Fantastic Fest — A–Z of films

It’s a decidedly quirky tale of the sort that will infuriate some viewers, who will feel they’ve been egregiously ripped off – but if you like that sort of thing, you’ll be in your element.

Emma Benestan’s poetic take on gender, power and corporeality is a deeply animal experience.

What isn't untrue is that Anora is brilliant.

Jennifer Kent's film creates something original, even frightening

For fans of martial arts cinema, this is a must see.

Powered by strong acting performances ... The Black Hole surfs through various genres smoothly.

Director Mercedes Bryce Morgan plies her trade with a style and verve which elevate this far above the 1980s straight-to-VHS erotic thrillers that it superficially resembles.

Fisher and Wood achieve a great rapport, and there’s some entertaining supporting work even though much of our time is spent in the middle of nowhere.

Although most viewers will find themselves flagging before the end, there is a lot to enjoy here.

The popular concept of genius is thoroughly subverted here.

Even though we’re essentially talking about a basic shot-reverse shot exchange, framed in creeping wide angles, juxtaposed with close-ups, the feeling is comparable to watching a getaway heist.

A sinister fairytale which balances elements of ancient lore with a crisp, modern sensibility.

Slippery in terms of genre and form, the writer/director’s satire puts all his characters and, by extension, us under close scrutiny.

To see it on any screen other than the biggest you can is to do yourself a disservice, and to miss it is to miss a masterpiece.

Packs in plenty of mischief and mayhem.

Frost said that when he wrote the film it took him a while to recognise that he was in horror territory, and indeed the film works equally well as a culture clash comedy.

Slick, tense, darkly funny and very genre-aware.

There’s a lot here that’s familiar, but the endearing characters and great comic timing turn it into something distinctive, with a natural charm that few films in this subgenre can match.

Director Jon Spira does a surprisingly thorough job, and although he isn’t able to go into depth with much of the material, this is a solid start for those interested in exploring further.

It feels different – firstly because of its immersiveness and secondly because of the quality of the performances, which are superb throughout.

Although this is set in the Nineties, the gritty feel makes it redolent of Seventies-set thrillers, a mood reinforced by the way that du Welz embeds us in Paul’s life from the start.

Elliot time and again marries darkness and light, sweetness with sour to create a satisfying emotional umami.

Lines around victimhood are rarely clean. Here they're jagged and brittle, fearsome and fearful.

The film is like a Chinese box. There are secrets within secrets within secrets.

Ezban does not let us look away.

Like fellow Frenchman Quentin Dupieux, Meurisse has an enjoyably devil-may-care attitude for the most part although he feels almost like Dupieux’s evil twin as he begins to stray, first, into Farrelly Brothers’ territory, and then something altogether more violent.

Ashcroft’s interpretation steers the story away from simple tragedy as we see Mortensen making gains as well as losses.

The spectacular visual effects are less a product of slick new technology than of pure imagination, and they really are unforgettable.

Every frame feels like the product of conscious decision-making, with nothing merely carrying us from one point to another.

Nothing short of an instant cult.

Starchenko is extraordinary in her ability to develop an emotionally complex character despite the state of shock that covers everything.

Ortiz, like many a filmmaker before him, acknowledges a debt to HP Lovecraft, but his work here is more in tune with that author’s style than most, in that it resists the temptation to reveal too much or to offer reasoned explanations.

Leone demonstrated that he is a talented director with a perfect instinct for set pieces, but that he is less capable as a screenwriter.

Given that U Are The Universe is practically a one-man-play, Volodymyr Kravchuk masterfully commands the screen combining his knack for humour with a strong sense for drama.

This isn’t up there with the best of the V/H/S series overall, but it’s entertaining enough.

This is a shocking, visceral work. There are moments of humour, here and there, but it is the gallows laughing.

The film mines a lot of clichés but manages to do something a little different with them, blending traditional elements of children’s fiction with a distinctly 21st Century sensibility.

Greenbaum pinpoints the tension between the hate eating away at parts of US society and the tremendous potential that the country still has.