Hold the Fort (Fantasia 2025): HOA Horror Meets Silly Monster Mayhem
Hold the Fort (Fantasia 2025) is a horror-comedy where homeownership comes with hellspawn battles, HOA absurdities, exploding heads, and a mercenary named McScruffy. Review by Mother of Movies.
World Premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival – HOLD THE FORT
Directed by: William Bagley
Written by: William Bagley
Story by: Scott Hawkins
Produced by: Matt Dodd, Luke Williams, Tim Reis, Julian Smith
Studio: Blue Finch Films
Starring: Chris Mayers, Haley Leary, Julian Smith
Genre: Horror-Comedy
Runtime: 74 minutes
While this review avoids major plot reveals or ending twists, it does discuss character arcs, genre tropes, and specific scenes that may influence your viewing experience. If you’re spoiler-sensitive, proceed with extra caution.
Buying Into Horror: The Premise That Sells You Out
Hold the Fort kicks off with Jake and Jenny, a married couple who’ve finally hit the adulting jackpot, as they bought a home. But buried in that celebratory fine print? A contract with the literal devil. Their new neighborhood is part of a secret annual Equinox ritual involving monsters from hell and an HOA that’s more militia than meeting minutes. Yes, they’re homeowners now. Yes, they must fight demons every year or lose their property and their lives.
Jake didn’t read the fine print. Or any print. He saw the cheap price tag and thought “blessing,” not “blood pact.”
And somehow, that’s not the most ridiculous thing about this story.
Monsters, Moonshine & McScruffy
For the first annual battle, a random group of locals is summoned, each more bizarre than the last. There’s Annette, who brews moonshine that might double as napalm; Marcus, a wrench-wielding MVP; and McScruffy, the mercenary they hire off Craigslist who immediately disarms himself with the shotgun he just won in the neighborhood’s weapons raffle. Yes, you read that right: a weapons raffle.
Jenny, a nurse with quiet competence, is the real hero here. Jake flails, flounders, and causes more damage than most monsters. Jenny tapes herself together with gaffa tape (bless) and rises to every absurd occasion. I live for practical survival moments like this. It was kind of fun to see how far duct tape could go when fighting supernatural threats.
“Welcome to the Equinox. Please don’t die.” Actual motto from the town’s clubhouse.
Quote – Hold the Fort premiere at Fantasia Film Festival 2025
The plot hinges on a series of escalating monster attacks, all met with surprisingly specific weapons. Witches? Shoot them. Werewolves? Launch an orb that zombifies humans. Demons? Honestly, the script doesn’t explain everything, but half the fun is watching the cast adapt on the fly.
The humor? Didn’t land for me. If you’re into low-brow antics like Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, you’ll probably get more laughs out of it than I did. That said, the tone is self-aware without being smug, and thankfully, it avoids the kind of toilet humor that sinks lesser horror-comedies.
Cast Chemistry & Exploding Heads
The ensemble isn’t built for depth, but they play off each other well enough to be just disappointing when they die. Chris Mayers as Jake nails the clueless husband act, even if you want to scream at him every 10 minutes. Haley Leary (Jenny) is the standout, equal parts weary, logical, and emotionally anchored in a sea of chaos. You believe she’s tired, furious, and still capable.
Julian Smith’s McScruffy is a meme in motion, and honestly? That’s the point. These characters are all exaggerated archetypes, and in this kind of gonzo genre sandbox, that works.
Despite the film’s budget, the gore effects are impressive. Heads explode with impressive squelch, limbs fly, and monsters feel handmade in the best way. It’s blood-soaked but not overly grim, and that balance keeps the tone light, even when characters are being ripped to shreds.
Homeownership Satire with a Bite (and Blood)
Beneath the chaos, there’s something relatable about Hold the Fort. It’s a satire on modern adulthood, property ownership, and how contracts can drag us into battles we never signed up for. Literally. Jake represents that blind leap so many make when signing dotted lines, while Jenny represents every overburdened spouse who has to clean up the mess.
Bagley’s direction doesn’t push for slickness; it embraces camp, and in a midnight festival setting like Fantasia, that’s exactly the right move. The script takes big swings, often messy, sometimes surprisingly clever, and always a little unhinged.
If you’ve ever wanted to see a homeowner’s association treated like a demon-fighting militia with raffle-based weapon distribution, this is your kind of film.
“I’m not crying, I’m just allergic to the blood.” .
Actual quote that sums up the movie’s entire approach to emotional stakes on 2025’s Hold the Fort.
Stick around through the credits, here’s a handful of outtakes that double down on the film’s sense of play. They’re not groundbreaking, but they offer a nice peek behind the absurdity, showing that the cast was clearly having as much fun making the mess as we were watching it. It adds warmth to the carnage, rounding things out with a wink instead of a scream.
Final Verdict: A Slightly Forgettable Fun Ride
Hold the Fort is like a chaotic neighborhood watch party where survival depends on dumb luck and whatever you can tape together. It’s uneven, yes. The pacing wobbles after the werewolf chaos peaks. And not every character is worth remembering. But it delivers a short, splattery ride with personality, charm, and enough weirdness to justify its Fantasia slot.
Would I recommend it? To the right crowd, absolutely. If you enjoy horror comedies with exploding heads, ridiculous monsters, and a side of moonshine-fueled rage, it’s worth checking out. I liked it more than Scouts, and that’s saying something.
Hold The Fort 2025 Trailer – Watch it Or Else
Rating: 3.5 Equinox Exploding Heads out of 5
More horror comedy brilliance? Watch some of these titles: The Yorkie Werewolf | Happily | Hot Spring Shark Attack or Vulcanizadora.
