OPENING NIGHT FILM!

WISCONSIN PREMIERE

1 hour 48 min

Dir: Tim Connery

Cast: Ira Amx, Torrey Hansen, Justin Marxen

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Deep river valleys, tall limestone bluffs sawing through the sky... thousands of years ago, this unique portion of the Midwest escaped the crushing effects of the giant Ice Age glaciers. But with its scenic beauty, this preserved primal landscape also conceals unimaginable terrors.

The Driftless is a horror film that weaves through four disturbing Midwest tales of the macabre.

Guided by a mysterious antique store owner, these stories delve into a Mississippi River cult of masked assassins, a grieving musician's struggle with a cursed bottle of liquor, a motel pool cleaner's uncanny ability to retrieve time-altering artifacts, and a woman's blood-thirsty revenge from beyond the grave.

Screens with music video:

CREEP DANCE

Dir: Christina Santa Cruz/USA/2:55 min

There is something in my home, and it dances.

PLUS Q&A with THE DRIFTLESS director Tim Connery!

FOLLOWED BY OPENING NIGHT AFTER PARTY! (21+ only)

Includes complimentary drink + finger food at the official bar of the festival THE MOUSETRAP TAVERN! Come get weird with us!

MIDWEST PREMIERE

1 hour 27 min

Dir: Josh Munds

Cast: Mabel Thomas, Chris Alan Evans, Paul Petersen

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When his peeping passions become compromised, Todd decides he’ll do whatever it takes to continue stalking his beloved Claire. An obsessive HOA fleet and a dense boyfriend are obstacles Todd must dance around if he wants to sing his way into Claire’s heart.

As Claire gets wrapped up in the lies of her fiancé and the web of her stalker, she must escape the two most toxic relationships she’s ever faced.

Screens with Short Film:

HIVEMIND DELUXE

Dir: Chris Alan Evans/USA/10:04 min

A disillusioned woman longing for community must suddenly resist an alien-led hivemind that promises belonging, at the cost of her soul.

PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS:

PEEPING TODD’s Josh Munds (director/writer), Chris Alan Evans (writer/star of PEEPING TODD, director of HIVEMIND DELUXE) and Alexander Jeffery (producer), to intro and Q&A!

WORLD PREMIERE

1 hour 31 min

Dir: Joshua Land and Victor Fink

Cast: Patrick Higgins, Tanya Davis, Josh Rutgers, Allie Moore, Maya Nellum

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In an isolated cabin amidst a devastating pandemic, Helen takes every precaution to protect her children Ethan and Lily.

But when a mysterious stranger named Gideon arrives, the family's fragile reality shatters. As secrets unravel and a deadly confrontation ensues, Ethan must make a harrowing choice to protect his sister and mother.

PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS:

Victor Fink and Joshua Land directors/writers of INCUBATION to intro and Q&A!

WORLD PREMIERE

1 hour 36 min

Dir: Richard Jordan

Cast: Elliot Harris, Agathe Levi, Alan Emrys, Ryan Lee Scott

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In a near-future world, a lonely, physically challenged man purchases a companion robot to escape his isolation.

But his own insecurities and a jealous brother threaten his chances of ever finding love.

Screens with Music Video and Short Film:

SPLASH! - UNDER THE ROSE

Dir: Becca Mellstrom & Nat Allister/USA/4:00 min

Official music video for singer/songwriter Splash!’s debut single. Made entirely with projection, shadow puppetry and flashlights.

EDGAR: ENHANCED DATA GATHERING ANALYSIS ROBOT

Dir: Virginia de Witt/USA/13:48 min

In a near-future desert-scape, a suicidal woman discusses life, love and loss with an AI Android which resembles her estranged father, meanwhile her neighbor focuses on his passion for tap dancing.

PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS:

Becca Mellstrom & Nat Allister to intro their music video.

SPECIAL MEMORIAL SCREENING

1 hour 51 min

Dir: Roger Avery

Cast: James Van Der Beek, Ian Somerhalder, Shannyn Sossamon, Jessica Biel

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Come and join us for very special retrospective screening of THE RULES OF ATTRACTION, to commemorate the recent passing of the film’s star James Van Der Beek.

