Fantasia Film Festival 2021 Film Reviews Portal

All of my Fantasia Festival 2021 Coverage in One Place

Once again, I have the privilege of being invited as accredited press to Fantasia Festival, North America’s largest genre film festival. With a larger focus on Asian genre cinema and some eye-popping premieres, this year’s festival will undoubtedly be a cinematic feast. This page will be your portal to my coverage, a full list of all of my Fantasia Festival 2021 film reviews. All reviews in viewing order…

Raging Fire

Hong Kong action maestro Benny Chan’s final film, Raging Fire, kicks things off with an injection of adrenaline. The tale of two men on opposite sides of the law barreling towards a bloody, knives-out confrontation, Chan’s swan song is a throwback to old-school action cinema - even its rote story and sleepy lead performance can’t stop the barrage of brutal, steel-fisted violence. Read my full review here.

Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched

I reviewed Kier-La Janisse’s masterful three-plus-hour documentary on folk horror earlier this year, but it’s worth emphasizing that it’s one of the brightest highlights of 2021’s Fantasia Festival. A deep, dark rabbit hole that examines the power of storytelling and tales inherited, Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched is more than a mere documentary, it’s an essential text - an education in a bottle. Read my full review here.

The Night House

The Night House flips the script on haunted abodes with chilling efficiency. Powered by a singular, wrenching performance from Rebecca Hall, director David Bruckner’s latest explores the spaces between terrifying, grief-fueled dreamscapes. Read my full review here.

The Sadness

A cynical, rage-fueled film carried by its no-holds-barred violence, gore, and depravity, Rob Jabbaz’s The Sadness is the most difficult watch of 2021’s Fantasia Festival. Crossing lines and spilling copious amounts of blood, Jabbaz’s feature-length debut strikes at the heart of our depraved, animal nature. For better or worse, The Sadness is like no zombie movie you’ve seen before. Read the full review here.

Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes

Junta Yamaguchi’s brilliantly clever Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is my favorite film of Fantasia 2021 so far. A high-concept, single-take masterwork that melds small stakes sci-fi with lighthearted sweetness, it spins intricate gears inside a deceptively simple framework. Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes pushes lo-fi, low-budget filmmaking to its absolute limit. Read the full review here.