Austin, TX
Fantastic Fest Unveils Its 2024 Lineup, Including The World Premiere of 'Terrifier 3'
Step right up for the greatest show on Earth! That’s right, Fantastic Fest is back for its 19th edition, bringing 28 World Premieres, 23 International and North American Premieres, and 15 U.S. Premieres! Plus, there will be plenty of incredible events and special guests when the festival descends on the Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar in Austin, TX.
“The Fantastic Fest team is absolutely elated about this year’s festival. We can’t wait to share the very best new films from around the world and enjoy our sensational events together this September,” says Festival Director Lisa Dreyer. “We’re also honored to be joined by a number of notable guests, and welcome our Fantastic Fest family back to Austin to celebrate cinema, whether it’s your 1st time or 19th!”
Fantastic Fest 2024 opens with a bang, featuring the world premiere of The Rule Of Jenny Pen from director James Ashcroft, Alex Aja’s new horror psychological thriller Never Let Go, and the world premiere of Terrifier 3!
The closing night film will be the world premiere of Hulu’s Mr. Crocket, director Brandon Espy’s feature debut based on his popular short.
The Events
Fantastic Fest has a variety of spectacular special events this year, including:
- The world’s only McDonald’s themed Black Sabbath cover band, Mac Sabbath, will kick off the fest with an epic opening night performance.
- Day of The Devs will bring a selection of genre video games to play with our inaugural Fantastic Games event, including Fear the Spotlight from Cozy Game Pals and Blumhouse Games, Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic from Steel Wool, and several other exciting titles.
- SpectreVision Radio will host live podcast recordings, including Mike Flanagan’s Director’s Commentary with special guest Jennifer Kent, and Elijah Wood and Daniel Noah’s Visitations.
- Live events throughout the week include a Ghoulish Book Fair, a circus-themed drag show hosted by the legendary Louisianna Purchase, Fright or Wrong Trivia, a new show of video oddities from The Found Footage Festival, and more!
- And finally, Fantastic Fest essentials like the Fantastic Feud, the Fantastic Debates, and an epic Closing Night Party featuring the 999 Eyes Freakshow rounding out the week.
Check Out The Full Feature Lineup For Fantastic Fest Below:
AJ GOES TO THE DOG PARK (Burnt Ends Selection) (dir. Toby Jones)
World Premiere, 79 min
A very mediocre man must complete a heroic Odyssey-like quest to restore order to his town and protect the comforts of his routine life.
ANIMALE (dir. Emma Benestan)
North American Premiere, 99 min
After leaving a party with her male co-workers, aspiring bullfighter Nejma begins to experience physical and sensory perception changes after she’s attacked in a field in the middle of the night.
ANORA (dir. Sean Baker)
Austin Premiere, 138 min
Anora, a young sex worker from Brooklyn, gets her chance at a Cinderella story when she meets and impulsively marries the son of an oligarch. Once the news reaches Russia, her fairytale is threatened as the parents set out for New York to get the marriage annulled.
APARTMENT 7A (dir. Natalie Erika James)
World Premiere, 104 min
When a struggling, young dancer (Julia Garner) suffers a devastating injury, she finds herself drawn in by dark forces when a peculiar, well-connected, older couple promises her a shot at fame.
THE BABADOOK (dir. Jennifer Kent)
10th Anniversary Screening, 94 min
Back for its 10-year anniversary, this psychological horror and possession film terrified us in 2014 with its harrowing take on grief. Now it’s back to remind us all of the dangers of reading to children!
BABY ASSASSINS NICE DAYS (dir. Yugo Sakamoto)
Texas Premiere, 112 min
The Baby Assassins are back at Fantastic Fest to spread joy, dessert, and sick kills in the delightful third entry to this Japanese action franchise.
BIG TOP PEE-WEE (dir. Randal Kleiser)
World Premiere of 4K Restoration, 86 min
When a tornado blows a circus onto his farm, agricultural chemist Pee-wee Herman is tempted away from a life of contentment with his fiancée and her mediocre sandwiches by an alluringly beautiful acrobat.
BINARY (dir. David-Jan Bronsgeest)
International Premiere, 42 min
As Nisha prepares for gender confirmation surgery, violent and confusing images move from haunting her dreams to impacting her clients and friends, and Nisha must decide what she will do to live her authentic life.
THE BIRTHDAY (dir. Eugenio Mira)
20th Anniversary Screening of 4K Restoration, 117 min
Corey Feldman gives the performance of his career in this newly restored O.G. Fantastic Fest stunner.
