The 2025 Milwaukee Film Festival begins…this week! From April 24 through May 8, 96 feature films and 112 short films will light up the screens of the Oriental and Downer theatres. Tickets and passes are available HERE. The full lineup can be found HERE.

Looking to gorge yourself on MFF’s annual Cinema Hooligante program—a.k.a. the horror/midnight/genre films? Of course you are. The Milwaukee Record-sponsored program is always a hoot, and this year’s lineup is especially strong. (The Ugly Stepsister! 40 Acres! New Cronenberg!) Find all nine Cinema Hooligante films below, complete with showtimes, trailers, and blurbs courtesy of Milwaukee Film. (Oh, and we included two entries that aren’t officially Cinema Hooligante films, but are definitely Hooligante adjacent.)

40 ACRES
(Canada | 2024 | 113 min | English, Cree)

In a post-apocalyptic future where food is scarce, the last descendants of a Black family of farmers who settled in Canada after the American Civil War must protect their homestead from an organized militia hell-bent on taking their land. Structured like a typical apocalypse film, 40 ACRES subverts expectations in ways that will leave you breathless. With a terrific ensemble cast led by Danielle Deadwyler (STATION ELEVEN, TILL), this action/thriller captivates and surprises. DIR. R.T. Thorne

Friday, May 2 | 9:30 p.m. | Downer Theatre (South Cinema)
Saturday, May 3 | 8:30 p.m. | Downer Theatre (South Cinema)
Wednesday, May 7 | 8:30 p.m. | Oriental Theatre (Abele Cinema)

AJ GOES TO THE DOG PARK
(United States | 2024 | 79 min | English)

A surreal and gag-driven comedy about an ordinary man named AJ, who enjoys a simple life in the midwest haven of Fargo, ND. When his favorite dog park is taken away, it begins a chain reaction that completely upends his existence and sends him on an unforgettable odyssey to fight, fish, scrap, scrape, and slap things back into place. DIR. Toby Jones

Friday, April 25 | 10 p.m. | Oriental Theatre (Herzfeld Cinema)
Tuesday, April 29 | 9 p.m. | Oriental Theatre (Lubar Cinema)
Friday, May 2 | 8:45 p.m. | Downer Theatre (North Cinema)

DEAD LOVER
(Canada | 2025 | 82 min | English)

A lonely gravedigger who stinks of corpses finally meets her dream man, but their whirlwind affair is cut short when he tragically drowns at sea. Grief-stricken, she goes to morbid lengths to resurrect him through madcap scientific experiments. “With its blend of lurid camp and twisted romanticism, its embrace of gleefully lo-fi special effects and a twangy electro-retro score, Grace Glowicki’s DEAD LOVER, a singular spin on the Frankenstein story, sets its sights firmly on cult status.” (Screen International) DIR. Grace Glowicki

Friday, April 25 | 9 p.m. | Oriental Theatre (Lubar Cinema)
Saturday, April 26 | 10:30 p.m. | Downer Theatre (South Cinema)
Tuesday, May 6 | 9:30 p.m. | Downer Theatre (South Cinema)

SISTER MIDNIGHT
(India, Sweden, United Kingdom | 2024 | 107 min | Hindi)

Winner of Best Film in the Next Wave section at Fantastic Fest, genre-bending comedy SISTER MIDNIGHT follows rebellious small-town misfit Uma, who arrives in Mumbai to find herself totally unsuited to life as a housewife. At odds with her prying neighbors and under the constant oppressive noise and heat of the city, she decides to break free from the shackles of domesticity and embrace her feral impulses. DIR. Karan Kandhari

Saturday, April 26 | 9:30 p.m. | Oriental Theatre (Herzfeld Cinema)
Tuesday, April 29 | 9:30 p.m. | Oriental Theatre (Abele Cinema)
Thursday, May 1 | 10:15 p.m. | Downer Theatre (South Cinema)

THE HOME
(Estonia, Iceland, Sweden | 2025 | 87 min | Swedish)

Joel reluctantly returns to his childhood home to help his mother Monika, who has suffered a severe stroke and was clinically dead for minutes. Joel begins to believe that something malevolent and supernatural has taken control of his mother. But with his own history of substance abuse and mental instability, can he trust his own perceptions? As Monika’s memories fade, Joel must confront his own demons, all while a horrific entity is spreading amongst the residents. DIR. Mattias Johansson Skoglund

Friday, April 25 | 11:15 p.m. | Oriental Theatre (Lubar Cinema)
Saturday, May 3 | 9 p.m. | Oriental Theatre (Abele Cinema)

THE SHROUDS
(Canada, France | 2024 | 119 min | English)

