Hi friends! I hope you are having a great weekend and enjoying spring weather wherever you might be. So I have had quite the March 2026. As many of you know I had been substituting over at KSL Movie Show since last July. It would have been my dream to be hired as a regular for the show and I sincerely think I would have done a great job for them but they decided to go elsewhere. This was completely devastating and I’m still getting over it to be honest. Well, this news came the week before I was going to go to Austin for SXSW Film Festival. Not that the job paid much anyways but it didn’t seem like the responsible thing to take a trip (as minimal as it was going to be) during such an uncertain time.
(I have since started my own show for my weekly reviews and I’m super proud of it. It is also available on all the podcast apps)
With this change I had to pivot to a virtual experience for the festival and considering the circumstances I’m proud of myself for still watching 15 movies. I’m not sure how many I watched last year when attending but 15 is pretty good and took some hustle on my part! The downside is I ended up with a lot of similar films- particularly young female slasher movies and the repetition can be deadening after a while. That said I only outright disliked one of the 15 films so that’s nice. If you get to see any of these films let me know what you think:
- Love Languages- This rom-com starring Chloë Grace Moretz tells the story of a young woman who starts writing couples vows after her own failed engagement. It kind of reminded me of a darker version of The Wedding Singer where this bitter person is still surrounded by weddings. She’s a pretty unlikable character but everything around her is so charming and Anthony Ramos and Manny Jacinto are so swoony I really enjoyed the love story. Definitely my kind of film.
- Sparks- this is an interesting little indie about a group of teens who may have a time travelling pond in their town. Cleo played by Elsie Fisher dreams of going back to the 1960s to be with Jean-Luc Godard and see the filming of his movie Breathless. This is unpredictable and sweet coming of age story that avoids a lot of the pitfalls in that genre I don’t enjoy.
- Basic- this film follows Ashley Park’s character as she is plagued with insecurities over her boyfriend played by Taylor John Smith. He is loyal to her but she doesn’t believe it could be real. She is particularly sensitive about his ex-girlfriend (Leighton Meester) who she judges and stalks at a comedy club. This movie is about the labels we put on each other, how social media exacerbates those labels and how if we can’t love ourselves why should anyone else? I liked it a little more before she met Meester’s character but still enjoyable.
- Pretty Lethal- this was the last of my campy female slasher movies of the festival so it is possible it might have been higher than it was after seeing 5 of them in 10 days. Still if bloody gruesome killer ballerinas sounds like your jam than you should give this movie a shot. It’s not trying to be realistic or gritty but that’s part of the fun of it. I especially liked the way it used stereotypically ballet items to kill and maim like nutcrackers and ballet shoes. Grisly but creative. It stars Maddie Ziegler and Lana Condor with Uma Thurman running the ballet.
- Mike & Alice & Nick & Alice- this film starts off with an incredible high with Ben Schwartz singing ‘Why Should I Worry’ from Oliver and Company, which was so exciting and unexpected. Unfortunately it is my favorite part of the movie although the rest of it is still fun. Like Sparks this also involves a time machine and Vince Vaughn playing 2 versions of himself as a gangster. James Marsden is charismatic in it and Eiza González is gorgeous. It’s a fun time and a shame it went straight to streaming.
- Forbidden Fruits- next up in our female slasher movies we have Forbidden Fruits about a group of teenage girls who form a coven of witches in the local mall. Each of these girls is named after a fruit like Apple, Cherry and Fig. It’s all very bloody with some of the gnarliest kills I’ve seen in a while but if that’s your jam you’ll love this film. It’s campy and I can see it becoming a midnight movie favorite in coming years. It reminded me a lot of Heathers.
- They Will Kill You- continuing on female slashers we have this film. It stars Zazie Beetz as a woman coming into a devil cult to try and save her sister. The first half of this movie I was really digging. It is unpredictable and creative. I genuinely did not know what was going to happen to this woman around every turn. The problem is once the antagonists reveal they are immortal the stakes in the fighting are nonexistent. Things become very repetitive and the ending with the giant pig devil was a little much. Still fun enough for what it is
- Are we Still Married?- next up we have a short I had the privilige to watch and interview the director/creator Kit Steinkellner (see above.) It’s more a proof of concept than an actual short but I liked the idea and it was neat to talk to someone at this early stage of the project. The short is about a woman who’s husband has been turned by a bat into a vampire but she doesn’t know if she should let him back in the house or not. It stars Justin Milligan and Taylor Misiak and it has potential to go somewhere either series or feature film if they wanted to.
- Los Lobos Native Sons- I don’t follow music unless it is on Broadway that much these days so I’d never heard of Los Lobos who originated out of Southern California. It follows their story and has a lot o great music. It would make a terrific companion to American Pachuco which premiered at Sundance this year.
- The Ascent- this film tells the inspiring true story of bilateral-amputee climber who has a dream to climb Mt Kilimanjaro with only knees instead of full legs. I like that they don’t portray Mandy Horvat, the climber, as a perfect person. She feels like a real complex person rather than an inspirational story. One feels badly as they look into how she lost her legs and the mystery is intriguing.
- Ready or Not 2: Here I Come- I watched both of the Ready or Not movies this week to get ready for it. It does pick up where the last one leaves off and has most of the same antics from the first film. The main difference is her sister is a character now and ends up being involved. It’s fun enough with some gruesome kills and entertaining supporting performances from people like David Cronenberg and Sarah Michelle Gellar. The problem is it also feels like a rinse and repeat of the first movie which left me uninspired. Just Ok.
- Summer of 94- I vaguely recall hearing about soccer and the World Cup back in 1994. It had come to the United States for the first time and the team had a bit of an underdog run. This documentary tells that story and it is entertaining. I’m sure it will be picked up for 30 for 30 or some other sports documentary program. It’s pretty basic but if you’re a sports fan you’ll enjoy this one.
- Quince- I admit with this film I might have been at my tipping point for female slashers. It’s not a bad film but the pacing was slow building up to a big bloody finale. It will definitely have its audience and I like the way it tells a story from a Mexican perspective an culture. The teen girls are good but it felt almost too derivative of movies like Carrie and Heathers but if it sounds like your thing you might enjoy it.
- Your Attention Please- this is a solid documentary about the quest to achieve online safety for teens and children. A grieving mother Kristin Bride is leading the charge and everything is as difficult to find any progress as you’d expect. I often find these kind of issues documentaries I’d rather read a quick article on the topic than a repetitive film like this but it’s fine and informative.
- The Snake- this is the only film from the festival I outright disliked. It stars Susan Kent as a woman who is unhinged and a burden for all around her including her Mother who is deranged herself. I get movies can have unlikable heroines but they shouldn’t be as annoying as this childish woman is. More often than not I was on the side of the mother which I don’t think the filmmakers intended. If she was in her 20s that would be one thing but seeing a 40 year old behave this way is off-putting.
So there you have it. Everything I saw at SXSW 2026. What about you? Did you get to attend the festival? Have you seen any of these movies? Let me know!