THE BLACK HOLE (Burnt Ends Selection) (dir. Moonika Siimets)
Aliens land in Estonia to collect teeth and change the lives of bored, frustrated citizens in this triptych film of existential humor and strangely beautiful creature design.
BODY ODYSSEY (dir. Grazia Tricarico)
North American Premiere, 104 min
A female bodybuilder trades in her obsession with crafting the perfect body for an all-consuming pursuit of a younger man.
BONE LAKE (dir. Mercedes Bryce Morgan)
World Premiere, 94 min
In an attempt to rekindle their stagnant love life, Diego and Sage rent a property on the aptly named Bone Lake. When a mysterious young couple shows up at their door, their romantic getaway devolves into a twisted psychosexual nightmare.
BOOKWORM (dir. Ant Timpson)
US Premiere, 103 min
An 11-year-old girl sets out into the New Zealand backcountry with her estranged father to capture photographic evidence of the mythological Canterbury Panther, hoping to claim the reward and pay her mom’s medical bills.
BRING THEM DOWN (dir. Christopher Andrews)
US Premiere, 105 min
Christopher Abbott and Barry Keoghan lock horns as the sons of two warring Irish shepherding dynasties.
CARNIVAL OF BLOOD (Presented by AGFA) (dir. Leonard Kirtman)
Texas Premiere, 88 min
AGFA presents a dreamy proto-slasher from the gutters of NYC.
CHAIN REACTIONS (dir. Alexandre O. Phillipe)
Texas Premiere, 103 min
In his latest documentary—and right on time for the film’s 50th anniversary—Alexandre O. Philippe explores the profound impact and lasting influence the TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE had on five international artists.
CHAINSAWS WERE SINGING (dir. Sander Maran)
US Premiere, 117 min
Tom and Maria’s courtship is cut short by a cannibalistic spree killer and his dysfunctional family. Equal parts Stephen Sondheim and Lloyd Kaufman, this Estonian slasher musical is a truly unique odyssey.
CHILDREN OF THE WICKER MAN (dir. Dr. Chris Nunn, Justin Hardy & Dominic Hardy)
International Premiere, 90 min
Justin and Dominic Hardy reflect on their relationships with their father, Robin Hardy, and the cult classic he directed, THE WICKER MAN.
CLOUD (dir. Kiyoshih Kurosawa)
US Premiere, 123 min
Ryosuke makes his living as an online wholesaler, flipping goods from desperate sellers for a profit. As his business grows, so does his paranoia. Auteur Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s latest is another masterful examination of dread and contagion in modern Japan.
World Premiere, 97 min
After the death of his father, a young boy is terrorized by a gruesome creature that bears an uncanny resemblance to his dad.
DANIELA FOREVER (dir. Nacho Vigalondo)
US Premiere, 113 min
Nicolas mourns his dead girlfriend in a unique way—by taking an experimental drug that allows him to relive his memories when he dreams.
DEAD TALENTS SOCIETY (dir. John Hsu)
US Premiere, 110 min
Dying is just the beginning of one young woman’s problems when she learns the hard way that the afterlife is a competitive world of celebrity scarers and desperate wannabes, and the cost of failure is a fate worse than death.
A DIFFERENT MAN (dir. Aaron Schimberg)
Texas Premiere, 112 min
Aspiring actor Edward undergoes a radical medical procedure to drastically transform his appearance. But his new dream face quickly turns into a nightmare as he becomes obsessed with reclaiming what was lost.
DISEMBODIED (Presented by BLEEDING SKULL) (dir. William Kersten)
World Premiere of 4K Restoration, 77 min
Bleeding Skull presents a cinematic acid trip through a surreal, haunting world of mutations and murder.
DON’T MESS WITH GRANDMA (dir. Jason Krawczyk)
World Premiere, 81 min
Michael Jai White is just a grandson who loves his grandma. When a motley group of thieves attempt to break into her home, he gives them a punishing lesson in etiquette while keeping her comfortably in the dark.
THE DRAFT! (dir. Yusron Fuadi)
International Premiere, 84 min
Five college friends go to a cabin in the woods for the weekend and start to experience strange, violent events in this meta-horror movie with bloody kills and zany comedy.
DRAGON DILATATION (dir. Bertrand Mandico)
North American Premiere, 114 min
Director Bertrand Mandico puts his own unmistakable spin on two famous works: Stravinsky’s PETROUCHKA and Dante’s THE DIVINE COMEDY, in this visually arresting experimental film.
