Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival just announced its first wave of programming for 2019, and it looks like ya’ll Canucks are going to be in for a good time.
Leading the pack is the world premier of Killerman starring Liam Hemsworth. It’s a crime thriller about “dirty cops and dirtier mobsters.” There’s not any more information to go on, but Liam Hemsworth holds a gun, so I bet someone gets shot.
Another world premier will bring back the adorable alien furballs of the 80’s with Critters Attack! This one’s written by the guy behind Happy Death Day and has Dee Wallace returning, so it’s already sounding miles better than Shudder’s The New Binge.
Beyond that, we have Idol, a Korean revenge thriller–which are words that always buzz in my ears. This one follows a Chinese immigrant who is the sole witness of a tragic accident and because of this is sought out by a popular politician and a humble worker. It’s billed as “bold and bloody,” so that’s cool. Let’s hope it ends up as something wavering near the lofty heights of Oldboy, I Saw the Devil, and Mother.
Fantasia will also be bringing more South African darkness, which has been a source of some solid offerings with Number 37 and Five Fingers for Marseilles. Keeping with the numbered-theme 8 will be less of a thriller and focus on straight horror with a folklore bent. The story sees an old man who’s fated to collect souls for eternity seeking atonement after trading his daughter’s soul. That sounds like a dreamy and metaphorical tale that I’m very interested to dig into.
Pontypool director Bruce McDonald will be bringing something that sounds super fricken strange to the fest with Dreamland, which has Henry Rollins as a grotesque gang boss who hires a killer to bring him the finger of a faded, drug-addled jazz legend. Weird always gets my attention, and at the very least I think this will be pretty weird.
There’s also going to be an orchestra playing music from Studio Ghibli’s classic films. I know I may seem like a weirdo with a septic soul and a heart that only pumps feces, but deep down I’m a sensitive child, and so many of the masterful animation studio’s films speak to me (but Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind is the best, and if you think anything else, then you’re very stupid), and this sounds like a dreamy treat and a good break from all the blood and gore.
Fantasia will also drop some hits from other festivals, like Come to Daddy and The Gangster, the Cop, and the Devil.
These are the titles that jumped out at me most, but you can check out the full (very big list) here. This isn’t even the entirety of what will be showing at the festival just yet. This is one sprawling-ass event running from July 11 to August 1. Last year brought us some awesome stuff like Tigers Are Not Afraid, Tokyo Vampire Hotel, and Rokuroku: The Promise of the Witch. I’m very much looking forward to seeing what the folks behind it have in store this summer.
