Though their name isn’t very spooky, the Chattanooga Film Festival has established itself as one of the premiere genre-friendly film festivals in the country. Beyond an always impressive slate of horror and thriller films, they’ve brought in guests like Joe Bob Briggs, Joe Dante, Mallory O’Meara, GWAR, Crispin Glover, and more in recent years.

Last year was…a bit different. Down but not out after COVID-19 hit right as they were prepping for the festival, the CFF crew shifted to a virtual format—and it was, from where we’re standing, a tremendous success. CFF did a terrific job of making the festival feel more interactive than a collection of links (something that the likes of Sundance and SXSW didn’t even do), and the films themselves were as quality as usual.

This year, they’re going virtual yet again, and badges are just $65 for anyone in the U.S. And with six days of programming, you won’t find a better value at any virtual festival this year.

You can find the full Chattanooga Film Festival lineup here, but we’ve got a few films on our radar that we’d love to recommend. Buy a badge and support some talented indie filmmakers with us next weekend!

An Ideal Host

Having an uninvited guest show up at your meticulously planned dinner party shouldn’t feel like the end of the world…unless somehow it is? An Ideal Host is a horror comedy coming out of Australia, a country we’ve come to expect really good horror out of in recent years. Though the plot seems as simple as a former friend crashing a dinner party with chaotic results, the mention of apocalyptic consequences suggests we’re in for something much more dire!

DimLand

DimLand doesn’t appear to be actually categorized as horror, but it definitely falls into that weird, magical, dreamy space that perhaps can’t be defined in specifics at all. The trailer is moody and dreary…and there’s a person in a really creepy-looking mask, which seems like a good start to intrigue many horror fans. This surrealistic look at the dark side of nostalgia is the first feature film for writer/director Peter Collins Campbell and it looks like it’s going to be a good one.

Kandisha

Back when Modern Horrors was also a podcast, you’d hear Luke and Jacob reference Inside pretty often; it’s a French extremist standout that will scratch the itch of your twisted mind. Well, directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury (who most recently gave us Leatherface) are back with a tale of young women summoning a demon creature, and while that’s a trail that’s been trodden many times in recent years, this one deals in Moroccan folklore. Consider us intrigued!

Night Drive

Picking up the wrong passenger is fairly well covered territory in horror, so it’s exciting when something like Night Drive comes along to bring some new twists to the trope. You really can’t go wrong with the always charming genre favorite AJ Bowen as one of the lead roles. As the events of the night unfold, things seem to get weirder and more dangerous. Night Drive looks to be a lot of can’t-miss fun!

Secret Screening with Amanda Reyes

Okay, maybe we’re cheating a little bit with this one, since it’s hard to recommend a film when you…don’t know what it is. But one of CFF’s three(!) secret screenings this year is curated by Amanda Reyes, one of the leading experts on made-for-TV horror films, and this screening promises to be “extraordinary, and your chances of seeing it elsewhere aren’t great.” Folks, this is why you attend genre film festivals, is it not?

We’re All Going to the World’s Fair

One of CFF’s most marquee selections this year was a big hit coming out of Sundance, and if you like teen horror (and/or creepypastas), it’s sure to please. With a story focusing on a young woman becoming immersed in an online role-playing horror game, it sounds like Hellraiser: Hellworld or Slender Man, except good. Throw in a score from buzzworthy indie rocker Alex G and you have our attention.

Did you miss our CFF coverage last year? Check out our reviews of Attack of the Demons, The Beach House, Climate of the Hunter, Killer Queen, Skull, and The Yellow Night.