The South by Southwest Film & TV Festival returned to Austin from March 13–21, bringing with it a bold slate of premieres that reflect the anxieties, absurdities, and unexpected joys of the current moment. From genre-bending thrillers to sharp industry satire, this year’s standout debuts don’t just entertain, they process.
The Saviors
A couple (Adam Scott and Danielle Deadwyler) on the verge of divorce, who are struggling to pay their mortgage, rent part of their property to a mysterious pair (Theo Rossi and Nazanin Boniadi). But soon they begin to suspect their guests are engaged in a terrorist plot. Director Kevin Hamedani (who co-wrote the film with Travis Betz) takes welcome risks in this enthralling four-hander. Scott and Deadwyler have a charming dynamic that makes them endearing even when they’re engaging in misguided acts. Conversely, Rossi and Boniadi manage to play a range of complex emotions while being measured and enigmatic. There are always tense questions in the air, and the performances keep us hanging on for the answers.
The genre-bender couldn’t have come at a better (or worse) moment culturally or politically. It reflects the current state of humanity in a way that feels cathartic. At times irresistibly funny, the film delivers moments of profound shock along with a gasp-worthy ending that’s ripe for debate and discussion.
Sender
A showcase of the beauty of independent cinema, Sender is a mesmerizing passion project from feature debut filmmaker Russell Goldman and producer Jamie Lee Curtis.
Britt Lower stars as Julia, a woman recovering from addiction who begins receiving packages she doesn’t remember ordering. The mystery sends her on a mind-bending spiral that forces her to confront her past and the inner turmoil that haunts her.
The film isn’t a neat (dare I say) package; it’s watching a bundle be torn open again and again, with the pieces scattered into bold and visceral sequences that stun.
Striking turns from David Dastmalchian, portraying the delivery driver who forges a romantic connection with Julia, and Rhea Seehorn as her would-be sponsor, add layers to some of the most gratifying scenes in the film.
But the Hitchcockian Sender is bolstered by Lower, whose breathtaking turn captivates from the first frame to the last. And what a finale it is.
A Safe Distance
A feminist thriller set in the wilderness? Time to pack a bag. Director Gloria Mercer makes her feature debut with this enthralling ride (okay, more like a hike) that’s filled with twists and revelations.
Alex (Bethany Brown) is on a trip with a man she’s in a dull, passionless relationship with. When he abandons her in the wilderness, she’s stranded and shaken. But she’s relieved when she finds a friendly couple (Chris McNally and Tandia Mercedes) who welcome her into their free-spirited lifestyle. But as she soon learns, the couple’s anti-establishment sentiment takes the form of dangerous criminal acts.
As suspenseful as it is thoughtful, A Safe Distance is a woman’s journey to reclaim herself and her desires. The path is a heightened state of tension, taking us through the deceptively still woods, where new revelations lurk, waiting to creep up from the bramble.
Hokum
A writer (Adam Scott) travels to Ireland to scatter his parents’ ashes, checking into the inn they stayed in decades before, and soon finds himself tormented by supernatural forces.
The film fits in nicely on the shelf with director Damian McCarthy’s previous outings, Caveat and Oddity. One could say it’s a trilogy of contained terror.
Hokum is Irish Gothic meets precision horror. It’s haunted architecture emerging as emotional isolation that paints a terrifying portrait of generational trauma. The mystery at its core is as much about finding personal closure as it is answers, making the story a moving character-driven piece. With the quiet intensity he brings to the role, one can’t help but feel for Scott’s tortured writer (get this man away from elevators!).
The film pulsates into a breathless final act that recalls the early works of Stephen King while giving us a truly original style of thoughtful storytelling that builds to a touching close. It’s the kind of movie-going experience the cinema was built for.
The Comeback
From Michael Patrick King, The Comeback returns with Lisa Kudrow as Valarie Cherish, a former sitcom star trying to stay relevant in an ever-changing industry she can never quite re-gain her place in.
After being cancelled following season one and returning for two more seasons across decades, the latest and final outing captures the state of the entertainment industry in the wake of COVID, both guild strikes, the LA wildfires, and, of course, AI. It’s Oscar-winning filmmakers working at Trader Joe’s, robotic corporations exploiting artists, and the era of the influencer and “collabs” portrayed in a tragicomic way that lets us cope with the unbearable state of it all through nonstop laughter.
It’s one hell of a comeback indeed.