2025’s Fantasia International Film Festival has come and gone, with a wide swath of genre films highlighting the creativity of this carefully curated lineup. Don’t miss my full coverage of this year’s festival after the jump, and be sure to be put some of these exciting titles on your radar!
Films
ALL YOU NEED IS KILL
Full review at the link.
ANYTHING THAT MOVES
Seeking out a film from a director whose previous movie I despised was definitely a rookie mistake, but here we are. From Alex Phillips (All Jacked Up and Full of Worms) comes a surrealistic, deeply nonsensical romance/thriller with a dash of mystery for good measure. This oddity, titled Anything That Moves, follows sex worker Liam (Hal Baum) and his twin, Thea (Jiana Nicole), as they embark on a wild sex-fueled odyssey of self-discovery… or something like that. There’s also a murder, a trippy threesome, and a nasty head-hole. Initially, Liam gets painted as a nearly divine being whose lovemaking prowess knows no bounds. However, the more we see, the more his flaws are revealed seemingly without any relevance. He has a strange bump on his head that only his twin truly calls out; this same woman also frequently goes to meet johns and either participates or stands nearby. Granted, this was described by the festival as being an erotic thriller, so it’s not as if anyone will be clutching their pearls at the gratuitous nudity or nature of their appearance. But the explicit scenes fail to accomplish much of anything, aside from the occasional hilariously silly one-liner and a handful of campy sessions of lovemaking. It does, at least, look very good, being shot on Super 16mm.
BARBIE BOOMER
Full review at the link.
BLAZING FISTS
Full review at the link.
CHAO
Full review at the link.
DOG OF GOD
Previously reviewed at 2025’s Tribeca Film Festival.
EDDINGTON
Anything Ari Aster touches, for this viewer anyway, is a must-see, and the riveting Eddington marks a bold, exciting new addition to his filmography. Essentially billed as a modern Western with a Covid-twist, this hilariously off-kilter movie somehow feels more relevant in reflection of today’s youth. It mocks those who blindly stand up for causes that have nothing to do with them and that they know nothing about, doing so in a manner that harshly lampoons performative Gen Z culture. At the center of it all is anti-mask Sheriff Joe Cross (Joaquin Phoenix), who somehow decides that it would be best for him to run for town Mayor against opponent Ted Garcia (Pedro Pascal). Their rivalry acts as a powder keg of insanity, peppering the town with further discontent as the locals turn on the cops in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement. Some of the sideplots have virtually no payoff—see: Louise (Emma Stone) and her obsession with the cult of Vernon (Austin Butler)—but once it gets going, Eddington‘s wild imagery and bold judgments across all political spectrums are captivating. Phoenix makes up for Joker: Folie a Deux with a showy performance of dangerous obsession, whilst his character’s fixations ultimately lead to his downfall. By its very design, Eddington will be divisive; maybe that’s why I loved it so much.
FIXED
Full review at the link.
FUCKTOYS
Previously reviewed at 2025’s SXSW Film Festival.
HAUNTED MOUNTAINS: THE YELLOW TABOO
Full review at the link.
HELLCAT
Full review at the link.
HI-FIVE
Full review at the link.
HOLD THE FORT
With easily the most variety of baddies amongst the Fantasia horror crop, hoping for a movie such as Cabin in the Woods to feature them in a unique fashion may be for naught. Hold the Fort does admittedly have a great setup: two new homeowners (Chris Mayers, Haley Leary) are invited to an Equinox party by the middling president (Julian Smith) of their HOA. Unfortunately, this “party” is basically code for a team of neighbors that must ward off leagues of different monsters until the sun comes up. The exact logistics or meaning behind any of it may not be entirely clear, and there are plot holes so large you could launch a witch’s orb through them without bumping up against the sides. What little exists of the hollow story is rattled off in random exposition. Still, this could have been a total blast with less shoddy CGI and more reliance on practical effects. The one liners are purposely cheesy, and the characters are even thinner than the narrative. While there are glimmers of a fun time, only the horror-comedy obsessives need apply.
I AM FRANKLEDA
Full review at the link.
INFLUENCERS
Full review at the link.
LURKER
Full review at the link.
QUEENS OF THE DEAD
Previously reviewed for 2025’s Tribeca Film Festival.
SHAM
Previously reviewed for 2025’s Tribeca Film Festival.
SWEETNESS
Previously reviewed at 2025’s SXSW Film Festival.
THE UNDERTONE
Something truly scary is always in the eye of the beholder when it comes to the horror genre. For some, they may find this sound-heavy horror/thriller to be nightmare-inducing, while others will be left craving more from the sparse narrative. This viewer definitely fell into the latter category. As a former podcaster, the strange structure of The Undertone seemed to emphasize that writer/director Ian Tuason knows absolutely nothing about how one actually works. The phony nature of the podcast at hand kept pulling me out of the story. Non-believer Evy (Nina Kiri) and her co-host Justin (Kristen Holden-Ried) continue recording their podcast exploring unexplainable supernatural phenomena even as Evy’s mother lies on her deathbed. Anonymously sent a mysterious series of ten audio files, the duo try to decipher their secrets while also unpacking the disturbing nature of childhood nursery rhymes. There is plenty to like here, from excellent sound design to a handful of scenes that manage to play up the eerie imagery. Unfortunately, neither the thin characters nor the eventual climax can live up to the immaculate nature of the rest of the production. The script relies solely on Evy’s perspective, at least partly responsible for its ultimate shortcomings.
For more information and to check out the full slate, check out the fest’s official website.