The 30th edition of Fantasia International Film Festival kicks off later this week, running from July 16–August 2 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The fest is world famous for its annual droolworthy array of genre films from around the world, including horror, science fiction, dark comedies, animation, and beyond. I’ve taken an early deep dive into some of the films slated for this year, and here I present previews of five highly promising feature-length films. The following film descriptions and festival details are from Fantasia’s official website and related press information.
Ancestral Beasts
Director Tim Riedel’s psychological horror ANCESTRAL BEASTS was a 2025 Frontieres Platform project at Cannes, and it’s coming to Fantasia for its world premiere! Four years after the loss of her mother, Elyse (Morgan Holstrom, OUTLANDER, SHADOW OF THE ROUGAROU) can’t get her head right. She’s messing up at work, needs stress leave, and her sister, Nikki (Darla Contois, LITTLE BIRD, ABERDEEN), is on her case about everything. Feeling like she can’t win, Elyse takes off to their auntie’s house outside the city to regroup. When she arrives at the small, isolated cabin, she encounters nosy neighbour Max (Josh Strait, SAFEHAVEN, CORNER GAS), whom she thinks broke in. She soon realizes it’s not Max, and there might be raccoons living under the house, as confirmed by a gaping hole in her bedroom floor. Her sick leave request is denied, and the constant bickering with Nikki is wearing her down, with her mediation app barely keeping her sane. But there’s something lurking in the house’s foundation, and the more Elyse tries to deal with her mental health, the more she notices a dark presence surrounding her. (Our featured image for this article is from Ancestral Beasts. Image courtesy of Michif Koonteur.)
https://fantasiafestival.com/en/film/ancestral-beasts
Unholy Night
Christmas is a time for celebrating with food, family and, unfortunately, those difficult family dynamics, especially with traditions that die hard. Gino’s (Marc Bendavid, GOOD WITCH, REACHER) family preps their annual Christmas Eve dinner, and there’s a lot of hustle and bustle in this Italian household. His mother cooks like a demon, and it’s clear that from how you cut the cantaloupe to the shirt Gino wears, change isn’t welcome. He handles an impromptu visit from his ex-girlfriend, Rene (Shailene Garnett, DIGGSTOWN, MURDOCH MYSTERIES), poorly, and his overachieving siblings win their parents’ favour easily. You see, Gino works in a paint store and lives in his parents’ basement. His family is judgmental, and his confidence isn’t great either. It’s hard enough to navigate the landmines of disapproval and family ribbing, but when a surprise visit from their dead nonna breaks up the festivities, things go straight to hell! They soon learn that the “ritornati” are plaguing the neighbourhood, and Gino’s family is stuck right in the middle.
https://fantasiafestival.com/en/film/unholy-night
Permanent Damage
Tommy Gods (Calem MacDonald, KIDS VS. ALIENS, THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY) is a victim of circumstance. After a desperate escape from prison, he finds himself in a dollar store looking for a disguise. When security notices his suspicious behaviour, he’s rescued by Mrs. Whynot (Clare Coulter, FARGO, SEVERANCE), a grieving senior living in a crumbling complex run by LL (Stephen Dorff, BLADE, TRUE DETECTIVE), a harsh landlord. LL cares only about the bottom line, especially when it comes to a lucrative opportunity he calls his “golden goose”. Tommy wants to take what he can get and leave, but he’s got a bigger heart than he wants to admit and feels for Mrs. Whynot, who thinks Tommy is her son, Donnie. To pay off her debt to LL, Tommy takes a job refurbishing LL’s illegal housing and falls for his niece Joe (Olivia Scriven, DEGRASSI, MRS. AMERICA). Together, they dream of leaving poverty behind, but when Tommy stands up to LL and the young lovers find his ‘golden goose’, all hell breaks loose as they try to make their escape.
https://fantasiafestival.com/en/film/permanent-damage
Home Bodies
Red (Emma Ho, CODE 8, THE EXPANSE) and Blue (Ian Ho, THE EXPANSE, CHAPELWAITE) live a “Waiting for Godot” existence within the confines of a retro, automated dwelling. Food is always available, they are entertained by VHS tapes of a show called “Barn” starring a cow, a pig, and a chicken, and soothed by each other’s company. They report to Papa, a disembodied voice through a locked door that enforces the rules they live by. On a holiday that resembles Christmas, they receive a gift: Pal (Ess Hödlmoser, THE BOYS, STATION ELEVEN), an androgynous humanoid who doesn’t speak, and follows their lead. But Pal isn’t as benign as they seem. Pal also receives VHS tapes, but they are more disturbing, and Red, who was once wary of her new friend, becomes more enamoured of their expressionless new roommate. As Red and Blue learn about Pal, their discoveries soon drive a wedge between them. With vibes of Canadian genre classics PIN and CUBE, HOME BODIES is a surreal look at control, autonomy, nature vs. nurture, and the automation of our lives.
https://fantasiafestival.com/en/film/home-bodies
Corpus
Intimacy and vulnerability take centre stage in Corrin Evans’s CORPUS, a sensual horror thriller set in the summer of 1998. Transgressive and sweaty, the film draws us into the peripheries of 1990s New York City and the life of nightlife photographer and drug dealer Sayo (Jeff Wahlberg), whose life is upended after he’s invited to a party upstate by his longtime crush and movie star on the rise, Vince Marlowe (Brodie Townsend). When he arrives, the party isn’t exactly bumping and he’s faced with three mysterious women, Billie (Lily Cowles, ANTEBELLUM), Wren (Nuha Jes Izman, YELLOWJACKETS), and Cata (Ching Valdes-Aran, THE EQUALIZER)—whose disturbing agenda draws the boys into a dark web of seduction and terror. Evocative of a different time and place, the film has echoes of Michael Almereyda’s NADJA and Tony Scott’s THE HUNGER as it captures a time and place ironed out by corporate policies. Charlie Cole’s cinematography is dreamy, colourful, and smokey. The film’s unique way of incorporating Sayo’s photography drives the pulsing rhythms of music and drugs. Driven by intense desire, the film is all sex and discovery, as it explores underground queer culture and one character’s descent into self-destruction.
https://fantasiafestival.com/en/film/corpus
