Every Film I Watched at This Year's Fantasia Festival

The following article was submitted from this year’s Fantasia Fest.

Synopsis: The Sauvage family is desperate to be loved. Carole knows her employees hate her and is determined to win them over at any cost. Jacques has never worked a day in his life and doesn’t feel respected. As for their 16 y.o introverted son Blaise, who lacks a personality, he always goes along with everyone and agrees to everything… So much so that when he meets this girl, Josephine, he politely embarks on a revolutionary, violent, and completely impromptu crusade.

My Thoughts: The animation style of Blaise (2026) truly is the highlight, with an avant-garde sensibility that somehow charms and unsettles simultaneously. Despite the lack of facial expression, the style alone was enough to pique my interest. However, despite directors Jean-Paul Guigue and Dimitri Planchon’s best efforts to expose the passive-aggressive intersections between the members of a self-obsessed family in disarray, its humor and execution rarely hit their marks. Aside from the disconnect one feels from the lack of emotion on display, the directors confuse observation with pretension, rarely relating to anything resembling reality when presenting its satire. Aside from an occasional caught-off-guard moment of humor, Blaise fails to justify itself. C

Synopsis: During the late 1950s in Venezuela, nine-year-old Elizabeth’s summer break takes a wild turn when her little brother Leo vanishes into the jungle. She must swap her books for bravery not only to find her brother but also to rescue a mystical furry animal from captivity and bring him back up to the legendary Tepui mountain.

My Thoughts: The lush colors of the South American landscape are what immediately drew me into Edmunds Jansons’ Born in the Jungle (2026), whose color palette and fluidity are ever-present. However, soon into the film, one realizes that its interest is primarily in younger viewers with a simplistic story that won’t do much for their parents or otherwise, with stakes so low they’d rival something airing on PBS Kids. The course of events never breaks past a certain point of tension or excitement and ultimately has limited appeal, as beautiful as the animation is. C

Synopsis: A dangerous experiment goes awry resulting in a Dance Freak running wild.

My Thoughts: Somewhere in the crosshairs between Eraserhead (1977) and Adult Swim’s late-night mentality lies Alan Resnick and Robby Rackleff’s Dance Freak (2026), which straddles the line between psychological torment and the ludicrously absurd in its execution. Just by that description alone, most people will know if Dance Freak is for them or not (at least I thought I did), but somewhere along the way, the film loses its way in a kaleidoscopic fury of presentation. The lack of connection ultimately came at the expense of not knowing Resnick and Rackleff’s intentions, whether to lampoon a familiar genre, or simply to shock and awe in an alt-comic space. While flashes of good humor and nonsensicality shine a positive light with cameos from Stavros Halkias, Sarah Sherman, and Connor O’Malley, Dance Freak swings way too hard for the fences in its execution to truly satisfy its absurdist hunger. C+

Synopsis: When Heterosis - a mysterious virus that turns gay men straight sweeps through the Parisian gay scene, Jim, the six-packed sovereign of the Gym Queens, goes from Pride royalty to social outcast. With only Lucien, a freshly-out twink with more heart than abs, still by his side, Jim must race to find a cure before the disease erases the community that once worshipped him.

My Thoughts: If there’s one thing to appreciate in Jim Queen (2026), the riotously funny and gleefully profane French queer animated marvel, it’s how the film is all business about being its authentic self at all times. While the storytelling is a standard hero’s redemption, the LGBTQ+ subcultural emphasis on the comedy and mile-a-minute freneticism works wonders as a representation that isn’t afraid to not take itself too seriously. The animation is gorgeous, with a lot to take in on every frame. The story progresses at a consistent pace, always taking us to new locations and introducing us to new characters. Whether it’s at your local indie theater or your next midnight madness, Jim Queen isn’t to be missed. B+

Synopsis: After gaining alcohol-fueled superpowers, Ricardo, a young punk from the outskirts, sets out to change society. But one brutal mistake will ignite an international conflict, with him at the heart of the storm.

My Thoughts: Diego “Mapache” Fuentes’ directorial debut is certainly ambitious, with a visual swathe that, at times, can simultaneously resemble Mathieu Kassovitz’ La Haine (1995) with its gritty film grain aesthetic and Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010) with how fast-paced and stylistically presented it is. The performances, all from a cast of largely first-time actors, are in-the-moment and delivered with conviction, and it’s refreshing to see the story told from a perspective that isn’t as dissected in the superhero genre. The film, admittedly, runs out of steam by the time the credits roll, though at a brisk 71 minutes, it’s easy to forgive on innovation alone. B-

Synopsis: Seeking a late-night thrill, four university friends visit a legendary cursed tree in a haunted cemetery. When one of them disappears and the others are haunted by terrifying visions of a ghostly woman, they discover some legends demand a deadly price in this feature-length adaptation of Sesuji’s “Kuchi ni Kansuru Ankēto”.

