Australia's darkest genre film festival is returning for a sequel, unleashing another wild, savage bite on film-lovers.
The event promises to scare the living daylights out of all who attend.
This year sees nine new features celebrating their Australian premieres, a vintage bona fide cult classic, and 22 new short films, from Portugal, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, France, Denmark, Serbia, United Kingdom, United States, Mexico, New Zealand, and Australia.
“Dark Nights champions immersive cinema,” Festival Director Bryn Tilly says. “And dark genre filmmaking demands a big screen, a dark room, and an audience being pulled to the edge of their seat, whether it be a full-throttle, blood-soaked shocker or a creeping, unshakeable sense of cosmic or existential dread. Dark Nights Film Fest’s Volume 2 has all the nightmare boxes ticked.”
Opening up the creaking gates is Stephen Cognetti's 'Hell House LLC: Lineage', a bold, slick, terrifying descent deep into the lore, yet holding fort as a stand-alone freak-out. This will be the first of the series sent to cinemas. . . And its only theatrical screening!
Closing Night heralds the debut feature from US filmmaker Todd Wiseman Jr – 'The School Duel'. It's a harrowing, dystopian thriller burning hard with the evils of gun culture, and a dysfunctional future-is-now society.
Wedged between these two thrilling bookends is a simply spooktacular selection of films, including nail-biting thriller 'Bark', following a desperate city man, tied to a tree, and the mysterious, taunting outdoors man gradually pulling the wicked truth from his captive.
'Adorable Humans'
David Lynch lovers will enjoy Joshua Erkman's twisted, brutal 'A Desert', following the dangerous plight of a lone photographer into the treacherous heart of America. Plus, Stephen Biro delivers an unfiltered look at the creation of a hugely controversial film in 'A Serbian Documentary'. . . And the Serbian double-whammy continues with savage satire 'Karmadonna': a profane thriller lighting all manner of culture and religious fuses.
Peter Jackson's 'Braindead' hits the screen, lovingly restored in 4K. It hasn't been seen on Australian screens for 30 years.
Mexican filmmaker Lex Ortega presents 'Necromorphosis', narrated by horror queen Gigi Saul Guerrero. It traces the survivalist extremes of an entomologist trapped in the subterranean filth of the city. Meanwhile, 'Sun' follows a dancer searching for his missing wife through a nocturnal NYC – and his personal hell.
'Adorable Humans' features four interconnected tales from four Danish directors, adapted to form one ghoulish anthology exploring below the surface of human connection.
Short films will be celebrated in the Aussie Shorts Showcase, along with the opportunity for the audience to vote for their favourite. Plus, there's the return of Movie Boutique, where merchants sell rare, high art and deep trash Blu-rays, DVDs, VHS, books, magazines, posters, CDs, vinyls, and other collectibles.
Learn more about the 2025 event.
Dark Nights Film Festival is on from 9-12 October at Ritz Cinemas (Sydney).
