Spring has SXSW. Fall has Screamfest. But when it comes to festivals built to make the happy heads of genre film fans explode, Fantasia International Film Festival reigns supreme in the summertime. As it did in 2020, the ongoing pandemic has pushed this year’s 25th edition of the Montreal-based festival into an online format, which might be a bit of a blessing in disguise. Now audiences across the world can continue enjoying Fantasia’s diverse selection of eclectic entertainment from the safety of their own homes from August 5th through the 25th. What are some of those movies poised to push people to the edge of their seats?
BROADCAST SIGNAL INTRUSION
I’m cheating a little on this one because I’ve already seen it (review here). I can vouch for “Broadcast Signal Intrusion” being right up the alley of anyone who is into 20th-century television technology and kooky conspiracies. Inspired by the true-life intrusions that took place in 1987 Chicago (look them up and check out the YouTube clips for a quick hit of weirdness), “Broadcast Signal Intrusion” smolders with slow-burn suspense that was a staple of classics like “The Conversation” and “Blow Out.” An earworm in film form, look for “Broadcast Signal Intrusion” to seep into your psyche with coolly creepy chills.
KING KNIGHT
I’m always down for a new Richard Bates Jr. joint. They’re not always my cup of tea, yet I always know I’m going to see something uniquely peculiar. In “King Knight,” Bates reteams with Matthew Gray Gubler, who also starred in Bates’ “Suburban Gothic” (review here), for the tale of a contemporary coven’s high priest who “finds his life thrown into turmoil and ventures out on a journey of self-discovery.” I don’t know what to expect based on that summary, but like I said, I do expect Bates will deliver off-kilter comedy along with dark drama. Genre icon Barbara Crampton also features in the film.
THE LAST THING MARY SAW
To be honest, I nearly passed over “The Last Thing Mary Saw” without paying it a second thought. When it comes to Fantasia, I always like at least one movie I see to be an outrageously wild one like “Monster Seafood Wars” (review here). Quick glances told me “The Last Thing Mary Saw” was the opposite: a period piece set at an isolated farmhouse in 1843 that I thought sounded too tame for my tastes. Then I saw it stars Rory Culkin and “Orphan’s” Isabelle Fuhrman and renewed intrigue was piqued. A little more patience might be required, but this film could satisfy the arthouse atmosphere itch.
MAD GOD
Even if you don’t know Phil Tippett’s name off the top of your head, you definitely know his work. The award-winning FX artist has had an integral creative hand in everything from “Star Wars” to “Jurassic Park” and “Robocop” to “Twilight.” In 1990, Tippet took an independently ambitious route in creating a stop-motion epic titled “Mad God.” The project quickly went in the cooler until a 2012 crowdfunding effort brought it back to life. Put together piecemeal ever since, whatever wonders await inside this mythic movie are at last ready to be released as a feature-length film, over 30 years after production began.
MARTYRS LANE
The only thing I knew about “Martyrs Lane” is that it was already acquired by Shudder. That’s the only endorsement I need to know the movie should be well worth a watch. Shudder has been on an impressive streak of quality streaming releases lately, and “Martyrs Lane” promises to not be an exception. Based on her 2019 short of the same name, writer/director Ruth Platt’s “Martyrs Lane” looks like it pours psychological eeriness into a ghost story that’s also “a deeply personal story of love and loss.”
It is moderately compelling in the moment, but it has a hard time holding up to even cursory scrutiny as far as believable “found footage” concepts go.