Popcorn Frights Film Festival announces first wave of films

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

For those who may not know, the Popcorn Frights Film Festival is Florida's largest and most respected genre film event. The fest is celebrating its third year, occurring August 11 – 17, at Miami's O Cinema Wynwood theater and today we have the first wave of films hitting this year's event!

Opening Night kicks off with the Florida Premiere of TRAGEDY GIRLS, and the Festival’s Centerpiece is the Florida Premiere of Joe Lynch's MAYHEM, starring THE WALKING DEAD's Steven Yeun. 
 
Other cool titles in the lineup include the Final Cut US Premiere of ANOTHER WOLFCOP, BETTER WATCH OUT, Mickey Keating’s PSYCHOPATHS, IT STAINS THE SANDS RED, GAME OF DEATH, DAVE MADE A MAZE and STILL/BORN. 

The fest will also be launching a new sidebar this year with “Homegrown: 100% Pure Fresh Squeezed Florida Horror” which you can find the rundown on below via press release:

Popcorn Frights will also launch its inaugural “Homegrown: 100% Pure Fresh Squeezed Florida Horror” sidebar that is dedicated to local filmmakers and Florida’s homegrown talent. This platform is designed to be a springboard for new filmmakers from Florida and a space that helps forge a new direction for Miami's genre scene by further cultivating and nurturing its growing film community. Films featured in the inaugural edition include the Florida Premiere of Rodney Ascher's Primal Scream, as well as the short films Midnight Service, Buzzcut, It Began Without Warning, and Pandemonium. 

You can check out the full list of First Wave films below, as well as two teaser trailers for the event and the event's awesome poster. After that let us know what you think of Popcorn Frights Film Festival on Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram!

FESTIVAL LINEUP (FIRST WAVE)  

FEATURE FILMS            
  

ANOTHER WOLFCOP Directed by Lowell Dean Canada | 82 minutes | 2017 
 
FINAL CUT US PREMIERE. Alcoholic werewolf cop Lou Garou springs into action when an eccentric businessman with evil intentions seduces his town’s residents with a new brewery in this outrageous horror-comedy sequel. 
 
 

BETTER WATCH OUT Directed by Chris Peckover US | 85 minutes | 2017 
 
FLORIDA PREMIERE. On a quiet suburban street tucked within a ‘safe neighborhood’, a babysitter (played by The Visit star Olivia DeJonge) must defend a twelve-year-old boy from strangers breaking into the house, only to discover that this is far from a normal home invasion. 

DAVE MADE A MAZE Directed by Bill Watterson US | 80 minutes | 2017 
 
SOUTH FLORIDA PREMIERE. Driven by an inner need, frustrated artist Dave begins building a fort in his living room. But as he completes construction, Dave becomes trapped inside by the dangerous creatures he's designed, forcing his girlfriend to mount a rescue mission. 
 
 

GAME OF DEATH Directed by Sebastien Landry & Laurence Morais-Lagace France-Canada-USA | 73 minutes | 2017 
 
FLORIDA PREMIERE. When seven suburban millennials play the "Game of Death," they soon get caught up in its high stakes, which are literally life or death. Confronted with a grim choice–kill or be killed–the friends gruesomely realize that none of them are safe. 
 
 

IT STAINS THE SANDS RED Directed by Colin Minihan US | 92 minutes | 2017 
 
FLORIDA PREMIERE. In the throes of a zombie apocalypse, a troubled woman from Las Vegas with a dark past finds herself stranded in the desert with a lone and ravenous zombie on her tail. 
 
 

MAYHEM Directed by Joe Lynch US | 86 minutes | 2017 
 
FLORIDA PREMIERE. What happens when people lose all their inhibitions? This blood-soaked gonzo thriller offers a glimpse as a virus that erases impulse control breaks out at a law office, where a disgruntled employee and a dissatisfied client go looking for some justice.   

PSYCHOPATHS Directed by Mickey Keating US | 85 minutes | 2017 
 
FLORIDA PREMIERE. When an unidentified madman is sent to the electric chair, it triggers a sort of Mischief Night for a group of serial killers out in an entire city. An escaped mental patient, a beautiful seductress, a strangler who preys on unsuspecting women, and an enigmatic masked contract killer run amok in Mickey Keating's new slasherfest. 

STILL/BORN Directed by Brandon Christensen US | 84 minutes | 2017 
 
FLORIDA PREMIERE. When Mary loses one of her twins during childbirth she feels a devastating loss that spirals her into madness. She begins to suspect a sinister force is after her surviving child that will stop at nothing to take it from her. 

TRAGEDY GIRLS Directed by Tyler Macintyre Canada-US | 96 minutes | 2017 
 
FLORIDA PREMIERE. Budding social-media stars Sadie and McKayla are desperate for greater fame. But big ambitions require big plans, and the two think they've hit on a good one: force a serial killer to tutor them in his craft so they can become horror legends. 

HOMEGROWN: 100% PURE FRESH SQUEEZED FLORIDA HORROR      
 

PRIMAL SCREAM Directed by Rodney Ascher US | 30 minutes | 2017 

FLORIDA PREMIERE. Acclaimed filmmaker Rodney Ascher ( Room 237 , The Nightmare ) has created a singular hybrid of documentary and horror that explores how pop culture can scar you for life. 
 
 

BUZZCUT Directed by Jon Rhoads & Mike Marrero US | 9 minutes | 2017 
 
MIAMI PREMIERE. Jane is out to get a buzzcut and ends up dealing with apocalyptic matters of a special kind while trying to fix the haircut her barber botched so that she can get laid before she dies. 
 
 

IT BEGAN WITHOUT WARNING Directed by Jessica Curtright & Santiago C. Tapia US | 6 minutes | 2017 
 
FLORIDA PREMIERE. A body horror-tinged tale that crawls. 

 
THE MIDNIGHT SERVICE Directed by Brett Potter & Dean Colin Marcial US | 10 minutes | 2017 
 
FLORIDA PREMIERE. A true-crime home invasion episode about an urban legend, notorious criminal, occult pop culture, and first-hand account of the unknown. 

PANDEMONIUM Directed by Luis Mendez US | 15 minutes | 2017 
 
FLORIDA PREMIERE. As a catastrophic epidemic devastates the world, a man survivor fights to save his daughter from the mysterious virus that has already consumed his wife. 

For more information on the Popcorn Frights Film Festival, you can follow them on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. The third annual Popcorn Fright Film Festival hits Miami August 11-17th!