The Films That Have Us Very Excited For This Year’s Fantasia Festival

Running from 11th July – 1st August, the International Fantasia Festival will once again descend on Montreal Canada for its 23rd year of entertainment. The festival embraces the more unusual films on the market, and over the years has been home to some very special movies. Every year the programme appears to get stronger, and this year is no exception. In fact, the programming is so strong this year that I really struggled to narrow the following list of films to be excited about, to just ten. My original ‘shortlist’ was closer to thirty films. Happily for attendees this should mean that no matter what you decide to watch, you’re in for a treat, but here are the films that have got this writer pretty hyped.

Critters Attack!

Critters is an often overlooked horror franchise. The four-film series followed a group of ferocious fluff-ball aliens as they ate their way across America (and space), consuming all lifeforms that they come into contact with. The third film, Critters 3, even gifted a young Leonardo DiCaprio to the world. Now over twenty-five years after the fourth outing, comes Critters Attack! Original producers Rupert Harvey and Barry Opper return, joined by director Bobby Miller whose previous film The Cleanse (also known as The Master Cleanse) was a Fantasia hit a couple of years back. That film included several interesting creatures and proves that Miller can definitely handle the hangry space monsters. Plot wise Critters Attack! follows a young babysitter who stumbles across some crash-landed critters. Original star Dee Wallace is also rumoured to make an appearance, though not necessarily in the same role.

The Crow

Next up on the list is a film that isn’t actually new. Released in 1994, The Crow turns twenty-five this year. To commemorate the very special anniversary, Fantasia are screening the film as part of its tribute to legendary producer Edward R. Pressman, whom is attending the festival. It’ll be extra special as the movie is being screening via an archival 35mm print. I caught a 35mm screening at London’s Prince Charles Cinema, and if Fantasia have a print in half as good condition as that one, it’s going to look beautiful. For those unfamiliar with The Crow, the film is based on a graphic novel by James O’Barr, and tells the tragic story of musician Eric Draven (Brandon Lee) whom is bought back to life a year after his brutal murder to avenge the deaths of himself and his girlfriend. Directed by Alex Proyas, the film is sadly more famous for the untimely accidental death of its lead star, Brandon Lee (son of Bruce Lee). Since it’s release though, it has garnered a loyal and devoted cult fanbase, and even spawned three sequels of ever decreasing quality. A reboot was in the works for decades, the most recent version had Corin Hardy and Jason Momoa attached.

Darlin’

The Walking Dead‘s Pollyanna McIntosh steps behind the camera to direct her debut feature Darlin’. The film itself is a continuation of the story set-up in both Offspring and The Woman in which McIntosh starred as the titular woman. Picking-up years after Woman and little Darlin’ wandered into the woods, Darlin‘ follows the now teenage Darlin’ as she is thrust back into society via a Catholic boarding school after being separated from Woman. Relative newcomer Lauryn Canny stars as Darlin’, with McIntosh’s The Walking Dead co-star Cooper Andrews also on the cast.

Depraved

The next film on the list, Depraved, is one that we’ve actually already seen. Written and directed by everyone’s favourite genre star Larry Fessenden, Depraved offers a modern take on the Frankenstein story. Set in modern day New York, our Doctor Frankenstein this time around is a PTSD suffering military medic determined to stop death. Our creature is the hapless soul whom has his brain transplanted into a new ‘body’. The Frankenstein tale may have been told hundreds of times before, but Depraved still feels completely fresh. We reviewed it at What the Fest, and gave it the glowing five-star treatment. A film of true beauty, both creatively and performed, Depraved is anything but what the title suggests. A truly special moment in the lineage of a beloved movie monster, Fessenden has crafted the best take on Frankenstein since Shelley herself. Do not miss this one folks.

Homewrecker

Actor Alex Essoe burst onto the genre scene in the fantastic Starry Eyes. In it she played down-on-her-luck aspiring star Sarah, someone desperate to succeed no matter what the cost. Since then she’s gone onto star in some really interesting projects, including Fashionista, The Neighbour and Tales of Halloween. Later this year we’ll see her in UK cinemas as she stars as Wendy Torrance in the highly anticipated Shining sequel, Doctor Sleep. Before that though she takes centre stage in our next Fantasia pick – Homewrecker. In it she stars as Michelle, a young woman whose politeness, and refusal to cause any kind of scene leads her down a dark path after meeting the over enthusiastic Linda (Precious Chong) at Yoga.

The Lodge

The English-language debut of directing duo Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, The Lodge looks set to give audiences some sleepless nights. The pair’s previous credits include the fantastic maternal horror, Goodnight Mommy, a film which saw two young brothers, become uncertain that their mother is who she claims to be after returning home following an accident that leaves her face covered in bandages. Their new film stars Richard Armitage, Riley Keough, Jaeden Lieberher, and Alicia Silverstone in a tense blizzard-set story. Grace (Keough) takes her soon-to-be step children to a remote cabin for the Christmas season, but after finding themselves snowed-in, events take an unexpected turn.

Ready or Not

Ex Summer Bay resident Samara Weaving was recently announced as a new addition to Bill and Ted Face the Music. It’s been confirmed that she’ll be playing the daughter of Ted ‘Theodore’ Logan, aka Keanu Reeves, in the threequel. First though, she follows-up her genre work in The Babysitter and Mayhem, with Ready or Not. The trailer and synopsis point to a film very much in the tone of the brilliant You’re Next and has certainly grabbed our attention. In Ready or Not, Weaving stars alongside Andie MacDowell and Adam Brody as a Bride whom finds herself caught-up in a terrifying game set by her eccentric in-laws. This one sounds like a lot of fun and is sure to be one of the biggest crowd pleasers of the festival.

Riot Girls

The next choice on the list, Riot Girls, peaked my interest from the log-line. It described the film as being set in a post-apocalyptic world in which the adult population has been wiped out by a deadly plague. Now, being someone who was a teenager in the late nineties / early noughties, I was an Avid viewer of New Zealand teen soap The Tribe. The story followed a group of kids as they learned to survive after a virus had killed off all the adults. They all formed different groups with suitable apocalyptic names such as the Demon Dogs and the Mall Rats, each tribe having their own uniform face-paint design and everyone went to town with the wacky hair colour dyes. Whilst Jovanka Vuckovic’s film isn’t likely to have that much in common with The Tribe, it instead promises to be a tribute to girlhood set in an alternate 1990’s.

Sadako

Can you believe it’s been over twenty years since Hideo Nakata birthed the J-Horror craze? His film about a haunted videotape, Ringu, scared audiences across the world, causing many people to develop an inexplicable phobia of their televisions. The film was one of the first to get the Western remake, with Naomi Watts leading the US versions. It also got several sequels and prequels in it’s native form, and more recently, a crossover with The Grudge in Sadako Versus Kayako. 2019 brings a whole new film, Sadako, to the screen, one that sees Hideo Nakata return to his Ringu roots. Prepare to fear technology again.

Satanic Panic

The final film that we’re most looking forwards to at Fantasia is Satanic Panic. Written by Grady Hendrix, whose novels My Best Friend’s Exorcism and We Sold Our Souls are well worth a read, Satanic Panic follows a young woman whose pizza delivery gig comes with much more than the expected tip. Her delivery interrupts a ritual which requires a virgin to complete, and Sam suddenly finds herself fighting for survival. The film is directed by Chelsea Stardust and stars Rebecca Romijn, Jerry O’Connell and is sure to delight genre fans everywhere.

For information about tickets and the full programme head to the festival website at www.fantasiafestival.com.