News

Popcorn Frights Film Festival announced its juried and audience awards that were selected from a packed lineup of 131 films — a program encompassing 48 features and 83 shorts hailing from 20 different countries, spanning nine distinct categories, that reached 12,700 fans.

From the press release: “This year, the jury panel, comprised of national media figures and local filmmakers, selected J.T. Mollner’s terrifying cat-and-mouse thriller Strange Darling for the Jury Prize for Best Feature Film. In accepting the award, J.T. Mollner stated, ‘Wow. This is such an honor. Sincere thanks to Popcorn Frights, the jury, and all the horror fans we made this film for who came out to support. Getting this news was such a pleasant surprise.’

“The Scariest Feature Film Prize was awarded to Cody Ashford’s chilling tale Drive Back, an inventive twist on the slasher genre that had its world premiere at the festival. To further highlight emerging talent, Popcorn...

Sun-soaked scares returned to the big screen in South Florida and made a cinematic splash virtually throughout the past couple of weeks during the epic tenth edition of the Popcorn Frights Film Festival, and we're thrilled and chilled to share this year's juried and audience award winners, including J.T. Mollner’s Strange Darling (Jury Prize for Best Feature Film), Ross Partridge's Birthrite (Audience Award for Feature Film), Cody Ashford’s Drive Back (Scariest Feature Film Prize), and Steven Hugh Nelson's Old Wounds (New Nightmare Prize for Best Debut Film).

Below, we have the official press release with full details on all of the winners, reactions, and highlights of this year's Popcorn Frights Film Festival, and to learn more about Popcorn Frights, be sure to visit their website:

https://www.popcornfrights.com/

Press Release: August 22, 2024 // — After a fantastic 11 night run filled with in-person and virtual programming experiences, the milestone...

The latest edition of the Popcorn Frights Film Festival has drawn to a close, wrapping up retro screenings and world premieres with an all-night A Nightmare on Elm Street marathon.

Our first roundup of Popcorn Frights 2024 capsule reviews included found footage fright Chateau, along with fest darlings and new discoveries. The found footage didn’t stop there, though, with the fest’s back half unleashing even more found footage world premieres.

Here’s a round-up of some of Popcorn Frights 2024’s found footage feature offerings…

The Ceremony Is About to Begin

Writer/Director Sean Nichols Lynch employs a well-trodden found footage setup in The Ceremony Is About to Begin. A documentary filmmaker, Keith (John Laird), makes an ancient Egypt-obsessed cult his subject, exploring their inner workings. Of course, there’s an ulterior motive at play for Keith beyond simple documentary aspirations. It yields an unnerving push and pull between Keith and the cult’s youthful,...