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Fantasia International Film Festival · 2025

Fantasia International Film Festival 2025

Features

Programme

43 films · 25 reviews

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Burning (Ot)

Review preview for Burning

Burning is not just a film about getting to the truth – it’s a film about the construction of truth.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
In a suburban village, a house belonging to a young family who recently lost their firstborn is burning. Neighbours say that the house bears the mark of a curse, as no one understands how the fire started, and eyewitnesses to the incident each have entirely different versions of what happened.

(Country: Kyrgyzstan; Year: 2025; Director: Radik Eshimov; Writer: Aizada Amangeldy, Dastan Madalbekov; Stars: Aisanat Edigeeva, Omurbek Izrailov, Kalicha Seydalieva, Zhanilai Isakova)

Full review

Cielo

Review preview for Cielo

A stunningly realised piece of magical realism quite different from anything that writer/director Alberto Sciamma has created before.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
How far would you go to reach heaven? Santa, a young indigenous girl, embarks on a rollercoaster journey to take her mother out of a life of hardship and into eternal paradise.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Alberto Sciamma; Writer: Alberto Sciamma; Stars: Fernando Arze Echalar, Juan Carlos Aduviri, Fernanda Gutiérrez Aranda, Cristian Mercado)

Full review

Dollhouse

Yoshie and Tadahiko are married. They have a 5-year-old daughter named Mei, but she dies. After the loss of her daughter, Yoshie goes into a spiral of despair. One day, she finds a doll resembling Mei at an antique market and buys it.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2025; Director: Shinobu Yaguchi; Writer: Shinobu Yaguchi; Stars: Kôji Seto, Tetsushi Tanaka, Ken Yasuda, Jun Fubuki, Totoko Honda)

Every Heavy Thing

Review preview for Every Heavy Thing

Most of Reece’s works are first and foremost character studies, so it’s not surprising that his adherence to plot doesn’t last; the film is better for it.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
An unassuming office worker at an online periodical becomes entangled in a conspiracy after witnessing a murder.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Mickey Reece; Writer: Mickey Reece; Stars: Josh Fadem, Vera Drew, Tipper Newton, John Ennis, Barbara Crampton)

Full review See: Interview with Mickey Reece about Every Heavy Thing

Find Your Friends

Amber and friends visit Joshua Tree for a fun getaway but face hostility from locals. As the tension escalates, they uncover Amber's past trauma, igniting their rebellion against toxic masculinity, turning their trip into one of revenge.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Izabel Pakzad; Writer: Izabel Pakzad; Stars: Helena Howard, Bella Thorne, Zión Moreno, Chloe Cherry, Sophia Ali, Chris Bauer, Istael Broussard, Jake Manley)

Flush

Review preview for Flush

Set almost entirely within a single toilet stall, this is low budget filmmaking par excellence.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Finding his ex in the nightclub where she works and convincing her to come back and live with him should be doable, correct? Losing the dealer and the bar owner who left him for dead in the restroom for trying to steal their stash is still within his capabilities. However, removing his head stuck in the toilet bowl is not a given.

(Country: France; Year: 2025; Director: Grégory Morin; Stars: Jonathan Lambert, ​Élodie Navarre, Elliot Jenicot, Rémy Adriaens)

Full review

The Forbidden City (La città proibita)

A woman leaves China for Rome in search of her missing sister.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2024; Director: Gabriele Mainetti; Writer: Stefano Bises, Gabriele Mainetti, Davide Serino; Stars: Yaxi Liu, Enrico Borello, Sabrina Ferilli, Marco Giallini, Shansan Chunyu)

Fragment

Review preview for Fragment

Kim directs with confidence and skill, managing the tension well and able to shift easily between downbeat drama and fast-paced action.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Jun-gang takes care of his little sister while being threatened with eviction, while Gi-su lives alone since his father was killed… by Jun-gang’s father. Will they be able to resist the vicious cycle brought on by such a sordid crime?

