Levitation will return in 2018 after taking a year off to regroup.
Photo by Shelley Neuman
Levitation is back, albeit may look a bit different from years past. The homegrown music festival, which launched as Psych Fest in 2008 before rebranding as Levitation in 2014, will be taking over the Red River Cultural District April 26-29 for four days of festivities.
The lineup naturally includes the Black Angels (the Austin-based band started Levitation) as well as a slew of other bands including Lowdive, Electric Wizard, Ministry, Brian Jonestown Massacre, Ty Segall, Panda Bear, Dan Deacon, the Oh Sees, Parquet Courts, Om, Survive, and Chelsea Wolfe, among many others. For those who don't see their favorite act on the lineup, don't worry; the festival will announce a second round of bands in early 2018. A preliminary round one schedule can be seen here.
After taking a year off to regroup, the embattled Levitation seems to be drawing inspiration from Sound on Sound. Like SOS, Levitation will host smaller shows at venues up and down Red River including Stubb's, The Mohawk, Barracuda, Empire Control Room, and Cheer Up Charlies. Local companies like Margin Walker will also host sponsored showcases throughout the weekend.
Though the Deluxe Weekend Passes have already sold out, tickets for 15 different shows across 6 different venues have been released and are available here.
Horror franchises tend to endure for several reasons. First and foremost, the title conjures up nostalgia for older viewers, as many of the most popular ones started in the 1970s or ‘80s. Sequels can recycle key elements of past films as long as they tweak the formula enough to offer something original. And they’re also relatively cheap to make, as new films can bring in young or lesser-known actors to be terrorized.
All of those factors make Evil Dead Burna smashing success, giving viewers reminders of the past while still becoming its own thing. The film is almost non-stop from the jump as a series of people, known colloquially as “deadites,” get infected by a malevolent force. A long, 15-minute opening set piece introduces the main characters, including Alice (Souhelia Yacob), her brother-in-law Joseph (Hunter Doohan), his girlfriend Thya (Luciane Buchanan), and his parents, Susan (Tandi Wright) and Edgar (Erroll Shand).
They’re all mourning the death of Alice’s husband Will (George Pullar), who they think died while driving drunk. However, the infection in Will’s corpse soon latches on to Edgar, whose descent into murderous rage is initially masked by his intense grief. With the family all gathered together in an older, decaying home, no one is safe from the rampage of the supernatural force.
Written and directed by French filmmaker Sébastien Vanicek and co-written by Florent Bernard, the film is aimed directly at horror fanatics who are used to copious amounts of blood and gore. From the opening scene to the film’s final intense moments, Vanicek and his team come up with numerous hide-your-eyes sequences that test the stomachs of weak-willed viewers. But for those who can’t get enough of such things, they also indicate a creativity and willingness to push boundaries that is both thrilling and entertaining.
While some previous entries in the Evil Dead series leaned comedic, this entry follows the previous two films in 2013 and 2023 as as a pure horror. However, that doesn’t mean that the film is devoid of lightness. One of the most enjoyable aspects is Vanicek comically adhering to the concept of Chekhov’s gun. So many different potential weapons are introduced and later used that you can’t help but laugh when they come into play.
Ultimately, it’s the performances by the lesser-known cast that make the movie what it is. Doohan (Wednesday) plays a mild-mannered character who seems to be the main protagonist early on, but he cedes the spotlight to Yacob as the film goes along. The French actress knows how to hold the screen through both her actions and line deliveries. Shand, with his craggy face and bald head, turns into a superior villain, able to chill with just his intense stare.
Evil Dead Burn is not for everybody, but it’s another great addition to what’s turning out to be a banner year for horror movies. With highly effective, cringeworthy action sequences, moments that lighten the mood when needed, and a cast that carries the story, it’s an announcement of bigger things to come for all involved.
