★★★★★ The best movie screening at 2025's Fantasia International Film Festival is... a slapstick Korean superhero flick? Color me surprised, but Hi-Five truly delivers the goods in a way that many modern superhero origin stories simply do not. Of course, it all starts from the ground up. A ridiculous script from writer/director Kang Hyung-chul lampoons … Continue reading Fantasia 2025: Hi-Five
Fantasia 2025: ChaO
★★★★ Japanese animation is in an entirely different realm than what we see over here from the Western branches. ChaO further proves that originality and bold storytelling come first, with creative visuals following soon after. Its unconventional mermaid romance makes a perfect venue to explore themes of ecological impacts as well as relationship power dynamics. … Continue reading Fantasia 2025: ChaO
Fantasia 2025: Haunted Mountains: The Yellow Taboo
★★★★ Atmospheric and haunting, Taiwanese import Haunted Mountains: The Yellow Taboo tackles one of Taiwan’s most legendary ghost stories in style. For the uninitiated, the urban legend of the Mountain Gremlins—an evil spirit who dons a yellow raincoat and a bamboo hat—has been passed down since the 1970s. For debut director Tsai Chia Ying, the … Continue reading Fantasia 2025: Haunted Mountains: The Yellow Taboo
Fantasia 2025: Influencers
★★★★ 2022's Influencer was a surprising delight, nicely folding into the crazy bitch canon alongside the likes of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle or Poison Ivy, yet with a decidedly modern twist. Its serial killer used deepfakes and AI technology to quite literally become her victim, in a purely online sort of way. Now, … Continue reading Fantasia 2025: Influencers
Fantasia 2025: Hellcat
★★★ Finding a truly unique concept comes easily, especially in the horror genre, yet so often they can flounder in execution. Hellcat has no such issue. The new film from writer/director Brock Bodell takes a compelling angle for a tense game of cat and mouse. When Lena (Dakota Gorman) wakes up trapped and injured in … Continue reading Fantasia 2025: Hellcat
Fantasia 2025: I Am Frankelda
★★★★ Beautifully realized stop motion animated I Am Frankelda has to be one of the most stunning movies of the year. With imagery that recalls Coraline and The Nightmare Before Christmas, directors Roy Ambirz and Arturo Ambriz do an incredible job at paying tribute whilst paving their own exciting way into the future. At times, … Continue reading Fantasia 2025: I Am Frankelda
Fantasia 2025: Blazing Fists
★★★ A meet-cute at a urinal stall at juvie may sound like the setup for a quirky Japanese Boys Love flick. A closer examination noting that the film is in the hands of auteur Takashi Miike may tell a different story. Miike, one of the most prolific filmmakers working today, comes out with a one-two … Continue reading Fantasia 2025: Blazing Fists
Five Must-See Films at 2025’s Fantasia International Film Festival
Fantasia International Film Festival comes to 2025 with a full slate of exciting flicks! Animation, oddities, and queer horror are here, so don't miss out! Check out my picks after the jump… CHAO Japanese animation is in an entirely different realm than what we see over here from the Western branches. ChaO promises that originality … Continue reading Five Must-See Films at 2025’s Fantasia International Film Festival
Fantasia 2024: House of Sayuri
★★★★ Director Koji Shiraishi is personally responsible for many Japanese horror classics, including Noroi: The Curse, Grotesque, Carved: The Slit-Mouthed Woman, and most recently, the ridiculously fun Sadako vs. Kayako. Apart from those, his track record within the genre shows an understanding of weaving dark humor into the horror. Shiraishi's latest, appropriately titled House of … Continue reading Fantasia 2024: House of Sayuri
Fantasia 2024 Wrap-Up
2024's Fantasia International Film Festival abruptly arrives like a bolt out of the blue, in the dead center of summer. With it comes a variety of fiery films, as varied as they are peculiar. Our full coverage of the fest unfolds just after the jump... Films THE BEAST WITHIN Having desperately missed Game of Thrones … Continue reading Fantasia 2024 Wrap-Up