By MICHAEL GINGOLD
North America’s longest-running genre film fest celebrates its 22nd edition this summer; read on for the heavy-duty first batch of features revealed for the 2018 Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal.
This year’s event takes place July 12-August 1, and includes the Frontières International Co-Production Market and Industry Rendez-Vous Weekend from July 19-22. The slate of movies unveiled today includes:
- The international premiere of Shinsuke Sato’s much-anticipated manga adaptation BLEACH, plus the Canadian premiere of Sato’s sci-fi actioner INUYASHIKI and a special screening of his 2015 zombie favorite I AM A HERO
- Opening-night world-premiere screening of the anthology chiller NIGHTMARE CINEMA, with segments directed by Joe Dante, Mick Garris, Alejandro Brugués (JUAN OF THE DEAD), Ryuhei Kitamura (VERSUS) and David Slade (30 DAYS OF NIGHT), with all five filmmakers in attendance; Dante will also receive a Lifetime Achievement Award
- The international premiere of Stephen Susco’s cyber-horror sequel UNFRIENDED: DARK WEB (pictured) on Friday, July 13
- The world premiere of THE WITCH IN THE WINDOW, the supernatural solo debut of Andy Mitton, co-writer/co-director of YELLOWBRICKROAD and WE GO ON
- The world premiere of CAM, a surreal thriller about a webcam sex worker from Isa Mazzei and Danny Goldhaber
- The world premiere of MEGA TIME SQUAD, an outrageous fantasy/comedy from New Zealand filmmaker Tim van Dammen
- The Canadian premiere of Shin Dong-seok’s intense and poignant drama LOST CHILD
- The world premiere of OUR HOUSE, a Canadian remake of the 2010 indie chiller GHOST FROM THE MACHINE (a.k.a. PHANTASMA EX MACHINA), from HOLIDAYS’ Anthony Scott Burns
- The world premiere of the action-packed Indonesian Western BUFFALO BOYS, directed by genre producer Mike Wiluan (HEADSHOT)
- A special screening of UNDER THE SILVER LAKE, a noir comedy from IT FOLLOWS writer/director David Robert Mitchell
- The North American premiere of Tilman Singer’s avant-garde horror film LUZ
- The Canadian premiere of Josephine Decker’s art-house/genre fusion MADELINE’S MADELINE
- The Quebec premiere of HANAGATAMI, a WWII-era mix of fantasy, horror and melodrama from Nobuhiko Obayashi of HOUSE/HAUSU cult fame
- Anime features making their Canadian premieres, including Mari Okada’s MAQUIA: WHEN THE PROMISED FLOWER BLOOMS, Genki Kawamura’s FIREWORKS and Ujicha’s VIOLENCE VOYAGER
- The international premiere of Baptiste Gaubert and Jérémie Hoarau’s insane futuristic animated feature CRISIS JUNG
Other titles are:
- John McPhail’s ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE (Canadian premiere)
- Justin P. Lange’s THE DARK (Canadian premiere)
- The multidirector fright feature THE FIELD GUIDE TO EVIL (Canadian premiere)
- Michael Peterson’s KNUCKLEBALL (Quebec premiere)
- Kang Yun-sung’s THE OUTLAWS (Quebec premiere)
- Isaac Ezban’s PARALLEL (North American premiere)
- Sonny Laguna and Tommy Wiklund’s PUPPET MASTER: THE LITTLEST REICH (Canadian premiere)
- Jenn Wexler’s THE RANGER (Canadian premiere)
- Yudai Yamaguchi’s ROKUROKU: THE PROMISE OF THE WITCH (Canadian premiere)
- Joko Anwar’s SATAN’S SLAVES (Canadian premiere)
- Crystal Moselle’s SKATE KITCHEN (Quebec premiere)
- Issa López’s TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID (Quebec premiere)
- Akiko Ohku’s TREMBLE ALL YOU WANT (Quebec premiere)
- Yoshiyuki Kishi’s WILDERNESS: Part 1 and Part 2 (Canadian premiere)
There’s lots more to come; the full lineup will be announced in early July, with ticket sales beginning shortly thereafter. A newly designed website launches in June, and you can check out the current one here.
