Fantasia Festival 2022 is around the corner! The program is a robust collection of various genres and styles and is sure to have unique storytelling. Though I love all genres, as evidenced by all my reviews, the genre that holds a sacred space in my heart is horror. Horror is like comedy. There needs to be a perfect balance of tension with a well-timed release. Without understanding pacing and suspense, things fall flat. Happily, Fantasia Festival 2022 is chock full of horror. From a director returning after a 10-year hiatus to a beloved Japanese horror franchise, here are films that sound like they have chills, thrills, and some laughs.

BODIES BODIES BODIES looks to capture the slasher horror with the current generation of 20-somethings. A group of wealthy friends heads to a remote family mansion for a hurricane party. When a game turns deadly, the group has a whodunnit on their hands. This film looks fantastic and comical as the friends clash because, while friends are lovely, they know how to get under your skin and twist the knife. So I expect some backstabbing, hilarious, bickering as they fight to survive. Let’s see how many friends are left standing and are still friends.

Haunted house stories are terrifying, but haunted house stories with a twist add a layer of intrigue. THE BREACH, directed by Rodrigo Gudiño, offers the latter. It follows a small-town police chief, a dead body with strange wounds, secret research, and just secrets. Small-town vibes always remind me of Stephen King novels and how many neighbors harbor dark secrets. The kind of towns you love but want to avoid.

If you love Dario Argento films like Phenomena and Suspiria, you will be overjoyed to know Argento is back with a new movie after ten years. In another slasher-style film, a psychopath stalks a blind sex worker after he blinded her in a car accident. On the run from a killer and harboring a boy whose family died in the same accident, DARK GLASSES sounds like a unique take on the slasher genre. Fingers crossed Dario Argento delivers a stellar horror film with the beloved Giallo style.

It is fantastic to experience nature and beautiful treks through the woods, but they are prime breeding grounds for horror because of their seclusion. In DARK NATURE, a group of women heads to the woods to heal from their respective traumas. A doctor specializing in the field leads, but things turn scary when they hear strange noises and people disappear. This film sounds like it could be psychological horror or slasher, almost like a Deliverance-style survival horror. With a woman, Berkley Brady, writing and directing, and a cast of ladies, I am hopeful and excited to see what twists this movie delivers.

Shinzo Katayama, the third assistant director on Bong Joon Ho’s film Mother, makes his feature film debut with MISSING. The film follows a high school daughter’s search for her father after he disappears while tracking down a serial killer. I am a fan of crime thrillers with horror aspects and am excited to see what Shinzo Katayama delivers regarding tension and suspense. Missing could wind up a revenge film similar to the Sympathy Vengeance series, and I am here for it.

For fans of the Ringu series comes the next installment of Sadako terror, SADAKO DX. A gifted student does not believe the curse has supernatural elements but is rooted in science. Unfortunately, when challenged to watch the video, her younger sister, unfortunately, does so before her. Now she is on the clock to solve a curse that has evolved through the internet before their time runs out. This film goes the horror-comedy route. Specifically, it pokes fun at the parts of the franchise that missed the mark. A movie not afraid to laugh at its origins or mistakes sounds like the hilarious and violent Deadpool. So expect frights and laughter.

---

These are only a handful of horror films coming to the Fantasia Festival. So be sure to check out their entire slate of movies. Because of the overwhelming collection of horror, I will be happily busy enjoying and reviewing movies. Be on the lookout for our reviews too on what films knocked it out of the park. The festival runs from July 14 – August 3rd.