The 2019 Screamfest Horror Film Festival unveiled its second-wave of feature films lineup and will showcase new work from American and international independent horror filmmakers. The festival will close with the West Coast premiere of We Summon The Darkness directed by Marc Meyers and starring Alexandra Daddario, Keean Johnson, Johnny Knoxville, Logan Miller, Maddie Hasson, Amy Forsyth, and Austin Swift.

The 2019 Screamfest Film Festival will take place October 8 – October 17, 2019 at the famed TCL Chinese 6 Theatres located in Hollywood, California.

“We are excited to bring audiences the best the genre has to offer from the independent horror film community.” —  Founder & Festival Director Rachel Belofsky. 

The second-wave of the 2019 feature film lineup is as follows:

A Good Woman Is Hard To Find (UK/Belgium)
US Premiere

Directed by Abner Pastoll
Written by Ronan Blaney
Produced by Guillaume Benski, Junyoung Jang
Cast: Sarah Bolger, Edward Hogg, Andrew Simpson, Jane Brennan, Susan Ateh, Josh Bolt, Siobhan Kelly

A dynamic killer thriller with its finger firmly on the pulse of stark social commentary and shattering suspense. Recently widowed mother of two Sarah is desperate to know who murdered her husband in front of her young son, rendering him mute. Coerced into helping a low-life drug dealer stash narcotics stolen from the local Mr Big, she’s forced into taking drastic action to protect her children, evolving from downtrodden submissive to take-charge vigilante.

City of Ashes (Columbia)
World Premiere

Directed by Jhon Salazar
Written by Jhon Salazar
Produced by PRODUCCIONES VERDEBICHE SAS
Cast CATERINE ESCOBAR, ALEX ADAMES, LUIS FERNANDO HOYOS, PATRICIA TAMAYO, JORGE HERRERA, PATRICIA CASTAÑO, ISABELLA GARCÍA

A Colombian farmer, faced with the sterility of his wife, wants to adopt his orphan niece, but in order to achieve this he must destroy the demon of the town who is opposed and who, without knowing, had always intervened negativity in his life.

Hanna’s Homecoming (Germany) 

Directed by Esther Bialas
Written by 
Produced by
Cast:  Valerie Stoll, Milena Tscharntke, Godehard Giese

After three years at boarding school, Hanna is returning home to her little village to help her father’s butcher’s shop during her break. Soon she learns that she is not welcome in the village. Everyone remembers the horrific news story about her mother’s death which was followed by the discovery of three dead men in the marsh. While superstition rules the village, everyone believes her mother was a witch and had lured these men into the marsh directly to their death. While struggling to make friends, she meets the extroverted city girl Eva. Thinking she has finally found a friend, scary accidents are starting to happen around her … while Hanna’s confidence and with that her “power” starts to grow.

Here Comes Hell  (UK)
LA Premiere 

Directed by Jack McHenry
Written by  Jack McHenry, Alice Sidgwick
Produced by Olivia Loveridge
Cast Margaret Clunie, Jessica Webber

A 1930s dinner party descends into chaos and carnage when the evening entertainment accidentally leads to the opening of Hell. Rivalries and old friendships are put to the test as the guests must battle ghosts, ghouls – and one another – before it is too late.

Porno (USA)
LA Premiere

Directed by Keola Racela
Written by Matt Black, Laurence Vannicelli,
Produced by: Chris Cole, Sarah Oh
Cast Evan Daves, Larry Saperstein, Jillian Mueller, Glenn Stott, Robbie Tann, Peter Reznikoff, Katelyn Pearce

When five teen employees at the local movie theater in a small Christian town discover a mysterious old film hidden in its basement, they unleash an alluring succubus who gives them a sex education…written in blood.

