Next week sees Canada's largest genre film festival Fantasia kick off its 27th edition and with it an incredibly stellar line-up of international, acclaimed films that we are super looking forward to checking out. Based in Montreal, the festival has become one of the fastest growing attended and culturally important film festivals in the world.
The festival runs from July 20th to August 9th and has been described by Quentin Tarantino as "The most important and prestigious genre film festival on this continent".
We'll be covering the festival remotely for the first time and here's some of the top horror feature films we can't wait to see.
Birth/Rebirth
Being described as a modern feminine take on the classic 'Frankenstein' story and a terrifying tale about the trauma of motherhood, Laura Moss' debut feature film wowed audiences at Sundance earlier this year and if the recent trailer is anything to go by it is sure to turn some stomachs too. Judy Reyes of 'Scrubs' fame and Marin Ireland both look like they absolutely smash this.
Where the Devil Roams
Indie horror darlings The Adams family return with the World Premiere of their latest original feature film set during depression-era America and following Father Seven, Mother Maggie and daughter Eve as they travel up and down the road on the carnival circuit, leaving a path of chaos and a trail of dead bodies behind them. There's sure to be some supernatural and occult offerings too and we are so here for it.
Talk to Me
Another one that blew Sundance audiences away and now being hailed as a new horror classic, 'Talk To Me' is fast becoming the most talked about horror film of the year so far. From the fascinating mind of Australian Youtube sensations Michael and Danny Phillippou comes an engrossing and ferocious rollercoaster of a film which is both equally terrifying and heartbreaking at the same time with an insanely original concept to boot.
Blackout
Written and directed by genre favourite Larry Fessenden, 'Blackout' will receive it's World Premiere at the festival and follows artist Charley Barrett as he attempts to expose the corruption of a ruthless developer. But Charley is also a recently infected werewolf and there's a full moon in his immediate future which doesn't bode well for... well any human beings within a stone throw of him. Apparently this is a film Fessenden has been wanting to make for a very long time so you just know it'll be worth the wait.
Suitable Flesh
Last but not least is Joe Lynch's H.P. Lovecraft adaption which supposedly pays tribute to the late, great Stuart Gordon by spiritually dropping the film right into the 'Re-Animator' & 'From Beyond' universes and magically getting the ball rolling on the film where those two classics left off. Heather Graham stars as a respected psychiatrist who becomes unhealthily obsessed with one of the patients. 'Suitable Flesh' reunites the Gordon trio of screenwriter Dennis Paoli, lead star Barbara Crampton and producer Brian Yuzna. If it's even half as fun as Gordon's double bill then we are all in for a huge treat.
It was difficult just to pick 5 stand-out films amongst such an elite line-up and on any other given day at least 10 other titles could've made their way onto this list.
This year the festival will continue to explore the diverse realms of genre cinema and deliver groundbreaking, cutting edge and unforgettable mainstream genre films. Guests attending include but not limited to David Dastmalchian, Larry Fessenden, Laura Moss, Joe Lynch & Barbara Crampton.
Fantasia runs from July 20th to August 9th. Buy Tickets HERE