With echoes of THE CONJURING and THE RING, filmmaker Daniel J. Phillips’ DIABOLIC blends religious mysticism and modern psychological horror into a nerve-shredding tale of repression and revenge.

Haunted by blackouts and violent impulses, Elise (Elizabeth Cullen, ELVIS) finds herself on the brink of institutionalisation. Urged by her psychiatrist to confront her turbulent past, she returns to the abandoned settlement where she grew up to undergo exposure therapy, through the form of a healing ceremony led by the Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints. Unbeknownst to them, the ritual releases the vengeful spirit of a witch, sparking a terrifying chain of events. 

DIABOLIC also stars John Kim (THE LITTLE THINGS) as Elise’s husband, Adam, and Mia Challis (OUTER BANKS) as her best friend, Gwen.

Special Features

• Audio Commentary with Director Daniel J. Phillips
• Audio Commentary with Director Daniel J. Phillips and Cinematographer Michael Tessari 
• Audio Commentary with Director Daniel J. Phillips, Sound Supervisor Hamish Keen, Composer Will Spartis and Editor Sean Lahiff
• Promotional Behind The Scenes Featurette
• Trailer

Umbrella’s Web Store Exclusive Collector’s Edition contains a Slipcase with all new art designed by Matt O’Neill at Mutant Design and a double-sided poster featuring it and the Australian theatrical key art. DIABOLIC is the fourth Monster Fest Presents title, joining our previous releases GRAFTED, RIBSPREADER and MAD HEIDI.

BEAST OF WAR
Dir. Kiah Roache-Turner 2025 | Australia | World Premiere
Leo (Mark Coles Smith), the only Indigenous soldier on an Australian World War II corvette, bonds with 17-year-old Will (Joel Nankervis) after each has been subjected to the bullying of other troops. As the ship heads across the Timor Sea, ready to join the frontlines, it’s suddenly attacked by Japanese warplanes. Amid the floating wreckage, those lucky enough to survive face an even more deadly foe: a great white shark that can smell blood in the water.

DEAD LOVER
Dir. Grace Glowicki 2025 | Canada | Australian Premiere
The gravedigger is good at her job, but has one major problem: she constantly smells of corpses and dirt, and it’s affecting her dating life in a big way. The cure for her loneliness appears to come at last in the form of a new man who doesn’t mind her smell, her teeth or her ghostly complexion. But when he dies attempting to find a cure for his low sperm count, she must dig deeper than ever before to revive him – and their love.

EXIT 8
Dir. Genki Kawamura 2025 | Japan | Australian Premiere
An unnamed protagonist steps off a busy Tokyo train into a nondescript subway passage: white-tiled walls, a handful of advertisements and one lone salaryman striding down the corridor. After walking ahead and taking a few corners, the commuter finds himself back where he started. Then he notices a sign with an ominous set of rules: if you find an anomaly, turn back immediately; if you don’t find an anomaly, keep going. The longer he stays, the weirder things get, and his only hope of ever leaving this purgatory is by playing a deadly game of spot the difference.

GOOD BOY
Dir. Ben Leonberg 2025 | United States | Australian Premiere
Indy the retriever and his human, Todd, leave the bustle of the city behind to move to a dilapidated country cabin that Todd’s grandfather once owned. But from the moment they arrive, Indy can sense something’s off: he sniffs out a malevolent presence lurking in the shadows, and growls at looming dark figures in the woods. At night, his doggy dreams are haunted by visions of an unfamiliar phantom pooch with an urgent warning.

HALLOW ROAD
Dir. Babak Anvari 2025 | Multi-territory | Australian Premiere
Maddie (Rosamund Pike) and Frank (Matthew Rhys) wake up to a chilling call from their daughter, Alice (Megan McDonnell), in the dead of night. After storming out of their house earlier that evening following a family argument, she’s hit a pedestrian on a remote forest road an hour’s drive away. Racing to Alice’s location, the couple clash as they frantically advise their distraught daughter over the phone. Maddie, a paramedic, talks Alice through CPR, while Frank insists they avoid calling the police, fearing the consequences. Just when they think the situation can’t get any worse, another voice appears on the line – Alice is not alone.

