Going Down (1983): A Portrait of Feral Persistence

Going Down, director Haydn Keenan’s scrappy DIY debut feature, is a feverish portrait of early 1980s Sydney and its chaotic punk underbelly.

ReviewsJessica BuieJune 2, 2025Going Down, Haydn KeenanComment

The Restoration of The Spook Who Sat By the Door: Interview with Doris Nomathandé Dixon & Mike Mashon

We spoke to Ivan Dixon’s daughter, Doris Nomathandé Dixon, and the former Head of the Moving Image Section at the Library of Congress, Mike Mashon, about their experiencing restoring The Spook Who Sat By the Door.

Final Destination Bloodlines Brings the Franchise Back to Life

Final Destination Bloodlines isn’t just another by-the-numbers franchise money-grabber, but one that’s willing to play around—and have a little fun—with the rules of the game.

Alix MamminaMay 30, 2025Comment

This Week in Screenings 5/30-6/5

This week in Austin screenings 5/30-6/5.

Community ScreeningsJames McDonaldMay 30, 2025Comment

Eddington Review: A big bite to chew, but what’s the point with no taste or smell?

Crisis can reveal peoples’ true colors, and that’s what Ari Aster examines to decent effect in his latest feature, Eddington.

CannesAndrew WestinMay 30, 2025cannes, eddington, ari aster, joaquin phoenix, pedro pascal, emma stone, austin butlerComment

AFS Doc Days '25: Where the Trees Bear Meat

Death is an inevitability, Alexis Franco affirms in his documentary Donde Los Árboles Dan Carne (Where the Trees Bear Meat). Shown during Austin Film Society’s annual Doc Days, Franco’s film is an intimately quiet portrait of the modern Argentine gaucho shaped by the slow destruction of climate change.

Reviews, Doc Days, Film FestsManny MaderaMay 29, 2025Where the Trees Bear Meat, Alexis Franco, Doc Days, AFS, documentaryComment

AFS Doc Days '25: Middletown

Regardless of your relationship with the 90s, you will feel nostalgic for your own youth while watching Middletown, the third directorial collaboration between spouses Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, following the lauded Boys State (2020) and Girls State (2024).

Reviews, Doc Days, Film FestsKathryn BaileyMay 29, 2025Middletown, Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss, Doc Days, AFSComment

Weird Wednesdays: Love On A Leash

Love On A Leash exists in that space between a movie that shouldn’t have been released and one that should be seen by anybody with the patience for something truly weird.

Alamo Weird Wednesday, ReviewsDylan SamuelMay 28, 2025Jana Camp, Stephen Kramer GlickmanComment

Scientific Fiction: Exploring Fiction Through the Scientific Method

If you ask someone for a recommendation for a “sciency” film you usually get one of two types of recommendations: “experiments gone wrong,” or “scientific exploration.” The second often falls in line with the notion of Scientific Fiction.

AnalysisSam AdlerMay 28, 2025science fiction, scientific fiction, Altered States, Flatliners, Re-AnimatorComment

A Narrative 20 Years in Motion: Jia Zhang-ke's Caught by the Tides

For his tenth feature film (eleventh if you count his student featurette, Xiaoshan Going Home), Jia Zhang-ke has made what is perhaps his most ambitious project yet.

ReviewsSean BoelmanMay 26, 2025Caught By the Tides, Jia Zhang-ke, Tao Zhao, Zhubin LiComment

This Week in Screenings 5/23-5/29

This week in Austin screenings 5/23-5/29.

Community ScreeningsJames McDonaldMay 23, 2025Comment

HFC @ HLFF: Interview with Hannia Yeverino - Writer/Director of Punks

Today, we got the opportunity to speak to Hannia Yeverino about her film Punks, which played this year at the Houston Latino Film Festival.

Reviews, InterviewsEli FischerMay 22, 2025HLFF, Hannia Yeverino, Punks, Interview, Houston Latino Film FestivalComment

Another Simple Favor: More of the Same, Just Further from Home

Like a well-mixed but not particularly innovative cocktail you might order at a chain restaurant in the suburbs, this movie goes down easy but doesn't linger long in the memory.

ReviewsMase KerwickMay 22, 2025Paul Feig, Anna Kendrick, Blake LivelyComment

Interview: Richard Harmon on Final Destination Bloodlines

After viewing this groan- and grin-inducing film, I sat down with my old friend and one of the stars of Final Destination Bloodlines, Richard Harmon, to discuss the family dynamic, how he pulled off each impossible stunt, and his experience working alongside the late, great Tony Todd.

InterviewsLili LabensMay 20, 2025final destination, Richard HarmonComment

AFS Doc Days ‘25: Mistress Dispeller

In Mistress Dispeller, Elizabeth Lo’s (罗宝) second documentary feature, the camera feels almost absent, disappeared in the way of a narrative film. It’s a documentary shot like a romantic drama, specifically evoking the dreamy, languid camera most associated with slow cinema.

This Week in Screenings 5/16-5/22

This week in Austin screenings 5/16-5/22.

Community ScreeningsJames McDonaldMay 16, 2025 Comments

Bring Her Back: Trauma Horror at its Best

Bring Her Back, directed by Danny and Michael Philippou and written by Bill Hinzman and Danny, finetunes the jumpscares and creeping atmosphere of their debut Talk to Me while offering a storyline that’s both more cogent and emotionally intuitive than its predecessor.

ReviewsAlix MamminaMay 16, 2025bring her back, Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou, Talk to Me, Sally HawkinsComment