Popcorn Frights 2025: Tina Romero, Dee Wallace, 25 More In-Person Films Ride Second Wave

Our friends at the Popcorn Frights Film Festival just announced the second wave of programming for their 11th edition, which will be held in South Florida, U.S., from August 7-17.

Some 25 film premieres have been added, along with special guests to enhance the in-person experience, notably Tina Romero, presenting her "undead drag spectacle" Queens of the Dead, as well as her late father George A. Romero's Day of the Dead, to be showcased in its new 40th Anniversary 4K Restoration.

The great Dee Wallace will also be joining the fun, appearing to introduce three horror classics in which she stars: Cujo (Stephen King by way of director Lewis Teague), The Hills Have Eyes (Wes Craven all the way), and The Howling (a great movie by the great Joe Dante).

To make in-person South Florida viewers really feel a part of the action, the festival will be presenting a "one-of-a-kind immersive experience of John Carpenter's THE FOG in full-blown "Fog-O-Vision!" What does that mean? "This 40th anniversary immersive event surrounds audiences in a thick veil of fog--yes, real fog!--as the restored 4K print rolls. When the fog rolls in... the terror begins."

Read on for excerpts from the official announcement, provided by the festival, including additions to the in-personal experience, as well as the virtual lineup.

Individual tickets and All-Access Badges for the in-theater experience--hosted at Savor Cinema Fort Lauderdale and Cinema Paradiso Hollywood--are now available. Virtual All-Access Passes can also be purchased for streaming access to the full digital lineup. To order an In-Theater All-Access VIP Badge, click here, to order a Virtual All-Access Pass, click here.

Submissions for this year's festival are still open via Film Freeway through the final deadline of July 18. Shorts, features, documentaries, animation, film, and video -- all are welcome and can be submitted at the link: https://filmfreeway.com/popcornfrights

The eleventh edition of the Popcorn Frights Film Festival is made possible with the support of its generous sponsors, including AGFA, Blue Underground, Fangoria, Flick Direct, Kino Cult, MVD, Paramount Scares, Radiance Films, Troma, and its loyal fans. For more info about Popcorn Frights, visit PopcornFrights.com

IN-THEATER FEATURE FILM LINEUP

Americana
Florida Premiere
United States | 2024 | 110 Min. | Dir. Tony Tost
The lives of local outsiders and outcasts violently intertwine when a rare Lakota Ghost shirt falls onto the black market in a small South Dakota town.

Dog of God
Florida Premiere
Latvia-United States | 2025 | 92 Min. | Dirs. Lauris Ābele & Raitis Ābele
A rotoscoped animation that depicts a 17th century witch trial in Livonia that uncovers a werewolf within a devout community.

Fucktoys
South Florida Premiere
United States | 2025 | 106 Min. | Dir. Annapurna Sriram
In a pre-millennium alternate universe, a cursed young woman must raise $1,000 for a group of psychics, scootering through the surreal, seedy underworld of Trashtown and encountering a cavalcade of bizarre characters along the way.

Good Boy
Florida Premiere
United States | 2025 | 72 Min. | Dir. Ben Leonberg
When a loyal pup moves to a remote farmhouse with his owner, he soon senses a sinister presence--and must confront terrifying supernatural forces to protect the boy he loves most.

Influencers
US Premiere
United States | 2025 | 110 Min. | Dir. Kurtis David Harder
*Director Kurtis David Harder expected in person
In the picturesque landscapes of southern France, a young woman's chilling fascination with murder and identity theft sends her life into a whirlwind of chaos.

The Mannequin
East Coast Premiere
United States | 2025 | 105 Min. | Dir. John Berardo
*Director John Berardo expected in person
While investigating her sister's death in a historic Los Angeles building, a stylist assistant uncovers the vengeful spirit of a long-dead serial killer--and must escape before she becomes his next victim.

Queens of the Dead
Florida Premiere
United States | 2025 | 99 Min. | Dir. Tina Romero
*Director Tina Romero expected in person
Drag queens and club kids battle zombies craving brains during a zombie outbreak at their drag show in Brooklyn, putting personal conflicts aside to utilize their distinct abilities against the undead threat.

Slanted
Florida Premiere
United States | 2025 | 102 Min. | Dir. Amy Wang
An insecure Chinese-American teenager undergoes experimental surgery to appear white, hoping to secure the prom queen title and peer acceptance.

Test Screening
East Coast Premiere
United States | 2024 | 92 Min. | Dir. Clark Baker
*Producer/screenwriter Stephen Susco expected in person
Four teens find out that a test screening is coming to their little cinema, but the film is actually a mind-control experiment that has terrifying effects.

VIRTUAL FEATURE FILM LINEUP

Astral Plane Drifter
Florida Premiere
United States | 2024 | 89 Min. | Dir. Scott Slone
Sometime Before Yesterday. Or After Tomorrow. Somewhere Out In The Yonder. There Was This Guy.

Carry the Darkness
Florida Premiere
United States | 2025 | 98 Min. | Dir. Douglas Forrester
Inspired by the West Memphis Three, this chilling tale follows a misfit teen scapegoated for a series of brutal crimes as a sinister force emerges from the woods, feeding on the town's fear and paranoia.

