Fantastic Fest is just a few weeks away, and one of the biggest traditions every year is trying to guess what the secret screenings will be. The best genre film festival around already has an incredible lineup planned for its 20th anniversary, but the secret screenings could make it even bigger. Last year featured a whopping five, compared to the usual four in prior years, and my guess is we’ll see five again this year. In 2024, audiences were treated to Better Man, The Creep Tapes S1, Heretic, The Apprentice, and Saturday Night. Past years have delivered gems like Saltburn, The Lighthouse, Split, Suspiria, Gravity, A Serious Man, The Orphanage, and There Will Be Blood. With this year’s medieval theme—and having attended the past two editions—I think the following titles have a strong shot at being secret screenings.
The Running Man
Glen Powell is no stranger to Austin, having been born and raised there, and director Edgar Wright previously had Last Night in Soho as a Fantastic Fest secret screening in 2021. Their new dystopian sci-fi thriller seems tailor-made for the fest. Add in Paramount’s consistent presence at Fantastic Fest, and this one feels all but guaranteed. Honestly, of all the films on this list, The Running Man seems like the surest bet.
Keeper or Alpha
Neon has built a strong history with Fantastic Fest, and this year Shelby Oaks is already having its U.S. premiere there. What better way to cement their presence than by bringing Keeper or Alpha as secret screenings? Oz Perkins is a perfect fit for the fest, and having his latest horror entry debut here would instantly spark buzz. As for Alpha, Julia Ducournau’s Titane opened the festival in 2021 to huge success, and premiering her follow-up as a secret screening feels like a natural move. Neon seems ready to make a big splash this year.
Forbidden Fruits or 100 Nights of Hero
Shudder and IFC have a major footprint at this year’s fest, hosting multiple screenings and even the opening night party. Both Forbidden Fruits and 100 Nights of Hero would fit perfectly as buzzy, forward-looking choices. Forbidden Fruits, slated for 2026, has a star-studded cast—Lili Reinhart, Lola Tung, Victoria Pedretti, Alexandra Shipp, and Emma Chamberlain—and feels like the kind of wild title that would be the talk of the festival. Meanwhile, 100 Nights of Hero has its own powerhouse cast (Emma Corrin, Nicholas Galitzine, Maika Monroe, Amir El-Masry, Charli XCX, Richard E. Grant, and Felicity Jones) and screams “medieval” with its plot: a woman and her maid defending her honor, her castle on the line, and a dangerously seductive interloper testing their resolve. It has the same kind of provocative energy Saltburn brought to the fest, and I think Fantastic Fest would be here for it.
Good Fortune
Lionsgate already has The Strangers: Chapter 2 premiering at the festival, so why not double down with another of its fall releases? Good Fortune, directed by Aziz Ansari and starring Seth Rogen, Keanu Reeves, Keke Palmer, and Sandra Oh, seems like a perfect fit. Keanu is no stranger to Fantastic Fest—John Wick premiered here in 2014 with him in attendance—and this comedy looks like it could leave audiences in stitches. Google even oddly lists Aziz Ansari as associated with the 2025 edition of the fest. That might just be an algorithm quirk, but it sure feels like a hint.
Onslaught
The long-awaited Adam Wingard and Simon Barrett reunion is due in 2025, though details remain scarce. The cast is stacked: Adria Arjona as a mother forced to draw on deadly skills to protect her family, Dan Stevens as a scientist (accent included, of course), plus Rebecca Hall, Alex Pereira, Drew Starkey, and more. Both Wingard and Barrett have strong Fantastic Fest ties—You’re Next screened in 2011, and The Guest 4K restoration premiered in 2024 with Barrett in attendance. This one might not be a lock, but if it shows up, I’ll be thrilled.
Frankenstein
A new gothic vision from Guillermo del Toro would be absolutely massive. Netflix has long had a presence at Fantastic Fest with titles like The Fall of the House of Usher, 1922, Gerald’s Game, The Perfection, In the Tall Grass, and Fractured. Del Toro himself has history here too—Pan’s Labyrinth, The Orphanage, and most recently Crimson Peak, which he personally introduced, were all secret screenings. While I originally suspected Netflix might bring Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, Frankenstein feels like the stronger bet. It would be the perfect U.S. premiere to help mark the festival’s 20th anniversary.
Other Possibilities
- Anaconda
- Send Help
- Predator: Badlands
- Tron: Legacy
- Mortal Kombat 2
- 28 Years Later: Bone Temple
- Dust Bunny
- Return to Silent Hill
- Silent Night, Deadly Night
- Kiss of the Spider Woman
- Five Nights at Freddy’s 2
Fantastic Fest runs September 18–25 in Austin, Texas, and it’s already shaping up to be one hell of an anniversary. What do you think the five secret screenings will be this year?