IT ENDS
Dir. Alex Ullom 2025 | United States | Victorian Premiere
Recent college graduates Tyler, James, Fisher and Day head out for a bite to eat on one of their last nights together before life inevitably sends them off in different directions. But after missing a turn and circling back only to find a dead end that isn’t marked on Google Maps, the friends realise that they’re stuck on an infinite highway…and that something terrifying is lurking in the dense, dark forest on either side of them. Are they in purgatory? Is it a shared hallucination, or a portal to another dimension?

REDUX REDUX
Dir. Matthew McManus & Kevin McManus 2025 | United States | Victorian Premiere
After Irene’s daughter is kidnapped and murdered, there is no force in the universe that can stop her vengeance. When she finds the man responsible, she kills him – then jumps to a parallel universe, where she finds him and kills him again. But when her dimension-hopping vendetta accidentally saves a different teen, Mia, from the man’s clutches, Irene begins to find a new purpose in her soul-sapping multiversal journey – and, perhaps, a means of rediscovering her humanity.

REFLECTION IN A DEAD DIAMOND
Dir. Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani 2025 | Multi-territory | Australian Premiere
Waves crash and the drinks fizz as a lonely old man (prolific Italian genre star Fabio Testi) lounges on the beach terrace of his luxurious hotel, nestled on the sparkling curve of the Côte d’Azur. But when the beautiful young woman he’s been ogling winds up dead by the water, time folds in on itself. A quest to uncover her killer ignites cascading flashes of his younger, sharp-suited, shooting days as a secret agent (now played by Yannick Renier) thwarting Fumetti neri-esque pulp fiction supervillains. Diamonds, leather and lashings abound as he battles the cobra’s kiss of shapeshifting agent Serpentik and teams up with glamorous, disco-ball-outfitted sidekick Moth. Chaos awaits in a casino’s gilded glimmer.

TOUCH ME
Dir. Addison Heimann 2024 | United States | Australian Premiere
When a pungent plumbing emergency leaves their place temporarily uninhabitable, Joey and her housemate Craig find themselves stranded. With limited options, they resort to staying with Joey’s mysterious ex Brian (Lou Taylor Pucci, Spring, MIFF 2015), a hip-hop-dancing alien whose physical touch induces an addictive euphoric state – and, soon enough, the pair fall under his seductive spell, forming an intergalactic pansexual polycule with the charismatic otherworldly creature and his live-in personal assistant. But textbook narcissist Brian has more nefarious plans afoot, and a menacing streak lurking underneath his matching tracksuits. Can Joey and Craig resist his intoxicating tentacled embrace long enough to notice the glaring red flags?

THE TOXIC AVENGER
Dir. Macon Blair 2023 | United States | Australian Premiere
Winston Gooze (Peter Dinklage) is a meek janitor at an environmentally devastating chemical factory. His wife has died of cancer, leaving him stepdad to Wade (Jacob Tremblay), and Winston has himself been diagnosed with a fatal brain disease – but his evil boss, Bob Garbinger (Kevin Bacon), won’t even cover his medical treatment on the company’s health insurance. Shortly after meeting whistleblower J.J. Doherty (Taylour Paige), Winston accidentally topples into a vat of toxic waste and emerges profoundly, disgustingly changed. Time for this one-mutant EPA to gruesomely protect his village using superhuman strength and a sludge-dipped, glowing green mop!

WE BURY THE DEAD
Dir. Zak Hilditch 2025 | Australia | Victorian Premiere
A catastrophic US military blunder sees a WMD accidentally deployed off the coast of Tasmania, seemingly wiping out the island’s entire population in an instant. Among the dead appears to be Ava’s (Daisy Ridley, Star Wars: The Force Awakens) husband, caught in the blast while travelling for work. When Ava hears rumours of possible survivors, she flies from the US to Tasmania to volunteer for the army-led body retrieval unit, on the slim chance she might find her husband still alive.

