Hysteria Fest is back for a third year at Arkadin Cinema & Bar, running June 27–30, with a spotlight on international horror from Scandinavia alongside some of the most exciting up-and-coming films that the horror genre has to offer.
Fans may notice that Hysteria Fest has moved from its previous Halloween-adjacent time slot in mid-October. Festival director Paul Hibbard sees the change as a boon for the festival, noting that October is often already pretty saturated with horror programming. This move not only allows Hibbard to move to a less-saturated time for horror, but also a more strategic time in the horror festival circuit.
Stay up-to-date with the local arts scene
Subscribe to the weekly St. Louis Arts+Culture newsletter to discover must-attend art exhibits, performances, festivals, and more.
“There is an idea that if you’re playing in May or June, you’re catching the first wave of festival films, and you’re confident in your selections,” Hibbard says. “When you play early, you’re able to pick more of what you want, and that’s something we’re really succeeding at this year.”
Hibbard has also seen record responses from early pass sales, noting that all-access passes sold out nearly a month before the festival, while single tickets are still available for most screenings.
This year, the festival is shifting its international arthouse spotlight to Scandinavian horror. Hibbard sees this international spotlight as a way to showcase the way understandings of horror and subversive films around the world have expanded, often in a more arthouse setting. The films playing as a part of this program are Lars von Trier’s Dogville as the opening night screening on Thursday, June 27, at 7 p.m.; Benjamin Christensen’s Haxan, a 1922 fictionalized documentary about the history of witchcraft, which plays on Friday, June 28 at 9 p.m.; and Tomas Alfredson’s Let the Right One In, one of Hibbard’s favorite films of the 2000s, which will play as the fest’s closing night screening on June 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Hibbard says there are a number of competition films from this year’s slate that he heartily recommends. The salaciously titled Young Blondes, Stalked and Murdered plays on Saturday, June 29, at 9 p.m., and follows a struggling actor in L.A. investigating a serial killer who is murdering young starlets. Hibbard praises it as a cross between Italian Giallo films and the French New Wave movement. Another feature, Ghost Game, follows a couple who break into houses to live undetected, only to find out a house they’ve broken into is haunted. Hibbard also notes that Ghost Game director Jill Gevargizian will be conducting a live Q&A following the screening on Sunday, June 30, at 5 p.m.
Amid all of the exciting features, Hibbard also wants to highlight the festival’s first entirely foreign language shorts block, El Terror y la Tristeza (The Terror and The Sadness) on Sunday, June 30, at 3 p.m. The program features Spanish-language shorts from across three continents. “That block is really strong,” Hibbard says. “I really want to emphasize that this block isn’t just put together as a novelty, because we received a lot of Spanish-language submissions. It’s one of the best shorts blocks I’ve put together.”
While he is still putting the finishing touches on this year’s Hysteria Fest, Hibbard is excited to see where he can take things next. In fact, he’s already planning future international spotlights. And while he won’t be revealing his final decision until the closing night screening, you can be sure it will be just as exciting and boundary-pushing as years past.
“As a niche festival, we want to focus on both horror and international films, especially subversive films,” Hibbard says. “Something like Dogville might not play at a traditional horror festival, but I think it perfectly fits Hysteria Fest.”
For tickets and more details about Hysteria Fest, visit arkadincinema.com.
