‘SCARED SHITLESS’ (2025) Gooey, goofy greatness.

Blue fox LogoSCARED SHITLESS

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Vivieno Caldinelli delivers a beautifully absurd, delightfully disgusting treat with SCARED SHITLESS. The film follows widowed plumber Don and his germaphobic son Sonny as they attempt to save an apartment building from a disastrous lab experiment.
 
scared shitless 1Chelsea Clark (Pins and Needles) gives Patricia, the building owner’s daughter, an incredibly grounding energy. She’s the straight character of this bunch. Patricia also solidifies the plot by guilting Sonny into continuing his work and providing a safe space for Sonny’s phobias. Clark also serves as the third hero with her scientific knowledge.
 
scared shitless 2Daniel Doheny plays Sonny with perfect manic energy. He is one panic attack away from implosion. Doheny handily glides through Sonny’s arch as the gross factor increases. He nails this genre. Steven Ogg (Dark Match) is such a magnetic presence in everything, and as Don is no exception. His relentless confidence makes him easy to root for. Clark, Doheny, and Ogg share phenomenal chemistry. I would love to see this trio tackle more weird shit together.
 
scared shitless creatureSteven Kostanski serves as both Executive Producer and FX goo god. The amount of physical ick in the film should come as no surprise to fans of Kostanski’s work. PG: Psycho Goreman is a damn joy. Writer Brandon J. Cohen seamlessly marries creature feature gore, family trauma, and laugh-out-loud funny dialogue. The kills are actually insane. I definitely yelled, “OH, SHIT,” at the scream. I gagged more than once. Troma would be proud.
PS- stay for the credits.

HERE is the Scared Shitless TRAILER.

SCARED SHITLESS, opening in US theaters and on digital October 3, 2025.



The buzzy festival creature feature stars Steven Ogg (“Grand Theft Auto,” AMC’s The Walking Dead, HBO’s Westworld), Daniel Doheny (Alex Strangelove, The Package, Syfy’s Day of the Dead), Chelsea Clark (Degrassi: Next Class, Tokens, Ginny & Georgia, The Protector, Life with Luca), and Mark McKinney (The Kids in the Hall). The film picked up several festival awards during its festival run which included over 25 official selections internationally. (full list below)

In Scared Shitless, a plumber (Ogg) and his germaphobic son (Doheny) are forced to get their hands dirty to save the residents of an apartment building when a genetically engineered, blood-thirsty, creature escapes into the plumbing system.

Genre: Horror Comedy
Distributor: Blue Fox Entertainment
Production Company: Happy Cat Productions
Directed by: Vivieno Caldinelli
Written by: Brandon Cohen
Produced by: Lewis Spring
Cast: Steven Ogg, Daniel Doheny, Chelsea Clark, Mark McKinney, Marcia Bennet
Tagline: Don’t forget to flush!
Logline: Two plumbers are forced to save the residents of a building when they discover a killer creature in the pipes.
Synopsis: Don, a blue-collar plumber, and Sonny, his germaphobic son, are forced to take care of one another after the death of Sonny’s mom. To help Sonny overcome his germaphobia, Don drags him out on a routine house call where they encounter a plumber’s worst nightmare… a vicious killer creature that’s swimming through the pipes, killing the building’s tenants in an increasingly grisly fashion.
Country: Canada
Language:  English
Not Yet Rated
Year: 2025
 
 
Film Festivals Info
Scared Shitless Wins:
Fantasia Film Festival (Montreal) – Bronze Audience Award for Best Canadian Feature 
Blood In The Snow (Toronto) – Best Picture, Best Special Makeup F/X
Fantaspoa (Brazil) – Best All-Nighter Film
FogFest (Newfoundland) – Best Special Effects
FilmQuest (Utah) – Best Supporting Actor
Dead Of The Night (UK) – Best Feature
NorthWest FearFest (Edmonton) – Best Canadian Feature
Vancouver Horror Show (Vancouver) – Best Lead Actor
Be Afraid Horror Fest (Italy) – Best Feature
 
Nominations:
Vancouver Horror Show – Best Feature, Best Director, Best Writer, Best Cinematography
Fantasy Film Fest – Fresh Blood Award
FilmQuest – Best Makeup F/X, Best Production Design/Art Direction, Best Actor
Blood In The Snow – Best Supporting Actor
FogFest (Newfoundland) – Golden Guts Award
 
Official Selection:
Fantasia (Montreal)
FrightFest UK (London)
Screamfest (LA)
Calgary International Film Festival (Calgary)
Fantasy Film Fest (Germany)
Slash Film Festival (Austria)
ASNIFF (France)
Dead of The Night (UK) 
Ramaskrik (Norway)
Vancouver Horror Show (Vancouver)
Horrorthon (Dublin) 
Razor Reel (Belgium)
NorthWest FearFest (Edmonton) 
Lund (Sweden)
FilmQuest (Utah)
Morbido (Mexico)
Blood In The Snow (Toronto)
It’s Alive (Bulgaria)
Blodig (Denmark)
Molins (Spain)
Tallins (Estonia)
Night Visions (Finland)
Be Afraid Horror Fest (Italy) 
BIFFF (Belgium)
Fantaspoa (Brazil)
Brugggore (Switzerland)
FogFest (Newfoundland)
 
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‘SHRIMP FRIED RICE’ (Fantasia 2025) This acid-tongued star is chef’s kiss.

Fantasia 2025 posterSHRIMP FRIED RICE

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Imagine MasterChef meets the Muppets, and you might be able to grasp the supreme silliness of Fantasia 2025 short, SHRIMP FRIED RICE. Filmmaker Dylan Pun gives audiences an adult Ratatouille, which ironically, Shrimp name-drops and threatens. It is part profile of this unexpected chef and part exposé.

shrimp fried rice Fantasia Dave & The shrimpA father wishes to compliment the chef for his signature dish, only to discover that an actual shrimp is responsible for the deliciousness. In this mockumentary-style short, The Shrimp insinuates that his entire schtick was stolen by the Disney rat. The two then compete on a food competition reality show. The producers secretly chat with the man under The Shrimp, Chef Dave. Shrimp is a foul-mouthed asshole, for lack of a better word. Shenanigans ensue, confessions reveal themselves, and insults fly.

Cinematographer Marco De Acetis mixes genuine, slow-motion, food porn photography in with the absurdity. The original credits song from Seamstress, featuring Smallz, is perfection.

shrimp fried rice Fantasia The shrimpThere are multiple Shrimp puppet creations. The smaller version sits on Yung’s head, and a larger-scale handheld puppet fills the screen for the sit-down interviews. The detail is award-worthy. Puppeteers Benjamin Fieschi-Rose, Kirsten Brass, and Amelia Blaine are spectacular.

Co-writer Michael Turk makes a fun appearance. Jeff Yung, who plays The Shrimp’s human puppet, Dave, is equal parts hilarious and authentic. Marty Stelnick gives The Shrimp a sass that is magic. I would giddily watch an entire series of SHRIMP FRIED RICE. Fantasia audiences are lucky to get a taste of what I hope is merely an amuse-bouche. It is, pun very intended, chef’s kiss.


Shrimp Fried Rice Trailer:

In this zany mockumentary, a talented shrimp chef with an ego that outweighs his tiny body carries out his vendetta against a certain culinary-inclined rat which puts The Shrimp’s human puppet at risk of deportation.

Starring: Jeff Yung, Marty Stelnick, and Jenna Phoa

Director: Dylan Pun

Executive Producers: Malachi Ellis, Dave Lembke, and Danielle Kappy

Producer: Sang-thanh Nguyen

Writers: Dylan Pun and Michael Turk

Director of Photography: Marco De Acetis

Production Designer: Mica White

Wardrobe Stylist: Emma Nadurata

Editor: Dylan Pun

Original Music: Jeff Lurie

Shot on location in Toronto, Canada Format: Digital on Arri Alexa Mini and Digital on DJI Ronin 4D.

The filmmakers would like to recognize the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council for their support in the creation of this film.

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‘THE UNDERTONE’ (Fantasia 2025) A hair-raising nightmare reaching beyond the veil

Fantasia 2025 posterTHE UNDERTONE

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Established sci-fi author Ian Tuason brings his chilling directorial debut to Fantasia 2025 audiences. The film follows Evy, a full-time carer for her ailing mother and part-time spooky podcaster. Alongside her co-host Justin, Evy is the skeptic in the pair, searching for logic in the strange and unusual. THE UNDERTONE has arrived to f*ck you up.

They receive an anonymous email with 10 audio files attached and decide to listen to them as they record. They feature a couple named Mike and Jessa, and the seemingly incoherent overnight ramblings of the latter. They are undeniably creepy, each one more unsettling than the next, and the physical and emotional toll on Evy is palpable, while she tries to keep a calm head. Even Justin starts losing his shit. Tuason weaves musical folklore into the conversation, with both Evy and Justin looking up information in real-time.

Despite living on opposite coasts, Justin and Evy have a trusting relationship. Tuason provides enough information to suggest he knows her very well. Their podcast, also titled The Undertone, feels like a collaborative effort with a clever premise. They even have open phone lines for listeners to call in. All of this built-up chaos happens as Evy’s mother is on her deathbed upstairs. There is an inkling of unresolved trauma that perhaps mirrors the tapes, Evy’s childhood, and her current state of mental wellness.

Kris Holden-Ried‘s voice is a nostalgic earworm. I loved him in THE RETURNED. His tone is eerily similar to radio legend Shadoe Stevens. It is alarming and brilliant. His ability to be the perfect foil for Evy is mindblowing. Bravo. Nina Kiri is spectacular. Almost the entirety of the film is visually a one-woman show for Kiri. She easily compels you to root for her with a naunced mix of sadness, exhaustion, and defiance.

the undertoneEvy sits in front of a blurred open doorway as she listens. This trope alone keeps your heart in your throat. Graham Beasley‘s overall framing is jarring as hell. Darkness plays an important role. Beasley rarely places Evy in the center of the frame and uses odd angles and stationary camera pans to keep you off balance in every way. It almost suggests the camera is haunted.

Like darkened doorways, mirrors, and religious iconography all figure prominently. Evy and Justin even record at the universal witching hour of 3 am. Then you have a “child’s” bizarre crayon drawings. Tuason has turned innumerable genre tropes into a horror triumph.

Not even 9 minutes into the runtime, and I noticed I was digging my nails into my palm. For as much horror as I consume, I was not ready for THE UNDERTONE. I cringed, forced myself not to cover my eyes, even though I desperately wanted to. The finale visibly raised the hair on my arms.

