In the English countryside, during a mysterious war, a man teaches two amnesiacs how to live again. Scott Tinkham & Michael Woloson’s wonderful, slightly absurd, dark comedy horror-drama Littermates plays at Fantastic Fest 2026.
Littermates is a film of intriguing contradictions. It’s tense and easy, calm and disquiet, on edge but taking its time. That’s not a negative, and we know films can be those contradictions if done correctly. Instead, the Scott Tinkham and Michael Woloson-directed film (with Tinkham writing solo), presented through Fantastic Fest in September with a limited theatrical release lined up for November, is highly interesting, drawing in with the slightly askew word of its trio of protagonists. It’s slightly absurd, slightly horror, highly odd, and all strange in a different take on the survival genre.
It’s rural England, deep into some sort of apocalyptic war. There also seems to be something else in the air that causes a sort of amnesia causing trauma, adding another level to the looming danger (represented by plumes of smoke and audible gunshots coming ever so closer). On a well-kept farm, Chester has a helicopter and heads out to search for supplies and non-violent survivors, people struck by the forgetting. Along the way, he finds two adults, Liam and Mel, and raises them back to life as a sort of odd family.
The way the newly reborn (not in the zombie way) pair act is an odd strength. As the title indicates, they are more animal. But not in a feral, tapping-into-the-basic type of brain. But like dogs. Or dogs crossed with younger children. They, especially Liam, the male, have the enthusiasm of young puppies and the curiosity and knowledge growth of a young kid. For Mel, that inherent curiosity and interest starts to turn outward, setting up some of the conflict.
To Tinkham and Woloson’s credit, they don’t overdo this aspect. They strike a fine balance between the human and the more canine. This makes it slightly absurd as the pair, especially Liam, come to grips with feelings, growth, and what to do. As he’s found earlier in the movie, with much of the first act just Chester and Liam, he has jealousy of his younger “littermate”. Echoing fellow Fantastic Fest flick Sick, perhaps a little sexual urge (luckily, this doesn’t become a focus, but part of the tableaux). But whether jealousy, growing into adulthood, or sexuality, they have an awkward innocence. In a different way, Mel starts to question the reality of their little world and wants to see past the boundary; Tinkham and Woloson balance the pair as they work through these conflicting, growing feelings.
Thus, this little family is a joy to watch as they work through their connections and needs to survive in this bent world. The trio has amazing chemistry, playing off one another with a lived-in ease. Each of the performers, Oliver Woolf as Chester and Joey Bader & Kaylee as the pair, are perfect, playing all the layers and questions; not overplaying the odd aspects. It’s heartfelt and moving, a lighter version of Yorgos Lanthimos’s Dogtooth perhaps? Heh. . It’s a strange feeling, watching this odd found family of “dad” Chester and siblings Liam and Mel live. Chester gives the “kids” what he calls nifties, tokens for fun times like hanging out in a hot tub, going on helicopter rides, singing karaoke, and more. One does wonder about Chester’s motivations and history. Is he up to something? Or is he just the weird, lonely guy trying to make a mini-utopia in a world of falling sirens and calls to go inside (until they all don gas masks)? I like them, and I like Chester, so I want the former. Of course, one can see the whole thing as a metaphor for parenthood, trying to shield kids one has raised from the dangers of the world, and how each child may work within the parameters.
We know danger is getting closer, as it is that sort of movie after all, but it’s great to bask in their strange lives. It’s all with a comedic bend; a slow burn of the unease of a dark comedy, yet light (in a good way). An enigmatic quality boosts its watchability. The group’s isolation crafts a mystery. When the shoe drops and the story shifts into the third act, it’s different from what you expected, adding a new layer to how you think the story will play out. Tinkham and Woloson aren’t interested in solving any real conundrum of the bigger world; the world outside the bubble remains a fine mystery, and I’m glad for it. The familiar focus, and how that plays out, is far more drawing than the standard wr, made more interesting by a cushioned barrier against the world falling down. There’s a delightful tension in the push-pull of the bigger needs of their safety, Mel’s want to know the world, and the dangers it possesses
Scott Tinkham & Michael Woloson’s Littermates is a very interesting little slice of a strange life in an enigmatic war and world. With a trio of solid performances and chemistry between them, and a strange ease within the tension, Littermates is a wonderful little film. Playing at Fantastic Fest in Austin from September 17th through 24th, and then in limited release in November, join the litter.