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Everything we’re excited to see at Fantasia this year
For many, summer is a bright, slowly rolling fog, packed with sun-drenched and zinc-soaked days, soundtracked by the buzzing of insects and the lapping of water. But for those with a penchant for the sardonic, the cheesy, or the downright creepy, for those who love the rich bite of genre cinema, July means the arrival of the Fantasia International Film Festival, North America’s largest genre film festival.
Held annually in Montreal, Quebec, Fantasia showcases some of the most exciting genre films from around the world, created by both new and seasoned filmmakers. Every year, more than a hundred thousand attendees watch with eager minds and spinning souls as the festival premieres day after day of films that become obsessions with the rest of the world. A sprawling theater for the hyper-weird, experimental and mainstream, the festival premiered cultural classics such as 1999’s Ringuand works of art such as 2022 Skinamark.
The festival turns 30 this year and boasts an endlessly exciting lineup of films. There is something for everyone at this festival. Here are just a few movies to look forward to this year.
trauma or, monsters all
Written and directed by horror master Larry Fessenden, trauma or, monsters all It promises to be a playground for monsters. The film tells the story of a writer who moves to a small town to investigate some strange happenings, but when he gets too close to the truth, the horrors that lie on the surface are disturbing and disturbing. Fessenden brings together monsters from his wildly macabre works – including Sam from 1997 habit – for this exploration of the unrelenting waves of trauma and excruciating pain. I can’t wait to re-enter Fessenden’s beautiful mind.
Drag it
Produced by Danny DeVito and starring Lucy DeVito and Lizzie Kaplan, Drag it is a dark comedy about siblings and revenge. Two sisters break into the home of a boy (John Stamos) who was nice to them (John Stamos) to get him back for abusing him, but things go horribly, hilariously. Directed by Raviv Ullman and Greg Jagolnitzer, this movie promises thrills, laughs, and brotherhood—my favorite things!
someone’s daughter
along with someone’s daughterDirector Wiebke von Karolsfeld seems to bring to life a compelling question: What does the architecture of the Devil’s Advocate conscience look like? Francois Arnaud plays Paul, a man accused of rape more than ten years ago, and Pascal Bussier plays Sam, the lawyer who exonerated Sam. Today, the rape victim’s father kidnaps Paul and Sam and abandons them in the desert. What follows seems to be a reckoning for Sam, and I’m deeply interested in how the film handles its dizzying tale, how it balances honoring the victim, whether it turns into a mindless thriller or a didactic morality tale, and whether it remains human.
mother witch
Stories about motherhood and grief always appeal to me, perhaps because I’m always looking for ways to express pain. Directed by Minos Papas mother witch He claims that he is close to such films Don’t look now and The Babadook: follows a mother who lost her children. But instead of exploring grief in monsters or personifying the pain of horror, the film brings it to life in the serpentine crucible of a folktale. Pappas lends ancient strength to the dynamic flow of grief, and in the process promises to provide a vocabulary for grief that aches with visceral and eternal pain, painting it as fleshy, incurable, and deeply, potentially revolting.
The last shots
One of Myanmar’s first found footage horror films to premiere at an international festival. The last shots Follows a group of friends as they visit a rubber plantation that one of them has inherited. A friend documents the trip on smart glasses, and as he descends into terrifying chaos, the film takes on an immediacy and ugliness that seems to sink deep under his skin. Myanmar has a vibrant DIY horror scene and The last shots It promises to be a great introduction to the country’s genre film scene for Western audiences.
