If you are anything like me, one of the funnest parts of the year is waiting until the full Fantasia Festival program is released and just browsing through all the films on offer. For the vast majority of these films, the most I have seen is the trailer and a synopsis, and the features and shorts that have piqued my interest so far. By the time the festival ends, as always, a wonderful golden nugget will appear that I never caught on this list. It is literally one of the joys of this festival. Anywho, let’s have a gander.
175 (Short)
In near-future Sweden, a pair of activists kidnap the son of an extremist politician to force him to abstain from voting on a draconian law that would immediately strip all non-locally born Swedes of their citizenship.
A short that could quite reasonably be a true story in today’s climate, 175 looks like it will take no prisoners as a single-take kidnapping.
After School
Edwin (Rutger de Bekker) is a perfectly decent guy—a loving father, devoted middle-school music teacher, and faithful friend. At least, that’s how Edwin sees himself. To everyone else, he’s a human piñata—a control freak to his teenage daughter, a pushover to his fellow teachers, and a target for ridicule and humiliation to his students. He has to contend with Bastiaan (Kylian de Pagter-Colin), a budding bully (and his principal’s nephew), who is out to make his life hell after Edwin loses his temper—on camera. Not making matters any better is Edwin’s only friend, Peter (Ruben van der Meer), the school’s gym teacher, whose sole advice is to fight fire with fire, which turns out to be a really, really bad idea.
A Belgian/Dutch comedy isn’t always going to be high on lists, but throw in some absurdity, and this story of teachers trying to reclaim the power from their students, whilst also growing, feels like an opportunity not to be missed. From the trailer alone, this will be the perfect palette cleanser for those filling themselves with horror, sci-fi and action.
Backstage Madness
Creating a script is already challenging, let alone when everyone has a say except the writer himself. This is the situation a 70-year-old screenwriter is facing. His producer keeps changing the genre and adding office staff to the cast, while the writer just wants his vision to be filmed. Soon, the creative process spirals into madness.
A chaotic black comedy that anyone who has worked on a small film will instantly relate to. This Kyrgyzstani film should tick a lot of boxes for those who love film and how it can all go a bit, or in this case, very, very wrong.
Black Zombie
Zombies have permeated our horror history for decades. From Bela Lugosi and WHITE ZOMBIE to George Romero’s NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, this blank-eyed creature has haunted popular culture, representing overconsumption, capitalism, racism and blind hive-mind virality. Like the vampire, the iconic supernatural figure has secured its place and gained more steam in film and TV, most recently becoming the menacing parasitic fungi in the HBO series, THE LAST OF US. But where did this figure actually come from?
A documentary that has been hitting festivals recently with rave reviews, it would be daft to not think this was worth your time. There is a lot to unpack in this one; as Jessi Cape said, it unpacks both the horrors of what humans are capable of and the beauty of the living dead. Essential viewing.
Bowels of Hell
When you gotta go, you gotta go, but “go” shouldn’t mean your time is up, should it? But that’s exactly what’s going down in this São Paolo apartment complex. Years after the trauma of losing one of her children in a bizarre toilet-bowl accident (turns out they’re not as sturdy as you think), event planner Malu has decided to focus on her career and less on her other child, the rebellious Genesis. An influencer neighbour has hired her for a potentially lucrative gender-reveal livestream. At the same time, her bowels have decided they’ve had enough of her shit, leaving Malu extremely constipated and scared to use the toilet. But Malu may be the only resident in her building not dropping her brown babies off at the pool, and the building is now the scene of a bizarre, messy, and very disgusting supernatural occurrence that is gonna scare the shit out of the residents—and then some.
That is what Matthew Kiernan wrote for the Fantasia website, and all I am going to say is this.
Give me this film.
Boyfriend Fish (short)
Aliyah comes home to discover that her boyfriend has… changed. Dramatically changed.
If there is one thing I love, it is absurdist dramedies that have a thick layer of sadness. So, the more I read about Martin Ekelund’s film, the more I knew I needed to see it. As John Hammond so wonderfully said, “It is right up my alley.” This could be a heavy short, but a memorable one.
