Most Anticipated Films at Fantasia International Film Festival 2016

Now that the full schedule is out, Fantasians have planned what they will see and bought their tickets.  This year’s line-up is full of potentially great stuff and some real oddities.  Personally, I look forward to being surprised.  In the past, I was happily surprised by Shaun of the Dead, GS Wonderland, A Christmas Horror Story, Borning, etc.

All films I randomly went to see without much planning.  So what am I looking forward to this year?  Here’s a few I want to see without knowing a ton about them in advance.

bedofthedeadBed of the Dead (Canada)
Yeah “… of the Dead” is way over done, but this one is from the makers of Bite so I’m curious.  Bite was fairly good and had a lot of good effects, so I am curious to see where they go after the goo infested film Bite was.

King DaveKing Dave (Quebec)
This film is adapted from a play by director Podz (Daniel Groulx) who’s career has been very interesting so far (La Reine Rouge, 7 Days, etc.).  The film is a single long take, meaning just one shot, so it should be worth seeing if only to see how they pulled that off.

Terra-FormarsTerra Formars (Japan)
Takashi Miike.  That’s all I really need to know to want to see a movie.  This one is a sci-fi/horror/action about an attempt at a colony on Mars which loses contact with Earth, so a second group is sent to see what is going.  The story is reminiscent of Aliens, but it’s Miike so it should be one hell of a ride.

unseenThe Unseen (Canada)
This one caught my attention on Instagram of all places.  Director Geoff Rednap worked as an actor on Kingdom Hospital, Supernatural, Stargate, etc and did effects on Deadpool, Supernatural, and The Cabin in the Woods. Knowing almost nothing about this one, his resume is what’s attracting me to this one.

IOlgaI, Olga Hepnarova (Czech Republic, Poland, Slovakia)
Olga Hepnarova was a 22 year old mass murderer in the 1970s in Prague.  I have read very little about the film itself but it comes highly recommended.  Having only heard good things about this film is making me want to see if it lives up to the hype, its mystery appeals to me.

let-me-make-you-a-martyrLet Me Make You a Martyr (USA)
Marilyn Manson stars in this film and I want to see how it does.  I grew up with his music and antics around but was never a big fan despite my goth years.  Having only seen Manson in Party Monster, I am very curious to see how his acting has evolved.GreasyStranglerThe Greasy Strangler (USA)
This is supposed to be a really weird one so I am of course curious.  As I have a tendency to be non-plussed by most “weird” films lately, I want to like this one as I have been told I should.  At the same time, I’m worried it’s just another case of weird got the sake of weirdness.

Blood FatherBlood Father (USA)
Mel Gibson’s newest action film since his part in Expendables 3, Blood Father looks like a film that could appeal to most action fans.  Gibson may be controversial to some, but the man usual does good action films.  Director Jean-Francois Richet also has a good pedigree with his films Mesrine, and Ma 6-T Va Cracker. Unfortunately, I will not be in town for this one, so I do hope I can see it soon.

Small Gauge TraumaSmall Gauge Trauma 2016
This is the fest’s annual short film showcase, usually a great collection of bite-sized scares and oddities.  Not having the festival’s magazine yet, I have not seen which titles are included in this year’s showcase, but if past years are any indication, this should be great.

Born of Woman
This year, the fest received a big influx of good female made shorts so they have decided to give its own shorts block.  Since this is something festival co-director Mitch Davis felt he needed to do, there must be some really strong shorts here.  Also, in the last couple of years, I’ve seen some amazing female-made shorts such as the works of Izzy Lee, and Patricia Chica. That is enough for me to want to see this block.

Honorable Mentions: Yoga Hosers, Goran, Don’t Breathe, Little Sister, Fleur Bleue, If Cats Disappeared From the World