Lockjaw

Screening after: Public Park

ERIC SAYS If you’ve been following New/Next since year one, Lockjaw offers a dizzying assemblage of familiar talent. Star Blu Hunt (they of the titular locked jaw) appeared in Ariel Gardner’s Let’s Keep the Party Going; in addition to many shorts, Colin Burgess co-starred in N/N 1.0 runaway hit Dad & Step-Dad, and plays the lead in this year’s In the Mouth; DP/editor Neal Wynne directed last year’s feature The Trick; and Lockjaw writer/director Sabrina Greco co-edited last year’s The Code (alongside Tucker Bennett, director of N/N 2025 feature In the Glow of Darkness). There are many more key personages here that word count prevents me from naming, but the point is: something special’s happening in L.A.’s film scene, and if you attend New/Next with an eye to burgeoning young talent, this film will leave you feeling revitalized.

Lockjaw presents an alt-comedy all-star team that embodies the New/Next spirit: low-budget, DIY cinema made with a spirit of play that results in something handcrafted, special, and far more memorable than the last dozen franchise films you watched put together. Its truly original central concept—a lead character who often can’t be understood (by the audience or by their fellow characters) due to their mouth being wired shut—yields continual humor, while the tapestry of vividly drawn and impactfully performed ensemble characters elevate the film to a magical comedic pitch. (Eric Allen Hatch)