Colony
“I am the only vaccine that can stop this outbreak.” Professor Se-jeong (Gianna Jun) attends a biotech conference in hopes of starting a new career in the field. What is supposed to be a simple day of finding a new job turns into blood-soaked terror as she and other survivors are trapped in the building with nowhere to run as a dangerous virus mutates people into infected beings undergoing horrifying transformations.
South Korean zombie/cannibal film directed by Yeon Sang-ho (Train to Busan and Seoul Station). Easiest film ever to throw at the top of a list. You would be daft to miss out on this one.
The Fox
In a parallel reality where animals can talk and more, we have Nick (Jai Courtney), who discovers that his fiancée, Kori (Emily Browning), is cheating on him. After capturing a fox (Olivia Colman) who explains to Nick that if he pushes Kori into a magic hole, she will come back a woman who loves him unconditionally, Nick thinks this is a grand idea because he never watched Obsession.
Yes, parts of this link are a little too Obsession, but so do loads of films, so who cares? When a film is as fabulously daft as this, you just feel it deep in your bones and your talking animals’ bones that this will be a good one.
Gozu
Following a shocking incident before the eyes of his boss and crew, mid-level yakuza Ozaki has become a liability. His own underling, Minami, is assigned the onerous task of delivering the unsuspecting and clearly quite crazy Ozaki to a garbage dump in Nagoya, where he’ll be dealt with, so to speak. The problem is both simplified and complicated while en route, when Ozaki is killed suddenly, and entirely by accident. After trying to find a phone with which to inform his superiors, Minami discovers that Ozaki’s cadaver has disappeared from the backseat of the car. Minami’s search for the missing body quickly becomes an odyssey into deeply disturbing absurdity.
I firmly believe everyone should watch Gozu at least once in their life. Takashi Miike goes bonkers in this one. Not a lick makes sense, yet it all does. You will remember one specific scene forever, but hey, at least the cows are friendly.
The Last Footage
Unfolding almost in real time, a group of people from Myanmar are capturing their lives as they visit an abandoned rubber plantation one of them has inherited. Documented with cameras and smart glasses, their trip takes a turn for the spooky when they realise the secluded place they have visited isn’t all they thought it was.
The reason for picking this is simple. I am almost 100% certain I have never seen a horror film from Myanmar. Goodness knows, with the resurgence its cinema industry has recently had after years of civil war, it feels right to watch and celebrate what should be a fun horror from a country that rarely, if ever, gets to show its wares to festivals.
The Leader
The true story of the largest mass suicide in America (Not by Americans A certain Temple has that one horrifically beat forever.) The Leader tells the tale of Marshall Herff Applewhite and Bonnie Lu Nettles, the leaders of Heaven’s Gate.
With such a strong cast in Tim Blake Nelson, Vera Farmiga and Jim Parsons, you just immediately know that Michael Gallagher’s film is going to have the tension and feeling within this film at an unbearable state. A film that has to be on most people’s watch lists at the festival.
No Rest for the Wicked
Baldur is the sole provider for his family after his father’s early death. Yet he is called to a stranger, Helge, a charming drifter. As the two men get to know each other, another terrible accident strikes, which has Baldur questioning his religion and the idea of mortality.
This has been pitched by the Fantasia team as a Portrait of a Lady on Fire if it were a queer Danish vampire film, and truthfully, that’s more than enough of a sell for me. I won’t even bother searching for the trailer on this one; some of the images look gothically gorgeous, and there is even mention that the film has the look of a Dreyer film. Sold.
The Perfect Match (Short)
In a world where online dating is filled with disappointment and degeneracy, one woman tries a new app that promises to meet all of her terms and conditions.
Imagine a world where you could literally find the person who meets every criterion you ever had in dating. Sounds too good to be true, right? Well, in Emma Elizabeth and Jordan Marini’s film, we get a glimpse of what that is like, and I would bet it doesn’t go all that swimmingly. Ideas like this always annoy me, as I instantly want to see a longer version of it played out over an hour and a bit. Especially from a team that gets it, and even with their trailer for this, you know they do. I will be making sure to find this one.
