Horror film festival celebrates 40 years of cult classic 'Re-Animator'

MARIETTA, Ga. - From films by emerging voices on the cutting edge of horror to a cult classic celebrating 40 "electric" years, the lineup at this year’s Renegade Film Festival is terrifyingly good.

The Renegade Film Festival returns to Marietta’s iconic Earl and Rachel Smith Strand Theatre on Friday, February 21st and Saturday, February 22nd, presenting a packed schedule of shiver-inducing feature films and shorts. Festival director Vanessa Ionta Wright created the event (formerly known as the Women in Horror Film Festival) back in 2017 as a platform for independent filmmakers, with an emphasis on elevating creatives from diverse communities.

"It’s a celebration of genre film, and showcasing underrepresented voices that are making the films," Wright told us during 2023’s festival. "These are the filmmakers to watch."

The festival’s selected short films are presented in blocks — which Wright says she organizes "like a mixtape" — starting with "Curiouser & Curiouser" at 10:30 a.m. on Friday. Admission to single screening blocks (a collection of short films or one feature film) is $15. 

This year’s marquee event is a Friday night double feature of the Georgia premiere of Richard Elfman’s "Bloody Bridget" and the 40th anniversary screening of Stuart Gordon’s cult classic "Re-Animator." Starring Jeffrey Combs and Barbara Crampton, "Re-Animator" has become one of the most beloved horror/sci-fi films of the 1980s, leading to a pair of sequels and even a musical adaptation.

Day passes to the film festival are $50, and weekend passes are $75; the Earl and Rachel Smith Strand Theatre is located at 117 North Park Square in Marietta. For more information on this year’s event click here.