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2024; Director: Kim Sung-yoo; Writer: Kim Sung-yoo; Stars: Oh Ja-hun, Moon Seong-hyun, Kim Gyuna)

Full review See: Interview with Kim Sung-yoon about Fragment

Fucktoys

Review preview for Fucktoys

Any number of films try to sell themselves on inviting us to ogle outsiders like these. The difference with Fucktoys is that it’s made by people who actually get it.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A bubblegum grindhouse adventure through sunny and romantic Trashtown, USA.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Annapurna Sriram; Writer: Annapurna Sriram; Stars: Annapurna Sriram, Sadie Scott, Francois Arnaud, Damian Young, Big Freedia, Brandon Flynn, Lorrie Odom, Jowin Batoon, Tamika Lawrence, Arianna Ortiz)

Full review See: Interview with Annapurna Sriram about Fucktoys

Good Boy

Review preview for Good Boy

In Good Boy, Indy the dog delivers not only a great animal performance, but one of the best performances by anyone this year.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
Indy is a good boy; a faithful dog, he is always by his human Todd’s side. When Todd seeks quiet in an empty family home in the countryside, Indy finds there is a strange, malevolent presence lurking in the shadows — an evil that only he can sense.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Ben Leonberg; Stars: Indy, Shane Jensen, Larry Fessenden, Arielle Friedman, Stuart Rudin, Anya Krawcheck, Hunter Goetz, Max)

Full review

Good Game

The middle-aged owner of a failing internet café, joins a gaming tournament to hopefully win the grand-prize money and save his business. He assembles a team of oddballs, and these underdogs will have to combine their strengths in gaming if they’re to win this fierce competition.

(Country: Hong Kong; Year: 2025; Director: Dickson Leung Kwok-Fai; Writer: Xin He, Ken Ho-Ming Law, June Zhong; Stars: Man-Chung Lam, Will Or, Yanny Wing-yan Chan, Meng Lo, Christine Ng)

Haunted Mountains: The Yellow Taboo

Review preview for Haunted Mountains: The Yellow Taboo

Once the film starts to get brutal, it’s easy to become so focused on the horror that one loses sight of the mystery, and this seems to be a conscious trick on Tsai’s part.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A legend in Taiwan's mountains says that when lost, hikers encounter a figure in a yellow raincoat who points to a blurry path, leading them to disappear.

(Country: Taiwan; Year: 2025; Director: Tsai Chia-Ying; Writer: Zou Wan-Zhen; Stars: Liu Jasper, Yuen Angela, Tsao Yu-ning)

Full review

Hellcat

Review preview for Hellcat

Hellcat is an unforgettable ride.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
A woman wakes in the back of a moving camper trailer with a badly infected wound. A voice from the truck towing it tells her they must reach a doctor within the hour or she'll suffer a horrific fate.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Brock Bodell; Writer: Brock Bodell; Stars: Dakota Gorman, Todd Terry, Jordan Mullins, Elise Horn, Liz Atwater)

Full review See: Interview with Dakota Gorman about Hellcat

Hi-Five (High Five, Haipaibeu)

Five ordinary people, who developed their superpowers after receiving organ transplants from a previously superpowered being, fight against a psychic, who also gained the power through a transplant and covets their powers.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2025; Director: Kang Hyung-chul; Writer: Kang Hyung-chul; Stars: Park Jin-young, Oh Jung-se, Yoo Ah-in, Lee Jae-in, Ha Mi-ran)

Hold The Fort

Review preview for Hold The Fort

It’s a bit of lightweight fluff, but it has no pretensions, and its heroes are easy to like.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
After moving to the suburbs, a young couple are trapped in an epic battle between their new HOA and an onslaught of monsters from hell.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: William Bagley; Writer: William Bagley, Scott Hawkins; Stars: Mark Ashworth, George Quinones, Chris Mayers, Julian Smith, Michelle I Lamb, Ryan Monolopolus)

Full review See: Interview with William Bagley, Chris Mayers and Levi Burdick about Hold The Fort

Holy Night: Demon Hunters

A team of exorcists goes up against a criminal gang of devil worshipers and the demons they summon.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2025; Director: Lim Dae-hee; Stars: Don Lee)

Honeko Akabane's Bodyguards (Akabane Honeko No Bodyguard)

Review preview for Honeko Akabane's Bodyguards

The freshness of Deguchi’s performance makes the notion of her ignorance believable, at least for a time.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Honeko has a 10 billion yen bounty on her head. Ibuki, her childhood friend turned bodyguard, must protect her incognito. Unexpectedly, all his classmates are assigned as her covert bodyguards.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2024; Director: Jun'ichi Ishikawa; Writer: Masamitsu Nigatsu, Hiroyuki Yatsu; Stars: Raul Murakami, Natsuki Deguchi, Daiken Okudaira, Yuki Kota, Chihiro Yamamota, Junki Tozuka)

Full review

It Ends

Four friends' post-college plans are derailed when a wrong turn traps them on a never-ending backroad.

