Fantastic Fest 2026 Unveils Massive Lineup Led by Resident Evil, Beware Boiúna and Carrie
Fantastic Fest 2026 Unveils Massive Lineup Led by Resident Evil, Beware Boiúna, Carrie and Victorian Psycho
Fantastic Fest has officially unveiled its 2026 feature programming lineup, bringing another massive collection of horror, science fiction, action, animation, restorations, international genre cinema and offbeat discoveries to Austin this September.
The 21st edition of the festival runs September 17 through September 24, 2026, at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, Texas, with a program featuring 35 World Premieres, 21 International and North American Premieres, and 14 U.S. Premieres.
This year’s opening night will feature two major screenings. Lionsgate’s Beware Boiúna will make its World Premiere, while Zach Cregger’s Resident Evil will receive a gala screening ahead of its theatrical release.
Closing night belongs to The Swallow, the new survival horror film from Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer, starring Grace Van Dien.
Festival Director Lisa Dreyer says this year’s programming places particular emphasis on emerging filmmakers and new discoveries, while Alamo Drafthouse CEO Michael Kusterman highlighted the festival’s role in helping genre films move from festival launches toward wider theatrical audiences.
Fantastic Fest Opens With Beware Boiúna and Resident Evil
Opening night begins with the World Premiere of Beware Boiúna from director Mike P. Nelson.
The Amazon-set creature feature follows a medical mission that becomes a fight for survival after the legendary Boiúna, a giant snake known as “the mother of the waters,” awakens. The cast includes Kiana Madeira, Jessica Rothe, and Logan Marshall-Green.
Fantastic Fest will also host a gala presentation of Resident Evil from Zach Cregger, the filmmaker behind Barbarian and Weapons.
The new film tells an original story within the franchise and follows Bryan, played by Austin Abrams, a medical courier caught in a rapidly escalating fight for survival over the course of one night.
Resident Evil arrives in theaters September 18.
Closing Night Brings The Swallow
The festival closes with the World Premiere of The Swallow.
Directed by Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer, the effects-driven creature feature follows a group of teenagers who enter a restricted section of the woods during a camping trip and encounter a sentient, quicksand-like substance.
The film stars Grace Van Dien.
World Premieres Include The Cycle, Play House, Godmother and More
Among this year’s major World Premieres is Shudder’s The Cycle, starring Deborah Ann Woll. The story begins when the body of a man missing for 36 years is discovered at a horrific crime scene, forcing his estranged daughter to investigate his past.
Play House also makes its World Premiere after winning the 2025 Fantastic Pitches competition. Directed by Nicolas Jon Curcio, the film follows a man renovating an old house who discovers VHS tapes containing an unaired children’s television program with a disturbing history.
Adam Egypt Mortimer returns with Pathetic Fallacy, starring Scott “Kid Cudi” Mescudi and Jessica Rothe, following a grieving man on a surreal journey connected to the death of his wife.
Godmother, directed by John Veron and executive produced by Seán “Jacksepticeye” McLoughlin, stars Dee Wallace in a desert-set horror story involving a couple’s getaway and increasingly suspicious hosts.
Festival audiences will also see a new cut of Quentin Dupieux’s Full Phil, starring Kristen Stewart and Woody Harrelson, while Cody Calahan and Black Fawn Films bring supernatural horror Death of a Yellow Bird to Austin.
Maika Monroe’s Victorian Psycho and Shudder’s Bloody Tennis Head to Austin
Fantastic Fest will host the North American Premiere of Victorian Psycho, starring Maika Monroe.
Directed by Zachary Wigon, the period horror follows an eccentric governess who arrives at an isolated Victorian manor where strange events begin raising questions about her true nature.
Shudder’s Bloody Tennis also makes its North American Premiere. Directed by Nikias Chryssos, the film follows Sophie as she enters an elite summer tennis academy where competition quickly takes increasingly disturbing forms.
Mike Flanagan’s Carrie Gets U.S. Premiere
Fantastic Fest will present the U.S. Premiere of two episodes of Prime Video’s Carrie.