EBONY AND IVORY (dir. Jim Hosking)
World Premiere, 88 min
The untold story of Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder’s pop classic, as only the maniac behind THE GREASY STRANGLER could tell it.
ELSE (dir. Thibault Emin)
US Premiere, 99 min
A new strange pandemic has hit the world, causing the infected to fuse with their surroundings. Two freshly acquainted lovers take refuge in a flat, trying to avoid the disease that spreads through eye contact.
ESCAPE FROM THE 21ST CENTURY (dir. Li Yang)
US Premiere, 98 min
A trio of teenage friends find themselves able to inhabit their future bodies in this coming-of-age/coming-of-middle-age martial arts comedy.
THE FALL (dir. Tarsem Singh)
North American Premiere of 4K Restoration, 117 min
Los Angeles, circa 1920s, a little immigrant girl in a hospital recovering from a fall, strikes up a friendship with a bedridden man. He captivates her with a whimsical story that removes her far from the hospital doldrums into the exotic landscapes of her imagination.
FRANKIE FREAKO (dir. Steven Kostanski)
International Premiere, 82 min
The creator of PSYCHO GOREMAN introduces the raddest & baddest li’l goblin squad since the Ghoulies.
GAZER (Burnt Ends Selection) (dir. Ryan J. Sloan)
North American Premiere, 114 min
Frankie tries to reclaim her life in this paranoia/neo-noir/body horror gem about the decline of America and the terrifying and awesome power of the feminine.
GET AWAY (dir. Steffen Haars)
World Premiere, 86 min
Ignoring the warnings from the Swedish mainlanders, the Smith family takes a vacation on the small, charming island of Svälta… which turns into a killer trip.
GHOST KILLER (dir. Kensuke Sonomura)
World Premiere, 105 min
Fumika Matsuoka is a young woman with a terrible job, a friend in a bad relationship, and the ghost of an assassin bound to her until she gets revenge on his behalf.
GIRL INTERNET SHOW: A KATI KELLI MIXTAPE (Burnt Ends Selection) (dir. Kati Kelli)
Texas Premiere, 79 min
A compilation of early YouTube uploads by artist Kati Kelli posthumously showcases her deranged genius as an outsider artist and social commentator.
THE GUEST (dir. Adam Wingard)
Theatrical World Premiere of 4K Restoration, 100 min
A mysterious soldier befriends the family of a fallen comrade and quickly makes himself an indispensable part of their lives, but the secrets he’s hiding put them all in danger in THE GUEST, a nail-biting, retro-stylish thriller from director Adam Wingard and screenwriter Simon Barrett (YOU’RE NEXT, A HORRIBLE WAY TO DIE).
HEADS OR FAILS (Burnt Ends Selection) (dir. Lenny Guit & Harpo Guit)
World Premiere, 86 min
Armande Pigeon steps in more shit than a latrine cleaner, living off a series of less and less endearing gambles and grifts. When luck rolls her way, she just has to walk away, but where’s the fun in that?
HEAVIER TRIP (dir. Juuso Laatio & Jukka Vidgren)
World Premiere, 96 min
Impaled Rektum, the world’s most brutal metal band, must escape a Norwegian prison and save a reindeer slaughterhouse from foreclosure before battling a Faustian promoter offering Rock God superstardom in exchange for selling out.
HOUSE OF SPOILS (dir. Bridget Savage Cole & Danielle Krudy)
World Premiere, 101 min
Follows an ambitious chef (Ariana DeBose) as she opens a restaurant on a remote estate where she battles kitchen chaos, crushing self doubts…and a haunting presence who threatens to sabotage her at every turn.
I, THE EXECUTIONER (dir. RYOO Seung-wan)
US Premiere, 118 min
The veteran detective Seo Do-cheol (HWANG Jung-min) and his team at Major Crimes, relentless in their pursuit of criminals, join forces with rookie cop Park Sun-woo (JUNG Hae-in) to track down a serial killer who has plunged the nation into turmoil.
ICK (dir. Joseph Kahn)
US Premiere, 90 min
In Joseph Kahn’s breakneck sci-fi/horror satire, a high school science teacher (Brandon Routh) does battle with a parasitic alien entity, as well as the apathy of the small town it has been gradually absorbing.
THE INCREDIBLY STRANGE CREATURES WHO STOPPED LIVING AND BECAME MIXED UP ZOMBIES!!? (dir. Ray Dennis Steckler)
Texas Premiere of Severin Restoration, 82 min
AGFA presents the first monster musical!
