With The Father’s Shadow, Fantasia hit me with the first real slow-burner of the festival. The Brazilian export from writer/director Gabriela Amaral Almeida is a dark, conceptual horror film, with pitch-perfect performances and a lot to offer. ⤇
Well-shot and deeply personal to its creator, Sator is an arthouse film that the right person will absolutely love. ⤇
While there’s all the exposed skin that you would expect from a film titled “Porno,” director Keola Racela never uses it as a crutch, instead allowing the refreshingly funny writing and nauseating practical effects plenty of room to shine. ⤇
Directed by Bobby Miller from a script by Scott Lobdell Critters Attack! is an almost pitch-perfect throwback to the vibe of the original film, balancing bloody attack sequences and black comedy with lovingly crafted puppetry and practical effects. ⤇
Fresh off of its world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival, Jade’s Asylum is an intentionally disjointed fever dream, filled with entitled douchebags, verbally abusive ghosts, and beautifully disturbing forest demons. ⤇
Though Hideo Nakata is bringing back our titular antagonist more regularly and aggressively, it’s under far more confusing and convoluted circumstances. ⤇
The Deeper You Dig exemplifies what’s so magical about living in a time when filmmaking is so accessible and deftly demonstrates just how much can be accomplished as long as the creators commit to taking full advantage. ⤇
In just a few short days now, the Fantasia Film Festival—one of our favorite genre festivals here at Wolfbane Blooms—is kicking off in Montreal, Canada, promising us another glorious three weeks of deep horror indulgence. ⤇
Here in the last few weeks of December, it’s time to reflect back on the best foreign horror films that colored the year. ⤇
After facing a year’s worth of rejection letters from festival after festival, Issa López’s genre-bending fantasy/horror film Tigers Are Not Afraid was finally granted late acceptance into Fantastic Fest 2017, where it premiered last September. ⤇
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