Fantasia 2018 – Eight Films We Just Have To See

Fantasia 2018…

With Fantasia Film Festival beginning on July 12 to August 2, we cannot wait to see just what surprises lay ahead! After checking over the schedule we have come up with eight films that we (and you) will want to see, some already have some good buzz whilst others will be having their world premiere at Fantasia Film Festival.

THE FIELD GUIDE TO EVIL
What’s It About?
The world can be a scary place, no matter where you travel. Every country has its creatures of folklore, lurking in the woods and shadows throughout history. In Austria, the Trud emerges to punish a girl indulging in a forbidden love. Woe betide a pregnant woman in Turkey who attracts the attention of the “childbirth djinn.” A Polish kindler is tempted by a strange woman who offers him great power at a bloody cost. When an American family vacations in an isolated cabin, the young son encounters deformed “melonheads” in the forest. It’s a merry Christmas in a Greek town until a goblin crashes the party. An expedition into the wilds of India to acquire oddities for a circus leads to a palace of bizarre beings. In Germany, a brother and sister are plagued by a malignant mouselike demon called a drude. And two Hungarian brothers tempt supernatural fate to win the love of a princess.

We Say:We love our anthologies and with the producers of The ABC’s Of Death on board, you know that this is going to wild and varied. With stories from nine directors including the diectors of Goodnight Mommy, Berberian Sound Studio & Baskin, this is one field guide that we can’t wait to get a hold of.

HURT
What’s it About?
A peaceful sky, wind in the trees, a ladybug sitting on a blade of wheat. Nothing happens in New Caney, Texas. On Halloween night, the picture-perfect Americana of this farming town is quiet, and remains undisturbed. Time moves painfully slowly. Rose sits by herself, smoking a cigarette, scaring the kids away. She wears a mask, like so many others that night. With her husband, freshly back from the war, Rose is off to the village’s annual horror show. Everything is fake – the scar, the red paper blood and the harness on the hanged woman. Only death is real. But the only way to tell you about death is to let you see it for yourself.

We Say: Sonny Malhi (Anguish, Family Blood) returns with a slasher film, where the mask of the normal & the mundane are hiding something far more troubling… A low-key slasher flick, based on true story? Count us in.

THE NIGHTSHIFTER
What’s It About?
Stênio works the night shift at a morgue in a very large, very violent city. On the job, he sees cadavers in every conceivable state, often the victims of horrific gang warfare. While most would be rather unsettled by it all, Stênio is not. For the dead speak to him. Not in any metaphorical sense but in a very literal way. Stênio was born with an occult gift and while not everyone would be at ease conversing with mutilated cadavers on slabs, he has learned that there are endless secrets that can be gleaned this way. Related to crime. To prosperity. One day he learns a terrible secret about people in his own life. He commits the sin of acting on knowledge obtained from the dead, cursing himself and those dearest to him in the process.

We say: This sounds beyond wild and we’re here for it. Writer and Director Dennison Ramalho (who has made two other shorts Love From Mother Only & Ninjas) has the world premiere of his debut film at Fantasia. Curses, dark magic and a haunted morgue!

LA QUINCEAÑERA
What’s It About?
Fifteen-year-old Alejandra Santos (Mia Xitlali) first appears dressed like a princess as she is set to celebrate her quinceañera, the birthday that marks her debut into the world as a woman. Bothered by a recent dispute with her father, who is nowhere to be seen, she is reluctant to join the festivities. Soon enough, he appears, followed by the Del Rio cartel, who believe the Santos are hiding something that belongs to them. When they can’t find what they’re looking for, threats escalate to bloodshed and young Alejandra must witness and survive raw, unadulterated acts of violence. With her abuela by her side, they will push the limits of their strength and sanity as they take it upon themselves to avenge their family.

We Say: Revenge films are a favourite around here! Gigi Saul Guerrero (shorts El Gigante & Madre De Dios) gives us her style of Latin horror complete with ultra-violence, blood and women showing their strength.

LUZ
What’s It About?
On a particularly violent and stormy night, an obviously distraught taxi driver named Luz bursts into a nearly deserted police station. Meanwhile, the mysterious Nora is busy seducing a certain Dr. Rossini at a local bar. As the drinks accumulate on the counter and the mysterious conversation grows increasingly threatening, she reveals the nature of her long-term relationship with Luz. And as Rossini falls under her charm, it quickly becomes obvious that it’s already too late for everyone involved. At the station, Luz confesses her secret to incredulous officers: a demon is on the loose, and it is after her. He’s heading their way and odds are slim that there will be anyone left to see the sun rise in the morning…

We Say: A German film that takes apart the demonic possession tale, we can’t wait to see how director Tilman Singer brings all the influences of the 70’s arthouse horror shockers and weaves them into an unholy occult horror.

MANDY
What’s It About?
The peaceful existence of Red Miller (Nicolas Cage) in the Shadow Mountains of 1983 is burned to the ground when a deranged religious sect fixates on Mandy (Andrea Riseborough), the love of his life and, as is soon made very evident, a significant grounding force in his universe. Things deteriorate into a tranced-out nightmare of insect venom, hard drugs and broken-minded delirium as Red journeys into hell in order to avenge the woman he once lived for. Blood will flow in rivers. Worlds will collapse unto themselves.

We Say: It’s arty, violent and metal as fuck! Plus there is Nic Cage. So much has already been said about Mandy that it is nearly impossible not to be hyped for this film!

THE RANGER
What’s It About?
The squats, natural habitat of music bands, misfits… and punks. Amid that mix is Chelsea, a pretty young girl with troubled childhood memories and a bag full of dope. From the NYC underground scene to a remote cabin in a national park, Chelsea and her gang of patched and pierced pals are on the run. Unbeknownst to them, the cops they’re hiding from are nothing compared to the local authority that awaits them in the woods, natural habitat of wolves, bears – and rangers.

We Say: The Ranger has been getting some major love around the other festivals, Jenn Wexler’s debut has been touted as a punk slasher that plays outside the rules. Inject this film into our eyeballs already!

SUMMER OF 84
What’s It About?
“The suburbs are where the craziest shit happens,” 15-year-old Davey Armstrong tells us at the beginning of Summer Of 84, and he should know. It’s June and Davey is spending his days and nights hanging out, talking about sex and the finer points of the Star Wars sequels, and playing “manhunt” with best friends Eats, Woody and Curtis. The innocent fun ends when Davey begins to suspect that his next-door neighbour, outwardly friendly cop Wayne Mackey, is the Cape May Slayer who has been preying on kids his age in the area. Davey recruits his pals to help investigate and expose Mackey, initiating an adventure that threatens to turn dangerous and deadly for the boys at any moment.

We Say: RKSS returns three years after the awesome Turbo Kid this time with a coming-of-age story set in the suburbs and like every coming-of-age story it involves a serial killer. Friendship, impossible crushes, 80s sensibilities and serial killer paranoia all converge in the ‘burbs.
Images: Fantasia Film Festival