My Thoughts: Takashi Shimizu came to this year’s Fantasia Fest with two features in tow, alongside The Village of Eight Gravestones. As someone fascinated by both his mainstream breakout Ju-On: The Grudge (2002) and its 2004 American counterpart, I was curious to see what he had to offer with The Mouths (2026). Unfortunately, the story never quite comes together, given the lack of a compelling story and characters worthy of investment, both in terror and drama. The final nail in the coffin is the promise of a survey at the end of the film that, sadly, adds nothing by the time we’ve reached the end. C

Synopsis: On a quest to prove his competency, an inept sound recordist finds himself entangled in a nautical prophecy on the spectral island of Pincer Point.

My Thoughts: In what was easily one of my most anticipated of the festival, The Peril at Pincer Point (2026) starts off on the right foot, with a very funny introduction satirizing the entertainment industry and filmmaking in general. However, once our protagonist Jim (Jack Redmayne) reaches Pincer Point, the film takes a stylistic turn into ambiguous dramatic territory, having more in common with something like The Lighthouse (2019) than Hundreds of Beavers (2022). It’s not a bad direction to take. If anything, it makes the film more unique, but certainly not what I was expecting. However, by the time the film hits its ending, The Peril at Pincer Point proves to ultimately be seaworthy. B-

Synopsis: After a woman is abandoned by her boyfriend in the forest, she befriends a couple and gradually realizes they are a pair of notorious bank robbers on the run from the law.

My Thoughts: The debut feature of Gloria Mercer, based on a 2021 proof-of-concept short film, is a testament to the power of telling a simple story with greater aspirations that shine through. What begins as a modest story of one couple’s failed relationship merging into another’s quickly turns into a cautionary tale for anyone trapped in a less-than-desirable partnership. What’s especially interesting about A Safe Distance (2026) is its ability to call out the ineptitude and self-assured comfort of appearing liberal when, in reality, both men secretly refuse to give up an inch of their patriarchal servitude. While the storytelling itself is covered ground, A Safe Distance is the type of independent film that has the power to save lives. B

Synopsis: On December 3, 2024, in Seoul, the President of South Korea Yoon Suk-yeol declared martial law. Troops move toward the National Assembly to seize control. Meanwhile, citizens rush to the National Assembly to block the troops, while lawmakers break through police barricades at the main gate, climb over the walls to attend the session that lifts the martial law.

My Thoughts: In what’s the best film I saw out of this year’s Fantasia Festival, The Seoul Guardians (2026) speaks to the heart of an international conflict in which any person in any sector of the world will find resonation. This pulse-pounding, chest-tightening documentary utilizes its time with tremendous craftsmanship in demonstrating its on-the-ground dispute. Citizens frantically scramble to do all they can to allow their government to lift the imposed law as government members scramble to call a vote, blocking military forces ordered to block their efforts. What follows is a breathless account of collective defiance in the face of authoritarianism and must be seen to be believed. A-

Synopsis: In Almaty, a cash-strapped couple hatch a plan to solve their money troubles, but soon become embroiled in a toxic web of social media, violent criminality and spiraling greed.

My Thoughts: With nearly a decade-long running motif in cinema of characters devising ways to dig their way out of debt or general eat-the-rich satires, we’ve received a lot of entries, none more notable than Bong Joon-ho’s masterful Parasite (2019) and Park Chan-wook’s underrated No Other Choice (2025). However, Sicko (2026), an import from Kazakhstan whose message rings similarly those, takes a look through the lens of characters whose devious efforts backfire in unceremonious ways. Regardless of its familiarity, the humor embedded within the story as a counterweight to the harsh narrative developments is a terrific touch. The ending, fair warning, is abrupt, but such is life. Sicko isn’t afraid to tap into the harsh realities that are part of trying to live within a broken system. B+

Synopsis: The film centers on Gino, whose traditional Italian family Christmas Eve celebration descends into chaos when his deceased grandmother returns from the dead and embarks on a killing spree. As more dead relatives begin appearing throughout the neighborhood, Gino must find a way to eliminate the holiday revenants and make it through the family gathering alive.

My Thoughts: Believe it or not, the juxtaposition between horror and the holiday season is more common in cinema than most would definitively say. From three different Black Christmas iterations, to cult classics like Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984) and its 2025 counterpart, Santa’s Slay (2005), and Krampus (2015), the common ground these genres share is nothing new. Unfortunately, that extends to Unholy Night (2026), the Canadian import with not much else to offer outside of being another Christmas horror film. There’s visual style and invested performances, rest assured, but the film doesn’t do much to separate itself from an already overcrowded genre. Not exactly coal in a stocking, but not especially what you wanted for Christmas, either. C