Rage on the Road: Panic Fest 2025 Closes with Blood, Blossoms, and Burnout Day Four Recap

From camp chaos to puppet worlds to Nic Cage surfing, Day 4 of Panic Fest closed with a bang (and a rant).

Rage-fueled roads, surreal science fiction, and a whole lotta love for KC one last time.

And so the time came—and went. As sad as it is to say, as much as I wanted more, Day Four was my last day at Panic Fest 2025. Technically Day Three for the festival, but we already hashed that out in the previous recaps.

Now I’m back at the home office in St. Louis, bags still half-packed from Slamdance, staring at a to-do list full of reviews, interviews, and energy drinks. But before we close the chapter on this year’s Panic Fest, here’s how it all ended.

Ehrland Hollingsworth chats DOOBA DOOBA his found footage film

The day kicked off at Rewind Video—fittingly—with an interview. Sat down with Erland Hollingsworth, director of Duba Duba, and producer Josh. Great convo. Duba Duba is a found footage flick about a babysitter and a terrifyingly unpredictable teen girl named Monroe. Think Samara from The Ring if she had Wi-Fi and serious Brett energy. It’s wild, it’s unsettling, and I’m not explaining the title because it’ll spoil the film. Just know it’s worth watching. Interview and review coming soon.

Offbeat and absurd in everywhere a gem for sure "The Hedonist"

From there, I hit The Hedonist by Nick Funess, who previously directed Young Blonde Stalked and Murdered—a title I covered at Hysteria Fest. This one’s not horror, though. It’s a bizarre, hilarious, genre-dodging comedy with serious Raising Arizona and Tim & Eric energy. Izzy Rojas was fantastic. The film is full of characters that talk like the baristas at your local alt coffee shop—zero filter, living in their own vibe bubble, and searching for nothing but self-pleasure. And somehow, it works.

Next up: Straight On Till Morning.

I don't hate this one. It's not great but you get the idea.

Now I’d seen this one before—kind of. I caught it via screener months back but missed the ending and didn’t get the full theatrical experience. And since it was shot right near the bluffs in Fenton, not far from HMU HQ, I had to see it on the big screen.

This one? Polarizing. Some folks clapped. Others walked out. One of my good friends from KC didn’t even make it through the Q&A. It’s not for everybody. I get it. But here’s the thing—just because some people hate a movie doesn’t mean everyone has to. The story, about a singer trying to reconnect with her old band and spiraling into a weird captivity horror situation, has serious Texas Chainsaw meets Thelma & Louise vibes. Beautifully shot. Bold. Messy. Exactly what a fest like this needs.

I'm still pondering this one.

After that came She Loved Blossoms More, which I’ve been hearing about all weekend. And let me tell you—it’s a trip. Sci-fi fever dream. Time machines, puppet creatures, sexual chaos, Greek mythology, sibling scientists named Hedgehog and Japan… yeah. Not for the faint of brain. But incredibly well crafted. The visuals alone are next level. Definitely one for the experimental heads out there, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone with less than two brain cells firing.

Is there actually surfing though?

Last movie of the fest for me: The Surfer starring Nic Cage. Man…

Look, I’ll be real. I was hoping this one would slap. But it didn’t. It’s Falling Down meets North Shore, but without the teeth. There’s some commentary buried in there—white privilege, class contrast, entitlement—but it never lands in a way that feels urgent or earned. And I’m tired, y’all. Tired of rich white people on screen pretending to struggle. Make movies about real people. Poor people. Working people. The ones who are actually out here paying for your damn movie tickets.

Burn the yachts. Burn the ski trips. Burn the influencer road trip movies. Give me struggle. Give me fight. And not from the people who cause the problems. I want stories about the people trying to survive them.

So yeah—I left The Surfer irritated. But in a weird way, that fuel got me back to STL. Rage drove me straight down I-70, straight back to Benton Park, right into Final Cut episode 331, and then straight into training my Monday morning clients at Valkyrie Fitness. Your boy don’t stop.

Massive love to everyone who made this year’s Panic Fest what it was:

Adam, Tim, Eric, Jill Six, John Pata, Genius, Caitlin, the whole Screenland team, all the volunteers, and every filmmaker and friend I ran into along the way. Shoutout to Daniel, Uheli, and the Marshmallow crew. Chad and the It Feeds fam. Erland and Josh. Doug from Out the Darkness. And of course, my guys James and Jason (DJ Intel)—who always keep it real, weird, and safe.

You’ll hear from me again when Fantastic Fest rolls around later this year. But until then, keep an eye on the site—more reviews, interviews, and bonus coverage from Panic Fest will be trickling in all week.

Read stuff. Watch things. Love somebody. I just don’t know who yet.

— Travis / HMU