The Cult & Beyond section will present disturbing or downright terrifying variations on the theme of family

The organizers of Cinematik reveal details about the programme of one of the most popular sections of the festival, the so-called “midnight section” Cult & Beyond. This time, the family will be the bond of the films shown, and you can look forward to truly unusual, disturbing or downright terrifying variations on this classic theme.

In Jonathan Cuartas’s dark drama My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To (2020), two siblings have to face unexpected situations while caring for their sick younger brother. The original independent horror film with a vampire theme became a hit on the American festival scene.

Even in Scott Friend’s To the Moon (2021), it is the weird brother who “shuffles the cards” in the narrative. After years of separation, Dennis and his girlfriend Mia’s weekend together unexpectedly disrupts it and turns it into a nightmare full of hallucinations and horror.

The teenage heroine of the Austrian film directed by Peter Hengel Family Dinner (Family Dinner, 2022) definitely cannot complain about the traditional family. Since her vacation in the countryside with her aunt, Simi promises herself a chance to lose weight. However, a much more difficult and terrifying challenge awaits her.

Even Bull (2021) doesn’t have it easy with his relatives. Years ago, he married into the family of a feared gangster and it almost ended fatally for him. However, he survived his own execution and now it’s time for revenge. The British genre film directed by Paul Andrew Williams will bring tension, but also a few unexpected twists.

Danish cinema has traditionally been a reliable source of disturbing psychological dramas. It will be represented in the Beyond the Cult section this year by Christian Tafdrup’s film Speak no Evil (Gæsterne, 2022). In the narrative, the meeting of two families who become friends by chance during a vacation results in one hell of an unpleasant experience.

Czech filmmakers will also contribute with a dark thriller from a family environment. In the film Repulse (2021) by Emil Křižka, the destinies of two dysfunctional families are intertwined: An unstable millionaire husband and a weirdo living with his mother in a crumbling cottage. You can look forward to a tense atmosphere and an original storytelling style.