The sicko flicks we can't wait to see at Sydney Film Festival 2026

The program for the 2026 Sydney Film Festival (SFF) has been announced and, as usual, tickets are selling fast. The beauty of SFF is that everyone has different priorities on what to watch. Maybe you've got your eye on homegrown flicks, or maybe you're more interested in the international films drumming up the most buzz. For us, SFF is all about finding the weirdest stuff to watch. The real sicko movies you're not going to find at your local Event Cinemas. If that sounds like your corner of SFF too, we've rounded up a few of the weirdest movies we'll be seeing this year. 

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma

From I Saw The TV Glow director Jane Schoenbrun, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is destined to be one of the most popular movies at this year’s Sydney Film Festival. The flick follows a director hired to reboot an 80s slasher franchise who becomes fixated on the reclusive actress who played the “final girl” in the original. If I Saw The TV Glow is anything to go by, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is going to be one hell of a ride. - Alex Choros 

Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma is screening at SFF on June 6, June 12 and June 14. Tickets are selling fast. 

Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant

Honestly, the name alone sold me on this one, but if you need to know more, Mum, I’m Alien Pregnant is a New Zealand gross-out horror comedy that’s a tight 95 minutes. - Alex Choros

Mum, I'm Alien Pregnant is screening at SFF on June 4 and June 14. Book tickets at SFF. 

The Peril at Pincer Point

A heavily stylised horror B-movie, The Peril at Pincer Point focuses on a sound recordist who travels to an island that may or may not be haunted. This one got great reviews when it premiered at SXSW earlier this year, assuming you consider “aggressively weird” a great review. I do. - Alex Choros

The Peril at Pincer Point is screening at SFF on June 6 and June 9. Book tickets at SFF. 

Erupcja

Charli xcx goes to Poland! This time around Ms. xcx is playing an actual character (rather than a fictionalised version of herself, a la The Moment), who is fobbing off a boyfriend who she suspects is about to propose to spend time with a childhood friend in Warsaw. Early reviews praise Charli’s performance, and it’s only 71 minutes long, so it shouldn’t outstay its welcome. - Alex Choros 

Erupcja is screening at SFF June 5 -6, then again on June 13. Book tickets at SFF. 

He Died with a Felafel In His Hand

Cult Australian movie He Died with a Felafel in His Hand is coming back to the big screen with a 4K restoration. I wrote an essay on this wonderfully weird film back in high school and I still enjoy it, which is the highest praise I can give. - Alex Choros

He Died with a Felafel in His Hand is screening at SFF on June 8 and June 13. Book tickets at SFF. 

The History of Concrete

If a movie titled The History of Concrete appeals to you, you're one of two people: you're either interested in the world's most commonly used building material, or you're a fan of HBO's How to with John Wilson. Either way, you'll find what you're looking for with The History of Concrete. To inform his documentary about concrete, John Wilson takes a course on making Hallmark movies. Makes sense. 

John Wilson promises this is a documentary about concrete, with a few exceptions and detours. - Brodie Fogg

The History of Concrete is screening at SFF from June 11 - 13. Book tickets at SFF. 

Hen

Do you want to watch a movie where the main character is a chicken? I sure do. - Alex Choros

Hen is screening at SFF from June 7 - 9. Book tickets at SFF. 

The Fox

The Fox is described as an "absurdly comic Australian folktale" that features Jai Courtney (Dangerous Animals) as Nick, a small-town fox catcher who catches his fiancée, Emily Browning (American Gods), cheating with her boss, Damon Herriman (Mr. Inbetween). When Nick catches a talking fox (voiced by Olivia Colman, of course), he is promised the perfect wife in exchange for the fox's freedom. Oh, and Sam Neill voices a magpie. The Fox comes from Dario Russo, the Australian director behind Danger 5 and Italian Spiderman. - Brodie Fogg

The Fox is screening at SFF on June 4, 6 and 7. Book tickets at SFF. 

Dead Man's Wire

It's been seven years since Gus Van Sant's gutwrenching biopic He Won't Get Far on Foot, but the Good Will Hunting director is returning to Sydney Film Festival this year with his thriller Dead Man's Wire. Based on a true story, Dead Man's Wire revolves around a hostage situation in 1977, where property developer Tony Kiritsis (Bill Skarsgård) tied a shotgun trigger wire around the neck of mortgage broker Richard Hall (Dacre Montgomery) after he was cheated out of a land deal.  - Brodie Fogg

Dead Man's Wire is showing on June 9, June 11 and June 12. Book tickets at SFF. 

Mockbuster

Even if you haven't heard of the production house The Asylum, you've heard of at least one of their movies. They've built a business on spinning up low-budget "mockbusters" that are legally distinct from mainstream movies, but close enough that you could accidentally hire Transmorphers when you were hoping to watch Transformers. In this documentary, Australian filmmaker Anthony Firth has all but given up on making his own feature film. In one last Hail Mary, Firth reaches out to The Asylum and is given a loose script and six days to create a dinosaur film in suburban Adelaide, documenting the adventure along the way.

Stick around after the Sunday session in Dendy Newtown for a 9:30pm screening of The Land That Time Forgot, the movie Firth directs in Mockbuster.  - Brodie Fogg

Mockbuster is showing on June 6 and 7. Book tickets at SFF. 

Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass

From the eternally unserious people who brought you Wet Hot American Summer and They Came Together comes Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass. When soon-to-be-wed Gail (Deutch) and Tom (Cassidy) tell each other their celebrity sex pass candidates on a goof, their relationship hits the rocks when Tom actually sleeps with his dream celebrity. On the advice of a questionable mystic, Gail must find and sleep with her celebrity sex pass in order to save the relationship. With the help of her friends, Gail heads to Hollywood to bag the one and only Jon Hamm. - Brodie Fogg

Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass is showing June 5, 6 and 8. Book tickets at SFF. 

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Brodie Fogg

Managing Editor - Streaming

Brodie Fogg is WhistleOut Australia's Managing Editor for Streaming. He's been writing about tech, streaming, games and telco since 2015. He previously managed a team of entertainment editors at Finder, and has also appeared on 7NEWS.

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