If South by Southwest is all about the movies, The Cinema Center is where everyone goes to celebrate them. The festival, which ran from March 12–18 in downtown Austin, saw the premieres of over 50 films, and lively celebrations followed.
At SXSW, Sender arrived as exactly the kind of indie the festival has long championed: strange, intimate, and quietly ambitious.
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.
Forbidden Fruits is directed by Meredith Alloway, who co-wrote the script with Lily Houghton. Starring Lili Reinhart, Lola Tung, Victoria Pedretti, Alexandra Shipp, Emma Chamberlain, and Gabrielle Union. Produced by Diablo Cody. The film premiered on Mar. 16, 2026, during the SXSW Film & TV Festival in Austin, TX, at the Paramount Theater.
Films at SXSW were great this year.
The Knockturnal was on the scene at the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival to speak to the cast and crew of Magnolia Pictures’ latest film Normal, starring Bob Odenkirk at the U.S. premiere on Mar. 15, 2026, at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, TX.
From American High, Pizza Movie released on Apr. 3rd, streaming on Hulu and Disney+.
From Searchlight Pictures, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come held its world premiere on Mar. 13, during the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival at the Paramount Theatre in Austin, TX. The film was selected for the festival’s Headliner section presented by the Louisville Film Office.
The horror comedy is the highly anticipated sequel to 2019’s Ready or Not. Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett with a screenplay by Guy Busick and R. Christopher Murphy.
Bettinelli-Olpin, Gillett, Busick, Murray, and Weaving also served as executive producers alongside Tripp Vinson, James Vanderbilt, William Sherak, and Bradley J. Fischer.
The film stars Samara Weaving, reprising her role as Grace MacCaullay, leading the ensemble cast in this twisted game of death with Kathryn Newton, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Nestor Carbonell, Kevin Durand, Olivia Cheng, Varun Saranga, Daniel Beirne, with David Cronenberg, and Elijah Wood as the new players and foils.
The film wastes no time as it picks up right after the first. Grace has survived the Le Domas family attacks, and she then reconnects with her estranged sister, Faith. Their happy reunion is soon interrupted as they find themselves both hunted down by four rival elite families, all part of an ancient satanic cult who aim to kill Grace to have a chance to claim the High Seat of the Council that controls the world. The sisters now must put aside their differences to survive the next iteration of this nightmarish game.
From L to R: Juan Pablo Romero, Nestor Carbonell, Varun Saranga, Maša Lizdek, Shawn Hatosy, Samara Weaving, Nadeem Umar-Khitab, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Daniel Beirne, Kathryn Newton, Antony Hall, and Olivia Cheng in READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett, known collectively as Radio Silence, are an iconic duo who are anything but silent as their films are booming in this renaissance of horror after helming the fifth and sixth Scream films (2022 and 2023) and Abigail (2024.
The sequel was well worth the wait. The kills are crazier, the lore is expanded, and fresh meat is added with the inclusion of Grace’s sister, Faith. The film’s strength lies in the sisterhood between them, as Weaving and Newton’s chemistry is perfect as they try to survive this ordeal in the unlikeliest of ways, with Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett’s direction bringing the best out of both actresses. It was a thrill to watch Gellar convincingly turn from final girl to ruthless villain in tandem with Hatosy, who was effortlessly charming and sinister as twins Ursula and Titus Danforth. The privileged and wicked siblings are constantly at odds with each other, much like the MacCaullay sisters. The sibling duos act as contrary forces to each other, adding to the tension. Wood is delightfully hilarious as he plays The Lawyer, who essentially acts as a game master for the family feud. It was fascinating watching him play a restrained yet absurd character, keeping his distance yet controlling the chaos. Finally, legendary film director Cronenberg played a role that adds an air of gravitas as well as a blessing from the old guard to the new, as the Ready or Not series is refreshing in the landscape of the horror genre with its absurd kills and playful nature.
Samara Weaving and Kathryn Newton in READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/Pief Weyman, Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2026 Searchlight Pictures. All Rights Reserved.
The Knockturnal talked to Radio Silence the day after the premiere about how Ready or Not 2 married the ridiculous and innovative nature of the first film to continue Grace’s story and deepen the lore of the satanic cult she faces once again.
The duo discussed that the film’s central relationship between Grace and Faith led them to continue the story. Gillett described it as the ‘’emotional heartbeat of the movie.’’ Additionally, they mentioned that they did not to rehash the previous plot for Grace by adding another layer to the character’s complexity and expanding our understanding of the iconic heroine through her being an older sister.
“Take this character, who I think in the first movie is sort of seen as being fairly perfect and innocent, and actually give her some edges and complicate her backstory. And all of that to us was just essential in making it not just a bigger, more action-packed, scarier ride, but something that also feels better and feels different and feels more emotional, maybe even than the first movie,” said Gillett.
Newton was a perfect fit to play Faith as the character was tailor-made for the actress.
“Yeah, it was written for her. When we were shooting Abigail with her. We kind of had a light bulb moment of like Sam and Kathryn need to be in a movie together. And it was right around the time that this [Ready or Not] came back into our lives,” said Bettinelli-Olpin.
He added, “That’s kind of what unlocked it for us was… ‘oh, my gosh, if we can get Katheryn in this movie, their chemistry will just be magnetic.’ And so it was literally written for her.”
Gillett credited screenwriter Busick, who also co-wrote Abigail, for knowing Katheryn’s voice and finding a ‘hack’ to make her casting possible.
On working with the large ensemble cast consisting largely of veteran actors who aren’t strangers to horror, and like Gellar, Wood, and director Cronenberg. Bettinelli-Olpin called it a ‘blast.’
