It’s aliiiiive, and it just screened at Beyond Fest at American Cinematheque! On Sunday night, Guillermo del Toro‘s “Frankenstein” had a surprise showing at the Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles. Following a marathon screening of his earlier works (“Cronos,” “The Devil’s Backbone,” and “Mimic”), the beloved Mexican filmmaker invited stars Mia Goth and Jacob Elordi to help introduce their new movie to a ravenous genre audience.
“They were ecstatic,” said Beyond Fest co-founder Christian Parkes in an interview with IndieWire on Monday. Previously shown at the Venice International Film Festival (where IndieWire’s Ryan Lattanzio gave it a “B,” and again at a secret screening at Telluride), “Frankenstein” is expected in limited theaters on October 17 and will hit Netflix on November 7.
“We didn’t know that was happening, really happening, until that afternoon,” said Parkes. “The projectionists didn’t even know.”
“Guillermo making a move the night before and saying, ‘Hey, I want to show my film!’ — that is all him,” said co-founder Grant Clark. “But he’s part of the People’s Republic of Beyond Fest by doing that.”
“Frankenstein” is among the most anticipated horror releases left in 2025, but Beyond Fest organizers didn’t even ask to screen the film. Del Toro offered the West Coast premiere to them the day before during a different block of his retrospective series (“Crimson Peak,” “Nightmare Alley,” and “The Shape of Water” also played the Egyptian), and thanks to the American Cinematheque, they pulled it off.
“He just nonchalantly threw it out to the crowd,” said Parkes. “He was like, ‘Let’s just show the movie tomorrow!’ And then it was like, ‘Oh, yeah, that’s kind of nuts!’ You have to ingest the film and make sure it works. It wasn’t really until six o’clock — doors were at seven — that we did the tech check and we were like, ‘OK, this can actually happen.’”
Beyond Fest has been around since 2011, but this year’s edition marks unprecedented success for the most popular genre event in Los Angeles. With just two days left, organizers are projecting record attendance with approximately 30,000 festivalgoers coming from across the city and around the world. After a difficult year for Californians, it was an electric homecoming for weirdo cinephiles — and a needed outlet for plenty of local film lovers who, as always, got to see many screenings for free.
“It’s been gradual growth,” said programmer Evrim Ersoy, who has been with the fest since year two but sat out this year to manage social media from his home in London. “Slowly but surely, we’re building the people’s trust, and these filmmakers are coming to us,” he said.
Exclusivity can be key to making a movie or event seem “cool,” and the sudden activation of “Frankenstein” was an electric highlight this weekend. But while other genre promoters jockey for access, Beyond Fest insists they don’t worry about premiere status. The “pipe dream” event got started on a fake-it-til-you-make-it mentality 14 years ago, and organizers have kept the faith ever since.
“It’s like, who cares? We’ll have studios that come to us and say, ‘Look, we’re going to go big with you in L.A., but we have opportunities elsewhere,’” said Parkes. “My response is always, ‘Is going elsewhere going to help your film? Then go do it!’ Because the people that come to our theater on a Friday night, they want to see the film. They’re not coming because it has to be the premiere.”
Beyond Fest is dedicated to expanding how the movie business defines “genre” in a city that, no matter how the rest of the industry fares, still owns awards season. Del Toro’s “Frankenstein” has been compared to Robert Eggers’ “Nosferatu,” and early spectators for next year’s Oscars race could see this premiere as a step on that path.
Straddling the divide between fan-facing genre events, like Fantasia Fest in Montreal, and the more prestige international festivals that are always along the path to the Academy Awards, Beyond is bridging a critical divide by commingling the best of the best genre programming — across horror, arthouse, anime, and more — with the fervent excitement of attendees who celebrate it all like a midnight movie.
“We’ve never paid to advertise,” said Grant. “There’s such a love of these films, and it’s a rabid audience. That’s why it grows to 16 days every year. It’s like, ‘Maybe we’ll do nine!’ — or, ‘Maybe we’ll do eight!’ And it always ends up being 16. We want to make sure everyone can go see something.”
From the first 70mm print of Brady Corbet’s “The Brutalist,” to the West Coast premiere of Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite,” Beyond Fest at American Cinematheque programming has organically turned into an “overarching umbrella, where all of these films can live through their connective genre tissue,” said Parkes. “Time and time again, filmmakers after their screening, they thank us and they say, ‘That’s exactly who I made my film for.’”
“We’ve had a second screen for a long time,” said Ersoy — shouting out Beyond Fest at American Cinemtheque’s shorts programming as well. “It’s always been about highlighting films that people wouldn’t normally take a chance on. Everyone’s heard del Toro’s ‘Frankenstein’ is coming, but maybe this helped them find something else. We showed this anime that’s coming along, ‘100 Meters,’ that’s absolutely stunning.”
Beyond boasted the West Coast premiere of Best Picture winner “Anora” last year, and Sean Baker was back to host a chat with the legendary Japanese actress Meiko Kaji (“Lady Snowblood,” “Blind Woman’s Curse”) for her first-ever U.S. appearance in 2025. With the reigning Best Director winner practically popping in just to say hi — and del Toro across town literally tossing out “Frankenstein” t-shirts — Beyond Fest at American Cinematheque has established itself as an award-worthy monster maker capable of winning the fight too many genre lovers feared was finished when “The Substance” lost.
“I look forward to the day when someone else can take this mantle so that we can sleep,” said Parkes. “Until then, we’ll just keep doing it.”