A Night of Horror International Film Festival, announces its first programming wave for 2025 today. Long admired as Australia's premier genre film event, the festival now takes place in the United States. This year, the festival's 17th edition - and second year in the USA - screens from March 6-9, at the Micon Downtown Cinema in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
“A Night of Horror was so well received in Eau Claire last year, with multiple sold out screenings, incredibly receptive audiences, and a plethora of visiting filmmakers, that it was a no-brainer to keep the gorgeous college town, and the amazing Micon Downtown Cinema, as the festival's new, US, home” says festival founder and director Dean Bertram. “And this year marks a record year for submissions to the festival; which is reflected in the incredible strength and diversity of the 2025 program, evident in our first wave. Audiences can expect a bloody buffet, from serial killer biopics and blood-drenched slasher comedies, through supernatural thrillers and occult chillers, to explorations into familial pathologies and cyberpunk/horror romances. And that's just from the fest's first programming wave!”
Individual tickets to each film will go on sale closer to the festival; both on the fest's website, and directly from the Micon Downtown Cinema in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
As with A Night of Horror in 2024, the festival again takes place simultaneously to MidWest WeirdFest. Each festival has its own screen at the Micon Downtown twinplex. And a festival pass to A Night of Horror also allows the pass holder entry to any film screening at MidWest WeirdFest, and vice versa. This interchangeability of fest passes was a big hit with audiences last year.
Additional films, full schedule details, and filmmaker guests will be revealed in the coming weeks.
The first seven feature films announced for A Night of Horror 2025 follow:
ED KEMPER (dir: Chad Ferrin) An unflinching if eerily sympathetic portrayal of the life of American serial killer Edmund Kemper, who murdered his grandparents at age 15. Then, years later, after being paroled for that crime, killed eight women in 1972 and 1973, including his own mother. Chad Ferrin - fest alum and modern master of horror - delivers what might just be his most compelling, and his most disturbing, film yet. Sure to become a staple of the serial-killer sub-genre, it's a must see for anyone with an interest in true crime and real-life horror stories.
LEAD BELLY (dir: Stephen King Simmons) Horror writer/director ‘Stephen King Simmons’, of the critically acclaimed and award winning feature THE PARKER SESSIONS, returns with his sophomore nightmare. Flashback to 1997, for a period coming-of-age horror film about two brothers visiting their recently divorced and estranged father during summer vacation. With plenty of bumps, twists, and terrifying turns along the way, LEAD BELLY keeps the audience guessing until the final frame, and then leaves them shattered.
THE MATRIARCH (dir: Jayden Creighton) A thirteen year old girl kills her addict mom's abusive boyfriend in self defense, and is subsequently terrorized by her own mother. Australian writer/director Jayden Creighton explodes onto the horror scene with this feature debut, with the type of raw and visceral potency that Australia's top genre filmmakers deliver better than anyone on the planet. Brings to mind the debuts of Creighton's legendary fellow country men, from George Miller and Geoffrey Wright to Greg McLean and Steven Kastrissios. Do not miss.
NEW FEARS EVE (dir. Eric Huskisson and P.J. Starks ) Three best friends involuntarily prepare for a corporate New Year's Eve party. Soon the party turns deadly when a masked murderer sets his sights on them. A side-splitting and gore-spilling horror comedy, that grabs the slasher sub-genre by the throat and bleeds it dry. Don't miss what is already a cult hit on the fest circuit.
SÉANCE (dir. Vivian Kerr) In 1892 California, a Victorian woman contemplating adultery is forced to take refuge from a storm at the home of her first husband and his unstable wife, who claims to be haunted by their dead child. A pitch-perfect four person ensemble cast, haunting cinematography, and a mounting atmosphere of paranormal dread mixed with shocking twists and turns, makes this sophomore feature from writer/director Vivian Kerr (who also co-stars) the must see supernatural chiller of the year.
THEY WERE WITCHES (dir. Alejandro G. Alegre) A paranormal radio show host and self-proclaimed witchcraft expert, meets a group of 20-somethings when she stops at a rural motel during a road trip. Soon, they will be murdered, one by one, to bring an evil spirit back from the dead. A taut, haunting, and violent offering from writer/director Alejandro G. Alegre (THE DEVIL TOLD ME WHAT TO DO, ÁNIMA), which cements his place as one of the most talented genre filmmakers in the Spanish speaking world.
VIDEO VISION (dir. Michael Turney) Kibby (Andrea Figliomeni) works in a junk-laddened digitizing studio, transferring analog media to modern formats. But on the cusp of a new romantic relationship, her life and body begin to transform, when she unwittingly unlocks an alternative dark dimension, through an old VCR, and unleashes Dr. Analog. Turney has painstakingly crafted a retro-tech, horror-romance that evokes and homages 80s horror, while remaining grounded in the present. The result is one of the most effective, and unique, horror films you'll ever see.