ZOMBUCHA!
Dir. Claudia Dzienny 2025 | Australia | World Premiere
After one particularly catastrophic day at their respective workplaces, busy professionals Maddie and Leo find themselves both unemployed. Dreaming of a fresh start but needing reliable income to support the family they hope to start together, the couple have a chance encounter with Kai, a smouldering kombucha artisan raking in the cash. Seeing dollar signs, Maddie and Leo swipe Kai’s kombucha culture to kickstart their own enterprise, but when they mix in some mysterious herbs from a neighbour’s garden, the culture gains sentience and proves deadly. With their relationship hanging by a thread, can Maddie and Leo unite to prevent a full-blown zombucha apocalypse?

And although not part of the ‘Night Shift’ program, MIFF will also host the Australian Premiere of documentary filmmaker Alexandre O. Philippe’s CHAIN REACTIONS that features Australia’s own Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, along with a screening of Tobe Hooper’s 1974 THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE from a scan of a degraded VHS tape.

You check out the full program and ticketing at miff.com.au

Courtesy of MIFF, we’re giving one lucky member of our Monster Fest community the chance to win a double pass to see THE TOXIC AVENGER on Saturday 16 August at IMAX Melbourne.

For a chance to WIN, all you need do is LIKE our Facebook or Instagram posts and EMAIL competitions@monsterfest.com.au with the next film from the Troma library you would like to see imagined and why, along with your Full Name.

Entry details and conditions:
Closes 11:59pm AEST 3 August 2025
Open only to entrants residing in Australia.
One entry per person.
Winners will be notified via email.
This is a game of creativity and skill.
Our Privacy Policy can be found here.

1. THE NEVERENDING STORY
4K UHD/Blu-ray Limited Edition
Imprint Films

Via Vision Entertainment through their Imprint Films line, have released not only the definitive physical release of director Wolfgang Peterson’s timeless 1984 classic but also hands down the best home entertainment release of 2024, with THE NEVERENDING STORY – 40TH ANNIVERSARY LIMITED EDITION.

Featuring both the 94 Minute US Theatrical Cut and 104 Minute German Extended Cut on 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray, with the Theatrical Cut having been recently, exclusively and stunningly restored by Imprint.

In addition to both presentations of the film, the release is loaded with newly commissioned and extensive legacy Special Features including the 2024 feature-length documentary, LIFE AFTER THE NEVERENDING STORY.

Atop of the aforementioned content, the release comes housed in a replica of the storybook from the film, accompanied by a vast array of promotional materials including full-size reproductions of the Original US Theatrical Poster, Original 1984 Press Kit, Lobby Cards and Production Stills.

Limited to 2500 units, our advice is snag one now before it’s out-of-print and going for obscene amounts of money on the after-market or suffer the reality of ‘The Nothing’ and suffer fomo forever more.

2. TRICK OR TREAT
4K UHD/Blu-ray/CD Limited Edition
Red Shirt Home Video

Quite possibly the most anticipated physical media release for horror and metal fans alike, finally made its way to 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray this year, director Charles Martin Smith’s 1986 opus, TRICK OR TREAT, and it was well worth the wait.

The inaugural release from Red Shirt Home Video in collaboration with Synapse Films, TRICK OR TREAT, not only debuts in its Original Aspect Ratio (1.85:1) on physical media but comes lovingly restored from the Original Camera Negative in 4K with Dolby Vision and it looks nothing sort of magnificent.

Red Shirt, who have been in the business of producing Special Feature content for all number of labels for decades now under the banner of Red Shirt Pictures, have gone into overdrive with the added content of this release. With multiple Audio Commentary tracks and Featurettes among the mix, the crown jewel in TRICK OR TREAT’s studded belt of a release is the newly-produced and welcomingly exhaustive feature-length documentary, ROCK & SHOCK: THE MAKING OF TRICK OR TREAT.

