PopHorror Let's Get Scared
Fantasia Film Festival is a wonderful experience. While many festivals gravitate to a narrower perspective of coverage, Fantasia welcomes just about anything put to film. They are unafraid to portray the weird, the eccentric, and the underseen alongside movies and shorts with mass appeal. This year, they proudly continue that tradition and, with the help of the wonderful Tiffany Blem, I want to show our readers the projects we are most hyped up for!
As a completely unabashed tokusatsu and kaiju fan, I am eating well at 2022’s Fantasia Film Fest. This year’s presentation brings several offerings, new and old. The first one that has my attention is:
Shin Ultraman, dir. Hideaki Anno
Having grown up on American interpretations of tokusatsu like Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, I’ve always been curious about those who got to live through the formative interpretations of the genre. Director Hideaki Anno takes the familiar icons of Japanese pop culture like Godzilla and pushes them in a more grounded, yet still appreciative modern lens. Anno did by continuing his “Shin” (roughly translated from Japanese as “true” or “pure”) trilogy started with Shin Godzilla and continuing it with Shin Ultraman. Seeing how he recontextualized and redefined a science fiction icon there, and in his most famous work, Neon Genesis Evangelion, I am over the moon with excitement to see what he will do here. On that note, another film I’m hoping to catch is:
What To Do With the Dead Kaiju, dir. Satoshi Miki
Only lightly touched upon in past kaiju films like Pacific Rim and the aforementioned Shin Godzilla is a big question: what to do with the dead kaiju? Both in title and substance, Satoshi Miki’s newest film seeks to answer that with a little action, a little romance, and a whole lot of bureaucracy. With Miki’s history in comedy, I hope to get a lot of laughs out of this farcical nature government bureaucracy.
Fantasia Film Fest 2022 is not just for kaiju-heads, however. Tiffany wanted to bring attention to some films she’s excited about. I have to admit I’m intrigues about this first one as well.
Dark Glasses, dir. Dario Argento
Tiffany had this to say:
“Horror maestro Dario Argento is back! Horror fans, including myself, are rejoicing in the news, and I’m foaming at the mouth for Dark Glasses. His return to cinema is unprecedented, and I’m all in.”
It’s hard for me to disagree. For a director thought long done, one who has brought so much to the genre, it’s beyond exciting to see him return!
Next up is a documentary that should catch the interest of literature fans, horror hounds, and historians alike.
The Poe Morgue: A Journey Into Fear With Film, Music and Theatre
From the film’s Fantasia page:
A multi-dimensional experience of vintage films unearthed from the Film Society archives, live atmospheric theatre and music… for fans of all things horror, we promise to deliver an evening of disturbing delights that will stay with you until the day you lay your coffin, buried (alive?!).
The film promises to be a good bit of spooky fun, if not an enlightening look at how one author’s written word has impacted the imaginations of so many, even over a century later.
Tiffany also wanted to mention one more film…
The Elderly, dirs. Raúl Cerezo & Fernando González Gómez
Tiffany had this to say:
“After watching the funny and delightfully gory body horror film, The Passenger, and speaking with co-director Fernando González Gómez, I’m beyond excited for what he has in store for us with his new horror feature, The Elderly.”
Fans of A24 and murder mysteries may like our next pick:
Bodies Bodies Bodies, dir. Halina Reijn
To be frank, this is a movie that has the interest of our entire coverage team. Between Maria Baklova (the real star of Borat 2, let’s be honest) and the promise of Mean Girls-esque passive aggression during a murder mystery that may or may not be a game, this social media age slasher has a lot of potential for dark humor and a gory good time.
Speaking of mysteries, I have one last pick for those fans of the spooky and slimy.
The Breach, dir. Rodrigo Gudiño
This film has an intriguing blend of things going for it. Its premise contains elements of a surreal Twin Peaks-style murder mystery, Lovecraftian creatures, haunted house eeriness, and some absolutely gnarly body horror. From the little snippets seen in the trailer, I can tell that this film is absolutely going to deliver on the latter!
These films are just some of the wide breadth presented at the festival. This year Fantasia Film Fest has over 130 features, and 200+ shorts! Which films are you excited for? Let us know on social media like Facebook or Twitter!
