By MICHAEL GINGOLD
A sequel to a cult-fave anthology chiller, a celebrated Japanese meta-zombie movie and new films from the directors of I SAW THE DEVIL, ANGUISH and the celebrated short LOVE FOR MOTHER ONLY are among the second round of features unveiled as part of the lineup at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival next month. Read on for all the info.
Fantasia 2018 takes place July 12-August 1, encompassing the Frontières International Co-Production Market and Industry Rendez-Vous Weekend from July 19-22. Joining the titles previously announced here, the slate of movies unveiled today includes:
- The opening-night North American premiere of Daniel Roby’s French/Canadian co-production DANS LA BRUME (JUST A BREATH AWAY), a big-scale disaster/horror saga set in Paris
- The world premiere of TALES FROM THE HOOD 2, Rusty Cundieff and Darin Scott’s follow-up to their topical and socially relevant omnibus fright film, once again executive-produced by Spike Lee
- The world premiere of Satoshi Miki’s offbeat and energetic rock ’n’ roll comedy/romance LOUDER! CAN’T HEAR WHAT YOU’RE SINGIN’, WIMP!
- The world premiere of Robert D. Krzykowski’s THE MAN WHO KILLED HITLER AND THEN THE BIGFOOT, an alternate-history fantasy starring Sam Elliott in the title role, produced by John Sayles, Lucky McKee and the great visual effects artist Douglas Trumbull
- The international premiere of THE WITCH: PART 1. THE SUBVERSION, the latest from I SAW THE DEVIL writer/director Park Joon-hung, about a telekinetic teen (Kim Da-Mi) targeted by a hit squad
- The Canadian premiere of Aneesh Chaganty’s SEARCHING, a thriller about a father’s attempts to track down his missing teenage daughter, told entirely on the screen of her laptop (produced by Timur Bekmambetov and Adam Sidman of the similarly themed UNFRIENDED movies)
- The world premiere of AMONG THE LIVING, the feature directorial debut of Brazilian filmmaker Dennison Ramalho, of the acclaimed shorts LOVE FOR MOTHER ONLY and NINJAS, and screenwriter of the Coffin Joe comeback film EMBODIMENT OF EVIL
- The North American premiere of award-winning director Baek Seung-Bin’s comedy/fantasy I HAVE A DATE WITH SPRING
- The world premiere of HURT, a Blumhouse production and the latest from director Sonny Mallhi, whose ANGUISH was a true Fantasia sleeper a few years back
- The world premiere of Daniel Robbins’ PLEDGE, a shocker about three college freshmen entering a fraternity from hell
- The North American premiere of Lee Chang-Hee’s THE VANISHED, a Korean combination of modern noir and the supernatural
- Two international premieres in the Camera Lucida section devoted to experimental, fringe-genre fare: Tadashi Nagayama’s satirical rural comedy BEING NATURAL and Aaron Schimberg’s CHAINED FOR LIFE, which takes place on a horror-movie set
- The North American premiere of Michael Mort’s animated CHUCK STEEL: NIGHT OF THE TRAMPIRES, in which the titular bad-ass LA cop battles vampire/hobo mutations
- The North American premiere of Victor Vu’s LÔI BÁO, about a man who receives a head transplant and acquires superhuman powers
- The Canadian premiere of Erik Matti’s BUYBUST, a Filipino police-action thriller that employed 300 stunt performers and over 1,200 extras
- A pair of anime attractions in the Axis section: The world premiere of Saku Sakamoto’s horror story ARAGNE: SIGN OF VERMILLION and the international premiere of Hiroyasu Ishida’s surreal sci-fi tale PENGUIN HIGHWAY
- The North American premiere of Yoko Yamanaka’s countercultural teen drama AMIKO
- The Canadian premiere of Shunichiro Ueda’s much-praised single-take meta-zombie movie ONE CUT OF THE DEAD (pictured above)
- The world premiere of Drew Barnhardt’s RONDO, in which a young military veteran enters a bizarre criminal underworld
- The Canadian premiere of LA QUINCEAÑERA, a web series from rising Mexican-Canadian filmmaker Gigi Saul Guerrero, in which a girl’s 15th-birthday party is invaded by a murderous cartel
- The international premiere of Frank Henenlotter’s documentary BOILED ANGELS: THE TRIAL OF MIKE DIANA, chronicling the only U.S. artist ever convicted for obscenity
- The Quebec premiere of Hao Wu’s docu PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF DESIRE, focusing on obsessive virtual relationships
- The Quebec premiere of Jean-Simon Chartier’s PLAYING HARD, which covers the grueling process of creating an Ubisoft video game
The fest will also bestow its first Action! Achievement Award on trailblazing martial-arts actress Cynthia Rothrock, with a 35mm screening of her Hong Kong classic BLONDE FURY. The complete lineup will be announced June 28, and tickets will go on sale shortly thereafter. For more info, head over to Fantasia’s official website.