Since it’s release in 2002, THE RULES OF ATTRACTION, has been all but forgotten by the main stream. Often misunderstood, and almost never given the attention it deserves, it is an incredible film: Hilarious, disturbing, poignant, and as much a snapshot of late 90s early 2000s misplaced machismo as the much better know FIGHT CLUB.

This dark satire of nihilistic rich kid college life - masterfully directed by Rogery Avery (PULP FICTION) and based on the novel by best-selling and infamous author Bret Easton Ellis (AMERICAN PSYCHO) - also features one of Van Der Beek’s best and most memorable performances.

Having long been associated with such roles as the boy-next-door, titular character in the hit TV teen drama DAWSON’S CREEK, or the high school football hero of VARSITY BLUES, Van Der Beek spun all previous depictions and conceptions of him as an actor on their head, in his bravura performance as the self absorbed, porn and pleasure addicted, Sean Bateman (there’s an easter egg spoiler right there for those paying attention) of THE RULES OF ATTRACTION.

Come join us at the Micon Downtown and watch this incredible film on the big screen: Disturbing, hilarious, poignant, and as much a snapshot of late 90s early 2000s misplaced machismo as the much better remembered FIGHT CLUB.

1 hr 52 min

Genres: Drama, Horror, Experimental, Animation, Comedy

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The most spectacular selection of weird, experimental, offbeat, shocking and just fantastic, short films that you’ll see this year!

Not for children, nudity and strong themes.

STATUS: ACTIVE

Dir: Bob Morley/USA/9:31 min

A genre bending, dark comedy about a day in the life of a "Go Kart Go" delivery driver in Los Angeles.

STRIP MALL

Dir: Andrew Appelle/CAN/8:35 min

Nate gets caught shoplifting.

UN ELEFANTE

Dir: Lucia Plaza/USA/13:48min

After the loss of her husband, a woman wrestles with her grief and reckons with a new unwanted companion– an elephant who won’t leave her alone.

ULTRA JUICE

Dir: Carl Conway Maguire/USA/3:41 min

A lonely man finds friendship in an unexpected place: his new vape.

BONE

Dir: Kailena Mai/USA/14:00min

Obsessively seeking love online, Frank's search for connection takes an unexpected offline turn.

METAL

Dir: Samuel McIntosh/USA/14:48 min

A man in a metal helmet, chained up in a basement with nothing but cartoons to keep him company, escapes one night and finds himself searching for somewhere to belong.

NEVER FINGERBANG A WENDIGO

Dir: John Brennan/USA/10:19 min

All men are created evil, but only the stupidest manage to provoke The Wendigo.

MANTIS STREAM! LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE

Dir: Lincoln Robisch, Sarah Maerten/USA./9:35min

Craig gets engaged and chokes to death on an egg, live on the internet.

DAMSEL IN GEEKSTRESS

Dir: Renaud Parra/FRA/11min

Glued to her computer screen, Eva is a die-hard geek, much to the dismay of Koki, her loyal gerbil. But when the collector's figurine of her dreams finally goes on sale, things quickly spiral out of control...

KRISTEN

Dir: Mary Pomilla & Veronica Pomilla/USA./19:34min

Disbelief is willfully suspended as a runaway teen avoids dealing with the repercussions of a house fire, until she is left with nowhere to run.

2 hours

Genres: Horror, Sci-Fi, Comedy, Experimental, Underground, Animation, Music

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MidWest WeirdFest and A Night of Horror International Film Festival are proud to present a collaborative program! Prepare to indulge in a weird and bloody crop of short films - made in the speculative and underground genres - by filmmakers based in the Midwest.

G’ITIS BAGGS - COUNTRY SOUL

Dir: Nick Rohr /Illinois/4:13 min

Encroaching industrialization disrupts the idyllic horizons a farmer’s wife uses as a painting reference.

THE VOICE IN THE VESSEL

Dir: Daniel Wheeler/Wisconsin/10:04 min

A grieving father discovers a coin-operated automaton capable of channeling otherworldly voices, leading to a tense journey through guilt, redemption, and consequence.

THE STAY

Dir: Jason Ewert/Minnesota/9:59min

Alone with a deadline, a tormented illustrator unravels—becoming a beacon for evil.

