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(Fantastic Fest Curtain) Raiser: Why We’re Rooting for the Little Guys

By. Professor Horror

Fantastic Fest is Austin’s glorious annual monster mash-up of horror, sci-fi, and all things weird, and 2025 marks its roaring 20th anniversary, from September 18–25 at the Alamo Drafthouse. Sure, the fest line-up is packed with big-name premieres (Black Phone 2, The Strangers: Chapter 2, Vicious, Primate, Whistle, Sisu: Road to Revenge, and many more). But what really makes Fantastic Fest shine is its devotion to the smaller, stranger, scrappier films: the ones made on shoestrings, by debut filmmakers, with oddball concepts that might otherwise fly under the radar. So, before the megaplex mayhem takes over, here are five indie horror (or horror-adjacent) films I’m extra thrilled to catch each one ready to raise a little indie hell.

 

                                             

1. THE CURSE (Dir. Kenichi Ugana)

 

THE CURSE is ghost story tailor-made for the doomscrolling generation. When Riko travels to Taiwan to piece together the truth about her dead friend, she stumbles onto a nightmare where social media posts become as dangerous as knives. Ugana, already a familiar name in Japan’s indie horror scene, blends the lingering dread of classic J-horror with the very modern terror of always being online. It’s Ju-On with push notifications, a cursed feed that you can’t stop scrolling. If you’ve ever felt uneasy about how much of yourself lives inside your phone...or how much of something else might be peeking out from the other side of the screen. This one deserves a spot high on your “to watch” list.

 

                                                 

2. FIND YOUR FRIENDS (Dir. Izabel Pakzad)

 

FIND YOUR FRIENDS turns the classic “girls’ trip gone wrong” setup into a desert-set screamfest. A group of friends head to Joshua Tree expecting spa days and stargazing, but they get paranoia, buried resentments, and locals who are about as welcoming as a rattlesnake in your sleeping bag. With Bella Thorne and Chloe Cherry headlining, the film has the buzz of a celebrity-driven horror, but Pakzad’s raw, stylish approach keeps it firmly in indie territory. Think The Hills Have Eyes for the TikTok generation, only with more eyeliner and probably worse cell reception. It’s sun-baked, savage, and sharp enough to make you question whether your own friend group would survive a single cactus-infested night. Spoiler: probably not.

 

                                                          

3. MEAT KILLS (Dir. Martijn Smits)

 

MEAT KILLS might sound like the world’s most aggressive vegan bumper sticker, but Martijn Smits’ film is dead serious. It follows an animal rights group storming a pig farm to stage a rescue, only to find themselves tangled in a spiral of brutality where the line between victim and predator is blurred with every squeal and scream. Smits doesn’t just want you to look away from your bacon...he wants you to confront the cost of violence in all its messy, human forms. The film is muddy, bloody, and morally thorny, the kind of eco-horror that sticks to you like the smell of a slaughterhouse. If you like your scares laced with politics and your popcorn with guilt, this is the movie for you.

 

                                                     

4. CRAZY OLD LADY (VIEJA LOCA) (Dir. Martín Mauregui)

 

CRAZY OLD LADY (VIEJA LOCA) takes the haunted house concept and strips away the ghosts, leaving only memory, madness, and generational trauma. Pedro is tasked with caring for Alicia, the senile mother of his ex-girlfriend, and what begins as a reluctant chore soon spirals into a psychological labyrinth of violence and inheritance. With Spanish legend Carmen Maura anchoring the cast, the film promises powerhouse performances alongside suffocating dread. This isn’t your campy “killer granny” flick...it’s more like Hereditary with hot flashes, where every gesture and silence carries a history of pain. Mauregui’s debut ensures that the title isn’t just a description of a character, but of the creeping feeling that comes over you when family obligations turn monstrous.

 

                                                                            

5. SILVER SCREAMERS (Dir. Sean Cisterna)

 

SILVER SCREAMERS is an adorable documentary about a group of seniors in a nursing home who decide to make their own horror movie. It’s half meta-commentary, half pure joy, and all heart. Watching octogenarians plot out ghost scares and gore gags is equal parts hilarious and inspiring, flipping the genre’s usual fixation on youthful terror. Horror, the film argues, isn’t just for babysitters and masked killers, but it’s for anyone who has ever loved a story enough to tell it, no matter their age. This is the rare Fantastic Fest pick that might leave you laughing, cringing, and cheering all at once. Call it Cocoon meets Creepshow, with just enough bite to prove that imagination never retires.