It’s summer time, so you know what that means. It’s FESTIVAL TIME. Out of some of the many fests that we at Nightmarish Conjurings will be covering this summer, is the always-awesome Fantasia Festival in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Running from July 12th to August 8th, the line-up this year is incredible, including a live score to L’Inferno by Murizio Guarini of the incomparable band Goblin, Michael Ironside in conversation moderated by one of my favorite horror-scene-ladies, Heather Buckley, and Michael Gingold’s book launch!
In addition to those (and other) awesome special events, there will be tons and tons of what we all love – films. The list of films playing at this year’s festival is nothing to laugh at and here I will tell you five (out of SO MANY) feature films screening at Fantasia that I am personally the most psyched about.
#1: HEAVY TRIP: Okay, so I don’t know about you, but I am a pretty big fan of metal. Not an extreme fan, but I do love my doom, death, and thrash thank you. Heavy Trip had made its rounds through the festival circuit, being an official selection at SXSW. It’s a Finnish Death Metal comedy in the vein of Airheads and Spinal Tap, centering on down-on-its-luck death metal band Impaled Rektum and their final quest for glory, I for one can’t wait to see what kind of high-octane hijinks ensue. It makes its Fantasia debut on Thursday, July 26th and will play again on the 30th.
#2: RONDO: Making its World Premiere at Fantasia on Friday, July 27th this year is Drew Barnhardt’s first feature since 2009’s Murder Loves Killers Too. Touted to be a wild, tasteless, deeply uncomfortable dark comedy, I cannot wait to see what’s been brewing in Barnhardt’s head for the past 9 years.
#3: BUFFALO BOYS: Prolific producer Mike Wilaun’s feature film directorial debut Buffalo Boyswill have its World Premiere on July 14th at Fantasia. A historic tale of revenge with an Eastern riff of the Western genre, this film is sure to get attention.
#4: THE RANGER: A punk rock cabin-in-the-woods film replete with squatters, heroin, and murderous rednecks, Jenn Wexler’s The Ranger, showing at Fantasia as an official selection on Monday, July 23rd is a fresh take on this horror staple that is so much more than “just a genre movie” but also, it’s an awesome fucking genre movie!!!
#5: THE WITCH IN THE WINDOW: Also having its World Premiere at Fantasia on Monday, July 23rd (and playing again on the 27th) is the latest offering of excellent multi-hyphenate Andy Mitton (director of We Go On). A father-and-son horror story that will surely stick with you well after you leave the theater. I’m greatly anticipating seeing this one!
Thanks for checking out these picks! Nightmarish Conjurings will be doing a ton of coverage on Fantasia Fest so please come back and read our reviews!
- Blu-ray/DVD Review: NEVER GROW OLD (2019) - May 24, 2019
- Chattanooga Film Festival Review: FINGERS - April 23, 2019
- Interview: Cast of LORDS OF CHAOS - February 20, 2019
