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Festival coverage

Fantasia International Film Festival

12 July – 1 August 2018

The Ranger
The Ranger

The 22nd edition of the Montreal-based Fantasia International Film Festival featured a thrilling selection of horror, science fiction and fantasy films including some hotly anticipated animé releases and daring documentaries. Opening with Daniel Roby's Paris-set thriller Dans La Brume, it also saw a special award presented to action star Cynthia Rothrock. Special guests included Timur Bekmambetov and Michael Ironside.

The festival runs from 12 July until 1 August.

Other years (9)

Box office and information

Latest reviews

  • Parallel
    Review preview for Parallel

    I found myself quickly gripped by Parallel.

    Jane Fae · 3.5 out of 5
    A group of young tech developers discover a portal to a multiverse and use it for work, but they're meddling with powers they don't understand.
  • Relaxer
    Review preview for Relaxer

    For all its playful trappings, this is at heart a survival film.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    With the impending Y2K apocalypse fast approaching, Abbie is faced with the ultimate challenge - the unbeatable level 256 on Pac-Man - and he can't get off the couch until he conquers it. A survival story set in a living room.
  • Mega Time Squad
    Review preview for Mega Time Squad

    Van Dammen has bitten off much more than he can chew and lacks the experience to spit some of it out, but it's largely his ambition that makes things interesting.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    A petty drug dealer with a once in a lifetime opportunity to pull off a big score unexpectedly gains the ability to bend time.
  • Catcalls
    Review preview for Catcalls

    Catcalls is billed as horror but will be, for many viewers, more of an antidote to a horror that's part of day to day life.

    Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
    A man picks the wrong stranger to expose himself to.
  • The Witch: Part 1, The Subversion
    Review preview for The Witch: Part 1, The Subversion

    Though seasoned viewers will see these twists coming, Kim deftly shifts the tone if her performance along with them to keep us guessing.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    A nefarious agency has been conducting experiments on children. One of them escapes and goes into hiding with an adopted family. Ten years later, she appears on a talent show, where she's spotted by the bad guys and becomes prey for both her peers and a hit squad.
  • Piercing
    Review preview for Piercing

    Without a doubt, Pesce is one of the most exciting young directors to emerge in recent years.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    A man seeks out an unsuspecting stranger to help him purge the dark torments of his past. His plan goes awry when he encounters a woman with plans of her own. A playful psycho-thriller game of cat-and-mouse.
  • Buffalo Boys
    Review preview for Buffalo Boys

    The narrative is fairly predictable and makes extensive use of well established western tropes but there's still an enjoyable adventure at its core.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    A man and his sons spend years in exile, working as cowboys in the American West, before returning to Indonesia bent on revenge.
  • Mandy
    Review preview for Mandy

    The film only lives up to about 80% of the promise whereas I wanted 150%.

    Owen Van Spall · 3 out of 5
    Pacific Northwest. 1983. Outsiders Red Miller and Mandy Bloom lead a loving and peaceful existence. When their haven is savagely destroyed by a cult, Red is catapulted into a phantasmagoric journey filled with bloody vengeance.
  • The Ranger
    Review preview for The Ranger

    Horror has taken us to cabins in the woods many times before, but it has rarely done so with such spirit.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    A gang of young punks on the run from the cops encounter something nasty in the woods.
  • What Keeps You Alive
    Review preview for What Keeps You Alive

    There's an alertness here to the dynamics of domestic abuse that gives the film depth.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    A couple's wedding anniversary celebrations take an unexpected turn when one tries to kill the other. Far from help, can the fleeing woman figure out what's going on in time to ensure her survival?

A–Z of Fantasia International Film Festival 2018 reviews

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