PSYCHE
Stephon Stewart brings his sci-fi horror mashup, PSYCHE, to Popcorn Frights 2025. The film finds Mara awakening in a mysterious wasteland alongside an 80s computer, named Pi, persuading her to complete six levels of gameplay.
Pi acts as both guide and companion. As Mara stumbles from one mysterious level to the next, the computer program fights with itself, sending several new voices to counter Pi’s words. Can Mara persist in this seemingly unknown?
Editor Gibran Lozano provides the distinct computer voices. They range from adorable to menacing. Bravo. Sarah Ritter is charming, determined, and understandably hotheaded considering the infuriating and fickle interactions with the computer. She has a presence ripe for genre queendom.
The film’s visuals are mesmerizing. Stewart’s uses black and white negative landscape and mindbending limbo images in Mara’s journey. The sets resemble the remnants of tornado-ravaged areas, arid badlands, and a post-apocalyptic shoreline, all seamlessly intertwined. DP Aitor Uribarri does unforgettable work with the camera. Tom Hawk‘s score is haunting. It has an epic feeling akin to 80s fantasy classics. The script is incredibly complex. The entire filmmaking team should be proud.
The evolution of the game is a pathway to trauma release for Mara. Pi triggers memory fragments, guilt, anger, and suicidal ideation.
PSYCHE is an experimental therapy session that will undoubtedly strike a nerve for viewers. It is unique and yet entirely timeless. PSYCHE is a must-see.
YEAR: 2024
COUNTRY: USA
RUNTIME: 71 mins
DIRECTOR: Stephon Stewart
WRITER: Stephon Stewart
STARRING: Sarah Ritter, Eva Ariel Binder, Rodrigo Varandas
Leonard blew up his life by cheating on his girlfriend. She is kicking him out. In the meantime, her photographer father that she so clearly adores is visiting at an inopportune time, leaving Leonard to play an awkward host. Dennis is loathsome. He regards himself very highly and cares little for the opinion of others. He’s brash and his attitude seems to be contagious. Leonard is spiraling in every aspect of life. His cooking skills are garbage, he’s running out of money, what’s left of his personal space has been invaded. 
Giant Bear (*shown alongside Don’t Say Its Name)
The Death Doula
Watershed
Creepy Bits- Chapter 1- “Baby Face”
Narcoleap: S2
GHOST- A Primitive Evolution
Midnight Lunch Break
The Revenge of the Snowflakes
We All Dream (*being shown with Motherly at 9 pm this evening)
Disquietude (screening with Tin Can Sunday night at 11:30 pm.)
The visual progression of horrifying imagery is stunning. The sleep experiment costumes have a Tron meets Captain EO vibe and I really dig them. The script is solidly disturbing. In all honesty, I was locked in until the very final scene which for me stepped into “Huh?” territory. I’ve now watched this film twice. The second viewing was a lot more telling. I have new theories. That being said, the rest of the film is so powerful, Come True is completely worth your attention. Thoroughly engrossing original visuals and storytelling are ramped up by Electric Youth and Pilotpriest’s synth score. It manages to wrap itself around you and immerse you in fear. Each of these elements creates an experience making Come True its own entity. It may give you your own new set of nightmares.
This stunningly gorgeous sci-fi film has so much potential. What drags it down is the amount of information we’re missing. A lot of the backstory is buried inside writer/director Nicholas Ashe Bateman’s mind. It’s juicy, no doubt. Uniquely told. It would be glorious as a stage play. There’s enough intrigue in The Wanting Mare to indeed sustain a series of films, as is the intention. The audience has to commit themselves to what they are given. It’s a lot of trust to put in the viewer. What is abundantly clear is that there is a cyclical nature to the female characters and that these elusive tickets put a target on your back. This script is filled with people lying to each other, either to protect someone or keep them from leaving. It’s an interesting concept. The horses are treated similarly to unicorns in Legend. A commodity, yes, but also they must be protected at all costs.
Performances, across the board, are excellent. While there are a lot of characters to track, there is not a single actor who lets you down. Each beat is curated. This cast left it all on the screen. 
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