My final genre-centered dispatch of SXSW 2026 features three films that take place mostly at single settings, using storytelling devices made famous by everything from J-Horror to “Black Mirror.” They’re a mixed bag of quality, three films that have undeniably interesting premises but vary in how they follow through on those premises. Once again, filmmakers at SXSW seem to wear their influences on their sleeves with these flicks including nods to Hideo Nakata and, believe it or not, Douglas Sirk. You never know what you’re gonna see in Austin.
The best of the three by some margin is Dave Boyle’s effective “Never After Dark,” a nod to Japanese and South Korean horror films like “Ringu” and, most effectively, “A Tale of Two Sisters.” Like a lot of horror from that part of the world in the ‘90s and ‘00s, “Never After Dark” is a story of how real-world violence creates ruptures that bring forth supernatural reckonings. It’s one of the more well-made films that I saw in Austin this year in terms of craft, a work that builds atmosphere and tension to a truly insane final act. Some of the slow burn of the first two acts sizzles a little too slowly, but it gets to something memorably intense, especially for those with a particular aversion to people losing their teeth in horror movies. Ew.
“Shogun” star Moeka Hoshi is excellent as Airi, a traveling medium who we first believe is going to her newest job with her sister in the backseat, only to discover that the sibling isn’t really there, a sort of “Sixth Sense” companion for our protagonist, one that can only be seen in reflections. This sets up Airi as the real deal; she’s no charlatan looking to grift the grieving. After all, she has a ghost for a BFF.
Airi arrives at a remote country home that’s haunted by a grotesquely disfigured man who stalks the property at night. Our medium has techniques for this kind of thing that allow her to “pierce the veil” to determine what the ghosts need, but this one behaves differently. When Airi discovers that the supernatural elements of this story aren’t nearly as deadly as the living ones, “Never After Dark” becomes an intense thriller, using imagery in a way that recalls great horror films without ever feeling like a direct copy.
Hoshi’s deeply present, engaged performance is one of the main reasons for how well “Never After Dark” works, but it’s also an undeniably well-made piece of horror filmmaking in terms of craft. Boyle glides his camera up and down the stairs of this perfect setting, one of those old homes that feels haunted even before bloody figures prowl its halls. He knows how to get a lot of mileage out of a figure in the background or, in the final act, sudden violence. It’s a film that may not live entirely up to the best of its influences, but it’s made by someone who clearly understands why those films have become such an important part of horror history.
One of the oddest films of this year’s SXSW is Alex Prager’s “Dreamquil,” an unexpected blend of Sirkian melodrama and something more akin to “The Twilight Zone” or “Black Mirror.” Ultimately, it’s way too thin of a script, one that just doesn’t have enough narrative or thematic meat on its bones, even if I admired some of the more unusual swings of its design.
“Dreamquil” unfolds in a probably inevitable future in which the air quality has become so toxic that people exist mostly in virtual reality. If you think your family is driving you crazy now, imagine how it will be when you can’t leave the house anymore. Carol (Elizabeth Banks) and Gary (John C. Reilly) are struggling through a marital rough patch, enhanced by the claustrophobia of this vision of the future. They’re presented with a virtual wellness retreat called “Dreamquil,” something that will allow Carol to recharge and come back committed to her marriage and son. Much to Carol’s surprise, while she was away, Gary brought in an AI version of his wife, someone who does many of the same things as the real Carol … but better.
What would you do if you were replaced by an AI version of yourself? And would you replace your own partner with a version that never complained? These are questions at the core of this “Black Mirror” premise, but Prager doesn’t add enough new to the conversation.
Much better than the shallow script are the design choices that make “Dreamquil” look like a ’50s melodrama with bright colors in costume design and old-fashioned elements to the art direction, too. It’s a visually effective trick that adds to the sense of displacement, and it’s nice to see a film at this year’s fest that takes these elements seriously given how often I was frustrated by the lack of visual language at SXSW this year. I just wish it was lifting up a more interesting project.
Speaking of failed potential, there’s Raviv Ullman & Greg Yagolnitzer’s bleak “Drag,” a movie that starts with a clever conceit but devolves into something so brutal and downright mean that it leaves a bad taste in your mouth. Its star remains a wonderfully physical and impressive performer, but she can’t keep this one from living up to its title. It’s a drag, man.
Said star is the great Lizzy Caplan, who plays a burglar breaking into a fancy home one night with her reticent sister (Lucy DeVito). Sis is just supposed to be the getaway driver, but she runs into the McMansion when she hears a scream, only to find Caplan’s character immobile in the bathtub after throwing out her back. The only solution here is a simple one: One sister will have to drag the other out of the house before its owner returns. Little do they know that the man of the house (John Stamos) is a serial killer.
What starts with an almost comical premise as the relatively short DeVito is forced to physical drag Caplan down the hall and push her down the stairs become something much darker in the second half, and the directors can’t handle the tone switch and don’t really earn the truly depressing ending. Part of the problem is that the jolt of the clever casting of seeing Uncle Jesse go Patrick Bateman wears off when one realizes he’s just not quite right for the part. He’s not believably menacing, which turns “Drag” into an exercise in cruelty without actual stakes. It’s always a joy to see Caplan do her thing, but she should drag whoever convinced her to sign onto this one.
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