Fantasia International Film Festival returns for more with its jam-packed 2024 slate! Sci-fi, horror, animation, and dark dramas promise a tantalizing trip to the cinemas. Check out our picks after the jump…
THE A-FRAME
Blast off into another dimension with gleeful abandon in writer/director Calvin Lee Reeder’s zany sci-fi horror flick, The A-Frame. Freaky visuals and the bold vision of its creator perfectly suit the simple, low-stakes premise. The implications, however, are nothing but simple: what would a cure for cancer mean for the world? Having lost several loved ones to different forms of cancer, contemplating the possibility of curing it in any way brings out the hope for a miracle. Mad scientist or brilliant genius Sam Dunn (Johnny Whitworth, Valentine, The 100) may have cracked the code with his radical new cancer treatment. Go straight through the entrance gates of terror in unpredictably fun The A-Frame.
DARKEST MIRIAM
Anytime executive producer Charlie Kaufman is involved in a production, even in the most minuscule of ways, one has to take notice. Kaufman puts his name behind writer/director Naomi Jaye’s bold new vision, titled Darkest Miriam. Those familiar with Kaufman’s work will see another throughline in the form of a complex character drama overflowing with quirks and authentic moments of truth. A connection between two people that will change both of them irrevocably, and yet, the mystery behind a set of threatening letters creeps in with a sinister edge. Darkest Miriam spends time getting us acclimated into the weird library world of Miriam (Britt Lower, Sisters, Mr. Roosevelt), then pays off its slow burn with layered charm.
IN OUR BLOOD
Found footage has come such a long way since the early days of 1999’s The Blair Witch Project. Look no further than Pedro Kos’s In Our Blood, a faux-documentary chronicling a young woman’s reunion with her estranged mother. Things quickly go awry for Emily (Brittany O’Grady) when Sam (Alanna Ubach) suddenly goes missing during their filming. Try to piece together the chilling clues as Emily and her cinematographer, Danny (E.J. Bonilla), inch closer and closer to the truth. Can Sam be saved, or is it already too late? Watch and find out in nail-biting horror/thriller, In Our Blood.
ODDITY
Crafting an effective, breakout horror feature does not come easy, yet with his previous movie, writer/director Damien Mc Carthy managed a seriously scary debut. His sophomore effort, Oddity, somehow outdoes its predecessor off the strength of its intimate storytelling and constantly creeping sense of dread. Oddity once again brings Irish filmmaker Mc Carthy to Shudder, the ultimate destination for up-and-coming genre filmmakers. As much as both features present as slow-burn, the build towards pulse-pounding, nail-biting suspense makes every second spent with these characters entirely worth the climb. Evoking old-school atmospheric horror and filmed on location in Ireland, Oddity breathes new life into the genre with its haunting, nightmarish imagery.
SELF DRIVER
(Written by Intern, Sean Barry) Who knew driving around a city after dark could be so stressful? Following a down-on-his-luck gig driver, D (Nathanael Chadwick), Self Driver displays the good, the bad, and the ugly that occurs while the rest of the world sleeps. When D signs up for a new rideshare service to pay off stacking bills, he is persuaded into partaking in increasingly bizarre and dangerous tasks. Will he and his beloved car make it through the night in one piece? This brooding examination of a job gone wrong is not to be missed.
SUNBURNT UNICORN
For fans of quirky animation, don’t miss this one! A surprisingly effective coming-of-age desert fable, Sunburnt Unicorn depicts a harsh landscape of cartoonish creatures… and endless sand. Writer/director Nick Johnson hones in on messages of compassion and kindness, fueled by a son’s undying search for his lost father. Along the way, Frankie (Diana Kaarina) must navigate a complicated ecosystem, a dastardly Cactus King, and his own sense of self to come upon vital realizations. Featuring a lovable cast of characters and disturbing sun-dappled imagery, inspired by the family adventure films of the 80s, Sunburnt Unicorn is unlike any other animated feature to emerge this year.
For more information about this year’s Fantasia International Film Festival, including ticketing and the entire lineup, please head over to the official festival website for full details.