Film Fests
[REVIEW] Final Girls Berlin Film Festival 2025: ‘Hollywood 90028’ (1973)
Hollywood 90028 follows Mark (Christopher Augustine), a young photographer implanted in Los Angeles from the rural midwest. His goal of becoming a cinematographer diminishes day by day as his job as a porn filmmaker slowly breaks his spirit. Mark is somewhat socially inept and sexually frustrated, which doesn’t help him emotionally one bit. On top of his traumatic past, Mark longs for a connection he can’t fulfill. He soon meets Michelle (Jeannette Dilger) during a shoot, and the two become closer by the day. But Mark’s violent past starts to creep up in ways no one could possibly imagine.
For the longest time, I never understood why festivals screened older movies in their lineups. It always seemed odd to me that a festival would take up screentime with something that came out 40 or 50 years before rather than screening something new. But I started to get it as the years went on. Many times a festival screens a previously-lost-to-time 70s film, or an actual deep-cut 80s film (not like when someone on Twitter says a film is a deep cut and it’s just Pieces). While I love getting the chance to scope out new and upcoming talent, as well as voices in the industry I have not yet heard of, I’ve come to really enjoy when festivals throw a few unknown/hard-to-find older films in their lineup. After watching Hollywood 90028, I understand entirely why Final Girls Berlin Film Festival threw this 1973 film in their lineup.
What is Hollywood 90028 About?
Hollywood 90028 follows Mark (Christopher Augustine), a young photographer implanted in Los Angeles from the rural midwest. His goal of becoming a cinematographer diminishes day by day as his job as a porn filmmaker slowly breaks his spirit. Mark is somewhat socially inept and sexually frustrated, which doesn’t help him emotionally one bit. On top of his traumatic past, Mark longs for a connection he can’t fulfill. He soon meets Michelle (Jeannette Dilger) during a shoot, and the two become closer by the day. But Mark’s violent past starts to creep up in ways no one could possibly imagine.
Writer/director Christina Hornisher’s directorial debut (and only feature) really caught me off guard. This is one of the handful of times I’ve watched a film for a festival twice in a row. I started to get a bit frustrated during my first viewing–it seemed too tame…too clean for its subject matter. As the final long shot lingered on and the camera pulled back (for what seemed like minutes), I finally understood. Hornisher wasn’t making a film to serve as a singular rebuke for the porn industry (not entirely) or as a singular middle finger to the idea of capitalism. Hollywood 90028 feels like a counter-culture examination of a frustrating and scary time for the youth of America. Serial killers were becoming ever prevalent in the 70s, porn was on the rise, and the US was involved in two terrifying wars.
Film School Influences, Capitalism, and the Porn Industry
From the information I was able to gather about Hornisher, and that’s very little, this film was made shortly after she graduated from UCLA. Much of the dialogue in Hollywood feels very post-film school–long monologues on gentrification and urbanization that don’t seem to fit, monologues about capitalism, and the ouroboros-like nature of the porn/entertainment industry. Hollywood is really two films in one. It’s the cyclical nature of the world we live in and a blunt look at the nature of true evil.
Mark’s character is a fascinating case study of a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Hornisher’s writing is unique in that it’s too talky when it doesn’t need to be while utilizing silence and visual storytelling when necessary. We are introduced to Mark’s tragic childhood in the opening credits through a montage of photos from his childhood. We see him as a child with his family–he is the only boy. The photos show him being singled out by the women in his life until his mother has another kid, a boy. A series of photos eventually reveals that Mark was the cause of his brother’s untimely death. His childhood clearly affected his life as he simply cannot be intimate with a woman.
Horror Without Sympathy: Violence, Trauma, and Accountability
While Mark’s childhood is tragic, the film doesn’t paint him out to be a victim, AND it also doesn’t diminish the pain he went through. But Hornisher also makes it clear that just because someone seems like a nice unsuspecting guy, doesn’t mean he isn’t capable of cold-blooded murder. Mark is a portrait of a true serial killer, and it’s impressive how Hornisher crafts the character.
The Legacy of Hollywood 90028
Hollywood 90028 is an impressive debut, and it makes me sad that Christina Hornisher didn’t continue her career. It’s clear she had a unique vision that perfectly (and sometimes bluntly) blended horror and politics. It makes me sad to think what could have been. But if her story isn’t one of the main points of Hollywood 90028, then what is?
If you’re not watching Indonesian horror, you’re missing out. The region is producing some of the craziest genre movies around right now, thanks in no small part to the efforts of writer-director Joko Anwar. His latest, Ghost in the Cell, which celebrated its North American premiere at Fantastic Fest 2026, combines everything we love about the filmmaker’s work—supernatural scares, inventive kills, and gnarly gore—along with a strong vein of comedy and political satire.
What is Ghost in the Cell About?
Ghost in the Cell centers around Dimas (Endy Arfian), a journalist whose life falls apart after he tries to run a story on corporate corruption and mysterious worker deaths. Wrongfully convicted of the horrific murder of his boss, Dimas finds himself with a one-way ticket to Cell Block C, where he quickly meets a colorful cast of prisoners—the good, the bad, and the seriously nasty. Among the good guys, there’s Anggoro (Abimana Aryasatya), who is constantly getting into trouble for defending fellow inmates, and Six (Yoga Pratama), who claims he can see people’s auras.
As if Dimas’ situation couldn’t get any worse, his arrival seems to trigger a series of brutal killings in the prison. Bodies are showing up mangled beyond recognition and displayed in positions that wouldn’t look out of place in Hannibal. It soon becomes clear that Dimas isn’t behind the murders, which begs the question: what did he bring in with him?
