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It’s tricky to pull off the kind of cryptic mystery labyrinth that “Broadcast Signal Intrusion” attempts, and Jacob Gentry’s film only works to a point — whatever point at which the viewer decides this thriller’s elusive menace is just too vague to generate sufficient urgency or suspense. As long as the promise outweighs the frustrating lack of payoff, however, it’s an intriguing and atmospheric puzzle, with “Glee” star Harry Shum Jr. chasing down a possible link between the titular phenomenon and his wife’s disappearance. The SXSW-premiering feature will be a viable item for home format sales; theatrical prospects are slimmer.

James (Shum) is an Av tech geek in 1999 Chicago, working the graveyard shift in a basement archive, logging old TV broadcast videos for posterity. It’s a solitary job that complements the loner lifestyle he had since his dancer wife Hannah disappeared three years ago. Now,...

It’s hard to believe that it’s already time for the SXSW Film Festival once again, but here we are. For the 2021 iteration of the fest, SXSW is going virtual, which gives more people the opportunity to get to experience their brilliant lineup of films this year. As someone who is already well into my SXSW viewings for this year, I can confidently say that this might be SXSW’s best slate of Midnighters from top to bottom, and a few other genre and genre-adjacent films that are premiering in other sections are very much worth your time as well.

So, if you’re looking to check out some excellent horror and sci-fi cinema during this year’s SXSW from the comfort of your own home, here are 15 different projects you’ll definitely want to make time for. Oh, and because I included both How it Ends and Violation during my Sundance 2021 preview,...

A strange virus is causing fatalities throughout Middle America. A group of folks who’ve been chatting online for some time think there’s some bigger, deep-state conspiracy behind it all; they’ve found a series of documents that they believe possess clues as to the nefarious forces behind not just this pandemic, but a host of other so-called “natural disasters” and catastrophes. Meanwhile, protesters are storming the streets and demanding answers, while a rich, morally suspect authority figure — and his equally dubious adult son — promise a miracle vaccine any minute now.

Stars: Celeste M Cooper, Sean Patrick Leonard, Michael B. Woods, Tiffany Renee Johnson, Sarah Charipar, Carl Clemons-Hopkins | Written by Philip S. Plowden, Devon Colwell | Directed by Philip S. Plowden

Directed by Philip S. Plowden in his directorial feature debut, and written by Plowden and Devon Colwell, Range Runners follows a woman named Mel (Celeste M Cooper) who is hiking a trail with a whole head full of bad from her past to deal with. She’s on this hike when she runs across two guys, Wayland (Sean Patrick Leonard) and Jared (Michael B. Woods) who are hiding out in the woods and it’s now up to Mel to either run away or fight back against these scumbags.

It’s a cool and simplistic concept and one that isn’t dissimilar to other thrillers that take part in rural areas and involve a woman fighting back, be it Revenge, I Spit on Your Grave...