From Immaculate to Road House, We’re Ranking All The Movies We Saw At SXSW 2024!
From star-studded streaming releases to true indie films looking for distributors, SXSW 2024 had it all! With a slate of over two hundred movies, shorts, and TV pilots, Pop Culture Planet’s Jordan Bohan ranks the seven world premieres she saw from worst to best and explains if they’re worth a watch.
I Saw The TV Glow
A classmate (Brigette Lundy-Paine) introduces teenage Owen (Justice Smith) to a mysterious late-night TV show, The Pink Opaque, that is a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen's view of reality begins to crack as the lines blur between what is real and what is not.
While the plot of the movie sounds intriguing as a tech-thriller, I was lost within the first ten minutes. Not only was the story slow, it also did not make any sense. It seemed as though the director had a list of interesting shots they wanted to make and threw them together into a film. The best theory I could come up with is that the film is a dissection of our relationship to media, specifically television, in our developmental years and how that can have an effect on our adult lives. Visually it was interesting, but they tried to do way to much and missed the mark on a lot of aspects by being too convoluted.
Omni Loop
After Zoya Lowe (Mary-Louise Parker) is diagnosed with a black hole growing in her chest, she is given a week to live, but she’s lived this week before many times. One day, she meets Paula (Ayo Edebiri), and the two work together to try and solve time travel so that Zoya can finally be the person she always wanted to be.
While I enjoyed this, it got a bit redundant as she went back in time so many times without things changing or the story moving along. The concept was intriguing, but some of the execution was lacking polish. The rhino and shrinking man ideas felt half baked and unresolved. The best part of this film is the ending sequence as we see Zoya face her death and the potential of all the other lives she could have lived. It had funny moments, but I did expect a bit more from such a powerful cast.
Doin’ It
When Maya (Lily Singh) returns to America as an adult, she attempts to find funding for her teen-focused app and takes a job as a substitute teacher to research her target demographic in Doin’ It. When she is assigned to teach sex ed, a still virgin Maya sets out on a sexually liberating quest to make up for all the high school experiences she lost out on.
If you love Lily Singh’s comedy, then you’ll love this. It’s funny, raunchy, and an overall good time. It started out really strong and inappropriate, but got tamer as the movie went on. I feel as though they could’ve pushed the boundaries a little further. Doin’ It touches heavily on the impact that society and family expectations can impact growth as a teenager, and how freeing yourself of those ideas will make you a happier and more fulfilled person. Some of the jokes didn’t land for me, but I think it’s about time we got another raunchy comedy.
Road House
A reimagining of the 1989 film of the same name starring Patrick Swayze, Road House follows ex-UFC fighter Dalton (Jake Gyllenhaal) as he takes a job as a bouncer at a rowdy Florida Keys bar. The idyllic looking late night spot seems to hold more than he bargained for.
Road House is a prime example of how to do a remake right! They get the heart of the original and high quality fight scenes using modern technology. Watching this movie on opening night made it hard to not love the film. Every single joke landed, every star appearance was met with applause, and the energy matched the movie the entire way through. Gyllenhaal was great and paid proper homage to the original character, but some of the side character’s stories were underdeveloped and many of the fight scenes were a bit over the top, especially towards the end. I don’t think this movie will have the same impression watching from home, so I wish this film got it’s originally planned theatrical release instead of debuting on Prime Video. While Road House doesn’t revolutionize the genre, it was truly a fun watch and would make Patrick Swayze proud.
Immaculate
Immaculate stars Sydney Sweeney as an American woman of devout faith searching for a new place to call home. She finds herself in an idyllic remote convent in the Italian countryside, but her warm welcome fades fast as it becomes evident to Cecilia that her new home harbors some dark and horrifying secrets.
I’ve never seen a crowd hold their breath the way they did at this world premiere. Sweeney flexes her range and absolutely shocks. It’s unnerving, palpating, and flat out terrifying. That all being said, was this script and story an incredibly original one? Not in the slightest. The film plays off of known religious and horror tropes, but brings us an interestingly shot film and delightful debut for Sweeney’s production company Fifty-Fifty Films. Get ready for gore, jump scares, and masterfully orchestrated tension.
I Wish You All The Best
Based on the novel of the same name by Mason Deaver, I Wish You All the Best follows Ben DeBacker (Corey Fogelmanis) who comes out as non-binary. When they’re thrown out of their house, they are forced to move in with their estranged sister (Alexandra Daddario) and her husband (Cole Sprouse). Through a supportive group of friends, Ben is able to discover themself and see what a happy future may look like.
Directed by Tommy Dorfman, this is the first movie of its kind and will blaze a trail for future queer storytellers, directors, writers, and actors. Fogelmanis gives a career best performance by fully embodying the energy of his character Ben. Non-binary people have some of the lowest representation in the media due to a lack of understanding and, through this film, viewers are able to empathize and learn. I Wish You All The Best has everything you love in a teen drama, all without feeling stale or redundant. A true depiction of the human condition and groundbreaking work by the entire team.
Bob Trevino Likes It
Based on the film director Tracie Laymon’s true story, Bob Trevino Likes It follows Lily Trevino (Barbie Ferreira) who struggles to cope with her narcissistic father (French Stewart). She turns to Facebook and finds a connection in a stranger with the same name as him (John Leguizamo). What begins as a pleasant chat online develops into a close bond.
The heartfelt Bob Trevino Likes It will have you laughing and crying in equal measure. If Euphoria didn’t already prove it, Barbie Ferreira is a star of this generation. She had a personal connection to the story, which really showed in her emotion and range of this role. As an underrated film from the festival, this movie is the perfect empathetic watch to heal the parts of yourself that may struggle with family connection. Still searching for a distributor, this movie has yet to confirm a release date, but will be sure to tug on your heartstrings when it does.
