My ultimate genre-centered dispatch of SXSW 2026 options three movies that happen largely at single settings, utilizing storytelling units made well-known by the whole lot from J-Horror to “Black Mirror.” They’re a combined bag of high quality, three movies which have undeniably fascinating premises however differ in how they observe by means of on these premises. As soon as once more, filmmakers at SXSW appear to put on their influences on their sleeves with these flicks together with nods to Hideo Nakata and, imagine it or not, Douglas Sirk. You by no means know what you’re gonna see in Austin.
The most effective of the three by some margin is Dave Boyle’s efficient “By no means After Darkish,” a nod to Japanese and South Korean horror movies like “Ringu” and, most successfully, “A Story of Two Sisters.” Like plenty of horror from that a part of the world within the ‘90s and ‘00s, “By no means After Darkish” is a narrative of how real-world violence creates ruptures that convey forth supernatural reckonings. It’s one of many extra well-made movies that I noticed in Austin this yr by way of craft, a piece that builds ambiance and stress to a very insane ultimate act. Among the gradual burn of the primary two acts sizzles just a little too slowly, but it surely will get to one thing memorably intense, particularly for these with a selected aversion to folks shedding their tooth in horror films. Ew.
“Shogun” star Moeka Hoshi is superb as Airi, a touring medium who we first imagine goes to her latest job along with her sister within the backseat, solely to find that the sibling isn’t actually there, a form of “Sixth Sense” companion for our protagonist, one that may solely be seen in reflections. This units up Airi as the true deal; she’s no charlatan trying to grift the grieving. In any case, she has a ghost for a BFF.
Airi arrives at a distant nation residence that’s haunted by a grotesquely disfigured man who stalks the property at evening. Our medium has methods for this sort of factor that permit her to “pierce the veil” to find out what the ghosts want, however this one behaves in a different way. When Airi discovers that the supernatural components of this story aren’t almost as lethal because the residing ones, “By no means After Darkish” turns into an intense thriller, utilizing imagery in a method that remembers nice horror movies with out ever feeling like a direct copy.
Hoshi’s deeply current, engaged efficiency is likely one of the primary causes for a way nicely “By no means After Darkish” works, but it surely’s additionally an undeniably well-made piece of horror filmmaking by way of craft. Boyle glides his digital camera up and down the steps of this good setting, a type of previous properties that feels haunted even earlier than bloody figures prowl its halls. He is aware of tips on how to get plenty of mileage out of a determine within the background or, within the ultimate act, sudden violence. It’s a movie that will not dwell completely as much as one of the best of its influences, but it surely’s made by somebody who clearly understands why these movies have turn out to be such an essential a part of horror historical past.
One of many oddest movies of this yr’s SXSW is Alex Prager’s “Dreamquil,” an surprising mix of Sirkian melodrama and one thing extra akin to “The Twilight Zone” or “Black Mirror.” In the end, it’s method too skinny of a script, one which simply doesn’t have sufficient narrative or thematic meat on its bones, even when I admired a few of the extra uncommon swings of its design.
“Dreamquil” unfolds in a in all probability inevitable future through which the air high quality has turn out to be so poisonous that folks exist largely in digital actuality. For those who assume your loved ones is driving you loopy now, think about how it is going to be when you may’t go away the home anymore. Carol (Elizabeth Banks) and Gary (John C. Reilly) are struggling by means of a marital tough patch, enhanced by the claustrophobia of this imaginative and prescient of the longer term. They’re introduced with a digital wellness retreat known as “Dreamquil,” one thing that may permit Carol to recharge and are available again dedicated to her marriage and son. A lot to Carol’s shock, whereas she was away, Gary introduced in an AI model of his spouse, somebody who does lots of the similar issues as the true Carol … however higher.
What would you do if you happen to had been changed by an AI model of your self? And would you exchange your personal companion with a model that by no means complained? These are questions on the core of this “Black Mirror” premise, however Prager doesn’t add sufficient new to the dialog.
A lot better than the shallow script are the design decisions that make “Dreamquil” seem like a ’50s melodrama with shiny colours in costume design and old style components to the artwork route, too. It’s a visually efficient trick that provides to the sense of displacement, and it’s good to see a movie at this yr’s fest that takes these components severely given how usually I used to be annoyed by the dearth of visible language at SXSW this yr. I simply want it was lifting up a extra fascinating undertaking.
Talking of failed potential, there’s Raviv Ullman & Greg Yagolnitzer’s bleak “Drag,” a film that begins with a intelligent conceit however devolves into one thing so brutal and downright imply that it leaves a nasty style in your mouth. Its star stays a splendidly bodily and spectacular performer, however she will’t preserve this one from residing as much as its title. It’s a drag, man.
Stated star is the good Lizzy Caplan, who performs a burglar breaking into a elaborate residence one evening along with her reticent sister (Lucy DeVito). Sis is simply purported to be the getaway driver, however she runs into the McMansion when she hears a scream, solely to seek out Caplan’s character motionless within the bathtub after throwing out her again. The one resolution right here is a straightforward one: One sister must drag the opposite out of the home earlier than its proprietor returns. Little do they know that the person of the home (John Stamos) is a serial killer.
What begins with an virtually comical premise because the comparatively brief DeVito is compelled to bodily drag Caplan down the corridor and push her down the steps turn out to be one thing a lot darker within the second half, and the administrators can’t deal with the tone change and don’t actually earn the really miserable ending. A part of the issue is that the jolt of the intelligent casting of seeing Uncle Jesse go Patrick Bateman wears off when one realizes he’s simply not fairly proper for the half. He’s not believably menacing, which turns “Drag” into an train in cruelty with out precise stakes. It’s at all times a pleasure to see Caplan do her factor, however she ought to drag whoever satisfied her to signal onto this one.
