The 2024 Fantasia International Film Festival will soon be underway and promises to deliver another slew of exciting and creative genre films that horror, action, sci-fi, and fantasy fans will be happy to devour.
From first-time directors to filmmaking veterans, dozens of feature-length films will be premiering at this year’s Fantasia Fest, and that’s not even counting the many short films and 4K restorations of genre classics that will be screened at the festival as well. There is so much to pick from in this year’s lineup, so much so that it can be somewhat overwhelming.
While I will do my best to watch as many movies at Fantasia Fest as possible, I have drawn up a list of movies I plan to watch that will hopefully pique your interest and that you should look out for.
Without further ado, here are the 10 films to watch at this year’s Fantasia Fest:
Bookworm
The opening film of this year’s Fantasia’s 28th Edition and the sophomore film of Come to Daddy director Ant Timpson, Bookworm follows an 11-year-old bookworm named Mildred (Nell Fisher), who goes on a camping trip with her American illusionist father, Strawn Wise (Elijah Wood), into the New Zealand wilderness in the hopes of finding the legendary Canterbury Panther. Reminiscent of similar premises like Hunt for the Wilderpeople and Walkabout, Bookworm is a PG-rated family film that strives to tell an exciting adventure while being a sweet father-daughter bonding story.
Shelby Oaks
The feature-length directorial debut of YouTube critic and creator Chris Stuckmann, Shelby Oaks follows a woman named Mia (Camille Sullivan) who attempts to discover the truth about what happened to her sister, Riley, after she and her three co-hosts of the YouTube series Paranormal Paranoids, mysteriously disappeared in the spooky Ohio ghost town, Shelby Oaks. On top of this being the first feature film of Chris Stuckmann, Shelby Oaks also boasts a cast of impressive actors and an interesting premise that, at the very least, will be bone-chilling to watch, especially for fans of the horror genre.
Mononoke the Movie: Phantom in the Rain
A continuation of the 2007 cult-classic anime series Mononoke, Mononoke the Movie: Phantom in the Rain continues where the series ended. The basic premise of Mononoke (not to be confused with Miyazaki’s Princess Mononoke) is that it follows a mysterious figure only referred to as the Medicine Seller, who is the only person in feudal Japan capable of killing evil spirits (called Mononoke) plaguing the region. Reminiscent of more avant-garde anime like Mind Game and Belladonna of Sadness, Mononoke is worth watching for both hardcore fans of the art form and newbies. If you’re a fan of the 2007 series, then this film is a must-watch.
Animalia Paradoxa
Written and directed by Niles Atallah, Animalia Paradoxa tells the story of an amphibious humanoid who journeys through a post-apocalyptic world searching for the sea. What makes this film stand out, especially in Fantasia’s lineup, is how unique and experimental it looks and feels. Blending live-action filmmaking, dance, sculpture, and stop-motion animation, Animalia Paradoxa is an incredibly ambitious film that is unafraid to take risks and tell an extremely out-there story without being bound by the rules of cinema.
Azrael
Written by You’re Next and The Guest screenwriter Simon Barrett, Azrael takes place in a post-apocalyptic world and follows a couple named Azrael (Samara Weaving) and Kenan (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) who attempt to escape from a mute, religious cult. Realizing that they will be offered as a human sacrifice to an ancient demon, Azrael decides to fight back against the cult before this demon comes to eat her and Kenan. One of the stand-out aspects of this film is that it has almost no dialogue; instead, it relies purely on gore, action, and violence to tell its insane and bonkers story. Horror works best when it leans into the blood and kills. The fact that this film heavily prioritizes them without relying on pointless dialogue to slow the narrative down makes it worth watching with the biggest crowd possible.
Le Comte de Monte-Cristo
The latest adaptation of Alexandre Dumas’ beloved novel of the same name, Le Comte de Monte-Cristo (The Count of Monte-Cristo), faithfully adapts this classic revenge tale while adding several contemporary elements that not only help this film feel fresh and exciting but also bring this story to a modern audience unfamiliar with the original book. The film was incredibly well-received by audiences when it first premiered Out of Competition at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, and that alone makes this movie absolutely worth seeing.
Cuckoo
The sophomore feature of Luz (2018) director Tilman Singer, Cuckoo, follows teenage girl Gretchen (Hunter Schafer), who is forced to live with her father and his new wife at a local resort they’re redesigning in the Bavarian Alps. Gretchen is tasked with working the desk at the resort, but what should have been an easy and boring job becomes much more dangerous when random attacks occur by a mysterious screaming woman. Like Singer’s previous feature, Cuckoo appears to indulge in the same experimental and hallucinatory style that Luz had, as it will feature plenty of body horror and perverted science that horror fans will most certainly eat up.
Ghost Cat Anzu
Based on the Takashi Imashiro manga of the same name, Ghost Cat Anzu tells the story of a young girl named Karin who is left in the care of her grandfather and the keeper of the Sousei-Ji Temple, who then passes her off to his adopted son and ghost cat, Anzu Nakamura. Karin and Anzu take a trip to Tokyo so that Karin can visit her mother’s grave, but along the way, they encounter a legion of demons that attempt to do them harm. Reminiscent of films like My Neighbor Totoro and slapstick, goofy anime/manga, Ghost Cat Anzu stands out from other anime within this specific genre (a human child enters the world of ghosts/demons) to deliver on a concept that appears to be a nice balance between sweet and comedic. Additionally, the film heavily utilizes rotoscoping, meaning that this film will stand out not only narratively but visually as well.
Kizumonogatari – Koyomi Vamp
A prequel to the critically acclaimed and beloved Bakemonogatari, Kizumonogatari – Koyomi Vamp is an ambitious undertaking that takes all the films in the Kizumonogatari trilogy (Part 1: Tekketsu, Part 2: Nekketsu, and Part 3: Reiketsu) and combines them into one feature-length film. Overseen by the trilogy’s original co-director, Tatsuya Oishi, these films have been reworked and revised to blend naturally together into this one feature-length movie. For those unfamiliar with the Monogatari series (anime and light novel), watching Bakemonogatari before seeing this film is best. Kizumonogatariis an unbelievable piece of art that should be seen within the proper context.
The Roundup: Punishment
The fourth film in Ma Dong-seok’s critically acclaimed and wildly popular action series, Beomjoedosi (Crime City), The Roundup: Punishment follows the franchise’s lead detective character, Ma Seok-do (Ma Dong-seok), who must team up with the Cyber Investigations Team to bring down a ruthless criminal and illegal gambling market head named Baek Chang-gi. Like the other films in the franchise, The Roundup: Punishment will feature many of the same raw and intense action scenes that have made this series famous. With Ma Dong-seok once again playing his tough, hard-hitting detective character, The Roundup: Punishment will more than deliver on being an incredible action flick.