Most Anticipated Titles of Fantasia 2026
Every year, the Fantasia International Film Festival descends upon Montreal, turning the city into a haven for genre fans with a wide selection of horror, science fiction, experimental, action, and world cinema. It often features some of the big titles for genre fans to pay attention to, but also celebrates smaller titles from emerging and established artists. This year’s festival is no different, with the opening night film being one of my most anticipated titles and Nicolas Winding Refn’s long-awaited return to film, Her Private Hell. Despite initial reviews from Cannes not being too kind to the film, Refn has been on a tear in the TV space, creating some of the most compelling dramas in his own sadistic fashion, making Her Private Hell an exciting return to filmmaking. The closing night film brings the Final Destination: Bloodlines directors to the festival with the sequel to their 2018 sleeper hit, Freaks Part II. With plenty of festival favourites and premieres to discover, this year’s Fantasia line-up is looking to be one of the most exciting yet and below is a list of just some of the titles I’m anticipating from the festival.
Still from Dance Freak / Courtesy of Fantasia
Dance Freak (dirs. Robby Rackleff, Alan Resnick)
Nothing will likely prepare you for the absurd, chaotic movements of the Dance Freak. One of many promising features out of Fantasia’s Underground section, Alan Resnick (Adult Swim’s This House Has People In It) and Robby Rackleff’s latest collaboration centers around an infectious virus that forces its victims to move uncontrollably to a rhythm that cannot be contained. Led by co-director Rackleff’s dual performance as the titular Dance Freak and Obey, the cast of the film is rounded out by contemporary comedy icons like Stavros Halkias (Bugonia), Sarah Sherman (SNL), and Conner O’Malley (who almost always steals the show in anything he appears in). However, while the film promises to be a hilarious and absurd adventure, the potential for the situation to escalate might make it an unsettling comedic force. The film has already premiered at a couple of smaller festivals to a generally positive reception, but its Canadian premiere at Fantasia will help determine whether it is as hypnotic as its infectious rhythm. My money is on this being one of those films that keeps gaining traction for years to come.
Hot Spot (Dir. Agnieszka Smoczynska)
Digital technology meets witchcraft in the audacious latest feature from director Agnieszka Smoczynska (The Lure, The Silent Twins). With a distinct visual approach to filmmaking, Smoczynska’s latest film, Hot Spot, already looks to be one of the most daring science fiction films of the year. Celebrating its World premiere in Fantasia’s always-interesting Cheval Noir section, there’s a lot of expectation for Hot Spot to be one of the major titles of the festival. Starring Andrzej Konopka as a private detective and Noomi Rapace as a cyberwitch, the film positions the fear of digital technology’s rise against the same paranoia that ran through history in the face of witchcraft. The idea that things we don’t quite understand can subdue us seems to run through the veins of Smoczynska’s unique approach to a post-apocalyptic landscape governed by AI and sorcery. Working with many of her usual creative partners, from Jakub Kijowski’s cinematography to composers Marcin Macuk and Zuzanna Wronska, who deliver a synth-heavy score to match the dusty retrofuturist aesthetic, Hot Spot is primed to be a buzzy title from this year’s Fantasia Film Festival.
Still from I Love Paris / Courtesy of Fantasia
I Love Paris (Dir. Nicky Murphy)
It has been a while since a mockumentary-style film has felt like a breath of fresh air, but Nicky Murphy’s I Love Paris finds a new angle to explore in the vampire genre, leaving it poised to be one of the more interesting films of the festival. A bit of Tony Scott’s The Hunger and Taika Waititi’s What We Do in the Shadows, Murphy’s latest promises to be violent and energetic in equal measure as its youthful protagonists navigate the collision of fame and notoriety with the need to always remain in the night. The mockumentary approach lends the film an earnestness while playing up the comedic moments bound to emerge from young celebrities trying to satisfy bloodlust with little humility. With a playful aesthetic and lead performance from Aminata Thiboult, this is one of the films in the Underground section of Fantasia’s line-up that seems endlessly energetic, which will hopefully translate to a memorable experience when it finally has its World premiere on July 26th.
