Fantasia International Film Festival 2025

Fantasia International Film Festival 2025

Films I’m Most Excited For

We’re officially less than a month away from the 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival!

Ari Aster’s EDDINGTON will be the opening film on July 16 - and through August 3, audiences will be captivated, transported, frightened, or even shocked by the diverse genre film line-up this year.

As always, I have my list of “can’t wait to watch films” that I have put together for anxious viewers. And like every year, it was hard to narrow down my list but I did my best and have 10 films to look into.

So grab some popcorn and enjoy this preview of Fantasia International Film Festival.

 

TERRESTRIAL

Hold the phone! The director of HOT TUB TIME MACHINE, ACCEPTED, and ABOUT LAST NIGHT has directed a sci-fi thriller?

Why yes, he has. And it sounds like a trip I’m ready to take.

Synopsis:

A reunion weekend spirals out of control for four college friends when the host (Jermaine Fowler, SORRY TO BOTHER YOU), a science fiction writer on the verge of newfound success, fights to maintain his sense of reality in the face of sudden, uncanny dangers.

HELLCAT

HELLCAT brings a new twist to the kidnap thriller genre and the race against time element already has me anxious. 

Synopsis:

A woman (Dakota Gorman) wakes in the back of a moving camper trailer with a badly infected wound. A voice (Todd Terry) from the truck towing it tells her they must reach a mysterious doctor within the hour or she’ll suffer a horrific fate.

NYAIGHT OF THE LIVING CAT

Kawaii and horror play together in this J-horror anime series!

It’s a cat lover’s dream and probably the first movie I’ll watch, with my cat GeeBee by my side.

Synopsis:

Adapting the manga written by Hawkman and drawn by Mecha-Roots, and debuting on Crunchyroll this summer, NYAIGHT OF THE LIVING CAT presents a premise more terrifying than a half-empty food bowl—a virus sweeping the globe, causing anyone who touches a kitty to become one themselves! Executive director Miike and director Tomohiro Kamitani deliver a furry, purring parody of the natural-horror subgenre, an animated cataclysm of cuteness!

 

BULLET TIME

This one is for all my fellow Millennial, 90s lovers.

Remember REN & STIMPY? Well, their creator Bob Jaques, is the Animation Director for this short/pilot that director Eddie Alcazar spent four years making.

Grab your flannel!

Synopsis:

In a surreal world fueled by retro gaming nostalgia and Saturday morning cartoon mayhem, BULLET TIME follows Bullet — an emotionally unstable bull terrier — as he battles his way through a bizarre digital gaming universe. Fueled by frenetic action, unhinged heart, and absurd humor, Bullet Time delivers a visually explosive ride that blends 90s cartoon weirdness with cutting-edge animation and a pulse-pounding original score.

 

FIND YOUR FRIENDS

Party culture and social commentary get a sinister spin in this female-centric horror film.

Might be a winner for a girls’ night in.

Synopsis:

Set against cinematic desert scenery, what starts as a wild girls’ trip quickly turns dangerous when the locals don't want them there. As the hostile environment escalates, Amber’s friends uncover her past trauma and become fed up with toxic dynamics. Little do they know, their fun trip will transform into one of revenge—building to a jaw-dropping finale that audiences will never forget.

 

KAZAKH SCARY TALES

KAZAKH SCARY TALES was produced as an anthology series for a domestic streamer but deemed too frightening by focus groups.

So now I need to check it out for myself. I hope to provide you a review to let you know if a nightlight will be necessary at bedtime after viewing.

Synopsis:

A cop (Kuantai Abdimadi, MOUNTAIN ONION) ventures into a remote village to investigate a gruesome series of inexplicable events and soon finds himself in the center of an otherworldly storm of local witchcraft and death. It becomes clear that the curse of Albasty, a spirit said to devour infants, is horrifyingly real.

 

FOREIGNER

 

MEAN GIRLS, but with a horror spin.

Possibly another girls’ night in contender.

Synopsis:

It’s 2004, and Iranian immigrant Yasamin, or Yasi, is the new girl. Her high school experience is daunting, as she tries to improve her English by watching her favorite sitcom and befriends a trio of pastel-clad girls who feed Yasi’s need to fit in. Desperate for acceptance, she dyes her hair blonde and, in doing so, also attracts a demonic force.

 

OLD GUYS IN BED

All the films above have horrific elements with a possible blend of comedy in the mix.

So now it’s time to cleanse the palate and tug at the heartstrings a bit.

Synopsis:

OLD GUYS IN BED tells the story of Paul (Duff MacDonald), a 60-year-old film historian, who meets a man (Paul James Saunders) on a dating website. Unfamiliar with these new ways of making connections, he discovers a world that is both promising and confusing, one that will serve as his gateway through a modern and unpredictable journey of love.

 

NOISE

Korean horror knows how to get under the skin.

NOISE may add a creepy earworm element too as it is already getting buzz around the sound design and perfectly timed jump scares.

Synopsis:

After the disappearance of her younger sister, a woman with a hearing impediment experiences bizarre happenings and frightening encounters when mysterious noises echo throughout the building.

 

THE WAILING

Touted as one of the scariest films of the last year, my curiosity is piqued to see what this curse does.

Plus, I want to root for these women and see them come out stronger in the end. Fingers crossed!

Synopsis:

Several generations of women, separated by time and space, are stalked by the same terrifying curse. Vibrantly told in a multi-chapter structure, taking place in Spain and Argentina across periods and decades apart.