Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival returns for its 29th edition from July 16 to August 3, transforming the city into a genre lover’s sanctuary. Across nearly three weeks, Fantasia will once again summon a delirious mix of horror, sci-fi, fantasy, action, anime, and arthouse strangeness—alongside cult favorites, midnight carnage, and international oddities that defy categorization.

Here are 11 titles (and a few stunning shorts) we can’t wait to sink our teeth into—a mix of must-see debuts, returning icons, and disturbing delights that define Fantasia’s fearless spirit.

The Book of Sijjin and Illiyyin

A brutal tale of vengeance and ritual from Indonesian director Hadrah Daeng Ratu. When Yuli, tormented by years of abuse, summons a powerful djinn to destroy her cruel employers, hell breaks loose…literally. This is vengeance horror with folklore depth and a rotting corpse countdown clock.

Heirlooms (Short)

Inheritance turns into infestation in Dan Abramovici’s emotional horror short. Chloe Van Landschoot gives a knockout performance as a grieving daughter restoring an old wardrobe, only to discover she’s not alone. A tight, poignant chiller about grief, memory, and the things we carry home.

Holy Night: Demon Hunters

Don Lee (Of Train to Busan as well as the highly recommendable (by me!) Roundup film series) punches demons in the face. That’s it, that’s the post. This webtoon adaptation from Lim Dae-hee delivers exorcisms, girl-group power, biblical monsters, and K-horror spectacle. With Seohyun, David Lee, and a show-stealing Jung Ji-so (Parasite), this is pure supernatural action chaos, tailor-made for a rowdy Fantasia crowd.

Pickled Rabbit (Short)

During the Mid-Autumn Festival, a time meant for family reunion, Sharon desperately clings to tradition and duty, determined to keep her ailing, emotionally distant mother close at all costs. But as the festival’s lanterns glow and old wounds resurface, Sharon’s efforts unleash a chain of unsettling and unforeseen consequences—turning a heartfelt reunion into a haunting reckoning.

Together

Marriage is a body-horror nightmare in Michael Shanks’ freaky debut. Alison Brie and Dave Franco star as a couple whose failing relationship turns literal, like, fused-bodies literal. Funny, gross, oddly touching, and squirm-inducing in all the right ways, Together is one of the most buzzed-about break-up (or bound tight?) horrors of the year.

Noise

Joo-young hears something in her new apartment, and it’s not just her missing sister’s ghost. Kim Soo-jin’s Noise blends sensory horror, supernatural dread, and emotional desperation into one of the most finely tuned films of the fest. With stellar sound design and an unforgettable lead performance, this is Korean horror with teeth.

The Undertone

Podcast meets deathwatch in this eerie slow-burn from Ian Tuason. As Evy (Nina Kiri) watches her mother die, she co-hosts a creepy paranormal podcast—only to realize the haunting is closer than she thought. Fans of Skinamarink and The Pretty Thing Who Lives in the House will find much to fear in this liminal, grief-soaked tale.

Influencers

She’s back and still killing it. CW (Cassandra Naud) returns in this slick, savage sequel from Kurtis David Harder. Set in the South of France and dripping with sunlit menace, Influencers gives us travel, murder, and Georgina Campbell as a new foil. The Talented Mr. Ripley meets girlboss psychosis.

Mother of Flies

The Adams Family (Hellbender) return with another forest-drenched tale of witchcraft and mortality. When a young woman turns to necromancy for a cure, the cost comes due. Earthy, eerie, and emotionally raw, this is arthouse horror spun from moss, grief, and blood.

It Ends

Four friends, one endless road, and a car haunted by something far worse than engine trouble. It Ends riffs on Dead End but spins off into its own strange, existential direction. A strong debut by Alexander Ullom.

Reflections in a Dead Diamond

Pop art, 60s espionage, and Diabolik flair—Bruno Forzani and Hélène Cattet are back with another visual feast. Think vintage spy chic meets dreamy dread in a film that’s as stylish as it is sinister.

Lurker

Fame comes with a body count in Alex Russell’s eerie social thriller. A shop clerk gets sucked into a rising pop star’s orbit, only to find his new world laced with danger, manipulation, and possibly murder. A dark fame fable for the follower era.

The Virgin of the Quarry Lake

Laura Casabé adapts two Mariana Enriquez stories into a single, unforgettable film about rage, repression, and reckoning. Rooted in Argentinian horror, this one simmers with dread before it detonates.

Why Fantasia Still Reigns Supreme

Few festivals champion weird, ambitious, global genre filmmaking like Fantasia. It’s a place where action legends, debut auteurs, midnight maniacs, and arthouse elegists all share the same marquee and where audiences actually cheer when someone gets decapitated with style.

Fantasia 2025 is bursting with promise. From demonic exorcisms and parasitic love to haunted podcasts and cursed wardrobes. So whether you’re going IRL or catching up online (grab tix here!), this year’s lineup proves one thing:

The genre is alive, unwell, and more inventive than ever.

See you in the shadows of Montréal.