Unfortunately the Limited Edition release of TRICK OR TREAT is already out-of-print, limited to just 6666 units across three artwork variants, the Limited Edition contained the film on both 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray, CD Soundtrack, double-sided fold-out Poster, mini-replica Lobby Cards and 60 Page Booklet with essays by Michael Gingold, Samm Deighan and Michael Felsher.

The good news is that Red Shirt Home Video and Synapse Films have already announced a Standard Version of the release for both 4K Ultra HD & Blu-ray, due to drop in March 2025 and while it won’t come with all the swag of the Limited Edition, it will contain all of the same on-disc content and for a limited time will come with a Slipcover with the film’s original US theatrical key artwork.

3. CALIGULA
4K UHD/Blu-ray Limited Edition
Umbrella Entertainment

Umbrella Entertainment delivered what could easily be described as the definitive release of Gore Vidal… ahem… Tinto Brass…ahem… Bob Guccione…ahem… Thomson Negovan’s CALIGULA with ABSOLUTE POWER – CALIGUILA: THE ULTIMATE CUT COLLECTOR’S EDITION.

With no less than five cuts of the film including the all-new The Ultimate Cut in 4K along with the (once and several times in fact, refused classification original) Uncensored Cut (in 1080p), Umbrella’s release not only compiles every imaginable way to view the film in its various cuts but does an incredible job of assembling newly commissioned and legacy Special Features.

Among the hours of archival extras including Deleted Scenes and Documentaries, there is a new feature-length Audio Commentary track with film historian Heather Drain and an extensive video essay on the production history through various cuts of the film titled The Rise, Fall & Resurrection of Caligula by Monster’s own Jarret Gahan, along with recent interview featurettes and festival Q&As with key talent from the premieres of CALIGULA: THE ULTIMATE CUT across the globe.

Now while all of the aforementioned cuts and content are available in the Standard Edition, where Umbrella’s Collector’s Edition truly excels, in a similar way to the very film itself, is in its sheer and unabashed excess.

Housed in a Rigid Case, there’s a 200 Page Hardback Book (with essays, interviews and artwork), a 200 Page Book with two Gore Vidal screenplays and the novelisation, a partial mini-reprint of a Special Penthouse issue on CALIGULA, Poster Cards and two reversible posters with key art.

This is about as definitive a release of a film, particularly one of CALIGULA’s nature and history, as you could ever expect and the good news is that Umbrella have recently popped all remaining stock of this Collector’s Edition in their web-store. If you’ve been on the fence about this one, the time to buy is now or suffer a fate worse than being on the clean-up crew of the Imperial Bordello, post-orgy.

Honourable mentions go out to THE FLESH AND BLOOD SHOW – THE HORROR FILMS OF PETE WALKER (88 Films), OPERA – LIMITED EDITION (Severin Films), THE HITCHER (Second Sight Films) and MUTE WITNESS (Arrow Video).

We’ve been a privy to some of the releases that our Aussie-based boutique powerhouses have lined up for 2025 and it’s already looking to be an incomparable year for titles and editions.

Death to Videodrome. Long live Physical Media.

Chinese scholarship student Wei (Joyena Sun) travels to New Zealand to study medical research at a prestigious university. Shy, introverted, and hiding a genetic facial birthmark, Wei is shunned by her social butterfly cousin Angela (Jess Hong) and her glamorous friends.

Determined to change her fate, Wei immerses herself in her deceased scientist father’s research, working on a revolutionary skin grafting procedure that could cure her deformity. After a violent clash ends in Angela’s death, Wei’s experiments take a dark turn. Desperate, she discovers she can ‘become’ Angela by grafting her face onto her own.

As Angela, Wei transforms into a stunning beauty, gaining instant popularity and desire. Intoxicated by her new status, Wei’s attempts to maintain the façade grow increasingly deadly. Her newfound beauty and acceptance come at a high cost, as she becomes more dangerous and unhinged, willing to eliminate anyone who threatens her secret.

Special Features

Making-of Grafted (Featurette)
Behind the Scenes Reel
Trailers & TV Spots

Umbrella’s Web Store Exclusive Collector’s Edition contains Slipcase and double-sided Poster with the Australian and New Zealand theatrical key art. GRAFTED is the third Monster Fest Presents title, joining our previous releases RIBSPREADER and MAD HEIDI.

