Nicolas Cage’s ‘Renfield’ to Open Overlook Film Festival

Nicolas Cage and Nicholas Hoult’s vampire drama Renfield is set to open the Overlook Film Festival with a world premiere.

And director Lee Cronin’s Evil Dead Rise, executive produced by Sam Raimi, will close the genre film festival, which unveiled its lineup on Tuesday. Evil Dead Rise stars Lily Sullivan, Alyssa Sutherland, Morgan Davies, Gabrielle Echols and Nell Fisher.

Universal’s Renfield horror comedy from director Chris McKay features a dynamic between Cage’s Dracula and Hoult’s tortured henchman and is set to hit theaters on April 14.

Overlook has also booked world premieres for Philip Barantini’s Accused, which stars Chaneil Kukar (Sex Education); Alexis Jacknow’s Clock, toplined by Dianna Agron, Jay Ali and Melora Hardin; Nick Kozakis’s Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism, an Aussie pic that stars Georgia Eyers, Dan Ewing, Tim Pocock, Eliza Matengu, John Wood and Rosie Traynor; Ariel Vida’s Trim Season; and Anthony Penta’s We Kill For Love.

Horror master Joe Dante and John Goodman will be at Overlook for a 30th anniversary screening of Matinee, a B-movie classic that also starred Cathy Moriarty and John Sayles. Other fest guests include Cage, director Jim Jarmusch for a 10^th anniversary screening of Only Lovers Left Alive, and Renfield’s Chris McKay.

Overlook also plans screenings for Alfred Hitchcock’s silent thriller The Lodger, with a live score, and a special screening of William Castle’s horror classic The Tingler.

The Overlook Film Festival is set to run from March 30 to Apr. 2 in New Orleans.