‘Witchboard’ and ‘Shelby Oaks’ To Premiere At 2024 Fantasia International Film Festival
Mary Beth McAndrews
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It’s almost that time of year, when genre fans flock to Montreal for their annual pilgrimage to the Fantasia International Film Festival. Always boasting an expansive lineup of genre fare from around the world, the festival is back for its 28th edition, running this year from July 18 to August 4, 2024. While Fantasia’s full lineup is coming on July 3, 2024, they did share a select first wave of titles coming to this year’s fest.
But first, check out a first look at this year’s poster art, created by Montreal visual artist Donald Caron!
Witchboard, dir. Chuck Russell
Emily (Madison Iseman) and her fiancé Christian (Aaron Dominguez) discover an ancient Wiccan artifact, a pendulum board, as they prepare to open a bistro in New Orleans’ French Quarter. Emily becomes obsessed with the board’s powers, exposing her to the ancient spirit of the Queen of Witches. Desperate to help his fiancé, Christian seeks the advice of occult expert Alexander Babtiste (Jamie Campbell Bower), but Babtiste has dark secrets of his own. World Premiere.
Shelby Oaks, dir. Chris Stuckmann
A woman’s desperate search for her long-lost sister, a famous YouTuber who investigated paranormal happenings, falls into obsession upon realizing that the imaginary demon from their childhood may have been real. After a successful Kickstarter campaign that broke records across the platform, the highly anticipated feature debut feature from YouTube creator Chris Stuckmann is finally here and ready to scare the pants off the world. World Premiere.
Infinite Summer, dir. Miguel Llansó
On a summer break, Mia and her friends try a meditation app that’s somehow related to the operating system of the Tallinn Zoo, changing in the body chemistry of its users into something between pollen and cosmic dust. Mia will need to choose between saving her friends or joining them. World Premiere.
Confession, dir. Nobuhiro Yamashita and Yang Ik-june
Every Winter since Sayuri’s tragic disappearance sixteen years ago, Asai and Jiyong climb the mountain where it happened to honor her memory. However, an intense blizzard and a catastrophic injury convince Jiyong he’s done for and, before forcing Asai to leave him to die, he shares a devastating revelation. Asai returns, however, after finding a nearby cabin and now, isolated for the night, the two have to deal with Jiyong’s not-so-last words… the hard way. North American Premiere
Rita, dir. Jayro Bustamante
Following up on the international success of his brilliant La Llorona (2019), director Jayro Bustamante’s Rita fuses mythical fantasy and whimsical imagery with themes of childhood innocence and the potent emotional register of a story based on a harrowing real-life event, wherein 41 young women needlessly burned to death inside a Guatemalan orphanage in the midst of a protest about inhumane conditions. At its core is the powerful performance of Guiliana Santa Cruz, who speaks for all the young women who suffered. World Premiere.
This Man, dir. Tomojiro Amano
An inexplicable wave of tragic deaths plunges two investigators into the heart of a fateful whirlwind, where logic and facts have no value as a far-fetched urban legend seems to come true. A mother plagued by terrifying dreams, seeing her friends and colleagues disappear one after the other, and her family witness the horror unfold. International Premiere.
Dark Match, dir. Lowell Dean
When small-time wrestlers get a big payday for a private gig, they jump at the chance for fame and fortune, but the event, run by a mysterious leader who calls himself “The Prophet,” demands plenty of blood on the mats and involves a sinister, demonic deal! Set in the wrestling heyday of the 80s, Dark Match is an action-packed rumble on the ropes shot by acclaimed cinematographer Karim Hussain (Possessor). Starring wrestling legend Chris Jericho as the charismatic leader of its bloodthirsty cult, Ayisha Issa, and Steven Ogg. World Premiere.
A Samurai In Time, dir. Junichi Yasuda
An Edo-period swordsman is flung into the future, arriving in modern Kyoto to confront utter confusion—and an acting career. The medieval warrior transported to modern times is a variant of the time-travel subgenre that has been explored many times around the world. International Premiere.
