Popcorn Frights Festival 2026 Round-up
We’ve already looked at six films recently screened as part of 2026’s Popcorn Frights Film Festival. You can find our non-spoiler reviews by clicking on the following links:
We’ve already covered several of the films the festival had available this year. You can find those reviews with these links: Big City Pizza, Break a Leg, Cat Cam, Demonetize, Lenore, Narcisa’s Will
We still have a few more movies to give a quick look…actually, we have six. It was another busy year for the Popcorn Frights Film Festival.
Armageddon Road
Plot Summary – A hopeless romantic with big dreams, Steve is an ex-con hired to chauffeur a mob boss’ girlfriend for a night. He’s blissfully unaware that his passenger has died and is now possessed by one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.
Armageddon Road is a stylish and knowing B-movie. It has some fun performances and embraces that it’s an objectively weird little movie. There’s a lot of acting inside a car going on but the movie maintains a strong momentum the whole way through. It utilizes miniature cars and models for the driving sequences which fit the vibe perfectly. I’m not entirely sure what I was watching at all times…but I enjoyed it nonetheless.
Broken Beak
Plot Summary – After the murder of her uncle, activist Maori photographer Emma returns to New Zealand to claim her inheritance. There she has visions of a monster called Broken Beak, and as more family members die, she is compelled to vengeful action.
Broken Beak or, possibly, The Burning of Broken Beak is a well-made movie with a strong lead performance. With that said…I’m not entirely sure if the movie ever fully settled itself on one thing. There is a mystery here and a story about ecological issues…but it doesn’t fully adhere into an easily digestible piece. Still…it’s oddly compelling at times and, at worst, holds your interest as you try to figure out exactly what it’s trying to say from scene to scene.
The Daughters of the Domino
Plot Summary – When Detective Nina Rose arrested her serial killer father, The Domino, she became an overnight sensation. Years later, the glory has faded but the hurt remains; Nina’s relationship with her sister Laura never recovered. With a new killer in town and Laura’s daughter missing, the sisters must work together, following the convoluted and sometimes absurd trail uncovering dark secrets from their past.
The Daughters of the Domino feels like a mini-series shrunk down into a feature film. That’s meant to be a compliment. There’s a surprising amount going on for this one story. Some twists and turns that would have felt right at home as a cliffhanger heading into a new episode. The family drama is interesting…and the story takes some big swings. It works just fine as a movie…but there was room to stretch some of these ideas out into a longer narrative. Again, that’s a good thing. Crime story fans will find a lot to enjoy here. Fans of family drama will too. I mean…it’s a serial killer who was captured by his daughter kidnapping his granddaughter. Families don’t get much more dramatic than that.
The Fright Stuff
Plot Summary – This documentary follows the life and times of the haunted attraction industry in the United States – the history, the people, the lasting imprint it’s had on the culture.
The Fright Stuff is a brisk and jam-packed documentary about the world of haunted houses. Interviews reveal how their creation is a year-round job as we follow people through conventions, construction and learn about their love of the job. The doc touches on Dark Rides, goes in depth on the Haunted House culture and gets the inside scoop from scare actors. If you have any interest in what goes into making these seasonal treats…The Fright Stuff offers a swift and concise look behind the curtain.
Mary Kwon Mary Kwon
Plot Summary – A poet travels to her childhood home in the woods, hoping to uncover the cause of her mother’s disappearance in the same house. Two visitors unexpectedly drop by.
Mary Kwon Mary Kwon was the strangest movie at this year’s Popcorn Frights. It’s one of those movies that you are sure the filmmaker captured the exact feel they were going for…but you have no idea what that was supposed to be. Part psychological horror story…part…I’ll be honest I’m not entirely sure what the other part was. I almost want to recommend it based on that alone. Maybe I’m missing the mark on this one and there’s something holding it all together that I couldn’t see. Maybe you’ll see it.
Woozy
Plot Summary – A man who has deliberately structured his life, through meditation, yoga, nutrition, boxing, and hygiene, to create a safe environment gets tormented by a horrifying apparition named Woozy.
If there was a theme at this year’s Popcorn Frights it would be “interesting movie that doesn’t fully come together”. You’ve seen that running through a lot of these brief comments. Woozy has even more of it to offer. This time…the oddness seems to be the point. It’s a battle between discipline and pure insanity. With a strange mime cat-person. Yeah…you have to see it to get it. Or maybe you won’t get it either way, but it was an interesting watch. Emile Hirsch gives a good lead performance as the man trying to contain the chaos his mind is unleashing. He keeps the weirdness as grounded as he can…but it’s a weird movie nonetheless.
