Fantastic Fest

The New Halloween Is Part Nostalgic, Part Original, and All Fantastic

The latest entry in the Halloween franchise is both a dazzling tribute to the original film as well as a unique, standalone story. It’s filled with deviations from the familiar slasher formula, but it also carefully incorporates an adoration of its predecessor that feels respectful but not overpowering. By balancing these two seemingly divergent concepts,…

Movies Germain Lussier Sep 20

The 20 Wildest, Coolest, and Most Unique Films We Can’t Wait to See at Fantastic Fest 2018

One of the premiere genre film festivals in the world is the annual Fantastic Fest. It starts this Thursday, and io9 will be there. That means a week of non-stop sci-fi, fantasy, animation, horror, supernatural, and otherwise weird, wacky, and wonderful movies. Well over 100 feature films will screen at the festival. Some are titles…

Movies Germain Lussier Sep 19

Downsizing Is a Clever Big-Idea Science-Fiction Comedy With A Glaringly Terrible Flaw

In Alexander Payne’s new movie, a dainty Easy Bake Oven bell-chime signals the completion of the cellular reduction process. People who were normal-sized adults are now only inches tall, gently lifted off their beds with implements that look like spatulas. The moment is both cute and terrifying at the same time, much like Downsizing itself.…

io9 Evan Narcisse Sep 29

78/52 Is the Nerdiest Movie About Movies We’ve Ever Seen, and We Love It

78/52 is a 90-minute film about three minutes. The three minutes or so, comprised of 52 cuts shot with 78 set-ups, that make up the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic horror thriller Psycho. The film is solely about breaking down the scene’s genius and importance, and it takes the term “deep dive” to a…

io9 Germain Lussier Sep 29

The Russian Salyut-7 Is a Harrowing True Space Adventure Too Clichéd to Be Interesting

A team of astronauts is specially trained to solve an unprecedented disaster in space. It sounds like the plot of Armageddon or any number of other generic Hollywood blockbusters, but in the Russian space adventure Salyut-7, it actually happened. Unfortunately, somehow that doesn’t make the movie any more exciting. [Click here to see io9’s statement…

io9 Germain Lussier Sep 28

Tigers Are Not Afraid Is the Best Guillermo del Toro Movie He Never Made

Sometimes the best genre films are found in the most unexpected places, like in a story of kids who are orphaned as the result of violent gang wars in the slums of Mexico. That’s the setting for Issa Lopez’s Tigers Are Not Afraid, a jaw-dropping film that blends reality and the supernatural in an absolutely…

io9 Germain Lussier Sep 27

Love and Saucers Is a Sweet Little Documentary That’ll Make You Believe in Aliens

David Huggins is a 72-year-old man who believes he lost his virginity to an alien. He also believes he’s been visited by aliens for the majority of his life. It’s an easy story to laugh at, but in Brad Abraham’s documentary Love and Saucers, you want to believe Huggins. And, frankly, it’s hard not to.…

io9 Germain Lussier Sep 27

Nicolas Cage Puts His Insane Side to Great Use in the Violent, Crazy Mom and Dad

Brian Taylor, one half of the filmmaking team Neveldine and Taylor (best known for the Crank movies), makes his solo debut with Mom and Dad, a twisted, firecracker of a movie that doesn’t really have much purpose, but it doesn’t really need one. [Click here to see io9’s statement on this year’s Fantastic Fest.] Nicolas…

io9 Germain Lussier Sep 27

Bullies Torment Humans and Ghouls Alike in the Nasty Mon Mon Mon Monsters

By this point, we’re all very familiar with the notion that “humans are the real monsters” in speculative genre work. Mon Mon Mon Monsters takes that idea, kicks it in the balls, and then squeezes a lemon and onion juice cocktail into its eyes. This is a must-see vision of end-stage nihilism. [Click here to…

io9 Evan Narcisse Sep 26

The Cured Finds a Fresh Take on Zombies by Turning Them Back Into Humans

A million movies have been made about zombie invasions, but very few have focused on what happens afterwards. Do the zombies get cured? How will society rebuild? Will the survivors actually be safe? These are questions without familiar answers in zombie lore, which makes a movie like The Cured immediately exciting. [Click here to see…

io9 Germain Lussier Sep 26

Before We Vanish Gives a Quirky Philosophical Twist to the Alien Invasion Genre

Though the space creatures visiting Earth in Before We Vanish can inhabit the bodies of homo sapiens, they don’t know what it means to be human. But the more they learn about it, the closer we get to possibly becoming extinct. [Click here to see io9’s statement on this year’s Fantastic Fest.] Before We Vanish…

io9 Evan Narcisse Sep 25

Takashi Miike’s Blade of the Immortal Is Your Fantasy Samurai Movie Come to Bloody, Violent Life

At its core, Takashi Miike’s Blade of the Immortal is a straightforward samurai revenge flick. However, built around that is the platonic, primal ideal of what a samurai movie can be. It’s non-stop symphony of murder and steel filled with unbelievable weapons, gruesome amputations, rivers of blood, and charismatic warriors. Its two-hour, 20-minute runtime feels…

io9 Germain Lussier Sep 25

Thelma Is a Haunting Movie Where a Young Woman Uses Her Powers to Escape Her Repressive Upbringing