In collaboration with UMBRELLA ENTERTAINMENT, we’re thrilled to reveal that Saturday 5 October will be MONSTER FEST’S TERRIFIER TAKEOVER in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide & Perth. 

MONSTER FEST’S TERRIFIER TAKEOVER will be headlined by the Australian Premiere of filmmaker Damien Leone‘s highly anticipated TERRIFIER 3, with Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton) unleashing chaos on the unsuspecting residents of Miles County as they peacefully drift off to sleep on Christmas Eve.

To accompany the Australian Premiere of TERRIFIER 3, we’re bringing both TERRIFIER and TERRIFIER 2, back to the big screen.

That said Saturday 5 October will be more than just screenings of Leone’s blood-soaked trilogy as MONSTER FEST’S TERRIFIER TAKEOVER will be a Special Event that allows attendees to go beyond the films and indulge in the action with participation-based activities and photo opportunities galore.

In a first for MONSTER FEST, we’re excited to bring our 2024 festival to all festival sites simultaneously, with Melbourne running October 4-12 at Cinema Nova and Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide & Perth from October 4-6 at Event Cinemas (Burwood, Brisbane City, Marion & Innaloo) with MONSTER FEST’S TERRIFIER TAKEOVER occurring at all festival locations on Saturday 5 October.

Tickets are now on sale to each of the three TERRIFIER films or you can grab a multi-film pass so you can see more or everything at MONSTER FEST 2024 at a discounted price.

MELBOURNE
Cinema Nova
Tickets

SYDNEY
Event Cinemas Burwood
Tickets

BRISBANE
Event Cinemas Brisbane City
Tickets

ADELAIDE
Event Cinemas Marion
Tickets

PERTH
Event Cinemas Innaloo
Tickets

Stay tuned to the Monster Fest Site & Socials for updates on MONSTER FEST’S TERRIFIER TAKEOVER and further MONSTER FEST 2024 programming announcements in the coming weeks.

BIRDEATER is an unapologetic look at how Australia’s iconic masculinity identity has become incompatible with contemporary gender politics that follows a bride-to-be who is invited to her fiancé’s bachelor party, but when uncomfortable details of their relationship are exposed, the night takes a feral turn.

We have 10x Double Passes to See
BIRDEATER In Cinemas to GIVEAWAY
courtesy of Umbrella Entertainment

For your chance to WIN, all you need do is LIKE our Facebook Post or Instagram Post and EMAIL US at competitions@monsterfest.com.au with your favourite Australian horror film and why.

Entry details and conditions:
Competition closes at 11:59pm AEST Sunday 7 July 2024
Open only to folks residing in Australia.
One entry per person.
Winners will be notified via email.
This is a game of creativity and skill.
Our Privacy Policy can be found here.

In Australian Cinemas July 18

The Australian demonic family drama centres on Graham, a man haunted by his past since the death of his father and the estrangement from his two brothers. Jake, the middle brother, contacts Graham claiming that something is horribly wrong: their youngest brother Phillip is possessed by their deceased father.

Graham reluctantly agrees to go and see for himself. With the three brothers back together, they soon realize they are unprepared for the forces against them and learn that the sins of their past will not stay hidden. But how do you defeat a presence that knows you inside and out? An anger so powerful it refuses to stay dead?

Written and directed by Boyle, along with Toby Osborne (PINDAM) as co-writer, THE DEMON DISORDER stars John Noble (THE CONJURING: THE DEVIL MADE ME DO IT), Charles Cottier (HOME AND AWAY), Christian Willis, and Dirk Hunter (UPRIGHT).