THE GIRL IN THE STREET

Dir: Chris Paicely & Miles August/Illinois/17:04 min

After receiving a once-in-a-lifetime job opportunity, Malachi leaves his dying younger sister behind to move to a remote small town. As Malachi unpacks inside his new house, a bloody and scarred woman in a strange mask appears on the dirt road outside the house, screeching. As the woman’s screams weigh on him in the small, sweltering house, Malachi faces a moral quandary: help the woman or stay safely inside his home. All signs point to the importance of his choosing to do what's good... but what does it cost to be a good person?

SPANKED BY A GHOST

Dir: Katelyn Douglass/Illinois/11:50min

Alone in her home, a woman is spanked by an unseen entity, awakening a force she cannot control.

HOMEMADE GATORADE

Dir: Carter Amelia Davis/Minnesota/14:48 min

A woman embarks on a road trip to deliver homemade Gatorade to a mysterious online buyer.

HYPERBURN

Dir: Travis DuBridge/Michigan/11:37 min

In a post-apocalyptic wasteland, a comedic, action-packed sci-fi unfolds as our reluctant hero teams up with his newly implanted A.I. companion. Together, they embark on a quest across the unforgiving desert. His first challenge? Find his team. Second? Survive the crippling boredom of the of the endless sand. Third? Face off against a formidable foe.

DRINK UP

Dir: Wenzler Powers/Illinois/15:02min

When Carter, a man celebrating three years of sobriety, loses his job, he’s lured into a mysterious bar offering free drinks in exchange for his recovery chip. But what begins as one drink turns into a nightmarish spiral through time, addiction, and guilt—until he realizes the true cost of trying to drown his demons.

SOCIAL MEDIA DELIVERS PEOPLE

Dir: Brandon Bauer/Wisconsin/2:43min

Social Media Delivers People is a video art piece that critically examines the role of social media in the commodification of users. Drawing inspiration from Richard Serra and Carlotta Schoolman’s 1973 work Television Delivers People, this piece reimagines the critique for the digital age, exposing how social media platforms transform users into products for advertisers. Through a blend of AI spoken text, calm visuals, and bland corporate motivational instrumental music, the video reveals the unseen mechanics of surveillance capitalism—where engagement is monetized, data is harvested, and attention is the ultimate currency. Social Media Delivers People confronts viewers with their own complicity in a system that trades connection for profit. The work serves as both a warning and an invitation to reclaim digital agency, urging audiences to rethink their participation in the social media economy.

TEXAS STRANGE

Dir: Justin Eugene Evans/Wisconsin/9:23min

After two months on a distant planet, John Thurston returns to his ragtag crew of criminals and thieves. He expects a heroes welcome...instead they've held themselves a vote.

GODZILLA VISITS MINNEAPOLIS!

Dir: Steve C. Chappell/Wisconsin/5:27min

Everyone has heard of the famous city of Minneapolis. Godzilla decides to go there and find out firsthand what all the talk is about. Pay close attention and you just might notice what is the true color of Mary Tyler Moore’s beret. And no, not raspberry.

THREE CHICKEN DINNERS

Dir: Ethan Kulinski/Wisconsin/9:30min

Grayson, a young film production assistant from the city, has been tasked with getting food for set from a small-town Wisconsin dive bar. Facing pressures to perform on his first day of the job, he struggles to please the obstinate locals that view him as an ill-intentioned outsider.

BLOSSOM NEEDS A RIDE HOME

Dir: Tim Schwagel/Wisconsin/19:34min

After defeating a bloodthirsty maniac, Blossom needs a ride home. What a hassle.

WISCONSIN PREMIERE

1 hour 24 min

Dir: Zeshaan Younus

Cast: Renee Gagner, Rosie McDonald, John R. Smith Jnr.

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Memory is a mirror.

In I’VE SEEN ALL I NEED TO SEE, two sisters are separated by the expanse of death. Parker (Renee Gagner), an actor in Los Angeles, returns to her hometown in search of answers after the sudden and violent loss of her estranged sister, Indiana (Rosie McDonald).

As Parker revisits familiar yet forgotten ground, she must escape the immense gravity of Indiana’s passing without surrendering to its encroaching darkness.

Told through a non-linear and haunting lens, I’VE SEEN ALL I NEED TO SEE is equal parts ghost story and noir. It looks at the gaps in space, time, and judgment that are created when attempting to move on from personal tragedy.