THE LEGEND OF VOX MACHINA (Season 3, Episodes 1 & 2) (dir. Eugene Lee (Ep. 1) & Young Heller (Ep. 2))
World Premiere, 52 min
In Season Three of The Legend of Vox Machina, everything is at stake – our lovable band of misfits must rise above inner (and outer) demons to try and save their loved ones, Tal’Dorei, and all of Exandria.
THE LIFE AND DEATHS OF CHRISTOPHER LEE (dir. Jon Spira)
North American Premiere, 103 min
Descended from royalty and the real-life inspiration for James Bond, this documentary shows Christopher Lee’s struggle to succeed as an actor before discovering the joys of playing monsters and villains—transforming him into an icon and a legend, seemingly overnight.
LITTLE BITES (dir. Spider One)
World Premiere, 106 min
A mother, a monster, and a terrible secret.
MADS (dir. David Moreau)
North American Premiere, 88 min
Tweaked-out French club kids battle a rage virus during one crazy night, all in one single, unbroken shot.
MALDOROR (dir. Fabrice du Welz)
North American Premiere, 150 min
When a dedicated but impulsive young officer is taken off a clandestine surveillance team tasked with catching a child predator, he becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth, despite the risks to his family and his sanity.
MEMOIR OF A SNAIL (dir. Adam Elliot)
Texas Premiere, 95 min
Placed in separate foster care homes after the death of their father, two siblings grow up in families with different values. Gilbert and Grace learn to live apart, but their hope of being reunited never fades.
THE MISSION (Presented by AGFA) (dir. Johnnie To)
25th Anniversary Screening, 84 min
Come celebrate the 25th Anniversary of Hong Kong auteur Johnnie To’s towering gangster film masterpiece, presented from AGFA’s rare 35mm archival print!
MR. CROCKET (dir. Brandon Espy)
World Premiere, 88 min
A single mother thinks she’s found the key to calming her child down—a VHS copy of a strange children’s program named Mr. Crocket’s World. However, a darker, bloodier secret waits to invade their home from inside the tape.
NEVER LET GO (dir. Alexandre Aja)
Gala Screening, 101 min
From visionary director Alexandre Aja and the creative minds behind STRANGER THINGS and ARRIVAL comes NEVER LET GO. In this new psychological thriller/horror, as an evil takes over the world beyond their front doorstep, the only protection for a mother, played by Academy Award® winner Halle Berry (Actress in a Leading Role, 2001 – MONSTER’S BALL), and her twin sons is their house and their family’s protective bond. Needing to stay connected at all times – even tethering themselves with ropes – they cling to one another, urging each other to never let go. But when one of the boys questions if the evil is real, the ties that bind them together are severed, triggering a terrifying fight for survival. Lionsgate presents, in association with Media Capital Technologies, a 21 Laps / HalleHolly production.
NIGHT CALL (dir. Michiel Blanchart)
North American Premiere, 91 min
A locksmith finds himself accused of a crime he didn’t commit, kicking off the longest night of his life.
NINE QUEENS (dir. Fabián Bielinsky)
US Premiere of 4K Restoration, 114 min
In this gorgeous 4K restoration, two con artists set up a plan to sell a sheet of counterfeit rare stamps known as the Nine Queens to a collector.
PÁRVULOS (dir. Isaac Ezban)
US Premiere, 119 min
In the aftermath of a devastating global catastrophe, three brothers must fight against the dangers of a post-pandemic world and keep their family intact.
PLANET B (dir. Aude Léa Rapin)
International Premiere, 118 min
In a near future shaken by violent protests, activist Julia wakes up in an unknown world after being shot in the face with a non-lethal round. Welcome to PLANET B, a place where your worst nightmares are generated to torture you.
PLASTIC GUNS (dir. Jean-Christophe Meurisse)
North American Premiere, 96 min
A world-renowned criminal profiler leads authorities to arrest an innocent man, mistaking him for a notorious killer. Meanwhile, two amateur detectives bumble through their own investigation, and the real killer sees an opportunity to start a new life.
QUEENS OF DRAMA (dir. Alexis Langlois)
North American Premiere, 115 min
A tabloid-headline, torrid affair between a pop princess and her secret pop-punk songstress stretches into the 2050s in this camp musical.
RAZE (dir. Josh C. Waller)
Anniversary Screening, 92 min
Awakening after being abducted, Jamie finds herself in a concrete bunker, and she discovers that she is not alone.
