german premiere

steppenwolf

Chaos rules the country. Guerrillas fight the corrupt police, gangs terrorise the destitute population. Tamara’s son is missing. The only person who can help her find the child for a horrendous fee is torture expert Brajyuk. What an anti-hero! Where others have a beating heart, Brajyuk is all biting cynicism and stoic sadism. STEPPENWOLF is a merciless series of punches into the stomach.

fresh blood – deutschlandpremiere

sleep

When Soo-jin wakes up in the middle of the night, her husband stares into the darkness and says: "There's someone!" But it’s only the dog. The incidents at night pile up. SLEEP weaves complex themes into a gripping, modern horror film whose entertaining and enigmatic scenario keeps us in the dark for a long time. The lead role is played by PARASITE actor Lee Sun-kyun, who took his own life at the end of 2023.

centerpiece – fear good – deutschlandpremiere

maldoror

Fabrice du Welz is since CALVAIRE and VINYAN one of the most sophisticated European genre cinema auteurs. In his new film MALDOROR he tells the true story of the notorious Belgian serial killer Marc Dutroux. Supported by the outstanding acting performance of Anthony Bajon he stages a raw and epic true crime bastard with a menacingly pulsating soundtrack. An uncomfortable and disturbing masterpiece of genre cinema in a perfect 1990s look!

german premiere

dark match

After his two WOLFCOP hits, in which he plays crazy with the werewolf genre, Lowell Dean comes up with a new, unusual idea. In DARK MATCH he crosses creative wrestling stunts with crude occult splatter! A wrestling group takes part in a fight because of the good fee. But then they encounter Satanists who have a brutal plan. Buckets full of blood flow in all directions. Get ready to rumble!

closing night

twilight of the warriors: walled in

Big, loud and crazy: This is for sure what you will see already in the first few minutes of TWILIGHT OF THE WARRIORS: WALLED IN by Soi Cheang (LIMBO). Set in Hong Kong and based on the “Walled City” that was till its demolition in 1993 the most densely populated neighbourhood in the world, he presents a frenetic action film. This hommage to Hong Kong cinema is a fantastic spectacle, reuniting big names such as Louis Koo and Sammo Hung on the big screen.

opening night

speak no evil

James Watkins comes back with a brilliant remake of the Danish horror thriller by Christian Tatdrups SPEAK NO EVIL. In his interpretation an American family meets an Irish one, and from there things get out of hand. James McAvoy’s performance recalls Jack Nicholson’s unforgoten appearance in SHINING. As for the Mackenzie Davis, Scoot McNairy and Aisling Franciosi they are no less impressive in this head-spinning tour de force full of bitterly wicked humour.

german premiere

kill

KILL is the best what action cinema can offer. Elite soldier Amrit finds himself in a night train to New Delhi to prevent the marriage of the love of his life, when a clan of robbers start to torment the passengers. KILL is as straightforward as THE RAID and a frenetic version of DIE HARD on rails. The audience will be pulled through it at the same speed as its protagonists. It will take your breath away.

fresh blood – deutschlandpremiere

hunters on a white field

Alex is excited: His boss has invited him on a hunting trip! After a while he feels Greger and his old friend Henrik act weirdly. The atmosphere becomes increasingly tense in this survival trip. What is fun and what serious? It's not just Alex who finds the profound experiences upsetting, the audience will feel so too. And then there are also the gory hunting scenes in this directorial debut by Sarah Gyllenstierna …

fear good – deutschlandpremiere

handling the undead

After LET THE RIGHT ONE IN a new Scandinavian horror bestseller by John Ajvide Lindqvist finds its way to the big screen. HANDLING THE UNDEAD by Thea Hvistendahl is no less disturbing, unsettling and a dark drama revisiting the zombie formula, which becomes all the more frightening the closer the horror gets to us. Disturbingly visionary genre cinema from our Nordic neighbours.

german premiere

azrael

Director of CHEAP THRILLS, E.L. Katz, teams up with the amazing Samara Weaving (READY OR NOT) in the lead role to create courageous adrenaline cinema without answers: What exactly does the cult believe in? Who (or what!) are the creatures burned beyond recognition who massacre everything in their path? There is no time for explanations: the breathless action rolls over us. AZRAEL leaves us speechless.