Want the lowdown on the buzziest film screenings from the festival in my home state of Texas? These films are screening in Austin this week, and are sure to be ones you’ll want to add to your watchlist. We’ve got Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega starring in Death of a Unicorn, Nicole Kidman in Holland, and yet another unhinged Nic Cage movie.

1. O’Dessa

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O’Dessa showcases a Sadie Sink who is ready for the revolution. The film premiering at SXSW early this month, will hit the streaming service Hulu near the end of the month. In the movie, the Stranger Things star plays a lonely farm girl on a musical mission as she navigates a sinister city, falls in love, and ultimately uses the power of song to stand up to evil. The sophomore film from writer-director Geremy Jasper is perfect for Austin’s prestigious movie and music festival, as O’Dessa is not only a sour candy-colored, retro-future, dystopian sci-fi movie, it’s also a rock opera. The 16 original songs that are woven throughout O’Dessa’s epic journey were all penned by Jasper alongside collaborator Jason Binnick. Co-star Kelvin Harrison Jr. joins Sink as the young heroes of the story, with villainous performances from Regina Hall, Mark Boone Junior, and Murray Bartlett as the vicious post-apocalyptic oligarch Plutonovich.

O’Dessa Premieres Thursday, March 20 on Hulu

2. Ash

Ash, based on the compelling hook alone, should prove irresistible to most fans of the si-fi horror genre. A woman, portrayed by Eiza Gonzalez, awakens on a strange planet with no memory of who she is or how she got there, surrounded by the brutally murdered members of her supposed crew. When a man, played by Aaron Paul, arrives to rescue her, the lone astronaut must decide if she can trust his story as the mystery of their surroundings begin to unfold.

Ash will be in theaters Friday, March 21, and will begin streaming Friday, May 9 on Shudder.

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3. Holland

Nicole Kidman is Nancy Vandergroot, a seemingly perfect homemaker in the film Holland. The film takes place in Holland, Michigan, where her picture-perfect life is about to get twisted. Joining her is Matthew Macfayden, fresh off the triumph of Succession, and the wonderful Gael Garcia Bernal. When Nancy and her colleague start sniffing around a secret, suddenly, everyone’s hiding something that just might dismantle her picture-perfect-postcard existence.

Holland Premieres Thursday, March 27 on Prime Video.

4. Death of a Unicorn

Early buzz on Death of a Unicorn is excellent; suggesting a darkly comedic fairytale about a father and daughter (respectively played by Paul Rudd and Jenna Ortega) who stumble upon a unicorn carcass. With a movie like this, I think we should be prepared for anything when we settle in for this film from A24 Studios. For example, things seem to go from bad to worse when the other attendees of the weekend retreat the father and daughter are headed to realize dead unicorns contain healing properties and decide to hunt the creatures. Will Poulter, Richard E. Grant, Tea Leoni, and Anthony Carrigan are among those ruthless resort guests who are in for an awakening as they go from predator to prey when they realize the unicorns aren’t so innocent after all.

Death of a Unicorn is in Theaters Friday, March 28.

OSCARS® 5X winner

Anora, a young woman from Brooklyn, gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as the parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.

The five time Oscar winner is now available to rent or buy on Amazon Prime Video here.

5. Drop

Christopher Landon, the mastermind behind the twisted Happy Death Day and the body-swapping chaos of Freaky serves up a different kind of terror with Drop. The film centers around a widowed mother venturing out on her first date in years. What starts as an innocent dinner with a handsome stranger quickly devolves into a game of psychological torment, fueled by a barrage of anonymous “drops” to her phone. It appears audiences can expect a suspenseful ride where the buzz of a phone notification becomes a harbinger of pure terror.

Drop is in Theaters Friday, April 11.

6. Friendship

The comedian Tim Robinson brings his distinct style of awkward humor to this dark comedy-suburban thriller. After his new neighbor, played by Paul Rudd, invites him into his close-knit group of buddies, Robinson is taken aback when Rudd decides to break up the friendship.

Robinson’s desire to know what went wrong sets him on a downward spiral in a sort of reverse Fatal Attraction, where Rudd’s seemingly unhinged move is not to stalk his co-star, but to avoid him, altogether. The film from writer-director Andrew DeYoung was a crowd-pleaser at the Toronto Film Festival and should show strongly at SXSW as well.

Friendship will be in Theaters in May.

Hoosiers

The sorely missed Gene Hackman plays a basketball coach with a past leading a small town team to the state championship in 1950s Indiana in the legendary movie now available through Prime Video here.

7. The Surfer

Fresh from his bone-chilling turn in Longlegs, Nic Cage is trading horror for sun-drenched surf in The Surfer. In a film promising a descent into sunstroke fueled madness, in The Surfer, Cage portrays a man returning to his childhood surf spot with his son, only to find himself humiliated and embroiled in a turf war with some locals. Early word from the film’s Cannes premiere hinted at a tense and visceral experience. Cage, known for his trademark unhinged energy, will be bringing that to a role that will showcase the simmering rage of a man pushed past his limits.

The Surfer will be in Theaters Friday, May 2.

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8. Clown in a Cornfield

Clown in a Cornfield, the high-concept slasher directed by Eli Craig, is based on Adam Cesare’s Bram Stoker Award-winning YA novel about some small-town teens terrorized by the bloodthirsty Frendo the Clown. The film has certainly found the right landing spot, as SXSW has built a solid track record of showcasing crowd-pleasing horror films. And if Clown in a Cornfield connects, there are two sequel novels that can be harvested into a franchise.

Clown in a Cornfield Premieres Friday, May 9 on Shudder.

What films are you looking forward to watching? Leave your comments below, and get more of the A Cute Film Addict delivered straight to your inbox by subscribing below.

Read it before you see it! Now a major motion picture from the teams behind Smile and Tucker & Dale vs. Evil.

In Adam Cesare’s terrifying young adult debut, Quinn Maybrook finds herself caught in a battle between old and new, tradition and progress—that just may cost her life.

Available through Amazon Prime here.