The sound editing is masterfully immersive. I am convinced that watching the film on a laptop with headphones on, similarly to Eny, makes THE UNDERTONE even more terrifying. I’m unsure how the theatre experience matches up. I made the same recommendation in 2020 for a proper viewing experience of HOST. I can only imagine that the meticulous sound team makes the appropriate adjustments.

THE UNDERTONE earns its jumpscares and heart-racing tingles, even when I watched in the daylight. There is no denying the atmospheric similarities to Skinamarink, but Tuason gives us a much more defined story. Regardless of how you choose to view it, Tuason delivers a film that is complex and next-level scary.


Director: Ian Tuason

Executive Producer: Al Akdari, Chad Archibald, Charlie Bern, Anthony Eu, Daril Fannin, Douglas Lee, Brit MacRae, David Sproat, Matthew Sterling

Producer: Cody Calahan, Dan Slater

Writer: Ian Tuason

Cast: Michele Duquet, Nina Kiri, Keana Lyn-Bastidas, Jeff Yung

Cinematographer: Graham Beasley

Composer: Shanika Maria

Editor: Sonny Atkins

Production Designer: Mercedes Coyle

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‘ANYTHING THAT MOVES’ (Fantasia 2025) Sex and serial killers in Alex Phillips Fantasia feature follow-up

Fantasia 2025 posterANYTHING THAT MOVES

ANYTHING THAT MOVES

Filmmaker Alex Phillips (All Jacked Up and Full of Worms) brings another entirely weird and one-of-a-kind film to Fantasia 2025 with ANYTHING THAT MOVES. The film follows Liam and his girlfriend, who are snack delivery sex workers. When their clients end up murdered, two detectives try to pin the gory violence on them.

Anything that Moves 1Don’t get ahead of yourself in viewing. ANYTHING THAT MOVES is far more than a high-concept soft porn. I mean, it is also that. The cast fearlessly embraces full frontal nudity, which is incredibly rare for male actors, but more importantly, it honors kink. Audiences will not expect the hidden trauma. Phillips also addresses the demoralization of sex workers.

Hal Baum is amazing. He exudes confidence, even in the most vulnerable scenarios. My eyes will be on whatever he does next.

Anything that Moves 3Shot in Super 16mm, its gritty look completes the homage to 1970s adult films. The Joshua Rains‘s artwork is diabolically genius. The bright spotlight device that denotes an orgasm is brilliant. Casting Nina Hartley and Ginger Lynn Allen was a superior move, as the two essentially served as the film’s intimacy coordinators. By the way, can we acknowledge the importance of that role on a set? I am thrilled we’re adding a Stunt category to next year’s awards season, but Intimacy Coordination is also an art.

Phillips’ stylistic calling card always sparks conversation when the screen goes black. Will some viewers be offended? Maybe. Will you cringe? Guaranteed. But you’ll all be talking about the film, and that’s the point.


SCREENINGS: ANYTHING THAT MOVES

World Premiere: Fri July 25, 9:30pm, Salle J.A. De Seve 

Tue July 29, 11:45am, Salle J.A. De Seve 

***

Written and Directed By: Alex Phillips

Introducing: Hal Baum, Jeremy Everett, Andrea Huber, Maxton Koc, Jiana Nicole, Jade Perry and Cooper Whittlesey

Featuring: Ginger Lynn Allen, Trevor Dawkins, Jack Dunphy, Paul Gordon, Nina Hartley and Frank V. Ross

Music By: Cue Shop

Edited By: Alex Phillips and Troy Lewis

Cinematography By: Hunter Zimny

Produced By: Georgia Bernstein, Liane Cunje and Spencer Parsons

Executive Produced By: Joe Rubin, Ryan Emerson, Ralph Stevens, Ian Stone, Eddie Linker, Stephen Lanus and Amar Gupta

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‘HELLCAT’ (Fantasia 2025) A thrilling, genre-bending ride or die.

Fantasia 2025 posterHELLCAT

HELLCAT

Filmmaker Brock Bodell brings his debut feature, HELLCAT, a genre-bending horror, to Fantasia 2025. Discussing HELLCAT is difficult without spoilers, which is always a compliment in my book. The basics (and I use that term loosely) are this: Lena wakes up groggy to discover she is being held captive in the back of a trailer. A man’s voice comes over the intercom to inform her that she must see a doctor to survive. Lena’s panic increases once she discovers the man has her phone and she isn’t feeling well.

Is Clive gaslighting Lena, or are we being duped? The first half of the film almost exclusively features Lena on camera. As the terror ramps up and Clive comes into view, the film was already on 10, and then things get weirder. Bodell uses quick-takes, vingette flashbacks, and personal interactions from Lena’s memories and imagination, each lit in a specific neon color. It is a striking device. The audience must decipher the information in real-time with Lena.

HELLCAT_1Liz Atwater deserves applause for her role, but for the sake of the journey, I won’t say anything more. Todd Terry gives Clive a notable balance of paranoia and fear. It has a solid 10 Cloverfield vibe, with Terry playing the John Goodman role, a would-be savior with perhaps ulterior motives. The audience goes on a rollercoaster of emotions with Terry.

Dakota Gorman astounds in the lead role. It’s a performance that lands somewhere between Jules Willcox in Alone and Farrah Fawcett in Extremities. She easily carries the first half of the film, often with little dialogue. She is mesmerising.

HELLCAT_4Production design is incredibly detailed inside the trailer. The soundtrack is fantastic. Handheld camerawork from Andrew Duensing is thrilling. It is Bodell’s script that holds you captive. Lena’s relationship with grief becomes an unexpected emotional stronghold. Genre aside, the film comes from a place of transformation and new beginnings.

In 2021, Ultrasound was a complete mindfuck for Fantasia audiences, and Bodell’s editing was key to its madness. HELLCAT is yet another genre-bending whirlwind. Bodell understands horror structure and has given audiences a doozy. You will never guess where this is going. The finale is more bonkers than your brain could fathom, and yet it’s flawless. HELLCAT is a 90-minute freight train of organized chaos.


HELLCAT Teaser Trailer:


Screenings at Fantasia International Film Festival:



HELLCAT / World Premiere at Fantasia

Date: Friday, July 25th

Time: 6:45 PM

Location: Salle J.A. De Sève

1400 de, Maisonneuve Blvd W. Montreal, Quebec H3G 1M8, Canada



HELLCAT / 2nd Screening at Fantasia

Date: Sunday, July 27th

Time: 2:00 PM

Location: Salle J.A. De Sève

1400 de, Maisonneuve Blvd W. Montreal, Quebec H3G 1M8, Canada



HELLCAT

World Premiering at Fantasia International Film Festival on July 25



Synopsis: Lena wakes up in a moving camper trailer with a horrifying wound. She’s warned by the driver that they have one hour to get to a doctor, or she’ll succumb to an unimaginably awful fate. As the pain sets in and reality begins to fray, who should really be afraid? Dakota Gorman (Natural Disasters) delivers a blistering performance in this tense, mind-bending horror where survival cuts both ways.



Studio: Blue Finch Films

Director/Writer: Brock Bodell

Producer/Director of Photography: Andrew Duensing

Cast: Dakota Gorman, Todd Terry, Liz Atwater, Jordan Mullins, James Austin Johnson

Genre: Horror

Run Time: 91 Minutes

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‘LUCID’ (Fantasia 2025) A short gets a long, dizzying, drug-fueled feature.

Fantasia 2025 posterLUCIDLucid Poster

Directors Deanna Milligan and Ramsey Fendall‘s 2022 short film LUCID gets the feature treatment, and Fanatsia 2025 audiences are its first test subjects. The film follows Mia, a misunderstood art student who delivers more performance art than quality visual art. She’s stressed and overly dramatic, but that’s pretty much a requirement for us artsy folk. At risk of being ousted from her program, Mia turns to a lucid dream elixer to inspire her work.

Lucid 3The consequences of going down that rabbit hole, sometimes literally, are a barrage of repressed childhood memories and the instability of her mother’s treatment. Mia’s trips reveal a trauma monster, more specifically, one made of mom’s blond locks. This hair monster torments Mia throughout her jacked-up journey.

Determining between trip and reality becomes increasingly dizzying, but filmmakers utilize 35mm and 16mm film to keep it gritty and keep you guessing. If I have one complaint, the runtime could use a trim, but the soundtrack is life.

LUCID 2Caitlin Acken Taylor is everything. Mia Sunshine Jones is no easy role, but Taylor lives it. She even creates Mia’s paintings and sculptures. Her fourth wall break, and the precise moment at which it occurs, is jarring and genius. 

If Jennifer Kent and Alice Maio Mackay had a movie baby, it might look something like LUCID. The entire film feels like a 90s music video, or a punk version of Jacob’s Ladder. LUCID is an exploration of generational trauma through art and original music. It won’t be for everyone, but there is undeniable confidence in style.

LUCID Teaser Trailer:

After coming to Fantasia as a short film selected for the Frontierés Market Shorts to Features Lab in 2022 and Sitges Fanpitch that same year, directing duo Deanna Milligan and Ramsey Fendall expand the world of Mia Sunshine Jones in their darkly trippy feature, LUCID. Mia is a rebellious art student who struggles to create the ultimate project for a demanding professor. Desperate to find her artistic voice, she takes Lucid, a candy elixir, to access her creativity, but taps into something much darker. Starring Caitlin Acken Taylor, who reprises her role from the short, and Georgia Acken (star of the 2023 Fantasia hit THE SACRIFICE GAME), Milligan and Fendall create a surreal nightmare with a vintage look that fully embraces the 90s grunge era with a punk art aesthetic. Using live on-set music, an eclectic cast, and loads of experimental and haunting visuals, the World Premiere of LUCID will be a nightmare-come-true. 

Team: The film is co-written and directed by actor turned filmmaker Deanna Milligan (21 Jump Street, The X-Files) and cinematographer turned director/writer Ramsey Fendall (Ethan Hawke’s Seymour: An Introduction).

Cast: Caitlin Acken Taylor (Pistol) and Georgia Acken (Under the Bridge, The Sacrifice Game), Vivian Vanderpuss from RuPaul’s Drag Race is in the film and also designed the Hair Monster and Ayla Tesler Mabe one of the Goth Girls a is a real life guitar god! She has been featured in Rolling Stone and formerly part of the band Calpurnia with Finn Wolfhard.

Soundtrack features: Marta Jaciubek McKeever (Fan Death), James Wollam (Tears for Fears), Ayla Tesler Mabe (Calpurnia). Recording sessions were hosted at James Wollam’s Salt Spring Island studio. Wollam also co-wrote “If You Love Me”, a recurring folk-rock theme woven through the film as a relic of the fictional 1970s band Sweetbird, tied to the protagonist’s family mythology. 

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‘TERRESTRIAL’ (Fantasia 2025) Let’s do the time warp again. Steve Pink’s latest is an out of this world thriller.