Texas Premiere, 103 min
Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer, died of a degenerative muscular disease at the age of 25. His parents mourned what they thought had been a lonely and isolated life, when they started receiving messages from online friends around the world.
RESPATI (dir. Sidharta Tata)
Texas Premiere, 112 min
Deep in the recesses of a spiritual hive mind connecting an orphaned teenager to the victims of a demon, the boy must also confront his own demons in the demented and deeply unsettling Indonesian horror RESPATI.
THE RULE OF JENNY PEN (dir. James Ashcroft)
World Premiere, 103 min
Admitted into a state care facility, Geoffrey Rush engages in a battle of wits with his deranged tormentor, John Lithgow.
SATAN WAR (Presented by AGFA) (dir. Bart La Rue)
World Premiere of Restoration, 62 min
AGFA presents a new restoration of the Satanic panic mindwarp.
THE SEVERED SUN (dir. Dean Puckett)
World Premiere, 80 min
When a headstrong woman rebels against her religious father, she unleashes a powerful beast intent on picking off members of her isolated community.
SHE LOVED BLOSSOMS MORE (dir. Yannis Veslemes)
Texas Premiere, 88 min
Three brothers enter a world of cosmic horror as they try to bring their mother back from the beyond.
SISTER MIDNIGHT (dir. Karan Kandhari)
North American Premiere, 110 min
Stuck on the outskirts of Mumbai following an arranged marriage, Uma turns to black magic to dislocate her domestic blues.
SPERMAGEDDON (dir. Rasmus A. Sivertsen & Tommy Wirkola)
North American Premiere, 79 min
A coming-of-age love story set in parallel universes: a teenage boy chasing his first experience of coitus, and two companion sperm swimming upstream in hot pursuit of their holy grail, the egg. It’s also an animated musical comedy that slays.
THE SPIRIT OF HALLOWEENTOWN (dir. Bradford Thomason & Brett Whitcomb)
World Premiere, 95 min
Have you ever dreamed of living in a place where Halloween is celebrated year-round? Welcome to St. Helens, a charming town that revolves around the cult classic film HALLOWEENTOWN.
STEPPENWOLF (dir. Adilkhan Yerzhanov)
US Premiere, 101 min
Set against a ravaged dystopian wasteland, a ruthless killer joins forces with a traumatized young mother in the search for her missing son in this hard-hitting, genre-bending B-movie from Kazakh auteur Adilkhan Yerzhanov.
STRANGE HARVEST: OCCULT MURDER IN THE INLAND EMPIRE (dir. Stuart Ortiz)
USA, 2024
World Premiere, 94 min
STRANGE HARVEST follows the investigation of one of the worst, yet least reported and discussed serial killers in the history of Southern California.
TEACUP (Season 1, Episodes 1 & 2)
World Premiere, 65 min
From James Wan’s Atomic Monster & UCP, TEACUP follows a disparate group of people in rural Georgia who must come together in the face of a mysterious threat in order to survive. Inspired by the New York Times bestselling novel STINGER by Robert McCammon.
TERRIFIER 3 (dir. Damien Leone)
World Premiere, 128 min
Art the Clown is set to unleash chaos on the unsuspecting residents of Miles County as they peacefully drift off to sleep on Christmas Eve.
TOUCHED BY ETERNITY (dir. Mārcis Lācis)
World Premiere, 95 min
Although lacking any zest for life, middle-aged hermit Fatso is obsessed with immortality. When a friendly duo of vampires materializes with a proposition, he has second thoughts when he learns what’s at stake in this playful vampire satire.
TRIZOMBIE (dir. Bob Colaers)
International Premiere, 78 min
When a zombie plague hits Belgium, a group of unlikely heroes embarks on a perilous journey to save one of their missing friends.
U ARE THE UNIVERSE (dir. Pavlo Ostrikov)
US Premiere, 101 min
After planet Earth explodes, space trucker Andriy is left alone, drifting through space with an AI computer as his sole companion. When a message from a French scientist reaches him, he risks everything to cross the universe and meet her.
UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE (dir. Matthew Rankin)
US Premiere, 89 min
A surreal, hilarious, and touching meditation on family and place.
V/H/S/BEYOND (World Premiere, 110 min)
Directors – Jordan Downey, Christian Long & Justin Long, Justin Martinez, Virat Pal, Kate Siegel, & Jay Cheel
The seventh installment of the V/H/S franchise will feature six new bloodcurdling tapes, placing horror at the forefront of a sci-fi-inspired hellscape.