Directed by Mike Flanagan, the series returns to Stephen King’s story with Carrie navigating public high school, a viral bullying scandal, social-media pressures and the emergence of her telekinetic abilities.
The two-episode presentation runs approximately 101 minutes.
Shudder Brings River to Fantastic Fest
Independent Film Company and Shudder will present the U.S. Premiere of River from director Joshua Giuliano.
The film follows three estranged siblings who reunite following the death of their father and travel to a remote river to scatter his ashes. When their boat fails, the trip begins descending into a nightmare.
Walter Hill to Receive Fantastic Fest Honor
Fantastic Fest will recognize filmmaker Walter Hill with a special award honoring his contributions to genre cinema.
The presentation will be followed by a screening of Hill’s 1987 neo-Western action thriller Extreme Prejudice, starring Nick Nolte and Powers Boothe, along with a conversation with the filmmaker.
Alamo Drafthouse will follow the festival appearance with a nationwide Walter Hill retrospective in January.
Fantastic Pitches Returns
The second edition of Fantastic Pitches will feature six filmmaking teams presenting projects during the festival.
The winning project will receive $100,000 in financing, distribution and sales support from Chroma and Narrative Global Sales, along with music supervision services from MakeSound.
Directors Catherine Hardwicke and Gore Verbinski will lead the jury.
Additional prizes include an original piece of music and scoring from Shooter Jennings at Sunset Sound Studios, along with a Blackmagic camera package sponsored by Blackmagic Design and Fangoria.
Restorations and Rare Screenings
Fantastic Fest is once again partnering with the American Genre Film Archive for several restorations and archival screenings.
A new 4K restoration of Herschell Gordon Lewis’ Blood Feast will receive its World Premiere, while the documentary Hell House receives a restoration premiere with filmmaker George Ratliff attending.
Other archival highlights include the International Premiere of Dog God following nearly three decades of censorship in Thailand, a new 4K restoration of Frisk, a new 35mm print of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer celebrating the film’s 40th anniversary, a restoration of French underground slasher Ogroff, a restoration of Mexican animated feature Roy From Space, and a new 4K restoration of queer horror title Screamplay.
Burnt Ends Returns
Fantastic Fest’s micro-budget sidebar Burnt Ends returns with several new films.
World Premieres include I Have Proof, Mr. Creamjeans’ Hidey Hole and Magick MTN., while Little Doors receives its U.S. Premiere.
The festival will also bring back its outsider animation showcase Burnt ENDominations.
Special Events
Beyond the films, Fantastic Fest will host an opening-night party featuring synthpunk band Drakulas, an Evil Laugh Competition presented by the Blerdy Massacre podcast, and live podcast recordings including Doug Loves Movies and The Kingcast.
Rotten Tomatoes will present Fresh Frights, a discussion focused on horror, while GWAR will perform during the festival’s closing-night celebration.
Attendees will also get the exclusive World Premiere of the Scarlet Church Trailer for the upcoming video game Clive Barker’s Hellraiser: Revival, arriving October 8 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Fantastic Fest 2026 Full Feature Lineup
Fantastic Fest has announced 73 feature films and episodic presentations, with the announced slate including:
* 3 Weeks After — Miroslav Terzić — North American Premiere
* 5 More Minutes — Javier Ruiz Caldera — International Premiere
* Adult Supervision — Alex Schulman — World Premiere
* Attack on Paradise — Bob Colaers — U.S. Premiere
* Beware Boiúna — Mike P. Nelson — World Premiere
* The Birthday Party — Léa Mysius — North American Premiere
* The Blood Countess — Ulrike Ottinger — North American Premiere
* Blood Feast — Herschell Gordon Lewis — World Premiere of the 4K Restoration
* Bloody Tennis — Nikias Chryssos — North American Premiere