Assembling this incredible cast was no tough feat, despite the production being a quick shoot in Toronto, Canada; he stated that everyone practically volunteered to be in the film. “It was like people were down for a marathon, ” Gillett said.
“They all brought so much to those roles… The script is great. And they were able to take that and kind of make it their own in a really special way,” Bettinelli-Olpin said.
He further explained, “So I think you get something from Sarah Michelle [Gellar] from Elijah [Wood], from David Cronenberg. That are… It’s just so unique and so them. I mean, Cronenberg’s first line in the movie last night, at that screening, I got like chills when people reacted to it so strongly. And it’s like, I think it’s because you have someone who’s such a legend and bring so much gravitas to the movie.”
Gillett described the scene with Cronen as ‘’a supercharged moment.’’
Reflect on the first film being a sleeper hit and the impact that it has made on audiences.
“You always hope people are going to connect to something you make… We make movies for ourselves first, and I think that there’s always a reflection of our taste and our interests, and we hope that people connect with them and personalize them. And I think we’re just so surprised and overjoyed that the first movie worked at all and found an audience.”
Gillett added that the tone of the film was a risk as they had no intention of making a sequel upon shooting the first film, stating that it was a ‘’miracle’’ for it to be finished and to be well received upon its release in 2019. The idea of the sequel was presented to them shortly after.
Bringing the sequel to premiere at SXSW felt like the right choice.
“I mean, there’s no better place to premiere something… A movie that has this kind of energy than here at South By. It’s the best crowd and the real genre fans and people, these fans who really respect and love showing up at a theater, which is just huge for us. It’s like our true love,” Gillett explained.
While horror sequels usually divide audiences, this one added plenty and sparked an unforgettable theatrical experience for the SXSW crowd as it cleverly upped the amount of bloodshed and hilarity, as the theatre erupted with roars with each kill, sprinkled with laughter throughout.
At the premiere, the cast and crew recalled memorable experiences shooting the film, while also honoring Weaving, who was absent due to her pregnancy, but shared a special video message at the beginning of the film. Gellar hilariously had a handheld face mask cutout of Weaving’s head as Grace with her, bringing her to the theatre in spirit.
Ready or Not 2: Here I Come released on Mar. 20 and is now playing in theatres. Watch our entire interview above and watch the trailer below.
The advanced screening of Slanted at the AMC Century City has ignited a fierce debate that transcends typical film criticism. Directed by Amy Wang, the film arrived in Los Angeles with significant momentum after winning the Narrative Jury Award at the 2025 SXSW Film Festival. As it prepares to open in theaters next week, the conversation surrounding its portrayal of the Asian-American experience is reaching a fever pitch.
Reader beware of SPOILERS.
A Satirical Nightmare in the American South
Slanted is a satirical body-horror film that follows Joan Huang, a Chinese-American teenager living in the South. In a desperate bid to win Prom Queen and find social acceptance, Joan undergoes an experimental, irreversible surgery to look white. Wang uses this “nightmarish” premise to explore the extreme costs of seeking white approval, delving into themes of assimilation and internalized racism.
During a post-screening Q&A, Wang revealed that the concept originated in 2020, a year marked by a staggering rise in anti-Asian hate crimes. For some, the film captures the “unsubtle lunacy” of that era perfectly. It explores the delusions that children of color often indulge in when they lack a supportive community. It touches on the specific, “thorny” intrusive thoughts that come with being the only person of color in a “white-only utopia.”
The Selfishness of Survival
However, the blunt satire has left a sour taste for many who feel the execution lacks a redemptive arc. The central criticism lies in Joan’s journey and the specific nature of her selfishness. Rather than the surgery serving as a cautionary tale or a catalyst for self-growth, Joan remains entrenched in her own survival at any cost.
Even as the film concludes, Joan offers no warning to the hundreds of others lined up for the same procedure. Instead of accepting her culture or shouting that being a person of color is beautiful, she continues to hide herself, allowing the demand for the “white” procedure to grow even larger. This lack of a “pay it forward” moment or a shift toward community care makes the character feel less like a victim of circumstance and more like an active participant in the erasure of her own people.
Understanding the Concept vs. Agreeing with the Approach
There is a significant difference between understanding a directorial concept and agreeing with its execution. It is possible to fully grasp the message Wang is trying to convey, the horror of how racism forces one to self-destruct, while still disagreeing with the approach. For many viewers, the plot kept shouting how wonderful it is to be white, rather than highlighting the beauty of the original self.
Critics argue that the ending feels like a “slap in the face” for people of color. By concluding with a message that feels like “if you can’t beat them, be them,” the film risks reinforcing the idea that whiteness is a superior state of being. The lack of a redemptive arc for the protagonist leaves the audience with the heavy realization that, in this world, there is no pride to be found, only a “beautifully grotesque” surrender.
Body Horror or Social Horror?
While many have drawn comparisons to The Substance, those who have seen Slanted argue that it is a separate piece of art entirely. Where other films might focus on the visceral horrors of aging or general beauty standards, Slanted deals with the psychological horror of self-hatred and the physical permanence of racial erasure.
Whether Slanted is a sharp-toothed masterpiece or a misfire that reinforces the status quo, it has undeniably forced a conversation about the immigrant experience and the “un-reversible” choices made in the pursuit of a dream that was never designed for everyone.
The Knockturnal was on the scene at the 2026 SXSW Film & TV Festival to speak to the cast and crew of Love Language at the world premiere on Mar. 16, 2026, at the Zach Theatre in Austin, TX.
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