Anwar Embraces Horror-Comedy Whole-Heartedly
Prison is a scary place, and Anwar makes great use of the setting, with the action moving from the dingy showers where predators lurk to the bleak cellblock where inmates are at the mercy of their captors and the cafeteria where rival gangs eye each other up with ill intent.
But for all the human misery contained within the film, Ghost in the Cell is ultimately a horror-comedy, one that isn’t afraid to lean into broad slapstick and quippy dialogue when it wants to raise a chuckle. The tonal shifts can take a little while to adjust to, especially if your previous experience with Anwar comes from his more serious horror outings like Impetigore. This might be a problem if the film wasn’t actually funny, but Ghost in the Cell has enough laugh-out-loud moments to make you forget about any whiplash.
Ghost in the Cell Is a Genre-Bender to the Max
Comedy isn’t the only new flavor that Anwar has tossed into the mix. In Ghost in the Cell, dance sequences and martial-arts fight choreo sit side-by-side with some of the most extreme gore scenes seen outside a Terrifier movie in recent years. Then there’s the eerie way the spirit presents before it kills (trypophobia sufferers, beware) and the extensive critique of political corruption, power, and inequality. It’s an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach that shouldn’t work on paper, but under Anwar’s assured hand, it does.
It helps that for all the slapstick, the film lands a surprisingly earnest message, amplified by its vast ensemble cast. Dimas and Anggoro at times feel like main characters, but everyone in Ghost in the Cell has a big part to play, and that’s the point: in seemingly impossible circumstances, there’s strength in unity.
Ghost in the Cell Is an Endlessly Entertaining Blend of Goofiness, Heart, and Gore
If you’re looking for nonstop scares, you won’t find them in Ghost in the Cell. What you will find is a delightful blend of horror, comedy, and action that is apt to leave you grinning from ear to ear.
The film doesn’t skimp on the gore, throwing flesh and fluids at every surface. But it’s also charmingly goofy, with a cast that doesn’t take itself too seriously and a script that’s all too happy to devolve into a comedic dance scene when it feels like the spirit might strike. In every sense, Anwar is doing the most, and the end result is a film where there’s nary a dull moment in sight.
One of the great pleasures of attending Fantastic Fest is the ability to occasionally see movies that won’t be out for many months. That’s especially true with the Secret Screenings, which this year included a work-in-progress print of In a Violent Nature 2, a film that doesn’t even have a release date yet and made for a wildly entertaining midnight movie surprise.
While a few things may change between now and release, the cut shown at Fantastic Fest felt near-final. Here’s what you can look forward to when this sequel eventually slashes its way onto our screens.
Johnny Returns in In a Violent Nature 2
In a Violent Nature 2 picks up right where the action of its predecessor left off, while also introducing new aspects of the lore that slightly contradict or complicate what has already been established, a nod to the way that slasher sequels throw in new plot elements willy-nilly to suit their needs.
The second film centers on Alex (Lucas Nguyen), a quiet 14-year-old kid who misses the bus home from camp because his bullies have stuffed him in a trunk. Since his older sister works at the camp, he gets to hang out for the night while the counselors celebrate the end of the season. Unfortunately, an old fireman’s whistle has drawn the mute, hulking Johnny (Ry Barrett) to the camp—and before long, their night of revelry has turned into one of unimaginable horror.
Less Walking, More Killing
Chris Nash, who wrote and directed the first film, handles scripting duties this time around, with Nate Wilson—who served as first assistant director on the original—stepping into the director role. It feels as though Nash may have listened to viewers’ complaints about how much walking was in the original, because In a Violent Nature 2 takes a break from following Johnny on his lumbering mission. Instead, the camera largely chases Alex through the woods as he runs, trips, and stumbles away from the carnage.
This change is a mixed bag. Alex may be more a dynamic figure to follow overall, but he also makes some frustratingly poor choices, and his teenage moodiness makes him a little unlikeable. The first film also succeeded, in part, because it consciously played into how audiences consume slasher movies, with their sympathies shifting from cheering on the killer to rooting for the final girl when she triumphantly emerges. In a Violent Nature 2 feels like less of a meta-commentary on the slasher genre, though it still has plenty to offer fans of the genre, especially when it comes to kills.
In a Violent Nature 2 Takes the Gore to a Whole New Level
Mention In a Violent Nature to a horror fan and they’ll probably bring up the yoga kill within 10 seconds. For the sequel, Nash and Wilson attempt to up the ante—no small feat considering just how violent the first film was. It’s hard to top that particular kill, but In a Violent Nature 2 certainly gives it the old college try.
Shifting the focus from a single group of friends to an entire summer camp, even one that’s emptying out, instantly ups the potential body count (and harkens back to the slasher films of yore). Counsellors are slaughtered in droves, in ways more brutal than anything seen in the original film, with a few kills in particular sure to get people talking. It’s a real treat for fans of practical effects, and it’s great to see that even horror films positioning themselves as more “elevated” than the typical fare can have fun and get their hands bloody.
A Possible Set up for Another Sequel?
Minor spoilers ahead.
In a Violent Nature 2 feels like something of a response to the reception of the first film, removing what people didn’t like and piling on more of what they did. The result is a movie that feels a little less focused and meditative than its predecessor, but still incredibly fun. And with a third film heavily teased in the final minutes, it seems like we’ll be seeing more of Johnny in the near future. Based on the trajectory of other slashers, can we expect to see him fighting a psychic child next? Or—dare we dream—is he preparing for a trip to space?
Only time will tell. Better lace up your walking shoes.
When Does In a Violent Nature 2 Come Out?
In a Violent Nature 2 is slated to hit theaters sometime in 2026. Keep an eye on IFC Films and Shudder’s socials for more release information as it becomes available.