The closer Parker looks, the quicker she realizes those gaps are more like holes punched into the drywall of an empty house. Dark voids, searching for and swallowing all available light. For fans of A GHOST STORY, MEMORIA, and PERSONAL SHOPPER, this film is an experimental love letter to the abyss.

Screens with Short Films:

TREASURE IMAGINATION

Dir: Scott Rice/USA/4:00 min

A city boy is distraught when his beloved tablet is taken away by his mom. But when he finds a mysterious fedora left on a park bench, his temptation to place it on his head leads to adventure.

MARGARET THE BRAVE

Dir: Danny Chandia/USA/27:00 min

A recently-divorced professor of mythology tries to inspire his teenage daughter with a fairy tale on the night she leaves home to live with her mother, but considering the state of the world- it will take more than fantasy to reach her.

1 hour 56 min

Genres: Horror, Sci-Fi, Comedy, Animation

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It’s time to prep your optic nerves for a cornucopia of the best in horror and sci-fi short films from all around this weird planet! MidWest WeirdFest’s horror and sci-fi short film program will take you on a tour through the freshest cinematic landscapes of the fantastic and the macabre.

MRI

Dir: Dougal Vecqueray/UK/3:46 min

A patient named Tom goes for an MRI scan only to be transported into a galactic void. After the contrast dye he was injected with begins to spread across his body, Tom is turned blue. Things become even more trippy as Tom’s journey through the void takes a sinister turn.

INDIAN IN A BOX

Dir: Nishanth R./USA/9:16 min

An Indian immigrant awakens inside a confined metal box, with the walls slowly closing in… unless he can do the work assigned to him.

PREY FOR US

Dir:Zoe Kerr/USA/6:21min

After a house party, a woman leaves with a charming stranger, only to share unsettling truths that shatter their perceptions of each other.

UNDERTONE

Dir: Shaun Munro/UK/12:29 min

A sound recordist captures strange sonic phenomena underneath their house and things... escalate from there.

WAX GIRL

Dir: Stimson Snead/USA/8:55min

An artist unveils his latest muse, a wax figure of a young woman, her hands folded in prayer. As he sketches, he insists that art elevates the lifeless into something human. Yet as the hours pass, subtle cracks appear in his creation and in his carefully maintained confidence. The line between object and subject, art and exploitation, begins to blur.

113 WORDS FOR YOU TODAY

Dir: Bo Qing Tang, Lan Zeng/CHI/TAI/USA/12:31 min

A team of workers, including Soo, are sent to planet Gliese 12b to build a gravitational portal. To conserve energy for survival on the frozen planet, each worker is allowed to speak only 138 words per day.

CLEAN SLATE

Dir: Alex Geffen & Cass Huckabay/USA/14:45 min

In a world where a simple medical procedure can rehabilitate criminals into society, one man gets his second chance— until a stranger arrives, confronting him about a past he knows nothing about.

DID YOU KNOW THERE’S A BLACK HOLE IN YOUR REFRIGERATOR?

Dir: Joseph McMurray & Leonard Farr/CAN/2:55min

Well, did you?

EKELBRODE

Dir: Ben Montgomery-Pierson/USA/14:47min

In this dark science fiction tale, Cadulbrockt faces his final night aboard a roaming prison wagon that crawls across a toxic wasteland. Once a soldier in a failed revolution, he now labors under the rule of the Aelsassi empire. When Malta, a brooding mycologist, confronts him in his cell, buried memories of war, guilt, and betrayal resurface. As secrets emerge and trust fractures, Cadulbrockt must decide whether to protect himself or risk everything for a fragile hope of reclamation.

3 TO DIE

Dir: Mitch Yapko & Allen Rueckert/USA/11min

In 1994, Sean, Charley and Willa head to the arcade looking for the hottest new game. Unfortunately, what they find is hot as Hell…

WALTER WUZ HERE

Dir: Ben Duff/USA/17:57min

One late summer evening, four twenty-somethings break into an abandoned elementary school. Jake and Jenn are there to reminisce with their estranged friend Zeke, who is visiting town with his new girlfriend Alex. The mood darkens as Alex learns that the three childhood friends are haunted by the bizarre disappearance of their third-grade classmate twenty years ago. Zeke tried to forget this traumatic event, but Jake and Jenn are obsessed with deciphering the uncanny mystery. The four descend into the bowels of the old school, where they attempt to summon their long lost friend by recreating the circumstances of his vanishing. While the others grapple with the past, Alex must learn to escape it.