The Dead Thing, dir. Elric Kane
A young woman, lost in a series of meaningless connections through dating apps, falls in love with a charismatic man who is hiding a dark secret that turns her affair into a dangerous obsession. World Premiere.
Mash Ville, dir. Hwang Wook
Someone has died after drinking the bootleg liquor brewed by Se-jong and his two younger brothers. While on a mission to retrieve their deadly booze before another person perishes from it, they come across two homicidal cultists who are terrorizing the villagers. World Premiere.
Electrophilia, dir. Lucía Puenzo
A woman wakes up from a coma six weeks after being struck by lightning and finds herself compulsively drawn to electric currents as her body’s workings begin to change. She soon joins an underground support group of strike survivors led by a dangerously charismatic doctor, opening a doorway into unexpected new explorations. North American Premiere.
Penalty Loop, dir. Shinji Araki
Left bereft by the wanton and inexplicable murder of his girlfriend, Jun chooses his own justice, carefully planning the perfect murder of the man who led him to become what he wants to eliminate. Once the vengeance is consummated, he wakes up with a confirmed sense of déjà-vu and his target alive and well, repeating the same routine as the day before. North American Premiere
Hell Hole, dir. John and Lulu Adams and Toby Poser
A road trip through Canadian oil fields conjured up fantasies of secrets deep in the dirt for the Adams family, and inspired them to create Hell Hole, an indie rock-n-roll monster movie set at a far-away fracking site. Known for their DIY ethos, John and Lulu Adams and Toby Poser, partnering with Shudder, have joined the team behind The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs and FX legend Todd Masters to shoot their latest in Serbia with a local cast and crew. Absurd, mutinous, and transgressively comical, Hell Hole is old-school sci-fi horror, yet in typical family fashion, they subvert the genre with textures of biological and environmental horror in tandem with questions of gender and bodily autonomy. World Premiere.
Dead Dead Full Dead, dir. Pratul Gaikwad
Junior police officers Balraam and Zubeida make a cute couple, but not the most diligent detectives. Called to a posh apartment tower to investigate a reported murder, the seemingly straightforward case quickly becomes a conundrum that would confuse even Sherlock Holmes. When the victim herself returns from the afterlife, matters become even more muddled, and soon enough the question isn’t who killed her… but who didn’t?! World Premiere
Voivod: We Are Connected, dir. Felipe Belalcazar
From the moment they exploded out of Jonquière in the early ‘80s, Voivod have been widely hailed as one of the most original and influential metal bands in the world. Years in the making and produced with full access to the band’s archives, Felipe Belalcazar’s illuminating Voivod: We Are Connected brings the story of a groundbreaking 40+ year career to the screen with energy, insight, and a palpable sense of love. With appearances by Tobias Forge (Ghost), Mikael Akerfeldt (Opeth), Jason Newsted (Metallica – and brief Voivod member), Zach Blair (Rise Against, GWAR), Tom G Warrior (Celtic Frost, Triptykon), and Ivan Doroschuk (Men Without Hats), among many others. Docs from the Edge section. World Premiere.
Fly Me To The Saitama: From Biwa Lake With Love, dir. Hideki Takeuchi
Japanese music superstar Gackt and co-star Fumi Nikaido are back as Rei and Momomi in From Biwa Lake With Love, now supported by an equally delightful cast of new characters as they crank up the genre-bending, highly stylized shenanigans that made the first film so unforgettable. Complete with a boys-love triangle, hilarious parodic references including a wacky Willy Wonka number, and the return of its meta story-within-a-story structure, this sequel is a worthy continuation with even more to offer! North American Premiere.
Hunting Daze, dir. Annick Blanc
Hunting Daze takes us on a wild trip, following Nina’s (Nahéma Ricci) journey as she takes refuge with a rowdy group of men after being stranded in a northern forest. The film plays like a drunken fever dream, exposing a microcosm of masculinity in which one’s desire to belong threatens to upend the group. Canadian Premiere.
A second wave of Fantasia 2024 titles will be announced in early June with the festival’s full lineup to be revealed in early July. Ticket sales will commence shortly afterward.
What films are you most excited about in this initial Fantasia announcement? Let us know on Twitter and Instagram @DreadCentral.
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