Fantasia 2025 posterTERRESTRIAL

TERRESTRIAL

Opening with a bang, Steve Pink‘s Fantasia 2025 film, TERRESTRIAL, has landed. It follows a sci-fi writer who is about to fulfill his dreams with a book and movie deal. Alan invites his college friends to his new mansion in the Hollywood Hills to celebrate his good fortune, but something feels off.

In his driveway, stands a large, striped termite-tented structure. Alan is seemingly obsessed with checking on it. There is no denying Alan’s overall behavior feels body-snatched, from moment to moment. He is hiding something big. End of Act 1, twenty-nine minutes in, and holy shit, a WTF moment.

The house contains an entire room dedicated to his favorite sci-fi series and writer, S. J. Purcell. It is all very H. P. Lovecraft coded. The classic television show becomes an ingrained part of Alan’s personality and plan. Screenwriters Connor Diedrich and Samuel Johnson feature the episodes running in the background, often informing Alan’s decision-making.

The three-act structure keeps you guessing. A flashback sets up a wild and wacky backstory, putting every assumption you have in jeopardy. Each subsequent decision Alan makes is born out of desperation and delusion. It is pure, heart-pounding, cinematic chaos.

Brendan Hunt is hilarious as Purcell. His character is undeniably shady, and Hunt nails each beat. His chemistry with Jermaine Fowler is magic. James Morosini (I LOVE MY DAD) plays absolute douch-canoe, Ryan. Harboring major jealousy and an inferiority complex, his aggressive approach pushes Alan to his breaking point.

Edy Modica, who killed it in JURY DUTY, plays Vic. She is hilarious with her self-absorbed approach to the visit. Upon discovering a mysterious note, Modica’s motivation shifts, really showcasing her immense talent.

Jermaine Fowler (STING and THE DROP) plays Alan with a passionate, fanboy enthusiasm that is infectious. You fall in love with him while simultaneously fearing his ever-evolving manic behavior. This performance is a multifaceted freight train propelled by panic and survival mode. It is award-worthy.

The synth score is perfect. At times, the camerawork is reminiscent of Psycho. The film gets darker and more twisted in its final act. TERRESTRIAL is completely unhinged and out of this world amazing.

Terrestrial Teaser Trailer:

Director

Steve Pink

Producer

Josh Jason, Molly Gilula, Molly Conners, AJ Bourscheid, Austin Lantero, Rachel Walden, Pauline Chalamet, Luca Balser

Writer

Connor Diedrich, Samuel Johnson

Cast

Jermaine Fowler, James Morosini, Pauline Chalamet, Edy Modica, Rob Yang, Brendan Hunt TERRESTRIAL

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‘THE BEARDED GIRL’ (Fantasia 2025) An equally quirky and authentic coming-of-age tale.

Fantasia 2025 posterTHE BEARDED GIRL

THE BEARDED GIRL

Jody Wilson delivers a special film to Fantasia 2025 audiences with THE BEARDED GIRL. Cleo is the heir to a sideshow as the next Bearded Woman. Feeling conflicted about her future, Cleo rejects familial expectations to find herself.

Inheriting a legacy from an overbearing and proud mother, Cleo wants to choose her path. After discovering a secret about her past, Cleo abandons her assigned responsibilities and heads out into the world, much to the chagrin of her bitter mother.

After a bus ride on her way out of town gets cut short by a sighting of her local crush, Cleo’s infatuation becomes a way of life that maybe isn’t what she intended. Her mother, Lady Andre, comes looking for her and mistakes a passing moment for the end of her legacy.

There’s a subplot involving the sale of sideshow land to a greedy developer. If the heir apparent does not sign papers, Andrea loses the land. Cleo begins to understand cyclical trauma, and it doesn’t feel good.

THE BEARDED GIRL 7Jessica Paré delivers a vivacious performance as Lady Andre. She is eccentric and demanding, but is undoubtedly battling unresolved wounds. Skylar Radzion is Josephine, the hairless sibling in the bearded family. She is a spitfire and a slick foil for Cleo.

Anwen O’Driscoll is magnificent. She owns her sass, nails the angsty comedy, and commands your attention in every scene. It helps that she is surrounded by a fantastic ensemble of fully fleshed-out characters. O’Driscoll attacks the role with a beautiful balance between quirk, awkwardness, and authentic innocence.

THE BEARDED GIRLThe production design, from Danny Vermette, deserves all the accolades. The circus tents, trailers, and stages all boast vintage jewel-toned draperies and props. In the outside world, the repeated pops of yellow are striking.

The dialogue is hilarious, particularly set against the nostalgic sweetness of the score. It reminds me of Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure. There is a timeless feeling about the entire film. You can’t pin down a year, and that somehow makes everything more satisfying.

THE BEARDED GIRL is a one-of-a-kind coming-of-age tale. The story is a fantastic metaphor for superficiality and a fierce feminist anthem for self-love.


The Bearded Girl Teaser Trailer:

Director

Jody Wilson

Producer

Amber Ripley

Writer

Jody Wilson

Cast

Anwen O’Driscoll, Jessica Paré

Cinematographer

François Dagenais

Composer

Cayne McKenzie

Editor

Fredrik Thorsen

Production Designer

Danny Vermette


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‘HOLD THE FORT’ (Fantasia 2025) Bringing neighbors together for a goofy and gory good time.

Fantasia 2025 posterHOLD THE FORT

HOLD THE FORT

Filmmaker William Bagley brings his horror comedy HOLD THE FORT to Fantasia 2025. The film follows a young couple’s move into the neighborhood, who are acutely unaware of the expectations of their HOA. Upon their invitation to an annual get-together, they learn the fine print involves a particular species of grass and fighting monsters from a hell portal.

HOLD THE FORT is Evil Dead meets Cabin in the Woods, but in the suburbs. Our newbies, Jenny and Lucas, must face their fears and learn to love their HOA as a portal to hell spews out various evil creatures in a few blood-spattered hours. Of course, Bagley gives us a badass militant hero character named McScruffy, who repeatedly gets shot by accident. Cocaine, moonshine, muscle relaxer-laced cheesesticks, a raffled-off shotgun, and an enchanted sword are all vital players in the magnificent chaos.

HOLD THE FORT_1The complete nonchalance of the residents sets the tone for HOLD THE FORT. Nagley delivers over-the-top characters and laugh-out-loud one-liners from beginning to end. Creature builds are super fun, practical FX are decent, mostly throwing buckets of blood on Lucas, and one gnarly gunshot wound. Colored lights delineate each monster in a fashion similar to the 2000s Syfy network, and it is a perfect match for the film’s subgenre. The score reminds me of Ren and Stimpy, and that’s the best way to describe it.

Performances across the board are fantastic. The script leans on Lucas’ arc from wimp to hero, but it is the deadly serious commitment from the rest of the ensemble that takes the cake. Julian Smith as HOA president, Jerry, is a knockout. Hamid-Reza Benjamin Thompson is outstanding as McScruffy. Tordy Clark as neighborhood druggy, Leslie, nails it. Chris Mayers gives Lucas his best EVIL DEAD Ash impression.

Fantasia 2025 audiences are in for a goofy, gory goodness. It’s a done deal. PS- Stay for the credits for a bit of extra fun.


Screenings at Fantasia International Film Festival

HOLD THE FORT / World Premiere at Fantasia

Date: Wednesday, July 16th

Time: 9:30 PM

Location: Salle J.A. De Sève

1400 de, Maisonneuve Blvd W. Montreal, Quebec H3G 1M8, Canada

 

HOLD THE FORT / 2nd Screening at Fantasia

Date: Saturday, July 26th

Time: 12:00 PM

Location: Salle J.A. De Sève

1400 de, Maisonneuve Blvd W. Montreal, Quebec H3G 1M8, Canada

 


HOLD THE FORT

World Premiering at Fantasia International Film Festival on July 16

Synopsis: HOLD THE FORT follows Lucas and Jenny who think their life is finally coming together when the couple become homeowners. Little do they know that their new house comes with a big catch. Lucas and Jenny soon find themselves in a fight for their lives when they become trapped in a battle between their Homeowners Association and an onslaught of monsters from hell. The horror-comedy takes the timely concern of home-ownership and wraps this up in an entertaining action-packed thrill ride.

Studio: Blue Finch Films

Director/Writer: William Bagley

Story by: Scott Hawkins

Producers: Matt Dodd, Luke Williams, Tim Reis, Julian Smith

Cast: Chris Mayers, Haley Leary, Julian Smith

Genre: Horror-Comedy

Run Time: 74 Minutes

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Fantasia 2025 is on its way to slay.

Fantasia 2025 posterFantasia 2025

The literal moment a certain NYC festival closes, I begin to get hyped for Fantasia. If you are a genre nerd like I am, this is the festival that I’m talking about all year. Home of upcoming filmmakers that ultimately become household names, Fantasia boasts some of the coolest, scariest, weirdest, goriest, and most shocking films of the year. At least three consistently make it into my annual Top 10. The Adams Family‘s latest bit of macabre magic, MOTHER OF FLIES, Michel Gondry‘s animated feature MAYA, GIVE ME A TITLE, and filmmaking team Deanna Milligan and Ramsey Fendall return, having expanded their 2022 short LUCID into a feature. If you want a guaranteed good time filled with new and inventive films, Fantasia 2025 has more than you can handle. Here are just a few films we’ve got our eyes on this year. Fantasia 2025


TOUCH ME Fantasia 2025

Touch Me (2025) - [www.imdb.com]Writer/director Addison Heinmann follows up his 2022 Fantasia hit HYPOCHONDRIAC with Touch Me.

The path to peace and happiness is an arduous one for Joey (Olivia Taylor Dudley of THE MAGICIANSSHE DIES TOMORROW and CRAWLSPACE), as she also needs to navigate her shitty best friend Craig (Jordan Gavaris of HACKS and ORPHAN BLACK) and her cosmically problematic ex-boyfriend Brian (Lou Taylor Pucci of the 2013 EVIL DEAD and SPRING). To make matters worse, Joey and Craig are forced back into the grasp of the openly alien-jumpsuit-wearing ex who dispenses a euphoric toxin to all those he touches. The two dysfunctional slackers descend into a strange love triangle filled with dependence, violence, intoxication, and tentacles. But once the narcissistic alien’s motives take shape, a web of lies is revealed and a nefarious, Earth-threatening plan may be on the horizon.


