SXSW 2023: 10 must-see movies at this year’s festival

With SXSW just around the corner, we’ve combed through the titles screening at the film festival to highlight 10 must-see films. Ranging from upcoming blockbusters like Evil Dead Rise to documentaries on the Satanic Panic, MuchMusic, and rock legends The Zombies, there is something for every taste on this year’s stacked lineup.

Check out our picks below, and stay tuned for reviews and interviews out of SXSW all next week.

The SXSW Film Festival runs from March 10-19 in Austin, Texas. More information and the complete schedule can be found here.

299 Queen Street West

While American teens in the ’80s and ’90s may have been raised by MTV, north of the border, MuchMusic was the babysitter of choice for generations of music fans. 299 Queen Street West, a new documentary by filmmaker Sean Menard, explores the impact of the heyday of MuchMusic through the eyes of the young VJs who were suddenly thrust into the spotlight. Featuring interviews with Canadian icons including Sook-Yin Lee, Steve Anthony, Erica Ehm, Rick “The Temp” Campanelli, and more, 299 Queen Street West will be catnip for those of us who had MuchMusic on 24/7 growing up. 299 Queen Street West premieres at Alamo Lamar on March 13 at 6:15 PM. Screening info can be found here.

The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster

The Frankenstein myth gets a modern retelling with writer-director Bomani J. Story’s The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster. Following the murder of her young brother, a brilliant teenager Vicaria (Laya DeLeon Hayes) devises a way to bring him back to life. Needless to say, things go awry, unleashing a creature intent on destruction as Vicaria tries to make sense of her place in her family and her community as the dangerous monster roams free. As much a horror tale as a reflection on the bonds of family, The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster is a creature feature like no other. The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster premieres at the Alamo Lamar on March 11 at 5:30 PM. All screening times are here. 

Bottoms

Shiva Baby writer/director Emma Seligman reunites with the film’s star Rachel Sennott for Bottoms, an LGBTQ comedy about “two unpopular girls in their senior year who start a fight club to try to impress and hook up with cheerleaders.” Co-written by Seligman and Sennott (who also stars in I Used to be Funny, premiering March 13 at the festival), Bottoms is one of our most anticipated comedies of the year. Bottoms premieres at the Paramount Theatre on March 11 at 9:30 PM. Screening times are here. 

Brooklyn 45

Set in 1945, Brooklyn 45 is a horror chamber piece following a group of military veterans mysteriously brought together to a Brooklyn townhouse by a fellow vet. Their host has an unusual request; he has brought the group together to perform a seance, one which exposes the participants to the very real ghosts of their past, and proves that the horrors of the war are not quite behind them yet. The latest feature from writer-director Ted Geoghegan (Mohawk, We Are Still Here), Brooklyn 45 features a stacked cast including genre icon Larry Fessenden alongside incredible character actors Anne Ramsay, Ron E. Rains, Jeremy Holm, Ezra Buzzington, and Kristina Klebe. Brooklyn 45 premieres at Alamo Lamar on March 12 at 10:00 PM. The film’s screening schedule is here. 

Cora Bora

The great Megan Stalter (Hacks) leads this comedy-drama about Cora (Statler), a struggling L.A. musician who returns home to Portland to surprise her long-distance girlfriend (Jojo T. Gibbs). Unwilling to accept that her girlfriend has moved on, Cora eventually has to face the trauma she’s been running from before she can put her life back together. Directed by Hannah Pearl Utt and featuring a great supporting cast of comedy vets including Margaret Cho, Chelsea Peretti, and Darrell Hammond, Cora Bora is a moving and hilarious look at the process of growing up, regardless of your age. Cora Bora premieres at the Stateside Theatre on March 12 at 8:30 PM. The screening schedule can be found here. 

A Disturbance in the Force

The Star Wars Holiday Special is the stuff of legend among Star Wars diehards. Released in 1978 following the massive success of the original film, the special aired just once before being mothballed into Lucasfilm’s basement, never to be (officially) seen again.  Starring the original cast, the incomprehensible special features a journey to the Wookie planet to celebrate “Life Day,” and also throws in virtual porn, extended scenes of Wookie family chit-chat, an animated sequence (that introduces Boba Fett), and much more. A Disturbance in the Force, a new documentary from directors Jeremy Coon and Steve Kozak, dives into the insanity of the special with interviews from the likes of Kevin Smith (obviously), Seth Greene, Paul Scheer, Weird Al Yankovic, the late and great Gilbert Gottfried, and more. We’ve got a good feeling about this one. A Disturbance in the Force premieres at Alamo Lamar on March 11 at 8:45 PM. The screening schedule can be found here. 

Evil Dead Rise

The Evil Dead franchise has held strong for over forty years now, and Evil Dead Rise, the first Evil Dead film in a decade, shows no signs of that letting up anytime soon. Directed by Lee Cronin (The Hole in the Ground), Evil Dead Rise features the terror of the Deadites let loose upon a family, as a pair of estranged sisters are forced to battle demonic forces. With original Evil Dead trilogy director Sam Raimi and star Bruce Campbell serving as executive producers, Evil Dead Rise looks like another satisfyingly bloody entry in one of the most dependable horror franchises we have. Groovy! Evil Dead Rise premieres at the Paramount Theatre on March 15 at 9:30 PM. More info can be found here.

 

Hung Up on a Dream

Legendary British rockers The Zombies finally get the documentary treatment they deserve. Director Robert Schwartzman (Dreamland) follows the group’s twisty trajectory as contemporaries of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, to scoring the smash hit “Time of the Season”… after they had already broken up. Featuring in-depth interviews with the surviving band members, Hung Up on a Dream tells a different kind of rock n’ roll success story — one of a band that survived the ups and downs of the music industry and still produces new music to this day. To coincide with the film’s release, The Zombies will also play a number of live shows during SXSW — check out their schedule here. Hung Up on a Dream premieres at the ZACH Theatre on March 12 at 5:30 PM. The screening schedule is here. 

Satan Wants You

Filmmakers Sean Holor and Steve J. Adams examine how the Satanic Panic of the ’80s spread in the new documentary Satan Wants You. Spurred by the success of the lurid memoir Michelle Remembers by psychiatrist Larry Pazder and his patient Michelle Smith, the blockbuster book was reported to contain repressed memories of abuse Michelle suffered at the hands of “Satanists.” With the Catholic Church behind it, the book inspired stories of Satanic abuses all across the U.S., creating a modern-day witch hunt that still has lingering effects to this day. Satan Wants you premieres at Alamo Lamar on March 11 at 9:00 PM. All screenings are available here. 

The Wrath of Becky

Lulu Wilson returns as the unstoppable Nazi killer in this sequel to 2020’s gory Becky. While the first film saw Becky brutally squaring off against a gang of Nazis led by none other than Kevin James, the sequel by directors Matt Angel and Suzanne Coote finds Becky face-to-face with a crew of violent insurrections spearheaded by Seann William Scott. There’s nothing quite as satisfying as watching Becky tear through racist scum, so expect these screenings to blow the roof off of SXSW. The Wrath of Becky premieres at Alamo Lamar on March 11 at 10:30. All screenings can be found here.