring Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington as Tim Heidecker and Gregg Turkington, Tim runs for office. Both will be present to share stories from the political hotbed of San Bernardino County. One of the most iconic periods of genre cinema is exhaustively celebrated in the definitive 80’s horror documentaryIn Search of Darkness, directed by David A. Weiner, and will be accompanied by an epic panel of filmmakers and talent from the legendary era. Also receiving its world debut is the new anthology filmPortalsfrom luminaries Gregg Hale, Liam O’Donnell, Eduardo Sánchez, and Timo Tjahjanto.
“As the world hurtles towards its impending demise we’re happy to once again celebrate some of the most progressive and exceptional filmmaking out there,” said Beyond Fest Co-Founder, Christian Parkes. “To share a Palme d’Or winner from a master director alongside something undiscovered and as exhilarating asThe Vast of Nightis everything that Beyond Fest believes in.”
The most beloved cult classics are celebrated via a series of special event screenings throughout the festival. Leading this year’s repertory slate and closing out the festival is a special 25th-anniversary reunion of Oliver Stone’s incendiary masterpiece,Natural Born Killers, featuring a post-screening Q&A with director Stone, stars Woody Harrelson, Juliette Lewis, and producer Don Murphy in-person. Legendary actorTom Atkinsjoins us for a special triple bill featuring three of his most beloved and iconic roles inThe Fog,Halloween III: Season of the WitchandNight of the Creeps. Director Karyn Kusama reunites with star Megan Fox for a 10-year anniversary screening of their genre-bendingJennifer’s Body, Elliott Gould makes a rare appearance to share his stories as Philip Marlowe following Robert Altman’s personal print ofThe Long Goodbye, the masterWilliam Friedkinjoins us to talk about the most terrifying film ever made,The Exorcist, and we go gonzo with two “How did this get made and why were they marketed to kids?” screenings featuring Stewart Raffill’s hyper-gory-high-school-rom-com-dinosaur-horrorTammy and the T-Rexand the theatrical premiere ofMooch Goes to Hollywood, directed by Richard Erdman and starring Vincent Price, which is best described asBenjimeetsMidnight Cowboyin theValley of the Dolls.
LA gets its shine this year in a series of screenings featuring locals Joe Begos, Travis Stevens and UK transplant Bernard Rose. Hesh renegade Begos unleashes his trademark carnage in a double-bill featuring the West Coast premiere of Fangoria Films' super-siege VFW and his psychedelic bad-LA-acid-trip,Bliss. Producer turned writer/director Travis Stevens casts his artfully disturbed eye uponGirl On The Third Floorwith stars Phil Brooks (aka CM Punk) and Elissa Dowling in attendance, and Bernard Rose takes us back to a transitional Japan to explore the collision of honor and culture in his beautifully composedSamurai Marathon 1855.
Special events are led by cult legend Joe Bob Briggs as he brings his one man show to the Egyptian’s famous stage forJoe Bob Presents: How Rednecks Saved Hollywoodand award-winning composer Joe LoDuca who will be performing his new score before the LA premiere of Sam Raimi’sThe Evil Dead4K restoration, presented by Mondo. There’s more undead action from Cinematic Void as they present the new 4K restoration of Jorge Grau’s ethereal classicThe Living Dead at Manchester Morgueand are joined by Death Waltz Recording Co. for a record release screening of Joe Giannone’s summer camp slasherMadman. Friday Night Frights returns for a 30th anniversary screening of the Italian giant monster run amok,KIller Crocodile, by Fabrizio De Angelis.
In addition to the main theater, the Egyptian’s 90-seat second screen will host 13 free screenings including the US Premiere of David Marmor’s critically-lauded 1BR, a special screening of the brilliant Gary Oldman and Emily Mortimer chillerMary, directed by Michael Goi, the West Coast Premiere of Andrew Patterson’s Midnight Madness selectedThe Vast of Night, the US Premiere of David Gregory’s brilliant Al Adamson documentaryBlood & Flesh: The Reel Life and Ghastly Death of Al Adamsonin a double with Al Adamson’s crazyDracula vs Frankensteinwith an array of special guests, including the first ever public appearance of the silver screen’s most elusive Dracula, Zandor Vorkov, the LA Premiere of Alexandre Philippe’sAliendocumentary extraordinaireMemory: The Origins of Alien, the West Coast Premiere of Carlo Mirabella-Davis' incredible, genre-defyingSwallow, the West Coast Premiere of Mirrah Foulkes' madcap Sundance standoutJudy & Punch, and for the first time, four shorts blocks celebrating bite-sized genre brilliance from near and far.
See below for the full lineup of newly announced feature film titles for Beyond Fest 2019. Beyond Shorts will be announced shortly. Tickets will be on sale via Brown Paper Tickets on Saturday, September 7th at 10 AM PST.
