Festival

Scary Movies XIV

August 12–20

Series sponsored by

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New York City’s premium showcase for the best in boundary-pushing horror and genre-bending cinema from around the globe premieres new works alongside special presentations of spine-tingling classics and rediscoveries, with filmmakers and special guests appearing for post-screening Q&As.

Buddy

Casper Kelly

Opening Night
New York Premiere
Buddy

Showtimes

Wed, Aug 12

2026|

U.S.|

95 minutes

A ’90s kids’ TV show descends into gore-spattered mayhem when its charismatic host turns violent in the surreal, gleefully deranged feature debut from Casper Kelly, creator of 2014 viral sensation Too Many Cooks.

The Threshing

Sean Mannion

Closing Night
North American Premiere
The Threshing

Showtimes

Thu, Aug 20

2025|

U.S.|

90 minutes

When an idealistic young woman accepts a position living and working on a regenerative farm, she and her partner must navigate the commune’s unorthodox—and increasingly ominous—practices, under the watchful eye of their unnervingly intense leader.

Bodyhackers

Carlos Conceição

North American Premiere
Bodyhackers

Showtimes

Tue, Aug 18

2026|

Portugal|

83 minutes|

Portuguese with English subtitles

Cronenbergian body horror is deployed to darkly satirical ends in Carlos Conceição’s English-language debut, the noir-inflected story of an anti-corporate activist who becomes involved in a cult-like underworld of black-market plastic surgery.

Cam

Daniel Goldhaber

35mm
World Premiere of 35mm Print
Cam

Showtimes

Thu, Aug 13

2018|

U.S.|

95 minutes

Director Daniel Goldhaber and screenwriter Isa Mazzei anticipated our present moment with razor-sharp prescience in their first collaboration, an unnerving fable about a camgirl’s harrowing fight to wrest back control of her online persona from an invisible adversary.

Family Movie

Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick

New York Premiere
Family Movie

Showtimes

Wed, Aug 19

2026|

U.S.|

87 minutes

Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick co-direct and star alongside their real-life children, Sosie and Travis Bacon, in a campy send-up of B-movie slasher flicks that doubles as an ode to the scrappy resourcefulness and DIY ingenuity of small-town microbudget filmmaking.

Goody Goody

Raymond Creamer

New York Premiere
Goody Goody

Showtimes

Fri, Aug 14

Mon, Aug 17

2026|

U.S.|

80 minutes

A mom-to-be’s stubborn conviction that she alone knows what’s best for her unborn child is put to the gruesomest of tests when alarming complications arise during a home delivery in director Raymond Creamer’s diabolical spin on prenatal horror.

World Premiere of 4K Restoration
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

Showtimes

Sun, Aug 16

1986|

U.S.|

83 minutes

Forty years on, John McNaughton’s unflinching, profoundly bleak character study of an itinerant ex-con on a killing spree—loosely inspired by the real-life case of Henry Lee Lucas—has lost none of its power to shock, unsettle, and disturb.

New York Premiere
Never After Dark

Showtimes

Sat, Aug 15

Wed, Aug 19

Japan|

2026|

105 minutes|

Japanese with English subtitles

The harrowing sixth feature from bilingual director Dave Boyle—his first shot entirely in Japan—follows a mild-mannered psychic medium who gets more than she bargained for when she accepts a job at an isolated hotel plagued by a hostile supernatural presence.

The Peril at Pincer Point

Noah Stratton-Twine, Jake Kuhn

New York Premiere
The Peril at Pincer Point

Showtimes

Thu, Aug 13

2026|

U.K.|

83 minutes

Dispatched to a fog-shrouded isle on a mission to gather audio “unprecedented in film history,” a sound recordist stumbles upon a mysterious missing person’s case that may or may not have something to do with spooky local rumors of a phantom sea captain.

Something Real

Evar Anvelt

North American Premiere
Something Real

Showtimes

Tue, Aug 18

2026|

Estonia / Lithuania|

113 minutes|

Estonian with English subtitles

Adapted by screenwriter Martin Algus from his own 2018 novel, Evar Anvelt’s directorial debut is a pulse-pounding thriller pitting a porn-addicted family man against a hardened con artist whose seemingly foolproof blackmail scheme devolves into a dog-eat-dog fight for survival.

