Films & Events Program Strands Freak Me Out

Freak Me Out

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Freak Me Out cordially invites you to take a walk on the wild and weird side of contemporary cinema.

Riotous body-horror comedy, brain-bending mystery, searing examinations of the human condition, and a whole lot of ghostly goings-on and mind-boggling action await you in our sideshow alley of strange and stimulating motion picture attractions. 

Richard Kuipers, Freak Me Out Curator

Short
Clown Song
The tears of a clown flow like rain in this power chord driven confessional. 

Screens with Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant
Dawning
This riveting psychodrama follows three sisters who gather at a family cabin in Norway, where disturbing news and an ominous stranger awaits them. Fantastic Fest, Sitges 2025.
Ghost in the Cell
A vengeful demon runs amok inside a high security prison in this gleefully gruesome horror-action-comedy spectacular from Indonesian genre ace Joko Anwar. Berlinale 2026.
Short
Heirlooms
Jamie inherits a wardrobe with a long memory and a mean streak. Best Canadian Short, Fantasia 2025.

Screens with Never After Dark
Imposters
Scream queen Jessica Rothe (Happy Death Day) stars in a mind-bending sci-fi horror about the apparently miraculous return of a couple’s missing child. SXSW Midnighter 2026.
Short
The Lounge
Unfairly overlooked employee Liz wants to become a successful corporate creature.

Screens with Imposters
Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant
The gross-out dial is turned up to 11 in this hilarious debut feature from Kiwi duo Thunderlips. The truth-in-advertising title says it all. Sundance 2026.
Never After Dark
A travelling psychic’s routine job turns into a terrifying ordeal in a scary and stunningly executed J-horror set at a remote hotel. Audience award, SXSW Midnighter 2026.
Short
The Pearl Comb
Cornwall, 1893, is the setting for a spellbinding mix of mermaid folk-horror and true stories. Oscar shortlist 2026. Winner of over 60 international awards.

Screens with The Peril at Pincer Point
Guest
The Peril at Pincer Point
A sound recordist is sent to a strange island in this spectacularly eccentric British comedy-horror-fantasy delight made in marvellous monochrome. Auteur Award, SXSW 2026.
Short
TELE XXX
A recluse (Laurence R. Harvey, The Human Centipede 2) gets his ‘come-uppance’ from a seductive TV screen.

Screens with Ghost in the Cell
Short
Ultraviolet Damage
A child’s eye view of the spaces between us.

Screens with Dawning
Aboriginal FlagTorres Strait Flag

Sydney Film Festival acknowledges Australia’s First Nations People as the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land, and pay respect to the Gadigal people of the Eora Nation, upon whose Country SFF is based.

We honour the storytelling and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities across Australia.

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