Thar she blows! Writer/director Neil Ferron creates a wild, weird, and wonderful wave of mermaid mutilation with his short film, Fishmonger. The film had its world premiere at this year’s Fantastic Fest and was even one of the first shorts to be programmed as a part of festival’s Burnt End section, a collection of films that “shatter all traditional borders of taste and convention."
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Writer/director Sam Fox latest horror-comedy hybrid, Fck’n Nuts, certainly lives up to its name — and in more way than one. The short has had a phenomenal festival run and recently screened in Fantastic Fest’s Short Fuse section, a shorts block that delivers “cutting-edge horror that will make you ponder the uncanny.”
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Nicolas Cage gives horror icon Count Dracula the “Nouveau Shamanic” treatment in Chris McKay’s latest film, Renfield. Despite nearly staking itself in the heart with some weak subplots, this batty horror comedy proves to be a decent amount of silly, gory, disposable fun.
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Ari Aster returns to take audiences on an epically wild and decidedly weird guilt trip with his third feature, Beau Is Afraid. Big, bold, and ballsy, this three-hours long Freudian epic is ostensibly Aster’s very own Magnolia; an expensive, stylish indulgence that finds him wholeheartedly swinging for the fences at the risk of alienating his audience for the sake of art. Results will vary, but it’s a total winner to us.
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Following the success of his indie feature Sister Tempest, New Orleans writer/director Joe Badon is back, and he’s brought his next wild and wacky vision to Fantastic Fest! Paired with Alex Phillips’ All Jacked Up And Full Of Worms, which screened in the festivals “Burnt Ends” section, Badon’s short, The Blood Of The Dinosaurs, delivered the surrealistic comedy goods and properly primed Fantastic Fest audiences at Tuesday’s afternoon screening.
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From Miss March co-writer and co-director Zach Cregger comes the horror thriller Barbarian. This delightfully unpredictable and twisted rollercoaster ride is one of the most exciting horror films of the year — and it’s all the more surprising considering it comes from one of The Whitest Kids U’ Know. Barbarian is better the less you know, so do yourself a favor and save this review until after you’ve seen the film.
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The latest installment into the V/H/S franchise, V/H/S/94, recently had its world premiere at this year’s Fantastic Fest. Featuring five new segments from filmmakers Simon Barrett, Chloe Okuno, Ryan Prows, Jennifer Reeder, and Timo Tjahjanto, V/H/S/94 takes viewers for a gory good ride that attempts to right the wrongs of the franchise’s previous entry.
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Fantastic Fest delighted its audience with their first secret screening of the festival, the U.S. premiere of Edgar Wright’s Last Night In Soho. This soggy, neon-glazed psychological horror/comedy is a stylishly slick visual feast that transports viewers to the swinging 60s of London’s West End, but it unfortunately fails to do much else.
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Director James Wan returns to his horror roots and funnels his Aquaman money into one of the weirdest studio-backed films in recent memory with Malignant. Part possession film, part Giallo, and thoroughly WTF, Wan whips up a stylish and atmospheric potpourri that glorifies the gory and commemorates the silly and strange.
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Psycho Goreman is the latest feature film from writer/director Steven Kostanski (who also served as co-editor and co-producer). The film takes 80s and 90s sci-fi and twists it into a bizarro bloodbath full of inventive costumes and grotesquely charming practical effects. It won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but if you’re a connoisseur of midnight and B movie kitsch, Psycho Goreman delivers on the fun-filled goods.
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Canuxploitation extraordinaire Vincenzo Nappi just premiered his latest short film, Filtered, at the Cabane à Sang film festival on April 24. The film is the latest short-form entry into the growing screenlife sub-genre, and it manages to pack some laughs and scares into its brief runtime.
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Indie triple-threat (writer, director, and actor) extraordinaire Jim Cummings (not to be confused with the actor famous for voicing Winnie the Pooh) follows up his phenomenal 2018 film, Thunder Road, with something equally surprising and delightful. Adding a welcome dose of genre to his unique blend of comedy and drama, Cummings brings his idiosyncratic spin to the werewolf film on The Wolf of Snow Hollow, creating something special that holds up against the best the sub-genre has to offer.
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Brian Taylor, who's best known as one half of the creative team that brought us the Crank films and Gamer, branches out on his own to serve up another fun and zany dark comedy thrill ride. Mom & Dad has enough adrenaline coursing through its veins to hang with the Crank films and boasts a wound up and rattled Nicolas Cage at his "Cagiest" since Bad Lieutenant. It may not reinvent the wheel, but it's a pretty rockin' good time as far as January fare goes.
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Yorgos Lanthimos first exploded on the scene with his film Dogtooth and has been flooring critics with his unique brand of dry-humored and awkward absurdism. Last year’s effort The Lobster (also featuring Colin Farrell) was a highly praised oddball rom-com with a premise that sounded like it couldn’t fail, but left many moviegoers divided. The same will be evident with his latest film, The Killing of a Sacred Deer, an ominous and brooding, albeit bizarre, revenge thriller of horrific proportions.
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