Fantasia Film Festival 2025: Must-See Genre Films Include ‘Together,’ ‘Lurker,’ ‘F—toys’ and More
The 29th edition of the Fantasia International Film Festival is set to launch on July 16, and there is plenty to love for genre fans. The Montreal-set fest is an annual hotspot for early premieres of big-ticket films (an opening night screening of “Eddington,” “Together”), festival favorites (“Lurker,” “It Ends”) and world premieres (“Terrestrial,” “I Live Here Now”). From some of the year’s best movies that have already debuted to Fantasia exclusives, Variety has gathered a list of must-see works that every fan should try to catch in Montreal.
Indonesia has been a hotbed of creative horror filmmaking, and Hadrah Daeng Ratu’s feature, in which a family is cursed by black magic, looks to push the gore to the extreme. Also, the press material has several content warnings and ends with, “Viewers are warned to apply discretion, but horror fans will be in for a treat, at their own peril,” which is an irresistible challenge.
“Divinity” director Eddie Alcazar returns with this dizzyingly creative and demented tribute to classic cartoons in a short film scored by Danny Elfman.
Izabel Pakzad’s bloody examination of a girls’ trip gone sour analyzes the modern lines of consent and how toxic men can ruin a good time. Sophia Ali, Chris Bauer, Chloe Cherry, Helena Howard, Zion Moreno and Bella Thorne star in Pakzad’s blazing feature debut.
Annapurna Sriram’s surreal sex worker comedy is a confident update on the John Waters ethos. The twists and turns are as unpredictable as the amount of emotion and heart that sneaks into the narrative.
Julie Pacino’s gorgeous and surreal take on a waking life tale stars Lucy Fry as Rose, a woman whose stay at a hotel pierces the veil of her reality. Madeline Brewer, Sheryl Lee and Cara Seymour also star in this unflinching work.
Alexander Ullom’s road trip from hell follows a group of college students stuck on an endless stretch of road with a full tank of gas, counting the days go by as they lose their grip on humanity. It’s a bleak, thought-provoking spin on a chamber play, anchored by a small cast of strong performers.
This thrilling and inventive screenlife heist movie bursts through any genre limitations with the story of brazen teens trying to steal crypto from a larger-than-life entrepreneur. Ronan Corrigan’s debut is so fresh and electric in the details that it makes the tightly wound thriller all the more impressive.
Alex Russell’s sharp examination of fame and online fandom stars Archie Madekwe as an on-the-rise singer and Théodore Pellerin as a new member of his entourage. Never content to make an obvious decision, Russell’s script zigs and zags effortlessly to an unforgettable conclusion, made all the more exciting by subverting the audience’s expectations.
Kevin and Matthew McManus’ revenge film stars Michaela McManus as a woman who starts traveling into parallel dimensions to repeatedly kill her daughters’ murderer. Yet as the violence starts to take a toll, the film’s larger ideas of managing addiction and trauma begin to take hold.
Jermaine Fowler stars as Allen, a sci-fi writer on the rise, in this intriguing title from director Steve Pink, who also helmed the decidedly goofier “Hot Tub Time Machine.” James Morosini, Pauline Chalamet, Edy Modica and Rob Yang fill out the cast as a college reunion weekend at Allen’s house turns trippy.
Neon’s buzzy title stars real-life spouses Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a troubled couple who begin to physically fuse into each other. Michael Shanks’ movie is a huge crowd-pleaser for the midnight movie crowd, with uncomfortable, funny and disgusting scenes crashing into each other, all while Brie and Franco are unshakably empathetic as they go through hell together.
Olivia Taylor Dudley stars as a slacker whose on-again, off-again boyfriend is an alien whose touch feels like heroin. Addison Heimann’s bonkers sci-fi story gets much weirder than just the premise, blending endless genre fascinations into one wild, tentacle sex-filled ride.
Indonesia has been a hotbed of creative horror filmmaking, and Hadrah Daeng Ratu’s feature, in which a family is cursed by black magic, looks to push the gore to the extreme. Also, the press material has several content warnings and ends with, “Viewers are warned to apply discretion, but horror fans will be in for a treat, at their own peril,” which is an irresistible challenge.
“Divinity” director Eddie Alcazar returns with this dizzyingly creative and demented tribute to classic cartoons in a short film scored by Danny Elfman.
Izabel Pakzad’s bloody examination of a girls’ trip gone sour analyzes the modern lines of consent and how toxic men can ruin a good time. Sophia Ali, Chris Bauer, Chloe Cherry, Helena Howard, Zion Moreno and Bella Thorne star in Pakzad’s blazing feature debut.
Annapurna Sriram’s surreal sex worker comedy is a confident update on the John Waters ethos. The twists and turns are as unpredictable as the amount of emotion and heart that sneaks into the narrative.
Julie Pacino’s gorgeous and surreal take on a waking life tale stars Lucy Fry as Rose, a woman whose stay at a hotel pierces the veil of her reality. Madeline Brewer, Sheryl Lee and Cara Seymour also star in this unflinching work.
Alexander Ullom’s road trip from hell follows a group of college students stuck on an endless stretch of road with a full tank of gas, counting the days go by as they lose their grip on humanity. It’s a bleak, thought-provoking spin on a chamber play, anchored by a small cast of strong performers.
This thrilling and inventive screenlife heist movie bursts through any genre limitations with the story of brazen teens trying to steal crypto from a larger-than-life entrepreneur. Ronan Corrigan’s debut is so fresh and electric in the details that it makes the tightly wound thriller all the more impressive.
Alex Russell’s sharp examination of fame and online fandom stars Archie Madekwe as an on-the-rise singer and Théodore Pellerin as a new member of his entourage. Never content to make an obvious decision, Russell’s script zigs and zags effortlessly to an unforgettable conclusion, made all the more exciting by subverting the audience’s expectations.
Kevin and Matthew McManus’ revenge film stars Michaela McManus as a woman who starts traveling into parallel dimensions to repeatedly kill her daughters’ murderer. Yet as the violence starts to take a toll, the film’s larger ideas of managing addiction and trauma begin to take hold.
Jermaine Fowler stars as Allen, a sci-fi writer on the rise, in this intriguing title from director Steve Pink, who also helmed the decidedly goofier “Hot Tub Time Machine.” James Morosini, Pauline Chalamet, Edy Modica and Rob Yang fill out the cast as a college reunion weekend at Allen’s house turns trippy.
Neon’s buzzy title stars real-life spouses Alison Brie and Dave Franco as a troubled couple who begin to physically fuse into each other. Michael Shanks’ movie is a huge crowd-pleaser for the midnight movie crowd, with uncomfortable, funny and disgusting scenes crashing into each other, all while Brie and Franco are unshakably empathetic as they go through hell together.
Olivia Taylor Dudley stars as a slacker whose on-again, off-again boyfriend is an alien whose touch feels like heroin. Addison Heimann’s bonkers sci-fi story gets much weirder than just the premise, blending endless genre fascinations into one wild, tentacle sex-filled ride.