Beyond Fest 2024, the genre film festival based in the United States is returning for its 12th presentation with an 82-feature lineup for 15 days of cinematic spectacle! This year’s celebration includes a killer roster of firsts, special screenings, anticipated reunions, and more fan-favorite filmmakers than most cinephiles could handle for one momentous event! This year’s collection of films and creators is better than ever, so prepare yourself for a gauntlet of big-screen wonders, a popcorn diet, and random encounters with celebrities and fans alike.
Per Beyond Fest’s official press release (with some flavor text sprinkled in):
Beyond Fest, the biggest and highest-attended genre film festival in the US is excited to announce its complete slate of 2024 programming comprising 82 features, including 16 World Premieres, 4 International Premieres, 1 North American Premiere, 3 US Premieres, and 25 West Coast Premieres. After entertaining over 25,000 guests in 2023, Beyond Fest returns for its 12th edition, spanning September 25th – October 9th. Presented exclusively by NEON and programmed and produced in partnership with the American Cinematheque, Beyond Fest returns to the Egyptian Theatre, Aero Theatre, Los Feliz 3, and Vista Theatre, with all ticket sales going to the 501(c)(3)non-profit film institution.
Be sure to plot your schedules accordingly because Beyond Fest includes the world premiere of Salem’s Lot, a special screening of Devara: Part 1, the international premiere of Toho’s My Hero Academia: You’re Next, West Coast premieres of The Brutalist in 70mm with Brady Corbet, Palme d’Or winner Anora with Sean Baker and Mikey Madison, Ali Abbasi’s The Apprentice, Marielle Heller’s Nightbitch, Damien Leone’s Terrifier 3, and in-person event screenings with celebrated filmmakers Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Sam Raimi, Tarsem Singh, Jennifer Kent, Guy Maddin, Shane Black, icons Al Pacino, Kyle MacLachlan, Sarah Paulson, Ron Perlman, and a 30th Anniversary Speed reunion with stars Keanu Reeves and Sandra Bullock and director Jan de Bont.
While Beyond Fest offers many exciting events, screenings, and surprises annually, this year’s festival highlights a can’t-miss array of reunions and in-person presentations from many of Hollywood’s most beloved stars. We’re particularly jazzed about Keanu Reeves, Sandra Bullock, and Jan de Bont reuniting for the 30th anniversary screening of Speed! Other appearances include Kyle MacLachlan for a career tribute triple threat with Blue Velvet, Dune, and The Hidden, Al Pacino for a discussion about Scarface, Ron Perlman for Guillermo del Toro’s Gothic masterpiece Hellboy, the Ladies of Elm Street with Heather Langenkamp, Amanda Wyss, Lin Shaye, and Ronee Blakley, hosted by Barbara Crampton, followed by a screening of Wes Craven’s original terror.
Other spotlight events include the World Premiere of the brand new, never-before-seen ‘Shush Cut’ of Hush with Mike Flanagan and Kate Siegel in person, who also hosts the International Premiere of the 4K Restoration of Lake Mungo, Tobin Bell, Cary Elwes and Leigh Whannell join to debut the restored and unrated cut of their seminal shocker, Saw, and the definitive horror movie of all time, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, finally gets its formal Hollywood Premiere at its official 50th Anniversary screening complete with 12 members of its original cast and crew in attendance. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is followed by the West Coast Premiere of Alexandre O. Philippe’s insightful examination of Hooper’s classic Chain Reactions. Rucking Fotten returns to host a special 30th anniversary screening of The Crow – complete with an exclusive shirt, and a recently discovered 70mm print of Total Recall will unspool in LA for only the third time in 25 years.
Visionary filmmakers get their much-deserved spotlight with a series of in-person events as the great Sam Raimi returns with a 35mm triple feature of Darkman, The Quick and the Dead, and Drag Me to Hell, Shane Black showcases his pugilistic excellence with a quadruple bill including Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and The Nice Guys, Jennifer Kent makes a rare US appearance to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Babadook paired with The Nightingale, Walter Hill revisits the murderous swamps of Southern Comfort, Paul W.S. Anderson attends for a rare showing of his cosmic-cult-space-horror, Event Horizon, and Indian auteur Tarsem Singh joins to showcase two stunThe Cell and the West Coast Premiere of The Fall. Screenwriters Scott Alexander and Larry Karaszewski join for a 30th-anniversary matinee of Tim Burton’s classic, Ed Wood, Don Johnson joins to celebrate his career accompanying an incredibly rare double bill of A Boy And His Dog and The Hot Spot, and Bob Odenkirk reunites the cast and crew for the World Premiere of the brand new restoration of Melvin Goes to Dinner.