Sudden Fury

Brian Damude

U.S. Premiere of New 4K Restoration
Sudden Fury

Showtimes

Sat, Aug 15

1975|

Canada|

92 minutes

Brian Damude’s pitch-black, no-holds-barred Canuxploitation classic traces the sociopathic machinations of a husband who leaves his wife for dead after a car accident, angling to cash in on her inheritance.

Superbuhei

Josef Brandl

North American Premiere
Superbuhei

Showtimes

Sun, Aug 16

2026|

Germany|

108 minutes|

German with English subtitles

A recovering alcoholic who spends his days tending bar inside a drab suburban supermarket begins to suspect he’s being stalked by his own evil twin in the mordant first feature from production designer-turned-director Josef Brandl.

The Trek

Meekaaeel Adam

North American Premiere
The Trek

Showtimes

Sun, Aug 16

2026|

South Africa|

105 minutes|

English, Afrikaans, and Khoekhoegowab with English subtitles

Drawing inspiration from traditional folklore, the “Western-horror” debut feature from South African cinematographer Meekaaeel Adam is a haunting, haunted meditation on the brutal legacies of settler colonialism.

Veins

Raymond St-Jean

U.S. Premiere
Veins

Showtimes

Sat, Aug 15

2025|

Canada|

96 minutes|

French with English subtitles

Fraught family dynamics make for treacherous emotional terrain during a young woman’s long-delayed visit to her childhood home, where she’s alarmed to learn that her estranged father has been dead for three days—a revelation to which her mother seems strangely indifferent.

The Weed Eaters

Callum Devlin

U.S. Premiere
The Weed Eaters

Showtimes

Fri, Aug 14

Sat, Aug 15

2025|

New Zealand|

80 minutes

The munchies and murder don’t mix… or do they? Chaos and cannibalism ensue when four stoner friends discover a peculiar strain of weed at the middle-of-nowhere rental property where they’ve decamped for a toked-out New Year’s retreat.

Wendigo

Larry Fessenden

New 4K Restoration
Wendigo

Showtimes

Mon, Aug 17

2001|

U.S.|

91 minutes

Independent horror maestro Larry Fessenden returns to Scary Movies for a special 25th anniversary screening of his landmark 2001 chiller about a close-knit family’s encounter with vengeful forces of nature—human or otherwise—during a snowbound upstate vacation.

General Public
$18
Students, Seniors (62+), and Persons with Disabilities
$15
FLC Members
$13
Opening Night or Closing Night Film + Party - GP
$25
Opening Night or Closing Night Film + Party - Students, Seniors (62+), and Persons with Disabilities
$22
Opening Night or Closing Night Film + Party - FLC Members
$20
All-Access Pass
$120
All-Access Pass - FLC Members
$99
Ticket Information

Tickets will go on sale on Thursday, July 16 at 12pm, with an early access period for FLC Members starting on Wednesday, July 15 at 2pm. Tickets are $18; $15 for students, seniors (62+), and persons with disabilities; and $13 for FLC Members. Festivalgoers can also save $2 on each ticket with a 3+ Film Package or the $120 All-Access Pass ($99 for FLC Members).

For the Opening Night screening of Buddy and Closing Night screening of The Threshing, audiences may purchase a film-only ticket at standard price or a ticket that includes access to a post-screening party for $25; $22 for students, seniors (62+), and persons with disabilities; and $20 for FLC Members. All-Access Pass holders receive access to both parties along with screenings. Party tickets are excluded from the 3+ Film Package.

About the festival

Film at Lincoln Center presents Scary Movies XIV, the 14th edition of New York City’s premier showcase for the most vital voices in contemporary horror and genre-bending cinema from around the world. Running August 12 through August 20, the 16-film festival will premiere new works alongside special presentations of spine-tingling classics and rediscoveries conjured from the dark recesses of midnight-movie lore, with filmmakers and special guests appearing for post-screening Q&As. 

Since its founding in 2002, Scary Movies has offered moviegoers the cathartic treat of experiencing world-class suspense, gore, and terror of all stripes on the big screen, celebrating film’s boundless capacity to probe the creepiest corners of the human psyche, and inviting audiences to confront their most visceral fears in the company of dedicated fellow thrill-seekers.  

Organized by Madeline Whittle, Programmer, Film at Lincoln Center.

Acknowledgments:
Alex Gootter, Michelle Halac, and Mike Perry (Hollywood Entertainment)

“Scary Movies XIV” is sponsored by MUBI, the global streaming service, production company, and film distributor dedicated to elevating great cinema.

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