Party at the cult house! Who needs a moon tower when you can party at a cult house? The horror thriller Texas Cult House premiered at Austin Film Festival and Spill the ATX was on the red carpet with the cast. Here’s what you need to know about the Austin shot flick.

Go Inside Texas Cult House at Austin Film Festival

First off, let’s talk about the film. The story revolves around a group of high school friends who decide to party at an abandoned cult home and discover a mysterious oil that drives them into madness.

While I’ve seen the adult lead cast members in other projects, the teenagers in the flick are relatively unknown. I see big things in their futures, though. Julius Royale Duenas Cruz and Lydia Tracy shine as the brother and sister duo fighting their demons as well as… Well, I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’m gonna stop right there. But the point is, these kids are going places and I can’t wait to see their careers unfold.

Austinite Adrianne Palicki stars as their mother in the film while Ryan Cooper portrays the unhinged cult leader. You’ll recognize Palicki from Friday Night Lights, amongst many other projects. Cooper also stars in Writer/ Director Julia Barnett’s feel good Christmas movie, A Christmas in New Hope. I was lucky enough to see the film last year during its preview run and I loved it! We’ll be sure to share details on where you can watch it when it releases this holiday season.

This group of creatives have now worked together on a number of projects. As I point that out to Palicki on the red carpet, she replies, “It’s amazing. I want to keep working with great people. And we’re women who love women. It’s great… supporting each other.”

Since this is the sixth project Cooper has worked on in Austin, we made sure to ask him what he loves about the ATX. “Austin is a culture of change but also history,” he says. “It has the beauty of hard working ethics as well that I find very attractive.”

Back to Cult House, Barnett says if there’s one thing she’d like you to take away from the film, it’s this. “Sometimes we have to hold on to our faith, even when other people are trying to twist it and create fear.”

If that isn’t a timely message, I don’t know what is.

You can learn more about Texas Cult House here.