Finally, ‘Neon Theatre at Los Feliz 3’ continues to be the epicenter of discovery with a daring program of the global genre, all FREE courtesy of our sponsor – hotly anticipated World and International Premieres include the blistering thriller Zero from Saloum mastermind Jean Luc Herbulot, the occult terrors of A Mother’s Embrace from director Cristian Ponce, the creepy stalking saga Who’s Watching? from director Tim Kasher, the supernatural bone-chiller Baal from director Joseph Sims-Dennet, a dive into the darkest human desires in Above the Knee from Good Boy director Viljar Bøe, Kensuke Sonomura’s action epic Ghost Killer and finally two documentary premieres to chill the soul – an examination of the weird murders that led to the creation of The Wicker Man in The Last Sacrifice from director Rupert Rusell and a revelatory look at the darker side of belief and obsession in the meticulously crafted Shadowland from director Otso Tiainen. Other premieres include the return of Can Evrenol with his darkest shocker in the U.S. Premiere of Sayara, Fabrice Du Welz’s obsessive police thriller Maldoror, Joshua Erkman’s dreamy neo-noir A Desert, Michiel Blanchart’s one-night thrill ride Nightcall, Danish Oscar entry true crime shocker The Girl With the Needle from director Magnus von Horn, the return of Nacho Vigalondo with the visionary and heartfelt sci-fi romance Daniela Forever and the North American Premiere of the eerie sci-fi Sky Pearls. Finally, two restorations lead the charge with the brand new 4K of A Bell From Hell and a surprise 4K World Premiere from the twisted minds at Terror Vision that will surely get the audience talking.
You can see Beyond Fest 2024’s complete program schedule below:
BEYOND FEST 2024 PROGRAM
EGYPTIAN THEATRE
DEVARA: PART 1
Special Screening
Director: Koratala Siva
Country: India
Runtime: 165 minutes
2024
HUSH – Shush Cut
World Premiere
Director: Mike Flanagan
Country: United States
Runtime: 87 minutes
Guests: Director Mike Flanagan in attendance
2016
LAKE MUNGO
International Premiere – 4K Restoration
Director: Joel Anderson
Country: Australia
Runtime: 89 minutes
Guests: Special introduction by director Mike Flanagan
2008
ED WOOD
Special Screening – 30th Anniversary – in 35mm
Director: Tim Burton
Country: United States
Runtime: 127 minutes
Guests: Screenwriters Larry Karaszewski and Scott Alexander in attendance
1994
THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE
Special Screening – 50th Anniversary – in 35mm
Director: Tobe Hooper
Country: United States
Runtime: 83 minutes
Guests: Writer Kim Henkel, Cinematographer Daniel Pearl, Actor Teri McMinn, Actor Edwin Neal, Actor William Vail, Actor Allen Danziger, Actor John Dugan, Production Manager Ron Bozman, Post-Production Sound Supervisor Wayne Bell, Actor Ed Guinn, Sound Recorder Ted Nicolaou, Editor Larry Carroll, Camera Assistant Michael McClary in attendance
1974
CHAIN REACTIONS
West Coast Premiere
Director: Alexandre O. Philippe
Country: United States
Runtime: 103 minutes
Guests: Director Alexandre O. Philippe in attendance
2024
DARKMAN
Special Screening – in 35mm
Director: Sam Raimi
Country: United States
Runtime: 96 minutes
Guests: Director Sam Raimi in attendance
1990
THE QUICK AND THE DEAD
Special Screening – in 35mm
Director: Sam Raimi
Country: United States
Runtime: 108 minutes
Guests: Director Sam Raimi in attendance
1995
DRAG ME TO HELL
Special Screening – in 35mm
Director: Sam Raimi
Country: United States
Runtime: 99 minutes
Guests: Director Sam Raimi in attendance
2009
THE FALL
West Coast Premiere – 4K Restoration
Director: Tarsem Singh
Country: United States, India
Runtime: 117 minutes
Guests: Director Tarsem Singh in attendance
2006
TERRIFIER 3
West Coast Premiere
Director: Damien Leone
Country: United States
Runtime: 128 minutes
Guests:
2024
IT’S WHAT’S INSIDE
West Coast Premiere
Director: Greg Jardin
Country: United States
Runtime: 103 minutes