(Year: 2025; Director: Alexander Ullom; Writer: Alexander Ullom; Stars: Phinehas Yoon, Akira Jackson, Noah Toth, Mitchell Cole)

I Fell In Love With A Z-Grade Director In Brooklyn

Review preview for I Fell In Love With A Z-Grade Director In Brooklyn

It’s clear from the start where most of this is going but that doesn’t make it any less of a joy to watch.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
A jaded Japanese movie star stranded in NYC without money or phone meets a passionate indie filmmaker and his crew, leading to an unexpected creative journey that could reignite her love for cinema.

(Year: 2025; Director: Kenichi Ugana; Writer: Kenichi Ugana; Stars: Estevan Muñoz, Ui Mihara)

Full review See: Interview with Kenichi Ugana about The Curse

I Live Here Now

Review preview for I Live Here Now

While the film's ambition should be saluted it falls short in ways that frustrate.

Andrew Robertson · 2 out of 5
A woman finds herself trapped in a remote hotel where the violent echoes of her past come alive, blurring the lines between her darkest nightmares and the waking world.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Julie Pacino; Writer: Julie Pacino; Stars: Madeline Brewer, Lucy Fry, Sheryl Lee, Matt Rife, Cara Seymour, Alex Gaumond, Sarah Rich)

Full review See: Interview with Julie Pacino and Lucy Fry about I Live Here now

Kazakh Scary Tales

A collection of occult tales of terror.

(Country: Kazakhstan; Year: 2025; Director: Adilkhan Yerzhanov; Stars: Kuantai Abdimadi, Anna Starchenko, Dinara Baktybayeva, Daniyar Alshinov, Yerken Gubashev, Sanjar Madi)

Lifehack

Four slacker teens descend into the darkest corners of the internet to plan one of the greatest cyberheists of all time.

(Country: UK; Year: 2025; Director: Ronan Corrigan; Stars: Georgie Farmer, Yasmin Finney, Roman Hayeck-Green, James Scholz, Jessica Reynolds, Charlie Creed-Milesa)

Lurker

Review preview for Lurker

In line with his economic storytelling, Russell has a gift for conveying little details through subtle performance notes where other filmmakers might telegraph intent.

Jeremy Mathews · 4.5 out of 5
A retail employee infiltrates the inner circle of an artist on the verge of stardom. As he gets closer to the budding music star, access and proximity become a matter of life and death.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Alex Russell; Writer: Alex Russell; Stars: Havana Rose Liu, Sunny Suljic, Archie Madekwe, Daniel Zolghadri, Théodore Pellerin, Mikaela Poon, Rene Leech, Hannah Christine Shetler, Willa Jane Shaw, Zack Fox)

Full review

Mother Of Flies

Review preview for Mother Of Flies

If there were any justice in the world, Toby Poser would be in the running for major awards for her performance.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
When a young woman faces a deadly diagnosis, she seeks dark magic from a witch in the woods - but every cure has costs

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: John Adams, Zelda Adams, Toby Poser; Writer: John Adams, Zelda Adams, Toby Poser; Stars: Toby Poser, Zelda Adams, John Adams)

Full review See: Interview with Lulu Adams about Mother Of Flies

Noise (Noijeu)

Review preview for Noise

The way the sound designer creates a landscape of silence is particularly impressive.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
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.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2025; Director: Kim Soo-jin; Writer: Lee Je-hui; Stars: Lee Sun-bin, Han Soo-a, Kim Min-Seok, Ryu Kung-soo, Jeon Ik-ryeong)

Full review See: Interview with Kim Soo-jin about Noise

OBEX

Review preview for OBEX

If you’re looking for a witty and heartfelt story with characters you can care about, you may find yourself falling head over heels.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Conor Marsh lives a secluded life with his dog, Sandy, until one day he begins playing OBEX, a new, state-of-the-art computer game. When Sandy goes missing, the line between reality and game blurs and Conor must venture into the strange world of OBEX to bring her home.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Albert Birney; Writer: Albert Birney, Pete Ohs; Stars: Albert Birney, Callie Hernandez, Frank Mosley)

Full review See: Interview with Albert Birney about Obex

Omniscient Reader: The Prophecy

An ordinary office worker suddenly finds his favorite apocalyptic web novel unfolding in real life before his eyes.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2025; Director: Kim Byung-woo)