Pontypool
Mazzy (Stephen McHattie) is a shock jock in the last threads of his career when suddenly, outside of his studio, something is going on in the town of Pontypool, Canada. People are tearing others apart, and there is something off about how they use the English language. Mazzy and his producers must try to stay on the air and figure out what is going on while staying safe themselves.
When I saw this in the lineup, I just knew I had to mention it. For those who haven’t seen it, this is a delight of independent filmmaking that grabs you and doesn’t let go. An unmissable horror that you have to watch. Down the line, read the book by Tony Burgess and find the radio play version of this; they are terrific and show us how an adaptation in every format works marvellously well.
RUBBERHEAD: The Life and Monsters of Steve Johnson
A documentary about one of the best FX artists around, it leads us into the troubled life of an exceptional artist who just couldn’t keep his personal life together.
What looks like an entertaining look back at the career of an artist working in the heyday of practical FX, there will be laughs and, considering the man’s life, a lot of sighs at a man who could have been on par with some of the true greats in the industry, if it wasn’t him getting in the way of himself.
Sekiro: No Defeat
The Divine Heir of the sacred land of Ashina has been kidnapped for malevolent purposes. His sworn protector, the stoic shinobi Sekiro, must rescue the child—the fate of all Ashina depends on it.
Apparently, this anime is an adaptation of a video game. Doesn’t matter to me; it looks gorgeous, and from the trailer alone, it is clear that the action will be breathtaking. Anyone who says they don’t want to watch a samurai anime is a liar. Hopefully, it can live up to the game’s success.
Shush (Short)
When a peaceful library is disrupted by a loud customer, Charlène, a young woman struggling with anger issues, takes matters into her own hands.
Heaven help me, I love a film synopsis I can relate to. There is nothing more unbelievably frustrating than someone being loud in a quiet space, and we all want to do something about it, but never do. Just me? Well crap. Anyway, with an 8-minute runtime, this should be an action-comedy that is a good bit of fun.
Sleep Tight (Short)
A nightmarish depiction of the helplessness and horrors of sleep paralysis.
For some reason, I am always drawn to films about sleep paralysis, with one in particular sticking out in my mind from a few years ago. It’s a horror that most never encounter. Still, when it happens, it has to be terrifying, so imagine that trapped feeling and then turning up the discomfort levels to uncontrollable levels. I have hope that Grace Presse has knocked this one out of the park.
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasama
Queer, polyamorous director Kris (Hannah Einbinder) is obsessed with rebooting an outdated and overdone slasher franchise, known as CAMP MIASMA. Billy Presley (Gillian Anderson) is the ultimate slasher love interest, allowing her body and performance to serve as both a source of pleasure and pain for Kris’ enjoyment. Eventually, Kris’ obsession with the final girl transforms from cinephile fixation to full-on psychosexual infatuation.
I mean, it was the talk of Southern France in May, and I am sure with Jane Schoenbrun at the helm, this will be a fantastic film, but almost as important, you know, it is visually gorgeous. What will assuredly be rough around the edges in an entertaining way, there are high hopes for this one, but with Schoenbrun’s track record thus far, it’s almost certain that this will continue that wonderful run. Just in case you haven’t yet, please find and watch We’re all going to the world’s fair. It’s truly great.
Los Vampires
In the dead of night, in 1930 Hollywood, a migrant film crew works on the Spanish-language version of what will become one of the biggest blockbusters of the year—a certain vampire film starring a beloved Hungarian screen idol. As dubbing technology had not yet come into being, an occasional practice had been devised of simultaneously shooting an alternate-language version of major productions on the same sets from dusk until dawn, with the actors forced to emulate the work being done by the stars of the English day shoots.
The fact that most of the premise to Los Vampires is real and actually happened on 1931’s Dracula is fantastic, so by the time the film takes more liberal turns with what is happening on the set, you don’t mind as this is clearly supposed to be a love letter to Old Hollywood horror and if anyone knows how I feel about that age of horror, you have to know I will be searching for this to watch. You should, too.
There are a ton more films I want to talk about, but I have rambled on for a few thousand words already, and the best thing you can do is look through the list and see what strikes you. With Fantasia, there are always, and I mean always, going to be films that will feature short docs. Doesn’t matter, something will lure you in. Enjoy!
