Mike and Vin hit the red carpet at SXSW 2025 for the film festival and creative expo.
Logic CMX returned to SXSW's Creative Expo to meet with filmmakers and catch this years latest films. Amongst Austin's famous bats, BBQ, scooters, cocktails, music, amazing tacos, bizarre delivery robots, and spooky self-driving taxis, we found dozens of films we hoped to see. But at SXSW, it is not enough to have a wristband, pass, platinum pass, all access VIP platinum pass to guarantee a seat at every screening. There are always more levels above you, and more queues to wait in, but with some aggressive scheduling and our past SXSW experience, we were able to get into a couple of screenings each day. In order of appearance, here's what we saw.
The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick
The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick is the latest work from Pete Ohs, a filmmaker known for his inventive, micro-budget approach to storytelling.
Less than two hours after wheels down at Austin-Burgstrom airport, we started our adventure at a premier party for the feature film The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick. This ultra-indie genre-defying film utilized Director Pete Ohs (Jethica, Love And Work) unique Table of Bubbles philosophy of limited crew and maximum collaboration between actors with the goal of limiting external pressure to encourage creativity and spontaneity. This approach has lead to an output of five noteworthy micro-budget films from Mr. Ohs within five years. We were thrilled to be there and meet the cast at the world premiere. From the arthouse scene, we ventured forth into less subtle, more bloody territory with our next selection.
Clown in a Cornfield
Clown in a Cornfield delivers screams, surprises, and more than a few laughs.
My personal festival favorite, Clown in a Cornfield, adapted from the book by Adam Cesare, and directed by Eli Craig (Tucker and Dale vs Evil) was showing at the Paramount in Downtown Austin. This ohmage to 90s style slasher films is set in the present-day fictional town of Kettle Springs. A small mid-western town famous for its invention of corn syrup with a creepy clown mascot named Frendo. Clown in a Cornfield provides all the jump scares and blood splatters one would expect, but this is more than a standard run-of-the-mill horror flick, weaving humor, wit, and a fun, trope-breaking twist in the third act. The title says everything you need to know to get the party started. But you're in for much more. The ensemble cast includes Katie Douglas (Ginny & Georgia, Mary Kills People), Carson MacCormac (Shazam!, Luckiest Girl Alive), and fan-favorite villain Kevin Durand (Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, The Strain, Abigail), and of course Frendo the Clown (Coming to a cornfield near you).
Ash
Ash is a futuristic SciFi thriller directed by musician, actor, and filmmaker Flying Lotus, and starring a few familiar faces, including Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad, West World) and actress/singer Eiza González (Baby Driver, Godzilla vs. Kong). Riya (Eiza González) wakes up on a distant planet and finds the crew of her space station viciously killed. Her investigation into what happened sets in motion a terrifying chain of events. The story is a mix of Ridley Scott's Alien with a space-noir element as Riya tries to piece together the mystery of how her crewmates died through flashbacks of memories and investigation including conversations with Brion (Aaron Paul), all set to what I can best describe as a video game aesthetic of flashing lights and tight corridors leading to reveals within each new room. It's a solid SciFi thriller but felt a bit empty and lacking. Without going into details that spoil the film, I would have liked to see more character development and a better ending. Not unlike many other SciFi films that emerge with a gamer aesthetic, it may be intended for a specific generation and genre of viewer. Your viewing results may vary.
The Infinite Husk
An alien consciousness, sent to Earth to spy on one of its own kind, learns what it means to be human.
The Infinite Husk is an earnest, philosophical SciFi feature by Los Angeles-based writer, director Aaron Silverstein. This first feature feature film from Mr. Silverstein, at times, suffers from a heavy-handed approach and excessive drama, but none-the-less is the intriguing kind of story-driven SciFi that elevates the genre. Generous helpings of humor and great performances from the cast including Peace Ikediuba as Vel, and Circus-Szalewski as Mauro help to lighten the often heavier themes of death, isolation, and deception. The film begins with an alien consciousness, sent to Earth to spy on one of its own kind, by inhabiting the husk of a recently deceased human. In this way, the alien is able to awkwardly navigate the human world while witnessing first-hand some of our less-than-stellar earthly attributes. This is a clever plot device to advance the story and evolves into a clever twist at the end. If you enjoy story-driven SciFi that's not overly reliant on special effects, then The Infinite Husk is a worthwhile and recommended journey. I would give this film the award for the most disconcerting alien smile from a human actor, hands down!
It Ends
Four friends on the road trip from hell, or at least purgatory, are trapped on an endless highway.
It Ends by first-time feature director Alexander Ullom, is the ultimate road trip from hell, but more than that, It's a classic coming-of-age story wrapped in a Twilight Zone scenario where four twenty-something friends are on a drive for a final dinner together before they each depart to the next chapters of their lives. We learn about each character through enjoyably inane and amusing banter like who would win an ultimate battle, a man with a gun or a thousand hawks (or was it rats?), when Tyler (Mitchell Cole) realizes that they have somehow missed the exit as they speed down this dark, unpopulated highway through the woods. After repeated efforts to retrace their steps, turn around, and find an exit, they encounter some increasingly concerning phenomena. Hordes of crazed people mob their old Jeep SUV trying to take the vehicle. Abandoned vehicles appear on the side of the road the further they journey. Eventually, they come to terms that they are trapped on an unending road and if they stop moving for more than 90 seconds, they will be attacked by the mysterious people in the woods. As the endless drive rolls on for days, the four friends attempt to unlock this mystery and find a way home while developing survival strategies to cope with the threats from hordes of lost travelers as well as friction within the group. One of my favorite aspects of this film is that it is completely story-driven and leans into the cast performances to carry the film, which they do admirably. SciFi with no special effects. Just an old Jeep, a country road, and a lot of extras running through the woods. An inspiring example of indy filmmaking for first-time filmmakers and their producers.
There were many more films we couldn't attend due to time limitations including Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie, which a colleague of mine said was amazing, funny, surreal, involves time travel, and has a rich, uniquely Canadian sense of humor. There was also a documentary about Austin's very own avant-garde punk band Butthole Surfers entitled Butthole Surfers: The Hole Truth and Nothing Butt. I would have loved to have seen it but flew out an hour before the last screening. I did manage to meet one of the filmmakers at a bar and quiz him on his BHS trivia knowledge... yes, I was that annoying guy :). Good times.