Queens Of The Dead

Review preview for Queens Of The Dead

Tina Romero is in her element.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
On what should be a fun night at a Brooklyn warehouse party, an outbreak of flesh-eating zombies forces a ragtag group of drag queens, partygoers and party-throwers to band together and somehow survive the night.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Tina Romero; Writer: Erin Judge, Tina Romero; Stars: Katy O'Brian, Riki Lindhome, Margaret Cho, Jack Haven, Shaunette Renée Wilson, Cheyenne Jackson, Tom Savini, Eve Lindley, Danielle Vasinova, Dominique Jackson, Quincy Dunn-Baker, Kimball Farley, Becca Blackwell, Quentin Nguyen-Duy, Jaquel Spivey)

Full review See: Interview with Tina Romero about Queens Of The Dead

Reflection In A Dead Diamond (Reflet Dans Un Diamant Mort)

Review preview for Reflection In A Dead Diamond

For something so lovely, it is hard-edged, and it sparkles with visual wit.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
When the mysterious woman in the room next door disappears, a debonair 70-year-old ex-spy living in a luxury hotel on the Côte d’Azur is confronted by the demons and darlings of a lurid past in which moviemaking, memories and madness collide.

(Country: Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, France; Year: 2025; Director: Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani; Stars: Maria de Medeiros, Koen De Bouw, Fabio Testi, Yannick Renier, Barbara Hellemans, Thi Mai Nguyen, Céline Camara, Kezia Quintal)

Full review See: Interview with Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani about Reflection In A Dead Diamond

Rewrite (Riraito)

Review preview for Rewrite

Not just a clever puzzle, Rewrite challenges the cosy nostalgia of much popular Japanese romantic fiction.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Transfer student Yasuhiko has had an amazing 21 days with Miyuki and their shared secret, that Yasuhiko comes from the future, binds them even closer.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2025; Director: Daigo Matsui; Writer: Haruka Hôjô, Makoto Ueda; Stars: Kei Adachi, Akari Fukunaga, Kurodo Hachijoin, Ai Hashimoto, Eikichi Ikeda, Elaiza Ikeda)

Full review

The School Duel

Review preview for The School Duel

Wiseman Jr plays most of it very straight, without sentiment, easing viewers into a place where they can take all this for granted.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
When an opportunity for twisted notoriety arises, a tormented 13-year old enlists in a deadly competition.

(Country: US; Year: 2024; Director: Todd Wiseman Jr; Writer: Todd Wiseman Jr; Stars: Kue Lawrence, Christina Brucato, Oscar Nuñez, Jamad Mays, Michael Sean Tighe, Hudson Meek)

Full review See: Interview with Todd Wiseman Jr. and Jamad Mays about The School Duel , Interview with Oscar Nuñez about The School Duel

Sham

When a young student shows signs of trauma, his parents act swiftly against his middle school teacher. But all may not be as it seems.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2025; Director: Takashi Miike; Writer: Masumi Fukuda, Hayashi Mori; Stars: Kô Shibasaki, Gô Ayano, Kazuki Kitamura, Kaoru Kobayashi, Fumino Kimura, Kazuya Kamenashi, Masahiro Takashima, Tamae Andô, Yukiyoshi Ozawa, Ken Mitsuishi, Kôji Ohkura, Rie Mimura, Rie Minemura, Kisuke Iida, Takaya Sakoda)

Stinker

Review preview for Stinker

What if a lost alien were found not by a sweet little boy but by an ageing alcoholic drifter?

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
In a remote corner of Kazakhstan, three unlikely characters cross paths: a despairing old man, a grouchy shopkeeper, and an alien just trying to get home. With the gentle help of a curious granddaughter, walls begin to break down, but with a government motorcade soon to arrive - and a bumbling cop hot on their tails - can this misfit group somehow hold together?

(Country: Kazakhstan; Year: 2025; Director: Yerden Telemissov; Writer: Sergey Litovchenko, Yerden Telemissov; Stars: Irka Abdulmanova, Chingiz Kapin, Dulyga Akmolda)

Full review

Straight Outta Space (Straatcoaches Vs Aliens)

Review preview for Straight Outta Space

It has its moments, and for the most part it’s warm-hearted and likeable enough to make up for the odd mis-step.

Jennie Kermode · 2 out of 5
Two street coaches in a bustling neighborhood face an unexpected crisis when locals transform into bizarre, slimy beings.