WAKE IN FRIGHT (dir. Ted Kotcheff)
International Premiere of 4K Restoration, 109 min
Come witness Ted Kotcheff’s 1971 thriller about a schoolteacher marooned in an Australian town full of drunken madmen. A magnificent 4K restoration supervised by Mark Hartley (NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD), WAKE IN FRIGHT is an unmissable cult classic.
WHAT HAPPENED TO DOROTHY BELL? (dir. Danny Villanueva Jr.)
World Premiere, 80 min
Years after a terrifying attack by her grandmother, Ozzie returns to her hometown in an attempt to understand her own mental illness and the supernatural being haunting her family.
THE WILD ROBOT (dir. Chris Sanders)
Texas Premiere, 101 min
After a shipwreck, an intelligent robot named Roz is stranded on an uninhabited island and must learn to adapt to the harsh environment, gradually bonding with the island’s animals and becoming the adoptive parent of an orphaned gosling.
WILL & HARPER (dir. Josh Greenbaum)
Texas Premiere, 115 min
When Will Ferrell finds out his close friend of 30 years is coming out as a trans woman, the two decide to embark on a cross-country road trip to process this new stage of their relationship in an intimate portrait of friendship, transition, and America.
WITTE WIEVEN (dir. Didier Konings)
International Premiere, 61 min
Frieda is desperate to get pregnant. When she’s ostracized by her medieval Dutch community for surviving a trip to the nearby woods and supposedly conspiring with the Devil, she slowly lets the darkness in.
THE WORKOUT (Burnt Ends Selection) (dir. James Cullen Bressack)
World Premiere, 82 min
Following the shocking death of his wife and facing his own terminal injury, a former Army Ranger sets out on a path of revenge in this stunt-forward, found footage action movie.
ZÉNITHAL (dir. Jean-Baptiste Saurel)
International Premiere, 80 min
A man with a giant dick is killed by a jealous, evil man attempting to take over the world. Only women can save us now! You know how it goes…
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Categorized:News
The Texas Longhorns continue to do everything they can to better their team for the future, including dominating on the recruiting trail with some of the most sought-after prospects in the country.
Their latest installment comes after extending offers to offensive lineman Ty McCurry and Jayden Thompson, while also leaving a favorable impression on premier recruit Brayson Robinson.
As they continue to make a push for another top-10 class under head coach Steve Sarkisian, the Longhorns made a staunch impression on three of their top targets for the 2028 cycle.
Forty Acres Stands Out
The Longhorns continue to make a push on the recruiting trail, hosting some premier targets on the first day of spring camp, and extending offers to McCurry and Thompson. Both players were impressed with what they saw, not just on the football field, either, but from the Forty Acres as well.
“They said I’m their top guy and that they want me back out for a visit soon. “McCurry tells me of his conversations with the Longhorns before continuing on where they stand in his rankings. “I’ve loved the past two times I’ve been in Austin to check out the Longhorns and can 100 percent see them being a contender in my commitment down the line.”
McCurry was a Sports Illustrated freshman All-American and currently stands at 6-foot-6 and 270 pounds, currently holding 11 offers with many of them coming from the Lone Star State. The other offer from the first day of practice went to Jayden Thompson, number 15-ranked offensive tackle in the 2028 class according to 247Sports.
“My conversations with the coaches went very well, they were all very inviting and helpful,” Thompson told Texas Longhorns On SI of the Longhorns staff. “If I had one takeaway, it would be the tour of not just the football part of the school, but the campus as well.”
Another target for the 2028 cycle is Brayson Robinson, an edge defender out of Mavel, Texas. While he didn’t receive an offer yet, he has quickly garnered interest with some of the top programs in the country. The Arizona State Sun Devils and Alabama Crimson Tide have been on him mainly, but he’s hearing from a lot of schools, including the Longhorns, who impressed him.
“It went amazing and I like how every coach introduced themselves to my family and me,” Robinson told Texas Longhorns On SI about his visit. “I also love the culture.”
With still a while to go until the 2028 cycle becomes the forefront on the recruiting trail, Sarkisian and his staff continue to set themselves up to be at the top of the conversations regarding the premier talent on their target board.
So far this month, Austin’s main weather observation site at Camp Mabry has recorded 0.7 inch of rain, but the year overall has been dry. Since Jan. 1, we’ve recorded just over 2.5 inches of rainfall, which is about 2.75 inches below normal at this point in the year.
While the weekend rain wasn’t exactly a drought-buster, we can still keep our hopes high — or, in the words of a classic infomercial: “But wait … there’s more!”