Disbelief is willfully suspended as a runaway teen avoids dealing with the repercussions of a house fire, until she is left with nowhere to run.

WORLD PREMIERE

1 hour 3 min

Dir: Thomas Eliot

Cast: Coza Mendoza, Cora Colt, Jordan Clark, Cassandra Crimmins, Kayden Dubey, Chris Dubey

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Inspired by a parapsychology experiment from 1972, a team of paranormal researchers led by an unscrupulous documentary filmmaker try to summon the ghost of a fictional character.

This found footage gem blurs the lines between real paranormal history and edge-of-your-seat terror.

Screens with Music Videos & Short Films:

MURDER’S NOT SO BAD

Dir: Justin Miller/USA/3:01 min

The official music video by 80's pop star Daisy York to the theme song from the 1985 smash hit, Bloody Guts 2: No Guts, No Gory
(this is not an actual thing)

FORGIVENESS - SEANCES

Dir: Eric Arsnow/USA/3:11 min

Forgiveness is a music video for the Milwaukee post-punk band Seances from the album Power Is A Phantom (2025).

Following a car accident, the ghost of the passenger travels through the haunted house they reside in to find a key to resurrect their past lover.

METHESULAH

Dir: Nathan Sellers/USA/4:15 min

Rooted in a childhood memory, 'Methuselah' examines the exploitation of trees and their haunting dual role, as silent witnesses and unwitting participants, in humanity's long history of violence. The film is available in both 4K (DCP, H.264) and 4K w/ English subtitles.

SPACE ROCK

Dir: Ben Taman/USA/2:41 min

Two friends drive a maybe-from-space rock to the university, chasing a family legend — and discovering the real story was never in the science, but in the belief.

PLUS SPECIAL GUEST:

Thomas Eliot writer/director of THE PHILIP EXPERIMENT to intro and Q&A!

WORLD PREMIERE

1 hour 11 min

Dir: Zachary Nichols

Cast: Noelia Antweiler, Lars Drew

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Johnny and Mary are siblings bound together through childhood abandonment, scraping by in a dead-end rural town.

Johnny, a military drone pilot, executes killings by day and returns each night to a home already hollowed out. Brutal visions of the battlefields he surveils invade his life, repeating and distorting without release.

Mary—abrasive, funny, and fiercely protective—dates indiscriminately, holding their shared life together through sheer force of will.

But through tragedy, the film’s reality shifts into an abstract afterlife, where personal guilt is stripped of its human scale and dissolved into something vast and impersonal.

Drawn from interviews with real U.S. military drone pilots living with PTSD, VARIATIONS ON VIOLENCE visualizes trauma’s inescapable spread.

This is a masterful and breathtaking, feature directorial debut. Nichols was a collaborator with David Lynch, and fans of the late auteur will feel Lynch’s presence in some sequences.

Both beautiful and deeply disturbing, the film’s movement into a surreal black and white reality, is made all the more potent by the amazing performances of the two leads - Noelia Antweiler and Lars Dre - who deliver us into the darkness.

Screens with Music Video:

PHANTASMAGORIA

Dir: Cole Naylor & Anthony Ruptak/USA/7:33 min

"Phantasmagoria" is a broad collection of ruminations on the overall state of the world in the year 2025. We grapple each day with chronic doom-scrolling and feelings of inadequacy and helplessness, watching the world burn from our phones, while the ultra-wealthy amass seemingly infinite capital, while the poor become poorer and the powers-that-be continue to decimate the planet. This song is an anthem for the apocalypse.

"A feverish, seven-and-a-half-minute odyssey through chaos and clarity, Anthony Ruptak’s “PHANTASMAGORIA” is an apocalyptic indie rock reckoning – a raw, unflinching reflection on modern disconnection, human fragility, and the desperate search for meaning in a world on fire." - Atwood Magazine

PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS:

Zachary Nichols writer/director of VARIATIONS ON VIOLENCE to intro and Q&A!

Anthony Ruptak, singer/ songwriter/ co-director of PHANTASMAGORIA to intro his music video.

MIDWEST PREMIERE

1 hour 20 min

Dir: Alex Cherney

Cast: Devan Delugo, Izzy Marinucci, Fran Mae, Al Reno, Laura Leigh Carroll

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When a teenage girl summons a driver using a seemingly innocent ritual, she must fulfill his demands if she ever wants to get back home in 1992 Long Island.

