A Look Back at Dallas Film in 2023

Dallas may no longer be “the third coast” it was when future classics RoboCop, Bonnie & Clyde or even Mars Needs Women were in production, but the local film scene is still alive and kicking in all sorts of cool and interesting ways.

Our fair city saw breakout performances and eye-catching productions in 2023, and also brought world premieres for huge films, Oscar-winning and beloved filmmakers – even expansions to the film community’s infrastructure.

1. The Iron Claw premiere at the Texas Theatre
The story of the Von Erich wrestling family who built an entertainment empire in Denton and Dallas’ fabled Sportatorium is one that was destined to be retold on the big screen. It finally happened this year with The Iron Claw, a star-studded look at the rise and fall of the legendary clan. The film had its world premiere in November at the Texas Theatre in Oak Cliff with principal stars like Zac Efron and Jeremy Allen White, the film’s director Sean Durkin and Kevin Von Erich himself in attendance. The film is considered to be a serious heavy hitter in next year’s Oscar race.

2. John Carpenter Gets His Own Alamo Drafthouse Theater
The annual Texas Frightmare Weekend horror convention scored a huge win with fans when it brought legendary horror director John Carpenter to its gathering. Then, the Alamo Drafthouse theater in Las Colinas put the cherry on top when it dedicated an entire theater to the man behind iconic films such as Halloween, The Thing and Escape from New York. The movie theater, located on (wait for it) John Carpenter Freeway, already had a head start on its dedication with murals and posters of the filmmaker’s body of work located all over the space. It was made official in May when Carpenter held a private Q&A with a select group of horror movie fans before slicing the official ribbon with (what else?) a huge butcher knife.

3. The Woman Under the Stage
An ambitious horror film made entirely in The Core Theatre in Richardson found a national audience in 2023. The Woman Under the Stage played with the civic theater tradition of having “ghosts” roaming the place as a good luck charm. The film ran a successful crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, and director Ezekiel Decker took an ambitious run at turning the Richardson theater into a house of dramatic horror for his film. A word-of-mouth campaign helped build an audience for the movie and earned positive reviews from outlets Film Threat, Dread Central and Daily Grindhouse before finding a distributor.

4. Oscar-Winning Film Couple James and Roger Deakins Spend a Week in Dallas
The newly formed Dallas Film & Creatives Industries Office brought the film-making power couple behind such hits as 1917 and Blade Runner 2049 to town in June for a week-long celebration with screenings, interviews and visits with aspiring storytellers. James and Roger Deakins gave a generous portion of their time to meet with hundreds of members of the Dallas film community to talk about the inspirations for their most critically acclaimed and Oscar-winning work of cinematography. It’s something Roger said he enjoys doing as a way of giving back to an industry that made them some of the most sought after cinematographers in the business.

“We like meeting new people and talking to students,” Roger said in an interview with the Observer. “It’s a nice thing we like doing. We like giving something back.”

5. Texas finally increases the state’s film initiative budget
Years ago, state legislators like Sen. Robert Hall and Rep. Matt Shaheen tried dismantling the state’s film and television production incentives program after years of neglect and deductions. Then last July, the state realized the jobs, tax dollars and industry reputation they were losing out on and decided to finally refund the dwindling incentive funds. The Texas Legislature increased the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program to a record-breaking $200 million in July, a move that Dallas Film & Creative Industries Office Commissioner Tony Armer said would make Texas “competitive again when it comes to attracting projects.”

6. South Side Studios
The state legislature wasn’t the only governing body to make sweeping changes to the city and state’s ability to attract new and bigger film productions. One of the biggest problems in attracting new productions to Dallas is the lack of adequate studio space. The Dallas Film & Creative Industries Office and the private equity firm Talon Entertainment Finance announced new renovations efforts in August to revitalize the South Side Studios facility on Botham Jean Boulevard. The improvements include adding five huge soundstages, an updated post-production facility, new offices, a prop house, camera equipment and two new virtual production studios with tracking camera equipment.

7. The documentary 4DWN
Dallas skaters are already familiar with the nonprofit skate park 4DWN in South Dallas, but now the whole world knows of the ambitious project thanks to a successful documentary. The film 4DWN premiered at the Oak Cliff Film Festival in June at the Kessler Theater as part of a special joint production between Gnarly Bay and EarthX Film. The documentary follows one skater whose personal struggles emboldened his love for skating and the nonprofit skate park through volunteer and mentoring projects. The film went on the festival circuit, scoring screenings at the Mountainfilm Festival in Telluride, Colorado, and the Austin Film Festival.

8. David Lynch Retrospective at the Texas Theatre
Film festivals are an annual part of the Dallas film community, but one extended retrospective of the works of David Lynch is worth mentioning in particular. In May, The Texas Theatre in Oak Cliff hosted a “complete retrospective” of the filmmaker’s works – from his bizarre but thought-provoking black and white short Eraserhead to his enduring television mystery Twin Peaks. The theater was packed over 11 days of special screenings of Lynch classics such as Wild at Heart, Mulholland Drive and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me and live Q&As with Lynch regulars like Balthazar Getty. 

9. Larry Buchanan’s 100th birthday
When you think of the great films to come out of Dallas, Mars Needs Women may not be the first one that comes to mind. However, if it wasn’t for films like Mars Needs Women and its visionary filmmaker, Larry Buchanan, Dallas might not have a film community to speak of these days. The late, Z-grade cult filmmaker would’ve turned 100 in 2023, and the Observer featured his film-making journey in a cover story chronicling his amazing rise from a Dallas orphanage to a film empire built on rubber masks, fallen film idols and an unbelievable friendship with directing icon Stanley Kubrick. 

10. Yolanda Cruz and the Terrifier 2 Soundtrack
One of the biggest film surprises of 2023 was the insane success of the indie slasher flick Terrifier 2, the continuing story of the killer clown Art. Singer Yolanda Cruz of Yolanda Cruz and the Daydreamers got a huge surprise herself when director Damien Leone picked Cruz’s song “Sea of Faces” to be part of the film’s soundtrack. Terrifier 2 made over $15 million worldwide in 2023 despite opening in fewer than 1,000 theaters its first weekend. It also managed to introduce Cruz’s music to a global audience of horror fans.