MOTHER OF FLIES

MOTHER OF FLIESWhen a young woman faces a deadly diagnosis, she seeks dark magic from a witch in the woods… but every cure has costs. Written and directed by John and Zelda Adams and Toby Poser (The Adams Family), who also star, shot, edited, and scored, MOTHER OF FLIES is the latest creation from the filmmaking family behind such singular landmarks as THE DEEPER YOU DIG, HELLBENDER, and WHERE THE DEVIL ROAMS, each of which has World Premiered at Fantasia. Described by the filmmakers as their fairytale manipulation of the darkly shadowed, yet love-lined pathways between a human life and death, MOTHER OF FLIES is an extraordinary work of personal genre storytelling, gestated through the family’s own experiences battling and surviving cancer. It stands with the strongest of their work, a poetic, haunting, and moving film that glows with otherworldly imagination, exploring the concept of necromancy in connection with two women who have very intimate relationships with death. 

World Premiere. Fantasia 2025


IT ENDS 


It Ends (2025)In one of 2025’s major genre breakouts, four college friends find themselves on an infinite, unending road, forcing each of them to decide how to confront their fate in an unnerving journey into the unknown. Writer/director Alex Ullom and his gifted cast work miracles and offer a compelling, constantly intriguing, and often terrifying road trip into adulthood. Official Selection: SXSW 2025, Overlook 2025. 

International Premiere. Fantasia 2025


REDUX REDUX Fantasia 2025


redux-reduxDesperate to avenge her daughter’s murder, Irene Kelly (Michaela McManus) journeys through parallel dimensions to repeatedly track down and annihilate her killer (Jeremy Holm). A tense sci-fi vengeance thriller unlike any other, REDUX REDUX is the latest creation by Kevin and Matthew McManus, the Peabody award-winning writers and producers of AMERICAN VANDAL and COBRA KAI, and writers/directors of FUNERAL KINGS (Fantasia 2012) and THE BLOCK ISLAND SOUND (Fantasia 2020). Official Selection: SXSW 2025. Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival 2025. 

Canadian Premiere. Fantasia 2025


MAYA, GIVE ME A TITLE Fantasia 2025

MAYA, GIVE ME A TITLE

In high demand for his cleverness and creativity, French director Michel Gondry (THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP, BE KIND REWIND, and legendary music videos for the likes of Björk, Daft Punk, and the White Stripes) is often away from home for work. To keep connected with his beloved daughter Maya, he made nightly calls with requests for story titles, to prompt quick, rough little animations crafted with colored paper, markers, and scissors, always starring Maya herself, with MAYA, GIVE ME A TITLE assembling an assortment of these little vignettes. Whether she’s a mermaid, a ship’s captain, an earthquake investigator, or just herself shrunk by “cucumber-reducing solution”, Maya’s tales are told in true Gondry style—wry, inventive, and tactile, favoring the excitement of process over polished final product. Oh, and it’s all voiced and narrated by Pierre Niney, star of last year’s Fantasia hit THE COUNT OF MONTE-CRISTO! 

My First Fantasia and Animation Plus Sections. North American Premiere. Fantasia 2025


NESTING Fantasia 2025

NESTING

A familiar name to Fantasia audiences, Chloé Cinq-Mars returns to the festival with her debut feature, NESTING (PEAU À PEAU). Delving into the quiet horrors of early motherhood, the film opens with a scream in the night. Pénélope (Rose-Marie Perreault, FAKE TATTOOS), a new mother grappling with sleep deprivation and postpartum depression, finds herself unable to separate dream from reality. After witnessing a violent hold-up in a convenience store, her already fragile psyche begins to crack. Sensitive and haunting, NESTING offers an intimate, unsettling portrait of a mother unraveling. Perreault delivers a career-defining performance, capturing Pénélope’s disintegration and tender attempts at self-reclamation. Denied the idealized “glow” of new motherhood, she’s left to drift in darkness, slowly losing her grip on reality. What emerges is a chilling and deeply human exploration of identity, isolation, and the aching silence surrounding maternal mental health

Les Fantastiques Week-Ends du Cinéma Québécois Section. World Premiere. Fantasia 2025


ANYTHING THAT MOVES Fantasia 2025

ANYTHING THAT MOVES

80 mins | 2025 | USA | English Fantasia 2025

Synopsis: An avant-gutter psychedelic dream, ANYTHING THAT MOVES is an erotically charged, blood-soaked thriller set in the sticky corridors of Chicago. Shot on fleshy Super 16mm, director Alex Phillips’ rust belt giallo continues on his trajectory of taboo-shattering horror cinema with this tense, funny, and absolutely twisted murder mystery. The film follows nubile sex worker Liam who bikes with his girlfriend—his partner in both business and pleasure—through the city delivering snacks and divine satisfaction to his love-hungry clients. Meanwhile, a serial killer’s gory murders are piling up and all the evidence seems to point back to the lover’s bed… Produced in collaboration with cult home video outfit Vinegar Syndrome, the film features stand-out supporting performances from erotic film legends Ginger Lynn (The Devil’s Rejects) and Nina Hartley (Boogie Nights). With an original instrumental score by Chicago-based artists Cue Shop calling to mind the lush orchestrations of Bruno Nicolai and lurid visuals by acclaimed cinematographer Hunter Zimny (The Scary of Sixty-First, Funny Pages), ANYTHING THAT MOVES provides an immersive throwback to 70s exploitation flicks.

World Premiere: Fri July 25, 9:30pm, Salle J.A. De Seve 

Tue July 29, 11:45am, Salle J.A. De Seve 

Written and Directed By: Alex Phillips

Introducing: Hal Baum, Jeremy Everett, Andrea Huber, Maxton Koc, Jiana Nicole, Jade Perry and Cooper Whittlesey

Featuring: Ginger Lynn Allen, Trevor Dawkins, Jack Dunphy, Paul Gordon, Nina Hartley and Frank V. Ross


LUCID Fantasia 2025

Lucid PosterAfter coming to Fantasia as a short film selected for the Frontierés Market Shorts to Features Lab in 2022 and Sitges Fanpitch that same year, directing duo Deanna Milligan and Ramsey Fendall expand the world of Mia Sunshine Jones in their darkly trippy feature, LUCID. Mia is a rebellious art student who struggles to create the ultimate project for a demanding professor. Desperate to find her artistic voice, she takes Lucid, a candy elixir, to access her creativity, but taps into something much darker. Starring Caitlin Acken Taylor, who reprises her role from the short, and Georgia Acken (star of the 2023 Fantasia hit THE SACRIFICE GAME), Milligan and Fendall create a surreal nightmare with a vintage look that fully embraces the 90s grunge era with a punk art aesthetic. Using live on-set music, an eclectic cast, and loads of experimental and haunting visuals, the World Premiere of LUCID will be a nightmare-come-true. 

World Premiere at Fantasia, feature debut, July 31

The film is co-written and directed by actor turned filmmaker Deanna Milligan (21 Jump Street, The X-Files) and cinematographer turned director/writer Ramsey Fendall (Ethan Hawke’s Seymour: An Introduction).

Cast: Caitlin Acken Taylor (Pistol) and Georgia Acken (Under the Bridge, The Sacrifice Game), Vivian Vanderpuss from RuPaul’s Drag Race is in the film and also designed the Hair Monster and Ayla Tesler Mabe one of the Goth Girls a is a real life guitar god! She has been featured in Rolling Stone and formerly part of the band Calpurnia with Finn Wolfhard.

 


FOREIGNER Fantasia 2025

Foreigner stillFor her debut feature film, FOREIGNER, Ava Maria Safai (Zip) expertly harnesses the power of identity, social acceptance, horror, and comedy. It’s 2004, and Iranian immigrant Yasamin, or Yasi, is the new girl. Her high school experience is daunting, as she tries to improve her English by watching her favorite sitcom and befriends a trio of pastel-clad girls who feed Yasi’s need to fit in. Desperate for acceptance, she dyes her hair blonde and, in doing so, also attracts a demonic force. With a fun retro setting, great performances by Rose Dehgan as Yasi, Chloë MacLeod as the creepy high school “Queen Bee” Rachel, and a blend of our favorite teen horrors, FOREIGNER takes up space as a new entry to “bubblegum horror,” bringing a fresh narrative to the Canadian immigrant experience. The film has been referred to by some as Mean Girls meets The Exorcist and Ava is definitely a young director to watch. 

World Premiere at Fantasia, feature debut, July 21

Writer/director Ava Maria Safai is a Canadian-Iranian multidisciplinary artist from Vancouver, known for her work in acting, music, writing, and directing. She is a Dean’s List graduate from UBC’s BFA in Acting program and the artistic director of The Harlequin Theatre Society. She is also an accomplished musician and songwriter, with over 40 original songs and a Canada Council-funded musical. Her short film Zip won numerous awards on the festival circuit and her debut single “Finding Hope” was picked up on Lifetime’s Dance Moms. Ava Maria has released three albums and five singles and she co-wrote music for Unmasked (which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival). Ava Maria recently shadowed directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein on Final Destination Bloodlines. 

Cast: Rose Dehgan (Musician & TikTok star), Chloë MacLeod, Ashkan Nejati (Director of Tonight’s Homework which premiered at IDFA)


HELLCAT Fantasia 2025

HELLCATA woman (Dakota Gorman) wakes in the back of a moving camper trailer. A voice (Todd Terry) from the truck towing it tells her they must reach a mysterious doctor within the hour. Thus begins HELLCAT, the feature debut of writer/editor/director Brock Bodell, who previously cut the mind-bending ULTRASOUND (Fantasia 2021), among others. Bodell doesn’t take a wrong turn, delivering a twisty thrill ride of strong characters, shredding tension, and real surprises that takes viewers deep into unexpected places. Featuring SNL’s James Austin Johnson as the voice of a late-night DJ on a supernatural call-in show, and gripping performances from supporting cast Jordan Mullins and Liz Atwater. 

World Premiere. Fantasia 2025

 


HOLD THE FORT Fantasia 2025

HOLD THE FORT

A HOA turns out to be more troublesome than usual in this wildly amusing, FX-heavy freak-out about newly minted suburbanites unexpectedly forced to take part in a struggle against monstrous forces. Narratives about motley groups of ill-equipped characters battling forces of evil are a staple of the modern horror/comedy world, but HOLD THE FORT, from writer/director William Bagley, is many yuks above the norm. With very funny dialogue, outrageous circumstances, and plenty of stylish splatstick as both the human and inhuman are dispatched in gruesome, sometimes giggle-worthy ways, with heaps of spurting, splashing gore and a nonstop parade of practically-created creatures and zombies. Starring Chris Mayers (OZARK), Haley Leary, sketch comic YouTube creator Julian Smith, and Tordy Clark (GLORIOUS), and featuring a charismatic turn from veteran stunt performer Hamid-Reza Benjamin Thompson (BLACK PANTHER, AVENGERS: ENDGAME). 

