My Fantastic Fest 2023

Fantastic Fest is the largest genre film festival in the US showing horror, fantasy, sci-fi and action films. This year was my first time back since 2019. Over the course of 4 days I screened a total of 23 films and TV shows. There were so many great films I wasn’t able to see but those that I did included:

• 30 Coins (Season 2, Episodes 1 & 2)
• In My Mother’s Skin
• The Last Video Store
• Property
• Falling Stars
• Mushrooms (2023/Poland)
• You’ll Never Find Me
• Infested (aka Vermin)
• The Fall of the House of Usher (Episodes 1 & 2)
• When Evil Lurks
• Wake Up
• Short Fuse (Horror Shorts)
  • Butterscotch
  • Chomp
  • Fck’n Nuts
  • Gummy
  • Home
  • Reds
  • The Third Ear
  • Transition
  • Whodunit
• The Origin
• Crumb Catcher
• Totally Killer

My Personal Top 5

There really were not any bad films I watched, but my top 5 films I saw (in no particular order) were:

• Property

  A gang of disenfranchised farmhands traps a traumatized woman in her armored car in Daniel Bandeira’s Brazilian take on the home invasion.

This was a very dark film depicting the terrible class divide between the rich and the poor. Make sure you are prepared before viewing this one!

• Crumb Catcher

  An anxiety-inducing chamber piece that will make you fondly remember the worst high-pressure sales pitch you’ve ever delivered (or endured).

This film really took me by surprise. It was extremely cringey with moments of absurd humor and an overall horror theme.

• Totally Killer

  35 years after the shocking murder of three teens, the infamous “Sweet Sixteen Killer“ returns on Halloween night to claim a fourth victim.

This film was a great way to close out the festival. It was super fun and had me and the audience laughing out loud.

• You’ll Never Find Me

  A strange woman desperate for shelter from a harrowing storm picks the wrong trailer to seek refuge… or did she choose exactly right?

A great single location horror film dripping with tension. The sound design in this movie was excellent.

• The Origin

  A group fights for survival against an unknown adversary in this stone age thriller.

Beautifully filmed with a twist that I wasn’t expecting.