Crossword
Florida Premiere
United States | 2024 | 96 Min. | Dir. Michael Vlamis
After the death of their daughter, a woman immerses herself in her beloved children's book series while her husband seeks comfort in the daily crossword--only to spiral as the puzzle begins to take on a sinister life of its own.

Custom
Southeast US Premiere
UK | 2024 | 86 Min. | Dir. Tiago Teixeira
A couple producing custom erotic films is dragged into a nightmarish conspiracy when they start working for a mysterious client.

The Dark Fantastic
North American Premiere
UK | 2025 | 110 Min. | Dir. Lg White
A psychedelic dive into the mind and work of renowned film composer Simon Boswell.

Don't Hang Up
North American Premiere
Norway | 2025 | 90 Min. | Dir. Alex Herron
While attending a wedding in Tulsa, a group of friends find themselves trapped in a haunted rental home, where vengeful spirits from the 1921 Tulsa Massacre rise to unleash a chilling fight for survival.

Exorcismo: The Transgressive Legacy of Clasificada "S"
Southeast US Premiere
Spain | 2024 | 122 Min. | Dir. Alberto Sedano
A deep dive into the dark heart of Spain's cinematic underground--a world where censorship, repression, and Catholic morality once ruled with an iron fist.

King Baby
Florida Premiere
UK-France | 2024 | 89 Min. | Dirs. Kit Redstone & Arran Shearing
In a decaying kingdom inhabited only by a delusional King and his loyal Servant, the arrival of a mannequin Queen shatters their fragile reality, unleashing a twisted modern fairytale of isolation, madness, and murderous ambition.

Making Megaforce
East Coast Premiere
United States | 2025 | 98 Min. | Dir. Bob Lindenmayer
Superfan Bob Lindenmayer sets out to celebrate MEGAFORCE--one of the 1980s' most infamous cinematic flops--by tracking down cast, crew, and star Barry Bostwick in a joyous tribute to cult cinema, fandom, and the power of loving what others left behind.

The Mother, the Menacer, and Me
Southeast US Premiere
United States | 2024 | 91 Min. | Dir. Jon Salmon
Stuck in a dead-end job and forced to live with a disapproving mother-in-law, a struggling dreamer sets out to make it in Hollywood--pushed by his sinister imaginary companion, who's determined to break free and become real.

The Only Ones
South Florida Premiere
United States | 2024 | 87 Min. | Dir. Jordan Miller
When a group of friends' plans unravel into a spiral of misfortune and bloodshed, trust shatters and the survivors must face the terrifying truth that the deadliest threats often come from within.

Predators
Florida Premiere
United States | 2025 | 96 Min. | Dir. David Osit
Exploring the controversial NBC series that caught potential child predators in sting operations, leading to arrests, and its eventual cancellation.

Shadowland
East Coast Premiere
Finland | 2024 | 99 Min. | Dir. Otso Tiainen
Cult filmmaker Richard Stanley guides a secretive enclave in the French Pyrenees on a quest for spiritual transcendence, but as his influence deepens, resurfaced abuse allegations spark a haunting unraveling of faith, power, and manipulation

Tie Die
Florida Premiere
United States | 2024 | 80 Min. | Dir. Morgan Miller
Park Ranger Lloyd Kaufman and Sheriff Joe Bob Briggs join forces to hunt a mysterious killer bear terrorizing campers, while a displaced group of hippies struggles to find their next camping spot.

Universe 25
Florida Premiere
UK | 2025 | 80 Min. | Dir. Richard Vartan Melkonian
An angel sent on a sacred mission through London and Bucharest encounters a chaotic world that derails his quest and forces him to confront his true identity.

IN-THEATER RETRO LINEUP

Cujo
Howling Triple-Bill Event
United States | 1983 | 93 Min. | Dir. Lewis Teague
*Actress Dee Wallace expected in person
Cujo, a friendly St. Bernard, contracts rabies and conducts a reign of terror on a small American town.

Day of the Dead
40th Anniversary 4K Restoration
United States | 1985 | 101 Min. | Dir. George A. Romero
*Director Tina Romero expected in person
As the world is overrun by zombies, a group of scientists and military personnel sheltering in an underground bunker in Florida must decide on how they should deal with the undead horde.

The Fog
45th Anniversary 4K Restoration
Presented in "Fog-O-Vision"
United States | 1980 | 89 Min. | Dir. John Carpenter
Local legend tells of a ship lured on to the rocks of Antonio Bay being enveloped by a supernatural cloud as it sank; the myth says that when this mysterious fog returns, the victims will rise up from the depths seeking vengeance.

The Hills Have Eyes
Howling Triple-Bill Event
United States | 1977 | 90 Min. | Dir. Wes Craven
*Actress Dee Wallace expected in person
On the way to California, a family has the misfortune to have their car break down in an area closed to the public, and inhabited by violent savages ready to attack.

The Howling
Howling Triple-Bill Event
United States | 1981 | 91 Min. | Dir. Joe Dante
*Actress Dee Wallace expected in person
After a bizarre and near deadly encounter with a serial killer, a television newswoman is sent to a remote mountain resort whose residents may not be what they seem.