Fantastic Fest

Latest reviews

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  Amigo

  Review preview for Amigo

  Pareja and Botet often perform comedy together and have a seasoned chemistry which makes it easy to buy into the depth and intensity of their characters’ relationship.

  After injuring him in a car crash, a man tries to care for his best friend in his remote house but the tension between them grows.
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  Rock, Paper And Scissors

  Review preview for Rock, Paper And Scissors

  Most interesting for its nicely balanced performances.

  Jesus and Maria José live together in the grand house that belonged to their recently deceased father. Their playful routine is disrupted when Magdalena, their half-sister on their dad’s side, returns from Spain asking for her part of the inheritance which they have no intention of sharing.
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  Abou Leila

  Review preview for Abou Leila

  This is a long way off the beaten track of traditional narrative, but it is nonetheless engaging and affecting.

  Two men take an increasingly surreal trip into the desert against the backdrop of Civil War.
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  Vivarium

  Review preview for Vivarium

  Lorcan Finnegan never allows us to lose sight of the absurdity of the situation, nor of the real life absurdities that it points up.

  In search of a starter home, a young couple follow a mysterious estate agent and get trapped in a strange housing development.
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  Swallow

  Review preview for Swallow

  It unfolds in a way that defies expectations, finding hope and humanity in unexpected places.

  Hunter, a newly pregnant housewife, finds herself increasingly compelled to consume dangerous objects. As her husband and his family tighten their control over her life, she must confront the dark secret behind her new obsession.
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  The Cleansing Hour

  Review preview for The Cleansing Hour

  LeVeck has more story ideas than are initially apparent and saves the best till last.

  Millennial entrepreneurs, Drew and Max, run a webcast that streams live exorcisms that are, in fact, elaborately staged hoaxes. They get their comeuppance when today's actress becomes mysteriously possessed by a real demon that holds the crew hostage.
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  The Lodge

  Review preview for The Lodge

  The Lodge hinges on a powerhouse performance from Keough, who inhabits the troubled Grace so completely that we can stay with her even as her ability to distinguish what's real and what isn't breaks down.

  A young woman and her reticent new stepchildren find themselves isolated in the family’s remote winter cabin, locked away to dredge up the mysteries of her dark past.
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  Parasite

  Review preview for Parasite

  Bong Joon Ho's tale of two families explores the wealth gap in South Korean society with wit, insight and a pitch black sense of humour.

  All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.
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  Jojo Rabbit

  Review preview for Jojo Rabbit

  As Jojo, Davis delivers one of the finest performances of the year.

  Satire following a lonely boy and his imaginary friend Adolf Hitler, whose nationalistic views are challenged when he discovers his mum is hiding a young Jewish girl.
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  Wakey Wakey

  Review preview for Wakey Wakey

  Mary Dauterman's gutsy little short packs a lot of story into just four minutes..

  A nightmare anti-love story featuring blood and guts, the deep blue sea, tooth decay, and scary boyfriends.

A–Z of Fantastic Fest 2019 reviews →

Features

• Secret appetites
  Carlo Mirabella-Davis on telling the stories of people who go unseen in Swallow
• Different for girls
  Jennifer Reeder on teenage lives, adult epiphanies, #MeToo and Knives And Skin