by "Doc" Hunter Bush, Staff Writer & Podcast Czar

Let me take you back. It's 1996: Looney Tunes t-shirts are all the rage. Professional wrestler MJF is born, presumably to a chorus of boos. Chess champion Garry Kasparov defeats his computer opponent Deep Blue, beginning a war with artificial intelligence that rages to this day. But most importantly (as far as this article is concerned) the first ever Fantasia International Film Festival launches in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The program is entirely Asian cinema, with a focus on the films of Chow Yun-fat and Jet Li.

From these impressive, but comparatively humble beginnings has grown a destination for both filmmakers and film lovers that has hosted the premieres of movies from filmmakers like Satoshi Kon, Stuart Gordon, Dario Argento, and Tobe Hooper, among an actual legion of others. Today, nearly 30 years later, the festival is still going strong, having recently signed a 10 year partnership with Concordia University, which has hosted the festival since 2003.

This year's festival has a lineup of over 120 feature films and 25 themed collections of shorts including ones dedicated to various genres (animation, sci-fi, horror), to showcasing certain creators (women, outsider art), or geared towards specific audiences (children). Below, I've highlighted a handful of the films that jumped out at me and made me particularly excited to cover this year's Fantasia.

Kizumonogatari: Koyomi Vamp
Directed by Tatsuya Oishi
North American Premiere July 27
Buy tickets here

I've been on a bit of a vampire kick recently and, well, I'm always a sucker for animation. Koyomi Vamp is the prequel to the Kizumonogatari trilogy of animated films (themselves based on the second in a series of "light novels" in Japan), following lone wolf teenager Koyomi as he is inducted into a twilight realm of vampires. The animation showcases stunning motion and light effects, and some eye-popping visuals. I'm unfamiliar with the Monogatari stories, so hopefully this is as good a jumping on point as I've heard.

The Chapel (original title La ermita)
Directed by Carlota Pereda 
North American Premiere July 23
Buy tickets here

Young girl Emma (Maia Zaitegi) wants to learn to speak to the ghost of a girl confined to the local chapel for centuries because she believes that learning to speak with spirits will help her stay in contact with her dying mother. She recruits sham medium Carol (Belen Rueda) to teach her, but it seems to Carol that Emma has true power and may need her help. This comes from Carlota Pereda, writer/director of 2022's fantastic Piggy, which I very much enjoyed and I'm always down for a well-told ghost yarn.

Adrianne & the Castle
Directed by Shannon Walsh
Quebec Premiere July 20
Buy tickets here

This documentary about sculptor and artist Alan St. George and the castle he built as a celebration of love for his wife seems absolutely magical. Like a benevolent version of the Winchester Mystery House, Alan and Adrianne St. George's unarguably eccentric Havencrest Castle was designed with purpose by Alan as an ongoing declaration of his love. The documentary seems to blend interview segments and reenactments in a very unique way, almost having projections from his past interrogate Alan about key moments in his life. I love artists, oddballs, and lovers, and this hooked me right from the get-go. Adrianne sadly passed in 2006, so while I'm sure viewing this will demand I have a hanky nearby, I get the impression that this will leave me feeling more inspired than depressed.

Electrophilia (original title Los Impactados)
Directed by Lucía Puenzo
North American Premiere July 25
Buy tickets here

Veterinarian Ada (Mariana Di Girólamo) wakes up from a six week coma after being struck by lightning to realize that her life is inexplicably different. The trailer for Electrophilia features absolutely gorgeous cinematography (by Nicolás Puenzo), enigmatic imagery, lots of steamy stuff both textual and subtextual, and a reclusive society of people who have been struck by lightning! Though what information I can find about the film is relatively light on plot, literally every other aspect of this film leaves it very, very high on my watch list.

Cuckoo
Directed by Tilman Singer
Montreal Premiere July 30
Buy tickets here

The first of the trailers I watched for this curtain riser that genuinely made me say "Hell yes!" out loud. Gretchen (Hunter Schafer) moves in with her dad in the German Alps and gets a job at the local spa, working with Herr König (Dan Stevens) only to find herself increasingly drawn into the orbit of a maniacal woman-thing that's been terrorizing the area. Whatever this creature ends up being, natural or otherwise, it is extremely unsettling; moving in that jangly j-horror style, eyes and mouth horribly wide, creeping at a steady pace yet suddenly right over your shoulder. I am positively foaming at the mouth for this one.

There are literally dozens of films that I was tempted to spotlight here, and whittling them down for brevity's sake was an arduous task. Other points of interest include a new Jackie Chan film called A Legend which reunites him with director Stanley Tong, director of Rumble in the Bronx - a sentimental fave of mine -, new films from the respective directors of films like Caveat (Damian Mc Carthy), Psycho Goreman (Steven Kostanski), and Mad Fate (Soi Cheang); a new adaptation of The Count of Monte-Cristo (a favorite story of mine); and a film called Steppenwolf that's being described as John Ford by way of George Miller (and vice versa) and it's all just so ...exciting!

This year's Fantasia Fest also includes a number of film and culture-related events for in-person festival-goers. Filmmaker Mike Flanagan (Doctor Sleep, recently Fall of the House of Usher), duo Taylor Ramos and Tony Zhou (Every Frame a Painting), artist Gary Pullin, and film historian and critic Heidi Honeycutt all have individual presentations on various days, as well as a separate event to celebrate the release of Honeycutt's new book "I Spit on Your Celluloid: The History of Women Directing Horror Movies". A live recording of the Colors of the Dark Podcast with guest Chuck Russell (A Nightmare on Elm St. 4: Dream Warriors) coincides with the Fantasia world premier of Russell's remake of 1986's cult hit Witchboard, and there are several events focused on introducing Korean culture to a wider audience, from fashion to food, including a rice wine called Makgeolli.

I hope you'll follow along over the next few weeks while I post updates of my Fantasia Fest viewing adventures here on MovieJawn about the films I've seen.

The 28th Fantasia International Film Festival runs from July 18th to August 4th in Montreal. Get tickets HERE.