(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2025; Director: Michael Middelkoop; Writer: Michael Middelkoop, Daan Bakker, Nico van den Brink; Stars: Oscar Aerts, Rayan Belrhazi Alaoui, Seylan Avci, Evgenia Brendes, Jim Deddes, André Dongelmans, Dien Ben El Hossaien)

Full review

Taroman Expo Explosion

A mockumentary entangled with the tropes and aesthetics of 1970s tokusatsu superhero shows, especially Ultraman.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2025; Director: Ryo Fujii)

Terrestrial

Review preview for Terrestrial

Concerned with exploring what ordinary people might do in extremis, Terrestrial is one of those films that turns on a single line.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
During a weekend reunion, a rising science fiction author welcomes three college friends to his home, but strange events begin to blur the lines between reality and imagination.

(Country: US; Year: 2025; Director: Steve Pink; Writer: Connor Diedrich, Sam Johnson; Stars: Brendan Hunt, Pauline Chalamet, Rob Yang, Germaine Fowler, Edy Monica, James Morosini)

Full review See: Interview with Steve Pink about Terrestrial

Together

With a move to the countryside already testing the limits of a couple’s relationship, a supernatural encounter begins an extreme transformation of their love, their lives, and their flesh.

(Country: US, Australia; Year: 2025; Director: Michael Shanks; Writer: Michael Shanks; Stars: Alison Brie, Dave Franco, Damon Herriman, Sunny S. Walia, Mia Morrissey, Jack Kenny, Karl Richmond, Tom Considine, Charlie Lees, Melanie Beddie, MJ Dorning, Rob Brown)

Transcending Dimensions

A monk has gone missing. His lover takes an assassin to a religious facility in search of him. There, they meet a sorcerer. Meanwhile, the missing man is on a spaceship heading to an unknown planet .

(Country: Japan; Year: 2025; Director: Toshiaki Toyoda; Writer: Toshiaki Toyoda; Stars: Chihara Jr., Masahiro Higashide, Haruka Imô, Yôsuke Kubozuka, Ryûhei Matsuda, Kiyohiko Shibukawa)

The Verdict

When his pregnant wife is murdered by an affluent young man flexing his invulnerability, the trial is nothing but a masquerade, so a court security guard decides to take the law into his own hands.

(Year: 2025; Director: Lee Chang-hee, Yusron Fuadi; Stars: Rio Dewanto)

The Virgin Of The Quarry Lake

Review preview for The Virgin Of The Quarry Lake

The heat of summer pulses beneath the action and we can virtually smell the sweat and decay as the sound of flies or a gathering storm punctuate the soundtrack.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
In 2001, three teenagers from the outskirts of Buenos Aires all fall in love with Diego. Natalia has always had the most chemistry with him, but when it seems inevitable that their friendship will turn into something more, the older and more experienced Silvia appears and soon captures Diego’s attention.

(Country: Argentina, Spain, Mexico; Year: 2025; Director: Laura Casabe; Writer: Benjamín Naishtat; Stars: Fernanda Echevarría, Dady Brieva, Dolores Oliverio, Luisa Merelas, Agustín Sosa)

Full review See: Director Laura Casabé on bringing The Virgin Of The Quarry Lake to the screen

The Wailing (El Llanto)

Something’s stalking Andrea, but nobody, not even herself, can actually see it. 20 years ago, 10,000 kilometres away, the same presence terrorised Marie. Camila was the only person capable of understanding what was happening to her, but nobody believed them. On taking a stand against that oppressive threat, all three women hear the same horrific sound. Wailing.

(Country: Spain, France, Argentina; Year: 2024; Director: Pedro Martín-Calero; Writer: Pedro Martín-Calero, Isabel Peña; Stars: Ester Expósito, Mathilde Ollivier, Àlex Monner, Tomás del Estal, Sonia Almarcha, José Luis Ferrer, Malena Villa, Claudia Roset, Lautaro Bettoni, Pierre Marquille, Miguel Belaustegui, Lía Lois)

The Woman

An exchange of strawberries and a used household appliance turns into a nightmare for Sun-kyung when her partner turns up dead. Now she must follow the trail of a disturbing stranger.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2025; Director: Hwang Wook; Stars: Han Hye-ji)

Ya Boy Kongmin! The Movie

Zhuge Kongmin, the legendary military strategist of China’s War of the Three Kingdoms, has been inexplicably reincarnated in modern-day Tokyo. He’s now managing the career of a young amateur singer.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2025; Director: Shuhei Shibue; Stars: Avantgardey, Avu-chan)