Morning: We’ll wake early Tuesday under dark and cloudy skies, as the sun doesn’t rise in Austin until 7:46 a.m. because of daylight saving time. Temperatures will be near 70 degrees, but don’t expect the same foggy start we saw Monday. Winds will be a bit gusty out of the south, which will help keep the low-level moisture mixed and prevent it from settling in and creating a layer of fog.
Midday: Sprinkles or light showers are possible through midday, but the heavier rainfall will hold off during the morning. The upper-level low pressure system approaching from the west will help produce active weather across West Texas during the first half of Tuesday.
Afternoon: However, across Central Texas an atmospheric lid, known as a capping inversion, will remain in place until surface temperatures warm up enough for rising air to break through the “cap.” Once that happens, the atmosphere will gradually destabilize through the afternoon and evening, allowing rain and thunderstorms to develop.
Breezy south winds will continue throughout the day, with gusts up to 25 mph. Afternoon temperatures are expected to climb into the upper 70s and lower 80s.
Once the cold front transits east of Austin on Wednesday, drier and cooler weather will settle in for the rest of the work week before 80-degree afternoon temperatures reemerge next weekend.
Austin, TX
Texas Mother Is Exonerated After 22 Years for a Crime That Never Happened – Innocence Project
(Austin, TX – March 9, 2026) Carmen Mejia was exonerated today after Travis County District Court Judge P. David Wahlberg dismissed a 2003 murder charge against her, following a ruling from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) — the state’s highest criminal court — overturning her convictions and finding that new evidence established that Ms. Mejia is “actually innocent.”
The CCA’s decision, on Jan. 22, 2026, found Ms. Mejia actually innocent of the death of a 10-month-old infant in her care who was critically burned from scalding bathwater due to a water heater in her rental home that lacked safety technology. Ms. Mejia has spent the last 22 years in prison for what the State claimed to be murder but now agrees was, in fact, a tragic accident.
“While we are overjoyed that the courts finally recognize that Ms. Mejia is innocent, this grave injustice should have never happened in the first place,” said Vanessa Potkin, Ms. Mejia’s Innocence Project attorney. “Ms. Mejia is a woman of immeasurable strength, who has relied on her deep faith to withstand a traumatic period of her life that most people wouldn’t be able to survive. Her case is far from isolated. There is a clear pattern in our criminal legal system of wrongly accusing caregivers when a child in their care dies from an accident or illness, particularly when those caregivers are women of color. We have seen too many cases like Ms. Mejia’s where false and outdated medical testimony lead to wrongful convictions, and there are undoubtedly thousands more people still wrongly imprisoned because of such testimony.”
“Ms. Mejia, today we acknowledge that our office failed you,” said Sarah Byrom, Assistant District Attorney, Travis County District Attorney’s Office. “The State pursued and obtained a conviction against you for what we now understand was a tragic accident and that failure cost you over 20 years of your life. Nothing that I say, and nothing that we do in this courtroom today can restore the time that was taken from you or undo the pain and separation that you and your children have had to endure.”
A Tragic Accident and Lost Evidence
On July 28, 2003, Ms. Mejia was at home with her four children and babysitting a 10-month-old when the fatal accident occurred. While Ms. Mejia was nursing her youngest child, her eldest daughter tried to bathe the baby. The water heater in Ms. Mejia’s rental home lacked the now-standard safety features, allowing the tub water to quickly reach 147.8 degrees Fahrenheit. Within seconds of being exposed to this high water temperature, the baby suffered third-degree burns. He died in the hospital later that day as a result of complications from the burn injuries.
Instead of recognizing this as the terrible accident it was, police arrested Ms. Mejia for murder.
A combination of factors — in particular, invalid medical testimony and lost evidence supporting Ms. Mejia’s account of the accident — contributed to her wrongful conviction. No medical burn expert was called to testify at trial. Instead, the prosecution’s experts — a medical doctor and retired law enforcement investigator — incorrectly asserted that the baby’s injuries could only have been caused by an adult intentionally holding the child down in scalding water.
As part of their investigation, forensic interviews were conducted with Ms. Mejia’s children after the incident. The children’s statements, which were video recorded, supported Ms. Mejia’s account that this was an accident. However, the recordings disappeared from law enforcement’s custody before the trial, as a result, the jury never heard these corroborating accounts.
At trial, the State presented no evidence of prior mistreatment or violence. Ms. Mejia had no criminal history.