World Premiere. Fantasia 2025


The 29th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival is presented by MELS in collaboration with Concordia University and made possible by the financial support of Telefilm Canada, the Société́ de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC), the Ministère du Tourisme, the Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’Habitation, the city of Montreal, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, Tourisme Montréal, and the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC).

The festival would like to thank all its private partners, friends of the event, as well as official suppliers, venues, and all participating filmmakers, sales agents, and distributors for their invaluable support.

Fantasia 2025

Fantasia 25 bw logo
Tickets to the festival can be found here!
 
For all things Fantasia 2025, click here!

‘DANIELA FOREVER’ (2025) Grief, guilt, and grace. Nacho Vigalondo delivers another stunner.

well go usa logoDANIELA FOREVER

daniela forever poster

Following the death of his beloved, Nicolas enters a visionary drug trial that lets him explore his relationship with new eyes and the boundaries of physics. Nacho Vigalondo‘s DANIELA FOREVER is an emotionally complex, visually stunning deep dive into grief.

daniela forever 3As Nicolas learns to navigate and control his time and environment with Daniela, real life pales in comparison. He selectively shares information with the scientists, and suddenly Daniela’s behavior evolves, allowing Nicolas to control her newly created memories. With each evolution of his dream states, Nicolas destroys the dimensions of reality, while also coming to terms with his selfish behavior.

daniela forever 2The lighting is dazzling. The stark visual contrasts, including varying aspect ratios, between the memory and the present, are incredible. The grainy, Super 8 camera effect screams sadness, while the sharp, CGI-enhanced dream state envelops the audience from every angle and emotion.

Henry Golding easily carries the film. He is brave, funny, and authentic. His chemistry with Beatrice Grannò is tangible. Nicolas’ emotional arc is fascinating, and Golding lives every beat. He is effortlessly charming and vulnerable.

daniela forever 1Fans of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind will instantly vibe with DANIELA FOREVER. Vigalondo delves into selfishness, manipulation, and jealousy through his penchant for magical realism, sci-fi, and visual spectacle. If you are familiar with his resume, you understand how perfectly this film slots into his catalog. This exploration of anguish is undeniably extraordinary, but more importantly, DANIELA FOREVER is about rediscovering what makes life glorious, cherishing the details, honoring the mundane, and remembering how much joy still exists. It very much tackles the adage, “If you love something, set it free.”

Daniella Forever Trailer:

DANIELA FOREVER
In Select Theaters July 11
and On Digital July 22

 

For more sci-fi coverage, click here!

FANTASIA UNVEILS VIVID FIRST WAVE OF TITLES FOR ITS 29th EDITION

Fantasia 25 Blue logo

FANTASIA UNVEILS VIVID FIRST WAVE OF TITLES FOR ITS 29th EDITION

 
Steve Pink’s TERRESTRIAL, Kenichi Ugana’s I FELL IN LOVE WITH A Z-GRADE DIRECTOR IN BROOKLYN, Julie Pacino’s I LIVE HERE NOW, Hwang Wook’s THE WOMAN, Hubert Davis’ THE WELL, Yasuhiro Aoki’s CHAO, Kurtis David Harder’s INFLUENCERS, The Adams Family’s MOTHER OF FLIES, Alex Philips’ ANYTHING THAT MOVES, Shuhei Shibue’s YA BOY KONGMIN! THE MOVIE, Brock Bodell’s HELLCAT, and Yeum Moon-kyoung and Lee Jong-min’s LAST WOMAN ON EARTH are among the first titles announced by the Montreal fest

 
Thursday May 8, 2025 // Montreal, Quebec — The Fantasia International Film Festival will celebrate its upcoming 29th edition with an electrifying program of screenings, workshops, and launch events running from July 17 through August 3, 2025, returning to the Concordia Hall and J.A. de Sève cinemas, with additional screenings and events at Montreal’s Cinéma du Musée.
 
The festival’s full lineup will be announced in early July but in the meantime, Fantasia is excited to reveal a select first wave of premiere titles.

TERRESTRIALTERRESTRIAL REVEALS A DIFFERENT SHADE OF (STEVE) PINK

As director of the HOT TUB TIME MACHINE films, ACCEPTED, and ABOUT LAST NIGHT, and the co-writer of HIGH FIDELITY and GROSSE POINT BLANK, Steve Pink has made a distinctive name for himself with individualistic comedy works that ooze personality. Now, he’s exploring darker edges of his sensibilities with TERRESTRIAL, a provocative thriller with unconventional comedy and sci-fi elements, still rooted in character and behavior, but filtered through paranoia and fear. A reunion weekend spirals out of control for four college friends when the host (Jermaine Fowler, SORRY TO BOTHER YOU) a science fiction writer on the verge of newfound success, fights to maintain his sense of reality in the face of sudden, uncanny dangers. Fowler is brilliant here and is flanked by a cast that includes James Morosini (I LOVE MY DAD), Pauline Chalamet (SEX LIFE OF COLLEGE GIRLS), Edy Modica (JURY DUTY), with Rob Yang (SUCCESSION) and Brendan Hunt (TED LASSO).  World Premiere.

I FELL IN LOVE WITH A Z-GRADE DIRECTOR IN BROOKLYNI FELL IN LOVE WITH A Z-GRADE DIRECTOR IN BROOKLYN IS A HEARTFELT LOVE LETTER TO INDIE HORROR FILMMAKING AND UNDERGROUND CULTURE

Screen star Shina Mizuhara has lost her passion for filmmaking and is now a rude and cynical mean machine. She decides to travel to New York with her perfect boyfriend who dumps her on arrival, leaving Shina without her wallet and cellphone. Speaking only Japanese, she meets Jack, a passionate z-grade director. He and his crew will convince her to star in their next film. Prolific producer/writer/director/MacGyver Kenichi Ugana (THE GESUIDOUZ) shares his love for Independent horror filmmaking and underground culture in the smart, hilarious, and deeply touching romantic comedy I FELL IN LOVE WITH A Z-GRADE DIRECTOR IN BROOKLYN. Actress Ui Mihara (LESSON IN MURDER) delivers a glorious performance as Shina, conveying her journey to regain lost passion with moving honesty and precision. Estevan Muñoz perfectly embodies the spontaneity and charm of Jack. Fans of Jim Jarmusch, Kevin Smith, and obscure horror gems alike will adore this soulful and somehow quite bloody rom-com! World Premiere.

I LIVE HERE NOWJULIE PACINO MAKES HER DIRECTORIAL DEBUT WITH THE LYNCHIAN I LIVE HERE NOW

With her feature debut I LIVE HERE NOW, Julie Pacino plunges us into a vibrant and nightmarish psychodrama that reverberate with echoes of David Lynch, Dario Argento, and the Coen brothers. Starring Lucy Fry (BRIGHT) as Rose, a woman haunted by trauma and trapped in a motel where reality unravels, the film blurs the lines between past and present, dream and waking life, captured in vivid 16mm. The film pulses with competing anxieties: the pursuit of perfection, the weight of generational trauma, and the invisible fist of capitalism tightening its grip around the necks of its characters. Featuring an all-star supporting cast including Madeline Brewer (CAM), Sheryl Lee (TWIN PEAKS), Cara Seymour (ADAPTATION.), and an exceptionally slimy Matt Rife, I LIVE HERE NOW marks the emergence of a bold new voice in genre cinema. World Premiere. First Wave

YA BOY KONGMIN! THE MOVIEJ-POP IS A BATTLEFIELD IN YA BOY KONGMIN! THE MOVIE

Zhuge Kongmin, the legendary military strategist of China’s War of the Three Kingdoms, has been inexplicably reincarnated in modern-day Tokyo. He’s now managing the career of a young amateur singer, Eiko. Convinced that her music could bring about universal peace, Kongmin engages in a series of schemes to get Eiko a place in a high-stakes pop-music competition. However, he who seeks peace must prepare for war… Created by writer Tato Yotsuba and manga artist Ryo Ogawa, the YA BOY KONGMIN! franchise has seen huge success as a manga, anime, and live-action TV series, so it was only a matter of time before this strange and hilarious tale found its way to cinemas, and luckily, it’s done so under the dynamic helm of director Shuhei Shibue. Featuring exhilarating performances by J-pop icons such as Avantgardey, Avu-chan from Queen Bees with renowned pianist Kamei Masaya, and Korean band &TEAM, and with a theme song by Lilas Ikuta from the group YOASOBI, YA BOY KONGMIN! THE MOVIE will thrill audiences as its hero pulls out all the stops to win. North American Premiere.

INFLUENCERSOUR FAVORITE BAD GIRL IS BACK! GET READY TO BE LED ASTRAY AND BETRAYED WITH INFLUENCERS!

Just when you thought it was safe to travel again, CW pops into your feed and activates your FOMO. After 2022’s smash hit INFLUENCER, Kurtis David Harder takes us to the South of France with dark persuasions and fatal outcomes. Starring the one and only Cassandra Naud as the mysterious chameleon CW, there’s no imposter syndrome here! Along with her fantastic co-stars, Veronica Long (BILLY THE KID) and Jonathan Whitesell (HAPPY FACE), they bring a new timeline and sicker-than-ever plans as CW opens her heart to a beautiful new girlfriend, played by Lisa Delamar (SURVIVE). This time, jealousy rears its ugly head as CW locks in on a popular British Influencer named Charlotte (Georgina Campbell, BARBARIAN, LOVELY, DARK AND DEEP), who throws a wrench in her anniversary plans with Diane. Gorgeous cinematography, nasty twists, and an outcome you won’t want to miss, INFLUENCERS will make you fact-check your socials forever! Septentrion Shadows section. World Premiere. First Wave

 THE WOMANINDIE KOREAN THRILLER THE WOMAN TRADES IN TENSION AND SUSPENSE

An innocent exchange of strawberries and a secondhand appliance takes a very dark turn for Sun-kyung when it precedes her classmate’s suspicious suicide, and puts her on the trail of a mysterious, sinister stranger. Hwang Wook, the director of the hysterical, award-winning neo-Western black comedy MASH VILLE, an acclaimed World Premiere at last year’s Fantasia, returns to the festival with a new film in a completely different genre. THE WOMAN is a riveting, character-driven psychological thriller, filled with non-stop tension and suspense, thanks to its eerie musical score and stunning cinematography, and boasting an outstanding lead performance by Han Hye-ji. THE WOMAN is yet another excellent slice of independent Korean filmmaking, by a director who needs to be on your radar. World Premiere. First Wave

