Fantasia’s 27th edition is currently in session and will continue until August 9, 2023. The beloved film festival focuses on genre films, but there are always some great dramas to be discovered alongside the horror and sci-fi standouts that people will be talking about in coming months. I will be covering the festival remotely this year and there is a lot that I am excited about.
The festival will open with Québécois director Pascal Plante’s psychological serial killer thriller RED ROOMS. I was a big fan of director’s existential crisis drama Nadia, Butterfly and I have been looking forward to this film for a while.
SHIN KAMEN RYDER is the fourth and final superhero film in Japanese director Hideaki Anno’s Shin Japan Heroes Universe following last year’s Fantasia selection Shin Ultraman. It has already become the highest grossing film in the Kamen Rider series in Japan.
Yuval Adler’s psychological horror SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL stars Nicolas Cage and Joel Kinnaman and will have its International Premiere at the festival before the theatrical release by RLJE Films. Cage plays a mysterious passenger who forces Kinnaman to drive him at gunpoint.
THE FIRST SLAM DUNK is already the fifth highest-grossing animated film of all time, having grossed $262 million to date worldwide. Fantasia will host the Canadian premiere of Takehiko Inoue’s hit basketball film.
Australian satanic horror LATE NIGHT WITH THE DEVIL from 100 Bloody Acres brother directing duo Cameron and Colin Cairnes had its World Premiere at SXSW to glowing reviews. It will have its Canadian premiere at the festival.
There are several films I had the opportunity to view at other festivals. Joe Lynch’s H. P. Lovecraft adaptation SUITABLE FLESH with Heather Graham is already my favorite horror film of the year so far. It is a tribute to Stuart Gordon with influences from Paul Verhoeven, Brian De Palma, and Claire Denis and it is a lot of fun.
My second favorite not far behind is the Australian film TALK TO ME that debuted at this year’s Sundance. It is old fashioned teenage horror done well with lots of gore and body horror. I have no doubt it will be a big hit once A24 releases it in theaters.
I saw RICHELIEU from Québécois director Pier-Philippe Chevigny at this month’s Tribeca Festival. It lays out the real life horrors migrant workers face every day, in this case at a food processing plant in Quebec. Influenced by The Dardennes, it is a tough yet necessary watch and has strong performances from Ariane Castellanos and the supporting cast.
Director C.J. ‘Fiery’ Obasi’s gorgeous looking mythical thriller MAMI WATA – A WEST AFRICAN FOLKLORE had won the cinematography award in the World Cinema section of this year’s Sundance. It will have its Canadian Premiere in the Camera Lucida section of the festival, which is devoted to films that represent new directions in cinema.
Tian Xiao Peng’s animated film DEEP SEA from this year’s Berlinale and Tribeca looks absolutely incredible and any fan of anime should not pass the opportunity to see it in 3D in a theater. Since it is not a plot-driven film, I’m not sure how widely it will be distributed.
These and much more will be in store for the lucky Montrealers and those, who make the trip to Fantasia this year. I can’t wait to watch the films and post coverage of them here.