Ms. Mejia steadfastly maintained her innocence, including during her testimony at trial. Nonetheless, the jury returned a guilty verdict, convicting her of murder and injury to a child. She was sentenced to life in prison, lost her parental rights, and did not see her four children again for over two decades.
“In this case from the start, the worst was assumed: That this was an intentional act,” said Collin Bellair, Assistant District Attorney, Travis County District Attorney’s Office, at today’s hearing. “We could not have been more wrong, and it turned a tragic accident into a wrongful conviction.”
A Conviction Collapses Under Faulty Science
One significant person who believed in Ms. Mejia’s innocence during her trial was Art Guerrero, the courtroom bailiff. Ms. Mejia’s testimony and her vehement declarations of innocence stayed with Mr. Guerrero years after her conviction, so much so that he contacted the Innocence Project, the District Attorney’s Office, and another judge, urging a reexamination of Ms. Mejia’s case.
“From the time that you were taken from this place to prison, you were not forgotten … you were not forgotten. There was somebody thinking about you the whole time and just trying to figure out what to do and how to do it,” Mr. Guerrero said, addressing Ms. Mejia at her exoneration hearing.
After the Innocence Project took up Ms. Mejia’s case in 2021, the Conviction Integrity Unit of the Travis County District Attorney’s Office also agreed to investigate her innocence claim. During the reinvestigation, they located Ms. Mejia’s children, who had been adopted in a closed adoption and had spent the past two decades wondering what happened to their birth mother, even hiring a private investigator to no success.
In 2024, the Innocence Project filed a writ of habeas corpus in Travis County District Court, challenging Ms. Mejia’s wrongful conviction. Over the course of a year, Judge Wahlberg conducted hearings at which multiple experts presented evidence that — contrary to what the State’ presented at trial — the child’s injuries were consistent with an accidental scalding.
Wendy Shields, senior researcher at the Johns Hopkins Center for Injury Research and Policy — whose decades of research have focused on preventing injuries in the home with particular expertise in scald burns — testified in 2024 that the water heater in Ms. Mejia’s rental home lacked recommended plumbing safety features designed to prevent scald injuries. She explained that this situation is common in homes built prior to the 1980s, like Ms. Mejia’s, before building safety codes were revised to require tap-level protections against scalding.
“Burn injuries remain a leading cause of accidental injury and death among children. My research estimates that approximately 6,500 children experience tap-water scald burns each year in the United States. Between 2013 and 2022, there were approximately 1,600 tap-water scald injuries involving children under age 18 in incidents where another child was involved,” Dr. Shield said today.
“The technology to prevent these injuries already exists. Devices such as thermostatic mixing valves and other temperature-limiting plumbing protections can dramatically reduce the risk of tap-water scald burns. However, these protections are not consistently required in older housing, leaving many families without basic safeguards. This is particularly concerning for renters, who often do not control the maintenance or temperature settings of the water heater in their homes,” Dr. Shield added.
In 2024, Dr. James Gallagher, a burn surgeon and former director of the William Randolph Hearst Burn Center — one of the nation’s leading trauma burn centers — testified that the tub’s incredibly hot water could have caused accidental burn injuries “in a matter of seconds.” He found that “there is no medical evidence to support that this child’s injuries had to be the result of an intentional act by an adult,” directly refuting the 2003 trial testimony of the State’s experts.
One of Ms. Mejia’s daughters, now an adult who missed out on growing up with her mother, also testified about her recollections of the accident, including turning on the water.
At Ms. Mejia’s 2003 trial, the State’s medical examiner testified that the death was a homicide based on the available evidence at the time. Dr. Elizabeth Peacock, who performed the autopsy, reversed the manner of death determination from homicide to accidental in 2025 and testified that she would have “ruled this an accident,” if she’d had all of the information now available. When asked during post-conviction proceedings why she decided to take this step, Dr. Peacock responded with great clarity, because “it’s the right thing to do.”
As a result of the new evidence presented in these hearings, the State’s key experts recanted their testimony supporting the prosecution’s theory that an adult had to have intentionally caused the burns. Judge Wahlberg found that no crime took place and subsequently, the CCA ruled that Ms. Mejia had established her innocence and overturned her conviction.
In dismissing the case based on her “actual innocence,” Judge Wahlberg told Ms. Mejia, “There’s nothing that I can say at this point that will bring back those 23 years. Signing this piece of paper won’t bring it back. There is no amount of money that will ever compensate you for losing the best years of your life. I wish I had that power. What I can do is say to you that there is a reason to hope and believe that your future will be better every day from now on, and I pray that it is so.”
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