It’s back baby! The Fantasia Film Festival 2024 is the 28th edition. It will take place from July 18 to August 4 and, feature screenings, workshops, and events at Concordia Hall, J.A. de Sève cinemas, Cinémathèque québécoise, and Cinéma du Musée.
Mother of Movies has been invested in all things Fantasia since I wrote a few articles for Movie Hooker back in 2018.
Every year, the curators for the best film festival ever select the finest indie and new or emerging filmmakers and go to town. I was even lucky enough to be part of a pre-screening team once and my, oh, my do you work hard. So, thanks to the pre-screening team whoever you may be this year.
Look out for the opening night film “Bookworm” starring Elijah Wood. Also gaining lots of traction from internet chatter is “Parvulos,” “Scared Shitless,” The Soul Eater” and the reappropriation of “The Count of Monte-Cristo.”
Mother of Movies has a list of 22 new horror from the Fantasia Film Festival 2024 lineup – check that out here.
The first wave has been released along with the second so it is my pleasure to bring you whatever I came across that caught my eye. Most years films I see at Fantasia Film Festival end up being part of Mother of Movies’ annual best movies list so pay attention movie lovers. Here’s what stood out so far and there’s plenty more where this came from.
Shelby Oaks
The first title for the Fantasia Film Festival 2024 must-see movie list comes from YouTube megastar Chris Stuckmann. Well-known for being a reviewer who won’t give bad reviews, Stuckmann has managed to have Mike Flanagan in the Executive producer’s seat and the horror movie promises a solid amount of scares. Add to that a freaking amazing-looking cast starring Camille Sullivan (Hunter Hunter), Brendan Sexton III, Sarah Durn (Renfield), Keith David (The Thing) and Michael Beach (Dahmer.)
Shelby Oaks is a Kickstarter-funded film that made so much money it is now the most-funded horror film on Kickstarter ever. With more than a million-dollar budget, let’s see what Stuckmann can do. I’m excited.
Shelby Oaks tells a story about a childhood entity only she and her sister know about. After her sister disappears Mia continues to search. Shelby Oaks vanished amidst her status as a viral YouTuber who followed paranormal activity.
Read the review for Hunter Hunter.
Read the review for Renfield.
Hell Hole | The Adams Family gets in on a Monster Movie
After last year’s Where the Devil Roams and before that Hellbender, the Adams Family festival favorites are back with “Hell Hole.” For their next feat of brilliance, they’re partnering with Shudder, Joe Bob Briggs, and FX legend Todd Masters. Such high-caliber backing is extremely unusual for these low-budget indie darlings. As a follower and passionate fan of this filmmaking family, I’m on the edge of my seat for Hell Hole.
Complete with a parasitic creature, the dead body of a Napolean-era French soldier, and an unfortunate fracking site membership, Hell Hole should be one hell of a ride. The fourth movie from the Adams family will be released on Shudder on August 23rd, 2024. Shot in Serbia with a local cast and crew, Hell Hole is a science fiction and horror film.
Witchboard 2024 | Chuck Rusell reinvents an old iconic horror classic nightmare
The 1986 movie with the same name is back with a new face. Witchboard 2024 stars Madison Iseman (Annabelle Comes Home), and Aaron Dominguez (Only Murders in the Building) who play an engaged couple who start messing around in the occult.
All you need to know is, the cast is great, the director (Chuck Russell) and co-writer are probably going to blow your mind and it’s a supernatural exorcism movie with plenty of atmosphere.
The cast for Witchboard 2024 includes Jamie Campbell Bower (Stranger Things), Charlie Tahan (Ozark), and, Mel Jarnson (Mortal Kombat.) Read also A Nightmare On Elm Street: Dream Warrior.
Witchboard 2024 Movie Trailer
Penalty Loop – Japanese Science Fiction Thriller
If you can’t get on board with a time loop movie, maybe Penalty Loop won’t be your favorite film. But I like them so when someone promises a narrative by writer-director Shunji Araki (The Town of Headcounts) and suggests this story will give me a dark ride into a variation of the original time loop movie idea, then I say yes, please.