Here is the terrible truth that lies at the heart of Norwegian horror film Thelma: Sometimes, people you trust will whisper their dysfunction into your heart and call it love. [Click here to see io9’s statement on this year’s Fantastic Fest.] Directed by Joachim Trier, Thelma opens with a scene that is beautifully shot and…

io9 Evan Narcisse Sep 25

World of Tomorrow Episode Two Is a Mind-Melting, Must See Animated Sequel

If you’re reading this, you’ve probably seen Don Hertzfeldt’s World of Tomorrow and simply want to know if the sequel is good. Yes, it is. It’s very, very good. And I highly recommend to go into it totally blank other than the knowledge of the first film. [Click here to see io9’s statement on this…

io9 Germain Lussier Sep 24

Junk Head Is a Stop-Motion Animated SciFi Action Film You Have to See

The world is ending. Humans no longer have the capacity to reproduce. For the answers, they’ll send people below the surface of the Earth, where the clones humans used and discarded thousands of years ago have taken up residence. [Click here to see io9’s statement on this year’s Fantastic Fest.] It’s a premise that screams…

io9 Germain Lussier Sep 24

Mary and the Witch’s Flower Is Destined to be One of Your Favorite Animated Films

If Studio Ghibli made a film where Harry Potter was a girl, Hogwarts looked like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, and the whole thing turned into Akira, you’d basically have Mary and the Witch’s Flower. [Click here to see io9’s statement on this year’s Fantastic Fest.] However, it’s not a Studio Ghibli film. Based on a…

io9 Germain Lussier Sep 23

Anna and the Apocalypse is the High School Christmas Zombie Musical of Your Dreams

Anna and the Apocalypse is a high school zombie musical set at Christmas. Which, obviously, sounds awesome. It sounds so awesome though, you’re probably thinking there’s no way it could love up to that expectation. But I’m happy to reveal that Anna and the Apocalypse lives up to your expectations and then some. It’s an…

io9 Germain Lussier Sep 23

3FT Ball and Souls Is Groundhog Day With Group Suicide

Science fiction is at its best when it takes a crazy concept and applies it to real world issues, and that’s exactly what writer director Yoshio Kato does with 3FT Ball and Souls, a teeny tiny Japanese film filled with big ideas and even bigger heart. [Ed’s note: This movie was screened at this year’s…

io9 Germain Lussier Sep 22

Anna and the Apocalypse Promises a Holiday Musical Extravaganza, with Zombies

The first teaser trailer is out for Anna and the Apocalypse, a holiday musical comedy about a student who dreams of a stocking full of sugar plums, but instead gets an apocalypse full of the undead. The British film, based on the BAFTA-winning short Zombie Musical, is about a teenager named Anna (Ella Hunt) whose…

Movies Beth Elderkin Sep 20

Takashi Miike’s New Movie About an Immortal Samurai Looks Bananas

When a director has made 100 films, calling him or her “immortal” isn’t a stretch. That work will live forever. So it’s fitting that, for his 100th film, director Takashi Miike made a film about an immortal samurai warrior seeking revenge against impossible odds. It’s called Blade of the Immortal and a brand new, red-band…

io9 Germain Lussier Aug 30

The New Halloween Is Part Nostalgic, Part Original, and All Fantastic

The 20 Wildest, Coolest, and Most Unique Films We Can’t Wait to See at Fantastic Fest 2018

Downsizing Is a Clever Big-Idea Science-Fiction Comedy With A Glaringly Terrible Flaw

78/52 Is the Nerdiest Movie About Movies We’ve Ever Seen, and We Love It

The Russian Salyut-7 Is a Harrowing True Space Adventure Too Clichéd to Be Interesting

Tigers Are Not Afraid Is the Best Guillermo del Toro Movie He Never Made

Love and Saucers Is a Sweet Little Documentary That’ll Make You Believe in Aliens

Nicolas Cage Puts His Insane Side to Great Use in the Violent, Crazy Mom and Dad

Bullies Torment Humans and Ghouls Alike in the Nasty Mon Mon Mon Monsters

The Cured Finds a Fresh Take on Zombies by Turning Them Back Into Humans

Before We Vanish Gives a Quirky Philosophical Twist to the Alien Invasion Genre

Takashi Miike’s Blade of the Immortal Is Your Fantasy Samurai Movie Come to Bloody, Violent Life

Thelma Is a Haunting Movie Where a Young Woman Uses Her Powers to Escape Her Repressive Upbringing

World of Tomorrow Episode Two Is a Mind-Melting, Must See Animated Sequel

Junk Head Is a Stop-Motion Animated SciFi Action Film You Have to See

Mary and the Witch’s Flower Is Destined to be One of Your Favorite Animated Films

Anna and the Apocalypse is the High School Christmas Zombie Musical of Your Dreams

3FT Ball and Souls Is Groundhog Day With Group Suicide

Anna and the Apocalypse Promises a Holiday Musical Extravaganza, with Zombies

Takashi Miike’s New Movie About an Immortal Samurai Looks Bananas

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