Fantasia International Film Festival — A–Z of films

On the one level, 68 Kill is pure pulp trash, harking back to director Trent Haaga's Troma roots. On the other, it's brilliantly done.

Essential viewing for anyone with an interest in the craft of filmmaking.

The pace squeezes your windpipe; the action pulverises your senses; the plot double crosses your preconception

Fedor Bonarchuk blends blockbuster stylings with a cultural critique which, he has said, he considers to have present day relevance far beyond Russia's borders.

The puzzles here are of the sort intended to be enjoyed for their twists and turns rather than their resolution.

A tight little film that could have been disastrous if mishandled.

Saturday Night Live regular Mooney, who has a twinkly mischievousness and comic timing reminiscent of a young Gene Wilder, plays James as naive, but never stupid.

Pulls no punches as it takes viewers on a terrifying ride through once-familiar territory turned utterly alien.

Vigalondo's film is very funny in places but the characters are undercooked.

It's hard to demand too much finesse from a film centred on characters who lack all traces of it, and who are great fun to be with anyway.

Could be a treat for discerning genre fans.

Di Giacomo treats us to some beautifully framed shots which provide a sense of the awe such environments must evoke in believers, but then gets in close, almost tabloid style, to capture the pleas of impassioned supplicants.

Indy favourite Mosley is on top form as the overreaching fan, who doesn't quite know what he's getting into, and Williams' ability to switch emotions in a heartbeat is a treat to watch.

Its exploration of the tension between the real and the fake is timely and important.

The proportion of films opening with HP Lovecraft quotes that manage to live up to the visionary writer's work verges on the infinitesimal, but The Endless is one of the special ones.

Fuller is absorbing in the central role, really giving it her all.

Maugg illustrates his own command of the Expressionist form.

As with most of the best games, the concept is simple; the genius is in the execution.

The Safdies invest their own knowledge of their home turf to give it all a frenetic and authentic sense of urgency.

Reveals just enough in the sparse dialogue and long silences to keep us intrigued.

Repeated viewings also reveal the beautiful circularity of the film that begins at more than one end.

The film is full of sharp little observations that retain the power of surprise, or discomfit in subtle ways.

Torun, who spent much of her childhood in the city, lets us get supremely close to seven exquisitely different felines.

What Power does differently is to deny us the usual sources of comfort.

Kills On Wheels is a brutal and brutally funny thriller.

Played out as a grand, Fifties style Italian melodrama, the film is anything but dry.

A solid introduction to the subject and a useful update on the state of play for those already familiar with the work.

There’s a strange voyeurism to the film, especially given the isolated nature of North Korea.

The piecemeal nature of Giovanni Boccaccio’s source material only adds to the sketch show feel, with as many moments missing the mark as hitting it.

Itô is impressive in the lead, attracting sympathy but not too much pity.

There's no doubt youngsters will enjoy the trippy and exuberant visuals of this film.

Fruit Chan directs at full tilt, creating a miasma of imagery that pollutes the senses.

Noelle's transformation from mouse to maniac is also hard to swallow, even with Eastwood's hard sell.

The scenes of conflict are well handled; it's actually hard to depict completely untrained, inexperienced people attacking each other in a realistic way, and director Joe Lynch achieves this without ever compromising on the fun of it all.

We are plunged straight into the emotional world of characters whose feelings for each other are as pertinent as their survival and combat skills.

This is a sudden and astonishing arrival for an adult actor.

A taut little thriller in which most of the rules whereby the young thieves understood the world are broken, and a few cinematic conventions experience a similar fate.

The script has a heartfelt carefulness but it is never preachy, with 'naughty' conversations about the home's teacher's willy exploding likely to have pre-adolescents (and adults who well remember these sorts of conversations) hooting with laughter.

There is much to like here: plenty of action, dazzling animation and a score that backs up the action without being intrusive.

Do not go looking for logical narrative in this wild assortment of larger than life characters.

The strongest scene is the first one, where Sebastián shows us what he can do as a filmmaker when not distracted by a commitment to going over the top.

Sarnet doesn't lack imagination and the unsettling mood that pervades the action is maintained throughout.

This film has plenty of hustle even though it sometimes lacks flow.

Keenly observational and darkly erotic, Poor Agnes is a complex tale full of telling details.

This is not a film made with the expectation of a polished result.

The scale of what Cohen achieved with his monster on a low budget remains impressive to this day.

Writer Caroline Labrèche and co-director Steeve Léonard use science fiction framing to invite viewers along on a journey that will take them somewhere very different.

Tim Peter Kuhn's cinematography and Franco Tortora and Tom Batoy’s dramatic score combine to create a sense of disorientation, of psychological disintegration.

There's an innocence abour Ron even when he is at his most obnoxious, and his dogged spirit in the face of persistent injuries, seemingly endless humiliations and Angela upping the ante is endearing.

A bitter antidote to traditional teen films.

The incursion of something otherworldly into our hero's life takes place slowly, making it all the more unsettling.

There's certainly a giant monster, there's definitely some degree of rampaging.

With a set-up and title like this, it's obvious from the outset that Yau isn't going to let the emergency services wrap things up neatly and go home for a nice cup of tea.

It has the ungainly but attractive ambience of an old fairy tale being passed down through the generations, becoming more and more embellished on each retelling.

Those who doubt the artistic potential of the horror genre should be nailed down and made to watch this.

Having been told little about the nature of the enemy, SUM1 jumps at every unfamiliar sound or movement, and we are invited to do likewise.

Song is superb in the central role, taking his character through an emotional arc that would be a challenge for any actor, but never less than convincing.

Alexander Alexandrov's grimy cinematography shows us the dirt and the grit we have come to associate with working class Americans going off the rails, and applies it to well cared for suburban homes and cityscapes usually pictured as glamorous.

With its combination of rather sweet teenage angst and extremely gory action scenes, the film serves its natural audience well but is unlikely to reach far beyond that.

Miyake takes a thorough approach to her subject, showing both the fan-side and the opinion of those who make money from the industry, all the while probing at the psychological drivers fuelling the craze.

Although much of Laaksonen's work was hardcore, Karukoski doesn't seek to 'shock' audiences with outrageousness, instead gracefully zoning in on the man and his life to celebrate his both his bravery and his art.

Between its central mystery and its assault on the senses, Town In A Lake is a film that sets out to consume the viewer.

Loud, colourful, facetious and painstakingly shallow, Tragedy Girls perfectly captures the high school movie vibe.

Terminator 2 is a wonderful sequel, dramatically satisfying and a fine entertainment.

A film that from its outset immerses you totally in the world of city Alpha, as well as the humans and aliens that throng its crowded streets.

A must-see film for action fans.