Penalty Loop follows a man called Jun who finds himself down in the dumps after the murder of his girlfriend. Deep within a moral grey area, the story promises a vengeance-style plot as Jun tracks down the person who turned his smile into a permanent frown. The catch is, that once justice is served, Jun is forced to relive the day repeatedly. This has been done before, but the press release hints that some solid unpredictable twists are in store for the tired time-loop movie lover.
Best time loop movies to watch next: Time Addicts | Dry Blood | The Endless
Penalty Loop Movie Trailer with English Subtitles
Electrophilia | Because it sounds shockingly good
Cannes-award-winning Argentinian filmmaker and novelist Lucía Puenzo (XXY) presents Electrophilia.
After being in a coma for one and a half months, Ada Mariana Di Girólamo wakes up and discovers the lightning did more than just her land in hospital. Baring scars covering much of her body and resembling lightning itself as well as a patch of sharp white hair at the point of entry, Ada finds recovery difficult. When she begins to have terrible dark and terrifying hallucinations, she discovers a group of people hidden deep underground who have experienced the very same thing.
Electrophilia is another Chroenberg-shaded film in the drama and thriller movie niche for this Argentinian writer-director (co-written by Lorena Ventimiglia.) Starring Mariana Di Girolamo, German Palacios, and Guillermo Pfening. Watch the Electrophilia movie trailer with English subtitles.
Dark Match | Because What’s a Festival Lineup Without A Cult Movie?
Lowell Dean did the Wolf Cop movies and now he’s directing and writing a bonkers-sounding film called Dark Match. Think small-town wrestlers heading to a remote location for a private match lured by the promise of a big payday. Once the team arrives, they discover the community wants more from them than an entertaining performance. Especially given they seem to be led by an unhinged cult leader called The Prophet.
The cinematography is by Karim Hussain (Infinity Pool and Possessor) and stars wrestling icon Chris Jericho as the mysterious cult leader. The cast includes Steven Ogg ( from AMC’s The Walking Dead) who comes under the banner of action and horror in a glorious rumble to the death.
The wrestling documentary “You Cannot Kill David Arquette” is what you can watch next.
Mash Ville 2024 | Korean Cult Classic @ Fantasia Film Festival 2024
The Fantasia Film Festival 2024 1st wave release has coined Mash Ville as a predicted Korean cult classic. And how could you go wrong with a story that starts with the death of a man after getting hammered on bootleg alcohol? Se-Jong and his two brothers realise their latest batch could cause more people to drop dead and so they embark on a mission to get it back. Mash Ville takes the lives of some strangers, a remote location, and two murderous cult members and then shakes and stirs until a bloody end is popped open.
Director Hwang Wook (Dog Eat Dog) presents a Western-fueled comedy action movie with pitch-black laughs. Absurdist Korean cinema is one of Mother of Movies’ favorite subgenres and sounds like lots of fun.
Dating App Horror | The Dead Thing
Another great setting for a horror movie is social media and The Dead Thing is set against a dating app. There have been some great examples of late that honor the social media and internet world with titles like Fresh, Sissy, Cam, and Superhost, The Dead Thing follows a woman who thinks she’s found the man of her dreams. Turns out, not.
Director Elric Kane wants to show you the evils of internet dating with his supernatural twisted version of a Tinder date gone very, very wrong. Staring Blu Hunt, Ben Smith-Petersen), Katherine Hughes, and John Karna. Co-written by Webb Wilcoxen.
Read the reviews for Sissy (Australian social media horror), Cam (Cam girl horror), and Superhost (Smash that like button horror.)
The Beast Within | Werewolf Movies
Kit Harington (HBO’s Game of Thrones) stars as a father, who is part of a small community shut off from outsiders. A young girl begins to question where she comes from and what goes on after the sun goes down when the moon is full. A fairytale nightmare that will make you feel like all your urban legends have come at once.
Once a month, there are monsters about. Co-starring Caoilinn Springall (Stopmotion), Ashleigh Cummings (AMC’s NOS4A2), and James Cosmo (Braveheart.)
The festival’s full lineup will be announced on July 3rd. Ticket sales will commence shortly afterward.