HOLD THE FORTBUCKLE IN AND HOLD THE FORT

A HOA turns out to be more troublesome than usual in this wildly amusing, FX-heavy freak-out about newly minted suburbanites unexpectedly forced to take part in a struggle against monstrous forces. Narratives about motley groups of ill-equipped characters battling forces of evil are a staple of the modern horror/comedy world, but HOLD THE FORT, from writer/director William Bagley, is many yuks above the norm. With very funny dialogue, outrageous circumstances, and plenty of stylish splatstick as both the human and inhuman are dispatched in gruesome, sometimes giggle-worthy ways, with heaps of spurting, splashing gore and a nonstop parade of practically-created creatures and zombies. Starring Chris Mayers (OZARK), Haley Leary, sketch comic YouTube creator Julian Smith, and Tordy Clark (GLORIOUS), and featuring a charismatic turn from veteran stunt performer Hamid-Reza Benjamin Thompson (BLACK PANTHER, AVENGERS: ENDGAME). World Premiere. First Wave

THE WELLPOST-APOCALYPTIC ECO-THRILLER THE WELL FORETELLS OF ENVIRONMENTAL COLLAPSE

For his narrative feature debut, the Oscar-nominated documentarian Hubert Davis (HARDWOOD, BLACK ICE) looks to the future with a bleak prediction of environmental collapse. As the world’s resources dwindle and a deadly virus keeps people apart, a family protects their fresh water source from outsiders. When a young, injured man disrupts their solitude, and their daughter’s defiance threatens to reveal their precious well to another camp led by a charismatic but steely matriarch, danger brings the two factions together in a thrilling ride. THE WELL sets up a chilling scenario of what could happen in our very near future and is executive-produced by Clement Virgo (BROTHER) and Damon D’Oliveira (WILDHOOD); and stars Arnold Pinnock (THE PORTER), Shailyn Pierre-Dixon (THE BOOK OF NEGROS), Idrissa Sanogo (ROBIN HOOD), and Canadian screen and stage royalty Sheila McCarthy (WOMEN TALKING) as the matriarch Gabriel. Septentrion Shadows section. World Premiere. First Wave

HONEKO AKABANE’S BODYGUARDSSTRANGE STUDENTS WITH STRANGER TALENTS KEEP WATCH IN HONEKO AKABANE’S BODYGUARDS

Despite her popularity, charm, kindness, and sense of justice, schoolgirl Honeko Akabane has hordes of assassins after her, although she doesn’t know it. Her biological father, whom she never met, hires a loud-mouthed young brawler to protect her without her knowledge, because Honeko’s purity and innocence must be maintained. Fortunately, he’s not alone. Winner of Best Director at the Fantasporto film festival, director Jun Ishikawa pulls out all the stops with this exhilarating and hilarious adaptation that perfectly captures the sweet madness of Masamitsu Nigatsu’s manga, brilliantly adapted by scriptwriter Hiroyuki Yatsu (Takashi Miike’s AS THE GODS WILL). The panoply of eccentric characters with formidable and sometimes disturbing talents are played marvelously by an excellent cast of young actors who maintain the light-hearted tone of this hilarious and electrifying action-comedy. North American Premiere.

CHAOFANTASY ROMCOM ANIME CHAO MAKES A BIG SPLASH

A junior designer at the leading shipbuilding company might have the key to peaceful relations between humans and merfolk. His role in achieving detente, however, suddenly becomes a lot stranger when the mermaid princess announces that she has selected Stephen as her fiancé! A 21st-century reworking of Hans Christian Andersen’s Little Mermaid tale set in a psychedelic, cyberpunk Shanghai, the frenzied and fantastical romantic comedy CHAO comes care of that most distinctive and inventive of anime factories, Studio 4ºC. The first full feature film from director Yasuhiro Aoki (BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT, TWEENY WITCHES) took seven years and over 100,000 drawings to bring to life, and the hard work has paid off. CHAO is a daring and dazzling burst of animated brilliance, one that will catapult Aoki and his punky, unconventional style to the top tier of the anime world. Animation Plus section. North American Premiere.

ANYTHING THAT MOVESA WILD TRIBUTE TO 1970s PORNOGRAPHY AND EROTIC THRILLERS WITH ANYTHING THAT MOVES

Shot in stunning Super 16mm, ANYTHING THAT MOVES is the steamy follow-up feature from director Alex Phillips who made audiences laugh and wretch with 2022’s ALL JACKED UP AND FULL OF WORMSa World Premiere at Fantasia)He’s back with a surreal take on the erotic thriller that strikes the balance between riotous tribute and filthy horror in a film that follows sex worker and bike courier Liam on his adventures making clients happy with orgasms and sandwiches. Liam’s joyful existence is soon interrupted by the arrival of a serial killer, which throws his life into the realm of paranoia and conspiracy, casting a dark shadow over the city of Chicago. In the midst of its juicy gore, bizarre poetry, and switchback storytelling the film features real adult stars Nina Hartley and Ginger Lynn Allen, as well as a brilliant music score by Cue Shop. Underground section. World Premiere.

HELLCATA SUPERNATURAL RIDE DEEP INTO UNEXPECTED TERRITORY: HELLCAT

A woman (Dakota Gorman) wakes in the back of a moving camper trailer with a badly infected wound. A voice (Todd Terry) from the truck towing it tells her they must reach a mysterious doctor within the hour or she’ll suffer a horrific fate. Thus begins HELLCAT, the feature debut of writer/editor/director Brock Bodell, who previously cut the mind-bending ULTRASOUND (Fantasia 2021), among others. Bodell doesn’t take a wrong turn, delivering a twisty thrill ride of strong characters, shredding tension, and real surprises that takes viewers deep into unexpected places. Featuring SNL’s James Austin Johnson as the voice of a late-night DJ on a supernatural call-in show, and gripping performances from supporting cast Jordan Mullins and Liz Atwater. World Premiere. First Wave  First Wave

MOTHER OF FLIES First WaveNECROMANCY AND BELIEF VS CORPOREAL DECAY: MOTHER OF FLIES SPELLBINDS

When a young woman faces a deadly diagnosis, she seeks dark magic from a witch in the woods… but every cure has costs. Written and directed by John and Zelda Adams and Toby Poser (The Adams Family), who also star, shot, edited, and scored, MOTHER OF FLIES is the latest creation from the filmmaking family behind such singular landmarks as THE DEEPER YOU DIG, HELLBENDER, and WHERE THE DEVIL ROAMS, each of which has World Premiered at Fantasia. Described by the filmmakers as their fairytale manipulation of the darkly shadowed, yet love-lined pathways between a human life and death, MOTHER OF FLIES is an extraordinary work of personal genre storytelling, gestated through the family’s own experiences battling and surviving cancer. It stands with the strongest of their work, a poetic, haunting, and moving film that glows with otherworldly imagination, exploring the concept of necromancy in connection with two women who have very intimate relationships with death. World Premiere. First Wave First Wave

BURNINGWHOSE TALE IS TRUE IN KYRGYZ MYSTERY BURNING?

One stormy night, a fire engulfs a family home. In a nearby convenience store, neighbors gossip and speculate: was it black magic, a woman’s madness, or a man crushed by life? Director Radik Eshimov, an emerging Kyrgyz talent known for blending sharp social commentary with humor in hits like EL EMNE DEIT, steps boldly into new territory with the suspenseful BURNING. Anchored by standout performances from its three leads, Aysanat Edigeeva (TAXI), Ömürbek Izrailov (DEAL AT THE BORDER), and Kyrgyz Republic People’s Artist Kalicha Seydalieva, BURNING delivers a gripping mystery told in true RASHOMON fashion. Listen closely, sift through the lies, and decide for yourself: Who really started the fire? North American Premiere.

THE BEARDED GIRLTHE BEARDED GIRL BLENDS SIDESHOW CHARM WITH A COMING-OF-AGE STORY YOU WON’T FORGET

Jody Wilson captures the charm of a fairy tale with a Western sensibility in THE BEARDED GIRL. Cleo is ready to spread her wings and, tired of tradition and feeling like an oddball, she leaves her sheltered carnival life to find love and adventure. Starring Anwen O’Driscoll of BET and YOU CAN LIVE FOREVER as the next generation of sword-swallowing bearded women and MAD MEN’s Jessica Paré as her overbearing mother, Wilson takes her personal experience growing up in Western Canada as a nonconformist to create a confident first feature that highlights queer themes with dry humor and sensitivity. Septentrion Shadows section. World Premiere. First Wave

I AM FRANKELDADREAMS AND NIGHTMARES COLLIDE IN MEXICO’S FIRST STOP-MOTION FEATURE

The task of crafting Mexico’s very first stop-motion animated feature film could not have fallen to four more worthy hands than those of Rodolfo and Arturo Ambriz. Proteges of Guillermo del Toro, the brothers gained widespread recognition with the short film REVOLTOSO (Fantasia 2016), demonstrating daring ideas and a bedeviled attention to detail. Further acclaim arrived in 2021 with FRANKELDA’S BOOK OF SPOOKS, a five-episode miniseries on Cartoon Network Latin America and HBO Max, introducing the phantom author Frankelda and her companion Herneval, an enchanted book. It turns out that the most astonishing tale the two have to tell is their own! The dazzling I AM FRANKELDA explores the challenging childhood of Francisca Imelda, and how she came to befriend Herneval, prince of the realm that lies on the other side of our dreams. Discover that world of weirdness and wonder for yourself as a milestone of animation history comes to life on Fantasia’s big screen! Animation Plus section. North American Premiere. First Wave

THE LAST WOMAN ON EARTHTHE LAST WOMAN ON EARTH JUMPS INTO CINEMA’S GENDER DIVIDE

Hanah’s pitch for her film school project, a satirical revenge story against men, isn’t going over well with her classmates. Especially Cheol, who accuses her of misandry (which she doesn’t deny). Cheol, meanwhile, can’t get funding for his own film because of the lack of female perspective in his script. A very fraught creative partnership begins. Yeum Moon-kyoung and Lee Jong-min star together in what’s also their feature directorial debut, THE LAST WOMAN ON EARTH a quirky and immensely entertaining comedy about the unique world of filmmaking and the challenges of gender equality in cinematic storytelling. The dynamic between Yeum and Lee, as well as the highly imaginative B-movie energy of the film-within-the-film scenes, will paste a smile on your face throughout the characters’ creative process. International Premiere. First Wave

A GRAND MOCKERYA HAUNTING 8MM DESCENT INTO AUSTRALIA’S SURREAL UNDERBELLY

A GRAND MOCKERY, the feature debut from co-directors Adam C. Briggs and Sam Dixon, is a grimy, experimental descent into Australia’s dark underbelly, rendered in the raw textures of 8mm film. Starring Dixon as Josie, a man plagued by mental illness, addiction, and compulsion, the film follows his increasingly horrific, near-ritualistic wandering from Brisbane’s mundane outskirts to the sublime horrors of the Sunshine Coast. With a tone that veers from darkly funny to nightmarishly surreal, the film channels the disorienting psychology of its outcast protagonist. A technical triumph of underground cinema, A GRAND MOCKERY transforms the grain of 8mm into something painterly and visceral, evoking Francis Bacon’s dread-soaked visions while building a phantasmagoric world of blurred realities, hypnotic soundscapes, and cinematic obsession. At once grotesque and poetic, it’s a film that pulses with human chaos and defies categorization. Underground section. International Premiere First Wave