In Australian Cinemas This August

CONTENTS

• Audio Commentary with writer/director Sam Odlum
• Festival Q&A with writer/director Sam Odlum
• Outtakes
• Limited Slipcase
• 20 Page Booklet

Drug-dependent best-friends Denise and Johnny owe their unpredictable dealer. In a desperate attempt to clear their debt they agree to a dodgy heist in an old house, inadvertently coming into possession of a bag of time-travelling drugs. The pair find themselves trapped in the house on diverging timelines. As Johnny travels through time, Denise grapples with isolation, confronting her personal history, the true identity of their dealer Kane, and the very essence of her existence. Both hilarious and vulnerable, Time Addicts delivers an enjoyable twist on the sci-fi genre.

Blu-ray Available April 17

South Australia is shaping up to Australia’s most fertile and thriving hotbed of genre filmmaking with modern classic THE BABADOOK, Monster Fest award-winner RIBSPREADER, recent success TALK TO ME and now YOU’LL NEVER FIND ME.

On a dark and gloomy night, a violent thunderstorm is about to send two people into a tailspin of intrigue and paranoia. Soaked, shaken and seeking shelter from the rain, an enigmatic young woman, known only as “the visitor”, arrives at the doorstep of Patrick, an eccentric old man living in a mobile home at the rear of an isolated caravan park. But what begins as an apparent safe haven for these two lonely souls gradually curdles into a nightmare of suspicion, as distrust escalates into danger, reality crumbles and an unforgettably twisted showdown awaits.

Shot on a micro-budget by emerging South Australian filmmakers Josiah Allen and Indianna Bell, this ingenious genre piece – the only Australian selection at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival – makes thrilling use of its minimalist, unnerving premise and showcases combustible lead performances from Brendan Rock (Snowtown; Jack Irish: Black Tide) and newcomer Jordan Cowan as it slowly ratchets up the tension. With a spooky atmosphere and building to a climax as bizarre as it is shocking, You’ll Never Find Me is a hypnotic horror fable you won’t be able to shake.

In Australian & New Zealand Cinemas March 14

SPECIAL FEATURES

DISC 1 – 4K ULTRA HD

• Completely Uncut Version Restored from the 35mm interpositive
• Audio Commentary with co-producer Damien Parer, production designer Larry Eastwood and actor Ned Manning moderated by filmmaker Mark Hartley

DISC 2 – BLU-RAY

• Completely Uncut Version previously Restored from the 35mm interpositive
• International Cut
• Audio Commentary with co-producer Damien Parer, production designer Larry Eastwood and actor Ned Manning moderated by filmmaker Mark Hartley
• NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD interview with director Brian Trenchard-Smith
• Deleted Scenes with commentary from director Brian Trenchard-Smith
• THE BAZURA PROJECT 2008 interview with director Brian Trenchard-Smith
• Brian Trenchard-Smith short film HOSPITALS DON’T BURN DOWN (1978) with Optional Director Commentary
• Stills & Poster Gallery
• TRAILERS FROM HELL Commentary with director Brian Trenchard-Smith
• Australian Theatrical Trailer
• 1980s Post-Apocalyptic Trailer Reel
• Audio Commentary with director Brian Trenchard-Smith
• Extralucid Films 2023 interview with director Brian Trenchard-Smith
• XCess Entertainment 2022 interview with director Brian Trenchard-Smith and Josh Hadley
• Retromania 2022 interview with director Brian Trenchard-Smith
• Trenchard-Smith short film THE STUNTMEN (1973)
• Trenchard-Smith Trailer Reel
• Adventures in the B-Movie Trade Teaser
• US Theatrical Trailer

Umbrella also have a Limited Package dubbed the ‘KARBOY Dead End Drive-In Big Collector’s Edition‘ available for pre-order too that includes the following Exclusive Content…

• 120-page Hardback Book including a reprint of the original screenplay by Peter Smalley, writing on the film by director Brian Trenchard-Smith and producer Damian Parer, and archival materials
• Worldwide first release of the Soundtrack on CD
• Retro inspired Star Drive-In Tee
• Cherry Scented Air Freshener
• Custom Design Metal Keychain
• Custom Designed Outer Rigid Slipcase
• Custom Design Slipcase
• 2 x Bumper Stickers
• 8 Replica Lobby Cards
• A3 Reversible Poster

Available March 20 on 4K Ultra HD