RABID (USA)
North American Premiere

Directed by: Jen & Sylvia Soska
Written by: Jen & Sylvia Soska, Jon Serge
Produced by: Jon Vidette, Paul Laldone, Michael Walker
Cast: Laura Vandervoort, Benjamin Hollingswoth, Phil Brooks, Stephen McHattie

Aspiring fashion designer, Rose Miller, has her dreams torn away into a nightmarish reality when a freak accident leaves her horribly disfigured. After receiving a miracle procedure involving an experimental skin graft from the mysterious Burroughs Clinic, Rose is transformed into the beauty of her dreams. But nothing comes without a cost and Rose begins to feel terrifying side effects that tear at her last threads of sanity. Still driven by her ambition she struggles to keep up appearances as the procedure reveals that something much darker than she ever could have imagined is being brought to the surface. What price will Rose have to pay to have everything she ever wanted? It may just cost her her humanity.

Red Letter Day (Canada)
LA Premiere

Directed by Cameron Macgowan
Written by Cameron Macgowan
Produced by Jason Wan Lim
Cast: Dawn Van de Schoot, Hailey Foss, Kaeleb Zain Gartner, Roger LeBlanc

While adjusting to a new life in a quiet suburban community, a recently divorced mother and her two teens receive mysterious red letters instructing them to kill or be killed.

The Soul Conductor (Russia)
North American Premiere

Directed by Ilya Maksimov
Written by Anna Kurbatova, Alexander Topuria
Produced by Mikhail Kurbatov, Anna Kurbatov, Grigoriy Podzemelnyy
Cast: Aleksandra Bortich, Evgeniy Tsyganov, Vladmir Yaglych, Aleksandr Robak

Katya is a conduit between the world of the dead and the world of the quick, and she helps earthbound souls to regain peace. It’s difficult relationships, between Katya and her ‘guests’, for ghosts, too, like real people, have human emotions, habits and sentiments, and they long to find eternal peace. 

The Wave (USA) 
West Coast Premiere

Directed by Gille Klabin
Written by Carl W. Lucas 
Produced by Joshua Bunting, Robert Dehn, Carl W. Lucas, Monte Young
Cast: Justin Long, Donald Fiason, Tommy Flanagan, Sheila Vand, Katia Winter, Sarah Minnich, Bill Sage

Frank, an opportunistic insurance lawyer, thinks he’s in for the time of his life when he goes out on the town to celebrate an upcoming promotion with his co-worker, Jeff. But their night takes a turn for the bizarre when Frank is dosed with a hallucinogen that completely alters his perception of the world, taking him on a psychedelic quest through board meetings, nightclubs, shootouts, and alternate dimensions. As Frank ping-pongs between reality and fantasy, he finds himself on a mission to find a missing girl, himself… and his wallet.

We Summon The Darkness (USA)
West Coast Premiere (Closing Night Film)

Directed by Marc Meyers
Written by Alan Trezza
Produced by Kyle Tekiela, Mark Lane, Christian Armogida
Cast: Alexandra Daddario, Keean Johnson, Johnny Knoxville, Logan Miller, Maddie Hasson, Amy Forsyth, Austin Swift

In 1988, Three best friends Alexis (Alex Daddario), Val and Beverly embark on a road trip to a heavy metal music festival where they bond with three guys in a band. After the show, the group heads off to Alexis’ parents’ secluded country home for an afterparty. What should be a night of fun and youthful debauchery instead takes a dark and deadly turn. With killers on the loose, can anyone be trusted?

Wounds (USA) West Coast Premiere

Directed by Babak Anvari. 
Written by Babak Anvai
Produced by:  Lucan Toh, Christopher Kopp 
Cast:  Armie Hammer, Dakota Johnson, Zazie Beetz , Karl Glusman, Brad William Henke

Will (Armie Hammer) is a bartender in New Orleans. He has a great job, great friends, and a girlfriend, Carrie (Dakota Johnson), who loves him. He skates across life’s surface, ignoring complications and concentrating on enjoying the moment. One night at the bar, a violent brawl breaks out, which injures one of his regular customers and causes some college kids to leave behind a cell phone in their haste. Will begins receiving disturbing texts and calls from the stranger’s phone. While Will hopes to not get involved, Carrie gets lost down a rabbit hole investigating this strange malevolence. They’ve discovered something unspeakable, and it’s crawling slowly into the light.

Written for the Screen and Directed By Babak Anvari the Award-Winning Director of Under the Shadow.

Wounds made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2019 and screened at the Cannes Film Festival in the Directors Fortnight section in May 2019.