A taught, atmospheric, descent into paranormal paranoia; THE MID-NIGHT DRIVER is one of the freshest and most captivating horror films of the decade. It will become a classic.

Do not miss its 2nd ever screening, only at MidWest WeirdFest!  

Screens with Short Film and Music Video:

FILM THAT NEVER BEGINS

Dir: Scott Bateman/USA/4:25 min

Waiting for the film to begin IS the film in this hilarious short from Scott Bateman (5000 SPACE ALIENS).

95’ KiD

Dir: Ahmet Tigrel/TUR/3:24 min

“'Ive been playing video games for over 30 years.
This video is a love letter to the games and moments that stayed with me, the ones that shaped how I think, feel, and create…
Late nights, first wins, impossible levels, iconic characters and the moments that stayed. A thank you to the developers who built these worlds, and a gift to the gamers who grew up in them.” - Ahmet Tigrel

PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS:

Alex Cherney writer/director of THE MID-NIGHT DRIVER to intro and Q&A!

Ahmet Tigrel to introduce ‘95 KiD!

WISCONSIN PREMIERE

1 hour 33 min

Dir: Aurelio Voltaire and Jeff Ferrell

Cast: Hannah Fierman, Aurelio Voltaire, Doug Bradley, Larry Fessenden, Nivek Ogre

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A Mexican priest comes to the aid of his good friend and neighbor, a dominatrix, when she unwittingly summons an incubus demon. Starring Doug Bradley (Hellraiser), Larry Fessenden (Jakob's Wife, Brooklyn 45), Hannah Fierman (V/H/S, Creepshow) and Nivek Ogre (Repo! The Genetic Opera, Skinny Puppy).

Kinky chills and scares abound in this demonic thrill ride, which is sure to satiate the appetite of diabolic cinema lovers.

PLUS SPECIAL GUEST:

Aurelio Voltaire co-director/co-writer/star of THE DEMONATRIX to intro and Q&A!

MIDWEST PREMIERE

1 hour 23 min

Dir: Elijah Sullivan

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The discovery of a sixty-foot man-made hole on a California mountain implicates a small town’s unusual local industry in a bizarre unsolved crime.

Abandoning the conventional investigative format, THE HOLE STORY unfolds as a multi-faceted oral history, immersing us in personal mythologies and painting a haunting and unsettling portrait of a community shaped by fringe belief.

This is a captivating documentary that draws you into a deep and unsettling mystery.

Screens with Short Films:

SEVEN: THE MYSTERY OF JACQUES

Dir: Ben Goldman/USA/27:00 min

In this short documentary, two paranormal investigators conduct a ritual to learn more about the mysterious entity known as "Seven," residing in their haunted antique jester cabinet. Leaning into occult frameworks to help explain the unexplainable, they learn more than anticipated as they unravel the mystery of Jacques.

PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS:

Ben Goldman and Angela Wingard to introduce their film SEVEN: THE MYSTERY OF JACQUES.

2 hours

Genres: Sci-Fi, Paranormal, Experimental, Comedy, Animation, Music Video

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Prepare yourself for a journey into a cinematic world of high strangeness. From UFO encounters, through spirit manifestations, to fairy lovers: This program is a weird delight for all of us who are fascinated by the strange worlds beyond this one.

RON JAMES - OH ALIENS

Dir: Ron James/USA/4:13 min

Music Video by Ron James, featuring well known personalities of Ufology and the disclosure movement, including Travis Walton, Robert Clotworthy, Michio Kaku, and US Congressman Tim Burchett.

ANOMLAY

Dir: Andy Webb/USA/AUS/10:00 min

Austin (Evan Evagora, Star Trek: Picard), an artist obsessed with UFO theories, spends his nights searching the skies for proof of extraterrestrial life. Isolated and struggling after a breakup, he retreats further into his world. One night, a blinding light floods his room, leading him to the rooftop where he discovers an ominous bloodstain and strange noises. As he processes this eerie discovery, he is pulled back into reality when his ex-girlfriend arrives to collect her belongings. As tension rise inside the apartment, Austin starts to question his reality - is he having a breakdown, or is there really something out there?

