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(Chattanooga Film Festival) Chattanooga Film Festival 2026: Favorite Features of the Fest

By. Katelyn Nelson

 

The 2026 Chattanooga Film Festival is officially behind us, and it has once again proven to be one of the best indie genre festivals out there. While it is always a bittersweet goodbye, one of the most exciting parts of a look back through the week is examining the thematic throughlines in the programming. This year held some unexpected and challenging films, in every affectionately-referred-to subgenre from “good for her” horror to sharp interrogations of toxic masculinity and MAGA culture, to just plain good old celebrations of human artistry and creativity. And thanks to the festival’s staunch anti-AI policy, everything can be enjoyed with the assurance of no ethical or moral compromise for the sake of production.

Chattanooga's feature lineup wasn't the only place where the festival excelled. Before diving into Katelyn's favorite feature films, check out our roundup of the festival's best short films, where some of the year's most inventive horror stories unfolded in under twenty minutes.

I always consider the affectionately shortened Chatt Film Fest to be one of the best and most fun to attend, not least because they prioritize accessibility through things like a markedly robust week-long virtual leg, a lively Discord with multiple watch parties daily—in which many creators are present for impromptu questions and hang-sessions alike—and nightly midnight showings of some underseen gems through their “Red Eye Secret Screening” series. All these keep me coming back every year, and this year in particular felt to be programmed especially strongly. Below are some of my favorite offerings from the fest, from short films to features, though it is by no means in any particular order nor exhaustive.

 

BUNNY RABBIT: Written and directed by James Branson with stunning cinematography by Aemon Barzanji, this post-apocalyptic Australian horror follows Bunny (Kate Wilson) as she tries to navigate a dying world. Imagine UNDER THE SKIN and MAD MAX: FURY ROAD mixed together with a touch of Julia Ducournau’s RAW, and you begin to get a sense of the feel and the stakes at play. It made it’s world premiere at Chatt Fest, and won the festival’s Cult Classic Award, and for good reason. The performances are engrossing, and it’s genuinely astounding that this is a first feature for essentially everyone involved.

 

LENORE: Directed by David Ward and written by Ward and Josie Hess, this is another Australian offering, and a haunting homage to Edgar Allan Poe with more than a little tinge of Satoshi Kon’s PERFECT BLUE. It follows the disappearance of a “controversial” social media influencer and her “terminally online” fans. An incredibly cold gut punch examination of entitlement and fan culture in the age of online dominance, it’s best gone into cold, but you’ll see me touting its praises for the rest of time.

MISPER: Directed by Henry Sherriff and written by Laurence Tratalos, it follows the aftermath when a seaside hotel’s employee goes missing. Centered on the impact to her coworkers, one might imagine there is potential for it to be handled insensitively—particularly given its tonal similarity to the true crime genre—but instead MISPER deftly handles the situation without ever feeling exploitative. Rather, what we’re presented with is a lingering examination on grief and the way real crimes are sensationalized for entertainment.

KING OF BLACK GOO: Written and directed by Andrew Zappin, this horror-comedy entry into the burgeoning incel horror canon follows a bitter podcaster who undergoes a personality changing procedure to make himself worthy of love. This tonally slithery love story was one of my biggest surprises from the festival. DJ Qualls’s double duty roles as the aptly named Lou Vile/Uli Love is a testament to his craft. His ability to switch along the scale as the story needs propels the film both through its storyline and deep into its emotional core. Part PEE WEE’S BIG ADVENTURE, part critique on the prevalence of toxic masculinity and how to break free from the cycle, KING OF BLACK GOO is unexpectedly poignant, goopy fun that highlights the need for human connection to remind us all that we’re never quite alone as we feel.

SUNSHINE GIRLS: Written and directed by Madeleine Hicks; while it may not appear so at first, for a certain targeted audience, SUNSHINE GIRLS is one of the festival’s most gut-wrenching dystopian offerings. It follows Elaine (Harley Walker), a woman approaching 30 who is stuck between the rock and hard place of wanting to maintain her independence by remaining childless and not disappointing her boyfriend, who very much wants to start a family. Following a doctor’s appointment, she decides to join a government service known as the “Sunshine Girls” who generate oxygen through photosynthesis—the solution, in Elaine’s world, following an environmental disaster.  Awash in bright colors and predominantly happy faces, it dances the line of forcing you to confront the horror playing out right before your eyes, presenting an almost STEPFORD-like scenario. An astute interrogation of the autonomy women have over their bodies and the illusion of choice in a demanding, desperate society who still sees women as little more than vessels rather than human beings. While it is affecting for all audiences, it will hit more like a freight train for childless women in or nearing their 30s, regardless of reason.

The Chattanooga Film Festival always leaves us with more to talk about than one article can contain. Stay tuned as we continue our coverage with more reviews, interviews, and festival highlights from one of horror's most exciting celebrations of independent genre filmmaking.