MONONOKE THE MOVIE: CHAPTER II - THE ASHES OF RAGEMORE SPECTACULAR SPOOKINESS IN MONONOKE THE MOVIE: CHAPTER II – THE ASHES OF RAGE

After the first film’s sold-out world premiere at last year’s Fantasia, the mysterious Medicine Seller is back for another adventure as director Kenji Nakamura continues his inspired revival of his pop-psychedelic, paranormal-procedural anime phenomenon. The first chapter’s wildly inventive approach to design and technique, immersing the viewer in an overwhelming whirlwind of Edo-period iconography, earned MONONOKE THE MOVIE: PHANTOM IN THE RAIN a Satoshi Kon Award for Best Animated Feature, and its sequel is no less daring, dynamic, and visually dazzling. It digs even deeper into the secrets of a paradise poisoned by patriarchal cruelty, where women are reduced to mere vessels for the offspring of their social betters, for their own families’ cynical ambitions… or for the vengeful spirits of others wronged in the past. Animation Plus section. North American Premiere. First Wave


Fantasia is happy to announce that the festival has signed a three-year agreement with MELS as Presenting Sponsor. Known for its world class soundstages and highly qualified staff, MELS is one of the largest providers of film and television services in Canada. Its turnkey service covers everything from script to screen. Most of MELS’ stages are in downtown Montreal. They have serviced major feature film productions like SCREAM VI, HOME SWEET HOME ALONE, TRANSFORMERS: RISE OF THE BEASTS, and more. 

The studio’s post-production services include offline editing, image finishing, a full range of sound services and one of North America’s few remaining Kodak-accredited photochemical labs for film-stock processing, supporting 16mm and 35mm. Its services extend to film restoration, deliverables, and digital archiving. MELS also has a very large mixing stage where the sound mix for Denis Villeneuve’s Oscar-winning ARRIVAL (also shot at MELS) was done.  

MELS is part of Quebecor Inc., a Canadian leader in telecommunications, media, and entertainment. Fantasia has been working closely with Quebecor and its various subsidiaries since 2016.

Fantasia 2025 posterThe 29th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival is presented by MELS in collaboration with Concordia University and made possible by the financial support of Telefilm Canada, the Société́ de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC), the Ministère du Tourisme, the Ministère des Affaires municipales et de l’Habitation, the city of Montreal, the Conseil des arts de Montréal, Tourisme Montréal, and the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC).

The festival would like to thank all its private partners, friends of the event, as well as official suppliers, venues, and all participating filmmakers, sales agents, and distributors for their invaluable support.

Fantasia 2025 tickets and info

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‘RED ROOMS’ (2024) Hideously twisted obsessions.

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Red Rooms Poster

Pascal Plante takes true crime obsession to the next level in RED ROOMS. The film follows Kelly-Anne, a woman who becomes obsessed with a serial killer’s trial and the elusive online video of a victim that bares her likeness. Her deep dive down the rabbit hole of the dark web is just the beginning.

Red Rooms still Kelly-AnneJuliette Gariépy initially gives Kelly-Anne a quiet ferocity. Assume nothing about the character as she slowly reveals her sleuthing skills. Gariépy morphs into a startling presence, with each consecutive scene getting under your skin. Gariépy is disturbing.

Red Rooms ChevalierThe juxtaposition of her photoshoot stills and those of security camera suspects is undeniably clever mirroring. Once the infamous video plays, the decision to focus on our protagonist and not the most gruesome acts almost makes the plot more invasive. The combination of the audio and your imagination causes you to turn away. Kelly-Anne’s skills keep her on a tightrope. One missed step, and the bottom drops out.

Red Rooms Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes - www.rottentomatoes.comThe script is far more nuanced than at first glance. Plante delves into technology, the female fascination with true crime, and the repercussions of unresolved trauma. The more Kelly-Anne shares with Clementine, the more unsettled the audience. As a parent, RED ROOMS is a visceral viewing experience. It is simultaneously rage and despair-inducing. As a mother, putting that hat aside, as difficult as that may be, the film is indisputably brilliant storytelling. The hideous twists keep coming. RED ROOMS will hold you captive, whether you like it or not.

Red Rooms Trailer:

RED ROOMS is produced by Dominique Dussault for Nemesis Films. Cinematographer Vincent Biron (THE TWENTIETH CENTURY) artfully lensed the feature, Laura Nhem (THE TWENTIETH CENTURY) was production designer, and Jonah Malak edited. 

Official Selection: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, Fantasia International Film Festival (Opening Night), Calgary International Film Festival, Vancouver International Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival, Hamptons International Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia, Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, Philadelphia Film Festival, Thessaloniki International Film Festival, Fantasy Filmfest, Miami Film Festival, Atlanta Film Festival, Monster Fest. 

Awards: Fantasia International Film Festival: Cheval Noir, Outstanding Performance (Juliette Gariépy); Cheval Noir, Best Screenplay; Cheval Noir, Best FilmSandro Forte Award, Best Motion Picture Score (Dominique Plante). Monster Fest: Best International Movie. Brooklyn Horror Film Festival: Festival Prize, Best FeatureBest Actress (Juliette Gariépy). Le Gala Quebec Cinema: Prix Iris, Revelation of the Year (Juliette Gariépy)Prix Iris, Best Supporting Actress (Laurie Babin).

Original title: Les Chambres rouges | 118 mins. | Canada
French with English subtitles | Not Rated | 2023

THEATRICAL ENGAGEMENTS:

(showtimes include September 6 openings and upcoming dates)

listings 1 Red Rooms

listings 2 Red Rooms

More to be announced.

ABOUT UTOPIA

Utopia is a New York and Los Angeles based film distribution and sales company co-founded by filmmaker Robert Schwartzman and Cole Harper. Focused on showcasing truly independent features and documentaries while supporting the next wave of filmmakers and audience discovery, recent Utopia releases include Sean Price Williams’ acclaimed debut feature The Sweet East, Eddie Alcazar and EP Steven Soderbergh’s Divinity, Kristoffer Borgli’s acclaimed dark comedy Sick of Myself, Ali Abbasi’s Oscar shortlisted and Cannes winner Holy SpiderMeet Me in the Bathroom chronicling the early days of LCD Soundsystem, The Strokes, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and more. Other Utopia releases include the cult-BMX classic and event-theatrical hit Rad; Sundance breakout and Gotham Awards-nominated We’re All Going to the World’s Fair by Jane Schoenbrun; Gaspar Noe’s Cannes-lauded Vortex starring Dario Argento; the Indie Spirit-winner Shiva Baby by Emma Seligman and more.

 

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‘THE BECOMERS’ (2024) An out of this world bundle camp and quirk that perfectly nails human complexity.

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THE BECOMERS follows two intergalactic lovers escaping their dying planet. Each lost on Earth, calling the other, and body snatching to blend into the human race. Filmmaker Zach Clark cleverly utilizes aliens as observers to tackle the complexity of human behavior. THE BECOMERS effortlessly joins the catalog of his previous quirky, indie gems. Each new beat gets weirder, and it is impossible to predict.

THE BECOMERS is bold, eschewing any societal norms. Have you ever seen an alien sex scene? Because you’re about to, and it is gooey. Russell Marl voices their backstory with a particular tone that perfectly encapsulates the film’s feel. Fritz Myers’ score is jarring and yet works perfectly. Myers also creates unique Alien vocalizations. The editing is delightful.

The performances from every cast member are spectacular. Karla Monay Shaw brings it home at the governor’s housekeeper, Femmy. Although her appearance is brief, she shows her acting chop. Keith Kelly delivers two distinct versions of Governor Olatka. Clark allows him to showcase quite the emotional rollercoaster.

Isabel Alamin (as Francesca) in The BecomersIsabel Alamin gives Francesca a tentative fear. She’s incredibly compelling. Molly Plunk and Mike Lopez‘s turns as couple Carol and Gordon. Their trust in Clark’s vision is evident. Plunk and Gordon embody the seemingly wacky premise and capture the sincerest longings within the slapstick comedy.

The longer I sat with THE BECOMERS, the more I realized that humanity’s behavior was far more disturbing than any alien display. It was a startling come to Jesus moment. Clark leans into what appears absurd until you conclude that it is merely a fanciful mirror of our hopes, dreams, irrationality, and means of survival. Don’t get me wrong. The camp and over-the-top scenarios solidly place the film in a sci-fi comedy genre, but underneath all the shenanigans is authentic heart.

 

THE BECOMERS comes to theaters  in New York on Friday, August 23rd
 
Theatrical updates can be found at https://darkstarpics.com/ in the near future. 
 
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‘STRANGE DARLING’ (Popcorn Frights 2024) Cat-and-mouse murder mayhem, the thriller you’ll never see coming

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Kyle Gallner, undisputed Scream King (and my secret music boyfriend), stars alongside Willa Fitzgerald in JT Mollner‘s bonkers thriller STRANGE DARLING. Popcorn Frights 2024 audiences finally witness the unbelievable story of a famed serial killer. Told through six chapters, although nonlinear, this shocking film is here is f*ck you up. 

Opening with a Texas Chainsaw-inspired crawl, the audience is thrust into violent chaos, beginning with Chapter 3. The relentless pursuit and full-blown disturbing, but hold on a gosh darn minute. Christopher Robin Bell’s editing keeps us in a state of agitated panic. I know that device drives some people crazy. Here, it heightens every aspect of their dynamic. It all feels so personal that you need to comprehend the depravity. 

Augmented color choices in STRANGE DARLING give the film a devilish and addicting quality. The score is grating and decidedly ominous- A genuine compliment. The lighting is simply delicious. The soundtrack is fire, as the kids say. 

Gallner is a genius. This unhinged performance feels dangerous. Even more so than his role in The Passengers. Willa Fitzgerald delivers an award-worthy turn. She is fierce as hell and totally deranged. It is nothing short of a wow. 

Fitzgerald and Gallner’s chemistry is sick. There is an undeniable electricity between them, and it’s like watching a a sexy car crash happen in real time. The plot is spectacularly unpredictable. Don’t bother guessing from moment to moment, even though Mollner’s script hypes you up to do so. The sheer number of “Oh Shit” moments! Slow clap, sir.