The Last Footage (Dir. Arkar Soe Oo)
It’s always a delight to discover a country’s filmmaking for the first time, and festivals like Fantasia have previously hosted chilling debuts from nations typically not on the festival circuit. Arkar Soe Oo’s The Last Footage shines a spotlight on Myanmar’s brand of genre film with a found-footage movie shot in first-person POV, marking Myanmar’s debut in the found-footage genre and a rare appearance of a horror film from the country (formerly known as Burma) at an international festival. The premise is simple: a group of young friends decides to explore an abandoned rubber plantation and document the experience, only to find themselves witnesses to evil forces. It’s the decision to have the film play out mostly in real time and to buck many horror filmmaking trends that suggests The Last Footage might elevate its premise to something truly thrilling. At the very least, it’s a rare opportunity to witness what horror looks like from another country’s perspective and get a taste of cinema from around the world, which is why festivals like Fantasia are so exciting in the first place.
Still from The Origin of Ultraman / Courtesy of Fantasia
The Origin of Ultraman (Dir. Yu Nakamura, Kazuki Yoshida)
Fantasia’s love of Asian cinema is matched only by its love of the filmmaking process in genre films. Documentaries often center on exploring the artists who create beloved works of art that have transcended time and borders. There are actually a handful of movies that scratch this itch, but the mash-up of one of Japan’s greatest phenomena and how it came to be is easily the most enticing of the festival. Making its international premiere in the Documentaries From the Edge program, The Origin of Ultraman is a love letter to the titular tokusatsu icon commissioned by Tsuburaya Productions to mark the hero’s 60th anniversary. Overseen by Hirokazu Kore-eda and featuring appearances from visionaries like Hideo Kojima, Hideaki Anno, Nicolas Winding Refn, and Guillermo del Toro, The Origin of Ultraman is at once a reflection on how Ultraman came to be as well as the influence it has had on popular culture in both Japan and around the world. It’s the kind of documentary that will undoubtedly contain informative anecdotes from its inception and remind audiences of just how cool Ultraman still is today.
Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma (dir. Jane Schoenbrun)
My favourite film of 2024 was unequivocally I Saw The TV Glow. Its clever use of nostalgia to tell a tale of gender identity within the confines of suburbia still holds as one of the most vital examples of genre filmmaking and reinforced writer-director Jane Schoenbrun as one of the most interesting and compelling voices in cinema today. They have demonstrated a lexicon of pop-culture knowledge that is both specific and immense, which naturally leads them to critique those texts while also looking to the past with reverence for what they mean to people growing up. Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma looks to be the evolution of that trip down memory lane, while approaching the material with equal parts adoration and frustration. With Hannah Einbinder and Gillian Anderson leading a film built on the backs of slasher film history, with the same distinct visual eye that made their sophomore feature instantly memorable, Schoenbrun has set up an incredibly ambitious third feature that seems likely to be one of the best films of the year.
Still from Tristes Tropiques / Courtesy of Fantasia
Tristes Tropiques (Dir. Park Hoon-jung)
At every Fantasia, you always hope to stumble upon a great piece of Korean genre cinema, as the festival has frequently served as a home to some of the best films the country has to offer. Children trained since youth to be killers for a secret organization now wrestling with suspicions and discord between them as adults, Tristes Tropiques has a premise bound for blood. Director Park Hoon-jung has always been a stylish director, best known to audiences for The Witch duology, the crime-gangster film New World, and co-writing the screenplay for Kim Jee-woon’s incredibly violent I Saw The Devil. He knows his way around carnage, which is exactly what his latest film promises to deliver. Its cast includes actors from Squid Game, Ballerina, Crash Landing on You, and Monstrum, bringing a wealth of familiar faces to what is gearing up to be a blood-soaked revenge tale done with the stylish confidence that Korean cinema has proven time and again to be exceptional.
You Are the Film (Dir. Makoto Ueda)
Makoto Ueda has established himself as one of the most ambitious and creative science fiction writers in Japanese cinema. Specifically, he has mastered the time loop film and found ways to turn a small fraction of time into an endlessly rewarding experience. His work with Junta Yamaguchi has yielded memorable films in both Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes and River, but his latest screenplay sees the writer taking on directorial duties as well, with a new chaotic journey in You Are The Film. The premise sounds like a structural departure for Ueda, but nothing short of imaginative and even more chaotic than his previous efforts. What is astounding about Ueda’s time-travel writing is that even when the film seems like it could get out of control, he finds a way to rein it in. The film has already won the Audience Award at the 2026 Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, reaffirming that Ueda’s approach to writing always has the audience’s entertainment in mind. There are few people who can guarantee that an entertaining premise will be explored as meticulously and humorously as Ueda does, making You Are The Film a hotly anticipated title at Fantasia.