Guests: Director Greg Jardin in attendance
2024
THE PLATFORM 2
U.S. Premiere
Director: Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia
Country: Spain
Runtime: 99 minutes
Guests:
2024
HELLBOY
Special Screening – 20th Anniversary
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Country: United States
Runtime: 122 minutes
Guests: Actor Ron Perlman in attendance
2004
THE CROW
Special 30th Anniversary Screening – Co-Presented by Rucking Fotten
Director: Alex Proyas
Country: United States
Runtime: 102
1994
THE CELL
World Premiere – 4K Restoration
Director: Tarsem Singh
Country: United States, Germany
Runtime: 107 minutes
Guests: Director Tarsem Singh in attendance
2000
SAW
Special 20th Anniversary Screening
Director: James Wan
Country: United States
Runtime: 103 minutes
Guests: Actor Cary Elwes, Writer Leigh Whannell, Producer Oren Koules, Producer Mark Burg, actor Tobin Bell in attendance
2004
JIMMY AND STIGGS
World Premiere
Director: Joe Begos
Country: United States
Runtime: 78 minutes
Guests: Director Joe Begos and producer and editor Josh Ethier in attendance
2024
DUNE
Special Screening
Director: David Lynch
Country: United States
Runtime: 140 minutes
Guests: Actor Kyle MacLachlan in attendance
1984
BLUE VELVET
Special Screening
Director: David Lynch
Country: United States
Runtime: 120 minutes
Guests: Actor Kyle MacLachlan in attendance
1986
THE HIDDEN
Special Screening
Director: Jack Sholder
Country: United States
Runtime: 97 minutes
Guests: Actor Kyle MacLachlan in attendance
1987
GODZILLA MINUS ONE/MINUS COLOR
Special Screening
Director: Takashi Yamazaki
Country: Japan
Runtime: 125 minutes
Guests:
2023
SHIN GODZILLA: ORTHOCHROMATIC
West Coast Premiere
Director: Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi
Country: Japan
Runtime: 119 minutes
Guests:
2023
MY HERO ACADEMIA: YOU’RE NEXT
International Premiere
Director: Tensai Okamura
Country: Japan
Runtime: 110 minutes
Guests: Actor Daiki Yamashita and actor Kenta Miyake in attendance
2024
EVENT HORIZON
Director: Paul W.S. Anderson
Country: UK, USA
Runtime: 96 minutes
Guests: Director Paul W.S. Anderson in attendance
1997
SERPENT’S PATH
West Coast Premiere
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Country: France, Japan
Runtime: 113 minutes
Guests: Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa in attendance
2024
PULSE
Special Screening
Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
Country: Japan
Runtime: 118 minutes
Guests: Director Kiyoshi Kurosawa in attendance
2001
SPEED
Special Screening – 30th Anniversary Screening
Director: Jan de Bont
Country: United States
Runtime: 116 minutes
Guests: Director Jan de Bont, actor Keanu Reeves and actor Sandra Bullock in attendance
1994
AERO THEATRE PRESENTED BY NEON
SALEM’S LOT
World Premiere
Director: Gary Dauberman
Country: United States
Runtime: 113 minutes
Guests:
2024
THE BABADOOK
Special Screening
Director: Jennifer Kent
Country: Australia
Runtime: 94 minutes
Guests: Director Jennifer Kent in attendance
2014
THE NIGHTINGALE
Special Screening
Director: Jennifer Kent
Country: Australia
Runtime: 136 minutes
Guests: Director Jennifer Kent in attendance
2018
SOUTHERN COMFORT
Special Screening
Director: Walter Hill
Country: United States
Runtime: 106 minutes
Guests: Director Walter Hill in attendance
1981
TOTAL RECALL
Special Screening – in 70mm
Director: Paul Verhoeven
Country: United States
Runtime: 113 minutes
1990
SCARFACE
Special Screening
Director: Brian De Palma
Country: United States
Runtime: 165 minutes
Special Guests: Actor Al Pacino in attendance
1983
HOLD YOUR BREATH
West Coast Premiere
Director: Karrie Crouse, William Joines
Country: United States
Runtime: 94 minutes
Special Guests: Actor Sarah Paulson in attendance
2024
MARTHA MARCY MAY MARLENE
Special Screening
Director: Sean Durkin
Country: United States
Runtime: 102 minutes
Special Guests: Actor Sarah Paulson in attendance
2011