SPIRITUALISM IN WISCONSIN

Dir: Josh Hughes/USA/1:43min

There is the belief that you can talk to the dead and there was once a prominent school that taught you how to harness ,

Josh Hughes is the creator of Weird Wisconsin, documenting the dairy state's unique, forgotten, and sometimes haunting history. Blending documentary filmmaking with local folklore and a deep appreciation for the unusual, Weird Wisconsin explores the stories that don’t always make the history books.

Follow along on social media for more Weird Wisconsin. 

FANTOMET

Dir: Rob Tiffin & Mitchell Hardage/USA/10:56 min

A man rents an Airbnb for the weekend. As he settles in, signs emerge that he may not be alone.

GRILLED CHEESE

Dir: Jonathan Reid-Edwards/UK/16:12min

Desperate to start rebuilding her life, Audrey must contend with a world that seems to be in on all the answers she can't get.

SYMPATHETIC FLUIDS

Dir: Matthew Pagoaga/USA/13:17 min

Sympathetic Fluids is a film about communication methods. Sympathetic Fluids is a film about psychic snail sex. Sympathetic Fluids is a film about the internet. Using layered chroma key visualizations in combination with original and stock footage, the film relays a shadow play narrative of wireless connection, snail slime, and embodiment. Intended as a sort of "Ken Burns from the fifth dimension" documentary, Sympathetic Fluids aims to expose the distant past, present, and speculative future of both humanity and gastropod alike. 

FAKE NEWS MOVIE

Dir: Jeffrey Michael Bays/USA/10:00 min

Based on SiriusXM's "Not From Space." While channel surfing you stumble upon a cable news broadcast with live coverage of alien contact but it's unclear whether one of the channel's sponsors is involved. Starring Tom Mustin, Emmy-winning news anchor ABC-7 Denver.

FLY OVER

Dir: Max Ward/USA/16:27min

On a cold winter night in rural Iowa, Tom’s life changes with a single impact on an empty, star-lit road. As he seeks refuge at his Grandma’s house during a seemingly cheerful Christmas gathering, an unsettling silence hangs over the small town.
Missing persons, power cuts, and strange movements in the woods hint that something unnatural is drawing closer. When a terrifying presence breaches the safety of Grandma’s home, Tom must confront forces far darker than his own guilt.

GODZILLA VISITS MINNEAPOLIS!

Dir: Steve C. Chappell/Wisconsin/5:27min

Everyone has heard of the famous city of Minneapolis. Godzilla decides to go there and find out firsthand what all the talk is about. Pay close attention and you just might notice what is the true color of Mary Tyler Moore’s beret. And no, not raspberry.

THE LINGERING

Dir: Gabe Reiss/USA/11:11min

An amateur exorcist tries to help a man rid his house of a ghost, only to find that his client’s relationship to the tormenting spirit is more familiar and complicated than he expected. Featuring Taylor Nichols (PEN15).

STELLA ANYWAYS

Dir: Yan Berthemy/FRA/17:05min

In a Parisian square, three high school girls, Stella, Mila, and Elsa, share their experiences and desires. When Stella speaks up, her confession is intriguing: she is in a secret relationship with someone who has neither a phone nor a real identity, only a pseudonym. A revelation that casts doubt and unsettles the conversation.

WISCONSIN PREMIERE

1 hour 31 min

Dir: Adrian Țofei

Cast: Adrian Țofei, Duru Yücel, Erisse Peterson, Andreea Enciu, Danha Yunes

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The highly anticipated, genre-bending film, from cult director Adrian Tofei (BE MY CAT: A FILM FOR ANNE) and Duru Yücel. Part reality-bending sci-fi, part chilling horror, part domestic drama, this film masterfully subverts and surpasses the conventional tropes of found footage.

Adrian and Duru get lost in the characters they play in an apocalyptic film and embark on a secret mission to end the world for real. What follows goes beyond their wildest imagination. 

Screens with Short Films:

STAY IN

Dir: Michael Buran/USA/11:34 min

A recluse is forced to confront a dark secret from years past that has kept him from going outside after midnight.

LIGHT IN THIS HOUSE

Dir: Thomas Slipsager/USA/22:35 min

The caretaker of a home finds a vase broken while cleaning. She and the tenants of the home then to find out what caused the vase to shatter, and who is responsible.