* Carrie — Mike Flanagan — U.S. Premiere, two episodes
* Cinema Recomposed: Silent Monsters — World Premiere
* Compliance — Kyle Mangione-Smith — North American Premiere
* Corpus — Corrin Evans — U.S. Premiere
* The Cycle — Jordan Downey — World Premiere
* Death Has No Master — Jorge Thielen Armand — North American Premiere
* Death of a Yellow Bird — Cody Calahan — World Premiere
* Dog God — Ing K — International Premiere
* Donkey Princess — Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña — North American Premiere
* Extreme Prejudice — Walter Hill — Special Presentation
* The Face of Horror — Anna Biller — U.S. Premiere
* Flapjax — Rocko Zevenbergen — World Premiere
* Frisk — Todd Verow — North American Premiere of the 4K Restoration
* Full Phil — Quentin Dupieux — World Premiere
* Future Tense — Jenna Cato Bass — U.S. Premiere
* Game Master — Éric Judor — International Premiere
* Ghost in the Cell — Joko Anwar — North American Premiere
* Gimme Truth — Brad Abrahams and Simon Ennis — U.S. Premiere
* Girl in the Night — Luka Marčetić — World Premiere
* The Glorious Dead — John Adams and Toby Poser — U.S. Premiere
* Godmother — John Veron — World Premiere
* Half — Samjad — International Premiere
* Hell House — George Ratliff — World Premiere of the Restoration
* Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer — John McNaughton — World Premiere of the new 35mm print
* The Heretiks — Gregg Bishop — World Premiere
* I Have Proof — James Cullen Bressack — World Premiere, Burnt Ends
* Into the Sky — Evan Wolf Buxbaum and Drew Mylrea — World Premiere
* Janur Ireng: Sewu Dino the Prequel — Kimo Stamboel — North American Premiere
* Jim Queen — Marco Nguyen and Nicolas Athane — U.S. Premiere
* Jollyface — Justin Floyd — World Premiere
* Kick On — Nick Kozakis — U.S. Premiere
* Kung Fu Deadly — Fergal Costello — World Premiere
* Kylgor in the Grisly Abyss — Mason Jeffrey Newton-DeRushie — World Premiere
* Little Doors — Anthony Oberbeck — U.S. Premiere, Burnt Ends
* Magick MTN. — Hana Mae Lee and Hal Satin — World Premiere, Burnt Ends
* Mr. Creamjeans’ Hidey Hole — Heath Benfield — World Premiere, Burnt Ends
* No Rest for the Wicked — Kasper Kalle — U.S. Premiere
* No Way Down — Mohamed Chabane and Théo Jourdain — World Premiere
* Ogroff — Norbert Moutier — World Premiere of the Restoration
* The Ones Who Grieve — Quarxx — North American Premiere
* Pathetic Fallacy — Adam Egypt Mortimer — World Premiere
* Phreaker — Adam Yorke — World Premiere
* Platypus — Joshua Gratton — World Premiere
* Play House — Nicolas Jon Curcio — World Premiere
* Posthumous — Josh Tanner — World Premiere
* A Prayer for the Dying — Dara Van Dusen — North American Premiere
* Red Snow — Ilja Rautsi — World Premiere
* Resident Evil — Zach Cregger — Gala Screening
* River — Joshua Giuliano — U.S. Premiere
* Roma Elastica — Bertrand Mandico — North American Premiere
* Roy From Space — Héctor López Carmona — World Premiere of the Restoration
* Screamplay — Rufus Butler Seder — World Premiere of the 4K Restoration
* Sick — Agata Trzebuchowska — World Premiere
* The Spiral — Paolo Strippoli — U.S. Premiere
* The Squirrel — Markus Lehmusruusu — International Premiere
* The Swallow — Kevin Kölsch and Dennis Widmyer — World Premiere
* Too Many Beasts — Sarah Arnold — North American Premiere
* Upiro — Óscar Martín — World Premiere
* Ürei — Yerkezhan Baizhan — World Premiere
* Vertiginous — Quentin Dupieux — U.S. Premiere
* Victorian Psycho — Zachary Wigon — North American Premiere
* Welcome to Dolly’s House — Seven Ych, Rady Fu and Tree Muta — North American Premiere
* What Happened to Doris? — World Premiere
With everything from large studio premieres and new streaming series to international discoveries, repertory restorations, micro-budget experiments and live events, Fantastic Fest’s 2026 program once again covers a broad spectrum of genre filmmaking.
The festival runs September 17-24, 2026, at Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, Texas, with short-film programming and additional festival information still to come.
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