Fantasia 2021: Second Round of Titles Announced

  |  
Jun 23, 2021

Film festivals aren’t slowing down. A lot of them moved to digital last year and this year. Hopefully in 2022 we’ll see a resurgence of in-person festivals. Mostly for my sake, because I’ve never been to a film festival in person and would like to. So, Fantasia 2021 today announced their second round slate. Surprise! It’s all kicking off August 4th with the premiere of James Gunn’s Suicide Squad. This August 4th premiere will be *gasp* in person with James Gunn himself!

While you recover from that shock, we can cover the other films coming in Fantasia 2021’s second round. Buckle in, because there’s a lot of them. I mostly want to cover the horror titles, but the full list is available on Fantasia’s website.

CRIES IN THE NIGHT ECHO THROUGH MARTYRS LANE

In this haunting and poignant ghost story from British writer/director Ruth Platt (THE LESSON, THE BLACK FOREST), ten-year-old Leah (Kiera Thompson) lives in a large vicarage, full of lost souls and the needy. In the day the house is bustling with people; at night it is dark, empty, a space for Leah’s nightmares to creep into. A small, nightly visitor (Sienna Sayer) brings her comfort, but soon she will realise that her little visitor offers knowledge that might be very, very dangerous. Tragic and unsettling with phenomenal performances and bottomless otherworldly atmosphere, MARTYRS LANE is a stunning, eerie triumph of a film. Co-starring Denise Gough (MONDAY) and Steven Cree (OUTLANDER). WORLD PREMIERE. Fantasia 2021

ANNA ZAYTSEVA’S TENSE SCREENLIFE THRILLER #BLUE_WHALE SHINES LIGHT ON A HORRIFIC TEEN SUICIDE CHALLENGE

Spiraling paranoia and gut-wrenching dread tear through #BLUE_WHALE, the feature debut from Russian writer/director Anna Zaytseva, whose shorts have won no less than 16 awards on the festival circuit. A provincial town is shaken by a wave of mysterious teen suicides. Researching the death of her younger sister, schoolgirl Dana (Anna Potebnya) comes across a sickening social media game that encourages youths to take horrific self-harm challenges. Aiming to hunt down those responsible for her sister’s death, she registers for the game, opening a doorway into the cruelest of hidden online worlds. Co-produced by Timur Bekmambetov and shot in the Screenlife storytelling format that he pioneered, #BLUE_WHALE taps into something insightfully disturbing about the ways that teens can find themselves manipulated online.  

A BLOODTHIRSTY CRIMINAL SHOWDOWN DETONATES IN BRAZIL WITH YAKUZA PRINCESS

Few are left standing in YAKUZA PRINCESS, a stylish and violent action thriller starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers (VIKINGS) and Japanese American singer Masumi (POSSE). Directed by Vicente Amorim (MOTORRAD, GOOD) and adapted from Danilo Beyruth’s graphic novel Shiro, the film unfolds in the expansive Japanese community of Sao Paulo in Brazil and follows Akemi (Masumi), an orphan who discovers she is the heiress to half of the Yakuza crime syndicate. After forging an uneasy alliance with an amnesiac stranger (Meyers) the two must unleash war against the other half of the gang who wants her dead. Co-starring Tsuyoshi Ihara (LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA), Toshiji Takeshima (S.W.A.T.), and Eijiro Ozaki (THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE). WORLD PREMIERE. Fantasia 2021

GHOSTING GLORIA BRINGS SPIRITUAL GROWTH THROUGH OTHERWORLDLY ORGASMS

Gloria (Stefania Tortorella) needs an orgasm. When was the last time she had one? She doesn’t know if she’s ever had one. So begins Marcela Matta and Mauro Sarser’s sophomore feature, following 2016’s LOS MODERNOS, GHOSTING GLORIA, a charming and surprising genre-bender that switches between horror, fantasy, and offbeat comedy — all wrapped up in a whimsical and subversive romance. Gloria’s orgasm issue is easily solved when she finds the right man. There is just one issue: he’s a ghost. What brings real spark is the film’s sex-positive spin on the theme of finding Mr. Right, its boisterous moments of mindblowing (sometimes wholly inappropriate) erotic comedy, and Gloria’s rich, wider world. If you ever wanted to know what something like TIE ME UP! TIE ME DOWN! would look like if it was crossed with THE ENTITY, here is the place to find out. WORLD PREMIERE. Fantasia 2021

WE’RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD’S FAIR

“Casey here. Today I’m going to take the World’s Fair Challenge.” A lonely teen (Anna Cobb) stares at her computer screen, partaking in a viral game that soon takes hold of her increasingly dissociating mind. A disquieting take on the coming-of-age film, Jane Schoenbrun’s breakout Sundance hit WE’RE ALL GOING TO THE WORLD’S FAIR harnesses the potent aesthetics of found-footage horror and YouTube culture to craft a quietly devastating look at loneliness and despondency in the Internet age.

BROADCAST SIGNAL INTRUSION

In the late 90s, a video archivist (Harry Shum Jr) unearths a series of sinister pirate broadcasts and becomes obsessed with uncovering the dark conspiracy behind them. A freakish new nightmare from the director of SYNCHRONICITY, BROADCAST SIGNAL INTRUSION uses real-life broadcast hacks as the jumping-off point for an engrossing technological thriller. Co-starring Kelley Mack and Chris Sullivan. Official Selection: SXSW 2021.

PAUL DOOD’S DEADLY LUNCH BREAK

Bodies begin to stack in the aftermath of a talent competition gone bad as big-hearted, well-meaning loser Paul Dood (Tom Meeten) becomes simultaneously internet famous and hunted by the police. The hilarious sophomore feature from regular Ben Wheatley collaborator Nick Gillespie (TANK 432) co-stars Alice Lowe, Johnny Vegas, and Kris Marshall. Official Selection: SXSW 2021.

PRISONERS OF A GHOST LAND

:A notorious criminal (Nicolas Cage) must break an evil curse in order to rescue a girl (Sofia Boutella) who has mysteriously disappeared in the insane US debut of legendary Japanese filmmaker Sion Sono (LOVE EXPOSURE, COLD FISH). Co-starring Nick Cassavetes, Tak Sakaguchi, and Bill Moseley. Official Selection: Sundance

RELATED: Nicolas Cage Hunts a Kidnapped Pachyderm in New Trailer for PIG

Well, you’ve got Nicolas Cage, haunted televisions, ghostly orgasms, and everything in between! This lineup is spectacular. We’ll hope to have boots on the ground (figuratively) as Fantasia’s second wave kicks off this August.

See something that you can’t wait to see? Join the conversation in the comments. We’re also on Instagram and Twitter @DreadCentral as well as Facebook. I’m Jans. I write news. You can tell me your favorite Fantasia 2021 Round 2 movie on Twitter @HorrorPlayed.

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