PLUS SPECIAL GUEST:

Thomas Slipsager writer/director of LIGHT IN THIS HOUSE to intro his film!

WORLD PREMIERE

1 hour 27 min

Dir: Chad Ferrin

Cast: Susan Priver, Max E. Williams, Brian Foyster, Silvia Spross, Ezra Buzzington, Robert Miano

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From prolific modern master of horror exploitation, Chad Ferrin (THE CHAIR, DEEP ONES, ED KEMPER), comes this vicious true crime stunner.

Los Angeles, 1980. Beneath the glittering lights of the Sunset Strip, a horrifying tale of obsession and bloodshed unfolds. Carol Bundy, a lonely nurse, crosses paths with Doug Clark, a charming but dangerously unstable man.

Drawn into his web of deceit and depravity, Carol's quiet existence spirals into a nightmare she never imagined.

Screens with Short Films:

AMIRA

Dir: Javier Yañez Sanz/ESP/15 min

In the XVIII Century there's a music school where it's always dark...

GIMME

Dir: Steven Schloss/USA/14 min

On the first night of Hanukkah, a grandfather and his estranged granddaughter are pulled into a sinister game of dreidel.

Don’y miss this very special mini double feature: Two fantastic shorter length American feature films, showcasing the incredible creativity of the indie ethic!

WAKING STATE

MIDWEST PREMIERE

58 min

Dir: Andrew Salerno

Cast: Mike Iannuzzi, Shelly DeChristofaro, Mary Salafia, Devonn Duffin

After watching a top secret videotape, a small town law clerk must track down the tape's origin and its connection to a deeper conspiracy.

After a DUI, 22 year old Tommy finds himself working for his lawyer Mom until he gets back on his feet, but his real passion is getting his conspiracy theory podcast off the ground. Fortunately, the DUI hasn’t dampened Tommy ’s enthusiasm for drinking and regularly shares his wild ideas with his sort-of-kind-of girlfriend/bartender.

Then Tommy finds something buried in a client’s estate that’s right up his alley: a videotape containing assassination instructions against a local college professor. The killing has already been carried but why was the professor killed? And why did the client have the tape in his estate?

As a new (and exclusive) podcast episode forms in his mind, Tommy finds that he’s not the only one interested in the tape; Dani, the daughter of the assassinated professor, is looking for answers too. Dani steals the tape and Tommy sets out on foot to get to the bottom of this hometown conspiracy while trying to stay sober.

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WATCH WAKING STATE TRAILER

PSYCHOPOMP

MIDWEST PREMIERE

48 min

Dir: Jeremy Sher

Cast: Daniel Gallai, Kathryn Farren

A young man steals a hearse from a funeral.

PLUS SPECIAL GUEST:

WAKING STATE writer/director Andrew Salerno to introduce.

CLOSING NIGHT FILM!

MIDWEST PREMIERE

1 hour 23 min

Dir: Nick Funess

Cast: Nick Funess, Izzi Rojas, Eugene Kotlyarenko, Marijane Funess, Richard Funess

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Reed's monotonous days lead to a meltdown at his dead-end job. He bails and heads to his parents' place in Arizona, spending his days floating in the pool while his parents persuade him to get back on track.

Reed comes up with a wild plan instead. He hires an escort, Tess, to take care of him for a week. Debauchery and buffoonery ensue as Tess joins Reed on his journey to nowhere fast.

Confronting, and uncomfortably hilarious, THE HEDONIST marks director/star Nick Funess as a major new talent of American cinema.

Screens with Short Film and Music Video:

DANCE INTO THE DAY

Dir: Taney Basinger/USA/3:39 min

An elderly woman kick-starts the day by transforming her morning routine into a disco dance party.

JEFF HILLIARD - LOVE MYSELF

Dir: Jeff Hilliard/USA/3:31 min

Official music video for TIME TRAVERS AND THE TIME TRAVELER’S PARADOX (opening night film at MidWest WeirdFest 2026!)

PLUS SPECIAL GUESTS:

Nick Funess director/writer/star of THE HEDONIST to intro and Q&A!

FOLLOWED BY CLOSING NIGHT AFTER PARTY! (21+ event)

Ticket purchase to THE HEDONIST Includes complimentary drink at the official bar of the festival THE MOUSETRAP TAVERN! Come get weird with us!