A techno-entrepreneur named Karsh (Vincent Cassel) has developed software that allows the bereaved to bear witness to the gradual decay of loved ones dead and buried in the earth. While Karsh is still reeling from losing his wife (Diane Kruger) to cancer, a spate of vandalized “shroud” graves puts his enterprise at risk. Written following the death of his wife, David Cronenberg’s new film is both a profoundly personal reckoning with grief and a descent into noir-tinged dystopia. DIR. David Cronenberg

Friday, April 25 | 6:15 p.m. | Oriental Theatre (Lubar Cinema)
Saturday, May 3 | 11:30 p.m. | Oriental Theatre (Abele Cinema)

THE UGLY STEPSISTER
(Norway, Poland, Sweden, Denmark, Romania | 2025 | 105 min | Norwegian)

In a twisted take on the classic Cinderella story, THE UGLY STEPSISTER follows Elvira as she battles to compete with her insanely beautiful stepsister. In a fairy-tale kingdom where beauty is a brutal business, Elvira will go to any lengths to catch the Prince’s eye. THE UGLY STEPSISTER is the gory tale of the blood, sweat, grit, and gold that goes into making Elvira the belle of the ball. DIR. Emilie Blichfeldt

Thursday, May 1 | 8:45 p.m. | Oriental Theatre (Herzfeld Cinema)
Friday, May 2 | 8:45 p.m. | Oriental Theatre (Herzfeld Cinema)
Saturday, May 3 | 11:15 p.m. | Downer Theatre (South Cinema)

VULCANIZADORA
(United States | 2024 | 85 min | English)

Two friends trudge through a Michigan forest with the intention of following through on a disturbing pact. It’s only after things go shockingly awry that the surreal and unsettling consequences of their actions are revealed. “A grimly comedic story that could just as easily have been titled ‘National Lampoon’s Faces of Death’. It’s a comedy so black that even light can’t escape it!” (Nightmare on Film Street) DIR. Joel Potrykus

Saturday, April 26 | 9:45 p.m. | Downer Theatre (North Cinema)
Wednesday, April 30 | 9:45 p.m. | Downer Theatre (South Cinema)
Friday, May 2 | 9:30 p.m. | Oriental Theatre (Lubar Cinema)

WHAT HAPPENED TO DOROTHY BELL?
(United States | 2024 | 80 min | English)

After uncovering disturbing revelations from her early childhood involving her late grandmother, Ozzie Gray sets out to investigate her past. Desperate for answers, she attempts to communicate with Dorothy’s spirit but unwittingly awakens something malevolent. Following his role as The Candyman in Nia DaCosta’s CANDYMAN (2021), Michael Hargrove joins iconic final girl actor Lisa Wilcox (A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4&5), and Asya Meadows in WHAT HAPPENED TO DOROTHY BELL? DIR. Danny Villanueva Jr.

Saturday, April 26 | 11:59 p.m. | Oriental Theatre (Herzfeld Cinema)
Friday, May 2 | 10 p.m. | Oriental Theatre (Abele Cinema)
Sunday, May 4 | 6 p.m. | Oriental Theatre (Abele Cinema)

HOOLIGANTE ADJACENT

NOSFERATU: A Symphony of Horror with live accompaniment by Anvil Orchestra
(Germany | 1922 | 94 min | No Dialogue)

Our annual visit from the Anvil Orchestra turns back the clock on Robert Eggers’ 2024 hit to revisit the original 1922 F.W. Murnau silent-era classic with a performance featuring Anvil’s own original score. Discover for yourself why Count Orlok continues to haunt our cinemas with this one-night-only live musical experience. DIR. F.W. Murnau

Monday, April 28 | 6:30 p.m. | Oriental Theatre (Abele Cinema)

SHORTS: The Best Damn F*#@ing Midnight Program Ever. Shit. | (84 min)

Who doesn’t love a little mayhem? Your inner monster will thank you for this night of kooky comedies, hair-raising horror, and cRuNCHy sqUISHYyy battles between flesh and…is that f*#@ing Cate Blanchett?! It’s a late-night party so unhinged you can only see it after midnight (or fine, twice at 10 PM).

Be Right Back – Lucas Paulino, Gabe Ibáñez
Bozo Over Roses – Matty Sidle
Earwax – Jasper Martin
Kombucha! – Jake Myers
Lurk – Mairin Hart, Josh Wallace Kerrigan
Playing God – Burani Matteo
RAT! – Neal Mulani
Steak Dinner – Nathan Ginter
Whitch – Hoku Uchiyama

Friday, April 25 | 11:59 p.m. | Oriental Theatre (Abele Cinema)
Saturday, May 3 | 10 p.m. | Downer Theatre (North Cinema)
Wednesday, May 7 | 10 p.m. | Oriental Theatre (Lubar Cinema)