If you want to talk about boundary-pushing movies, STRANGE DARLING is up there with the best. There is an eccentricity that lands somewhere between A Wounded Fawn and Megalomaniac. Yeah, I know that’s a broad spectrum. This twisted erotic fantasy bends until it breaks. It stokes a conversation about kink and consent, power and obsession, and, believe it or not, gender bias. The final shot is genre heaven. Few films are perfect. STRANGE DARLING is perfect.

YEAR: 2023

COUNTRY: USA

RUNTIME: 96 min

DIRECTOR: JT Mollner

WRITER: JT Mollner

STARRING: Willa Fitzgerald, Kyle Gallner, Barbara Hershey, Giovanni Ribisi

 

 

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‘INFINITE SUMMER’ (Fantasia 2024 capsule ) Sci-fi highs and lows, for better or worse

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Infinite Summer posterIn filmmaker Miguel Llansó‘s Fantasia 2024 film INFINITE SUMMER, Mia wants to enjoy the last few weeks before moving into higher education. When her close friend decides she’d rather hang out with people closer to her age, Mia dabbles a newfangled mindfulness app that goes awry. Too much of a good thing is never really true.

Mindfulness has been a buzzword for a good number of years now. Some progressive schools are including moments in their curriculum with yoga breaks. Research shows that kids are responding positively to those changes. As for young adults, the word has taken on another meaning, with technology being Pavlov’s Dog since they were born.
Infinite_Summer_05The pacing is inconsistent. The wildly sophisticated sci-fi scenes do not match the dragging dialogue. While all the storylines are connected, some characters feel superfluous, thus lacking genuine emotional connection. I could not marry the ups and downs. In the end, the film is visually spectacular but narratively messy. I found myself simultaneously lacking focus but entirely entranced by the special effects. Egert Kanep deserves all the credit for intrigue. While the runtime is only an hour and thirty minutes, it feels much longer. INFINITE SUMMER might be a film best viewed a little high.

Check out the trailer here:

DIRECTOR

Miguel Llansó

PRODUCER

Tõnu Hiielaid, Miguel Llansó, Rain Rannu, Jon Read, Allison Rose Carter

WRITER

Miguel Llansó

CAST

Ciaron Davies, Hannah Gross, Teele Kaljuvee-O’Brock, Johanna Rosin

CINEMATOGRAPHER

Israel Seoane

SOUND DESIGNER

Quino Piñero

COMPOSER

Laurie Spiegel

EDITOR

Velasco Broca

SPECIAL EFFECTS

Egert Kanep

PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Anita Kremm, Liisamari Viik

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‘CHAINSAWS WERE SINGING’ (Fantasia 2024) An unhinged and instant cult classic

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CHAINSAWS WERE SINGING

chainsaws_were_singing_poster_diYoung lovers Tom and Maria are interrupted by a chainsaw-wielding maniac. After Maria’s kidnapping, aided by the eternally upbeat Jaan, Tom tracks her down only to discover the dark secrets surrounding the killer’s past and present. If Monty Python and Mel Brooks decided to make a slasher film, Estonian filmmaker Sander Maran’s CHAINSAWS WERE SINGING would be their demented little offspring. It is the kind of instant cult classic ripe for Midnight screenings.

Chainsaws Were Singing - The Official Homepage - chainsawsweresinging.comThe film perfectly captures the absurdity of most musicals – cheating toward the audience, over-the-top gestures, and breaking into song, often at inexplicable moments. These are facts about the genre. I know. I majored in it at a conservatory in Manhattan. Like Anna and The Apocalypse, Bloodthirsty, Rocky Horror, Little Shop, Sweeney Todd, Repo! The Genetic Opera, CHAINSAWS WERE SINGING enters the fray of outstanding subgenre horror musicals.

Chainsaws Were SingingThe plot takes from films like Wrong Turn, Texas Chainsaw, and Robin Hood: Men In Tights. Hands down, one of the most catchy numbers belongs to The Killer, in which he sings about his murderous penchant. Jaan’s song made me guffaw more than once. (Think an even more insane version of “Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life.”)

The practical FX team went above and beyond. It is not often a film that makes me physically nauseous. CHAINSAWS almost made me lose it. Like everything else, kills are entirely over the top but unbelievably creative. CHAINSAW WERE SINGING is unhinged and in your face. A 3D version would not, and should not, be out of the question.

 

OFFICIAL SELECTION

Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival 2024

HONORS

Audience Award – Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival 2024

Best Estonian Genre Film – Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival 2024

DIRECTOR

Sander Maran

PRODUCER

Jan Andresson, Karl-Joosep Ilves, Kaur Maran, Peeter Maran

WRITER

Sander Maran

CAST

Karl-Joosep Ilves, Laura Niils, Janno Puusepp, Martin Ruus, Rita Rätsepp

COMPOSER

Sander Maran

EDITOR

Sander Maran

PRODUCTION DESIGNER

Kadri Kuusler

CONTACT

Marani Bros

OFFICIAL WEBSITE

https://chainsawsweresinging.com

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‘THE MISSING (Fantasia 2024) Beautiful digital rotoscope animation unfolds a genre-defying film.

Fantasia 2024 logoTHE MISSING

The Missing poster

Eric has a well-paying job as an animator, a crush on a co-worker, and harbors a secret. Filmmaker director Carl Joseph Papa brings Fantasia 2024 audiences his third feature-length animated film, THE MISSING. Hindering Eric’s new romance are the memories triggered after discovering his estranged uncle dead. Can Eric finally find his voice? 

The_Missing_02The longer Eric waits to tell his loved ones, the stranger his life gets. An alien threatens to take him back to outer space. He is losing time, and his body parts are falling off. This aspect is particularly upsetting because he is literally missing his mouth. This creative metaphor becomes the backbone of THE MISSING. 

Digital Rotoscope adult animation often has a heavy feel. In the last 20 years, films like A Scanner Darkly (which blew my mind in 2006), The Spine of Night, and The Peasants give audiences a similar vibe. It is undoubtedly a cinematic wonder, drawing your eye to places you might not otherwise look had filmmakers shot on digital or even traditional film. There is a beauty that harkens back somewhere between Henri Matisse and Disney. 

The_Missing_04I wasn’t aware that I grew up on Rotoscope films before doing a quick Google search. Some of my most beloved childhood films fall into the genre- The Lord of the Rings (1978), The Secret of NIMH (1982), and Anastasia (1997). First introduced in 1918, I had no idea the process was so old. THE MISSING stylistically mirrors The Spine of the Night rather than Alice In Wonderland. 2D animation illustrates Eric’s childhood memories in a stunning visual contrast that serves a dual purpose. The choice to childishly scribble over Uncle’s face speaks volumes. It is a visually captivating film. 

Carlo Aquino is esquisite as Eric. The vulnerability that flows from Aquino without dialogue is astonishing. What a star. Backed up by the extraordinary duo of Dolly De Leon and Gio Gahol, THE MISSING is a uniquely crafted metaphor for unresolved trauma. It’s a poignant exploration of abuse, grief, and healing, and a creative catharsis.

Remaining Screenings of THE MISSING:

Sun August 04, 2024
5:15 PM
 

OFFICIAL SELECTION

Annecy International Animation Festival 2024
Palm Springs International Film Festival 2024
International Film Festival Rotterdam 2024
Osaka Asian Film Festival 2024
Queer East Festival 2024

HONORS

Best Supporting Actress for Dolly de Leon – Cinemalaya Independent Film Festival 2023

Philippines’ submission to the 96th Academy Awards

Best Film – Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival 2023

NETPAC Award – Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival 2023

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‘BANGS’ (Fantasia 2024 short) Sinfully relatable.

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Bangs-PosterMontreal-based comedy duo Emelia Hellman and Nancy Webb (Hellgirl Productions) bring their paranoia-fueled short Bangs to Fantasia Festival’s Fantastiques week-ends du cinéma québécois this summer for the film’s Canadian premiere.

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On the eve of hosting a dinner party for her 30th birthday, a woman cuts her hair. When her friends don’t notice, it drives her mad. Nancy Webb‘s Fantasia 2024 short film BANGS has unexpected fringe benefits. Pun, very much intended.

With each passing hour that her guests don’t mention the bangs, our protagonist becomes tenser and more enraged. The audience is in on the joke, making us increasingly nervous. But the film does not go the way you might expect.

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The handheld camera work gives the audience an immersive feel. Partly fly on the wall, but mostly, chaotically a member of the friend group. Lead Emelia Hellman, who co-writes the script with Webb, is excellent. She perfectly captures the need for approval and the rush of dopamine a compliment can supply.

BANGS is smirk-inducing and cringey in the best way. It’s an entirely relatable set-up. It is a commentary on narcissism and perceived identity, with a bit of magic realism thrown in for good measure.

DIRECTOR

Nancy Webb

PRODUCER

Emelia Hellman

WRITER

Emelia Hellman, Nancy Webb

CAST

Travis Cannon, Nicky Fournier, Emelia Hellman, Kelly Kay Hurcomb, Andi E McQueen, James Watts

For all things Fantasia 2024, click here!

‘CUCKOO’ (Fantasia 2024) Forget eloquence and let’s call it what it is. Tilman Singer’s latest is a mindfuck.

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cuckoo_poster_engAbandonment and unresolved trauma collide with a monster movie and mad scientist in Tilman Singer‘s (LUZ) latest film, CUCKOO. Fantasia 2024 audiences, you are not ready for the authentic dread and mind-blowing chaos coming for you.

Gretchen is shipped off to live on a mountain resort in the Alps with her estranged father, his new wife, and her nonverbal stepsister. Something is very wrong as the guests lose their faculties at the stalking presence of a mysterious woman in white.

Singer never hides the fact that some characters know more than Gretchen. CUCKOO has a subtle Rosemary’s Baby vibe. The mystery rolls out slowly. Each new scene is more eerie than the last. We never know who to trust.

Repetition of selective moments featuring augmented audio places the viewer in an off-kilter state of mind. Sound is vital to CUCKOO’s narrative, assisted by a perfect soundtrack and score.
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Singer has Gretchen utterly trapped, held captive emotionally, physically, and metaphorically. Subconsciously, the audience is already visually groomed by the location. The resort lies in the valley surrounded by The Alps. The special FX makeup team earns every bit of kudos for their work, particularly as Gretchen’s injuries increase throughout the film.

Dan Stevens‘ character has an eccentricity that immediately makes you uneasy. Singer creates a man so unusual that the audience questions the motive of every sentence until halfway through the film. Stevens is a chameleon. This role is another wild notch on his resume.

Hunter Schafer is magnificent. She captures teen angst, naive fearlessness, and everything in between. This performance is a home run. Schafer solidifies herself as an undeniable star.

Boasting a finale that has to be one of the most epically shocking WTFs of all time, Singer has given genre audiences something entirely unpredictable, twisty, and unhinged—hell yes, and holy shit.

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