Queer chaos, laptop failures, horror reinventions, and a very weird cat. Welcome to the real beginning of Panic Fest.
There’s something poetic about being locked out of a party you were just inside. That was my Friday night. The filmmaker bash at Rewind Video was packed—like shoulder-to-shoulder, no-we-ain’t-letting-you-back-in packed. I dipped in and out one too many times, and when I tried to get back in to continue a convo with a filmmaker and their crew? Yeah… denied.
Had to negotiate with the door staff to at least let the visiting filmmaker back in. I, on the other hand, was told—nicely—to take my local-adjacent self back to the Airbnb and do what I came here to do: write, watch, and work. And honestly? Fair.
Panic Fest 2025 is officially underway, and despite some rough edges (shoutout to my MacBook battery for trying to ruin my life), the rhythm of the weekend is clicking into place. I had to make a couple Walmart runs just to get through the day. Between that, and the Kentucky Wildcats deciding to break my heart in the NCAA tourney, I was on edge. But at least now I can stop pretending I care about March Madness and focus fully on horror.
First real highlight of the day: catching up with Chad Archibald, who’s out here with his new film It Feeds. I’ve been following his work since The Drownsman, and it’s wild to see how far he’s come—not just as a filmmaker, but as a producer and storyteller. It Feeds feels like a new mode for him, and that’s a good thing. A packed crowd, great energy, and he just became a new dad too. That man is glowing.
Then came The Rebrand—and it absolutely floored me.
Directed by Kay Adelaide and starring the absolutely electric Nancy Webb, this feature is everything I want in a Panic Fest film. It’s chaotic, sharp, violent, and so damn funny. Webb’s performance as Thistle is an all-timer. I want posters. I want enamel pins. I want a full-on influencer meltdown franchise.
And the thing that really hit? This isn’t a “queer story.” It’s just a story with queer characters who are messy, loud, hilarious, and terrifying. And that freedom? That looseness? It makes the whole thing feel alive in a way most social satire doesn’t. Kay Adelaide gets this world—YouTube, TikTok, the parasocial spiral—and sends it into a blender of blood and glitter. Keep making movies.
After that, I slid into one of the short blocks that honestly punched way above its weight.
Norma opened strong. Give me more Black women being wild, funny, and unfiltered in horror without it being a “thing.” Just let us be chaotic, man. I loved it.
77 was ridiculous in the best way—produced by Jonathan Craven (yep, Wes’s nephew), shot on Kodak, and full of gorgeous supernatural slasher vibes. Still can’t get over that production value. Kids are out here making studio-level shorts and calling it indie. Respect.
Red Flag featured Malin Barr and Jim Cummings, and it had that undeniable “proof-of-concept” energy. It doesn’t end—it just pauses and lets you dream up the feature it deserves. Just brilliant pacing and performance.
Then Wake—picture Hurricane Katrina meets vampire mythos and shipwreck horror. It’s gritty, eerie, and soaked in despair. Total standout.
By the time the night started winding down, I popped back into It Feeds to catch more of the film and then rounded out the evening with Don’t Let the Cat Out, which is, in a word: bizarre. In a good way.
Starring Cerina Vincent, the film is quirky, off-kilter, and full of personality. I dropped a 2.5/5 on the review—not a diss, just a vibe. It reminded me of that V/H/S/94 dog segment the Long brothers did, except this time, it’s feline chaos. I mentioned that to director Tim Cruz and had a great convo with him (interview incoming when I find the energy).
And yeah—Cerina Vincent. Cabin Fever legend. Still doing it, still killing it, still here for the genre.
So yeah, that was Day Two (technically Day One for the fest). The movies are good. The people are better. The chaos is everything. More interviews coming. More weirdness ahead.
Stay tuned. Watch the movies. Show love. Talk trash.
See you tomorrow.
—Travis / HMU
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